Content

  • Young Laotians find Jesus through Facebook
  • How can I get rid of my gambling addiction?
  • Lufi from Nigeria, 'I poured my heart out'

Dear reader,

In these dark days before Christmas - extra dark due to the pressure corona continues to put on society - we would like to share some beautiful testimonials. Our teams post on Facebook in a variety of languages. Short passages, such as: 'The Bible Tells You How to Find True Happiness' and 'Jesus Made Everything.' This generates reactions and sometimes lively discussions. In this letter you can read about how our teams respond to this.

The team in Laos can sometimes mean a lot to Christians who lack support from fellow believers in their area. Via Messenger, followers of the Facebook pages send messages to which our team members respond. You read about a Filipino who struggled with a gambling addiction and knocked on our door for advice, and about Lufi from Nigeria who poured out his heart.

One of our team members in Laos comments: 'Of course our Facebook page is not the whole chain of someone who is 'interested' in deciding to follow Jesus and join a church, but it is an important link in the chain through which someone comes to faith.' We are grateful for every link that can help one come to know the Light of the world!

Young Laotians find Jesus through Facebook

LaosHow do you get the Good News to people living within a country that restricts and persecutes followers of Jesus? One way is via Facebook! It is estimated that more than three million of the seven million people of Laos have a smartphone and most of them have a Facebook account that they use regularly. What a great opportunity to share Christ.

Challenge and joy
Some Christian business people in Laos along with some Lao followers of Jesus started a Christian Lao Facebook Page in 2017. They say, ‘It was an incredible challenge and also a joy to watch God bring together a team of both Lao and foreign followers of Jesus to set up and manage the Facebook page. Nearly 150,000 people follow the page.' The team shares short, clear verses in Lao, such as: 'The Bible Tells You How to Find True Happiness,' 'Jesus Made Everything,' 'Do You Want to Know How to Get to Heaven?'

Contact
The most important link in the chain is our moderators who respond to the comments on the page. These discussions unfold below the post, meaning many others can follow along and join the conversation. This online operation makes it possible to make contact with people who would normally be out of reach. Also, people can share their questions and concerns via private messages. Many Laotian followers of Jesus are active on the page, even at the risk of costing them personally. It is mainly young men between the ages of 18-24 who visit the Facebook page.

Alone, scared and vulnerable
Sometimes the team can mean a lot to young Christians. They recall: 'A young man privately messaged the page saying he was the only believer in his village. He was discouraged and felt alone, scared and vulnerable because the police had taken his Bible. The team sent him a private message encouraging him, letting him know they were praying for him, and explaining how to download a Lao Bible app to his phone.'

Discipling
What is the greatest need among Christians in Laos? The team: 'Discipling people who have just come to faith. The number of Christians in Laos has grown rapidly, but they often lack regular meetings with other Christians and discipleship. However, God is at work raising up men and women, especially young people, with a vision and passion to obey Jesus by discipling all nations, even across some of the many ethnical boundaries and languages ​​in Laos.'

Important chain
‘Of course our Facebook page is not the whole chain of someone who is 'interested' in deciding to follow Jesus and join a church, but it is an important link in the chain that leads one to faith,’ says the team. Glory to God!

  • Pray for our team in Laos to help many people find Jesus

'How can I get rid of my gambling addiction?'

Filipijnse man'How can I get rid of my gambling addiction?', asks Sieiuol Gnaltah, a Filipino. He follows our Tagalog Facebook page (Tagalog is the largest language in the Philippines). People can ask for help for problems that they don’t know how to solve, and are ashamed of, through the chat on the page.

The volunteer who was chatting with him (Danilo), gave the advice, 'God is your only hope if you want to change your life for the better!' He also said, 'If you want to be free, give your life over to God and humbly ask Him to forgive the sins you have committed. Trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then the Holy Spirit be with you and direct your life.'

In tears
The man who asked for help said that that he really would like to give his life to God. Danilo prayed with him to Jesus. 'How do you feel now?', he asked after they had prayed. 'I am in tears', tells Sieiuol. Afterward, Danilo told him more about the privilege of being a child of God. 'I haven’t yet given Bible verses to Sieiuol, but I surely will, so that he can better understand what it means to be born again!' he says.

Local church
Naturally, a man who is fighting an addiction to gambling needs more support for the long term. Sieiuol is led to a local church where he is surrounded by brothers and sisters. Danilo stays in chat contact with him. It is precious when a brother in Christ can encourage someone in their own mother tongue. We hope and pray that Sieiuol continues to follow Jesus, free from his gambling addiction, and in the knowledge that he is a child of God.

  • Pray for Sieiuol to meet people who will support him and help him follow Jesus

Lufi from Nigeria, 'I poured my heart out'

Lufti NigeriaIt is special when someone who is thousands of miles away can stand by your side. Our team behind the Facebook Bibleword page shared a post where followers were asked to share their experiences and prayer requests. Lufi from Nigeria didn’t have to be asked twice.

He writes, 'Hello Biblword, May the grace of our good Lord continually be with you all. My name is Lufi, from Nigeria. About four or five weeks ago, I was frustrated and depressed about life, as things were thoroughly hard. Then I saw Biblword's post on Facebook about sharing experiences and prayer requests. I keyed into this and poured out my heart. And I was given a great response with prayers.’

Wiping away tears
Lufi was encouraged by this, 'To God be the glory: things are beginning to turn around for me for the best. I want to give God all the glory for wiping away my tears, taking away my sins, worries, and sorrows. I also want to thank God for using the Biblword team to lift my spirit up and help me in my times of difficulties. God bless Biblword and all glory and praises to Yahweh! Hallelujah!'

  • Thank God that Lufi was encouraged and pray that he himself can be of support to others

Arm around the shoulder
So many people can use a listening ear, a (virtual) arm around their shoulders. Would you like to offer that, too? Sign up to be a chatter! You can do it from your own home.

Do you also want to help people online?
Apply to be an E-coach or chat member!

+31 (0)525 795 002
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