Three Southern Baptist Asian groups sent people overseas this summer to Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and the Philippines.

All reported amazing stories of God at work with and through them.

Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Chinese Baptist Church of Houston sent a team of eight women to Cambodia in early July to minister among teens rescued from human trafficking and sexual abuse.

“We wanted to show them they have value and worth and to show our team the work God is doing to heal and restore the girls who have been mistreated and exploited,” leader Catherine Yen told Baptist Press.

It was the mission team’s second year to minister in Phnom Penh through the Pleroma Home for Girls, a Christian shelter for girls under 18 who have been trafficked or sexually abused.

The girls, who stay two to four years, are provided with education, counseling and medical care for their physical and emotional healing. The goal is to restore their dignity and reintegrate them back into society.

“We practiced making bracelets on the way over,” Yen said. “We had so much fun.”

On-site, the Chinese mission team played games; taught ballet, Pilates and KPop dances; braided hair; and showed the girls how to make friendship bracelets. 

“Because we described dance as a way to express emotion, we shared how God is present with us during all of our emotions and in our times of pain and suffering,” Yen said.

“We talked about how Jesus said, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death’ while He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, Matthew 26:38. This shows us that in our times of overwhelming sorrow, Jesus knows how we feel, and we are not alone.”

The team visited a village home newly donated and built for a graduate, schools built by Pleroma Missions to provide education for girls and, on the last day, Phnom Penh’s Central Market and the Choeung Ek Killing Fields memorial. 

“The way in which God has poured so abundantly into the girls, staff and missionaries in Cambodia serves as a testament to the heart of Jesus to heal, restore and redeem what is broken down by sin and darkness,” team member Charlize Cheung said. “Each time I saw the girls break into excited dance, admire the handiwork of their crafts with joy and share loud laughs with us, I truly felt as though I had glimpsed a bit of heaven.

“As much as we poured into them, they poured right back into us and made us feel so special and loved in a way that defies all understanding considering what they have been through,” Cheung continued. “If anything, it points to the deep desire in all of us to love and be loved.”

Thailand/Myanmar

BANGKOK — Seventy Myanmar pastors and church planters received four days of intense church-planting training at Avana Bangkok Hotel.

They came from different parts of Myanmar and Thailand, led by Silas Thiang, pastor of Agape Myanmar Mission in San Diego, Calif.

It was Thiang’s eighth time to lead such a team. This year five leaders from the U.S. participated in the Thailand training for Burmese pastors and church planters living in Thailand and Myanmar.

During large and small group gatherings for the Thailand training, the leaders learned about entering new fields; sharing the gospel; taking care of new believers; forming healthy multiplying churches; developing and multiplying leaders; and preaching the Word of God.

“All the discussions and training was based on the four Gospels and the book of Acts,” Thiang told Baptist Press.

“We were able to provide full scholarships for accommodation, meals, backpacks, books, gospel tracts, training material, Bibles and return bus tickets to their mission fields,” Thiang said. “They were inspired, encouraged and blessed by the training and went back with gladness to fulfill the Great Commission. The moment of planting churches in the new fields has begun.”

This time of training was followed by a compassion mission trip to war-ravaged displacement camps on the Myanmar/Thailand border.

“We had a wonderful time of worship, fellowship, sharing vision, ministry experiences and discussion on planting churches in every village and community where there is no church or believer in Myanmar,” Thiang said. “After the Myanmar Pastors and Church Planters Training Conference, my team and I went into the war zone areas of Myanmar to supply food items, clothing, medicine, etc., to needy families in the displacement camps.

“We were able to pray and share the gospel from tent after tent and camp after camp. By God’s amazing provision through your partnership, we were able to help 700 needy families in the displacement camps with daily needed items.”

Displacement camps in Myanmar are set up and run neither by the government nor the Red Cross, but rather by the refugees themselves carving out space in the mountainous jungle.

“More than 200 people prayed with us to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior, and more than a thousand people heard the gospel,” Thiang said. “The civil war in Myanmar is more and more intense. A lot of towns and villages have been bombed, burnt down to the ground, and a lot of people died without knowing Jesus Christ. The recent (March 28) powerful 7.7 earthquake also killed many and made a lot of people homeless and hopeless.

“Meeting a lot of needy people who lost their hand or leg — parents and children in the civil war — made our hearts broken, but on the other hand, they were very open to the gospel,” the San Diego pastor said.

Thiang requested prayer to end the civil war in Myanmar, salvation to happen and God’s supernatural provision for the needy families in the displacement camps.

Philippines

MANILA, et. al. — A 12-person Filipino and American team participated this summer in 28 ministry projects during a 13-day mission trip to various islands in the Philippine archipelago.

“One of the primary goals of going on mission was to uplift and encourage the students of Rafael B. Lacson Memorial High School,” leader Don Biadog told Baptist Press. “On Monday, July 7, we witnessed a remarkable move of God as more than 6,000 students and staff from grades 7 to 12 gathered for a Spiritual Values Formation event held in Talisay City on Cebu.”

Evangelist Harold Cox and Southern Baptist Pastor Travis Moore shared powerful messages of hope and salvation. Biadog led in a salvation prayer for the 2,000 students who responded.

The mission trip started Friday, June 27, with Spiritual Fitness Leadership Training for 80 Filipino Navy engineers at Naval Station Jose Francisco in Metro Manila.

Hospital, orphanage, school and market ministry visits, prayer at a cemetery and a Christian camp, faith-based professional presentations by team member Kim Howell, a NASA engineer, and revival services were among the team’s endeavors.

Spiritual Fitness Leadership Training was led by the team at the Baptist Missionary Association Bible College and at Northside Baptist Church.

“Guest speakers shared various topics such as discipleship, vision, spiritual warfare, personal self-care, evangelism, spiritual development, prayer, plus supporting and praying for Israel during the five-hour training,” Biadog said. “The pastors were grateful to receive Study Bibles, and everyone received Christian literature.

“Romans 12:8 was a powerful reminder that each gift is sacred and purposeful,” continued Biadog, a retired Navy chaplain, North American Mission Board chaplain ambassador and member at Open Door Baptist Church in San Diego. “It’s not just about what we do, it’s how we do it.

“And this ties beautifully into our mission trip theme of being Christlike. Whether encouraging our team, leading outreach or showing mercy to people that we meet on the journey, Romans 12:8 is a guidepost for grace in action.”

A poignant Eternal Honor service July 9 at Manila American Cemetery remembered and honored the sacrifices and memories of all WWII veterans, including relatives of some of the team members.

“We praise the Lord that about 10,000 people were impacted in 28 ministry engagements and visits,” Biadog said. “The Lord sent us to serve in multiple ministry settings, from the military community to civilian communities in Luzon and Visayan Islands. We partnered with Philippine Navy and Gideon’s International-Philippines, churches, schools and many non-governmental organizations.

“Many people attended the training, outreach activities, spiritual fitness leadership trainings, Pep Talk days, counseling, mentorship, worship and memorial services, reunions and patriotic activities,” Biadog continued. “Most, if not all, of the 6,800 high school students made professions of faith on July 3 and 7 during four Pep Talk ministry engagements. Many others made professions of faith and other kinds of commitments to the Lord during the churches’ worship services.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Karen L. Willoughby is a national correspondent for Baptist Press.)