PICTURESTORYr e a c h i n g t h e u n r e a c h e d w i t h h o p e

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DEAR FRIENDS

Nestled in the picturesque mountains of central Sri Lanka, rural villages dot the landscape covered by

thousands of acres of tea plantations. Women in colorful saris work long hours every day, rain or shine, carefully picking tea leaves by hand. Global Mission pioneers Ravi* and Madu* moved to one of these villages. Shortly after settling in, they went from house to house, introducing themselves to their neighbors. It wasn’t long before the friendly couple became acquainted with almost everyone around them. Since most folks in that area don’t have their own transportation, Ravi frequently offered pedestrians a ride on the back of his motorcycle whenever he headed to town. This helps him become even better acquainted with neighbors who appreciate the lift, especially when the alternative is walking up and down steep mountainous roads. Ravi would invite anyone who was interested to come to his home for Bible studies. Soon the couple built a small bamboo enclosure at the back of their house, where Madu offered to teach English and music to children during school breaks. Her classes were such fun, and the little classroom would quickly overfl ow with eager students. The children loved the new songs, and their parents and grandparents often stayed by to learn along with them. As a result of Ravi and Madu’s kindness and friendliness, several small groups in their village are meeting together to worship God and study the Bible. By demonstrating genuine care and concern for those around them, they are modeling a Christ-like spirit to their neighbors. Ravi and Madu are very busy with their work and family, but they still fi nd ways to do what they can in their community. Their sincere desire to tell others about Jesus inspires me to look for ways to serve my neighbors. What can you do where you live? Thank you for your ongoing support of Global Mission. Your gift makes differences in many people’s lives.

In Christ,

Nancy KyteAdventist Mission Marketing Director

*Names have been changed

DEAR FRIENDS

Three new Pioneer Mission Movement couples are ordained

to go as frontline missionaries to Hong Kong and Japan. Pioneers like these leave the comforts of their home country to take a reduced salary and move their families to places where they must learn a new language and share the gospel in challenging circumstances. Usually Global Mission pioneers are lay members who work within their culture and language group. However, the Northern Asia-Pacifi c Division sends out pastors as Pioneer Mission Movement workers from countries such as Korea, where the gospel is growing, to places where the church is struggling to grow. Over the past three years pioneer pastors have planted or revitalized more than 28 churches in countries like Hong Kong and Japan, where the gospel needs a boost.

One warm Sabbath morning a woman

walked into the Portu-guese-speaking congrega-tion in Brussels, Belgium. Pastor Jose de Matos recognized her as Anna, a woman he had met when he was pastoring in London. She was strug-gling to fi nd a relationship with God and had a lot of problems.

When the pastor left Lon-don he thought he would not see the believers again, but the members were never far from his thoughts

Russian immigrants in New Zealand are

often reluctant to step into a Protestant church. This can make conventional evangelism diffi cult in Christchurch, New Zealand. Over the past three years Global Mission pioneer Ivan Nalchadzhi and his wife have led some 20 people to Christ through their ministry of small groups and friendship evangelism. Here Luba, Ivan’s wife, leads a women’s small group. They fi nd that sharing the gospel in people’s homes is quite effective. Ivan also reaches into the community by hosting weddings, women’s days, and holiday services at Bishopdale, the area Adventist church. He does whatever it takes to get people in the door. He’s invited nearly 500 people to the upcoming Bishopdale evangelism series. He’s also taping the series so that he can show it in the homes of people who are unwilling to come to the church. Please pray for Ivan and his family.

HONG KONG & JAPAN NEW ZEALAND THAILAND

As a law student at Bangkok’s Ramkhamhaeng University,

Jacob (pictured on the left) was looking for a better life. Yet he felt a lack of purpose and meaning in what he was doing. Then one day a friend invited Jacob to take an English class with him at the Adventist language school. Here Jacob found answers to his questions as he studied the Bible with a Global Mission worker. Today Jacob has found the peace, purpose, and freedom he longed for. Since 2005 Thonburi Church plant has sponsored this free community service, which is part of the Hope for Big Cities initiative. This initiative takes the gospel to communities around the world where the Adventist church has struggled to grow.

HONG KONGPopulation: 7 million

Adventist membership: 4,219

Adventist to population ratio: 1:1,656

Churches: 16

Companies: 3

JAPANPopulation: 127.8 million

Adventist membership: 15,153

Adventist to population ratio: 1:8,433

Churches: 118

Companies: 65

Details: Hong Kong and Japan are both pros-perous nations with relative freedom. The fi rst Adventist missionaries arrived a century ago, yet the church still struggles to grow. In fact the Northern Asia-Pacifi c Division as whole is, one of the most unreached regions of the world. Please support Global Mission work in Northern Asian countries such as Hong Kong and Japan by giving to Fund # 6600.

Offi cial Languages: English, Maori, Sign Language

Religion: Anglican 15%, Roman Catholic 12%, Presbyterian 11%, Methodist 3%, other Christian 12%, other faith 21, none 26%

Ethnic Groups: European 70%, Maori 8%, Asian 6%, Pacifi c islander 4%, other 12%

Population: 4.1 million

Adventist membership: 11,152

Adventist to population ratio: 1:371

Churches: 80

Companies: 20

Details: In New Zealand some 26 percent of people claim no religion at all. Global Mission hopes to reach those looking for a relationship with God. Please help spread the love of Christ by contributing to church planting efforts in the South Pacifi c countries, such as New Zealand, by supporting FUND # 6910.

Offi cial Languages: Thai, English (widely spoken in cities)

Religion: Buddhist 94.5%, Muslim 4.5%, Christian less than 1%

Ethnic Groups: Thai 75%, Chinese 11%, other 11%

Population: 62.5 million

Adventist membership: 11,555

Adventist to population ratio: 1: 5,645

Churches: 40

Companies: 81

Details: The skyline of Bangkok, Thailand, illus-trates the contrast between eastern heritage and modern capitalism. Monks in their color-ful robes peer from the walls of their monas-tery, while people in power suits look down on the city from their glass skyscrapers. Please pray for Adventist frontline workers who are reaching out to the nearly six million people who live in Bangkok. To support Global Mis-sion work in Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, support FUND# 7100.

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