Like you, as we enter this time of the year, with the holidays approaching soon, we can’t help but be thankful for all of God’s blessings over the years. We are also extremely thankful for the opportunity to be able to spend some time with family and friends in recent days and to be here while two more grandchildren were born. Luna Ayala and Micah Esposito entered the world just a few days apart and we happened to be in town when it happened.
PLEASE PRAY FOR LUNA, MICAH, THEIR FAMILIES, AND OUR LAST THREE WEEKS IN THE STATES!
We are also very thankful for the many blessings in Southeast Asia. It has been so exciting to see what God is doing in and through our ministry in Northern Thailand, in Laos, and through the continued efforts to be a help to the hurting by way of Operation Samaritan’s Compassion in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar.
THANK YOU FOR PRAYING AND GIVING!
PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL CONTINUE TO BLESS OUR VARIOUS MINISTRIES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA!
NORTHERN THAILAND
Speaking of Northern Thailand, our ministry there (we have been living and serving there now for more than two years), is having its best days ever. Between the mother church and the three other village ministries, we are seeing someone saved nearly every week (including five two weeks ago), a couple of baptisms, and the attendances have been wonderful, including some good days on the mountain top (the mother church). Tzer Chang, who recently was instituted as the pastor of the church is doing a fantastic job. As always, Tom and Sue are doing their best job to be sure everyone in Northern Thailand has the opportunity to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ, Jui, Jay and his wife See are staying busy as ever.
THANK YOU FOR PRAYING AND GIVING!
PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR MINISTRY IN NORTHERN THAILAND AND ESPECIALLY FOR THE NEW CONVERTS TO GROW IN THEIR FAITH!
HELPING LOCAL SCHOOLS
I am very grateful for the opportunity to partner with a few of our National Pastors with a new ministry. It is a haircut ministry. Yes, you read it right – a haircut ministry. A few of our churches are working together to go to a few local public schools to give free haircuts to the poor children. This past month we were able to give almost 200 hundred haircuts. It’s a great chance to meet new people, be a blessing, and it opens the door to get the Good News of Jesus Christ out to many that might never of had a chance to hear. We have already had one adult trust Christ!
THANK YOU FOR PRAYING AND GIVING!
PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL BLESS THIS MINISTRY AND THAT MANY WILL COME TO CHRIST AS A RESULT OF IT!
SPOTLIGHT OF THE MONTH – CHERCHOU
I met Cherchou almost eleven years ago when my wife and I first moved to the country of Laos. He was saved and baptized in a refugee camp in 2005. At the time that I met him, he was a very discouraged Christian. He had been invited to relocate his family to assist another man in starting a church. This never materialized. He had a son (his only son) that was given the wrong medicine, which resulted in him becoming severely disabled both physically and mentally. When the child died, Cherchou, his wife, and the rest of the family were devasted.
In his own words, he backslid. I had the opportunity to disciple him for about three years after this tragedy and God infused hope and health into his heart and life. God is now using Cherchou as an assistant pastor in one of the churches that we have helped over the years and he is also teaching in a Bible Institute, as well as interpreting for a missionary in the same Institute.
THANK YOU FOR PRAYING AND GIVING!
PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL CONTINUE TO BLESS CHERCHOU, HIS FAMILY, AND THE MINISTRIES THAT HE IS INVOLVED WITH!
My wife and I want to THANK all our family, friends, fellow-laborers, and financial supporters for YOUR PRAYING and for YOUR GIVING. It’s amazing all that God can do because of your investment. Again, THANK YOU!
For those of you that have been following our ministry for a while and are regular readers of our prayer updates you are familiar with Pastor Kong and his wife Lily. In fact, we highlighted the two of them and their ministry in our last update. On Sunday, August 27, they celebrated their seven-year anniversary as a church family. I often refer to their ministry as a “miracle ministry,” and it is. God has blessed this couple, our Bible students, and the two churches that he is presently pastoring. On Sunday, August 27, they had more than 200 in attendance to celebrate God’s grace and goodness over the past seven years. God has been exceptionally good to this ministry.
Thank you for praying and giving!
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR KONG, LILY, AND THE CHURCH FAMILY IN TDD AS THEY CONTINUE TO GO FORWARD FOR CHRIST AND THE CAUSE OFCHRIST!
GLORIOUS TWO-YEAR TOTALS
It was two years ago last week that we returned to Southeast Asia, relocating with our team in Northern Thailand because Laos was still locked down. In the past two years, God has been so exceptionally good. Not only is this true with our ministries in Northern Thailand, my handful of discipleship groups, and teaching our two sets of Bible students, but over the past two years, God has been exceptionally good to the various friends and fellow laborers that we have had the privilege to partner with over the years.
In the past two years, between our church here in Northern Thailand and three churches in Laos that we continue to partner with, despite being in Thailand, we have seen 778 professions of faith and 152 baptized. Add to this, the 15 small churches that we partner with in Vietnam another 552 professions of faith and 60 baptized. These Vietnam totals are just from their ministry of benevolence, which we have been privileged to assist them with for more than two years now. If my calculations are correct, that is 1,330 folks trusting Christ and 212 baptized. More than 90 percent of these professions and baptisms come from two communist countries. God has been good. Exceptionally good!
Thank you for praying and for giving!
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR ALL OF OUR MINISTRIES AS THEY CONTINUE TO GO FORWARD WITH THE GOOD NEWS OF CHRIST TO A LOST AND DYING WORLD!
NORTHERN THIALAND
We are very encouraged about what God has been doing in Northern Thailand over the past two years and especially in recent days. We are now ministering in four different villages; people are trusting Christ (4 in just the last week or so). Our team had been praying for and witnessing to one couple for the past five years. Two weeks ago, Kong Meeg and his wife finally trusted Christ. We also had a man and his granddaughter trust Christ this past Wednesday after the evening service. God has been exceptionally good.
Thank you for praying and giving!
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR TOM, SUE, TZER-CHANG, JUI, AND THE REST OF OUR TEAM IN NORTHERN THAILAND, AS WELL AS FOR THESE NEW CONVERTS!
NEW COLLEGE TERM
As always, it is a blessing to teach our college students. We have just started a new term for both groups of students. I am presently teaching through the book of Romans for our group in the city and for our students in the village, I am teaching the Pastoral Epistles (1 & 2 Timothy and the Book of Titus). As I have mentioned often in our prayer updates, these are great young people. They are hungry for the word, they are committed to the work, and they have a passion to see people saved, discipled, and assimilated into the local church. Seldom does a week go by without a few salvation decisions. Two of our recent graduates (Somchit and Mai) have just married and will be heading to the southern part of the country to assist his father in his work there. God has been exceptionally good.
Thank you for praying and giving!
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS, FOR THE STUDENTS THAT WILL BE GRADUATING THIS YEAR, AND FOR SOMCHIT AND MAI!
SAMARITAN’S COMPASSION ENROLLING CHILDREN AND TEENS IN SCHOOL
As we have mentioned in previous prayer updates, the primary focus of Operation Samaritan’s Compassion now is four-fold:
*1 Assisting Poor Widows
*2 Assisting Fatherless Children
*3 Helping Poor Children to Get Enrolled in School (yes, they are required to pay to get in public schools)
*4 Assisting with Emergency Medical Needs
Concerning helping with emergency medical needs, just today we sent $500 to help the father of a national pastor we have been working alongside for years. He still needs much prayer. They are transporting him to a neighboring country for better medical attention.
We are extremely excited to announce that we were able to get 120 young people enrolled in school, along with getting them the required school uniforms, and school supplies. We were also able to help another 25 young people with school supplies. God has been exceptionally good.
Thank you for praying and giving!
PLEASE PRAY FOR THESE YOUNG PEOPLE TO HAVE A GOOD SCHOOL YEAR AND FOR THEIR PARENTS TO SEE THE VALUE IN EDUCATION TO BREAK THE CYCLE OF POVERTY!
MINISTRY SPOTLIGHT: KOSAL SANN
My dear friend and fellow laborer, Kosal Sann, was saved out of Islam in 2006 when Dave Board, our Team Leader in Cambodia, led him to Christ and soon thereafter discipled him and grounded him in the basics of the Christian faith. Kosal was instrumental in seeing much of his family come to Christ, which eventually resulted in the planting of a church in a Muslim village. After four years of wrestling with God, Kosal finally surrendered to serve full-time in the ministry as his three other brothers had done previously. Absolutely, amazing family, by the way!
He and his dear wife, Phalley, are faithfully serving in our church in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and he oversees our Christian school. He also works with teenagers, discipling them, taking them over to his home for food, fun, and fellowship. Most of these teens are extremely poor and find this time at their house to be a great blessing. I would like to share a few words from Kosal concerning his and my relationship:
“I am so thankful and grateful for missionary Johnny Esposito. I had the privilege to be discipled by him more than two years while he was living and serving in Cambodia. I have no doubt that God used him to influence my life while I was resisting God’s call for years. He taught me the word of God and he lived what he taught. He taught me how to serve the Lord in the way that he served the Lord. The fact that he loved God and loved others really inspired me to do likewise. He has invested a lot of time and resources into me and my family. Without his influence in my life, me and my family would not be doing what we are doing for God today.”
Thank you for praying and giving!
PLEASE PRAY FOR KOSAL, PHALLEY, ABIGAIL, AND STEPHAN TO CONTINUE SERVING THE LORD AND IMPACTING LIVES!
TRIP TO THE STATES AND BACK ISSUES
Denise and I are in the States now for 3 ½ months. We have a full schedule with various Missions’ Conferences and/or Missions’ Emphasis Weekends, as well as reporting to many of our supporting churches that we have not had a chance to be with for years. It has also been a blessing to preach for our home church a few times, as well as preach for our college revival.
As a few of you know, I have had a bad back for decades, but over the past year-and-half it has become brutal, to say the least. I can no longer sit down. I read my Bible standing. I eat standing. I work on my laptop standing. Yep, that is what I am doing at this very moment. If possible, when in a car, I get in the back seat and lay down on my side. Flying is, to say the least, brutal!
While this physical issue has not limited most of my ministry opportunities, it has changed the way I do things, especially how I travel. And yet, as always, God has been exceptionally good. While we are here, we are also spending a lot of time trying to find answers. All that to say this, I DEFINITELY COVET YOUR PRAYERS!
PLEASE PRAY FOR MY SCHEDULE ON THIS BRIEF TRIP AND FOR MY BACK ISSUE!
As always, my wife and I would like to thank you for praying, giving, and for loving us over the years. We could not do what we believe God has led us to do and let us do, without your prayer and financial support.
Twice a year, here in Northern Thailand, we hold a Pastors’ and Church Leaders’ Conference primarily for men that are leading churches in the country of Laos. These are good men that have been saved, but never been discipled, and none have ever had any Bible training. Our threefold goal is to be an encouragement to them, to better ground them in God’s word, and to inspire them to do the work of the ministry in their villages.
Over the years, it has been exciting to get reports of the men being taught how to lead someone to Christ and going back to their country and leading folks to Christ.
Our theme this month was “Loving God with all of Your Heart.” All four messages that I preached were on the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:34-40) and breaking down what it means to us and how to apply it in our daily lives. In my six hours of teaching sessions, I taught how to grow, keep growing, and not stop growing in their love for God and others. Tom and Tzer-Chang taught on “Building Blocks of the Christian Faith.” We even had a missionary and a National Pastor from Vietnam that taught one session each, primarily focusing on the Great Commission.
PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL CONTINUE TO BLESS THESE MEN AND WOMEN THAT WERE TOUCHED BY GOD DURING THE CONFERENCE AND THAT THEIR CHURCHES, FAMILIES, VILLAGES, AND COUNTRY WILL REAP FROM THE OVERFLOW!
Northern Thailand
On the home front here in Northern Thailand things are going very well. Whether it’s Sunday services in three different locations, midweek services in two different locations, folks getting saved, and new ministries being started, we have been blessed. After the Pastors/Church Leaders Conference, my wife, Jui, and I treated the ladies who did all the cooking at the conference (4 days, 3 meals a day for 50-60 people) to a nice meal in town. They had a great time.
Jay and his wife, See, had their newborn (nicknamed Johnny), dedicated during a recent Sunday service. And Tzer Chang was ordained as the new pastor of Siam Baptist Church.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR OUR CHURCH AND THE EXTENSION MINISTRIES IN NORTHERN THAILAND AND FOR TZER CHANG AND HIS FAMILY!
Children’s Home
As many of you know, our team here in Northern Thailand tries to go and be a blessing to the Rong Ber Children’s Home once every three months. The home is located about a two-hour drive from where our ministry is located and we normally bring anywhere from 10-15 (or more) of our church members. As I have said before, we go to be a blessing, but we always receive a greater blessing than we give, I can guarantee it. As always, we had lots of food, fun, fellowship, and we always close our time there with a glorious chapel service with wonderful singing, testifying, and preaching.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR BROTHER CHRIS AND THE RONG BER CHILDREN’S HOME!
This Month’s Spotlight Pastor Kong and his Wife Lily
It has often been said that God can do much if we give our all to Him. Or as the old song goes, “Little is much when God is in it.” To be honest with you, I can’t think of another couple that have proved this to be true more than Kong and Lily. This couple loves the Lord, they love one another, they love their people, and they make a great team serving together in the ministry.
Pastor Kong has been saved now for just over eight years. About ten months after becoming a Christian, Kong surrendered to serve the Lord full-time, after I preached a message on the great need for laborers in the harvest.
Two months after surrendering his life to serve God full-time, Kong started a ministry in his home village, which eventually became a thriving church, which is now running anywhere between 120-140 every Sunday. Soon after he started this ministry, Koumaly Thongdy asked me to come start a Bible college, Kong was one of the original seven students and was a top-notch student, while pastoring the work that he had started. He eventually graduated, and now, is pastoring two churches, as well as running the Bible school!
His wife Lily is a wonderful woman who teaches the Bible and disciples women, teen girls, and children. She organizes just about everything and teaches in the college too. Oh, did I mention she not only helps to organize various conferences, like this most recent Youth Conference (more than 230 attendees), but does a great job with writing skits!
As I posted recently, “Over the years (almost eleven now) here in Asia, we have done our best to emphasize discipleship – whether one on one, in small groups, or in larger groups – and to be honest, not everyone has caught the vision, but Kong and Lily and our Bible students have definitely caught it.”
Operation Samaritan’s Compassion
In our last Prayer Update, we spent some time talking about Operation Samaritan’s Compassion. One thing I totally neglected to do that I wanted to do was to give a shout out to various men, ministries, and foundations that have been a huge blessing the past three years. So here goes:
A special thanks to the following churches, foundations, and individuals that have gone above and beyond the call of duty in supporting Operation Samaritan’s Compassion with either substantial one-time love offerings and/or monthly support. Pastor Steve Meyers and the Pacific Baptist Church (Long Beach, CA), Pastor Chris Chadwick and the Canyon Ridge Baptist Church, Pastor Jason Brockman and the Colorado Springs Baptist Church, Pastor Jayson Brown and the Victory Baptist Church (El Cajon, CA), Pastor Mike Kinney and the Temple Baptist Church (Lacey, WA), Pastor Ryan Thompson and the Liberty Baptist Church (Newport Beach, CA), Pastor Rick Stonestreet and the Mountainview Baptist Church (Hesperia, CA), Pastor John Vapreszan and the Metro Baptist Church (Belleville, MI), Pastor Joe Grande and the Faith Baptist Church (Stockton, MO), Pastor Cwenar and the Gospel Light Baptist Church (Rogers, AK), Pastor Dennis Blankenship and the Bible Fellowship Baptist Church (Sacramento, CA), Pastor Doug Cassell and the Bethel Baptist Church (Linton, IN), Pastor Kevin Nangin and the Gospel Light Baptist Church, (Mission Viejo, CA) the Tom Raper Foundation, Rick Dalton and his foundation, Tom Modica (Chicago, Ill), and two longtime and very dear friends, Don Jasper and Greg Hill who have been a huge blessing!
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR THE OPERATION SAMARITAN’S COMPASSION MINISTRY AND ESPECIALLY FOR US TO BE ABLE TO ASSIST MANY YOUNG PEOPLE IN SCHOOL THIS COMING SCHOOL YEAR!
As always, Denise and I would like to thank our family, friends, fellow-laborers, and our longtime financial supporters for your faithful prayers and your financial support over the years.
Your Missionaries in Southeast Asia, Johnny and Denise Esposito
The picture above is young Khmu girl named Phianxay. About a year ago, Operation Samaritan’s Compassion and Liberty Baptist Church of Newport Beach partnered together to provide the funds for her to have a lifesaving surgery. As a result of this act of compassion and kindness, eight people trusted Christ and are now attending church. After being abandoned by her grandmother, she has been adopted by a godly Christian woman and we have helped her to get enrolled in school. At one time, she lived in extreme poverty in the home of unbelievers and now she is growing to be a beautiful little girl raised in a godly, Christian home. Thank you for praying and giving so that we could help Phianxay and many others like her!
PLEASE PRAY FOR PHIANXAY TO GROW TO BE THE YOUNG LADY THAT GOD DESIRES FOR HER TO BE!
Almost a year ago, we found out that Kyi Pya Zaw (a 14-year-old Burmese girl) was going to have to work to help support her family. She would be working six days a week for a grand total of $38 per month. Because of her work schedule, she would be missing church services and various church activities. Because of generous folks like you we were able to “hire” her to work at her church a couple days a week for $40 a month. She cleans the church facility, teaches Sunday school, and helps with various other tasks for the church family.
Mercy (a 12-year-old Burmese girl) was basically orphaned and “adopted” by a National pastor in Myanmar and, unfortunately, they couldn’t afford to send her to school. So, because of the generosity of good folks like you we were able to get her enrolled in school. She is very happy about this to say the least. We are very grateful for the opportunity to help many families in Myanmar. Thank you for praying, giving, and helping us to help Kyi Pya Zaw, Mercy, and many others like them!
PLEASE PRAY FOR KYI PYA ZAW, MERCY, AND COUNTLESS OTHERS IN WAR TORN MYANMAR!
As I mentioned in our previous update, it’s summertime here in Southeast Asia. It’s still as hot as ever. Over the past six weeks or so, the temperatures have been between 95-103 and that’s not even taking into consideration the humidity, which has been horrendous. We did have one week where a cold front moved in, and we were in the low 90’s. The young people are back in school though and we are praying that the many decisions they made during the Spring Break will keep them walking in the light.
It’s been a great month or so since we sent out our last update, nothing spectacular, but God has been good in “the ordinary.” Despite the extreme heat, our church services have been going very well. My two Disciple Groups have been a blessing. Teaching our two groups of Bible students has been a blessing. Our Bible students in the village have been on a small summer break. Most of them went home to be with family and they will be returning for classes this week.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR OUR MINISTRY HERE IN CHIANG KHONG, MY DISCIPLESHIP GROUPS, AND THE BIBLE STUDENTS!
I thought I would take a few moments of your time to share some about our Operation Samaritan’s Compassion Ministry. As most of you know, we started this ministry about 3 years ago. It was April or May of 2020, during the beginning days of the COVID crisis. For the first two-and-a-half years, we focused primarily on assisting the poor, the needy, and the helpless – especially those that were unable to work because of the various lockdowns. These lockdowns were far more serious and lasted much longer here in Southeast Asia than they did in the States. There were no government programs to help the folks out here and, of course, the poor suffered greatly.
In the past three years, as a direct result of OSC, there have been somewhere between 900 and 1,000 people (young and old alike) make professions of faith and approximately 250 have been baptized. Many of these have become faithful members of local churches. A handful of those that made decisions for Christ have since gone to heaven. Four churches were planted as a direct result of these many decisions. In the past year, we were even able to start a soccer league for 50 poor children in Laos. Eight of these boys have trusted Christ and are now attending church services. Thank you for praying and giving towards this much needed ministry!
The amazing thing about these numbers, is that the vast majority of those saved and baptized come from two communist countries where evangelism isn’t quite as easy as it is back home, or even as it is here in Thailand. So, yes, there was a “silver-lining” to the Covid crisis here in Southeast Asia. People were far more open to the gospel and the authorities tended to look the other way as we were helping their hurting citizens.
Here’s some stats that I received recently from our friends in Vietnam for the past 16 months of helping the poor, the needy, and the helpless:
*2,150 food packages delivered
*6,840 people were fed for 2-4 weeks
*378 professions of faith
Now that Covid has come and gone, a sense of “normalcy” has set in, and the poor are able to make a “living” if that’s what you would call it. Presently, our primary goals for Operation Samaritan’s Compassion are to provide aid for needy widows, for needy, fatherless children, for emergency medical needs (especially for the elderly), and helping poor children get an education. We thank God that we have been able to help more than 100 children and teens get enrolled in school. We have also helped a handful of high school graduates enroll in college. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN HELPING US TO GET POOR CHILDREN ENROLLED IN SCHOOL, PLEASE SHOOT ME A TEXT OR EMAIL!
PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL CONTINUE TO BLESS OPERATION SAMARITAN’S COMPASSION AND PROVIDE THE FUNDS NECESSARY TO MEET THE MANY NEEDS!
THIS MONTH’S SPOTLIGHT – PASTOR “J”
This month, we would like to introduce you to Pastor “J.” He is a faithful man of God serving in a “Creative Access Nation,” a communist country. I have had the privilege to teach Pastor “J” over the past four years or so in different conferences and in our weekly Chiang Khong Discipleship Group, which meets in person, but he joins us online. Pastor “J” was saved about 13 years ago. About ten years ago, he started his first church and has now planted eight churches, which he oversees to this day. Over 600 people attend the services of these eight churches in a communist country. The mother church is no longer the largest of the churches, but it does run well over 100 in weekly attendance. He is one of the many different men that Brother Dwight Tomlinson and Barnabas 1040 supports monthly. Over the past year, they have had multiplied dozens saved and baptized. We recently treated Pastor “J” and his family to a three-day get away, which they thoroughly enjoyed.
PLEASE PRAY FOR PASTOR “J,” HIS FAMILY, AND THE EIGHT CHURCHES THAT HE IS OVERSEEING!
As always, my wife and I want to say, “thank you” to all our family, friends, fellow-laborers, and faithful supporters for your faithful prayer and financial support over the years. We love and appreciate you all!
Your Missionaries in Southeast Asia,
Johnny and Denise Esposito
“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” – James 1:27
“Where have we any command in the Bible laid down in stronger terms, and in a more peremptory urgent manner, than the command of giving to the poor?” – Jonathan Edwards
THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO WATCH OUR VIDEO UPDATE!!
The picture above is from our recent Youth Conference in Laos.
Two weeks ago, our team in Laos hosted a three-day Youth Conference. There were fourteen churches represented with somewhere between 230 and 250 young people attending the conference. More than fifty young people surrendered to serve the Lord full-time and another thirteen young people trusted Christ. It was a blessing to have Bounna Has, one of our good men that works with our team in Cambodia, as one of our guest preachers for the conference. So many life-changing decisions were made during these three days. Kong, Lily, Souphan, Sen, and our Bible students did a tremendous job hosting the conference. Thank You for Praying!
PLEASE PRAY THAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD WILL SEAL THE MANY DECISIONS THAT WERE MADE DURING THE CONFERENCE!
CHILDREN’S HOME
As a team, we try to go and minister to the young people and staff at the Rong Ber Children’s Home once every three months. It’s always a tremendous blessing. Of course, we go to be a blessing to the young people and the staff, and yet, inevitably they always bless us far more than we could ever possibly bless them.
ALWAYS!
On this last trip, we brought a team of 16 from our ministry in Chiang Khong and they all did what they could to be a blessing. As always, we played games with them for a few hours, we then treated them to a nice meal. I said a nice meal, not a healthy meal. As is often the case, we treated them to pizza, soda, and ice cream. After the meal, we had a great service with a lot of congregational singing, special music by the young people, a handful of the young people quoted scripture and/or gave testimonies, and a message from God’s word. I normally do the preaching, but I asked Jui to preach, and he preached a tremendous message about being thankful. Thank You for Praying!
PLEASE PRAY FOR BROTHER CHRIS, HIS STAFF, AND THE YOUNG PEOPLE OF THE RONG BER CHILDREN’S HOME!
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
Our team here in Thailand was able to host four different Vacation Bible Schools in four different villages over a two-week period. We had nearly 300 young people attend the four Vacation Bible Schools, there was a plenty of good food, plenty of good old fashion fun, and fellowship, some great teaching, and at least six professions of faith. As always, Tom and Sue Sutrick did a fantastic job planning and organizing all four of the Vacation Bible Schools. And our team did a great job laboring in love. Thank You for Praying!
PLEASE PRAY THAT THE SEEDS THAT WERE SOWN IN THE FOUR VILLAGES WILL BRING FORTH ETERNAL FRUIT!
BIBLE COLLEGE STUDENTS
It’s so hard to believe that the Spring Term is coming to an end soon. It’s been a real joy to teach the students this term. We have been teaching through the book of Proverbs. It’s been a great blessing for students and teacher alike, as we have considered among many other topics, the importance of wisdom, the difference between wise, foolish, simple, and scornful men. Add to these, the dangers of a proud heart, of using our tongue wrongly, of sowing discord, and an immoral lifestyle. I honestly believe these lessons from Proverbs might very well have been some of the most important lessons that I have taught them over the past five years. Thank You for Praying!
Speaking of our Bible students, two of the students just graduated, and they had a Graduation Service for them on Easter Sunday. Both Somchit and Mai love the Lord and are faithful soul-winners. Please pray for their future endeavors for Christ and the cause of Christ!
PLEASE PRAY THAT THE STUDENTS END THE SPRING TERM STRONG AND FOR GOD TO USE SOMCHIT AND MAI IN A VERY SPECIAL WAY!
NEW SINGLE ADULTS’ MINISTRY
One of the most neglected groups of people, whether in America or Southeast Asia, are the single adults. About two months ago, Jui, my wife, and I started setting up activities (once or twice a month) for the single adults. It’s been a lot of fun and, in my opinion, has been a great help to a few of our singles. I appreciate Jui for all the “footwork” that he does when we plan these activities. Occasionally, we simply go out to eat at a nice restaurant and at other times we meet at our Foundation building for a time of food, fun, fellowship, and a challenge from the word. This last week, we met at the foundation and had a wonderful time, and I challenged the young people to CHOOSE WISELY from Joshua 24:14-15.
PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL USE THESE ACTIVITIES TO BLESS OUR SINGLE ADULTS AND HELP THEM TO CHOOSE CHRIST AND THE CAUSE OF CHRIST OVER EVERYTHING ELSE IN LIFE!
THIS MONTH’S SPOTLIGHT – JUI
Speaking of Jui, if you have kept up with our Prayer Updates over the years you are familiar with Jui. He is a young man that started attending our English Center in the country of Laos in September 2013 and trusted Christ in May 2014. Eventually, after growing in his faith, Jui left a good paying job to work on our school and church staff. He was my personal assistant in Laos for 2 ½ years and he graduated from our Bible School.
Just a year and a half back, Jui joined our team here in Thailand and has, once again, been serving as my assistant. Jui loves the Lord, and he loves people. He is especially wonderful when it comes to working with children and teens. Along with interpreting for me on Wednesday evenings in our new ministry, he teaches our teens on Sunday mornings and on Friday evenings. In addition to these important tasks, Jui disciples 4 young men and teaches English to 19 people (both young and old).
As I mentioned above, Jui preached at the Children’s Home recently and did a wonderful job. He also assisted our team with Vacation Bible School, and he assisted another team in Thailand with a Youth Camp. Jui is like a son of ours and we love and appreciate him much.
PLEASE PRAY FOR JUI AS HE CONTINUES TO SERVE IN HIS TWO-YEAR COMMITMENT HERE IN NORTHERN THAILAND!
As always, my wife and I would like to thank our family, friends, and fellow laborers for taking the time to read our Prayer Update, for praying for us, and for financially supporting our endeavors here in Southeast Asia. We love and appreciate you all!
Your Missionaries in Southeast Asia,
Johnny and Denise Esposito
THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO WATCH OUR UPDATE VIDEO
If some of you are thinking that the picture above looks familiar, you’re right. Every year just about this time, I pull it out and add it to our Prayer Update. On March 13, 2013, my wife and I left the United States and headed for Asia. The picture is of us upon our arrival in Asia (Cambodia) on the very next day. After spending two weeks with our team in Cambodia, my wife and I headed to the country of Laos. Many of my preacher friends thought we were making a grave mistake. Many thought we were just plain old “crazy.” One pastor even said that my going to the mission field would be the greatest mistake that I ever made. By the way, I have made a boatload of them.
Well, after ten years of living and serving in four different countries (Laos, Cambodia, China, and Thailand), I just thought I would say, loud and clear, “As far as ministry is concerned, these past ten years have been the most fruitful and fulfilling in my 41 years of serving in full-time ministry, and yes, it has been a whole lot of fun too.”
My wife Denise would agree 110 percent. We have seen hundreds come to Christ and be baptized. We have helped in the planting and/or establishing of new churches, started a new college in Laos, and started Operation Samaritan’s Compassion – a ministry that has helped to meet the basic needs of multiplied hundreds (probably thousands) and has resulted in over 800 saved and about 200 baptized in the past three years. Yet, to be truly honest, most of our time and energy has gone to discipling believers and leadership development.
SO MANY GREAT MEMORIES!!!
Thank you for praying, giving, and loving us over these past ten years while we have had the privilege to be on the field making memories, and by God’s grace, making a small difference for Christ and the cause of Christ.
To God be the glory!
Memories of Laos!
Memories of Cambodia!
Memories of China!
Memories of Conferences!
Recent Memories of Thailand!
Many of you will remember that in our last Prayer Update, I asked for some special prayer for our upcoming Pastors’ and Church Leaders’ “I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel” Conference. If you prayed, thank you. Your prayers were answered. God blessed in a very special way. Many pastors and church leaders, as well as many from our church family, were encouraged, strengthened, and better equipped to serve the Lord during the five-day conference. We even had three trust Christ – including one of the church leaders. To God be the glory!
A FEW SPECIAL PRAYER REQUESTS:
* Pray for Upcoming Vacation Bible Schools in Thailand * Pray for Upcoming Youth Conferences in Thailand and Laos * Pray for Our Bible Students and Mid-Term Exams
As always, Denise and I would like to thank you from the depths of our hearts for taking time to read our Prayer Update, for praying, giving, and loving us from afar. We love and appreciate you all!
The picture above is Brothers Tom and Jay sharing the gospel during our team’s recent outreach in Phu Chi Fa. Our team goes to the mountain top every year for this annual festival to pass out gospel tracts and share the gospel with those who are willing to listen. This year our team passed out more than 12,000 tracts, personally shared the gospel with dozens, and had 12 people trust Christ. While I was unable to join our team for this outreach, because of my sciatica kicking in after returning from Laos, I was praying. Last month we asked you to pray for this outreach and many of you did. Thank you for praying!
PLEASE PRAY THAT THOSE THAT TRUSTED CHRIST WILL GROW AND THOSE THAT HEARD THE GOSPEL WILL EVENTUALLY COME TO A SAVING KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS CHRIST!
VALENTINE’S DAY COUPLE’S BANQUET
Our team did something this year that we had never done before. We had a Couple’s Valentine’s Banquet. We were specifically targeting unbelievers. To be honest, we had no clue how many folks would show up and were pleasantly surprised to see more than 20 couples show up. Over half of these were unbelievers. It was a wonderful time of food, fun, fellowship, and I preached a message on “The Greatest Love Story Ever Told” and shared a clear presentation of the gospel. We have heard so many good reports in the village and folks are asking whether we will be doing something like this again. Last month we asked you to pray for this special evening and many of you did. Thank you for praying!
PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WOULD BRING AN INCREASE TO THE SEEDS THAT WERE SOWN DURING THE BANQUET!
SUNDAY AFTERNOON PROGRAM/FRIDAY TEEN NIGHT
If you will remember, last month we specifically requested prayer for these two brand new ministries. Well, God is blessing, and we are grateful for our team and the many extra hours they are putting in to invest in the hearts and lives of the next generation. On Sunday, after the service, we will have lunch with the entire church family and then after lunch there is a time of fun and games, teaching English, teaching Hmong, and some discipleship. We are grateful that Tong and his wife Bao trusted Christ and are being discipled by Tom on Sunday afternoons. Friday evenings is a time for the teens to have good food and some fun, along with worship and a time in the word. THANK YOU FOR PRAYING!
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR THESE TWO MINISTRIES!
SPECIAL ADDITIONAL PRAYER REQUEST: PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR PASTORS’ AND CHURCH LEADERS’ CONFERENCE COMING UP NEXT WEEK!
As always, Denise and I would like to thank you from our hearts for taking time to read our Prayer Update, for praying, giving, and loving us from afar. We love and appreciate you all!
The picture above is me with our Bible students and two of our graduates that are now pastoring. Our ten-day ministry trip back “home” to Laos was wonderful. Both Denise and I had a wonderful time preaching (actually, I did the preaching), teaching, and counseling, as well as a lot of tremendous food and fellowship with our dear friends and fellow laborers.
I had the opportunity to teach our Bible students for 24 hours on this trip, as well as preach a combined service, preach for three different churches, including an Anniversary Service of our long-time, dear friend and fellow-laborer, Pastor “K.”
One of the hi-lights of the trip was Denise and I treating five pastor friends (four of them men that I had the opportunity to teach as Bible students) and their wives to a very nice meal. In addition to this, Denise and I had lunch or dinner dates with a handful of others – including our Bible students.
While we were in the country on this trip, we were only there for one Sunday. Two of the churches had a total of six saved and fourteen baptized on that one Sunday. Unfortunately, I could only be in one place at a time.
PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL BRING FRUIT FROM OUR RECENT TRIP TO LAOS!
SPECIAL PRAYER REQUESTS:
*Please pray for our new Friday Teen Nights
*Please pray for our new Sunday Afternoon Program
*Please pray for our upcoming Annual Outreach at Puchi Fa
*Please pray for our upcoming Pastors’ and Church Leaders’ Conference
As always, Denise and I would like to thank you for taking the time to read our Prayer Update, for supporting us financially and with your prayers.
The pictures above are of a new ministry that we just started a month ago. We are now meeting on Wednesday evening for a time of fellowship, prayer, and teaching of God’s word with adults/teens and on Friday evenings for Children’s Ministry. It has been going extremely well. On one of the Friday’s, we celebrated with the children the annual “Thai National Children’s Day” with over 80 children in attendance. We are very grateful for the church family that is allowing us to use their building!
Please Continue to Pray for this New Ministry!
DISCIPLESHIP GROUPS
I am now meeting with 12 men in two Discipleship Groups. One of the Groups is in person here in Chiang Khong, Thailand (with one pastor joining us online) and the other Group is online. The Online Group is a group of men, from three different countries, that I have been discipling for a while and/or in the past.
Please Continue to Pray for these Men, their Families, and their Ministries!
BIBLE STUDENTS NEW TERM
It’s a blessing to be able to, once again, start a new term with our two sets of Bible students in the country of Laos. I am teaching on the Books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes this term and very excited about it. Lord willing, by the time this update reaches you, my wife and I will be in Laos on a short ministry trip and will be teaching the students in person. Looking forward to it.
Please Continue to Pray for Our Bible Students and for our Upcoming Trip to Laos!
CHRISTMAS PROGRAMS/OUTREACHES
As we mentioned in our last update, during the month of December, Operation Samaritan’s Compassion was able to help different National Pastors and their church families to host different Christmas Program/Outreaches and God blessed all 22 of these different Programs/Outreaches in the five different countries [Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar]. Not only were there around 2,000 attending, with more than 100 professions of faith at these Programs/Outreaches, but hundreds of lost people were able to see the love of God in action. Below are just a few of the pictures from Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos!
Please Continue to Pray for these Different Pastors and Church Families to Wisely Follow-up!
OPERATION SAMARITAN’S COMPASSION
Speaking of Operation Samaritan’s Compassion, now that it looks like the “COVID Crisis,” and all that went along with it, is pretty much over in Southeast Asia, Operation Samaritan’s Compassion’s emphasis in 2023 will be widows, the fatherless, helping poor illiterate children to get an education, and emergency medical assistance for the poor.
Please Continue to Pray for Operation Samaritan’s Compassion to be a Blessing in 2023!
As always, my wife and I are grateful for your prayers, financial support, and friendship. As I often say, “We couldn’t be here, stay here, or do what we believe God has led us to do without your prayers and financial support.”
Denise and I would like to wish all our family, friends, and fellow laborers “back home” a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
The picture above is from the Christmas play that our folks performed this past weekend in two different villages. They did a wonderful job and will have the opportunity to do it at least two more times in the weeks to come. In the Christmas play, the gospel is clearly shared.
After a brief three-month trip to the States, my wife and I have been back in Thailand for more than three weeks now. We are so grateful to be “back in the saddle again.” Our new church building is now finished. We are so grateful for Liberty Baptist of Newport Beach in helping us immensely with this project. It took eleven months, but I can assure you, it was well worth the wait. It’s a beautiful and spacious building. This past weekend our team here in Chiang Khong hosted Christmas Celebrations and services in two different villages. They were such a blessing. We had over 350 in attendance at the two different locations. Every one of them had a chance to learn the true meaning of Christmas and hear a clear presentation of the gospel.
Our team here in Northern Thailand, still has the privilege to host five more Christmas Celebrations and/or Outreaches. They will be held at a Children’s Home, two more villages, and two public schools here in Thailand. In addition to this, by way of our ministry, Operation Samaritan’s Compassion, we are assisting fellow-laborers to host a total of 20 different Christmas Celebrations for poor and needy children in five different countries (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar). Thousands of children, teens, and adults will be blessed and have the opportunity to hear the gospel because of the sacrificial giving of friends in the States. In just one of these villages in Laos, this past weekend, more than 100 attended and six trusted Christ.
We covet your prayers for these Christmas Outreaches.
Here in Chiang Khong, on this past Sunday morning, I started a new series of messages on “Seven Letters to Seven Churches” from Revelation 2-3. This past Sunday, we considered the church in Ephesus and the problem of “leaving our first love.” We had a great response to the first message. This coming Sunday, we will look at the church in Smyrna and the importance of not fearing and staying faithful amid persecution. We are praying that God will use this series to grow our church family into the church he desires us to be. Will you pray with us?
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR OUR MINISTRY AND MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES HERE IN NORTHERN THAILAND AND AROUND SOUTHEAST ASIA! Our Team in Laos is doing very well. As we mentioned in our last update, they have planted two new churches. Both churches are doing well, but one of them is growing (both spiritually and numerically) by leaps and bounds. Both sets of our Bible students just finished their Fall term and will be on a break for about a month. We are excited for them as they will have the opportunity to serve and be a blessing in many different churches around the country over the next month!
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR OUR MINISTRY IN LAOS AND ESPECIALLY FOR OUR BIBLE STUDENTS!
As always, Denise and I thank you for your prayers, your financial support, and your friendship. We couldn’t be here or do what we believe God has called us to do with your prayers and sacrificial giving. Thank you!
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