AsiaStories

Many men and women in rural areas in East Asia have few options for income. Ted Wong* is committed to using business and entrepreneurship to teach believers in rural areas how they can support themselves and their ministries. His vision is to provide rural farmers with a cash crop. This could provide an additional source of income as well as allow more time for ministry. Zhe Wang Hu* and Jia Liang* are two of the men Wong works with.

In Southeast Asia, musicethnocologists use traditional music and instruments to share the Gospel. Hear what happened when the instruments played by themselves.

As I spent days immersed in Chinese New Year symbolisms in Hong Kong, one stands out above the rest — food, or more specifically the dinner table. Sitting around the dinner table with family, for me, is a symbol of the importance of relationship — which is the point of this whole journey. Understanding my own culture has been the guide, but in the end, relationships are what matter the most.

In India, the devadasi (day-vah-dah-see) system, a Hindu practice of temple prostitution, has existed for more than 5,000 years. In the state of Karnataka in southern India, starving families dedicate hundreds of girls each year to the goddess Yellamma. The children are forced to begin a life of prostitution at age 11 or 12.

The young Chinese woman steps from a back room into the soft, pink light of a small brothel. She adjusts her short dress and black stockings. A middle-aged Chinese man follows a few steps behind, handing her the equivalent of $60 U.S. Transactions like this happen every day in brothels throughout China, a Christian worker says. By praying and sharing, she hopes to bring the Gospel to China’s commercially exploited women.

In 2011, AsiaStories has taken you all over Asia to experience God working among His people. Glance through our 10 most popular stories of the year. Then, vote for your favorite photos, videos and stories.

Because of Thai Country Trim, Ponpit Sayom is able to support herself, her father, children and grandchildren. There, she also found Christ and has a Christian community that supports and nurtures her.

Every district looks the same: construction sites, cheap restaurants, factories, factories and more factories. Southern Baptist worker David Rice* sees this city through different eyes. His mental map of Dongguan is a labyrinth of ministry possibilities — a medical clinic here, management training classes over there and maybe a Christian coffee shop in the heart of a red light district.

Hisaya Kazu, 62, rises early from his cardboard cocoon to go to work. By 3 a.m., Kazu is picking up aluminum cans and other debris in Sakae Park in Nagoya, Japan. He cashes in the aluminum for enough yen to buy his meals for the day. As daybreaks and Nagoya wakes, Kazu, who is homeless, finds a place to hide, away from public view.

It’s easy to get swept up in the magic and beauty of the moment, forgetting the real meaning — releasing one’s sin — behind this Northern Thai Festival called Yee Peng. I never knew releasing sin could be so beautiful and awe-inspiring.

Shanghai is China’s trendsetter in fashion, business and standard of living, and has been for years. No other place in China is quite like this. Anyone who’d seen only Shanghai would be hard pressed to imagine what the rest of the country is like.

Cities around the world have one thing in common — multiple people groups living side-by-side. Most come from “hard to reach” places but now, as city-dwellers, they are more accessible than ever before in history. Join AsiaStories as we take a two-week journey through Asia visiting cities such as Seoul, Manila, New Delhi and many more. Learn what God is doing and how you can join Him.

Najia Khatun* knows what her life would be like without the Light of Hope Center. She knows she would be hungry. She knows she would be uneducated. She knows she would be working long hours at a garment factory. Najia knows — and she is grateful.

Two years ago, IMB missionary Al Hoopes began supervising a program that teaches Filipino villagers the basics of agriculture, herbal medicine, community development and moral values. Now, approximately 600 people have graduated from the program and have built vegetable and herb gardens near their homes. The program has changed the lives of many Filipinos, including a woman named Rowena Gonato who resorts to her newly acquired training when her children grow ill.

One church of Chinese Christians in Southeast Asia disregards cultural barriers and conducts discipleship training for South Asian believers.

International World Changers student Jessica Newberry planned to visit Southeast Asia with her church and work with orphans. The only other Christian in the Newberry family, her mother, Jan, worked tirelessly to raise funds for her daughter’s trip. But, when Jan died in March 2011, Jessica found herself traveling to Asia without her main support system. God, however, blessed her in the midst of tragedy and used the death to begin to change the heart of her non-Christian father. Months later, she flew to Asia and let God heal her further through the grins of a disabled young woman.

Two 20-somethings put their young careers on hold and move to China as Hands On workers. Their goal is to share Christ with everyone they meet.

Southern Baptists dedicated a day of prayer and fasting in 2001 for Bhutan. Ten years later, your prayers have been answered. The Gospel is making its way into the country.

Esther Tallbott* boats up and down the Oras River in the Philippines, ministering to villages deep in the jungle. She learns true compassion during her two years.

War cut their work short, but 36 years after Saigon’s fall Southern Baptists’ investment in Vietnam is paying off.