Denise and I pray that you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! Our holiday season was both busy and blessed. The picture above is from one of the two conferences that I had the privilege of preaching at over the last two weeks of December. I preach for this conference every year. We had a huge increase in the attendance this year over last year (230/130). To God be the glory.

If you’d like to have some fun, try finding me in the picture. As usual, I am the only non-Asian!

Over a three-week period, I preached in two conferences (eight messages total) and in three different churches in Laos and Thailand (four additional messages). We also managed to find a little time to celebrate my birthday, Christmas, our wedding anniversary (44 years), and New Year’s.

Denise and I have so much to be grateful for—not only 44 years of marriage, but five children serving in ministry, 32 grandchildren, and the opportunity to be “living the dream” by serving the Lord in this needy part of the world.

Many important decisions were made during the two conferences, with a combined attendance of nearly 350 people. We rejoice in what God is doing in the country of Laos and thank Him for our many friends and fellow laborers. It was also a special blessing to have my wife speak three times to the ladies during the two conferences. She was a tremendous blessing!

It is always a joy to speak for our graduates. As always, we had the opportunity to minister alongside Pastor Kong and his wife, Lilly as well as Pastor Tim and his wife, Noy; Pastor Souphan and his wife, Sen; and their church families in a combined service. We also crossed the border to preach for our friend, Pastor Srithone, and his church family.

It was a blessing to spend an afternoon with Pastor Souphan and Sen—and their eleven adopted children and teens. We had a wonderful time together. Sen is one of our many “adopted daughters” in this part of the world; she lived with Denise and me for 18 months. Souphan and Sen are doing a tremendous job for the Lord. If you are interested in investing in a group of young people, this would be a wonderful opportunity, and they could use the help. If you are interested in helping, shoot me an email.

During the month of December, we also had the privilege of helping host seven different Christmas parties in Laos and Cambodia. I taught our Worker’s Meeting twice, and our home church in Cambodia had a blessed Friend Day (140 visitors at our various churches), numerous Christmas activities, our annual New Year’s Eve service, and Our theme for the New Year is: “Rooted and Built Up.” Of course, it is based on Paul’s words to the church at Colossae (2:7).

As always, Denise and I want to thank you for your friendship, faithful support, and fervent prayers over the years. We truly could not be here, remain here, or continue doing what we sense the Lord leading us to do apart from His grace and your generosity. May God continue to bless you as you bless others.

Your missionaries in Southeast Asia,

Johnny and Denise Esposito

PRAYER REQUESTS

·       Please pray that the many decisions made during the month of December will bring forth eternal fruit that remains.

·       Please pray for the new terms for our two colleges in Laos and our college in Cambodia.

·       Please pray for our Bible Institute in Laos.

·       Please pray for my three weekly discipleship sessions.

·       Please pray for continual peace between Cambodia and Thailand.

·       Please pray for the “Do All to the Glory of God” Conference in Chiang Khong, Thailand (February 3–6).

·       Please pray for our Youth Conference in Laos (April 14–16).