South Asian Report

Code Language

Due to the sensitive nature of what I will share

There is a language of coded words and phrases you need to know

These terms are to protect those that are serving there.

As I present this, I may interchange some of these

but if as we share about this outside of this room

The terms are there for the protection of those currently serving

The first is the IMB is known as the company

The word missionary is not used anywhere

as it has not only a possibly security issue

but also a negative context as some missions agencies

have attempted to colonialize much of South Asia

Instead of missionary

we use the the terms sent ones, field personnel, or just simply m’s

We don’t use the specific place we went to

We use South Asia

and all of our M’s in South Asia have psuedonyms

to protect them and their families

Tonight’s service is not being streamed

and I would ask that any of the pictures or slides that are being shown

to not take pictures of

and especially do not post any of this on Social Media

Now some may say, Art aren’t you being a little overdramatic?

I mean, you were in Nepal, not Iran

The reason this trip I went on my own

was first because this was a trip for just

pastors and associational mission strategists.

This was called a Strategic Partnership Trip

Because there were leadership from all over North carolina there

I had the privelege to meet some of my heros on the field

and some of the leaders in the company.

Strategic team leaders,

including the head of the entire South Asian Affinity.

Every one of these people were anywhere from 30-45 years old

every one of them were kicked out of places like India

and denied reentry due to the effectiveness of the workl they were doing.

A handful of them were denied reentry because

they came home to report to their sending churches

and someone posted their trip online

and the Indian government uses AI to their advantage

to search these people out.

The are then put on a No entry list

and they are not allowed back into the country.

These sent ones though understand this reality.

They understand the real possibility of having to leave their stuff in the country they were called to

to a country they’ve spent years developing relationships

and years learning the language and culture

to be denied reentry and having to leave it all behind.

I’ll talk more about this reality in a moment.

but it all comes down to one problem

and that is the problem of lostness.

The Problem of Lostness

Let me share some brutal facts about this South Asian affinity

and put those into some context of where we were.

Brutal Facts

The South Asian Affinity

7 Countries

2 Hindu Majority Countries

India

Nepal

2 Buddhist Majority Countries

Bhutan

Sri Lanka

3 Muslim Majority Countries

Pakistan

Bangledesh

Maldives

Daily Dying in South Asia

35,406 people dying daily

34,982 dying daily without Christ

Pashupatinath

The statistic of people dying daily in South Asia

maybe the number doesn’t really mean much

until we visited a place called Pashupatinath

Pashupatinath is the temple of Shiva in Nepal

it is one of the most sacred temples for all of Hinduism.

What makes it so unique compared to other Hindu temples

is this is the end for many Hindus.

People in Hinduism who are affluent and can afford it

want their bodies sent here after they die

so they can be cremated at this temple

Hindu’s from all over the world will have their bodies sent here.

From one of my dear national brothers he said

on any given day there are 538 bodies that will be burned

doing the math there are 196,370 people that have died without Christ

just from this one temple.

To walk around the temple and see the pyres of burning bodies was unreal.

Everyone of them lost.

Someone in the group said

it was a picture of what they will do for all eternity.

At one point in the week they celebrated what is called Shivarati

This was a celebration of the god Shiva

It’s a national holiday much like the fourth of July here

expect this is religiously focused

The celebrations included

kids in the street would hold up ropes across the roads

and they would stop traffic and collect money

the money was supposed to be used for

buying firewood for the funeral pyres at Pashupatinath

they would not let you pass until you did that.

There were huge celebrations all over the country

at one point the Prime Minister and the King od Nepal

went to Pashuptinath to offer their offerings to Shiva

Some of the parts of the celebration included

lots of drinking

and at one point some would mix milk with marijuana

as a calming influence to help them reach a zen state.

We also went to Kathmandu Durbar Square

Durbar Square

This was an opportunity to learn about the cultural history of the country.

Kathmandu in Nepali means wooden house

we got to see the wooden house

we got to see the historic palace of the king

We even visited the house of the living goddess

The Kumari, or Living Goddess of Nepal,

is a young pre-pubescent girl from the Shakya community

believed to be the incarnation of the goddess Taleju,

residing in the Kumari Ghar, the palace in Kathmandu Durbar Square.

She will remain the living goddess until she hits puberty

at that time she returns to just a person

and the search for a new goddess is found to take over.

This is just the Hindu section we were able to see.

In the South Asian Affinity

1.96 Billion People

25% of the worlds global population

1 M Worker for 5 million lost people

615-650 Million Muslims

1/3rd of the worlds global population of Muslims

more than any where in the Middle East

We spent a lot of time in training while there.

can I say that your SBC Company are the top in the world

This is not to second rate anyone else sharing the gospel

or any of the other missionaries we support

However, the field personnel I was in contact with

are some of the smartest, most dedicated,

humble, and faithful people on the planet.

This is why I call them my heroes.

and these folks are the hope of the Gospel.

The Hope of the Gospel

Brutal Facts

23 Millions Christians

Christianity in some areas of the South Asian affinity

outpopulate other religions

Obviously if a country is majority Hindu,

they won’t outpopulate them

However they may outpopulate the Buddhists

or even the muslims

The Company

The IMB’s job is to follow the Core Missionary Task (CMT)

If you go through Discovery class

or have been here for any length of time

this has been mentioned a time or two

Entry, Evangelism, Discipleship, Church planting, Church leadership, and exit

What makes this so important

is that they start with the end in mind.

I mentioned that these sent ones

They understand the real possibility of having to

leave their stuff in the country they were called to

to a country they’ve spent years developing relationships

and years learning the language and culture

to be denied reentry and having to leave it all behind.

They can do this because they have started with understanding

they aren’t going to be the ones to lead the church

or disciple other believers.

They dedicate their lives and are called to

train the national partners to the work of the ministry.

so that the possibility arises they are denied reentry

there are national partners ready to take over should they ben called out.

National Training

We got to experience the training

first we got to experience a portion of language school

We were trained by national partners a handful of key phrases

This allows us a few things

It allows us not to have to totally depend on translators

to have to ask for simple things

and it also shows the nationals that we are trying to fit in.

It makes it more comfortable to them when

there is an American trying to learn their language.

Namaste - General hello

Jaimashi - Hello to a brother or sister in Christ

Dhanjavad - Thank you

Mero naam Art ho - my name is art

Tapaiko naam ke ho? - What is your name

Tapiako kasto chha - How are you?

Maile Bujhina - I don’t understand

Pardina - this does not interest me

Ni - no

Yeslai kati prachha - How much is this?

Dherai ramro - Very good

Parmeshole Aashish diun - God Bless You

We used these over and over again

when we got into cabs, or met with nationals on the street

by the middle of the week

we would walk from the guest house to the coffee shop

and would be able to engage in conversation

with the shop owners.

Most every around where we were staying spoke English

but it made them aware of a few things

we loved them by trying

and there’s a possibility we could understand them

if they were talking about us.

We were part of a training for an entire day with the national brothers and sisters

these were folks that were recent believers

and the m’s on the field were training them

about the Great Commission and their responsibility

as new believers to share the gospel

and multiply the churches they belonged to.

One part of the this training was to help them understand

to reach acros the caste lines

and the religious lines to

invite people to the gospel.

Hindus and Mulslims don’t get along

and for a Hindu to share the gospel with a Muslim

means that they understand the gospel

and especially understand stories like the Good Samaritan.

We also one day went out with the church planters in the area.

these folks are part of a network of churches

much like we are a part of a network here.

Their network is called the Himalayan Belt Network.

Himalayan Belt Network

When I think of church planters in the US

I think of people planting one church

and then staying through that plant until leadership is formed.

These men are a little different

The newest member of the group whose name is Oshesh

He’s about 26 or so.

He shared his story about how he became a believer.

Since being saved, he has planted over 20 churches

very strategic church planting

and most of the churches are house churches

that may have 6-8 people.

These planters are all trained by our field personnel

After Entry, Evangelism, Discipleship and church fomration occurs

men in the church are identified and they begin to train to be planters

They are taught to survey an area

some from the outside

meaning they are looking through an area to see

how many familes

how many children

the economic status

population etc.

They also begin to prayerwalk through the area

they pray and engage people as they go

they are looking for the Person of peace

When they find that person, they begin the CMT

After they find the POP

they begin making lists of people to share with

then they scatter seeds among them

and they wait for God to begin to grow the seeds

They will do this over and over again

similar to how Paul would do the same thing

they will establish the churches and then the leadership

and they move on to a different area

and do it all over again

after a while they will begin to go back to the churches

and follow up to see if they need encouragement and correction

I had the privilege to go with a man named Muhesh.

Muhesh is a church planter and is 33 years old

He has planted over 40 churches.

We wnet to a area where he is beginning a new work

outside the main city of Kathmandu.

When I say he drug me all over Nepal, it felt that way.

We went to places that for most Westerners

to describe it would sound very unsafe.

We were dropped off by cab outside of an area in a village.

You go through this gate and we were in a section of the village

where there is a rug factory.

The factory is in a medium to large building

and the building is surrounded by living quarters

where the people lived and worked.

The owner of the rug factory is a believer

a person of peace

that Muhesh found while surveying the area.

He led him to Christ and trained him to lead church.

We walked into the rug factory and I watched as they were making incredible rugs

Muhesh would speak to them in Nepali

and then turn to me and said, Go

that means I was to share the gospel.

We would go line to line

about three to four people in a line

and we would share

after we finished, we shared the gospel to about 16 people

four to five line of people

and about 8-9 of them prayer to receive Christ.

However, in Nepal, this is quite common

as Hindus like to collect gods

so behind be was the owner of the rug factory

and he was taking information and names

of those that prayed

and he would follow up with them to disciple them ata different time

teach them the Bible

and bring them to church

Imagine your boss doing that!

We then went to different part of the area

we got off and began to walk down back alleys

through a sketchy looking door

with rebar made stairs to get into the door

and down a very dark hall

IN the room we finally got to

were several women making smaller rugs.

It felt like some back room drug den

but these were all women just making rugs

and all part of the business.

We shared there and two of the women prayed to receive Christ.

again the owner followed up and went through the process again.

That evening we met with one of the leaders of the Himalayan Belt Network.

Our group was able to share 80 times

13 people accepted the gospel

66 people heard and need follow up

one person rejected

and there were 2 baptisms that took place.

What Next?

I went to Nepal to learn how we could partner with M’s there

to maybe find a place to go for our church.

I came back with a lot more.

There are four ways we can partner with our field personnel in South Asia

Pray, Give, Go, Send

Pray

I came back with a deep appreciation for our field personnel

when I tell you that these folks are my heroes, I mean it.

These are some of the smartest people on the planet.

They know their people, the language, the culture,

are willing to go into hard places

and to do the work that God has called them to do.

When I say prayer works

There is no way I could have survived there for the week I was there

without the prayers of people back here.

These folks live there.

There is no way to be as effective for the gospel as they are

without the prayers of people back home holding the rope.

Our prayers are more than simple mantras or sayings

This is the lifeline of everything they do.

The church I was able to preach in

these people spent an hour in prayer before the singing began.

They are led in prayer

they pray aloud and together

they pray for each other and for the church.

Prayer is a real thing to them,

not just something they are supposed to do.

Give

I saw Lottie Moon at work.

meaning, I saw the benefits of our Lottie Moon offering

The guest house we stayed in was paid for by Lottie Moon

The vehicles we were driven in were paid for by Lottie Moon

the trainings we experienced were all developed and paid for by Lottie Moon

The house of our team leader we visited

was paid for by Lottie Moon.

The many sent one’s children that we enjoyed being around

all their food and families

are all paid for by Lottie Moon

Our church should do better to give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering

than to try to scrape together the smallest amount possible.

These folks live and breathe what they believe.

One missionary to 5 million people and the phrase I heard over and over was

we have the darkness surrounded.

I had the privilege of worshipping with them last Sunday.

I spoke and lived with them for a week.

These folks are depending on us to hold the rope for them.

We give to the Cooperative Program

that fund is used to help pay for both IMB and NAMB personnel

also to cover half the cost of tuition for those that attend our SBC schools

that of which I am personally grateful for

both for myself and my daughter.

We have had several people that have gone and are still going

to our SBC schools and the y are grateful.

Lottie Moon is different.

It will forever be different me after seeing it in action

and enjoying the benefits.

All Lottie Moon Offerings go straight to the people on the field.

NC Baptists have led for over 20 years in giving to Lottie

and we can still give more and we should.

By our giving

it allows our field people to do the work they need to do

without having to administrate every detail for both work and home.

They don’t have to worry about where their next meal is coming from

or how they are going to drive or live

because of the giving that comes from Lottie Moon

and I can tell you first hand that it shows.

GO

This is a harder ask.

I was told this by Dr. Cloer who I got to room with the whole time I was there.

I am a fishing guide.

As a fishing guide, my job is to take people who want to fish

to best places to get fish

the places with the most fish

and the least amount of fisherman.

Who wants to go fishing where

there are tons of other fisherman

and you are constantly crossing lines.

Is it a hard place to get to?

sure. It takes a passport.

It also takes about 26 hours of flying.

However, I can tell you that

how much would you spend to charter a boat

to be uncomfortable for a half day or full day fishing trip

with rough waters, fish guts, and the smell of chum

90 degree heat, getting sunburned

getting up at 5 in the morning

travelling several hours to get our to the deep parts of the ocean

all to catch fish.

It’s no different

it’s just a matter of priorities.

Instead of catching a fish that you spent hundreds of dollars to eat

and lasts about 30 minutes to eat

You get to go and catch fish in the greatest fishing hole ever

and build relationships with other fisherman

and catch fish that will last for eternity.

There are 1 to 5million and they need our help.

we can go and encourage and help our lead fisherman

whatever the cost

and as long as I am your under shepherd

that’s exactly what we are going to do.

We have an opportunity to go to Washington DC in a few weeks.

No passport.

No long flights

Same opportunity.

We’ve had three people including myself that are going.

I( believe if we believe in missions

we can stop outsourcing our responsibilities to go

and stop sending money and calling it missions.

We need to put our mouth and feet

where our money is.

SEND

One of my greatest prayers is that

people will be called from Riley’s Creek Baptist

to go into the field that is ripe for harvest.

Wherever that may be.

I met people that have sacrficed comfort

they have literally brought their familes to the missions field.

I met kids that have more comfort being in an airport

than being at home playing XBOX.

Our team leader’s child

I got to spend a lot of time with him.

He is 9 years old.

When He came to breakfast with his dad

he sat down at the table, was very respectful

and was reading Lord of the Rings.

I wanted to adopt him right then and there.

We talked about the book

It was his first time reading the book

so I didn;t want to spoil him about anything.

I showed him my ring

which was a ring that I use to replace the original wedding band I have a t home.

It is the ring from Lord of the Rings.

He was so enamored with it

when I saw him over the course of the week,

He constantly wanted to see it

and wanted to know where he could get one.

The last day we were there

I gave his mom my ring.

It’s only stuff

and I got to be unmarried for the whole trip home.

Dr. Danny Aiken has said mutiple times

and I have aid this phrase from him multiple times

The question isn’t why I should go

the question is why should I stay.

The reasons that you give to stay

I would ask you to pray about those.

Are they selfish compfortable first world reasons?

Are they reasons related to age?

Can I tell you there are people that are serving that in their seventy’s, eighties?

Maybe it’s health

There are better people acorss the globe

to help people than in the States.

I went to a pharmacy and was able to see people purchase

antibiotics over the counter for less than a dollar.

Not to mention that our Company sends people with

the best medical coverage and benefits on the planet.

Maybe it’s just a fear of going.