AsiaStories

Jesus weeps for the masses without hope, the persecuted, the helpless, the hungry, the exploited and the downtrodden. He sacrificed for them. Will you do the same? Give 10 Days of Sacrifice.

Yada Chaipetch* and Maliwan Wongsurin* are prisoners at a Juvenile Detention Center in Thailand. Because they have little education and few job skills, they are at-risk for trafficking and prostitution upon their release from prison. These are their stories.

Nicole Dell and her friends from America never pictured themselves singing Karaoke in a Thai bar, but they threw caution to the wind when they realized it was the easiest way to have uninterrupted conversations with the bar’s sex workers.

Fletcher Lonsdale’s vision is to use theater to change the way people see the world and ultimately God. For him, theater is not just a play. It’s worship. Theater helps Lonsdale share the Good News with South Asians who may not otherwise listen.

Shanghai native Yan Hua* cannot forget the life lessons she’s learned: trust no one, play both sides, be invisible and don’t rock the boat. At 75 years old, she still looks over her shoulder in fear. Like many of China’s elderly, she has never heard the Gospel of hope.

Delhi is a sprawling, energetic intersection of old and new, wealth and poverty, religion and science. People from all over South Asia come for jobs, education, and asylum. Some come willingly while others are forced here.Even though I’ve lived and worked in South Asia for years, I am easily overwhelmed by the city and want to know it better. Join me on a prayerwalk though the Delhi.

More than 300 pastors have been able to share the Gospel with more than a million people among Manila’s urban poor. House groups among squatter communities lead to an explosion of the Gospel, all through training sessions every month.

Katti hopes her coworkers will notice the Bible verse on her desktop when they pass her cubicle so she can share her favorite Bible story: Daniel and the lions. This young believer, who works for a major IT company in Bangalore, India, has a heart for sharing the gospel with her peers in the IT business.

Faruq Jamil, a Saudi Arabian, stopped in the middle of a Southeast Asian market to listen as American teenagers worshiped outside a hostel. Before long, he began a conversation with three International World Changer students about the differences in Islam and Christianity. Soon they gave Jamil an Arabic Bible, so he could study on his own. Only two weeks prior to this meeting, missionaries had arrived with the city’s first supply of Bibles in Arabic.

When International World Changer student Haley Wathen met 10-year-old Hadi Ibrahim, her heart melted. Ibrahim lived in an orphanage with a staff that barely had time to interact with him, and therefore, he received very little affection. He also never talked. Yet, after Wathen held him and played with him, Ibrahim began to speak.

International World Changers student Aaron Powell visited Southeast Asia this summer. Powell was born with a a congenital defect, a half-formed arm. For the past couple of years, Powell felt God’s calling him into the mission field and his hand had become one of his greatest witnessing tools. It opened up conversation and allowed Powell to talk to strangers about God’s glory and mercy.

Stepping outside Ashley Benson and Mandi Mapes’ apartment and onto the street brings the global evangelism map decorating their wall to life. On the map, most of Asia is lit up like a Christmas tree, indicating those who have yet to be reached with the Gospel message. On the street, the dots become the faces and names of their neighbors and friends. Doesn’t anyone want the Truth?

There’s not a day that goes by that Kencho Kinle* isn’t going door to door, sharing the Gospel. Everyone in the city knows him; some even run when he approaches. His testimony is hard to forget, because it is written in blood − in Jesus’ and his family’s.

When Micah Watson came to India for the first time, he never thought he’d be back, let alone recording a music video with his band here one year later.

The daunting task of sharing Jesus with 22 million people in one city haunted him so much so that for an entire year after his trip, all he could do was talk about it. He shared with his family … his friends … and even his audiences attending Micah Watson Band concerts.