Ministry Updates

Church Plant In Sulawesi…

In July, Tim & TJ traveled to Indonesia, and thanks to Osceola AG had the funds to help a church planter, who is a former student of ours, purchase land and begin the construction on the first church in the Kabupaten (like a county) of Topoyo in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Imagine your entire county WITHOUT a church. Praise God for the miraculous provision of finances, favor with local islamic communities, and a pioneering pastor that was willing to say, “Yes!”.

What began as one Bible Study in a home, became two, and then a network of believers until the decision was made to pray for a place to build a Church so that these new believers could gather all together, worship together and become the first established church in that area in all of time and history!

Further south in Makassar, we rejoice as another church we were privileged to be partners in planting over a decade ago has grown so much that it will be the first Assemblies of God Church to own a piece of land and build in the largest city on the Island, Makassar which has over 1.5 million people.

We rejoice over these victories, but we strive to see more! There are still millions of people in Sulawesi without a Gospel witness who in all of history have never had the good news of Jesus reach their ears or hearts.

From Hobbiton to Bangkok New Realms of Serving in Asia Pacific!

We all know the phrase, “Where did the time go?” and lately we have been asking ourselves that a lot! When we first embarked on the call to missions our oldest was just a baby and now he is going off to college. We first set out as MIT (missionaries in training) and had the opportunity to work with an amazing mentor missionary couple. Now we find ourselves being referred to as “veteran” missionaries. We have been blessed with many experiences in ministry and missions over the years and have learned so much for the successes as well as the failures and mistakes.

The last few years we have begun to serve in a few different leadership ministries within the Asia Pacific Region, specifically as an Key Ministry Area (KMA) advocate for Compassion Health and Education Ministries, as well as regional strategic leaders on the Global Leadership Team for Asia Pacific. This means we have the opportunity to serve our leadership and the missionary body in a greater way. In February Doris traveled to New Zealand for a meeting of all the KMA advocates where leadership discussed the challenges of the upcoming year, and praised the Lord for all of the amazing things he did across the region last year. As a team we bonded in middle earth and celebrated the goodness of God at a feast fit for a hobbit (never despise the day of small beginnings!) We have such incredible leaders, we are honored to serve with them.

March took Doris to Thailand where she and a handful of other KMA advocates had a time of ministering to, and helping our missionaries across the regions with like-minded ministries (specifically Compassion, Health, Education, Anti-trafficking and Children’s Ministry) network and collaborate with one another. It is said that no man is an island unto himself, but when you are working hard for the Kingdom and scattered across the many islands and countries of Asia Pacific, it can sometimes start to feel this way! Modern technology is a great way to stay in touch, but the several days we were able to gather together in-person were critical and may serve as the foundation of relationship those connections can build upon!

We never imagined back when we were young missionaries learning from our mentors, that someday we would be mentoring and helping other young missionaries as they take steps of faith and grow and serve. We especially never could have imagined that this would be even outside of Indonesia. It is truly an honor and a privilege to serve and encourage so many others that are following God’s call all over Asia Pacific! Next year we will celebrate 20yrs of serving in missions as a family. Thank you to everyone who has been part of sending us and praying with us over the years! We are just getting started!

From the Streets of Bangkok to Hope

There are children in Bangkok that are born in the dark corners of the red-light district. Asias Little Ones partners with brave missionaries called by God to share the love of Jesus in these streets. Offering help, prayer, and bringing the love of Jesus to those enslaved by evil in these places is no small feat and is foolish without the power of the Holy Spirit. While visiting this ministry, I walked these streets during the day with the team and we prayed fervently for the ministry that would take place later when the streets were dark and full of people. Please pray with me for the many innocent children born into this place. Pray for the cycle of violence and exploitation to stop. Bangkok is known world wide for it’s human trafficking districts. Sin is so tangible here, and the value of life so little that people are bought and sold for selfish gratification and treated as currency.

Praise God we know that ultimately faith, hope, and love will conquer because of the blessed hope we have in Jesus! We know that even in these dark places of the world God will win. He is the God of restoration, a conquering hero, the God of Justice, and one day Jesus will return and set all things right. So we pray boldly, we walk boldly, and we declare hope even here. Pray the Kingdom of God come to the streets of Bangkok with us!

From Civil Unrest to Hope in Jesus

Following a military coup in 2021 and intense civil unrest, My*nm*r has worked hard to expel foreigners. They expelled media and isolated their people off from the rest of the world. They have also increasingly persecuted and marginalized certain people groups. Many My*nm*r peoples have fled to nearby countries like Thailand where it is better to live stateless and sometimes in great poverty than to live in fear for their lives, and the lives of their children.

In late October, I went to the border of these two countries to help dedicate a school opening for them. Thanks to the cooperative effort of Asia’s Little Ones, the local Thai church, and others, this will be the first school many of these stateless refugee children have attended in many years. 

The refugee’s focus has been clinging to survival because of civil unrest, ethnic discrimination, language barriers and so many other obstacle. But praise the Lord for a new day and the hope for a brighter future that the gift of education provides.

During my time of ministry there, I traveled with a team of missionaries that spoke B*rmese or Thai, a Thai pastor, and a short-term church team from New York. We first visited the refugee families and brought them some food. We spent time in their homes, prayed with them, and invited them to the school dedication and church service the following day. 

Every one of the new students has an incredible story, but one image that sticks with me is the light in the eyes of a young girl of 12 excited about being in 1st grade this year. Literacy and education is a gift. She knows it, and is eagerly excited to get started. 

After the school dedication ceremony, all the families stayed for the church service and fellowship time.  While visiting with the parents, one after another said, “Jesus,” was a name they had never heard before. In this place an Asia’s Little Ones education project has intersected with the Never Reached.  Please pray for these families as they now for the first time ever, have access to the gospel, and christians who desire to  explain about Jesus, and lovingly disciple them. Please pray for them that they will be able to shake off the bondages, fears and hopelessness of Buddhism that have entangled them and their ancestors for centuries.  

As you join us in praying for Buddhists, please check out changethemap.net a webpage dedicated to helping people pray effectively for the Buddhist World.