The M. and K. L. Family | Serving in Asia

The wintertime in our home is full of so many things! It’s full of extra kids during their break from school, full of playing and laughing, full of snacks and Sunday school activities, full of hoping for snow on the ground to go skiing and sledding down the main path, full of helping neighbors get things finished before the snow comes, full of sporadic electricity, full of homeschool, full of blood pressure checks, and this last week full of preparing to go on another mandatory visa run. The last few weeks our village has been full of dedication to worshiping their idol. Every year for about a month and a half our village and the surrounding villages allow their “gods” to go into meditation, and the people subject themselves to added limitations. During this time, because of all of the extra worship, it can feel like a very dark time. This year we have come up against a lot of different trials and challenges. During this time, we have had several things stolen from us, we have had to deal with several different situations of being cheated, our car was hit by a drunk driver while parked, and things around our house just randomly kept breaking. It has been a season of frustration and discouragement; at times, we were left wondering what was going on! We’ve had to pray very hard for wisdom and discernment in knowing how to address all of these separate issues. M. has been kept exceedingly busy fixing broken things and working on figuring out paperwork as well as how to best address the issues concerning our neighbors. However, through almost all of these situations, during the moment of confrontation and after, we have seen God work in amazing ways! Most of the interactions have produced a spirit of repentance and a deepening of relationships with us and our family! We did not want these issues to be a hinderance for the Gospel in any way! We know that during this time, the enemy has meant to discourage us and use whatever means possible against us. We are so thankful that what Satan meant for evil, God has used for good! Additionally, we are reminded in our own lives of when we are confronted with wrong, our own shortcomings, and mistakes to immediately go to Jesus for forgiveness! We’re so thankful for God’s grace and mercy and that we are able to extend that grace and mercy and show genuine forgiveness to those around us! God has been winning the battle and using these weeks to help us rely on him deeper and showing who he is through us!

Thank you for all you do!

The M. and K. L. Family

Praise God…

• God is working in the challenging circumstances that Satan has been trying to use for evil.
• For the health in our family, even when so many around us have not been healthy.

Please Pray…

• The government here continues to crack down on Christians in the country by denying many from reentering. We have heard of many different instances where immigration has canceled visas or denied entry or re-entry while either coming or going from the country. We ask that you pray for smooth transitions for us. We had our mandatory visa run (we have to leave every six months) in the middle of  February, and we ask that you pray with us that there will be no complications whatsoever.

Download this month’s prayer letter here…

The post March 2025 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

   M. and K. L. | Serving in Asia

As we write this update to you, our village and surrounding villages are in a time of “quiet” and observation for their idol. They are not allowed to work the dirt or harvest any crop, make loud noises, or even play music or videos during this one-and-a-half-month-long period. It is a time for their god to go into meditation and then make predictions for the coming year. But for us, we see it for what it truly is—a way for the enemy to hold more people in bondage. During this time women are not allowed to work, and so they should be more energetic and encouraged; instead, year after year we have seen how weary and discouraged many people become during this time. Typically, there is more illness, and frequently deaths occur during this season. And, although we are not bound like our neighbors and we do not live in fear of doing the “wrong” thing, the darkness still affects us. The obvious way we are affected is by the mandate to follow all of the “rules” for this stretch of time. But the less obvious ways, and the much more challenging ways, include feeling the darkness all around us, watching our friends struggle, and having many more spiritual and physical attacks against our family. Despite all of the evil and the attacks, we rejoice because greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. We get the joy of knowing how the story ends. We are on the side of the light and the side of victory. And so, we keep fighting during the times of darkness and we keep shining our light in any way we can to those around us. We do this even when it feels pointless or challenging or just exhausting, so that, they too, may come to live in his light instead of living bound and in fear, they can live in the freedom of Christ.

A large part of shining our light includes opening our home to those around us. We pray that our home would be a place of peace and a place to feel loved for everyone, from the youngest to the oldest. Lately, we’ve shared our home for birthday parties, for local festivals, for game times, and for fun nights of making pizza or homemade chicken tenders for groups of friends. We are continually thankful for the opportunities to strengthen friendships, create new relationships, and share about Christ with those around us. We get to pray with and for friends whose little children are in the hospital and pray with friends who come over to share a meal with us. We try not to take these little moments for granted and trust God to use these sometimes seemingly insignificant interactions to fight the darkness around us and step-by-step, prayer-by-prayer win more ground for the light. We are honored to have you alongside us, encouraging and praying for us and for them, and we are so thankful to be with you as we all seek to further the kingdom and bring more people into his light.

In Christ,

M. and K. L.

Read the Full Prayer Letter Here…

The post February 2024 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

As we sit here writing this update, we are so filled with gratitude. God has been abundantly faithful, and we are so very thankful. The newest member of our family, Benjamin Henry, entered our lives on June 11^th, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. As we anticipated his birth, there were quite a few unknowns—we did not know if he was a boy or girl, how the rest of the family would respond to him, or when he would even come. But we looked ahead with joyful anticipation. And as soon as he was born, we were all so full of rejoicing (even our daughter who was set on having a little sister). When we came home from the hospital we were welcomed in with balloons and sidewalk chalk and the sweetest little five faces waiting to meet their newest brother. As a parent there cannot be much more that fills your heart than moments like this. Thank you for each of your prayers, we are so very thankful!

As we reflect on that time of waiting (sometimes not so patiently – especially for Mom as the due date came and went and went and went) it reminds us so much of the rest of life and ministry. There are so many unknowns, so many questions that we have yet to get answered. Those times of anticipation and waiting can be challenging and overwhelming, but even in the waiting, God is there. We do not have to have the answers or all the details. And we know that just like when Benjamin finally made his appearance, and we were all so filled with joy, God is so full of joy when we rest in him and trust him during the times of waiting. Now, we have a time of waiting on paperwork to return, and a time of waiting for those we serve to come to know Jesus. And just like with Benjamin, we know that there will be great rejoicing and we long for the day when our friends and neighbors will enter into the family of God.

The post July 2021 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

M. y K. L. y sus hijos se encuentran en un pequeño pueblo rural. Están plantando la semilla del Evangelio de maneras muy encarnacionales. Así es como ellos respondieron a las preguntas que envié a misioneros y líderes nacionales:

¿Cómo está afectando COVID-19 a quienes viven en el área donde ustedes viven y ministran?

• Han cerrado todas las instalaciones educativas en nuestro estado y han cerrado el mercado principal en nuestra área. También están limitando la entrada de turistas a nuestra área, lo que afectará los medios de vida de la mayoría de las personas. También hay una sensación de miedo y hostilidad asociada con este virus.

¿Cómo está afectando esta situación al ministerio que ustedes llevan acabo?

• Vemos más niños en nuestros hogares porque están fuera de la escuela. Mi esposa ha estado tomando mucha presión sanguínea, lo que también ha traído a más adultos a nuestra casa. A medida que el virus continúa acercándose más y más, estamos tratando de descubrir cómo educar a las personas sobre el distanciamiento y también ministrar al mismo tiempo.

¿Cuáles son algunas oportunidades que están viendo para compartir las buenas nuevas de Jesucristo con aquellos que aún no lo conocen?

• El virus se ha convertido en el tema de conversación de nuestro pequeño pueblo. La “pequeña charla” principal es sobre el clima, el trabajo que van a hacer hoy y lo que está sucediendo en el mundo de Coronavirus. Entonces vemos oportunidades para hablar de paz en tiempos inciertos.

¿Cuáles son dos o tres peticiones de oración que podemos usar para orar por ustedes y por los que ministran?

• Pueden orar para que podamos comunicar mejor cual es la razón de nuestra paz durante estos tiempos.
• También pueden orar para que no se extienda a nuestra área (y / o por protección si eso llegara a pasar).

I.S. es uno de los dos adultos jóvenes que enseñan inglés a estudiantes universitarios en Asia. Forman parte de un programa que la Junta Anual del Noroeste creó hace veinte años que brinda a los seguidores de Jesucristo oportunidades para ser testigos de Él. I.S. se encuentra actualmente en los EE. UU., y así es como respondió las preguntas:

¿Cómo está afectando COVID-19 a quienes viven en el área donde tú vives y ministras?

• Mis alumnos viven en la ciudad o van a la escuela en la ciudad. Muchos de ellos habían regresado a sus hogares antes de que la ciudad fuera cerrada debido al Coronavirus. Independientemente de dónde se encuentren ahora, todos sienten la tensión de estar atrapados dentro. Tienen entre 8 y 10 horas de trabajo escolar en línea por día, y para muchos de ellos esto es muy desafiante psicológica y emocionalmente.

¿Cómo está afectando esta situación al ministerio que llevas acabo?

• Estaba atascado fuera de la ciudad cuando se cerró, así que ahora estoy geográficamente separado de mis alumnos. Sin embargo, esta separación abrió la puerta al ministerio en Filipinas, donde pude enseñar inglés en dos escuelas y llegar a alrededor de 200 estudiantes. Mi interacción con mis estudiantes en el otro país se ha vuelto completamente virtual, lo que presenta desafíos en la comunicación. Sin embargo, también ha resultado en vulnerabilidad de los estudiantes, ya que me cuentan cómo es la experiencia de la cuarentena para ellos. No creo que esta vulnerabilidad exista en una conversación cara a cara, al menos no en un contexto de clase.

¿Cuáles son algunas oportunidades que estás viendo para compartir las buenas nuevas de Jesucristo con aquellos que aún no lo conocen?

• Antes del virus, los estudiantes casi nunca me revelaron las dificultades de su vida. Ahora, con un evento tan extendido, parece que se ha vuelto culturalmente apropiado revelar las dificultades derivadas de la situación del virus. Esta es una cosa muy vulnerable, delicada y hermosa. Mi oración es que el Espíritu me muestre las mejores formas de compartir el Evangelio para cada alumno de la manera que más necesita. También pude compartir el Evangelio en Filipinas con una escuela y el pueblo de Ati, es un grupo minoritario allí. Sin embargo, el intercambio fue de ambas partes.

¿Y cuáles son dos o tres peticiones de oración que podemos usar mientras oramos por ti y por los que ministras?

• Sabiduría sobre cómo se ve el ser un buen maestro y seguidor de Jesús en línea para mis alumnos.
• Crecimiento personal durante este tiempo que me preparará para entrar mejor en la vida de mis estudiantes cuando me reencuentre con ellos.

Finalmente, aquí hay una breve nota de una pareja (D. y M. C.) quienes están conectados a la Iglesia Evangélica  Amigos-Región Este y están sirviendo bajo la Misión del Evangelio Mundial en Asia:

Aquí Básicamente hemos estado en modo apagado desde finales de diciembre, pero las cosas están volviendo lentamente a nuestra nueva “normalidad”. La gente vuelve al trabajo, pero las escuelas y las iglesias aún están    cerradas. Seguimos ministrando por los chats de video de Zoom y eso ha funcionado maravillosamente. Las personas se conectan y se animan entre sí.

The post Actualizaciones de EFM COVID-19 | Orar por Asia first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

M and K. L. and their children are located in a small, rural village. They are planting the seeds of the Gospel in very incarnational ways.  Here is how they answered the questions that I sent to missionaries and national leaders:

How is COVID-19 affecting those who live in the area where you live and minister?

• They’ve closed all educational facilities in our state and have closed the main market in our area.  They’re also limiting tourists from coming into our area, which will impact most people’s livelihoods. There’s also a sense of fear and hostility associated with this virus.

How is this situation affecting the ministry you lead?

• We see more children in our homes because they are out of school.  My wife has been taking a lot of blood pressures which has brought more adults to our home as well. As the virus continues to come closer and closer, we are trying to figure out how to educate people about distancing themselves and also minister at the same time.

What are some opportunities you are seeing for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with those who don’t know him?

• The virus has become the talk of our small village.  The main “small talk” is about the weather, what work they are going to do today, and what’s happening in the world of coronavirus.  So we see opportunities to speak peace into uncertain times.

What are two or three prayer requests we can use to pray for you and those you lead?

• You can pray that we can best communicate the reason for our peace during these times.
• You can also pray that it doesn’t spread up into our area (and/or for protection if it does).

I.S. is one of two young adults teaching English to university students in Asia. They are part of a program that Northwest Yearly Meeting created twenty years ago that gives followers of Jesus Christ opportunities to be a witness for him. I.S. is currently in the U.S., and this is how he answered the questions:

How is COVID-19 affecting those who live in the area where you live and minister?

• My students either live in the city or go to school in the city. Many of them had returned to their homes before the city was shut down due to the coronavirus. Regardless of where they are now at, they are all feeling the strain of being stuck inside. They have between 8-10 hours of online schoolwork per day, and for many of them this is very challenging psychologically and emotionally.

How is this situation affecting the ministry you lead?

• I was stuck outside of the city when it was shut down, so now I am geographically separated from my students. However, this separation opened the door for ministry in the Philippines, where I got to teach English at two schools and reach around 200 students. My interaction with my students back in the other country has gone completely virtual, which presents challenges for communication. However, it has also resulted in vulnerability from students as they tell me what the experience of quarantine is like for them. I don’t think this vulnerability would exist in face-to-face conversation, at least not in a classroom context.

What are some opportunities you are seeing for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with those who don’t know Him?

• Before the virus, students almost never disclosed hardships of their life to me. Now, with such a widespread event, it seems like it has become culturally appropriate to reveal the hardships arising from the virus situation. This is a very vulnerable, delicate, and beautiful thing. My prayer is that the Spirit shows me the best ways to share the Gospel for each unique student in the way that he or she needs most. I was also able to share the Gospel in the Philippines with a school/village of Ati, a poor minority group there. However, the sharing went both ways.

And what are two or three prayer requests that we can use as we pray for you and those you lead?

• Wisdom in what being a good teacher and follower of Jesus looks like as an online teacher for my pupils.
• Personal growth during this time that will prepare me to enter into my student’s lives better when I am reunited with them.

Finally, here is a brief note from a couple (D. and M. C.) who is connected to Evangelical Friends Church-Eastern Region and is serving under World Gospel Mission in Asia:

We have basically been in shut-down mode here since the end of December, but things are slowly getting back to our new “normal.” People are going back to work, but schools and churches are still closed.  We continue to minister by Zoom video chats and that has worked wonderfully. People are connecting together and lifting each other up.

While we are providing this special round of updates to EFM’s largest email list (due to the world-wide impact of COVID-19), we will continue, as always, providing brief praise and prayer requests from each contributing field through our monthly EFM Prayer Letter. This is the easiest way to get regular, brief updates from missionaries and national leaders. If you do not currently receive the EFM Prayer Letter, we encourage you to subscribe by clicking the button below.

The post EFM COVID-19 Updates | Pray for Asia first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Este año, mientras nos estábamos preparando y alistando en nuestra casa, ¡aprendimos que una de las festividades hindúes locales más grandes caía el mismo día! Esto no había sucedido antes, y no estábamos seguros de cómo afectaría a todos los que vendrían a nuestra fiesta. Comenzamos a desanimarnos porque sabíamos que la mayoría de las personas que generalmente venían estarían ocupadas atendiendo los detalles que acompañan su festividad. Entonces, luchamos contra el desánimo pero llenos de esperanza, sabiendo que Dios no estaba preocupado y que traería a todos lo que se suponía que vendrían. Terminamos los últimos preparativos antes de que empezaran a tocar a la puerta. (¡Aunque, honestamente, los toques a la puerta comenzaron antes de que estuviéramos completamente preparados!)

Abrimos las puertas y comenzamos la fiesta a las 3:00 (algunos de nuestros niños todavía dormían la siesta) con unos 7 niños en nuestro porche. Cuando dimos la bienvenida y comenzamos la fiesta, nuestra oración fue que Dios usaría este día y nuestra familia para ser una luz incluso en un día que fue apartado para la adoración de sus dioses. ¡Y fue solo eso! Nuestra casa estaba llena de niños, unos 20 en total y unos 8 adultos. Jugamos juegos con los niños, repartimos dulces como premios y contamos la historia del nacimiento de Jesús (¡usando nuestras bocas y multimedia!). Esta era la primera vez que algunos de ellos habían escuchado la historia de Jesús.

Luego, comida, mucha comida. Y después de que todos se llenaron de dulces y sabores estadounidenses, aproximadamente a las 7:30, los padres llegaron a recoger a sus hijos para que estuvieran presentes en su festival. Y cuando todos se fueron, les dimos a cada uno una bolsa de regalo para compartir un poco más de alegría con ellos. Había golosinas en las bolsas para disfrutar, pero también incluimos Juan 3: 16-17 en hindi e inglés. Confiamos en que Dios usará nuestras vidas y su Palabra escrita para continuar ablandando a sus corazones. Y estamos agradecidos de que incluso cuando los eventos alegres pueden ser estresantes para nosotros, no lo son para Dios. ¡Él ya sabe lo que va a pasar y ya ha ido antes que nosotros, a nuestro lado y detrás de nosotros! El es muy bueno. ¡Gracias por seguir unidos en oración con nosotros para que ellos acepten a Jesús muy pronto!

Alabado sea Dios…

• El Señor bendijo nuestra fiesta de Navidad y pudimos compartir la historia de Navidad con muchos niños.
• Nuestros hijos continúan prosperando y disfrutando sus vidas y su familia en la India.
• Estamos tan agradecidos por los amigos que tenemos y por continuar teniendo conversaciones significativas y relaciones profundas.

Por favor orar por…

• Nuestra aldea que está en medio de un período espiritualmente oscuro mientras permiten que el dios de su aldea medite. Nadie tiene permitido escuchar música, ver televisión, hacer ruidos fuertes o trabajar en el suelo. Al final de este período de 45 días (que es hacia finales de febrero), los sacerdotes profetizarán sobre los eventos del próximo año.
• Que realmente podamos comunicarnos bien con quienes nos rodean, especialmente sobre asuntos espirituales que tienden a tener un vocabulario mucho más difícil y más específico.
• Para que tengamos el favor del gobierno en los últimos pasos en el proceso de nuestro negocio.

Lee mas…

The post Carta de Oración Febrero 2020 first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

This year, as we were preparing and readying our house, we learned that one of the larger local Hindu festivals happened to be on the same day! This hasn’t happened before, and we weren’t sure how this would affect who all would come to our party. We began to get discouraged because we knew that most of the people who usually came would be busy tending to the details that accompanied their festival. So, battling discouragement yet filled with hope, knowing that God wasn’t stressed and would bring all that were supposed to come, we finished the last bit of preparations before the knocking on the door started. (Although, honestly, the knocking started before we were fully prepared!)

We opened the doors and began the party at 3:00 (some of our kids were still napping) with about seven kids on our porch. As we welcomed them in and let the party begin, our prayer was that God would use this day and our family to be a light even on a day that was set apart for the worship of their gods. And it was just that! Our home filled up with kids, about 20 total and about eight adults. We played games with the kids, passed out candy for prizes, and told the story of Jesus’ birth (using our mouths and multimedia!). It was the first time some of them had ever heard the story before.

Then, food, lots of food. And after everyone had their fill of American sweets and savories, at about 7:30, parents were calling to collect their kids to have them present for their festival. And as they all left, we gave them each a gift bag to share a bit more joy with them. There were goodies in the bags to enjoy, but we also enclosed John 3:16-17 in both Hindi and English. We trust God to use our lives and his written Word to continue to soften their hearts. And we are thankful that even when the joyful events can be stressful to us, they are not to God. He already knows what is going to happen and has gone before us, beside us, and behind us! He is so good. Thank you for continuing to join us in praying that they will accept Jesus soon!

Praise God…

• The Lord blessed our Christmas party, and we were able to share the Christmas story with many children.
• Our kids continue to thrive and enjoy their lives and family in India.
• We are so thankful for the friends we have and that we continue to have meaningful conversations and deep relationships.

Please Pray…

• Our village is in the midst of a spiritually dark period while they allow their village god to meditate. No one is allowed to listen to music, watch TV, make loud noises, or work the ground. At the end of this 45 day period (which is towards the end of February), the priests will prophesy about upcoming events over the next year.
• That we could really communicate well with those around us, especially spiritual matters that tend to have a much harder and more specific vocabulary.
• That we would find favor with the government in the last steps of our business process.

Read more…

The post February 2020 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.