July

Oct 20, 2023 by LMAsia

A Visit to Timor-Leste

From June 14 to 18, we four overseas brothers went to Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste (East Timor), to visit the saints. Timor-Leste is the youngest country in Southeast Asia. As early as 1997, a sister from Surabaya, Indonesia came Dili to do business and started a group meeting in her house. But in 1999 all the saints returned to Indonesia to escape the civil war after the independence referendum got passed. In 2013, the brothers in Surabaya received the burden to visit Dili. Shortly after that, the saints began to have the Lord’s Day meeting and a week-day meeting in the home, with about a dozen people attending. The saints in Surabaya took turns to come and shepherd the saints in Dili up to June, 2015. Later, due to factors such as the pandemic, the number of saints gathering in person gradually decreased. It wasn’t until August 2022 that the saints began to gradually resume their meetings.

On the first night of our arrival, eight saints and a gospel friend joined us for dinner and some fellowship. In addition to introducing one another, we also preached the gospel to the gospel friend and presented the truth of baptism. As a result, this gospel friend was baptized in the sea on Saturday morning and experienced the joy of salvation. He then attended the Lord’s day meeting, testifying that he was a new creation.

On the morning of the second and the third days, several brothers and sisters accompanied us to visit the local saints. We learned that each of the saints left the Catholic Church and came into the Lord’s recovery after a serious process of seeking and by paying a heavy price. We also learned from several saints that even though they had to work a lot to sustain their living, they tried their best to practice the church life. For four consecutive nights the saints seized every dinner time to eat, fellowship and blend with us. Although we were there only for a few days, we experienced mutual shepherding in the Body.

A critical time was on the fourth day. We were invited to fellowship with the local brothers who spoke different languages, and a brother from Surabaya, Indonesia, assisted in translation. During that fellowship, everyone saw that even though the current number of saints in the church was small and the saints had difficulties communicating with one another because of language, we were all one Body and lived together in the one new man. The brothers needed to come together regularly for fellowship, coordination and service, that the saints might be shepherded and thus function organically, bear the testimony together, and move forward in the Lord’s move. We deeply felt that the Lord had blended and built the brothers of different languages together through this fellowship.

The most touching experience was the bread-breaking meeting followed by a fellowship time on Lord’s Day morning. In the new meeting hall which was put into formal use for the first time, a total of 22 local and overseas saints gathered together, prayed, sang hymns, praised the Lord and worshiped the Father in their own languages with released and uplifted spirits. The saints truly experienced unspeakable joy as they witnessed the establishment of the church in Dili on that day. In the fellowship after the bread-breaking meeting, the saints introduced themselves one by one and shared how they came into the Lord’s recovery and how they began their church life in Dili, This was indeed a memorable day and an important milestone for the Lord’s move in East Timor.

With the prayer and coordination of all the saints, we believe the Lord will continue to add those who are being saved to His church in Dili and spread His testimony to other administrative districts. Glory to God, Hallelujah!

Young People’s Training in Pakistan

June marks the beginning of summer vacation for students. In Pakistan, the average temperature in summer ranges from forty to fifty degrees Celsius. Despite the scorching heat, for some young people, the start of the holiday season doesn’t mean going to the swimming pool or escaping to the countryside; instead, it means participating in the two-week national young people’s training. Nearly forty young people from cities like Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, and others have registered for the training. These young saints desired to be captured by a vision and be filled with life at the start of the summer.

The most important aspect of this training is to help young people learn and have breakthroughs in the exercising of their spirit. The message emphasized the need to call on the Lord’s name until our inner being is set on fire. Initially, everyone struggled with this practice. But later, each person could be found in various corners of the classroom, calling on the Lord’s name individually during the morning revival time. In that calling, everyone’s inner being was set on fire. As a result, there was no need for someone to lead in the meetings; everyone spontaneously began to pray and lead hymns.

This training also includes the practice of the gospel. The brothers first shared on the book “Raising Up to Preach the Gospel” to stir up the young people with the burden of the gospel. They then led the young people to practice sharing “The Mystery of Human Life” with one another. In the evenings, the young people were divided into teams to go door-knocking for gospel preaching with the saints. Through the functioning of everyone in the Body, some homes opened up to the saints. Even after the training, we continue to shepherd these homes.

May the Lord deepen His work in the young people, making them useful vessels and excellent materials for His use.

Teenagers’ Summer Training in Vietnam

From June 26th to July 2nd, a teenagers’ summer training was held by the churches in Vietnam, with a total of 154 young people from 37 localities participating. Thank the Lord that the number of serving saints has increased to 55, and the full-time trainees also participated in the coordination.

The burden of this training was not only to equip and perfect the young people in the truth but also to help them be trained in character, life practices, and corporate God-man living.

In terms of truth, this training used “A Lesson Book, Level 3: Two Spirits.” We divided the young people into two classes-junior high and senior high. Although the ages and comprehension of the young people varied, the burden for the entire training was very clear, which emphasized that man has a spirit, and God desires to accomplish His purpose through man’s spirit. We need to exercise our spirit to enjoy the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit who dwells in our human spirit. Furthermore, through transformation we become precious stones for God’s divine building. Several sessions were also arranged by the serving ones on the basic practices of a normal Christian life, such as exercising the spirit, calling on the Lord’s name, praying-reading the Word, and how to share the gospel with others. The young people not only were equipped in the truth but also learned to practice and apply what they learned in the training.

Regarding the corporate God-man living, the practice this year was different from previous years as full-time trained ones were included to help the young people in corporate morning revival, Bible reading, and bedtime prayer. In terms of character, the young people had to follow a schedule accurately and adhere to the rules. In the daily life, the trainees also guided the young people in keeping their dormitories clean, helped them practice tidying up their personal belongings, and ensured that utensils were correctly placed and neatly organized after meals.

The serving saints gathered every evening to pray and fellowship about the events of the day, ensuring better arrangements for the next day. After the training concluded, the young people had very positive feedback. Many of them hoped that the training could be longer. The serving ones felt that it was the Lord who led and blessed them during the training. May the Lord bless and grace these young people to not only know the truth but also to apply and practice what they learned in their daily lives. May the Lord gain more young people to be the age-turners for Himself.