Port Arthur - Breakthrough in Vietnamese Community
We had an incredible moment at PowerPlant Port Arthur today. Pastor Tom McLean, from the Summerville Baptist Church in Summerville, North Carolina, is leading the "Chao Anh" ministry team [the name means, "Hello, older lady." I don't have time to explain the name :) ] in the local Vietnamese community. He is being accompanied by his wife, a college student from his church, and a couple of interpreters from a partner church in Houston. Tom and his crew have had a difficult time over the last couple of days. You might even desribe their first two project days as "discouraging." But God stepped in today!The "Chao Anh" team was having dinner this evening in a local Vietnamese restaurant. Through the course of the meal, Tom and his team made contact with the owner of the restaurant. They struck up a conversation which led to a rapid relationship. By the end of the meal, the owner (who is not a Christian) agreed to host a Bible study for the local neighborhood in his restaurant! Tonight, at dinner, our PowerPlant ministry team found a "person of peace," and this may very well be the first step toward an evangelical Vietnamese church in Port Arthur.
Can students help plant churches? You'd better believe they can! Let us involve your student ministry in Church Planting. Check out our web site at www.missionmpossible.net , or send me an e-mail to geoff@missionmpossible.net .
posted by Geoff Baggett at 8:57 PM
4 Comments:
Geoff,
Praise God for your work among the Vietnamese in the U.S. I pray that God will open doors to the gospel in the Port Arthur community. If you're looking for materials in Vietnamese, you can find them at http://www.vpns.org/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&bid=37&btitle=Menu&mid=5&ceid=11
For scripture, I recommend the Ban Dich Moi (New 2002 translation). By the way, "Chao Anh" means "Hello older brother" (or a male equivalant in age to your older brother).
Paul (missionary in SE Asia)
Paul,
Thanks for the translation clarification. I'll be sure to inform the local missionaries this morning. I guess there was a bit of a mix-up. :) Anyway, Brent has hired a tutor to learn Vietnamese. He and his wife, Savannah, just came from two years as ISC missionaries in Costa Rica. Brent is fluent in Spanish, and seems to have a gift for the "tongues." He is anxious to make inroads within the local vietnamese community. Thanks for the recommendations for resources. I'll pass them on as well.
And Paul ...
Please spend a little time on our main site, www.missionmpossible.net. Let me know what you think. We believe we have an innovative strategy and theme to educate and help mobilize the next generation of church planters.
We would love some more international connections for future partnerships.
Geoff
Paul,
I found out I was the one mistaken. Our other Vietnamese team has the name "Chao Ba" which, of course, means, "Hello, older lady." Thanks for straightening me out.
Geoff
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