God desires that the local church with plenty at this moment should share and assist the local church with lack in evangelistic outreach programme exhibiting the love we have for one another in the Body of Christ so that others can see we are one in Christ. 2 Cor 8:14.
On behalf of the Body of Christ movement in the Riau Archipelago, the National Auxiliary Chaplaincy of Philippines and the unregistered alliance of Chinese churches, this ministry appeal for support from local churches to partner them in advancing the kingdom of God in their respective regions by sharing the gospel in word as well as in deed. Having prayed over the following projects, we believe the following evangelistic outreach projects or programmes are the most budget-friendly and cost-effective way to gain a rapid hearing of the gospel in these regions.
Bio-sand Water Filter Project
In many parts of South and South-east Asia, safe drinking water is not readily available. By installing just one bio-sand water filter in a village with a flow rate of 0.4 litre per minute, we can avail some 500 litres per day of safe drinking water to some 250 people living in a village.
The design of the bio-sand filter is based on the integration of the time-tested process of slow sand filtration. It is capable of providing safe drinking water getting rid of 99% of bacteria and viruses with a fully developed biolayer.
Each bio-sand filter cost USD 200 including expensive delivery expenses as the sand weigh some 60 kg.
Evangelistic Thrust : To send one trained missionary with one such filter into each unsaved village in the poor regions of Southeast Asia and South Asia starting with Indonesia, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. (Up to October 2014, we have installed in 5 villages in 3 islands.)
Solar Lamp Project
The national electrical grid in South and Southeast Asia does not pass through many regions and the cost of electricity is too expensive to afford for most of these poor regions. As a result, most live without any light in the evening and the possibility of improving the productivity of the cottage industries in these regions is quite dim. By availing one solar lamp to each family or at least to the village head, we can gain a hearing of the gospel in the village. In times of calamities like the recent typhoon disaster in Tacloban, Philippines, the solar lamps provide much relief to harsh living conditions when the electricity will probably only be restored in a year’s time due to lack of relief funds.
Each solar lamp costs about USD 16 including air freight charges.
Evangelistic Thrust : To send such lamps to the local church or missionary to enable them to reach out through such gift either to unsaved households or to the village head depending on the financial budget. Requests from local churches and missionaries have come in from several parts of Indonesia and mountainous regions of Philippines.
(Following pictures showed the missionary Filipino pastors sharing the gospel as well as giving the solar lamp during the relief work after the devastation caused by the Typhoon Haiyan.)
Farming Aids Project
Indonesia and Philippines have some 13000 and 7000 islands respectively. In most of these islands, there are some few hundred inhabitants which lack clean water, electricity and productive farming aids. In our recent experiment in one island with few hundred unsaved people in installing a rice mill and providing a tractor, we gain the hearing of the gospel easily through sharing the use of these equipment.
One rice mill and one tractor costs about USD 10,000 including sea freight.
Evangelistic Thrust : We pray to duplicate such effort to all the small inhabited islands of Indonesia and Philippines with population of few hundreds or thousands.
Vanishing Arts Project
Hui’an maidens or women are a particular tribe of women residing in Hui’an county of Quanzhou, Fujian Province of China. Though they are Han Chinese, but because of the isolation on the eastern peninsula of Hui’an, they are not fully assimilated into the Han culture, so many of their distinctive customs and traditions still survive today. They do most of the work and family chores while their husbands are at sea. Several art forms such as stone carving enjoy a long history spanning over 1600 years as a result of their hard work ethic. Today, the craft is listed within the first group of national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, and Hui’an county is honoured as “the hometown of Chinese folk art (Sculpture)”.
Yet there is one form of art which is fast vanishing – the engraving of portrait on marble stone slab is done by punching dot by dot till the portrait is formed. This delicate and meticulous art form process usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to complete. Due to lack of demand, this art may vanish soon.
Evangelistic Thrust : We pray for generous support in purchase of this form of art to keep it from vanishing and also to gain hearing of the gospel through our purchase of only Christian art portraits. Buyer can commission any portrait for USD 1200 including air freight for a standard size slab of 13.5 inch by 9.5 inch.
