Witness workers to visit North America

North American Ministry Schedule

Tim and Cindy Buhler and their children, Chelsey and Kristyn, are away from their ministry in Hong Kong from May 18 until August 24. Their home congregation is Northview Community Church, Abbotsford, BC. The Buhlers work alongside national Pastor Jeremiah Choi in Agape Mennonite Church (one of three Mennonite churches in Hong Kong) in outreach ministries, primarily to students through the Helping Hands Centre, an after school tutoring program.

Rod and Kathi Suderman, and their children, Chris, Stefanie, and Jesse will be away from their home in Beijing, China from June 1 until August 24. Their home congregation is Aberdeen Mennonite Church, Aberdeen, SK. The Sudermans serve in Beijing as program coordinators for China Educational Exchange (CEE), planning annual professional improvement conferences for teachers, visiting and assisting teachers, and providing hospitality to exchange participants and mission agency representatives who travel through Beijing. They also network with church-related groups and English-language programs of Chinese universities, and provide leadership to Mennonite Central Committee's development work in China.

Marlow and Vicky Ramsay, together with Rebekah and Jessica, leave their work in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on May 31 and return August 26. Their home congregation is North Langley Vineyard, Langley, BC. The Ramsays serve through Joint Christian Services International. Marlow is Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Mongolia, while Vicky is Board Chairperson for the Sunday School Support Centre, a local group that provides curriculum, training and teaching materials for any churches wanting help with their children's program.

These families ask for your prayers for safe travel as they relax and re-connect with family, and for energy to share what God is doing through their ministries.

Chelsey writes:

Wenny Liu started coming to our school in January. She moved here from Shanghai.

When she first got here my friend Leslie thought she was Korean. But later we were all wrong and found out she was actually Han Chinese because she was put into our Mandarin IV class and I am in Mandarin one. Her Mandarin is perfect.

I got to know her for about three days and then I asked her on the third day if she was a Christian or not. She said her father was a Christian but he married her mother who was not a Christian. So Wenny was not sure if she was a Christian.

I told her you have to accept Jesus into your heart to be a Christian. She told me she did not know that. I asked her then if she wanted to be a Christian. She said no I don't believe it yet. Then I tried to look for a Bible to give her. But I could not find one for her.

After chapel one day I asked Wenny if she wanted to become a Christian now. She said yes, so I told her what to pray and she said word for word what I said. But in the middle of the prayer she said, what do I say next?

I stopped the prayer and told her to say what ever is in your heart and tell Jesus you want to be a Christian. Then she asked if she could do it in her mind and I said yes. After she was finished I congratulated her that she had become and Christian and I went and told my teachers and friends. A few days later I bought her a Bible and took her to devotions in our school.

Please pray for Wenny.

Tim writes:

Daniel is a young man, about age twenty five or twenty six. A friend brought him to church about three months ago. He told me that he was always a seeker of God.

He searched for God in the teachings of Buddhism, Taoism and even Catholicism which he all found very fascinating. However, he told me that none of these roads gave him satisfaction. Then he was introduced to Christian prayer by the friend. He immediately noticed that there was a difference in Christian prayer and saw that prayers to Jesus even brought answers. This really spurned his interest and he began to attend our church.

Then one Sunday I managed to get to church early to pray and read the Bible. I was surprised by the strong presence of the Spirit of God in the room. I wondered what God was planning to bring us during worship that morning.

Throughout the morning I continued to sense the strong presence of God. After the service Daniel sought out the pastor saying he wanted to become a Christian. I was privileged to take part in prayer that morning. We announced to the church that Daniel had accepted Christ and we with the angels all celebrated together!

I am currently mentoring Daniel who has little knowledge of the Bible. It is such a blessing to be with someone who is so hungry to learn about his new found faith and the life he now shares with the Holy Spirit. Please keep Daniel in your prayers.

Cindy writes:

I teach an English class once a week to a group of ladies.

One of these ladies, Sou Fan, lives right across from our church. She, together with her husband and two kids, live in a 500 square foot flat in one of Hong Kong's many public housing developments. Her husband is a truck driver and both her daughter and son attend the tutoring centre at our church.

Sou Fan is a very enthusiastic participant in our class and never fails to show up on Friday mornings. One day we were talking about believing in God and she made a surprising statement. She said that she felt it was fine if her kids wanted to believe in Jesus but she couldn't because she still needed to worship her ancestors. She said she didn't care if her children didn't worship the ancestors now or in the future but she still needed to. I guess her children had been encouraging her to become a believer as well!

Pray for Sou Fan and the other ladies in our class that they will be able to experience the joy of worshipping the one true God!