Christmas Greetings 2023

Dear friend and intercessor,

We are approaching Christmas time with gratitude!  We will share about our recent mission trip to three different nations in Southeast Asia. This was to have been done in 2019 but the pandemic prevented the trip. Now 4 years later, in the Autumn of 2023, the journey was finally made.

The backstory for this trip was a vision I had received decades ago for national workers to takeownership of shining the light into the darkness of the yet unreached people groups in their area. Only then can we fulfil the Great Commission. There are still 684 unreached people groups in Southeast Asia.

– Arto Sädeaho –

God’s Timetables are Reliable

Based on previous experiences, we knew that the fulfilment of this mission was not self-evident. Our trips have often been hindered at the last minute by various obstacles, illnesses, and even accidents. That’s why I appealed in the autumn letter for your prayers.

Thanks to all who remembered our journey in prayers and giving!

This time, the biggest challenge was the travel budget. Even on the threshold of our departure, it felt like it was still hanging by a loose thread.

GNN is a faith-based mission association that operates in trusting that God stirs up the desire and action within donors’ hearts to give. Even small gifts are important to see the task fulfilled. May the Lord bless faithful supporters!

Despite being short of over half of the travel budget, we decided to go ahead by faith. I trusted that “help comes from above” and so it did!

When the first training week in Saigon (HCM), Vietnam had already commenced, Orvokki sent a message on the 19.9, that a larger sum had been gifted into the account. It was encouraging to see the travel budget being covered over halfway now! During the following week in Indonesia, I received a message while at the Bible school in Sumatra, that on the 4.10, we had received another big donation. The budget began to come together promisingly!

And then during the last part of the third seminar week in Borneo, East Malaysia, we received a final gift from Australia. The remainder of the budget was complete.

Thanks to God who does not allow our feet to stumble! Although the answer may sometimes be delayed, in God’s Kingdom it is never late.

My new co-worker Kimmo Sarajärvi noted that giving is a part of spiritual warfare. Although the lack of funds may limit the fulfilment of our calling, it strangely invigorates the prayer life.

Would you like to be part of expanding the most important calling in the world – to reach the unreached? Donate by using the reference 3010 (greatest need).

Promising News from the Autumn Mission to Southeast Asia

VIETNAM

Pr. Kimmo Sarajärvi, our new CEO, shares

We were expecting pastors and evangelists to the training week in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), but a group of about 40 people, mostly young evangelists, were waiting there. Many of them seemed to be still searching for their calling. Thus, it was a suitable place where we were free to encourage the participants to reach out to the unreached people groups in their country.

The teaching team was made up of Pastors Arto Sädeaho (Finland), Dr. Paul Ng (Singapore), Shierley Siwi (Indonesia) and myself. This enabled versatile contributions to the training week. It was topped off with exciting field news from pioneer ministry work that Pr. Shierley leads from the Bible school.

Our host for the week in Vietnam was the IEM-movement (International Evangelical Mission). We heard of an outpouring of the Spirit that took place in the 1980’s has resulted in the birth of more than 200 congregations throughout the country and another 50 in Cambodia. IEM’s special emphasis has been to reach Vietnam’s 54 UPG’s, of which they have already begun work in 27 of them. They are currently in a phase of training young people to go into the remaining 27 people groups. They plan to build a training centre for this purpose.

It seems as though a new opportunity is opening up for us with the need to train and inspire people to reach the unreached.

 

INDONESIA

Pr. Arto Sädeaho shares

After Vietnam, we arrived to Jakarta for the weekend where we strengthened relationships with old contacts. Pr. Aki Miettinen from Finland joined the team and Pr. Jonathan came from Australia for the remainder of the mission. Pr. Kimmo preached on Sunday morning at our friend Joni Bangun’s church. (In the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, Joni and I worked together to rebuild a village for 100 families in Banda Aceh. I launched that project on behalf of the Finns, with Nordic funding.)

On Monday, we began our training week at the Bible School. Last June, 37 graduates from the previous course were sent to pioneer in 24 new areas and 9 others went to work amongst 4 different tribes. This is currently the 39th year course with 96 young people. Aki’s standard topic for the 2nd level class was spiritual leadership, whilst Kimmo and Jonathan took care of teaching the 1st level class.

With a strong friendship formed 20 years ago in YWAM, they taught the lectures with excitement which inspired the students while I was fighting against the flu. On Thursday, these 2 friends were able to visit a pioneering ministry. Having already recovered, I took care of that day’s 6 lectures in Indonesian.