I would like to sincerely thank you for standing with me in prayer for the ministry in the refugee camps of South Sudan in northern Uganda. These camps were established in 2013, right after the war broke out in Juba. Hundreds of thousands of people fled to Uganda, and we thank God that they found refuge in this country.
This Christmas season, filled with joy and excitement, I would like you to remember Ebenezer Secondary School in the Bidi-Bidi camp. We opened it in 2017 to meet the educational needs of South Sudanese refugees. The school has 350 students, most of whom are girls. Many of them walk up to 10 kilometers every day, often on an empty stomach. The school does not have a dormitory, and at home, they receive a meager food ration due to a lack of funds to purchase food.
Another important prayer need is that there are 15 teachers and support staff, and the school has been unable to pay salaries or provide incentives for several months. The school is truly facing difficulties and needs resources and intervention.
We teach God’s word and conduct discipleship for the students every Wednesday. The school excels in academics, with students consistently receiving excellent marks in Uganda’s national exams over the last three years. This year, as you celebrate the Christmas season, I would ask you to remember this school in your prayers and speak to friends about the school. It brings me great joy that the word of God is preached, and the students are learning in the classroom. I would like you to support the school.
Recently, two young people decided to follow Jesus and publicly declared their faith through baptism. One of them shared:
“My parents separated when I was little. In my father’s new family, I didn’t feel accepted, so I moved to live with my grandfather, a well-known shaman in our village. New friends invited me to church. I liked studying English and life skills there. I started playing the piano and learned how to pray. When I refused to participate in the family’s pagan ritual, my grandfather said, ‘You can leave and see how you survive without us!’ I was shocked. I cried all night. When I shared my difficulties at church, I was advised to show love to my grandmother and grandfather.
I began to help with the household chores. Over time, my faith grew stronger, and their attitude toward me softened. One day, I told them that I couldn’t accept their rituals, but I deeply loved them. To my surprise, they didn’t get angry and even allowed my sister to go with me to church. God answered my prayers! Now I continue to pray for my family to know God. I believe He has a plan for our family.”
Thank you all for supporting our ministry in Thailand!
Christmas is a time when people’s hearts are open to the Gospel! In our ministry to children, we try to use this time effectively, stocking up on gifts and literature about the birth of the Savior, and people are happy to talk and listen during Christmas Eve.
We plan to give five hundred gifts to children. For many, this is very important because they are deprived of love and care. Last year, we shared the Gospel and gave gifts to children in orphanages. The children are waiting for us, they dress up and prepare a performance for us, and together we celebrate the birth of Jesus.
We also perform a Christmas play with decorations, especially for children in oncology and hospices, where it is very hard for them. They may participate in the Christmas scene for the first and last time. Both children and medical workers receive gifts and Bibles. I remember that last year, when we talked about the meaning of Christmas, there were many children with whom I prayed for Jesus to be born in their hearts. I especially remember the story when a child’s mother, who was in the oncology department, came up to me and said that she had heard the true meaning of Christmas for the first time and wanted to pray too.
We are preparing, and we really need your help, both in prayer and financially. Thank you for always being with us!
Dear friends, beloved brothers and sisters, grace and peace be multiplied to you! This year is more special and inspiring than ever. And, as always, we have dared in our Lord Jesus Christ to do more than before. From December 15-20, we are planning a ministry in Laos; we are printing calendars, brochures, preparing food packages, and providing financial support for the wife of the murdered pastor. We plan to distribute 20 food packages and 30 Christmas gifts.
Laos is one of the countries where Christians are persecuted, and gathering is not easy! Today, the country is ruled by a people’s revolutionary communist-type party. It is very dangerous and difficult to serve there.
In Vietnam, we plan to distribute 30 food packages and 70 Christmas gifts. A food package today costs $20, and a gift is $7. Yesterday, I visited one of our families in the Raglai tribe, and our beloved little girl Sue (the little one) was eating a cupcake so happily and deliciously that she was even ready to eat the wrapper. The children, thank God, are very grateful.
We thank you for your caring and loving hearts in spreading His Word in Southeast Asia. May the Lord bless you abundantly.
We have been praying and reflecting for a long time about the construction of a house of prayer in the village. The Lord has already met us halfway, and we have land! We are praying for the formation of a team of workers. We need sacrificial, dedicated ministers! We are also praying for the expansion of the church. Three brothers were baptized in the summer of 2024, and two are preparing for baptism in January 2025. This is a great blessing for us! There are already two small groups in the village, and we are praying for the expansion of this ministry!
Christmas services are ahead. We plan to participate in several short-term missions across Siberia (ranging from three to seven days), with the goal of preaching the Gospel, conducting children’s programs, and distributing sweet gifts and calendars to small ethnic groups. The first trip will take place in mid-December, and we will bring 700 gifts. After the Christmas holidays, we will pray and start the third group in the village.
Over the past year, we had one wedding, and the newly formed family has stayed to live and serve in the village. At the end of the summer, they had a son. We continue to run a children’s and youth club.
We thank you, dear ones, for your help and prayers in supporting the mercy house ministry. Over the past year and a half, we were able to make cosmetic repairs to the shelter building: we replaced the electrical system, installed fire alarms, painted the walls, put up a suspended ceiling, solved the water supply issue, reorganized the kitchen, and made a separate dining room.
Thank you, dear ones, for your help and prayers for us.
Although the church in the village of Tombetaka has been around for about 5 years, it is only now that the Lord has allowed us to begin building a house of prayer. The village is located high in the mountains (a 3-hour steep climb), and although every time I visit I swear it will be the last, the beauty of untouched nature, and most importantly, the hunger for God’s Word, continue to call us, and we return again and again.
So, all the materials (iron posts, windows, bags of cement) are carried on people’s own shoulders across the pass. There is no road to the village, only a trail that, during the rainy season, turns into a muddy mess, and progress looks like one step forward – three steps back – fall – and start over.
We thank each of you who has already donated finances for this project! Dear friends, we only need to buy the roof now! If the Lord touches your heart, we kindly ask you to cover the cost for the roofing sheets – the walls and cement have already been purchased.
Perhaps not everyone can physically visit Tombetaka, but with your contributions, you can serve even while staying at home, and thanks to you, the residents of this remote village, who are so eager to know Christ, will no longer gather under a mango tree but will move to a real house of prayer, under a roof that is so needed during the rainy season.
