The picture above, of course, is my wife Denise. Over the past five years she has become quite good at shopping in many different situations and circumstances. God blessed me with a wonderful woman who has been a great helpmeet all of these years, but especially here on the mission field.

One of our first tasks, after arriving in the country, was to plan and conduct a two-day Team Orientation. To say the Orientation went well would definitely be an understatement. It was a wonderful time of bonding and casting vision. I taught three sessions, another one of our team members spoke twice, and two others spoke once each.

WE COVET YOUR PRAYERS THAT GOD WILL EMPOWER AND ENABLE US AS A TEAM TO ACCOMPLISH THE TASK BEFORE US!

On Friday mornings I am presently meeting with six of our young people, along with a young lady named Ericka who is interning with us from the States. Our goal during this time together is basically two-fold: (1) to personally help these young people to grow in their faith and relationship with the Lord, and (2) to see these six young people start discipling one or two others before the summer is over.

PLEASE PRAY FOR KONG, JUI, LAMPHAN, LILEE, BOUNMEE, AND PACHU AND OUR TIME TOGETHER ON FRIDAYS!

Three weeks ago we started classes in our School of Ministry. We presently have eight students and our classes are held Monday – Thursday from 9:00 AM-12:00 PM. On Monday, one of the National pastors is teaching a class on “Galatians and Ephesians.” On Tuesday, I am teaching “Bible Study/Bible Teaching Methods.” Wednesday, I am teaching the “Gospel of Matthew,” and on Thursday, I am teaching a course called “Being a Disciple and Making Disciples” and another course, for men only, “Principles of Biblical Leadership.” My wife is teaching on Thursdays also, a “Christian Womanhood” class. We are excited about the opportunity to invest in the lives of these young people!

WE COVET YOUR PRAYERS FOR THE SCHOOL OF MINISTRY AND FOR OUR STUDENTS!

Koumaly and Darath Thongdy, who are presently on a short furlough during the summer months, started our English school here seven years ago and have faithfully guided it over the years. The school provides us a reason to be here.  Yet, more than that, it gives us an opportunity to meet and build relationships with folks we never would have had a chance to meet. And yes, some of them actually get saved. Our school also offers us an opportunity to help the locals to better themselves for the future. We are excited about the Summer Term that just started and look forward to the upcoming Fall Term.

WE COVET YOUR PRAYERS FOR THE SCHOOL AND OUR STUDENTS!  

We presently are blessed to have ministries in two different villages. In both of the villages we have seen churches planted. Both of these works are pastored by national men. And, for this we thank God! God is doing some amazing things in both of these villages, but especially the village that Kong and his wife Lilee are overseeing.

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL CONTINUE TO BLESS THESE VILLAGE MINISTRIES AND THE TWO MEN WHO OVERSEE THE WORKS!

Our most recent Celebration Service (combined service) was great! It was a true blessing to have all three churches gather together for a time of worship, teaching, preaching, and some wonderful food. We are grateful for all that God is doing and thankful for the opportunity to occasionally gather together!

PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR THREE CHURCHES AND THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO FAITHFULLY SERVE IN THEM!

For over seven years now (even before coming to this part of the world as a missionary), I have been preaching for a dear friend and local pastor, and teaching in his Bible Institute. Over the past few years, I have added something special. His ministry is filled with factory workers, male and female, and as often as possible, I try to spend an evening with them. We gather together for a time of food, fun, and fellowship, as well as teaching the Word of God. It was a blessing to meet with them two weeks ago!

PLEASE PRAY FOR THESE FOLKS TO BE USED BY GOD TO REACH THEIR PEOPLE! 

We have so many young people here. In fact, our ministry is overrunning with young people. So many of them are growing in Christ and have a desire to serve the Lord with their lives. Recently, we started having occasional “Friday Teen Nights” to encourage and edify the young people. This ministry is totally run by our National young people and led by a young man who is my assistant. His name is Jui and he is doing a great job!

It’s always a blessing when our ladies have the opportunity to gather together. Recently, our ladies had a Ladies’ Fellowship. While I wasn’t there :), I was told they had a great time of food, fun, and fellowship. My wife had a chance to speak for the ladies on being “Rooted and Grounded in Christ.”  While the ladies were together, I took a few of the men and teen boys out for some pizza. And, yes, we had a great time too!

As always, my wife and I would like to thank you for your faithful financial support and your consistent prayer support. We are here, doing what God has led us to do, by His grace and your generosity!

Johnny and Denise

“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is.                                     Missions exists because worship doesn’t.”

 

For those of you who follow us on Instagram, Twitter, or FaceBook, you will be very familiar with the sight above. This is an everyday occurrence for me as I go on my prayer walk. These are just a handful of the Monks from one of over 300 Buddhist temples in our city. The sad reality is that the vast majority of the people in this part of the world are in bondage to the religion of Buddhism. Oh, how desperately we need more laborers here.

PLEASE PRAY FOR MORE LABORERS FOR HARVEST FIELDS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA!

Immediately after last month’s wonderful Youth Conference in Udon Thani, Thailand, my wife and I flew into Cambodia and spent a week with our team and “family” and friends there. It is absolutely amazing what God is doing in Cambodia!

Of course, as many of you will remember, my wife and I served with our team in Cambodia for two years. It always good to go back and be with folks we love dearly and see all that God is doing. And, He’s doing a lot!

I also had the opportunity to preach and teach a few times, as well as do a quite a bit of soul-winning and visitation while in Cambodia. Denise and I also spent a lot of quality and fun time with our family and friends.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR OUR TEAM IN CAMBODIA AND THE MILLIONS OF LOST SOULS IN THAT COUNTRY!

After our trip to Cambodia, my wife and I took a few days off for our anniversary and went to Chiang Mai, Thailand. Our anniversary is actually in December and we had this trip planned then, but we had to cancel it. So, this was actually a belated anniversary “get away” for the two of us. So grateful for a wonderful (and patient) wife! 🙂

We had a wonderful time. We also had a chance to meet up with some missionary friends, and I had the opportunity to preach for missionary Jay Ballou and his church family.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THAILAND. THE NEED IS SO GREAT; LABORERS ARE SO FEW!

We are now getting settled into our new home in the “Creative Access” nation where we previously served with our team for 17 months. It has been a blessing to already begin preaching, teaching, discipling, serving in one of our village ministries, meeting with potential School of Ministry (Bible College) students, and preparing for the beginning of our School of Ministry, along with just trying to get “moved in.”

Our recent Mother’s Day service was such a blessing. We had a packed house, a wonderful spirit, and the folks were attentive as I taught during the Sunday school hour for the teens and preached in the main service. Honoring the mothers is something a bit foreign over here, so it was a special treat.

PLEASE PRAY FOR US AS WE GET SETTLED INTO OUR NEW “HOME” AND INTO THE VARIOUS MINISTRIES WE WILL BE DIRECTLY WORKING WITH AND OVERSEEING!

Things get really busy beginning this week. As if they weren’t already! 🙂 Along with preaching four times a week for the next month or so, teaching nine hours a week in our School of Ministry (Bible College), meeting with seven of our young people (college students) weekly in a Discipleship Group, sitting in and observing our English classes a few times a week, I will also be overseeing all of our ministries. This week my wife starts teaching in the English school and will be teaching a Christian Womanhood class in the School of Ministry.

We definitely covet your prayers!

Denise and I want to, once again, thank all of you for your prayers and financial support. All that we do is because of God’s grace and your generosity!

Johnny and Denise Esposito

“We must be global Christians because our God is a global God!”

I want to thank you all for praying for our Youth Conference in Udon Thani, Thailand. The group picture above will give you a good idea how many folks attended the three-day conference. We had at least 245 people in attendance for the services, representing 15 different churches.

It was a blessing to see so many young people in the services, to see so many pastors and missionaries praying together and preaching together. I had the opportunity to preach three times, teach a special session for the Hmong young people, and teach another session for the missionaries and the pastors.

As most of you know, my wife and I recently relocated to assist our team in a “Creative Access Nation.” We are looking forward to discipling a few of the young men and women, assisting in training of the national leadership here, and getting a Bible College/Institute started.

Of course, I will be doing a lot of preaching and teaching here. This is especially true over the next few months as Koumaly and Darath Thongdy will be leaving for the summer months on a short furlough. I have already preached a few times since arriving and, as always, it’s been a privilege and a joy. 

Of course, our last week in China was bittersweet. I had the chance to teach the men one more time, teach in our KTV Connection Group, preach in our Sunday service, as well as quite a few emotional “goodbye meals” with many of our dear friends.

The video below is a temple that is located about fifty yards from our front porch. A great reminder why we are serving in this part of the world!

My wife and I thank you for holding the ropes back home,

Johnny and Denise

After hearing an account of the spiritual needs of India, the secretary of the meeting remarked: “There is a gold mine in India, but it seems almost as deep as the center of the earth. Who will venture to explore it?” “I will venture to go down,” said Carey, “but remember that you must hold the ropes.”

The above picture was sent to me by one of our men in China while I was in the States. I believe it is a picture of a grandfather and his grandchildren. My initial thought when seeing this picture was this, “Someone will be leading the youth in Asia into the future; who will it be?” Lord willing, it will be men and women of faith, men and women committed to the Gospel of Christ and the Christ of the Gospel!

The picture below is of four young ladies (Aries, Xi, Lu, and Lily) who were in our service this past Sunday.  They all have one thing in common, other than being Chinese of course. All four of them were led to Christ by someone in the West, or someone from the West. One became a Christian while attending school in America. One, while attending school in Australia. Another, while attending school in England. And the last young lady, was led to Christ by a foreigner from Germany here in China.

There might be a lesson here for us about the need in this part of the world! 🤔

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY THAT GOD WILL SEND MORE LABORERS INTO THIS PART OF THE WORLD!

March 16 marked five years for my wife and I serving in the harvest fields of Asia. It has been a tremendous blessing for us to serve with our team that serves in a “Creative Access” Nation, as well as our team that is serving the precious people of Cambodia, and now for the past nine months we have had the privilege to serve here in the country of China. Along with winning people to Christ and discipling believers, our heart’s desire is to be a help to missionaries and national leaders in the 10/40 Window, as well as getting the word out about this part of the world on the other side of the Pacific!

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR MY WIFE AND ME AS WE SERVE IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD AND TRANSITION INTO ANOTHER “CREATIVE ACCESS” NATION!

It was a blessing to be back in the States for two weeks. During this time, I taught a four day Missions’ Intensive at Pacific Baptist Bible College, as well as preached in three of their chapel services. I also had the opportunity to preach in three different churches–including three times for our home and sending church (Pacific Baptist Church of Long Beach).

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL USE THE PREACHING AND THE TEACHING TO BRING FORTH MORE LABORERS FOR THE HARVEST FIELDS OF THE WORLD, ESPECIALLY THE 10/40 WINDOW!

I also had the privilege to preach for the service when Pacific Baptist Church voted Pastor Steve Meyers in as the pastor. As most of you know, my brother, Pastor Joe, started the church and pastored it for over 25 years prior to being hospitalized. This was an emotional evening for many of us. We thank God for Pastor Meyers and his wife Alma. They have done a wonderful job the past 4 ½ years filling in for my brother. And we expect them to continue to lead the church forward for Christ and the cause of Christ “around the corner” and “around the world.” Both my brother, Pastor Joe, and Pastor Meyers, and their families have been a wonderful testimony of God’s grace and have faithfully served Christ for decades.

PLEASE PRAY FOR PASTOR MEYERS AND PACIFIC BAPTIST CHURCH, AS WELL AS PASTOR JOE AND HIS FAMILY!

While on this short trip to the States, I was blessed to be able to see my two newest grandchildren (Eliza Jade Aquino and Aaron Christopher Ayala). That’s twenty grandchildren now, with one more on the way. But then again, who’s counting? 🙂

One of the areas of ministry at our church here in China that God is using mightily, especially in helping to nurture our folks in their faith are our Connection Groups. As of now, we have six Connection Groups. These groups are intended to connect our folks to God, to one another, and with a lost and dying world, and we are seeing this take place on a weekly basis. Lord willing, a few of these groups will one day become churches. This past week, we had a wonderful time with one of our groups and even had two brand new visitors!

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL USE OUR CONNECTION GROUPS TO REACH AND TEACH MANY FOR CHRIST! 

This past Saturday a handful of the folks from our church here in China had an “Easter Outreach” for the Children. While I wasn’t there, I have been told and have seen many pictures that verify they had a great turnout and a wonderful day!

HE IS RISEN!

Are there any words sweeter in the English language? This past Sunday was Easter/Resurrection Sunday. I preached a message entitled, “The Resurrection of Christ and the Revival of His People.” The auditorium was packed, the spirit was sweet, and the response to the message was tremendous. Afterwards a handful of us went out for a traditional Chinese lunch. The food and fellowship was great!

In less than two weeks, Denise and I relocate to assist our team in a “Creative Access” Nation. My primary responsibilities will be to assist in getting a Bible Institute/Bible College started, discipling national leaders, and overseeing the work while Koumaly Thongdy is on a short furlough.

Less than a week after arriving, I will be speaking for a Youth Conference hosted by our team. I will have the privilege to preach three times, along with teaching one session for  Pastors, Missionaries, and Church Workers .

We sincerely covet your prayers for this conference. We are expecting between 15-17 churches and some 300 people to be in attendance, and are praying for a real moving of God!

PLEASE PRAY FOR  US AS WE SEEK TO ASSIST OUR TEAM IN THE “CREATIVE ACCESS” NATION AND FOR THE YOUTH CONFERENCE IN THAILAND!

My wife and I want to thank you for your prayers and financial support. We couldn’t do what God has led us to do without dear friends like you.

Johnny and Denise

 

“I will go anywhere, provided it be forward.”
― Missionary David Livingstone

 

When you visit a Mc Donald’s in the country of Thailand, you will be greeted by a Ronald giving the traditional Thai greeting. In just over thirty years. McDonald’s has went from one location to over 200 locations in Thailand, including over 100 in Bangkok alone! They plan on opening another 200 locations by the year 2020. Sounds like they have a vision for Thailand’s 69 million people (less than 2 percent professing to be “Christian”).

The question is, “Do we?”

Every year, for the last 3-4 years, our teams from the “Creative Access” Nation, which we will soon be returning to, Thailand, and Cambodia have met in Bangkok for a week-long time of refreshing fellowship, and of course, great teaching from different members of our various teams. I had the opportunity and privilege to teach two different lessons: “Leadership that Glorifies God” and “Discpleship with the End in Mind.”

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD CONTINUES TO USE OUR TEAMS AND THE NATIONALS WE HAVE SEEN GOD RAISE UP TO REACH SOUTHEAST ASIA AND EVEN BEYOND!

This year, we had the privilege of also having our dear friend, Dwight Tomlinson and his wife Gayle with us. Brother Tomlinson is the founder of barnabas1040.com This a wonderful ministry, which raises support for national pastors. They presently are supporting 28 pastors in 12 different countries and 3 different Bible Colleges in the 1040 Window. Barnabas1040 is presently providing support for four men that I have had the opportunity to invest some into their lives.

If you are looking for a good investment for eternity and the 1040 Window, I would encourage you to prayerfully consider Barnabas1040.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE TOMLINSON’S, WHO ARE SERVING IN CHINA, AND FOR BARNABAS1040! 

I arrived in Bangkok one day early to preach for my dear friend and fellow laborer, Enrile Badua, and his church family (Bangkok Baptist Church). It was the last Sunday of their Missions’ Emphasis Month. I taught on “Right Attitudes on Prosperity and Possessions” during the Sunday School hour. And I preached a message on “Investing for the Master and the Mission” during the morning service.  Brother Badua has been in Bangkok for 17 years and has a wonderful ministry!

PLEASE PRAY FOR BROTHER BADUA, BANGKOK BAPTIST CHURCH, AND THAT THE SEEDS THAT WERE SOWN DURING MY TIME THERE WILL BRING FORTH FRUIT!

As I have mentioned in many of our updates, one of my primary responsibilities and privileges has been to disciple a few of our men individually and in a group setting. In the group setting, it has been more of a time of leadership development and discipling future disciplers. It has been a wonderful experience and I will always cherish these times together and will miss these men greatly!

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR OUR MINISTRY AND THESE MEN IN CHINA!

It was a real blessing to have three dear friends visit with us for a few days on their way to the Philippines for the Spiritual Leadership Conference of Asia. I have known Pastor Ryan Thomson and Assistant pastor Doug Mc Mains for many years. I have only known Tom Chapman, who is planning on moving his family to this part of the world in just a few months to serve the Lord, for about 4-5 years. All three of these men are wonderful servants of Jesus and have a heart, not only for the Lord, but for the lost. We had a wonderful time together and Pastor Thompson preached a powerful message on the Great Commission!

In just over a month, my wife and I will be relocating to the “Creative Access” Nation where my wife and I served for a year and a half, to assist in leadership development, discipling men, and starting a Bible Institute/Bible College. I flew down for a week and met with Koumaly Thongdy, preached for them a few times, and looked at the place where my wife and I will be living.

In the picture above, you will see a young man named Kong interpreting for me. Kong was saved a little bit over two years ago and surrendered to serve in the full-time ministry while listening to a message I preached at a Bible Camp in Thailand almost two years ago. Just a few weeks later, he started a ministry for teens and children in his home village about an hour-and-a-half a way from where he is presently living. God is using him and his new bride in a very special way in reaching the Hmong people, especially those in his home village.

PLEASE PRAY FOR KONG AND LILEE AS GOD USES THEM TO REACH THE HMONG PEOPLE!

While in the “Creative Access” Nation, I also had the opportunity and privilege to preach for another dear friend and fellow laborer, Brother Jamin Rodero. Brother Jamin and his dear wife have been in the country for ten years and he has planted, or helped to plant five different churches around the country. As always, it was a great service and they had a lot of food after the service.

PLEASE PRAY FOR BROTHER JAMIN AND HIS MINISTRY!

In previous Updates, we have asked for prayer for Peng Li Mai. She trusted Christ a couple of years ago, but for the past year or so has basically been bed-ridden with cancer. A couple weeks ago, Peng Li Mai went to heaven and I had the opportunity to speak for her funeral service. It was an honor, but it was also definitely different. Let’s just say they do funerals a bit different over here than back home. None of her family knows the Lord, so they did get a chance to hear the Gospel.

Just a few days after my wife and I arrive back in the “Creative Access” Nation,  I will be preaching, for the fourth time in the past five years, the annual Camp in Thailand. Yes, the same Camp that Kong surrendered to serve in full-time ministry in two years ago.  It’s always a blessing, a great encouragement, and a time where anywhere from 12-15 churches from two different countries gather together for a lot of great preaching, food, fun, and fellowship. This year’s emphasis is the youth. I am especially looking forward to having my nephew, Pastor Joe’s son, preach with us!

WE COVET YOUR PRAYERS FOR THIS UPCOMING CONFERENCE!

My wife and I thank God for all of you. We are grateful for your prayers, your words of encouragement, and your faithful financial support!

Johnny and Denise

“Sympathy is no substitute for action.” — David Livingstone, missionary to Africa

Just before being hospitalized, my brother (Pastor Joe), had a dream of two of our teams working together in the area known as the Golden Triangle. This is an area where Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos converge at the Mekong and Ruak Rivers. Pastor Joe’s dream was to use this area to reach into these three countries, and eventually into China. While in Thailand recently, I had the opportunity to visit the actual Golden Triangle.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THESE THREE COUNTRIES AND THE MEN AND WOMEN–INCLUDING OUR TEAMS–THAT ARE LABORING IN THEM!

I had the privilege and the joy to spend ten days with our team in Northern Thailand. Jay and Heidi Chang, and Tom and Sue Sutrick are serving in the mountains and working with the Hmong people. This is a very special place for me. It was in these very mountains about seven years ago that God gripped my heart. Not only for these people, but for the many different people groups in the 1040 Window. It was here that I said to God, “If you could use me in a small way to reach one of these dear precious souls, I am willing to come.”  And, now almost five years later, here we are serving in Asia!

Tom and Sue Sutrick are my heroes. They really are! Neither of them ever attended Bible college. No ministry training to speak of, just two people who love Jesus and love people–especially the Hmong people. A simple lay couple for their entire lives, they both retired early to work with the Hmong people back in Wisconsin. And, in their late 50s, they packed everything up and “retired” to the country of Thailand to work with the Hmong people. They have been serving in these mountains now for about six years!

While in Thailand, I had the privilege of preaching for their church family eight times, and taught for three hours a day for a three-day Pastors’ and Church Workers’ Conference. In addition to Tom and Sue and their church workers, we had 10 men and two women come from a “Creative Access Nation” across the border for the teaching and the preaching. Grateful for Brother Jay interpreting for me during the special sessions. God really did bless in a miraculous way. On the last day, just prior to me preaching the closing message, tears of rejoicing were flowing and testimonies were given that caused me to tear up!

I also had the privilege of sharing the Gospel with ten different people while soul-winning in Tom and Sue’s village. While no one trusted Christ, they were all very receptive.

As I have mentioned previously, my primary focus, while here in China, is discipleship. Specifically, discipling and assisting with the training up of some of the men who are, and will be leading this congregation in the future, as well as possibly planting new churches in this city, province, and other parts of the country in the future.

Our Connection Groups are doing very well. I had the privilege and pleasure to visit and observe two of them this past week. On Wednesday, I visited our CG led by Li (Lee) that meets weekly at a secular business (KTV). God is doing something special with this group. Including Li and myself, we had 19 in attendance and 10 or 11 of them are unbelievers. Great opportunity to plant the Gospel seed. In recent weeks or months, three of them (Zhang Su Li, Li Ruchang, and Hu Li)  have trusted Christ. Two more women (Lu Yan Zhu and Chen Jing) are very close to getting saved.

On Thursday, I was with Liu Hong’s CG. Including latecomers, I think we had 15 in attendance and we had a wonderful time of food and fellowship, as well as a great lesson from Colossians chapter one by Liu Hong. He is doing a wonderful job leading this new group.

THE PICTURES BELOW ARE BLURRED FOR SECURITY REASONS!!!

As I mentioned in our previous Update, most of the preaching and teaching is being done here by the National men. Our heart’s desire is to see them take this work over in the near future, as well as plant a few new churches in this city. I did get the chance to preach this past Sunday. Our church theme for 2018 is “Loving Christ is Obeying Christ,” and I used that as a springboard to preach on the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. The title of the message was “For The Sake of The Gospel.” It was a call for God’s people to come out of a spirit of complacency and be willing to leave their comfort zone. After the service, a handful of us went out for a time of food and fellowship!

We had a wonderful time of fellowship at one of our brother’s new home. I had the privilege to share a short message and pray for Zhang Lun, his wife, and their new home. Zhang Lun did not trust Christ until he was in his early 30s, and like so many others here, he had never  heard the Gospel until he was over 30 years old. In fact, he had never heard the name of Jesus Christ-at least in a tangible way-until he was in his late 20s. He and his wife love Jesus and are pillars in the church family here. 

After the service on Sunday, one of our dear and faithful members asked if Li and I would go to her home to pray for it. This sister has an amazing testimony. She was saved 24 years ago at the age of 46. She was led to Christ by another woman who had spent time in prison for her faith and who’s son was executed for his faith!

PLEASE PRAY FOR PERSECUTED BELIEVERS HERE IN CHINA, AS WELL AS OTHER COUNTRIES IN THE 1040 WINDOW!

A FEW ADDITIONAL PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Please continue to pray for God’s presence, power, provision, and protection in our lives.
• Please pray for us concerning recent “religious” restrictions that went into effect on February 1.
• Please pray for Tom and Sue Sutrick and the two village churches they serve in Northern Thailand. 
• Please continue to pray for God to bless our six present house groups (potential future churches).
• Please continue to pray for those in leadership here at the church as we are beginning to train our folks including our leaders to disciple others.
• Pray for Zhang Lun, Li, Richard, Andy, Peter, and Liu Hong (and their wives), as God continues to mold them into the men and “leaders” that He wants them to be here in China.
• Please continue to pray for a few of our single young ladies (Cubie, Lily, Aslyn, Christine, and Theresa) to become the young ladies God intends for them to be.
• Please pray for our KTV Connection Group to be used by God to bring many souls to Christ. 
• Please continue to pray God will help us to reach more teens and faithfully disciple the teens we have now.
• Please continue to pray for Maggie and Hu Ying’s salvation!
• Please pray for Lu Yan Zhu and Chen Jing’s salvation!
• Please pray for Zhang Su Li, Li Ruchang, and Hu Li spiritual growth!
• Please continue to pray for our teams in Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand.
• Pray continue to pray for Dick and Trish Baucum to have a fruitful furlough.
• Pray continue to pray for our ministry in Laos, as we consider assisting them in developing a discipleship ministry and culture and starting a Bible Institute.

My wife and I would like to thank you for your continual and consistent prayer and financial support. And we sincerely thank many of you for taking the time to read our update and praying for the specific needs. We love and thank God for you all!

Johnny and Denise

“Is not the commission of our Lord still binding upon us? Can we not do more than  we are now doing?” — William Carey

 

The picture above is the famous Mekong River. I took this picture on our recent trip to the “Creative Access” nation that my wife and I lived and served in for 17 months. We lived about 300 yards from the river.

From China to Vietnam, the Mekong River is the lifeblood of Southeast Asia. It flows through six different countries: China’s Yunnan Province (47 million people), Myanmar (54 million people), Thailand (68 million people), Laos (7 million people), Cambodia (15 million people), and Vietnam (95 million people). That’s just under 290 million people that can be found in these five countries and China’s Yunnan Province.

For nearly five years now, my wife and I have lived and served in three of these countries (China, Cambodia, and Laos), we have also had the opportunity to assist our team in Thailand on a few occasions (I will be there at the end of this month), and we have had the opportunity, on one occasion, to minister in Myanmar. Other than Vietnam, none of these countries have more than five percent of their population professing to be “Christian.” Vietnam has nine percent professing to be “Christian,” but most of those would be Catholic. There’s a great need for more laborers in these countries.

PLEASE PRAY THAT THE LORD OF THE HARVEST WILL SEND MORE LABORERS TO THIS PART OF THE WORLD!

Near the end of December, my wife and I travelled to the “Creative Access” nation where we served our first 17 months in Asia. We were there for a week. Our primary purpose for being there was to meet with our team and discuss the possibility of our relocating there for a season to assist with discipling young leaders, possibly starting a Bible Institute/Ministry Training Center, and a few other tasks that would enable the ministry to move forward, reach more people, and nurture the folks they have. Our secondary purpose for going was to attend the wedding of two of our young people. It was a great wedding too, even if a few cows tried to “crash the party.” 🙂

WE COVET YOUR PRAYERS ON THIS POSSIBLE MOVE!

While there, my wife and I celebrated my birthday, Christmas, and our Anniversary. Our team even surprised us with a Birthday/Anniversary Celebration during a Christmas Eve celebration for the church family!

As always, while in this country, I had the privilege and joy to speak for our team, as well as for another church that I have been preaching at for seven years (even prior to surrendering to go to the mission field).  My wife and I also treated the factory workers of this church family to an early Christmas dinner – Pizza!

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE VARIOUS MINISTRIES IN THIS CREATIVE ACCESS NATION AND THAT THE SEEDS THAT WERE SOWN WILL BRING FORTH FRUIT!

As I mentioned in our previous update, the weather here has been cold, but the work of God and the fellowship of His people has been warm and sweet. It is such a joy to be able a part of what God is doing here-even if it may only be for a short season.

My wife and I love these folks and I am enjoying meeting with a few of the men on a one-to-one basis weekly, to be able to teach a handful of the men every Tuesday, to occasionally preach for our main services (we are having the Nationals do 75 percent of the preaching), to teach the teens a couple times a month, visit the sick and dying, and have folks (saved and unsaved) over our place on a regular basis. In fact, we overdid it this past week. We had folks over five-of-seven days. My wife is a super blessing! 🙂

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL USE OUR MINISTRY HERE TO MAKE AN IMPACT IN THIS CITY OF SEVEN MILLION PEOPLE, PROVINCE OF 47 MILLION PEOPLE, COUNTRY OF 1.4 BILLION PEOPLE, AND EVENTUALLY AROUND THE WORLD!

A FEW ADDITIONAL PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Pray for God’s presence, power, provision, and protection in our lives.
• Pray for Peng Li Mai who has terminal cancer
• Pray for God to bless our six present house groups (potential future churches).
• Pray for those in leadership here at the church as we are beginning to train our folks including our leaders to disciple others.
• Pray for Zhang Lun, Li, Richard, Andy, Peter, and Liu Hong (and their wives), as God continues to mold them into the men and “leaders” that He wants them to be here in China.
• Pray for a few of our single young ladies (Cubie, Lily, Aslyn, and Christine).
• Pray that God will help us to reach more teens and faithfully disciple the teens we have at the moment.
• Pray for Maggie and Hu Ying’s salvation!
• Please pray for our teams in Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand.
• Pray for my upcoming trip Thailand (end of January) to be with our team for a time of ministry and fellowship.
• Pray for Dick and Trish Baucum to have a fruitful furlough.
• Pray for our ministry in Laos, as we consider assisting them in developing a discipleship ministry and culture and starting a Bible Institute.

Denise and I want to thank you for your continual and consistent prayer and financial support. We also want to thank many of you for taking the time to read our update and praying for the specific needs. We love and thank God for you all!

“The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become.” – Missionary Henry Martyn

The couple pictured above can occasionally be found in our neighborhood begging, which is kind of rare, it’s not allowed in China. Every time I see them, and others like them, not only do I give them something, but I am reminded, not only of the immense physical needs in this part of the world, but the great spiritual blindness in this part of the word!

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL SEND MORE LABORERS TO THIS PART OF THE WORLD!

In the past few weeks, it has been cold–really cold–in our part of the country. My wife and I lived and served in Southern California for over 25 years prior to coming to Asia. Then we spent another four years in Southeast Asia (Laos and Cambodia) where any time it gets under 75 degrees they get the winter coats out. So, weather in the low 30s, and an occasionally dip into the mid-20s, is just a bit different to say the least!

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL USE US AND OTHERS TO BRING THE WARMTH OF HIS LOVE TO THIS PART OF THE WORLD!

One of the different ministries that I enjoy assisting with is teaching our teens on Sunday. This too, is a bit different than our ministries in Long Beach, Laos, and Cambodia where we were overrunning with teenagers. Here in China, it’s a bit different. For many different reasons, we have few teens, but it’s always a blessing to be able to teach them. We are going through the Gospel of John and they seem to be enjoying it!

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL NOT ONLY GIVE US MORE TEENS, BUT THAT WE WILL BE FAITHFUL TO INVEST IN THE TEENS THAT HE HAS GIVEN US!

We now have five small groups spread throughout our city of seven million people. We have another one starting soon. All but one of these groups are made up primarily of believers from our church and the intention is that someday in the future they will become indigenous churches. One of the groups is a Bible study at, of all places, a Karaoke business. During the lunch period, anywhere between 15-20 of the over 200 employees gather in an office for a time of Bible study led by one of our men named Li. Nearly all of those attending are lost without Christ. The few who know Jesus, have been saved through this ministry.   I had the opportunity to teach for them recently. It was a real blessing! I taught from Luke chapter 2 on the reason we celebrate Christmas!

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL CONTINUE TO BLESS LI AND THIS MINISTRY THAT HE LEADS!

While our ministry is in a time of transition, and we are trying to let our national men do the majority of the preaching on Sunday morning, I still have the opportunity and privilege to preach once every four-to-five weeks, and it’s always a joy and a blessing. Two weeks ago, I had the chance to preach on the “Humility of Christ” as it related to the Christmas story. The Lord really moved during the service!

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR GOD TO MOVE IN OUR OUR SUNDAY SERVICES AND FOR ALL OF US TO WALK IN THE HUMILITY OF CHRIST!

One of my favorite times of the week is Tuesday afternoon. On Tuesdays, a group of our men meet for a time of prayer, teaching, and a time to deal with church business. I have been, for some time now, teaching on “Being a Disciple and Reproducing Disciples.” Too be honest, it’s sort of a new concept for many of the guys, but they have a real desire to be men who disciple others and to see the church become a discipling church. The last two weeks, my wife made a special meal for the guys. Needless to say, they were happy campers!

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL USE THESE TUESDAY MEETINGS TO GROW ALL OF US IN THE AREA OF BEING A DISCIPLE AND REPRODUCING DISCIPLES!

As we mentioned in previous updates, one of the ministries we are committed to is simply having folks over our apartment on a weekly basis. We have believers, as well as unbelievers over for a meal and fellowship. In recent days, along with having Liu Hong over every Tuesday evening, we have had a group of our folks from our church family over for food, fun, and fellowship and two unbelievers named Maggie and Hu Ying and their daughters.

It was a blessing to share the Christmas story and the Gospel with Maggie and Hu Ying. Neither of them had ever heard either the Christmas story or the Gospel before. They seemed very interested!

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL USE THESE DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES TO HAVE FOLKS OVER OUR HOME TO LOVE, REACH, AND TEACH FOLKS!

While we surely miss being with family back home for Christmas, it was a blessing to be a blessing for some of the locals here during the Christmas season. Denise did a great job wrapping gifts for a few believers and unbelievers alike.

It was also a blessing for us to take a few of the single girls out for an early Christmas meal after a Sunday service just prior to leaving for our tip to Laos. These are sweet girls who love Jesus and are faithful to the work of the ministry here. So, if you are a single guy and looking for a good wife just give me a call! 🙂

PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR SINGLE ADULTS TO STAY FAITHFUL TO CHRIST AND THE CAUSE OF CHRIST AND TO NOT BE CAUGHT UP IN THE MANY DISTRACTIONS THE WORLD HAS TO OFFER!

While I was not able to be there (in Laos at the time), our church family put on a wonderful Christmas play and one of our good men preached a great message on the story of Christmas. I was told there were over 240 in attendance with at least twenty first time visitors.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE SEEDS OF THE GOSPEL AND CHRIST’S LOVE THAT WERE SOWN DURING THE SPECIAL CHRISTMAS SERVICE TO BRING FORTH FRUIT! 

A FEW ADDITIONAL PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Pray for God’s presence, power, provision, and protection in our lives.
• Pray for God to bless our five present house groups (potential future churches) and the new group Liu Hong will be leading soon.
• Pray for our time of transition here as a church family.
• Pray for those in leadership here at the church as we are beginning to train our folks including our leaders to disciple others.
• Pray for Zhang Lun, Li, Richard, and Peter (and their wives), as God continues to mold them into the men and “leaders” that He wants them to be.
• Pray for Maggie and Hu Ying’s salvation!
• Please pray for our teams in Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia.
• Pray for my upcoming trip to Thailand (end of January) to be with our team for a time of ministry and fellowship.
• Pray for Dick and Trish Baucum to have a fruitful furlough.
• Pray for our ministry in Laos, as we consider relocating for a season to assist them in starting a Bible Institute.

Again, my wife and I want to thank you for your continual and consistent prayer and financial support. We also want to thank many of you for being a tremendous blessing during our time of need. We love and thank God for you all!

Johnny and Denise Esposito

“We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first.” — Oswald J. Smith

Well, as you can see in the picture above, we are back in Asia. Can you find me in the picture? 🙂 After getting a health clearance from the vascular surgeon and the neurologist, we immediately headed back “home” to Asia. And, may I say, “It’s good to be back!”

The past three months have been “trying” to say the least. Between our granddaughter going to heaven in September and my having a mini-stroke in October, we have been busy dealing with unexpected and unpleasant circumstances. Denise and I are both grateful for the many prayers, emails, phone calls, and text messages during these trials. As always, God has been good and gracious during the trials and so have God’s people, both in the United States, in Southeast Asia (Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand) and China!

Of course, it’s been good to be “back in the saddle” again. God is doing some amazing things here in China. It was a blessing to be back in our services, our Monday evening Men’s Leadership Meeting, and our Tuesday time of teaching the men who are leading the ministry here. PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR OUR CHURCH AND OUR ATTEMPT TO PLANT MORE CHURCHES IN THIS CITY AND THROUGHOUT THE PROVINCE!

While I was not able to go, a team of nationals from our church here went to the southern part of our province and spent a week teaching and training some believers from four different rural churches. Five days of teaching (8 hours per day) and two days of practical ministry.  Most of the people they were training were from the Miao and the Yao people groups. Both people groups are considered Unreached People Groups (less than 2 percent professing any form of Christianity). From what I hear, God moved in a very special way. PLEASE PRAY FOR THESE DEAR MIAO AND YAO PEOPLE AS THEY ATTEMPT TO REACH THEIR PEOPLE FOR CHRIST!

It has been a blessing to have a few folks over our house for food and fellowship. We try to do this once or twice a week. Sometimes our guests are unbelievers and at other times believers, but we use the tool of hospitality to reach and teach people. Leo (pictured below) is meeting with me on a weekly basis. It’s a time of accountability, Bible study, and we always give him a good meal. PLEASE PRAY FOR LEO AS HE IS GETTING READY TO START A NEW HOUSE GROUP IN A FEW WEEKS!

Barry and Joy (both doctors) are dear friends of ours. They were a tremendous help when I had my mini-stroke. I have no idea what we would have done without them. They are fairly new Christians. They have a heart for God and desire to use medicine as a tool to reach the rural people of this country. PLEASE PRAY FOR BARRY AND JOY AS THEY PURSUE CHRIST AND THE PURPOSE OF CHRIST FOR THEIR LIVES!

Of course, while we were in the States to deal with my medical issues, I had the opportunity to preach a few times for our church, teach in Sunday school, and preach for the college. As always it was a blessing PLEASE PRAY THAT THE MESSAGES WE PREACHED AND THE LESSONS WE TAUGHT WHILE IN THE STATES WILL BRING FORTH FRUIT!

Just before my wife and I headed back to China, our co-laborer in China, Dick Baucum (pictured above) arrived in the States for a short furlough. He had a chance to meet my brother Pastor Joe for the first time. PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR PASTOR JOE AND HIS WIFE MARY!

A FEW ADDITIONAL PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Pray for God to bless our five present house groups (potential future churches) and the new group Leo will be leading soon.
• Pray for our time of transition here as a church.
• Pray for those in leadership here at the church as we are beginning to train our folks – including our leaders – to disciple others.
• Pray for Zhang Lun, Li, Richard, and Peter (and their wives), as God continues to mold them into the men and “leaders” He wants them to be.
• Pray for Jack, Maggie, and Hu Ying’s salvation!
• Please pray for our teams in Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia. 
• Pray for my upcoming trips to Laos (December) and Thailand (January) to be with our teams for a time of ministry and fellowship.
• Pray for Dick and Trish Baucum to have a fruitful furlough.
• Pray for our ministry in Laos, as we consider assisting them in starting a Bible Institute.

Again, my wife and I want to thank you for your continual and consistent prayer and financial support. We also want to thank many of you for being a tremendous blessing during our time of need. We love and thank God for you all!

For HIS Glory in the Nations,

Johnny and Denise Esposito

 

Our trip to the “Creative Access” nation, as always, was tremendous! I had the opportunity to preach four times for our team in the capital city, as well as one time for another church that I have preached for many times over the past four years. In addition to preaching five times, I also taught another four days, which included an extensive Question/Answer Time, for our team’s leaders and upcoming leaders.

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL WATER AND BRING AN INCREASE TO THE SEEDS THAT WERE SOWN WHILE IN THIS “CREATIVE ACCESS” NATION!

I also had a chance to make a few visits in a village outside the capital city and meet some precious Hmong folks. The Hmong people are wonderful people. And the children are absolutely adorable. Our teams in the “Creative Access” nation and Thailand are reaching many Hmong people–young and old alike!

PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR TEAMS TO CONTINUE TO REACH THESE DEAR HMONG FOLKS, ESPECIALLY THOSE IN THE VILLAGES!

While in the “Creative Access” nation, my wife and I sort of adopted a homeless girl and her father. Just about every evening, either she found us, or we looked for her. We would give her and her father a little bit of money, food, and water. Her name is Nout! On our last night before leaving the country and heading back for China, Jui and I had to hunt her down before finding her. In fact, I had to pray and ask God to help us find them. All I can say, is God answers prayer. We brought her and her father a meal fit for a king and his princess. They were happy, and so were we!

PLEASE PRAY FOR NOUT, HER FATHER, AND THE MANY POOR AND NEEDY IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD!

This “Creative Access” nation where my wife and I lived and served for 17 months has a population of about seven million people with less than two percent of the population professing to be “Christian.” Sixty-five percent of the country is Buddhist and about thirty-four percent Animist. There are 132 different people groups in the country and 111 of these are considered Unreached and many of them are Unengaged, which means NO ONE IS TRYING TO REACH THEM!

Both the picture at the beginning of this update, as well as the picture above are just a couple of the many pictures I took of Buddhist monks during our trip. In the capital city, there are over 300 Buddhist temples. And each of these temples has more monks – probably three times as many – than there are IB missionaries in the entire country.  As I mentioned above, my wife and I served with our team in this country for 17 months and we can honestly say we love the country and we love the people. While with our team, our primary objective was to assist them in moving forward with God and on to the next step in their ministry. God is doing some awesome things in and through our team.

PLEASE PRAY FOR KOUMALY AND DARATH THONGDY, OUR TEAM, AND FOR MORE LABORERS IN THIS NEEDY COUNTRY!

Immediately upon returning to China, we got busy with the task at hand here. Our ministry here is in a time of transition. We are focusing much attention on discipling and training up nationals, not only to eventually take over this ministry here, but also to plant new churches in this city and this province. Our church service on Sunday was jam-packed with a wonderful spirit, a fantastic testimony by a young lady named Christine, and my wife and I had the opportunity to teach a few of our teens!

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL CONTINUE TO BLESS OUR SERVICES AND USE OUR PEOPLE TO REACH THEIR FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND CO-LABORERS WITH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST!

Our Tuesday Men’s Discipleship and Training time has been changed from Tuesday afternoons to Monday evenings to open it up to a few more men who cannot make it during the afternoon hours. More than anything else, this is a time of instruction and preparation for some of our most committed men. While we had a few men missing this past week our time together was very helpful!

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL USE THESE MEN’S MEETINGS TO RAISE UP MORE SPIRITUAL UNDERSHEPHERDS WITH A HEART FOR CHRIST AND THE CAUSE OF CHRIST!

It is also a blessing to see our relationship with Maggie and Hu Ying growing. Neither of these ladies are saved, and in fact, Maggie (in her mid-30s) told us she knows only one Christian. Denise and I had a chance to go out to eat with them and give a few gifts for Maggie and her daughter recently!

PLEASE PRAY FOR MAGGIE AND HU YING’S SALVATION!

I just started meeting with Li Huang (Leo) on a weekly basis for a time of discipleship. He has known the Lord for a while, but is just getting back in church and serious about God. This past week we had him over for his first taste of Mexican food. Needless, to say, he was one happy camper!

PLEASE PRAY FOR LI HUANG’S SPIRITUAL GROWTH!

The brief video below is one of the over 500 tribal groups that can be found in the country of China. While out for a walk, I had a chance to take a few pictures of them, as well as this short video.

As always, my wife and I want to thank you for your consistent financial support and your continual prayers for us, our teams in Southeast Asia, and the work here in China!

Johnny and Denise

“I believe that in each generation God has called enough men and women to evangelize all the yet unreached tribes of the earth. It is not God who does not call. It is man who will not respond!” ― Isobel Kuhn