Goodbye Buddha, Hello Jesus, January 2009

Every morning's ritual: Begging for rice. Buddhist monks do not eat after noon, an act of self-denial.

From inside his saffron robe he drew out a New Testament. He's read it six times through so far, and I noted that many verses were underlined. He told me that his favorite one was John 14:6, and then he quoted it: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." He is a Buddhist monk who is a secret disciple of Jesus.

Goodbye Buddha, Hello Jesus
A Morning Meeting with a Remarkable Monk

A 70-year spiritual journey: Buddhist monk ————-

Trying to decipher the doctrines of Buddhism has been compared to searching for a black cat in a dark room in which there really is no cat. Not an easy task. There is, however, one of Buddha's teachings that makes very good sense:

Do not accept anything by mere tradition....Do not accept anything just because it accords with your scriptures....Do not accept anything merely because it agrees with your preconceived notions...

Thankfully, some of Buddha's followers heed his advice regarding the traditions, scriptures and preconceived notions of Buddhism, and they're turning to Jesus. One of them attended Chuck King's recent pastors' conference in Myanmar (Burma).

For the first forty years of his life he was a Muslim, and he was known as Raja Mohammed Adam. From reading the Koran, he learned about Jesus, respecting Him as a prophet. But Islam did not fulfill Raja's deepest spiritual yearnings. Most of the citizens of his country were Buddhists, and Raja was quite familiar with their numerous temples that dotted Myanmar's landscape. Hoping to find what he was searching for, he joined the ranks of the Buddhist monks who roam the streets each morning, barefoot, begging for rice. He moved into a monastery, and his name was changed to ————-.

Buddhists believe that all suffering stems from unfulfilled desire, so Buddhist monks attempt to restrain their desires, following a path of asceticism. But after twenty-seven years of begging, fasting, meditation and celibacy, ————- still hadn't found what he was searching for. So he borrowed a Bible. As he read through the four Gospels, he encountered a different Jesus than he had learned about through Islam. Jesus was much more than a prophet. He was the Creator and Master—in the flesh. As he read, it seemed as if Jesus was saying to him, "You are just like a Pharisee." ————- was cut to the heart. He decided to repent and follow Jesus. That was three years ago.

After thirty years of being a monk, and now at age seventy in one of Asia's poorest nations, ————- is afraid to leave his monastery, not knowing how he would survive. But he is looking for an opportunity, and he knows that his fellow monks are very suspicious and watching him closely. He told me he would renounce his robe immediately if he had a way of escape. Please pray for him as we work on a strategy to help him with the exodus for which he longs.

The Bigger Picture: In November, International Director Chuck King ministered to 170 Christian leaders during a two-day conference in one of Myanmar's most unreached states. ———- attended each day. Each participant received a copy of the 760-page Burmese version of The Disciple-Making Minister. Chuck also visited Nazareth Children's Home in Shan State, one of thirty-one Christian orphanages in Myanmar assisted each month by our Orphan's Tear Division, and where thirty-two children live. Fourteen are waiting for $20-per-month sponsors. Three of the thirty-two beautiful children of Nazareth Children's Home in Shan State, Myanmar

A Miracle Kid
Orphan's Tear at Work in Myanmar

Jesus is still doing miracles. Six-year-old Lal Sang Pui knows it from experience.

The parents of Lal Sang Pui noticed that he was different than other children when he was just a baby. He wouldn't respond to sound. As a toddler, he didn't learn to talk. His parents took him to two doctors where their fears were confirmed. Lal was deaf and mute, and there was nothing that could be done for him.

Impoverished parents in poor nations sometimes drop their children off at orphanages, a decision that most of us who eat every day simply cannot comprehend. Perhaps the closest equivalent to this phenomena in developed countries is when authorities take children from unfit parents and put them in foster care. In very poor countries, parents who can't feed their children sometimes judge themselves to be unfit, and so they place their children in places where they will receive food every day and have an opportunity to go to school. In other cases, parents sometimes reveal their unfitness for parenting simply by their cold-hearted act of dropping off their children at orphanages, and for that reason, orphanage directors sometimes accept such children. There are, unfortunately, no perfect solutions. (If you are shocked by this revelation, keep in mind that millions of parents in our culture don't want their children either, and so they pay to have them murdered in the womb.)

In Lal's case, being handicapped made him even a bigger burden for his impoverished parents. So they took him to Emmanuel Orphanage in Kalaymyo, Myanmar, believing that he would receive better care there than they could provide, even though the only "dorm" at Emmanuel Orphanage is a bamboo shack. That was six months ago. Little Lal was six years old.

Emmanuel Orphanage is no ordinary place. The director, Joseph, believes in Jesus, and he believes that Jesus still does miracles. He wrote to me (in his best English),

We often prayed and fasted for him specially with believing this sickness is not difficult to be healed by Jesus. For Jesus answered our prayer and now joyfully he began to talk and hear the voice. Jesus said that neither this man nor his parents sinned but the work of God should be revealed in him (Jn. 9:3).

A few of our team members met Lal when we visited Myanmar last month. Although they could not confirm that he was deaf and mute six months ago, I have no reason to doubt Joseph's report. They can definitely confirm that Lal is not deaf or mute now. He is hearing about Jesus and singing His praises every day at Emmanuel Orphanage.

Joseph, Par Dim, their son Jedidiah, and the kids at Emmanuel Orphanage

The Bigger Picture: Lal Sang Pui is one of over a thousand orphans and children from impoverished families who live in Christian orphanages that are assisted each month through our Orphan's Tear division. Currently we assist forty-one Christian orphanages in nine nations. 100% of the $20 per month that sponsors contribute is sent to the orphanage where their child lives. Hundreds of children, including Lal Sang Pui, are waiting to be sponsored at Orphan's Tear.

An Excellent Wife in India
The Widow's Fund at work in India

Happy with a new treadle sewing machine from Heaven's Family

Shoba was twenty-one years old when she was married to B. P. David by the arrangement of their Hindu parents. Their marriage was blessed with two children, but after a few years, B.P. became bedridden with sickness, and he was unable to do any kind of work. Shoba and B.P. spent all their money on doctors, but B.P.'s sickness could not be diagnosed, and it only grew worse. They turned to their Hindu gods, giving offerings and beseeching them for healing. The painted idols at the local temples, however, proved themselves to be powerless. Soon Shoba and B.P. had no money for medicine, their house rent, or even food to feed their children.

One of Shoba and B.P.'s neighbors introduced them to a Christian pastor, and they shared their plight with him. He told them that Jesus was more than willing to fix their problem if they would believe in Him. They learned, for the first time in their lives, of His life, death and resurrection. They believed. B.P. was soon completely healed and returned to work to support his family. Shoba and B.P. were baptized and became members of a local church. Joy and peace filled their house.

But news of their conversion was not received with joy by their extended family, who became their enemies. They did everything they could to persuade Shoba and B.P. to abandon their new faith and return to their Hindu gods. But Shoba and B.P. were not willing to go back to worshipping idols. Finally, their extended family hired someone to kill B.P. He was brutally attacked and beaten on his way home from work and left for dead. His life was spared, however, after some good Samaritans rushed him to a hospital. Unfortunately, his brush with martyrdom permanently disabled him.

Shoba learned how to sew in order to support her family, but being unable to afford her own $100 sewing machine, she went to work for a tailor. She and her family, however, prayed for their own sewing machine. The Lord answered their prayer not long ago through a gift from Heaven's Family. Shoba wrote to us saying, "This a great blessing. This machine will bring an additional income to our family and bless us and the Kingdom."

The Bigger Picture: By means of gifts to the Widows Fund, fifteen widows in India recently received their own sewing machines that now enable them to support themselves and their children. Although Shoba is not a widow, an exception was made in her case by our partners in India. The Widows Fund assists Christian widows every month with life-saving assistance and grants to start small sustainable businesses.

A Kyrgyz-Kenya Connection
The National Missionary Fund Connecting Asia and Africa

Erick and Margret Situmah. Inset: John and Beth Carey with their congregation in Kyrgyzstan

Can you imagine the blessing of supporting a national missionary who is reaching the lost and planting churches in remote regions of Asia, Africa and Latin America? Through the National Missionaries Fund, such a blessing is possible, and it may surprise you to find out who is taking advantage of the opportunity.

American missionaries John and Beth Carey have planted a church in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia, and they are teaching their disciples the importance in being involved in the Great Commission. So their church has adopted a church planter in Kenya named Erick Situmah, to whom they send $30 every month through Heaven's Family. Forsaking good-paying positions as staff members of a large church for the sake of God's kingdom, Erick and his wife Margret are planting a house church in the Shimolatewa slum of the city of Kitale. Sixteen people regularly meet there to draw closer to Jesus and each other.

Because of gifts to the Mobilize a Minister Fund, Eric also now owns his own bicycle, which he plans to use to travel to nearby villages to plant more churches.

If you, your home fellowship, or your church would like to adopt an effective national missionary, we personally know hundreds around the world who could use your help. You can set the dollar amount that you would like to send each month to your national missionary, from $20 to $200. We will automatically deduct the amount you chose from your bank account each month if you live in the U.S., or you can have it automatically charged to your credit card each month no matter where you live in the world. We will forward 100% of what we receive to your national missionary.

Perhaps the best part of our National Missionary Support Program is that you will receive personal monthly emails from your national missionary in the field, in imperfect but understandable English, first-hand reports regarding your national missionary's work. If you desire, you can reply and correspond.

Most of the unreached people of the world can only be reached by national missionaries. If you are interested in adopting one, drop us an email at NativeMissionary@HeavensFamily.org and we'll work out the details with you. You'll share in the reward of your missionary, on earth and in heaven!

Humiliating Failure to Sweet Succes
The Books for Pastors Fund at Work in Uganda

Applying the truth and enjoying it: Pastor Protus Wepukhulu

Pastor Protus Wepukhulu of Uganda was doing the best he could, but it wasn't good enough. After pastoring for ten years, he had only twelve people in his church. The tithe that he brought each month to his denomination's headquarters was embarrassingly small. So his denominational leaders (not to be confused with "demon-in-national leaders") stripped him of his ordination papers and expelled him from their denomination. Pastor Protus believed he was a failure before God and men.

Someone, however, gave him a 500-page book titled, The Disciple-Making Minister. After reading the first chapters about making disciples and house churches, something happened. He no longer felt, in his words, "low and guilty and hopeless," but rather, he believed that "life was just beginning."

He started a new church in his house. That was just eight months ago. He now has ten families who are part of it. Things went so well that he started a second church in another house. Then he started another. Now he overseas five house churches near the border of Uganda and Kenya that consist of an average of eight families each. Each church is being overseen by a pastor whom Protus disciples.

Last month pastor Protus also received a bicycle through gifts to the Mobilize a Minister Fund. He's now setting his sights on planting more churches.

The Bigger Picture: Pastor Protus represents one of tens of thousands of pastors who have been better equipped through reading The Disciple-Making Minister, now distributed in twenty languages around the world because of the gifts to the Books for Pastors Fund. And he represents one of hundreds of church-planters in Africa and Asia who have received bicycles through the Mobilize a Minister Fund.

Essential Reading for Camels
...squeezing through the needle's eye

Jesus commanded His followers to sell their possessions and give to charity (Luke 12:33). He forbade them to lay up earthly treasures (Matt. 6:19). He told stories about rich people who went to hell (Luke 12:16-20; 16:19-31). He warned that eternal damnation awaited those who don't help the very poor among His family (Matt. 25:31-46). What are we to make of these "hard sayings," as they are commonly called?

While many professing Christians ignore Jesus' words regarding money, possessions and stewardship, there are those who take Him seriously. For them, David Servant has written a book that honestly examines everything that Jesus and the New Testament authors taught about stewardship. He often questions modern interpretations that effectively neutralize plain biblical doctrine. Don't be among the duped dunderheads! You can read Through the Needle's Eye for free on our website, or you can order Through the Needle's Eye as a printed book.

Parting Shot
Cut Kid, Shan State, Myanmar

This photogenic little fellow is the son of the directors of Nazareth Children's Home. He has 32 big brothers and sisters who give him lots of love and attention (perhaps even spoiling him a little)!