Recently, I received this picture of grandma Bouenseng and a text from my buddy Vannak in Cambodia. For nearly two years he was my faithful soul-winning partner, and for close to 18 months I spent time with him and his brother Man in discipleship sessions. With the picture was a brief text that simply said, “She said hello and pray for her spiritual and physical health.”

Vannak and I had the opportunity to lead grandma to Christ about 18 months ago. I am so thankful for those who are willing to leave the comforts of home to bring the Gospel to folks like grandma who have very little, if any, chance of hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ!

PLEASE PRAY FOR GRANDMA’S SPIRITUAL AND PHYSICAL CONDITION AND FOR GOD TO CONTINUE TO USE OUR TEAM IN CAMBODIA TO REACH MANY MORE GRANDMA’S FOR JESUS!

The month of December was a busy one to say the least. We were in six different churches. My wife was in the Emergency Room twice, a Medical Clinic once, and we both had a few doctor’s appointments.  Regrettably, because my wife and I were in the Emergency Room we had to cancel our preaching at Liberty Baptist Church in Newport Beach. Thankfully, our dear friend Pastor Ryan Thompson understood and was ready to preach. I was told God moved in a special way as he preached from the life of Job. That’s what you call the providence of God right there. Also, grateful that we were able to reschedule for next month!

PLEASE PRAY FOR MY WIFE’S HEALTH AS THEY CONTINUE TO DO TESTS TO FIND OUT THE EXACT PROBLEM!

We just passed the three month mark of being back in the States. It seems like it’s been an eternity since arriving back here. While we definitely miss being on the field, it has been nice to spend time with family during the Christmas season. It has been a while (three years to be exact) since we have been with our children, grandchildren, my siblings, and their families, during this time of the year. Needless to say, it was a very special time for us.

Over the past three weeks we were able to preach for Pacific Baptist Church of Long Beach (Pastor Meyers) twice, Pacific Baptist Church of Monterey Park (Pastor Kyle Beck), as well as preach for the Pacific Baptist Grade School Chapel twice and the High School chapel once. During the High school chapel service at Pacific, I asked Brother Adrian Torres to give a brief testimony about serving on the field. He did a wonderful job. Adrian is a graduate of our high school and college. He has served faithfully in Cambodia now for about four years. He is on a brief trip to the States and returns to Cambodia in a about two weeks!

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL USE THE MESSAGES THAT I PREACHED, ADRIAN’S TESTIMONY, AND THE REFUGEE VIDEO TO STIR HEARTS FOR CHRIST AND THE CAUSE OF CHRIST AROUND THE WORLD!

During the high school chapel service, I also showed a brief video that my wife recently put together dealing with the Refugee Crisis in the Middle East. As you well know, the Refugee Crisis is heartbreaking and deserves our prayer and attention at the least. I believe God really used the video to speak to many of our young people’s hearts. You can check it out below.

Syrian Refugee Crisis from carrithelight on Vimeo.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE REFUGEES AND FOR GOD TO USE THIS TRAGEDY TO BRING MANY OF THEM TO A SAVING KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS CHRIST! 

I also had the privilege of presenting and preaching for Berean Bible Baptist Church (Pastor Feisco) of East Los Angeles and Berean Bible Baptist Church (Pastor Reinosa) of El Monte. Both of these churches were planted over the past few years by Berean Bible Baptist Church of Duarte (Pastor Stokes). You’ll remember we were with that church family last month. I also reported at First Baptist Church of Long Beach (Pastor Delaney). It’s always a joy and a blessing to be at First Baptist Church. All of these men are doing a great job for Jesus!

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL BRING FORTH FRUIT FROM  OUR TIMES WITH THESE CHURCHES AND THAT GOD WILL CONTINUE TO BLESS THEM AS THEY LABOR IN THEIR PART OF THE HARVEST OF GOD!

While here in the States, along with reporting to many of our supporting churches and attempting to raise some additional support for our next move with Christ in the 1040 Window, I am thankful that I have the opportunity to be used by God, in preaching and counseling, to enlist, encourage, and help others who are “wrestling with God” about the mission field. In just the past few weeks I have had quite a few sit down meetings with folks who are considering going to Guatemala, Cambodia, China, and other countries of the world. One of the meetings that I was privileged to have was with eight young people from Pacific Baptist Church who are seriously considering giving their lives to serve in the country of China. I am praying that God will have His way in each of these young people’s lives!

I gave a copy of the book Keep the Dream Alive to one of the men (not pictured) who I had the opportunity to sit down with for a time of fellowship and some counseling about his future. He read the entire book that evening. Here is an excerpt from a text message I received from him the next day:

“I finished Keep the Dream Alive last night. And to be honest, I hate it! I hate it when God prods and pricks my heart. That burning sensation that convicts me, but I am so inspired and motivated to GO! Please pray for me … I truly believe God is laying the groundwork for me to GO.”

If God could use our trip to the States and the books I have written to inspire one young person to give their life to Christ and the cause of Christ it will be worth it all.

PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR TIME IN THE STATES TO BE FRUITFUL FOR GOD!

I am looking forward to a brief trip to Missouri and Texas in January. I definitely covet your prayers as I will be preaching and teaching at a few churches, two Bible colleges, and a Boy’s and Girl’s Home. No doubt, there will be a lot of young people and a lot of potential in these few meetings. On this trip, I will be giving away many copies of the book Keep the Dream Alive to young people. We will be praying that God will stir hearts for Christ and the cause of Christ. Please pray with us!

PLEASE PRAY FOR THIS TRIP!

My wife and I sincerely appreciate your prayers and faithful support.

Johnny and Denise Esposito

PS If you haven’t checked out our new website, Peeking Through the 1040 Window recently, I encourage you to check it out. Just click the link below.  

https://peekingthroughthe1040window.wordpress.com/

My wife and me with our eldest granddaughter Abigail

My wife and I want to wish all of our family, friends, and faithful supporters a very Merry Christmas! Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year. It’s a time to reflect on the incarnation of Christ. A time to meditate upon the free gift of salvation that has been offered to all. A time to remember God’s goodness in our lives. Christmas is a time to spend with family and friends who are closest to us.

Christmas, for those of us who serve as missionaries, is another opportunity to say “Thank You” to all of you who faithfully pray for us. To say “Thank you” to all of you who financially support us and make it possible for us to do what God has led us to do.  To say “Thank You” to all of you who send us encouraging emails, text messages, etc.

Rather than giving you a regular update of what God has been doing the past few weeks, we just wanted to say “THANK YOU!”

Thank you for loving Jesus. Thank you for your commitment to Christ and the cause of Christ, not only here at home, but around the world!

Merry Christmas,

Johnny and Denise Esposito

Psalm 67

While my wife and I desperately miss being in Asia, we are extremely grateful for the opportunity to report to some of our supporting churches, as well as to have the responsibility to try to influence brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for, give to, and seriously consider going to serve Christ in the area of the world known as the 1040 Window! The picture above was taken as we were leaving Cambodia, almost three months ago, heading to the States. We sure miss the folks in Southeast Asia!

My wife and I are launching a new website called “Peeking Through the 10/40 Window.” You can check it out by going to www.peekingthroughthe1040window.wordpress.com. It is a site dedicated to informing folks about the great need in the 10/40 Window, as well as inspiring them to pray for, give to, and prayerfully consider going to serve in the 10/40 Window. The picture above was taken about three months ago—while I was returning from a preaching meeting in Vientiane, Laos. That evening, and on one other occasion, I saw eight young Mormon missionaries. This is more than double the IB missionaries (American and Filipino) in the same city! There is a great need for young men and women, who know the Lord Jesus, to give their lives for the sake of the Gospel in the neediest area of the world. The 10/40 Window!

PLEASE PRAY FOR GOD TO MOVE MEN AND WOMEN TO PRAY FOR, GIVE TO, AND GO AND SERVE IN THE 10/40 WINDOW!

It was a special blessing to be with the Menifee Baptist Church and Pastor Pat Cook. I have known Pastor Cook for well over 15 years, since his high school days. He played basketball, among other sports, for the Faith Baptist Swordsmen and they were our “cross town” rivals when I coached our basketball team. Talk about some classic games. Oh, my! I had the opportunity to present and preach for his church’s third anniversary. It was a special time and they were extremely generous to us!

PLEASE PRAY FOR PASTOR COOK AND HIS CONGREGATION AS THEY ATTEMPT TO REACH THEIR VASTLY EXPANDING AREA IN SOUTHERN CA!

It’s always a blessing to be with Pastor Barrera and the Berean Bible Baptist Church in Chula Vista, CA. They are one of the first churches to ever start supporting us and have been dear friends in the ministry for many years. I am impressed with their desire to reach out to Foreign Exchange students with the Gospel message. Pastor’s kids also did a great job keeping my grandchildren, Hannah and Sammy, entertained at In-N-Out!

PLEASE PRAY FOR THIS CHURCH FAMILY AS THEY SEEK TO DO WHAT VERY FEW ARE DOING: REACHING OUT TO THE UNREACHED HERE IN AMERICA!

Another church and pastor that have been our friends and supporters for many years now is the Berean Bible Baptist Church of Duarte, CA and Pastor Richard Stokes. This is a great church and they have planted three new churches in the East Los Angeles area over the past five years. It’s always a real joy to spend time with this church family and to preach in their services. I had the privilege to preach for their Thanksgiving service. It was a tremendous night of singing, testifying, and hopefully the preaching was a blessing.  Oh yeah, their pulpit is ridiculous!!! 🙂

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL CONTINUE TO BLESS PASTOR RICHARD STOKES AND THE BEREAN BIBLE BAPTIST CHURCH OF DUARTE AND THEIR SISTER CHURCHES!

Most of you probably do not know this, but my brother (Pastor Joe) and I first started attending a Baptist church about 37 years ago. The church was Gethsemane Baptist Temple, at the time they were located in Paramount, CA. Today, the church is called Gethsemane Baptist Church and they are located in Long Beach, CA now. They have been our friends for many years and have been supporting my wife and me from almost the very beginning. It was a blessing to be with them recently and teach their teen SS class, as well as preach for their main service. Their music was fantastic!

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL CONTINUE TO USE PASTOR ELY REYNOLDS AND THE GETHSEMANE BAPTIST CHURCH TO REACH THEIR COMMUNITY FOR CHRIST!

The very first church to start supporting my wife and me was Faith Baptist Church of Wildomar. Pastor Bruce Goddard has been our dear friend and fellow laborer for over thirty years now. FBC is a soul-winning church! The week before I was with them, they had a great evangelistic push in which they preached the Gospel to over 6,000 people in many different locations in the San Diego area. It’s always a blessing to preach for these folks. They love Jesus. They love souls. And they love preaching!

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL CONTINUE TO BLESS PASTOR GODDARD AND THE FAITH BAPTIST CHURCH OF WILDOMAR AS THEY SEEK TO REACH THEIR COMMUNITY FOR CHRIST!

Well my baby, Joy, got married. Joy and Chris Ayala tied the knot on Saturday, November 26. In the picture below of the wedding party, you’ll find 4 of 5 of our children, their spouses, and 14 of our 17 grandchildren. Of course, it was a bittersweet moment for me. I am grateful for God’s goodness and grace in our family. Grateful for my daughter and her husband doing it right. And so very grateful for the fact that all five of my adult children, by God’s grace, are serving God full-time!

My wife and I, once again, want to thank all of you for your prayers, your emails of encouragement, and your financial support. We could not do what we are doing without you prayers, encouragement, and support!

Johnny & Denise

The last three weeks have been very busy. We have been in seven different churches and I have had the privilege to preach for six of them. In addition to this, my second youngest grandchild, Emma, was hospitalized for ten days. During this time period, she was in three hospitals, including Stanford for seven days. My wife and I, along with Emma’s parents, are thankful for the prayers of many and for those who helped her parents financially.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR EMMA’S RECOVERY!

It was a tremendous blessing to be able to be with some of our dear friends and the churches that they have been entrusted by God to pastor. Pastor Rick Owens (Victory Baptist Church), Pastor Tim Ruhl (Pleasant Valley Baptist Church), Pastor Winiel Pechardo (Harvest Baptist Church), Pastor Art Maricle (New Hope Baptist Church), Pastor Mike Ray (Hopewell Baptist Church), Pastor John Evertson (West Valley Baptist Church), and my son-in-law Pastor Josh Aquino (Lighthouse) and their church families were a tremendous encouragement and blessing to us.

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL USE THESE MEETINGS TO INSPIRE YOUNG AND OLD ALIKE TO PRAY MORE, GIVE MORE, AND IN SOME CASES, BE WILLING TO GO TO THE 1040 WINDOW!

While doing an all-day Missions’ Emphasis at West Valley Baptist Church (Pastor Evertson), I was introduced to a few young people who had surrendered to serve the Lord on the Mission Field, including a nine-year old boy named Jack. After the morning service, I gave them all a copy of the book “Keep the Dream Alive.” Just before the evening service, Jack came to me and said he had been reading the book that afternoon and his eyes were glued to it. The next day I received an email from Jack, which said: “This is Jack Gerbitz and I just wanted to tell you thank you for the book. I loved the testimony of Pastor Esposito. I might go to China to keep the dream alive with my friend Aydin. He said he would like to go there too.” NOT BAD FOR A NINE-YEAR OLD BOY!

PLEASE PRAY FOR JACK AND OTHERS WHO GOD WILL SPEAK TO, IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, DURING OUR TIME IN THE STATES!

Once you have been serving on the field and grow to love a people it’s hard not to have them on your mind. There’s seldom a day that goes by that I do not think of, and pray for, our folks in Cambodia and Laos. It has been a real blessing to be kept updated on a regular basis of what is going on in Southeast Asia, especially in Cambodia. It was a joy to hear that our new church plant in Steung Meanchey is continuing to do well and to hear that the recent Youth Conference our team held in Phnom Penh was greatly blessed by God!

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR OUR TEAMS AND THE VARIOUS WORKS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA!

I know many of you pray regularly for my brother, Pastor Joe, and his wife Mary. We are all extremely grateful for those prayers. Very seldom do I go to a church and not have many people come and tell me they have been praying for him and his wife. With that in mind, I thought you might get a kick out of this. My brother and I are originally from Chicago and are Chicago Cubs fans, he, even more than myself. Well, this year, for the first time since 1908, the Cubs won the World Series. Pastor Joe had the chance to watch a few of the games. And I think he was a bit excited about their World Series Championship victory!

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR PASTOR JOE, MARY, AND THE FAMILY! 

My wife and I would like to thank you for your faithful prayer and financial support. We couldn’t do what we do without your prayers and your support.

Johnny and Denise

Over the past few years, the new president of China has been “tightening the screws” and religious persecution has been on the increase. Just a few weeks ago, a friend of ours (serving in the country about 20 years) had the church he started and is pastoring raided by the police. A couple months before that, another friend of ours (serving in the country over ten years) came under investigation and turned the work over to a national serving alongside him. And, just a month or two before that, another missionary who had been serving in the country for over 20 years was kicked out of the country. The new president has vowed to kick all the foreign missionaries out of the country by 2017.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE OF CHINA AND FOR THE CHURCHES THAT ARE BEING PERSECUTED!

It has been a real blessing to be with our family, friends, and many of our faithful supporters the past two weeks. Over the past two weeks I have had the opportunity to be in five different churches. Three of these churches (First Baptist Church of Geneseo, Illinois, Faith Baptist Church of Bourbonnais, Illinois and Lewis Avenue Baptist Church of Toledo, Ohio) are supporting churches and two of them (Cross Point Baptist Church, Davenport, Iowa and Sheridan Road Baptist Church of Saginaw, Michigan) are not. It looks as if both of these churches will be taking us on!

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL TAKE THE SEEDS WE SOWED AT THESE CHURCHES AND BRING AN INCREASE FOR HIS GLORY!

While at Sheridan Road Baptist Church (Pastor Lou Jurva), it was a blessing to see a picture of the Board family on their Missions’ Wall. We are so grateful for the many years of service of Dave and Debbie Board at Pacific Baptist Church in Long Beach. And now, for many years, their faithful service in Cambodia leading our team in this needy country. By the way, the picture below is an old one. Dave Board looks much older today, but Mrs. Board hasn’t aged at all! 🙂

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR THE BOARDS AND THE REST OF OUR TEAM IN CAMBODIA!

One of the many blessings during this trip was to be able to spend a few days with my niece Taryn, her husband Joel (pastor of Cross Point Baptist Church), and their three precious daughters (Angelina, Eden, and Gabby). I was reminded just how good God has been to my family since saving me 39 years ago, as a young soldier in Fort Lewis, Washington. Praise God for His goodness!

I also had the opportunity to sit in on an elementary school Bible Club in Davenport, Iowa. It was a real joy to see over 40 children in attendance and to witness the staff of the school leading the students in a time of singing to the Lord and teaching of the Word of God! A couple days later Pastor Kobernat and I, after a time of soul winning, stopped by a school fair and had the opportunity to talk to the school principal for quite some time. She was even passing out invites for Cross Point Baptist Church to some of the students. 🙂

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL CONTINUE TO USE PASTOR KOBERNAT, HIS FAMILY, AND THE CROSS POINT BAPTIST CHURCH FAMILY IN DAVENPORT, IOWA!

As I mentioned above, one of the churches that I had the opportunity to be in and preach for, was Lewis Avenue Baptist Church in Temperance, Michigan. My dear friend Pastor Steve Hobbins has been pastoring the church for nine years now. He took over for his father, Pastor Les Hobbins, who faithfully served the church for decades. This is a church that has a real heart for missions in general, and for the 10/40 Window and Unreached People Groups around the world more specifically!

On a regular basis I receive reports of what is going on in Cambodia, especially in Steung Meanchey. If you will remember, after two years or so of soul-winning and discipleship in SMC, we started a new Children’s Ministry and a new church. Both of these have been doing very well! I am so grateful for the faithfulness of the Sann brothers, Man, Kosal, and Vannak, who are leading up this ministry and God is using them in a tremendous way.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR GOD’S BLESSING UPON THE MINISTRY IN STEUNG MEANCHEY, AS WELL AS OTHER AREAS OF MINISTRY IN THE COUNTRY OF CAMBODIA!

My wife and I would like to thank you all, once again, for your faithful prayers and financial support. We couldn’t serve in the 10/40 Window if it were not for your financial support and your faithful prayers!

Johnny and Denise

My wife and I are in the Midwest now! Before I go any further, I simply have to say this, after living the past 3 ½ years in Southeast Asia and now back in the United States for the past 3 ½ weeks, I can honestly say, “America, you have been blessed.” In fact, blessed beyond measure!

Our first stop on this brief trip in the Midwest was at two churches in Michigan. On Sunday morning, we had the privilege to be with Calvary Baptist Church (Pastor LaFave). A young lady (Alexus) who we have known for many years, is now a member of this church. She grew up in the church that my son-in-law Joshua Aquino pastors in Central California. Below you will see a picture of her and her husband, as well as a picture of a nice note she gave us. On Sunday evening, we had the privilege to be with the Bible Baptist Church (Pastor R.G. Tharp). I had the opportunity and privilege not only to present our ministry but to preach.

We then went south to the Homecoming Conference in Hammond, Indiana hosted by the First Baptist Church and our dear friend of many years Pastor John Wilkerson. It was a blessing to see so many friends from the past, to hear great preaching, and to have the opportunity to share our burden for the 10/40 Window during chapel at Hyles-Anderson College. It really was a time of great refreshing for both of us. While at the college, two young men (students at the college) named Goishi and Brett came up to me and told me they had surrendered to serve the Lord full-time when I had preached at their home church. Goishi, who is from Michigan, surrendered to go to Japan as a missionary when I preached a missions message at his church. I also had the privilege to donate 65 copies of the book “Keep the Dream Alive”to the missions students of the college!

The picture above is a picture of the first house that my wife and I lived in after getting married 34 years ago. We lived downstairs. After the trip to Indiana, my wife and I headed back to Michigan once again. We were with my wife’s home church, Metro Baptist in Belleville, Michigan. I had the privilege to preach for them on Wednesday evening, as well as Sunday morning and Sunday evening. Over 40 years ago, my wife, as 12 year old girl, was reached through the bus ministry of MBC.

The pictures above are Pastor Vaprezsan, who started Metro Baptist Church over 40 years ago and continues to pastor it to this day. He is standing next to a man I went to Bible college with over 34 years ago. We had the opportunity to go out soul winning together on Saturday!  Also, above you will find a picture of Mrs. Vaprezsan, my wife, her mother, and Denise’s former Sunday school teacher. She taught Denise over 40 years ago.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR SAFE TRAVELS AND A FRUITFUL TRIP IN THE MIDWEST!

Denise and I thank you for your prayers and financial support. We couldn’t do what God is allowing us to do if it weren’t for folks like you and churches like yours. We love you all and thank God for you,

Johnny and Denise

My wife and I have been in the States for exactly two weeks now and it’s been a busy and blessed two weeks. I am typing this from the airport in Los Angeles. My wife and I are heading to the Midwest for one month. I will be in nine different churches in four different states during that time span.

Please pray for this to be a fruitful trip!

We just concluded the Missions’ Revival at Pacific Baptist Church in Long Beach (Pastor Steve Meyers/Pastor Joe Esposito) and Pacific Baptist Church in Monterey Park (Pastor Kyle Beck). Pastor Meyers and Pastor Beck, along with their staff, are doing a great job. As always, it was a wonderful time. It was a blessing to see so many brothers and sisters in Christ who I had the privilege to labor with for 18 years. Both of the churches had great crowds, a great spirit, great singing, and a great response to the  many messages. I preached a total of nine times in seven days for the two churches!

Please pray that God will continue to bless and use both of these churches in this matter of the Great Commission!

In addition to preaching for the two churches, I had the wonderful privilege to teach a four-day intensive at Pacific Baptist Bible College and preach for their chapel service three times. It’s always a blessing to teach and preach for the college, but I do believe this year might have been better than ever. My nephew, Joseph (Pastor Joe’s eldest son), and my son Jeremy are doing a great job in the college. The students were extremely attentive and many made decisions. Many of them are seriously considering serving on the mission field!

Please pray that God will raise up many young men and women from PBBC to be faithful laborers for the great harvest fields of the world!

I also had the privilege to preach for our Pacific Baptist Grade School chapel and our 7-12 grade chapel service. My wife and I were the school administrators for almost 18 years at Pacific Baptist School and it’s always a blessing to go back and see how the young people have grown and matured.

Please pray that God will use these young people for His glory!

Of course, another blessing of being at Pacific is to be able to spend time with four of our five children and 12 of our 17 grandchildren. Denise and I have a daughter who is married to a pastor in Central California, but our other four children (three married) are staff members at Pacific Baptist. My youngest daughter Joy will be getting married in about two months, and Lord willing her and her future husband Chris will be going to serve in the needy harvest fields of China! The picture below is two of my three sons and SOME of my grandsons. 🙂

Of course, I also had the opportunity to visit with my brother, Pastor Joe, a few times while in the area. It’s great to see him smile when something funny is said and give a thumbs up concerning ministry reports. While we are definitely grateful for the progress God has allowed him to make over the past three years (he wasn’t supposed to survive the first 24 hours), we are still praying for a full recovery. We are all grateful for your continual prayers for Pastor Joe, his wife Mary, and the rest of the family!

Please continue to pray for Pastor Joe, Mary, their family, and the Pacific Baptist Church family!

Denise and I want to thank you for your faithful and consistent prayer and financial support. We couldn’t serve without you!!!

Johnny and Denise

The picture above is something I posted recently on Instagram, Twitter, and FaceBook with the following words: In three different meetings recently in this “Creative Access” nation, I asked different people these two questions, “How many families or households can be found in your home village?” and “How many households or families in your village have at least one Christian?” Eighteen different villages, with 4,240 households were represented, and 74 of the households had at least one “professing Christian.” That comes up to 0.017 percent!

To keep the above number in proper perspective, it is good to keep in mind that the United States of America has 77% of the population that professes to be “Christian.”

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY TO THE LORD OF THE HARVEST ABOUT THE HARVEST FIELDS IN THIS COUNTRY AS WELL AS OTHERS IN THE 1040 WINDOW!

My 13 days in the “Creative Access” nation, as always, were blessed beyond measure. My wife and I have loved this country and these people from the day we set foot there nearly four years ago. After spending 17 months living and serving there, our hearts became knit with them in a very special way. As we mentioned in our previous update, our first four days in the country were spent with a dear friend of ours, a national who has been pastoring for the past 5 or 6 years in the country. In fact, his was the first IB church in the country that was pastored by a national. We preached for him, taught him and his men in the Bible Institute, along with three other pastors, and had two evenings of special sessions with a handful of the ladies in his church who are factory workers. WE HAD A TREMENDOUS TIME!

The next nine days in the country were spent with the church and the Bible Institute students that are a part of the ministry of the team sent out of my home and sending church (Pacific Baptist Church in Long Beach). The Bible Institute operates a bit differently than the typical Bible Institute, it isn’t ongoing. What they do is have guest preachers (national pastors/missionaries) come in on a fairly regular basis and these men will teach 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 day intensives. I believe this was the fourth, possibly fifth, time that I have come in to teach for five days. I had the chance to teach three hours during the day and another two hours each evening. I taught these Bible Institute students (a couple of the guys from the other Bible institute came also) for a total 23 hours. Along with the teaching, I also did both of their Sunday services on September 4 and the 11th. I also had a chance to teach a Bible study on Sunday afternoon in a village about two hours away. I was also supposed to preach twice for another church in the country, but because of security concerns the meetings had to be cancelled. Such is life in a country such as this! AGAIN, WE HAD A VERY FRUITFUL AND FULFILLING TIME!

On my last Sunday in the “Creative Access” nation, after speaking twice for our church, a few of us went out to a village about an hour-and-a-half away. I had the chance to teach a group of Hmong young people on the importance of loving, learning and living, or obeying the word of God. Before teaching, I was blessed to hear them sing one song after another to the Lord and about the Lord. It was beautiful – a sight to behold!

There were two things in particular that made this such a blessed visit.  First of all, it was a blessing because every one of the young people in attendance, except for one 17 year old girl, had been saved (if they were saved) over the last few months since this new ministry began. Secondly, this ministry is led and served entirely by young nationals. That’s what it is all about!

Just prior to arriving where the service would be, a couple of us went out to visit a well known and highly respected Hmong evangelist. He wasn’t there, but we spent a little time with his wife. It is humbling to see how this man lives. Definitely a far cry from what we are used to that’s for sure!

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD CONTINUES TO BLESS THIS NEW MINISTRY AND THE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE LEADING IT!

As we mentioned in our previous update, in just a few days, my wife and I will be flying back to the States. We definitely covet your prayers as we will be extremely busy from the time we arrive in Los Angeles. I have an all-day meeting three days after we fly into the country and then a Missions’ Conference for both Pacific Baptist Church of Long Beach and Pacific Baptist Church of Monterey Park the following Wednesday-Sunday, along with teaching a three day Missions Intensive for Pacific Baptist Bible College. Then things really get busy!  Of course, we will have some time with our five children and seventeen grandchildren and my brother Pastor Joe. Looking forward to that!

PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR TRIP TO THE STATES TO BE A FRUITFUL TRIP!

I do have one additional special prayer request. It’s on a more personal note. My brother, Pastor Joe and I, along with our siblings have an aunt named Annie. She has been like a second mother to us for so many years. She was especially good to us and very helpful while my brother and I were in Bible college. On Wednesday, September 14, she goes in for surgery. She has cancer of the tongue. They will be removing half of her tongue along with cleaning her lymph nodes. If you could take a moment or two and lift up her name to our loving heavenly Father, it would be much appreciated!

PLEASE PRAY FOR ANN RYAN’S SURGERY AND RECOVERY!

My wife and I, along with the girls, once again, would like to thank you for your faithful prayers, financial support, and occasional words of encouragement!

Johnny and Denise Esposito

PS Our new book Keep the Dream Alive: The Story of One Man’s Dream and a Plea to Keep it Alive should be arriving in Southern California, from our publishers in Florida, this week. Please do pray that God will use it!  

 

The picture above is a child named Supisit, which means Proverbs! He’s my little buddy here in  the “Creative Access” nation. I brought him these little cars from Cambodia and he loves them. There was a time, when my wife and I lived and served in this country, where he would literally cry and run from me when he saw me coming. Now, he’s my little buddy! His father was the first national independent Baptist pastor in this country. I have had the privilege to preach probably some fifty times for him, his church, and the camps he and others conduct either in this country or Thailand, as well as teach in his Bible Institute. I just finished speaking for him  Wednesday – Friday for both daytime and evening sessions!

The next two weeks here in Southeast Asia are going to be both busy and blessed as my wife and I are “wrapping things up” in Cambodia. As I mentioned above, I am presently here in a “Creative Access” nation. I will be here a total of 13 days with a few different churches, including the church our team from Pacific Baptist Church planted here about two years ago. Three days after I fly back into Cambodia my wife and I get on a plane and head back to the States for a few months. We will be doing a Missions’ Conference at our home church, teaching a Missions’ intensive, and reporting to a handful of our churches, as well as presenting our burden for this part of world to some new churches. And then, Lord willing, we believe the next step in our adventure will be China!

PLEASE PRAY FOR THIS TIME OF TRANSITION FOR MY WIFE AND ME!

Our last week or so in Cambodia, prior to flying to the “Creative Access” nation, was blessed. As we mentioned in our last update, we spent an entire day with our village ministry in Psa Thrict. Add to that our regular soul-winning in Phnom Penh and Steung MeanChey, discipleship, teaching in our Worker’s Meeting, and preaching for our church family in Phnom Penh. On my last day of soul-winning in SMC we had a good crowd go out with us and I just watched with amazement as our folks, most of them nationals, were sharing the Good News of Jesus with the poor people of Steung MeanChey. It doesn’t get much better than that.

One blessing I would like to share is while Man and his wife Kanha were taking me to the airport, Kanha shared with me how three teen girls had just trusted Christ in their home the day before. Praise the Lord! You may remember from a previous update Man and Kanha along with Kosal and Phalley recently moved into Steung MeanChey to start the new work. My last week or so in Cambodia wasn’t only a busy and blessed time, but emotionally draining. It’s hard to give your heart and soul to a people for 21 months and  then have to say goodbye!

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR ALL OF THE MINISTRIES AND THE PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRY OF CAMBODIA!

I have just completed my first phase of my trip to the “Creative Access” nation where my wife and I served for 17 months. My first few days here were spent with 4 national pastors, one church family, the small Bible Institute that one of the pastors oversees, and which I had the privilege of teaching in while I was here and have taught in on my five or six trips since leaving the country two years ago. It’s always a blessing to spend time with this pastor and his family (Supisit’s family), as well as the other three pastors, the church family, and the students!

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL CONTINUE TO BLESS THESE PASTORS, THEIR MINISTRIES, THE LADIES WHO WORK IN THE FACTORY, AND THIS NEEDY COUNTRY!

Over the next week, I will be with two different churches, another small Bible Institute, and a new village work. I will spend the vast majority of my time with the work our team, sent out of Pacific Baptist Church, started 5 years ago. God is doing some really great things in this very needy place. We are grateful for Komaly and Darath Thongdy’s faithfulness in a difficult place. And we are grateful for the faithfulness of their folks!

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL BLESS OUR EFFORTS HERE IN THIS NEEDY COUNTRY!

 

 

I just returned from my fourth trip to the country of China in the past six months. There are so many people in this country. It’s breathtaking! The picture above is on a subway at 8:45 PM on Sunday evening. You ought to see during Rush Hour. There’s a really good chance my wife and I will be relocating to China in the near future for “the sake of the Gospel.” China is an unbelievable, and at the same time, heartbreaking country. There are nearly 1.4 billion people found in the country. There are 150 cities in China with a population of over one million. America has only 10. Less than 5 percent of the country professes any form of “Christianity.” In the United States that number is 77 percent!

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE IN THE HEARTS OF MEN AND WOMEN TO BRING THE GOSPEL TO CHINA!

While in China, I had the chance to link up with Dwight Tomlinson and his wife Gayle. Brother Tomlinson is the founder/director of barnabas1040.com, which is a ministry that works alongside of “Independent Baptist pastors and missionaries, bringing together resources that are used to further the Gospel in the least evangelized countries in the world.” For over 40 years Brother Tomlinson and his wife pastored in the States. God is using them in a mighty way with this new ministry. They have raised support for two of the men we worked with in Laos and another one of our men here in Cambodia, and possibly another in coming days, and for this we are grateful! PLEASE PRAY FOR THE TOMLINSON’S AS THEY CONTINUE TO RAISE PERSONAL SUPPORT AND SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL CHURCH PLANTERS AROUND THE WORLD!

Our ministry in Steung Meanchey is doing extremely well! God is blessing the team soul-winning on Tuesday and Sunday, as well as the various times that Man and Kosal go out during the week. This past Sunday, while I was in China they had 45 teens and adults in the service. Not bad for the third week!

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR THE MINISTRY IN STEUNG MEANCHEY!

We have mentioned in previous posts about a man named Samaat who trusted Christ about three months ago. He is growing in the Lord and we have often had the chance to share the Gospel with his wife, who has yet to trust Christ, and his adult children. It was a real blessing to be able to share the Gospel with Samaat’s wife and adult daughter a few days ago. His daughter, Srey Mohm, trusted Christ.

PLEASE PRAY FOR SREY MOHM’S SPIRITUAL GROWTH!

This week I had another chance to go to Psa Thrict. It’s always a tremendous blessing to spend the day with these folks. As I have mentioned before, we leave my place between 6:30 -7:00 AM and get back between 7:30 – 8:00 PM. It all depends on how fast Vannak drives that Moto of his. 🙂 I get the opportunity to share a 20-minute devotion with the folks before we all go soul-winning, then we will normally spend about 3-4 hours out soul-winning and do some discipling of new converts. After lunch, I spend a couple of hours teaching the “leaders” of the church. Last month I taught on “The Difference Between a Shepherd and a Teacher.” This week I taught on “Spiritual Servanthood.” As always, it was a great time! Then to cap the long day off, I preached for their midweek service. This week I taught a lesson on “Crossing the River and Conquering the Giants” from the Book of Joshua. God really moved in the service!

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR THE MINISTRY IN PSA THRICT!

My wife and I, along with the girls, would like to thank you for your fervent prayers and faithful support of our ministry here in Southeast Asia. Also, I ask that you pray for me and my upcoming trip to the country of Laos. I leave in a few days. I will be preaching for three churches and teaching in two Bible Institutes. 

Johnny and Denise Esposito

If you would like to be better informed about the 10/40 Window and have yet to read my book “Peeking Through the 10/40 Window: Why It Matters to God and Why It Should Matter to Us,” I have some really good news for you. It is now available on iBooks and better yet, it’s absolutely free!