The Lord’s Move to Asia (October 2011)
Guld Cooperation Council
Between the end of August and the beginning of September, I had the opportunity to visit Oman, Qatar and Bahrain, among the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Muscat, Oman (August 29 – 31)
The church in Muscat, Oman, was raised up about five years ago. Due to the unrest and protests in Oman in the last few months, five saints left the country. Currently, there are only three saints (two brothers and one sister) left standing for the Lord’s testimony in Muscat, who were from Kerala, India. They prayed fervently and felt led by the Lord to continue the Lord’s Table meeting. When I visited, the saints were very eager to meet. We came together to sing, pray, fellowship, and enjoyed the overflow from the summer training on the crystallization of Psalms. I also shared about the Lord’s move in Asia. We were all refreshed and strengthened by the fellowship in the Body. Since none of them has a car and the public transport system is inadequate, one brother was burdened to pray for the transportation need, and the Lord has provided a car every week (borrowed from either his neighbor, colleague or friend) so that he can pick up the saints. The saints testify of the Lord’s shepherding care and experience the mutuality in the meetings every time they have a chance to meet. They long for more fellowship with the saints in other GCC countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain). One brother will attend the conference in Dubai and hopes to go to Taipei for the conference in January, 2012.
Doha, Qatar (August 31 – September 3)
Brother Noel Corpuz and I then went to Doha to have a conference with the saints from Qatar. There are currently two churches with about 45 saints. We covered seven messages from the recent New Jersey training. The subject of the conference was Perfecting the Saints for the Building up of the Organic Body of Christ. Around sixty came together; some were friends of the saints from denominations. Most of the saints were from the Philippines, with one family from Malaysia. The outside temperature was 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit), while the spirits of the saints were also fanned into flame by the exercising of their spirit and entering into the burden of the ministry. The response was positive with more than forty sharing. Some from the denominations also shared and one wanted to be baptized in the following week. There were also twelve who consecrated themselves to the Lord. It was precious to see the saints declaring that they were not in Qatar for making money, but they were there for God’s economy, caring for His interests on the earth. At the end of the conference, Brother Andrew Yu shared with us via Skype concerning the opening of our homes in the practice of the church life. He also exhorted the saints to 1) pray, 2) care, 3) share and 4) bear remaining fruit. The word of the Lord to us encouraged us for the going on of the churches in the GCC region. In addition, we attended two glorious home meetings and were encouraged by the Lord’s charge to take the land. We had everything we needed: the blood, the Word, the Spirit and the church. We all declared in oneness that Qatar belonged to Immanuel!
Bahrain (September 3 – 5)
Currently there are around 8 saints in Bahrain. Since they all have different days off, it is difficult to find a time to come together. The only home meeting we attended started at around 7:30pm and lasted until past midnight as many saints came after they finished work at 9pm. One sister got off work at 11pm. It was glorious to sing, pray and fellowship in one accord. We encouraged the saints to continue steadfastly and not to forsake our own assembling together. Although the outward environment may be restrictive, we could live out the resurrection life and overcome any kind of barrier. We also met with a sister at her shop in a shopping mall. The Lord’s presence was sweet and we enjoyed our fellowship together for mutual encouragement.
Although it is not easy for the saints to meet in these countries with many restrictions, we can testify that nothing and no one can hinder His move in this region. Surely God is faithful to call His saints into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
O Jehovah our Lord – how excellent is Your name in all the earth.
(Taken from Brother Clement Wang’s fellowship)
Laos – A Propagation Report
We declare that the goal of our propagation in Laos is to establish two local churches in major cities besides the church in Vientiane. From August 17th to 21st, eleven Korean saints came here and visited two provinces in northwestern Laos with us: Xaignabouri and Louangphrabang.
Xaignabouri has a population of mere 291,705 people. There we visited a sister who was on vacation from a university in Vientiane. Her family prepared a love feast for us and we had a sweet fellowship over our meal. During this visit we prayed that the Lord would gain this sister’s whole family according to His own promise. In the coming new semester, we hope that this sister can move into the sisters’ house so that we can shepherd her in a more thorough way.
In Louangphrabang, we visited two brothers who also went home from Vientiane for vacation. The father of one brother was a police officer for twenty years. After a brief sharing of the gospel, we called on the name of the Lord together. We also prayed that some families would be able to migrate here in the future to establish a shining golden lampstand!
From August 29th to 31st, We got into the Summer Training messages. Seven brothers and sisters attended this time. We were supplied and strengthened by the brothers’ speaking. We were enlightened to read Psalms with a view of God’s economy to see its central thought was Christ and the church. We also saw that if we had an affectionate love for the Lord, our tongue would be like the pen of a ready writer, ready to write our love and praise to Him according to our experience and enjoyment of all that He is. Many times when we face some situations, we just pray but not praise. Prayer indicates that we are still in that situation, while praise causes us to rise above our situation. Hallelujah! Eventually, the Lord will recover the whole earth through the one stream. May the Lord strength our propagation to gain both men and the earth for His return.
In September a family migrated to Champasak in the south and will be able to begin the church life with the few saints there. There will also be a gospel meeting at the end of the month. May the Lord bless it!
Sri Lanka – A Propagation Report
The following is a propagation report of Sri Lanka in August: In Polonnaruwa two sisters were baptized in response to the gospel preaching. In Colombo a brother consistently shares the gospel with a Catholic group every Thursday, and the saints here continue to labor for this burden. In Kandy the saints have brought two families into the church life. Moreover, in Batticaloa two people were baptized. Brothers there are in contact with three Indian families and two families meeting in denominations, who are very open. In Jaffna seven have been baptized. Two brothers (Paul & Germanas) who are in a Pentecostal church also have fellowship with us and are open to this ministry. We fellowshiped with them regarding “the Church and the Sects” and “eating, drinking and enjoying the Lord by calling on the name of the Lord and pray-reading the Word”. Currently this brother Paul attends our Lord’s day meeting every week.
On the side of the literature work, we continue to distribute LSM literatures to book shops, but the progress is slow. Translation of the ministry into Sinhala is also in progress.
From August 19th to 21st, there was a three-day perfecting training held in Batticaloa. Close to sixty-five saints participated and had much enjoyment. Training materials were taken from “The Central Line of the Bible” and “Holy Word for Morning Revival for New Believers”. During these three days, the saints received hospitality in three different homes and had much blending as a result. The weather was very hot and infrastructure was scarce, but the saints blended well all the more. Some Chinese-speaking saints, including a couple from Hong Kong, visited and blended with the saints in Kandy, Jaffna, and Colombo. There is also a young brother from Batticaloa who has the desire to join the full time training. May the Lord bless and fulfill this desire.
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