Focus on the Unreached: Three Fields of Thailand

There is no doubt that the Lord has led School to the Nations into the Buddhist world, where, out of billions of people, less than 2% are evangelized even after 200 years of missionary work in these areas. The true essence of Buddhism is complex: it is a meld of humanism and animism, not based around a deity, yet full of idol worship.

The concept of a living God is very far removed the mindset of the Thai people. This human-centered worldview is coupled with a strong social solidarity, which makes missionary work a challenge.

In this difficult and exciting new work, we know that God’s timing and his providential work among the nations is to be highly considered. Many people have gone before us to sow the seed and we are confident in God’s timing – there will be a great harvest in the days ahead. School to the Nations is blessed to be a part of this, as God has opened door after door in the last 18 months to allow us to move into these new fields for the message of the cross of Christ. Once again, He has been faithful in this calling, which is spelled out for us in Matthew 28:19, that we should “go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”.

 This winter, we are mobilizing 22 people to four separate Buddhist fields, 3 of which are in Thailand. They are currently being trained and equipped to communicate the message of the cross in the Buddhist culture specifically. One team will be in Bangkok working with university students, a work which began last winter on our first Thailand outreach. This particular campus has more than 100,000 students, most of which do not know the name of Jesus. Another team will work in Bangkok to pioneer the deaf ministry to the Thai culture. Unlike our work with the deaf of Botswana, that is concentrated on deaf schools, the Bangkok deaf outreach will focus on finding deaf in the human trafficking trade and other areas where the deaf tend to congregate in the Thai culture.

Because we have a large team for this outreach, we are opening a new field in Chiang Mai to accommodate the outflow of disciples. This team will focus on strategic evangelism to the Thai, working in a variety of locations.

 Pray For:

 -The 23 disciples working in Thailand to be spiritually prepared, well-equipped, healthy, and that they would trust in God for the finances for this trip.

-          - An influx of prayer partners for the Gospel to spread throughout Buddhism.

-         -Our new field among deaf field in Bangkok; This is heavy on our hearts as the deaf are the least reached among the unreached worldwide.

-         - The peoples’ eyes to be opened to the hope of the cross.

-         -That our partners, the full-time missionaries who follow up and disciple those we will work with long after we are back home, would be strengthened and encouraged.

-         -A great movement of the Holy Spirit to open the eyes and hearts of the Buddhist people all over Asia so that the glory of Jesus will shine upon these nations who wait to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.

To read a true story of God’s hand on the Thai people during our trip last year, read this post.

God Has Gone Before Us: Botswana Fall 2013

Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you." Deuteronomy 31:8

     This scripture came alive as we entered Botswana. Every place we turned we could clearly see that the Lord had been working and we were honored to join His work there. Last year we met a young, small body of deaf believers in Southern Botswana; this year we met a thriving, large body of deaf believers who had changed spiritually to a degree that was visible physically. They anticipated time to learn God’s word, they go out and share God’s story and they come back to church with a few new friends in tow. We were able to spend several days encouraging the church and training on communicating the Gospel clearly and effectively.Our time at the church left us encouraged and excited for all that the Lord will do with these faithful believers in the coming year.

     After our time at the church, we traveled up North. We saw the Lord going before us in a different way. Up north we had formative contacts and no deaf church established. The Lord provided contacts for us and we were able to find two new schools for the deaf where we built relationships with the leaders of these schools. We also returned to the primary school in Maun that had become like home last year. We were burdened for the teachers as there were now only 2 teachers for all 7 grade levels. We continued to speak God’s promise over the place “do not be afraid or discouraged…He will neither fail nor abandon you.” By the end of our time there we saw the Lord developing understanding in the lives of the students, the teachers regaining a small glimmer of hope for their weary souls, and the team resting in the knowledge that we serve a God faithful to all his promises.

We pray that the church in Botswana would soon become a sending church. That they would go out to the far corners of their country, the countries around them and beyond. They have a commitment to God’s word, a insatiable hunger to know more and a humble posture as they share the good news. Please join us in praying for how we can be an encouragement and resource as this body begins to live out the great commission so that the Deaf worldwide may understand and receive God’s glorious grace.

(Post written by a School to the Nations Staff Member who led this outreach)

On the Field: Southern Africa Deaf Team

Please be in prayer for our team working with the deaf in Southern Africa for the next several days! We look forward to a great report of lives changed and God's Kingdom advanced among this unreached people group. 

Prayer Points: 
-Safety and Protection of our team 
-Clear vision and wisdom as they share The Story with many people 
-Open doors into schools and communities where they can share 
-Strong relationships between our team and the national brothers and sisters 
-Great rest each night as they are working long days of ministry 

Thank you for joining with us as we watch the Gospel spread among the unreached across the world! 

To join the email updates for this outreach please email: theabicopeland(at)gmail(dot)com 

Ministry Update: Sowers & Fields Festival

In April, School to the Nations gathered our board members, partners, and staff families to celebrate the adoption of three people groups - the Deaf of Botswana and two Mountain People groups in Asia. In a small room at Remington's, we took part in a time of worship,  talked about where we're headed, enjoyed a beautiful worship dance, and prayed together for our three new people groups. This celebration outlined the continued need to share the name of Jesus around the world and reignited the passions of the staff and our board and supporters alike! What follows in this post is a recap of the message that was shared; it is a challenge to us and we hope you will feel encouraged and passionate about spreading the name of Jesus throughout the nations after you read it!

Isaiah 12:2-5: “’Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord Himself, is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation.’ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. In that day you will say: ‘Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what He has done, and proclaim that His name is exalted.’”



This scripture reveals a lot about His name (and thus His nature) and His desire for people. This winter on an outreach trip in a large city in Asia, our team met with college students for English as a second language training. While reading with one of our team members, a young student asked  "Is this a name?" pointing at the name of Jesus. How deeply this ought to effect us! In a culture full of constant fear, hopelessness, and meaningless religion, people do not know and have never even heard the name of Jesus.

What does His name mean in our lives?

•  His name is our salvation, which gives us peace with God.  The scripture from Isaiah also reminds us that our salvation is not only for ourselves, but to "make known among the nations what He has done". 
• His name is our strength and our song. Abiding in Christ means we are connected to God's peace and we are comforted by His people and His Living Word through all of the trials and pain we all experience throughout life. He changes the lives we had into a new song and strength to thrive through every storm!

What do we do with all of this? We share it! He calls us to share His name where it has never been heard, to plant churches so that believers can grow and support one another in the driest spiritual desert. There are more than 6,400 unreached people groups and 70 million deaf worldwide who have not heard the name of Jesus. Truly, His name - His love, grace, mercy, hope, and life - must be exalted among the nations! 

What does this mean for you? We invite each and every one of you to partner with us in this work of making the name of Jesus famous throughout the world. Know Jesus intimately. Get to know His name more deeply today. Surrender your talents, skills, gifts, prayers and ability to reach the nations so that His Name can be the salvation of 3 billion unreached people around the world! At the end of our celebration, we officially adopted 3 more people groups with signed certificates showing the commitment of our leaders and staff to this movement of God. It signifies our passion and commitment to serving the unreached and sharing Jesus with them. We'd love for each of you to join us in this calling by praying, supporting, and even going with us!

Psalms 8:1 "O Lord our Lord, how majestic is Your name throughout the earth!"

Focus on the Unreached: The Deaf of Botswana

This monthly blog feature focuses on one of the 12 major fields with which School to the Nations works. This month we’ll shed some light on what’s happening in Botswana, a nation in southern Africa.

“What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.” Matthew 10:27

Learn

School to the Nations began work in Botswana last fall – our first outreach to touch a largely unreached group – the deaf. Although Botswana is one of the wealthiest and most democratic nations in Africa, the HIV/AIDS epidemic of past decades continues to impact young generations. The disease is believed to be one major cause of deafness among children and families in Botswana. Botswana strongly supports the deaf of their communities, giving free public education to all children including specialty deaf schools and students with other special needs. In fact, many teachers in these schools are Christians, but they become burned out and discouraged and are often not able to fully utilize their training due to time and other restraints. One of the discouragements with deaf children is that they are at a disadvantage compared to their peers because they are often not taught any ASL or other sign until they start school. Overall, 70% of Botswanans are Christians, yet these Christians are in desperate need of encouragement as well as training to reach the deaf and other unreached in their communities.

Connect

        

School to the Nations will send a team out to share the Gospel and train and encourage the church of Botswana sometime this fall. If you’d like to take part in this trip, either by going or supporting those on the team, contact our Cross-Cultural director and leader of this trip, Jenna Kilgallin at jenna.kilgallin@gmail.com. The team start out in the capital city, Gaborone,  to host a discipleship conference for the deaf and those who want to reach out to the deaf. They will also travel to the city of Maun to work in both primary and secondary schools building relationships with students and faculty alike.

You can read Jenna’s stories from the last trip to Botswana on her blog. 

Pray

• That the church in Maun will grow and the gap between the deaf and the hearing in Maun will be closed as the hearing of Maun are trained and encouraged to share Christ with their community.
• That similar ministries will be planted in and around Maun to support the deaf community.
• That the small deaf church in Gaborone will grow exponentially to create a Christian community for the deaf.
• That deaf children will begin to be taught ASL from a younger age so that they can keep up with their hearing peers.
• That the teachers of deaf schools will be encouraged, supported, and strengthened to continue their work among deaf children.
• For the team headed for Gaborone and Maun early this fall. 

Botswana Outreach 2012 Recap - "In that day the deaf will hear..."

"In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, 

and out of doom and darkness the 

eyes of the blind will see." 

Isaiah 29:18 

After many days of traveling, dirt, long days, and more dirt our Botswana team returned to the States full of amazing stories of all that the Lord did during their mission. It would be impossible to share each and every story, but hopefully by highlighting some of the major ones you will see a glimpse of what it is like to be on the field, and to see those who have never heard, hear for the first time and decide to follow Christ. 

It is important to highlight that this team did not fly overseas to work in a different culture completely unprepared. In fact, this team completed 6 months of missional training at the School to the Nations Training Center where they were trained in every aspect from cross-cultural living to storying the Bible with non-believers. The high quality training was evident once in Botswana as the team worked hard, stayed unified, and were prepared for the shock of being in a different culture. 

Here is a brief recap of their trip...

The first city they worked in was a smaller one outside of the capitol city, Gaborone. Here they shared the Gospel with hundreds of deaf children and teenagers along with teachers and staff members at a residential deaf school. Our team was creative with their presentation of the Gospel and shared in many unique ways. Not only did they share with the students but they also had a chance to bless and honor the teachers who sacrifice so much to work with these students each day. Our team included two educators and they were able to connect and relate in many ways in order to bring hope and encouragement in the Word of God. 

The next stop was in the city of Maun which is in northern Botswana. A school of 900 children (deaf and hearing) sat here, and the team was welcomed with a song from the students: 

During their time in Maun, the team met a 17 year old boy (far left in this picture) who was deaf due to the medication he was given to treat HIV. After hearing the Gospel message, this boy gave his life to Christ! Also at this school, the headmaster gave his life to Christ as well. He told the team that his family had been praying for him to receive Christ, and that prayer was answered and the team was honored to be a part of his decision! Our team also hosted a dinner to honor the teachers and staff members at this school and it was a special time of encouragement for each of these teachers. 

After finishing in Maun, they traveled a LONG days travel in 110 degree weather (missions are not for the weak!) on a bus to Francistown with no air conditioning. Once they arrived they were welcomed into Francistown Center for Deaf Education where they were able to share the Gospel and show the children's version of the Jesus Film. Many children heard the Gospel for the first time and many seeds were planted! One 23 year old man gave his life to Christ! 

Their next stop was back to the capitol, Gaborone, where at a bus stop they saw some men standing around playing pool. One of the team members started a conversation with them, shared the Gospel, and 11 of these men accepted Christ right there at the bus stop! What a wonderful picture illustrating that God orchestrates divine appointments! These men were not even from Botswana, they had crossed the border from Zimbabwe. Praise God for bringing our team to these men at just the right time. 

Overall SIXTEEN people came to Christ during the teams trip in Botswana and many seeds were planted among children, teenagers, and adults that will hopefully be the beginning of many coming to Christ among the deaf community. The future is bright for our partnership in Botswana. Our team met with the President of the Baptist Convention in Botswana, Benjamin Kabika, who is excited about the future partnering of School to the Nations and Ridgecrest Baptist Church among the deaf in his country. This trip established clear and strategic inroads for future work to evangelize and disciple the deaf. 

Thank you to our wonderful team, who worked hard, stayed positive, and made lasting impacts on the children and adults they met. Thank you to Ridgecrest Baptist Church for partnering with us in taking the Gospel to the deaf. Thank you to our prayer partners and financial supporters who were a part of this team as they lifted us in prayer each day! 

To God be the glory for all that He has done and will continue to do among the deaf around the world! 

Outreach Update: The deaf shall hear...

Our team is doing well and as of today have had three come to Christ through their sharing, storying, and showing the Jesus film! Praise the Lord for seeds that have been planted and for all that He is beginning to do among the deaf in Southern Africa. These are the most unreached of the unreached, and the Lord is beginning a new work among these people so in need of God's love. 

Please continue joining us in prayer for the team and that God will continue to grant them favor among the leaders in the schools they are working in and that many more will come to Christ as they tell students, teachers, and the community about Jesus for the first time. 

The deaf are hearing of God's love and gift of salvation!!

Students hearing the Gospel message for the first time! Pray that these seeds will take root and that mighty oaks of righteousness will begin to grow among the deaf in Southern Africa. 

For daily updates via email please email theabicopeland(at)gmail(dot)com. 

Training Report: Botswana Team

Last Saturday we spent the day training our team headed to Southern Africa (Botswana) to work with the deaf people in that area later this month! Our Extreme Adventure Challenge Course is a great way to build team unity, learn each other's strengths and weaknesses, and come together as one unit in preparation for the upcoming trip.

Many of our team members are deaf, and we are excited to see how God uses their gifts to cross cultural barriers and minister to the deaf in Botswana, who in many ways are just like them. We saw clearly as they conquered the ropes course on Saturday that communication comes in many different forms, and when a team has a unified goal, anything can be accomplished.

Please join us in prayer for the team as they prepare to leave. Pray for their families they are leaving at home, for their jobs, for their protection, and for their ministry while they are in Africa.

If you would like to join the prayer update list please email theabicopeland(at)gmail(dot)com or visit here for a specific prayer guide for the trip: Prayer Guide