MTM To Dhangadhi, Nepal
July 24-August 4, 2014
Invited to participate in the 2014 Dhangadhi Conference as one of the teachers, I hardly knew what to expect. And, in retrospect, had we begun with only our expectations, our great and glorious God would certainly have shown us how small our human horizons are. The Dhangadhi Conference was an experience truly unlike any other I had ever encountered. Sister Janie and I arrived at Dhangadhi, Nepal, on Sunday, July 27 in the very capable hands and enjoyable accompaniment of Brother Merle and Sister Judy Flory. The four of us had such sweet fellowship with each other and with the Nepali believers during our week-long stay there. We found a church that was vibrant, active, and hungry and thirsty for righteousness and the word of God.
Nepal MTM Teaching Team L-R, Merle & Judy Flory, Curt & Janie Wagoner
The four-day conference began on Monday and continued through Thursday. The teaching topics were Three Vital Relationships (Our Relationship with God, Our Relationship with Others, and Our Relationship with the World) and six messages from Romans 12 (Presenting Ourselves as Living Sacrifices, Transformed through Renewed Minds, Faithful Men are Humble Men, Being Members One of Another, Love that is Real!, and Living Peaceably with Others). The venue was an old theatre that God had miraculously provided for the attendees who averaged approximately 270 people each day. The Spirit of God visited us in a mighty way, though the enemy attempted various means to distract and to discard the good seed that was sown.
The Pastors, Leaders & Men Who Attended The Conference Unto The End
From our experience, the Nepali church would seem to be largely a first-generational church and a church that predominates with youth. In the midst of this zeal and youthful exuberance, there were numerous older pastors exercising with shepherds’ care and gentle husbandry of the planting of the Lord. We saw many young brothers who appeared to be budding church leaders and who were being carefully tended by these older men. God provided capable interpreters, health for the teachers and team, and a very suitable location for the conference, even in the midst of extreme heat; and the Spirit of God moved mightily with soul-stirring, foundational teaching and physical healing for many that came with infirmities and distresses. God heard the cries of His people and showed Himself more than sufficient in every trial that was encountered. The gentle spirits of the Nepali people were a candlestick upon which the Spirit of God made Himself gloriously known. And the glowing countenances of the believers in this once-Hindu kingdom provide a clear testimony of the mighty work of God in Nepal. Alleluia! Jaymisee!
Editor’s Note: Special thanks to our guest teacher who wrote the above article, Brother Curt and his wife Janie traveled from West Alexandria, Ohio meeting the MTM team in Kathmandu, Nepal. Together we went on west to the conference in Dhangadhi. It was a blessing to have them stop in Chiang Mai for 2 days after the conference. Thank you very much for your sacrifice of time and resources and your labor of love. God bless you. By His Grace alone, Merle D. Flory
Ps Deepak Giri’s Served As A Native Coordinator For The Dhangadhi, Nepal MTM Conference. Here is a Portion Of His Testimony. “Conference like this was never before regarding the participation of pastors, leaders and believers and some even non-believing ones who were converted and baptized the following day…” Click Here To Read His Complete Testimony
Click Here To View A Picture Album Of MTM To Nepal
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MTM To Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
July 30-August 7, 2014
Delivering Life to Vietnam
Who can recall the Vietnam War without remembering the riots and rebellion that escalated, until in 1975 the United States finally withdrew under pressure and the communistic Viet Cong of North Vietnam took over the country? In 1971the United States Draft Board assigned me the lottery number of sixty-nine that was chosen for the date of my birthday. With a number that low, being called into service was quite certain. While many of my public schoolmates left to join the war, I served in an alternate service program under the Northern Light Gospel Mission in northwest Ontario.
Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) is home to a War Museum which is as gruesome to walk through as the World War II Holocaust Museum of Washington D.C. The carpet bombing, the gruesome execution of mothers and children, the napalm fire bombs that charred the bodies of villagers, and the Agent Orange destruction of forests and vegetation which left the civilians with poisoned water sources and useless gardens and fields. As is the case in all wars, both sides engage in criminal acts and justice is at a low ebb. The West brought incomprehensible horror to the Vietnamese while attempting to deliver them from the atheistic communism of the North.
There was a deep sense of restitution in me as Barbara and I joined Raymond and Naomi Burkholder to conduct a MTM Conference in Ho Chi Minh City. Raymond taught about the Kingdom of Christ in which the principles and policies are holy and guided by the sacrificial love demonstrated by the King, Jesus. We are citizens of a Kingdom that transcends all countries and people groups, a Kingdom that does not take up arms against any earthly kingdom yet invades them all with the Gospel of Peace.
Vietnam Ministry Team L-R, Tim Our Native Coordinator, Val & Barb Yoder, Naomi & Raymond Burkholder
As I was teaching about raising Godly families, it was exciting to be able to invest in the lives of Vietnamese families and children. God models how fathers are to bless their children by the way He blessed Jesus when He spoke out of Heaven twice to say to His Son, in essence, “This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him” (Matthew 17:5). Paul further underscores this parental responsibility by saying, “As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children.” (I Thessalonians 2:11 – emphasis mine). Instead of destroying future generation of Vietnamese children in warfare, the Kingdom of God fills them with truth and divine love. What a joy to deliver Life to Vietnam, rather than death.
While in Vietnam, it was an added affirmation to discover that the Napalm Girl, Phan Thi Kim Phuc, (shown in a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo by Nick Ut, which turned the tide of Americans away from the war) was not able to find freedom from the horrors of her past until she found and studied the Bible. We have the awesome privilege to represent the Kingdom that brings forgiveness and Life. The Kingdom of Christ is unstoppable and will one day have uncontested rule of the universe.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Conference Group
Editors Note: The above article was written by brother Val Yoder. Val & Barb Yoder serve as IGo field administrator here in Chiang Mai, Thailand. This is the seventh time brother Val has served as a guest teacher with MTM. A very special thank you Val & Barb for faithfully serving the Lord and the dear brothers and sisters of Vietnam through MTM. Blessed Be God, Raymond Burkholder
Click Here To View A Picture Album Of MTM To Vietnam
