The Raglai tribe (forest people), the Chunga family, and especially the sisters are thriving in their knowledge of the Word of God. They complete their homework, learn to witness, and some are doing excellently. We continue to pray fervently that through this family, a revival will begin among this ethnic minority group. There are about 100,000 of them in the world.
We are slowly starting to reach out to their neighbors, and some are coming to the classes on their own. Not everyone can read and write, so we try to simplify and adapt everything to convey the truth to their hearts. We also hold children’s activities there.
In the city, we conduct Bible study lessons at the cemetery. The children eagerly learn verses, thank God. Often there is no electricity, so we use our phones to provide light for the lessons and to read the Bible. “You are the light of the world,” the Lord reminds us.
Despite persecution, on August 19th, the team will travel to Laos to help build a prayer house. We ask you, beloved ones, to support us in prayer that God will grant us wisdom in this divine work. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your labor of love in the ministry of evangelism in Southeast Asia.
After the summer, the rains and monsoon season will start again, and we’ve told you about our need for a means of transportation (a vehicle), for which we already have half of the funds. We still need $5,000 more. In the fall, we have planned evangelistic trips to Laos and Cambodia. We’ve made such trips in rented cars (very expensive), on mopeds (very challenging—1300 km), and by bus (24 hours to the destination—difficult, and our legs swell up). Recently, two teams came to help with evangelism, and while one part could travel by moped, the other couldn’t. We needed to move a lot, but due to the lack of transportation, not everyone was able to fully participate in the ministry.
Therefore, dear friends, we ask for your help in acquiring a vehicle (through prayer, financial support). May the Lord be glorified in this matter. Even if you can donate $10–20, it will still be a contribution to the work of evangelism. We always remember you in our prayers, thanking you for your labor and participation in spreading the Word of God in Southeast Asia. We are glad to serve with you. May the Almighty, Omnipresent, and Unchanging Lord and our God bless you with an abundance of His grace, meeting both your needs and ours.
We have been ministering in a village located 50 km from our home, where we baptized 8 brothers and sisters from a Raglai family. In this family, we built a well and pray that through them, a revival will start in this area and the Word of God will spread. During our next visit, we asked how else we could help their village, and they said they needed help buying a piglet. The Lord sent a brother from Bashkiria to visit us, and he bought the piglet for them. Their joy knew no bounds. A few days later, they invited us to a celebration in a neighboring village, where about 50 of their relatives and friends heard the Word of God and prayed with us!
This week, we brought the Jesus film to the village. Neighbors came again and watched it with great interest. This year, we also celebrated Easter. We have the great advantage of celebrating it twice, both in the Western and Eastern styles. This year, about 50 people attended the celebration. We rented a café, prepared treats, and celebrated for 7 hours straight. The Lord gives us immense joy, and at the end of the celebration, we had another joyous event: a baptism. Praise God, Aline was baptized, and we pray for her husband Artem, who is on his way to God. Dear friends, brothers, and sisters, we wholeheartedly thank you for your prayers and donations. Your labor is not in vain before the Lord. We are very glad to serve alongside you, fulfilling God’s will. Please continue to pray for a revival in Vietnam and for our stay in this country!
Sisters, grace and peace to you and may you be multiplied! I am eager to inform you about the ministry that we are carrying out in the name of Jesus Christ among the Rāglai tribe. We have been working there for over 3 years, and God immediately urged us to pray for this family, where 7 people have already been baptized, to become a family of evangelists. Not all of them can read, and not all of them understand the Vietnamese language, but in this family, we have a friend (the guide) named Chung, the husband of our sister in Christ, Hien. He convinced almost everyone in the family to be baptized. We conduct Bible lessons in this family, and at our last meeting, Chung announced his desire to receive holy water baptism. If the Lord permits, we will go to them next Saturday and perform the baptism.
Near their home (200 meters away), we run a children’s playground. We play active games with the children, read the Word, pray, bring Bible coloring pages, treats, and clothes. And at our last meeting, Chung joined us; as a guide, he came to this family and told them about us, about how we pray, and thus brought these children and the family closer to us, near the playground we run. In Chung’s family, we dug a well with you, cleaned it up, installed a pump, and now they can have water in their home. Soon, we will buy and install a reservoir. We thank you, precious ones, for your indifference and the loving work of Christ in the ministry of God’s Gospel. Together, we can do a lot. From our hearts and souls, we thank you for your prayers and support that you provide to us. May the Lord reward you 100-fold!
Today, heavy rain is falling again, and we are about to embark on a short-term mission to Laos, where we work, spreading the Word of God through evangelization, printed materials, and providing food. This time, we have decided to travel by mopeds (1200 kilometers round trip, 745 miles) as renting a car proved to be very expensive – $700.
After Laos, we will go to celebrate the Communion with our brothers and sisters from the Raglai tribe. There, we will also organize a children’s playground with active games, coloring of biblical stories, singing, and prayer. Praise God, the Lord reigns, and His Word is spreading. Our team of evangelists is growing, and the ministry is expanding.
Recently, we visited an orphanage (120 kilometers from our home, 75 miles) on mopeds. Thank God there was no rain, and we returned dry. However, riding such distances on a moped is tough. The back hurts, it’s drafty, but the Lord provides strength. Praise God.
We realized that we need a minibus for our ministry. I ask you, dear brothers and sisters, to support us in prayer so that the Lord blesses our endeavor. We already have one-third of the necessary funds. The cost of a TOYOTA INNOVA car is around $10,000.
We are also considering the opportunity to serve in neighboring countries such as Laos, Cambodia, and the Kingdom of Thailand, bordering Vietnam. We are confident that the Lord is glorified through our needs and prayers.
Sincerely thanking you, beloved, for your support and cooperation in the Lord’s work on New Grounds.
We returned from a trip to Laos, where we sowed the Word of God and met with brothers and sisters in Christ. We prepared for the trip for two months and constantly faced trials. Initially, there was one team, but participants changed, and in the end, those who wanted to go didn’t, but other brothers and sisters did: “Many plans are in a person’s heart, but only what the Lord determines will happen” (Proverbs 19:21).
We bought food and gifts on the border, printed calendars and brochures, and crossed the pedestrian border with this baggage. Laos is the poorest country with a Communist-type People’s Revolutionary Party. In some districts, celebrating Christmas is prohibited this year. For this reason, we secretly put on masks in certain churches. The first church greeted us with a song, but we didn’t see joy because life in Laos is poor, people are exhausted (skinny), and it was very difficult to share His Word, knowing that they were all hungry. Giving gifts and food while looking at their faces, we rarely saw joy. In another area, it was a bit easier. The house of prayer was festively decorated, and it was clear that the brothers and sisters were preparing to celebrate. We could bless a particularly needy part of the church with you. We then arrived in one village where they had just started holding meetings, blessed them, and shared His Word. Finally, the Lord blessed us with a church full of joy and celebration. We shared our testimony, sang, prayed, and distributed food packages and gifts to those in need. Thank you for supporting us in this ministry!
