by Annie Buckles

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In the Western world, we tend to pride ourselves on our private, personal faith and blessings. For many Christians in other parts of the world, that couldn’t be further from reality: just being a Christian could put your life at risk.

I think about friends of ours in other countries who are constantly monitored because of what they believe: they have to be careful and think about whatever they text or email, and they might even have cameras outside of their homes. Even if they’re not under immediate threat of violence, there’s a cost, and that’s why I’m careful with what I share too. I might name the country, but I usually won’t go into specific names or places beyond that.

Public Identity…

In Pakistan (where I serve as a missionary with SEAPC), you are legally required to carry an ID card. On your ID card, it will record your faith, so everyone knows what group you belong to. What’s more, once someone in your family has made that decision, that’s the official faith that will be passed through the generations, whether or not you are not a practicing Christian.

There are daily consequences to this. If you’re a Christian in Pakistan, you don’t get access to the good jobs. Instead, you’re forced to take roles nobody wants, with terrible pay. It doesn’t matter if you got an education, or if you speak English, you’re still going to be the “low man” simply because of what it says on your ID card.

…Public Targets

A few weeks after my first trip to Pakistan, a local resident got very angry with a pastor whose church and Bible college we partner with. This man broke into the pastor’s home, poured gasoline all over the stairwell, and threw two Molotov cocktails after him as he left. He intended to maim or kill everyone inside.

To escape, the pastor and his entire family — he has three children — had to jump from their roof onto the ground floor. Thankfully, the fire department had set up a safety net of some kind to catch them, but it was a big jump. At that time, their youngest was under two years old.

It’s because of stories like this that I always make sure to look at what the local pastor shares, and make decisions based on that. If he’s not going to post something, I probably won’t either.

Different Blessings

That isn’t to say I won’t share anything. When I do post about Pakistan, I like to talk about the people, about their everyday lives. Let me tell you, the Lord is moving in that country. There is an above-ground church. They don’t have to hide in caves, like in other places. They have their own buildings. They even have their own TV stations, through which they proclaim the Gospel. They love Jesus with their all.

Although their outside circumstances might not look like the stereotypical “blessed life” we think of in America, that doesn’t mean there is no blessing. Far from it! That’s what I’ve learned: the way God chooses to bless and multiply often looks very different to what we expect in our cultural context.

The people are not cursed just because they happened to be born in Pakistan. He has a wonderful purpose for them. When I have been with them, I have seen people who are so obviously called by God, and who have a burning desire to reach their people.

Jesus Through the Airwaves

A few weeks ago, someone in my small group in America asked me whether I had any insight into what faith in Jesus was like for Christians in Pakistan and other “closed” countries. Her question made me think of another story, from my last trip to the country (I visited from the end of January through mid-February 2024)…

It was our first full day on the ground, and the whole mission team had gathered on the local pastor’s roof (how cool is that for a location?!). We were worshipping and praying together. This pastor was the one whose home was attacked, most likely because of the TV station he ran: he’s had a lot of success reaching Muslim people through it.

It is very rare for Muslims to show up at a typical Sunday service. They might attend a healing outreach or crusade, but even then, they tend to be more interested in being healed than the One doing the healing. Typically, they are very set in their beliefs about who God is.

However, through this church's television network, viewers get to receive the word of God in their native language, they get to see people experience healing live on air, and they get to hear people testify about Jesus on a weekly basis, all from their homes. For whatever reason, this connects with people who would not otherwise be open to Jesus.

Desperate for Jesus

Now, on this particular afternoon, a woman and her mother-in-law who lived about an hour away from the church were somehow, just for the day, able to get away from where they lived to seek out this pastor — all because of the television channel. They came halfway through our worship time, and they were determined.

This woman had to listen to the services when her husband wasn’t around, because if he ever caught her — which he did, one time — he would physically abuse her. And if she ever tried to talk to her husband about what she had experienced, he would become very violent and threaten, “If you change faiths, I will kill you.” These were not empty words; this is a real, normal thing in Pakistan. These two women were taking a great risk to be with us.

When she arrived, she recounted that she had been at home doing chores with the TV on when one of the pastor’s services started playing. She told us, “It disturbed me, because I started having visions of angels. And then I realized: I need to know more about this Jesus.”

We were intrigued but didn’t want to push her, so we tried to be hospitable: we offered to pray for her, encourage her, and give her a little bit of money. Immediately, she exclaimed, “I didn’t come here for money! I don’t know what I’m going home to, but if my husband gets violent, and he does kill me, I need to know that I have Jesus.”

We got the urgency of her words. We talked more with her about what that meant (knowing Jesus and having Him in her life), she made a confession of faith, and we baptized her, right there and then. It wasn’t fancy, and it wasn’t planned, but it sure was memorable.

Desire of the Nations

That’s the beautiful lesson of missions in different countries. It teaches me, it humbles me, every time. It doesn’t just make me extra grateful for material things once I get home; it helps me remember. And it’s all because of the people, who have captured my heart.

I will end by saying that I feel privileged to tell these stories. They challenged me when I was in Pakistan, and they challenged my small group members when I shared with them. I hope they challenge you. This woman’s heroic journey and the pastor’s brave perseverance are living proof that even when coming to Jesus is inconvenient or life-threatening, knowing Him is more valuable than anything else in the world.

Do you know how precious Jesus is? Do you know how much He is worth?

These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold — though your faith is far more precious than gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. — 1 Peter 1:7 (NLT)

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by Hector Zetino

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Risky Faith

There are some scary gangs in Guatemala, and I want to tell you a little bit about the experience I had with one of them on my last trip to the country. For security reasons, I cannot tell you which one it is, but I can tell you that I had this experience through a pastor friend who is also a former gang member — a very unusual combination.

Every gang member makes a covenant of belonging when they join: a commitment. Everybody does this, but some of the members are more involved and get to hear more information. My pastor friend was one of these people. In the past, they were a bit more open, but in recent times, they have clamped down: nowadays, nobody is allowed to quit. And if you are someone like our brother — someone who is more involved — you will almost certainly be murdered if you try to leave.

This brother found Jesus and then renounced the gangs. At that time, the elite got together to decide his fate. By the grace of God, they let him leave, on one condition: “If you fool around, if you are not committed to your religion, we will kill you.” He couldn’t just use Jesus as an excuse.

Thank God for this brother and the transformation in his life since then! He now co-pastors a local church, works as an evangelist around the country, and looks after a home for people coming off drugs, or who are in gang-related problems. He helps them by faith, and let me tell you: he is something else! There can be no doubts about his commitment to Jesus.

An Open Door

Through this brother, the Lord opened the door to a prison in our country. Trust me when I say it is a miracle that we were able to go in:  typically, they do not welcome preachers, as the gangs don’t want to lose any of their members. Preachers are a threat. Even so, this brother has been ministering in that space for the last year.

When I was there, he invited me to come too. At first, I was hesitant: even though I used to live in the criminal underground many years ago, there is no comparison to the kind of crime they are involved with today. What I was part of was like being in the Boy Scouts compared to the culture they have now. It is very demonic, very violent.

I told my friend, “I don’t want to preach. I just want to see and get to know people and maybe pray with them individually, because I don’t know the culture. I’ve heard about them, I’ve read reports about them, and I’ve seen testimonies, but I don’t know them personally. It’s a different thing to be there, to be among them.”

God had other plans. I ended up preaching. The Lord gave me a message to share with the 160 people who came. When we first entered it felt very heavy, but when the time came to speak, God’s presence was so sweet. I could feel it in the atmosphere; I knew it was God. It was His time.

As I shared, the Lord encouraged me to get closer to the people, to walk among them. I looked them in the eye — eyes that belonged to very dangerous people — and I saw them almost well up with tears as I spoke. They are not allowed to show emotion: it’s a sign of weakness. But I could see that the Lord was dealing with them. And as I taught from the scriptures, I could see they knew what I was talking about: they knew the Bible for themselves.

Spontaneously, I asked them, “How many of you come from Christian homes?” To my surprise, the majority raised their hands. It broke my heart. Here were some of the most violent people in the world, but it could have been so different. Now, they were trapped in a system of terror and banned from leaving their “covenant family.” To leave the gang would be to desecrate it, to dishonor it… a death sentence: “We stuck our necks out for you, and now you have to do the same for us. You made a covenant for life. That means life.”

Powerful Names

Predictably, when we gave the altar call, nobody felt brave enough to come up. But after I finished, I walked among them and talked individually with a few. I was even able to pray with those few, privately and to the side, so that nobody else could hear. They all whispered the same thing, “Please pray for me. I want to get out of here. I want a new beginning. I need God to change my life.”

There are two men in particular that I ask you to intercede for today: Joshua* and Ezekiel.* Both are finishing very long sentences, and will be released soon. After Joshua is released, he will be extradited to the United States, where he will probably receive a life sentence for a crime he committed in America. He has already spent a lot of his life behind bars, and is well into middle age. He told me wanted to change, to leave the life. Ezekiel shared much the same.

As Joshua told me of his desire, I felt like telling him that his name was not a coincidence: God had a special call on his life to lead people into the “promised land,” so to speak. The enemy had tried to pervert this call and use him to influence the wrong places, but God was saying that he would restore him, and bring him back to His intended purpose. His eyes lit up at these words, and he told me this was the third time he had heard this message. He was encouraged, and asked me to keep him in my prayers.

*Names changed for security reasons. Remember: God knows them by name.

Counting the Cost

We are not the only ones who work among the gangs. Another friend of mine told me this story: there was a high-level gangster who was involved in many “cliques” in different parts of the city, and who found Jesus through my friend’s ministry. My friend discipled him while he was in prison, and then one day, he got out. A few days after, he called my friend and said, “You know, I’m calling to say goodbye.”

Naturally, my friend asked, “Oh? Where are you going?”

And he replied, “Well, they want to kill me. They won’t let me leave… so I called to thank you for introducing me to Jesus, and for teaching me about Him. He is the best thing I have ever known. I am so glad, and I cannot wait to see Him soon.”

My friend was distraught, and he pleaded with him, “No! They can’t kill you! I will hide you. I’ll take you somewhere safe.”

But there was nothing he could say to change his mind: “No. If you do that, they will kill you too, and then they will kill your family.” And then he hung up, leaving my friend on the line. Two days later, his body parts were found scattered around the different areas he used to patrol.

I share this to help you understand that for people like Joshua and Ezekiel, the threat of death is real. The risk that comes with giving your life to the Lord is huge, and so is the fear. Most people are trapped by this fear, even if they want to change, to get out, to follow Jesus. We must pray for them, and we must pray for those who have open doors to minister to them.

A New Hope

My experience in the prison changed my perspective. I now know see there is hope, even in the darkest parts of our nation. God is moving. Prayers are being answered. The next time I visited the prison, I saw Joshua again. On this occasion, he brought a dozen others with him. He was already living up to his name. These guys weren’t part of the gangs yet, but they were being groomed as “candidates.” He asked me to pray for them, like I had prayed for him. I now have their names, and I believe God can work in their lives too. It will be hard, but God can do anything.

The younger generation in prison are not the only ones we need to pray for. At ASOFE, we work with at-risk youth in “red zones:” the most dangerous places in Guatemala. We teach them about their identity as children of God, and we give them the practical tools they need to live a better life: English, computer skills, music, and help with school. We also help some of them financially with the cost of school. I am more motivated than ever to pour into their lives and to disciple them to follow Jesus.

We cannot lose them to the forces of darkness. Those guys in the gangs I mentioned earlier grew up in Christian homes, and they even went to church, but they ended up in the wrong place. I know things could have been different if people had come to them earlier, rescued them, and taught them — like we are trying to do for our ASOFE kids. It is not enough to expect them to come to you. We have to go to them.

When I look at our kids, I see leaders. I see doctors, I see lawyers, I can even see government leaders, by faith. God is changing this generation, in prison and outside of it, so that they might change Guatemala. They are world changers. They are our future.

How do I know this? Because I have seen them living it already. We take our kids on outreach to broken neighborhoods to minister the love of Jesus to people who need it. I witnessed them laying hands on other young people and adults all over Guatemala. They aren’t just learning theory; they’re practicing their identity as children of God, as ministers of the Gospel.

An Invitation

God’s hand and provision have been with us to prepare this generation, and to reach those we once thought were lost. God’s presence is with us to break the cycle of poverty, violence, death and fear — and to see Jesus formed in the lives of his precious Kingdom family instead. And as our kids our transformed today, I believe they will change Guatemala’s tomorrow.

Will you believe and pray with me?

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for, and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

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Rev. Jeff Yuen

| SEAPC Friends Around The Table Asia 2024

Friends Around the Table Asia, we were blessed by the ministry of Rev. Jeff Yuen. He a special gift for storytelling, a big burden for people, and a touch of humor and wit that we all enjoyed. Listen as he shares about the vision God has given him, and he advises Christians to be patient and purposeful while we wait for our vision to come to pass.

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Rev. Yang Tuck Yoong

| SEAPC Friends Around The Table Asia 2024

Those at Friends Around the Table Asia were greatly blessed by the speaking of Rev. Yang Tuck Yoong, who shared some key insights into spiritual warfare and what it means to wrestle with spiritual principalities and powers.

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Stories of Change - Cambodia

Is a project leader at Cambodia Arise, a program that equips Cambodians with skills training through training centers and provides an excellent Christian curriculum to hundreds of public schools across the nation. In this update, Veha takes us on a tour of the greenhouse and explains the mechanics of the hydroponics systems that are providing food security for the children's homes that utilize them.

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Table of Contents

We live in strange and trying times. But our God is the God who made the heavens and the earth, who loves us with an everlasting love, and who watches over and protects us, no matter who we are or where we come from.

At SEAPC, we have the incredible privilege to love and serve alongside modern-day heroes of faith in countries much crazier and more dangerous than our own. They are risking their lives for the sake of the Gospel. They need your prayers, and we need to hear their stories, that they might strengthen our faith in Jesus.

These brothers and sisters are humble pastors and business owners, young and old, men and women — all united by their love for Jesus and one another, and all World Changers in their own right. They live each day with a different hope.

For their protection, we cannot tell you their real names or where they come from, but we can share the testimonies they have offered to us, and we can invite you to pray for them, trusting that our God knows them and has a plan for their good.

John* and his wife, Phoebe*, pastor a church and run a home for several hundred children in their region. Read on to hear their story of divine protection and radical love…

*Friends’ names changed for security reasons.

The New Law

We do not know what will happen tomorrow, but until today, the Lord has done amazing work. Our country is at war, and a recent law means that the army can now come at any time to take our young people and force them to join them. If they come, there is no choice. Sometimes, they come in the middle of the night — and then they are gone. From that time on, nobody knows what will happen to them. They cannot take their phones. They cannot tell anyone. We hear reports like this every day.

It is a bad situation, but God has protected us. God has given us friends, and these friends have helped us…

Overwhelmed

Seven or eight years ago, my wife started visiting a lady in our village. This lady was renting a shop front from us for her food business. At that time, her business was not doing well, and she also had to look after her husband, who had very bad injuries from being violently assaulted in the street. She was really struggling. She didn’t know what to do, and she felt overwhelmed and alone. She just needed someone she could rely on.

That was when my wife, Phoebe, stood up for her. When Phoebe would visit her, this lady would open up about her problems, and my wife would pray for her, share the Gospel with her, and read the Bible with her. Sometimes, Phoebe and I would pray with her and her husband. We even built a small house on our land for them, and let them live there for free. She was really happy about that, and told us, “I will not forget the kindness you have shown to me. Not even my blood relatives could have done something like this for us.”

Loved, Baptized, Tested

Over time, she started to show interest in the Gospel, as she really saw Christ in us. My wife kept ministering to her. Just before Covid, she converted to Christianity and was baptized. She became one of our church members. She was a strong follower of the national religion before that, so she faced many problems with her family, who did not convert. But she has faced those problems faithfully and kept coming to the church.

Sometimes, she has confessed that she has no energy left to stand for Christ. But in those times, she has knelt down and prayed. “Because of Jesus Christ only,” she said. “I can bear all of that pressure. At first, I was a little afraid and even ashamed of what I had become, because of all the accusation I received from my neighbors and relatives. But now I am very confident.”

Called for Such a Time

And she has confidently stood up to share her faith in our community. Everybody knows. Even the government knows that she converted from the official religion to become a Christian. And this is shocking: since she was very young, she served and looked after people in the government and the army. She is very well-known. Even the highest ranking person in the military party knows her by name. She is so important and trusted that without her recommendation, the current overseer of our region would not have that title.

In fact, she was previously invited to be the overseer of the region, but she refused. “I was afraid because I am a woman and there are many killings for people like that.” The underground rebels hate the civilian overseers. Not too long ago in our area, one of the other overseers was killed in the middle of the day — in the daylight. They shot him in the head and in the chest. This has become a familiar story in our country. So when the military asked our friend to be the main overseer, they also offered her a gun for protection.

For over a year and a half, she kept saying no… until the new conscription law. When the law became public, she shared with us, “I couldn’t sleep. I knew this would affect many of our young people, especially in our children’s home, and the church youth. Maybe God put me in this position so I could help with this urgent need? Although I am afraid, maybe I have to take this responsibility for our kids.” She decided to give her name to become the overseer for a smaller area, the area where we have our church and children’s campus.

Protecting the Next Generation

Immediately after she volunteered, they gave her the job. “Now I am going to every meeting, and hearing all of the information.” She reassures us, “Don’t worry! I will do my best to protect our young people.”

This is so amazing. I believe God has put us together for this time. Before our friend became an overseer, we worried every night. We did not know what would happen to our kids. With every dog bark, every noise, we would wonder if that was the military coming to take them away.

Sometimes, we would think, “Should we send our kids back to their home villages, where the army cannot reach them?” But now that our friend is the overseer, and shares some information from official meetings, we do not have to worry. She has told us that she will let us know if there is anything we have to do: “For now, you can stay calm!”

Our friend comes to church every Sunday. We have times of fellowship together, and we make sure to spend five, maybe ten minutes each week praying for her. Sometimes, she brings friends who belong to the traditional religion, and we pray for them too. Even though she is very busy with her role, we stay in regular contact.

God is faithful, and we trust His perfect plan. May His will be done in our country, in Jesus’ name.

"But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one." 2 Thessalonians 3:3

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Stories of Change - Pakistan

This week, Annie Buckles provides an education update on the nation of Pakistan. God is using friends in that nation to equip young men, women, boys, and girls with educational tools and Scriptures in the Urdu language!  

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This video, Rev Jonathan Chow shares the importance of multi-generational leadership and collaboration in the Church. Pastor Chow shares his insights into what God is doing in Asia, particularly within the Chinese Church. All was recorded during the SEAPC Friends Around The Table Asia 2024 event in Singapore.    

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This week, Leticia gives an update on the work that God is doing in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Nation change and world change is happening! Follow along for more updates or visit seapc.org to learn more about SEAPC.  

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Pastor Imani sent an update about the exciting mental health clinic that was recently took place in Zanzibar. What an honor to call him a friend and to see how God is using him, along with Dr. Lyn Westman and her team, to shine light on this important issue!  

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