AsiaLink Magazine, Winter 2011

T H E

M A G A Z I N E

MALDIVES EYEWITNESS N E PA L U P DAT E B H U TA N F RO N T L I N E S

W I N T E R

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paradise on earth ?

There are no churches anywhere and not a believer to be found in Malé

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EYE WITNESS

Along with the Matterhorn and the Galapagos, the Maldives have been shortlisted as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. It’s easy to see why.

Male, with 100,000 people crammed onto the island, is easily the most populated of this string of beautiful turquoise beads scattered across the Indian ocean.

A leisurely stroll around the perimeter took only a couple of hours. No wonder everyone seems to know everyone else here. Blue skies, blue seas, warm breezes and beautiful beaches.

Step inland however and soon the cluttered maze of back streets takes over. Only the leggy minarets offer any guidance to the lost souls of Male’s back alleys. Rising high like gleaming signposts from the many mosques on this tiny island, the golden crescents are the only sense of direction Maldivians receive.

Just about everything here is imported. There’s nothing of note manufactured and the sandy atolls offer little food production. Everything coming in is taxed, plastic bags receive a 100% levy in an effort to keep the islands at least notionally “green”.

Scooters buzz everywhere, clearly the preferred mode of transport. They weave their way through the twists and turns, past the new Italian coffee shops, the seamstress and the book seller. The elderly lady with the milk-bottle lenses sells her dried red chili peppers straight from her blanket thrown across the pavement.

Above all else, it’s the sheer quantity of young people that strikes the visitor to these islands – the young men in their three-quarter length shorts, sweaty tee shirts, the long hair, wispy beards and the ubiquitous wrap-around sunglasses.

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The girls, all but the very youngest, emerge in their dark trousers, overalls and, of course, the black head scarf.

Growing numbers wear the full burqa or a niqab to cover their face, even in the stifling heat. Out for a midnight swim at Malé’s artificial beach, the girls plunge under the inky waters still fully clothed with veils intact.

There are no churches anywhere and not a believer to be found in Malé. Not one.

the silence is shattered I took an ancient and smokey ferry to one of the many outlying atolls. It makes the trip three times a week, both a taxi and a lifeline for the islanders. We bobbed around in the Indian ocean for a couple of hours before being offloaded onto the immaculate white sands. It is just one of 200 inhabited islands.

About 3000 Maldivians live on this particular island; I was the only white person among them. I was also the only “Christian” among them, not just in an evangelical “born-again” sense of being Christian but “Christian” as in western, non-Muslim and a ‘representative’ of a worldsystem far removed from, and not altogether admired by, followers of Islam the world over.

The sea was transparent and warm as a hot bath. On the sea bed, the coral was razor sharp. Across the lagoon, no more than fifty yards away, another island rose up with lush palm trees and the usual array of scuba divers and sun-seekers stretched out on one of this world’s most stunning settings. The “resort” was open for business and hosting some of Europe’s richer tourists.

The serenity is absolute. Imagine the jarring contrast then as the local mosque boomed out it’s call to prayer from a crackly megaphone hoisted high above the trees. Five times

MALDIVES

a day the intrusion slices through this paradise and shatters the idyll, the dreary call a reminder to us all, locals and foreigners, snorklers and surfers, that the Gospel still has a long way to go. I passed island after island, many inhabited but never visited by outsiders and hugely difficult to reach. There were no churches here either.

years now since free voting came to the Maldives and a more representative parliamentary system established following thirty years of one-man rule. It has been a big shift for people to get their heads around and a sizable brigade of elected representatives are clinging on to hopes of a return to the past.

So far as mission goes, the Maldive Islands represent one of today’s tougher outposts. After Saudi Arabia, this is the only nation that claims a 100-percent Muslim population. Even the islands’ own Human Rights Commission claims the country has its own definition of human rights, that is, “to protect people’s rights under sharia law. We are a sovereign nation and we follow our own constitution.”

We debated the differences between democracy and freedom, being free to vote versus being free to make choices, free to think differently and even free to change one’s faith. My hosts were realising that two years of democratic life is nothing really.

While ideal to look at, the truth is that light and life are currently very difficult to spot.There are Maldivians walking with the Lord though they may now be as few as just three in number in the whole world. Three – that’s all.

Technology is and will be key as the internet and radio continue to offer a window of light. Bible translation is paramount of course but it is a painstakingly slow process.

The complexity lies in translating not just words into Dhivehi but concepts such as “being right with God”. It is so incredibly difficult to get that idea across into the Maldivian world.

the long road to freedom The good news is that God knows all about this. The explosion of mission vision among the churches of the developing world is unquestionably key to how He will unlock places like the Maldives. It is easy to see why Asians reaching Asians is so critical to opening doors for the Gospel in some of this continent’s darker corners.

Back on the island, my hosts and I talked late into the night about their new-found democracy. It’s just two

Many Maldivians were away on their own journey that week. They made the long trip to Mecca for their Hajj pilgrimage, the largest annual pilgrimage in the world and the fifth pillar of Islam. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people and their submission to Allah. In these islands, traditions run deep and clearly there’s a long way to go.

More democratic? Yes. More free? That will take time.

By an AsiaLink staff member

project note Prayer is the most urgent need of all ministries right now and weekly updates are available. Contact us for more information.

You can partner with carefully placed workers AsiaLink is funding on the islands. £100 helps keep one mission family in the Maldives for a week. £20 covers the cost of producing and distributing 10 Gospel DVDs in Dhivehi.

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bhutan Reports from the distant and isolated Himalayan nation of Bhutan suggest the government seems ready to grant official recognition and some rights to the tiny, largely underground Christian population.

However, just a few months ago a court in predominantly Buddhist Bhutan sentenced a Christian to three years in prison for “attempting to promote civil unrest” by screening films on Christianity. So local believers can be forgiven for doubting the government’s pronouncements.

We are in touch with a couple of friends who are leading small home fellowships and they certainly will not be breaking cover just yet.

Another of our projects is to take 25,000 New Testaments into the country. Thank you to the many friends who have contributed and we are pleased to report that excellent progress has been made.

FRONTLINES

sri lanka Buddhism dominates Sri Lanka. Followers of the religion make up around 70% of the 20 million population.

Christianity is growing too. There are now some 200,000 evangelicals on the island – a ten-fold increase in the last half century. Whereas Christianity used to be limited to the major centres of Colombo and Jaffna, now every administrative region is being evangelised. The good news is that there has been a steady turning of Buddhists to Jesus Christ.

However, Sri Lanka is also home to around two million Muslims. Few are getting saved and fewer still are working among them. Reaching Sri Lanka’s Muslim population is a serious challenge facing local Christians.

AsiaLink has committed to help locally run ministries in their efforts among the Malays and the Moors of Sri Lanka.

One couple has been employed full time to produce literature and dvds, make contact, visit and do all they can to sensitively demonstrate the love of Christ to the Muslim population. Until recently, few Sri Lankans were converting out of Islam. Now, several hundred have been born again in response to sensitive witness.

The emergence of Sri Lankan-run ministries is a point of praise. It goes a long way to demonstrate Christianity as an indigenous faith and this is opening doors previously shut tightly to the Gospel. Please pray for this young couple. Ask the Lord to do great things through them.

project note £25 a month will help maintain a couple working among Sri Lanka’s Muslims.

It is a special easy-to-read English language version aimed particularly at students. The first batch of 5,000 was sent into Bhutan and a dedication service held in September.

We are now working on the next 10,000 and are grateful for any help with production costs.

At Christmas we launched a major new project to make a specific change to people’s lives in one of the world’s most troubled countries.

Our goal is to place 200,000 Easy-to-Read New Testaments into Iraqi homes. This is no easy task and above all else, we ask that you would commit this task into God’s hands.

FRONTLINES

iraq bibles

Those making contact with Iraqis appreciate the immense personal risk they run but their determination is to place God’s Word and see it make a radical difference to a society wracked by grief.

Each copy costs just £1 to print and distribute. Please let us know if you or your church would like to be partners in this project. We have more information and prayer cards available. Also, we would be more than happy to come and share on what God is doing in Iraq with your group.

Please pray for four specific needs: ‰

freedom to proclaim the gospel. The only solution to decades of grief.

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compassion for the children. Many face life as refugees. Only 30% have access to safe drinking water, 28% are malnourished.

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boldness for the believers. Evangelicals are growing at an unprecedented rate, many from Muslim and even extremist backgrounds. Pray for their witness despite many challenges.

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safety for those delivering copies of God's Word.

Ask God to do amazing things in difficult situations and often dangerous locations.

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burma

AsiaLink recently received an update from one of our partners, David, in Burma. David helps run a theological training college based discretely in a suburb of Rangoon.

The number of students has rapidly grown to 54. Last year, we provided a water purification plant on site which the students help operate. Proceeds from the sale of water cover half of their fees.

They study hard during the mornings and receive practical vocational training in the afternoon. At weekends, their time is spent in ministry, helping in relief work, village churches or Sunday schools. Our students are reaching 400 children with the Gospel each weekend. Who says students are lazy!

UPDATE

We’d like to share a couple of their stories.

Tim Maung Thun, 23, is currently in his third year of studies. The middle child of three, Thun counts himself

fortunate to have been raised in a small Christian village of approximately 50 families, where he had the opportunity to regularly attend Sunday school and was raised by Christian parents. In fact, in 2000, Thun fell ill and suffered from paralysis for three years, and his father called on local pastors and elders to pray for him often.

In 2003, the Lord answered these prayers and Thun was able to walk again. Upon his reflection of God’s healing, Thun surrendered his life to Christ for ministry.

Not only has he found His eternal Saviour and his life’s calling, but Thun has also managed to find his life partner on campus, whom he will marry in 2013. Together, they will serve in the mission field!

So Ti Ha, 19, is currently in his first year at college. Unlike Thun, Ha comes from a broken family after his parents were divorced. His mother did remarry, and although she’d lived her life as a Buddhist, she found Christ in 2008. Ha and his mother share their Christian faith despite the fact that his step-father remains a Buddhist.

Before joining the college, Ha was working at a harbour, loading and unloading fish. Ha mentions that, “On a good day, I could make as much as £6, but on average, I made £2 per day,” which proved to be a ‘good’ supplement income for his family.

Ha shares that to date he has been most impacted by the work of Adoniram Judson for his ‘commitment, untiring labour, love for God and the Burmese people.

Upon completion of schooling, Ha desires to pastor and lead a congregation that worships the Living God and is ‘open to go wherever the Lord leads’.

one of them asked,‘Who is God’?

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UPDATE

nepal

tells of his most recent efforts in India that we are able to see the importance of our continued partnership.

“We met two shepherd boys looking after their goats. I gave them each a comic tract titled The Life of Jesus. I told them that it was about our Creator God. Immediately, one of them asked,‘Who is God’? I was more than happy to tell them about our Mighty Creator!”

Once in Jhulaghat, a town on the Nepal/India border, where the liquor shops now outnumber the tea shops, he and his partners, “saturated the town with the gospel and shared with the shopkeepers and policemen personally. We hiked straight up to one of India’s most famous temples where we preached Christ to the Hindus who were there to worship their goddess. We felt sorry these people are still sacrificing hundreds of goats and male water buffalos ever year, not knowing that one eternal, sufficient, perfect and once-forall sacrifice was already offered by our Creator, Himself, in the form of Jesus Christ. ”

Our contact in Kathmandu begins his recent update with a recounting of his apprehension in Nepal, prior to leaving for a mission excursion outside the country. Bishnu refers to the group of Nepali policemen as “a hungry pack of wolves,” as they encircled him after finding Christian materials and tracts he would be using during his time abroad.

His update is filled with stories of gospel sharing during random encounters on his travels, but it is when Bishnu

From Jhulaghat, Bishnu continued hiking for two days to reach the village of Hat, where he preached the gospel in the surrounding areas. Bishnu asks for prayer support for the struggling church in Hat, which is the only church supporting a large district of Nepal where he and his colleagues are working. In addition, he requests prayer for this region in that the seeds sown will bear fruits for the glory of God alone. Lastly, he asks for prayer as they lift up the pressing need for ministry to the Northeast and Northwest areas of Nepal.

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Bishnu reminds us of our shared mission by saying, “Please pray for God’s provision for these trips as the command to go is already given in His Word.”

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East Asia

South-East Asia

For young people who want a hands-on, cross-cultural experience.

We’ll be visiting South East Asia to get the Good News into a country high on the list of the world’s most persecuted nations. As if that’s not challenging enough, we'll also get to minister to people caught up in one of the world's modern day genocides. The HM SE-ASIA TRIP – Not to be missed!

Activities include: university classes, performing (music or other), prayer walks, outreach, praying over a closed country, meeting closed-country workers first hand and hearing what God is doing. * Trip length: 18 days * Dates: July 12-29 2011 * Cost: Approx. £1,200 ($1,800)

* Trip length: 18 days * Dates: Aug 7-24 2011 * Cost: Approx. £1,400 ($2,000)

Price Includes international flights, accommodation and food.

Register* your interest by email: historymakers @asialink.org.uk or by phoning our head office: 01772 681618. *(18-24yr olds)

HEAD OFFICE PO BOX 891 Preston PR4 9AB. T: 01772 681618 E: talk2us@asialink.org.uk Registered Charity No.327165 REGIONAL OFFICE 11 Grange Valley Park, Ballyclare, Co Antrim BT39 9HG. T: 028 933 42920 E: regional@asialink.org.uk