Jesus in Vietnam Ministries

MAI’S 2011 TRIP TO BINH CHAU

We wanted to give you an overview of Mai’s recent trip to the Binh Chau church and an update of God’s work there. Mai just returned on April 20th after spending 9 weeks working with the Binh Chau church. Mai was very encouraged to see all is going well. Much like CFC, there is a lot of activity going on. Sunday Worship starts at 8am and ends around 10am. Monday is a day of rest. Tuesday night takes Elder Nhan to Suoi Bang, Kim to Cau Nuoc Mang, and Mr. Nhang to Tan Thang to hold Bible studies, while Bun and Lien teach discipleship classes for the new believers in the Binh Chau church. Wednesday night is Adult Bible study and Thursday night is Prayer night. Friday 3 small group Bible studies are held in homes around Binh Chau, plus the Witnessing Teams do home visits from 7:30am to 4:30pm. Saturday is more home visits with Children’s Church that evening. Kids start arriving at the church around 4pm by motorcycles. They are fed a hot meal around 5:30pm and then all worship together around 6:30 pm. After worship they break into 3 groups: high school (bottom picture), middle school (center picture), and pre-school (upper picture) for their Bible studies. As you can see 2 of the 3 classes are held outside. The new kitchen will give us enough space to move these 2 classes inside. It will be much cooler for the kids and much drier during the monsoon season. We are happy to report the Binh Chau church is spiritually healthy. God’s Word is being taught, people are coming to Christ, and many are maturing in their walk with the Lord. We are especially excited about the doors God is opening to take the Gospel to other nearby towns.

Once God established His church in Binh Chau, He began to give us a vision that He would use it to reach out to all the surrounding towns and hamlets with the saving grace of the Gospel. In an answer to much prayer, God is starting to fulfill that vision. In the last

few months, He has opened the door for the Good News to be preached in Suoi Bang. God brought us into touch with Mr. Sau Cong, a Christian living there. Mr. Sau Cong and his family started attending church in Binh Chau and we soon discovered God has given him a heart for lost souls. He is a born evangelist who is very bold in sharing his faith. He is well respected in Suoi Bang and God has used that to give him the opportunity to bring many to Christ. Elder Nhan is now traveling to Suoi Bang every Tuesday night to hold a Bible study (top picture). Please pray with us that God will establish a house church in Mr. Sau Cong’s house in the near future. Next, God opened the door for His Word to be taught in Tan Thang, where there is no Christian church. Two entire families (12 people) accepted Jesus and Mr. Nhang and his wife travel there every Tuesday night to hold a Bible study in their home (middle picture). These 2 families’ kids are picked up every Saturday afternoon and transported (bottom picture) to Children’s Church in Binh Chau 35 minutes away. They have to duck under a tarp to keep the police from stopping them as this vehicle is not intended to haul people. Please pray that God will provide the funds to purchase a used van to transport these kids and others in Binh Chau to church. After Children’s church, they all spend the night at Elder Nhan’s house. Then their parents come down Sunday morning so they all can attend church together. We thank God for drawing these precious families to Him.

Mai was able to meet with Mrs. Lu, the Prime Minister of Binh Chau, and Mr. Tu Dong, the former Chief of Police, who now works in the department of religious matters. Mai was received warmly by both of them. It is exciting to see God working in their hearts to change their original feelings about Christianity. Officials in other towns, such as Tan Thang and Cau Nuoc Mang, are still strongly opposed to the church. Recently, some officials in Tan Thang went to the house of the lady where our weekly Bible study is held. They demanded she turn over her Bible and not to welcome the church into her house. Intimidated, she did as she was told. They went to another believer’s house and demanded the same from him. However, he stood his ground and gave a joyful testimony how the Binh Chau church had shown the love of Jesus to his family when his wife was deathly sick. The church took her to the hospital and God has since healed her. He stated they had no right to threaten him and demanded they leave his property (which they did). Please pray that God will soften their hearts as they see the love of Jesus being shown by the church.

We are also excited about the door God has opened for Pastor Bien to hold an EE clinic at the Binh Chau church in July. The EE training we received at CFC truly strengthened and equipped us to do the work God had prepared for us in Binh Chau. We pray that God will use this training to strengthen those taking it in their walk with the Lord and equip them to confidently share the Gospel with others. The Binh Chau church will have 10-20 members attending the EE clinic. Plus, we have invited 3 other churches in the province to send 3 people each. We thank God for the opportunity to reach out to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ in other churches to work together as a stronger voice for the Lord. This is not a common practice and is discouraged by “Caesar”. The participants are already memorizing the EE skeleton and scriptures in advance. Please pray that God will bless them with a good memory and a strong desire to tell others about Jesus.
Please pray that God will provide the needed funds for the EE clinic through people who have a heart for evangelism.

“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.” Romans 10:15b