A quick snapshot of mom's ministry and how we'll be partnering with her (plagiarized directly from Thinh's support letter) ...The majority of the time we are in Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand, we will be supporting Christina or “mom” as she is fondly referred to.
Mom has an incredible ministry of love, doing whatever is needed in the moment. That is why mom is often called the Vietnamese Mother Teresa. Mom provides safe houses, hot meals and hospital care for Vietnamese migrant workers who are often exposed to unsafe working conditions, held without pay, raped, beaten and abused by their employers, refused medical treatment, stripped of their rights and documents and tricked into slavery and prostitution. Many of them are driven to a distant forest, dropped off and left to die when their contract periods are up.
Mom helps these young men and women pay medical bills, hires lawyers to sue for lost wages, provides new visas so they can work at a different company or go back home. She intercedes for those who can’t speak the language of Maylay, by pleading with government officials on their behalf. For over 25,000 Vietnamese migrant workers, she has been the voice for the voiceless, thousands of whom have come to know Christ.
In addition to helping migrant workers, mom has a prison ministry where she works with local governments to obtain the release of Vietnamese fishermen who have been detained as they become lost at sea and are imprisoned for fishing in neighboring waters. Many women from these fishing villages seek out mom as their only hope to restore their community.
While in SE Asia, we will be building relationships, training and encouraging many returning migrant workers who have been ostracized by their family for their new found faith, we will support several small house churches and a celebration gathering of 200 plus house churches. We will pray over a plot of land where mom has dreams of building a retreat center for Vietnamese leaders and pastors, and Sabastian will be preaching an evangelistic message August 1st. Lord willing we will be able to baptize many afterwards as we did in 2008 when we baptized 29 people after the Christmas message! In addition to giving them the Word, we will be meeting with local business owners to help find self-sustaining work for these leaders, similar to microfinance projects that restore dignity to Vietnamese families by helping them start businesses with as little as $25.
We're excited about what God is doing through mom in SE Asia. We're looking forward to experiencing his mighty work first hand and being used in whatever capacity God chooses for us. We cherish all your prayers, support and encouragment!
Love, Converge "SEAM" Team
(Southeast Asia Mission)
