Bemo Alan Janet 1996 Laos

8/9/2019 Bemo Alan Janet 1996 Laos

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By faith they sojourned in th e land....look ing forward to a city which has foundations,

w h o se b u il d er a n d m a k e r i s God.HEB. 11:8-10

Alan & a n e t B e m oFOOD FOR T H E HUNGRY

B ox 108

Nongkhai 43000Thai land

Forwarding Agent:L i n d a G o e r k e

3106 Summi t Ave

S t Joseph, MO 64506(816) 279-9978

February 27, 1996

Dear Co-Workers, Family and Friends,

We are writing to you from the hospitable home of Joel and Kelly AnnLillie, former co-workers in Thailand and now with FHI in Chiangmai,Thailand. We arrived here on February 25th because we had to leaveLaos due to visa problems.

We arrived in Laoson January 8th and weremet byour daughter Beckyand Tbm Love We had a wonderfulreunionwith Becky and former co-workers. It tookus three days to get overjet lag.Wesettled into Beck/sapartment without too much trouble It is small but very safe^ beingon the second floor andhavinga guard24 hours a day.

Myfirst trip up-coimtry was on January 23rd to the same area where wehad worked before^ this time tos t^ some agriculturalprograms. Even though FHI has done a great job ofdevelopmenthere^ the agricultural aspect never has reallygotten going. We had received a warning from the government. Get thingsgoing this year on agriculture^ or FHFs entire program will be in jeopardyf During 19961 am to be concentrating on buffalo^ cow and pig banks (loaning pregnant animals and then getting paid backwith a pregnantanimalwithin a certain period oftime) I am also to do a lot of workwith fruit tree productionand vegetables e e d dis t r ibu t ion .

It was really great to be back in Northern Laos with people we had worked with for so long. We wereespecially happy to find that a person wehad some influence with had become a Christian (with the helpof one of our Christian Lao staff) and, in turn, had led two others to Christ. Another lady is also a believerbut still needs to be taught more We also heard that one and a half Hmong villageshad accepted Christ,due to listening to Christian radiobroadcasts. WepraiseGodfor answeringprayerson behalfof this provincewhich has never been evangelized and has no church. The trip took me ten daysand I got a document writtenup and signed by the district and the provincial officials approving of our working up there.

When I got back to Vientiane I pu t the document into the Department of Agriculture for their approval. Itwent through in a record time of three days. The problem started when we took my application to th eDepartment of FDreign Affairs for visa approval. Wehad been given a one month single entry visa to get intothe country and we have one month to get a six month, multiple working visa Our application has beensitting there ever since. They keep making excuses about why it isn't approved yet, which h as k ep t usguessing as to what the real problem is. Surely it wouldn't be inefficiency, or looking for a bribe Onestaff member told us she thought it was because we are witnessing Christians. Another source told usthat it was because of a rumor going around that I am an ex-soldier, here to spy ou t POWs an d MIAs. Weactually overstayed ou r visa time^ thinking that th e extension would come through any day.Finally we ha dto leave Laos on February 25th for Chiangmai.Wegot a one month visa for Thailand and haveextended that


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for 10 days now. Our time is up on April 4th. If our visas for Laos are not done by that date we are toleave for China. There is certainly a lot to do in that country, and since we speak Chinese we feel goodabout this possibility, although our heart s are still with the Laos.

While here we have been able to visit an d encourage th e Christians in th e five villages where we used towork here in Thailand. The churches are still going well with new Christians in each place

Family events during January to March: Becky just made a trip to China for her Spring break and will be

flyingin here today. She is enjoying her school teaching job and livingin Laos. Oldfriends, Paul Lang andhis daughter, Anna, visited us from Grinnell, Iowa. Weheard that our granddaughter, Phoneix, took herfirst steps, and we weren't there to see it. (sniff ) Sarah needs our prayers as she is adjusting to collegelife and to not having her parents around. Katy Nathan's wife is expecting their second in June, and hasbeen in the hospital a couple of times. And our Beth, is expecting her fourth in April, so our quiver isfull. Pra i s e God

A scripture that has especiallybeen meaningful to us lately is I Corinthians 15:58: Let nothing move yom.Always_give_yourselvesJulJyjo_the workofthe Lord bemuse you_knowthat your labor inthe Lord isnotin vain. Please continue to pray fervently for us. I plan on writing to you again as soon as somethinghappens.

Sincerely,

Alan Janet and Rachel

PS I do not know why it took so long for me to receive this letter. As of April 4 1 have not heardany more so don't know if Alan and Janet are going to China or what. They were a little concernedabout the situation between China, Ihiwan and the U.S. As soon as I hear something we will send ;

,out another letter. Thank you for your prayer support of Alan and Janet. Keep it up y' 1

L i n d a

C e nt ra l C h ri st ia n C h ur ch1 5 0 1 N . e o n a r d R o a d

St. Joseph, MO 64508

A D D RE S S C O RR E CT IO N R EQ U ES TE D

MISSIN SERVICES ASSNP C BO X 2 4 2 7

KNOXVILLE. T N 3 7 9 01 - 24 2 7

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U.S. Postage

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P e r m i t a 2 2 2 3


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By faith they sojourned In th e land....looking forward to a city which has foundations,

w h o se b u il de r a n d m a k e r I s G od.HEB. 11:8-10

Alan n e t B e m oFOOD FO R T H E HUNGRYB ox 1 08


May 25, 1996

Dear Friends,

Forwarding Agent:Linda Goerke3106 S u m m i t A veSt. Joseph, MO 64506(816) 279-9978

Behold how many thousands still are lyingBound in the dark-some prison house of sin.With none to tell them of th e Savior's dying.

O r th e life H e died for them to win.

How our hearts are heavy. From 1994 till this year Lao Christians have been forced to sign denials oftheir faith, churcheshave been closed, and Christian leaders have beeii imprisoned. Early this year, at the6thParty Congress, a Lao government official made this statementin a closed meeting: In the pastthenumber one enemy ofthe people was the USA. This is nolonger the case Tbday the chief enemy ofthepeople are the Protestant Christians and the Bahai people Not accidentally these two groups are theones that are growing. In March, after this meeting, banners have been hung in the city streets ^ ingforthe longevityof Marxist-Leninist doctrineand loyalty tothe Party. We donot believe it was a coincidencethat it was just at this timethat our application for the renewal of visas as Christian development workerswas denied by the Lao government and we had to spend six weeks in Thailand.

At the sameParty Congress that decided that Christians were their number one enemies, a decision wasmade to try to encourage foreign investorsto come into Laos to start agri-businesses, especially oneswhich would involve the export of soybeans. Was it a coincidence that even before leaving Laosand whilewewerewaitingin Thailand, weweretalkingto PaulLang,a Christianbusinessman in soybean processing,aboutthe idea of possibly re-entering Laos as business people to produce^ process, andexport soybeans? Actually, the soybean processing was what wehad been planningto do as FHI volunteers here^ in thefirst place) Well, now it is not donated, but a business set-up (probably much better for development)and the government has toldus that our business is exactly what they are looking for and assure us thelicense we have applied for will be given in a couple of months, plus we have a 6 monthsbusiness visain hand to do research for marketing, etc

The place which has been selected for the processing plant is in the northern province of Bokeo wherethere are several unreached peoplegroups and no church. Also, it is right on the Mekong River at thecrossroads of Thailand, Burma, China, and Laos for soy meal export. We knowthere are some scatteredChristians in this area. We hope our Christian presence there be an encouragement to them, be itever so discretely. Our prayer is that other Lao Christians will come up to help us with small businesses(through smallbusiness loans) in other areas, and that this will be a gospel center for the north. Acrossthe river in Thailand, we willhave gospel materials in several ethnic languages and already a co-workerwho willoversee We are praying also at our Chinese brethren in Thailand who only live 12 kilometersfrom the river, will be wiUing to start a church for us right across the river to send Lao believers to fortraining and growth. Networking, that's the new buzzword isn't it? Why not for Kingdom work? Weanticipate working closelywith farmers as wellas business people^ and not being ashamed of the gospelof Chnst in any situation. Though it seems impossible right now, we pray and look forward to the day

when peoplewill be able to be taught openly and systemati^y the Word of God. When we visited Hweixai,


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the provincial capital of Bokeo, we didprayer walks allaroundthe town and temple, claiming the areafor Jesus Christ. We saw Thai Le, Thai E^m, Lao Hoi, and Khamu peoples. We felt privileged to bethere as ambassadors fo r Christ. We felt t ha t t he t re es a nd t he fields were rejoicing that the nameof Christ was finally being spoken there. Isaiah 55 has taken on new meaning for us. Friends weremade easily, and we were even able to witness to a few. What a thrill

Though, for the most part I am convinced that we are doing what God is directing us to do, thereis still an inner struggle. Willwebe able to really serve God as business people? Will it take too muchof our time? The business world is so corrupt, and we refuse to do anything unholy. Is it possible? Withthe desire to openly be able to preach, teach, and establishchurches, we sometimes wonder, Is theresome place God would rather have us? The devil is always busy, isn't he? But because weand youarepraying, we are confident in God s leading, so we go forward in this course, one step at a time, asHe leads the way. He can always close the door or show us a better wayif there is one Pray that wewill always be open to His leading, and that He will lead us to those, even in government offices, thatare hungry and thirsty for His righteousness. We d like your input, too.

Recently, a sermon from a co-worker here onthe book of Daniel has been of ^eat encouragementtous. Daniel and his companions were living in an idolatrous country where being faithful to Godwas

-dangerous; ^The-king gavei:henrpaganmames~and-tried-to-convert then^by-fnrce but they determinedin their hearts no t to defile themselves. Because of this God filled them with wisdom, miraculouslydelivered them from death, and gavethem insights to be powerfulwitnesses that influenced the wholekingdom. We, too, as a group determined in our hearts not to be defiled with idolatry, materialism,immorality, bribery, and the drunkenness we see around us continually. We determined to daily setChrist as th e Lord of our lives and strive to present ourselves as living sacrifices to Him. We believeGod is giving us wisdom and will work mightily through all of our lives. Watch out Laos

Our happy family news is that we have a new grand-daughter, Zion, born to Beth and Moo Adkinson April 19. The day after Beth's birthday. Wejust got pictures today, and she is beautiful Moo endedup delivering her, himself (with Beth's help). Her brother and sisters are ecstatic Nathan and Katyare expecting too, in July. We love being grandparents Just wish wewere closer. Our sad familynews isthat after a year of separationand hopingthat things might work out with prayer and reevaluation, Beckyand Brian are getting a divorce We d appreciate your prayers for both of them.

Please be careful with t hi s newsletter. Don't post it on a bulletin board or republish any part of it.We'd like to stay here a little longer. Lord willing. >

Your co-workers for the expansion of His Kingdom,

Cen t r a l Chris t ian Church1 50 1 N L e o n a r d R o a dSt. Joseph, MO 64508A D D R E S S C O R R EC T IO N R E Q UE S TE D

KNOXVILLTN379 1 2427

BULK RATE

U.S. PostagePAID

St Joseph MO e r m i t a 2223


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After seeing Becky of f we traveledback to Lao crossing over in thenorth at Hweixai where we ar eplanning to move soon. Boot aco worker with FHI wen t with us sohe could show us a piece of propertyo f his which h e said w e cou ld u s e fo r

the business. We were so pleased to

find that the property was right atthe edge of th e Taidam village ofSin Udom which we had beenpraying for. Because of this we aremore sure that God is leading us. Weare still waiting for our businesslicense to be approved though.

No w we ar e studying Lao at the ~National University here inVientiane while we are waiting for Mipo Church Leadens ^

the license.Janethas been teaching rg not getting anyyounger but were faithful Praise GodEnglish to the FHI Lao staff, too, so weare keeping busy. Our FHI/Lao team just finished having a retreat inChiangmai/Mipo, and we really feel a closeness is developing amongst the staff in spiritual matters andapplying it in allour development work. The whole team is Christian nowand a joyto work with.

Man with Mipo Church LeadersWeWe not getting any younger, but we re faithful Praise God

We would appreciate your continued prayers for us, especially for the license andthe preaching of the gospeamong th e Taidam people.

Your co workers

C e nt ra l C h ri st ia n C h u r c h

1501 N . L e o n a r d R o a dSt. Joseph MO 64508

ADDRESS CORRECT ION REQUESTED

M i s s i o n S e r v i c e s A s s nP O B o x 4 7

Knoxv i l l e TN 37901 2427

NON-PROFITU.S. Postage

PAIDSt. Joseph, MOPermit No. 2223


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UkO PEOPLE S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC y faith they so journed In th e land....l ooking forward to a city which has foundations,

w h o s e b u i l d e r n d m k e r I s God.HEB. 11:8-10

A l a n & n e t B e m o

F O O D F O R T H E H U N G RYB o x 1 08


September - December 1996

Forwarding Agent

Linda Goerke3106 S u m m i t A ve

St. Joseph, MO 64506(816) 279-9978

De ar Fr iends ,

There a re some excit ing t h ings which a re g oin g o n r i g h t now.j u s t recently made another trip to southern China where I was ableto s ta r t working among the Black Ta i there. I was able to t es ti fy o fmy faith and give them a Christ ian video and some literature. Theyw er e v er y receptive and want me t o c om e b ac k. On the same trip

miraculously met so me n ew Hmong believers on a bus. When I told them I was a C h ri st ia n t h eman r eached ou t and grabbed m y arm and said, I w a nt w h at yo u are talking about. Please followm e w he n I get of f th e bus. I did and e nd ed u p spending the night i n th eir village and teachingthem fo r many hours. I found t h a t they had accepted Chris t a ft er h ea ri ng t he g os pe l o n radiobroadcasts. L as t y ea r they buil t a church build ing bu t soldiers came and tore i t down. We aremaking p lans to go back to t hi s a re a early next year.

We h ave recen t ly hired a Christ ian Black Tai m an to be our bus iness manage r in Laos. We haveheard t ha t there is a revival which has b ro ke n o ut i n n o rt he rn Vietnam in which 20,000 have cometo the Lord. He is on a business trip to Vietnam t o check out and see i f there is anything we cando to help, like delivering Bibles. He is also tak ing samples of soy meal to find markets fo r ourproduct.

In October I h ad th e j oy o f l ea di ng o f t wo young men to the Lord in Vientiane, by studying LaoTEE material (Theological Education by Extension) with them. We look forward to the d ay w he nthis can be happening in nor thern Laos where we are prepar ing t o m ov e.

Another port ion of the Black Tai scriptures has been t ra n sl a te d a n d is due t o b e p ub li sh ed inJanuary.

I am writ ing you from the Uni ted S ta te s . We a re here fo r a shor t visi t to make ar rangements fo rthe business we are start ing in Laos. There are severa l aspec t s of this t ha t you need to understand.

Our motive fo r s tar t ing this business is not to make money, bu t to be ab le to continue shar ingChrist in Laos. We have selected t he s it e fo r the business a t Hweixai, i n no r theas t e rn Laos, whichis strategic fo r spreading the gospel. Briefly, th is business, Natura l P ro d uc ts , I nt er na ti on al ,is agri-business. I t will buy soybeans fr om L ao farmers, process i t into animal feed additives, andsell i t to animal feed companies. This will benefit hundreds of farmers by allowing them to growa cash crop, t r a in L ao p eo pl e in new technology, and create new industr ies in Laos, al l the whileg iv in g us q u n t i t y a n d q u l i t y t i m e w i t h peop le who r e o t h e r w i s e u n r e a c h e d .Our business license is 90 done, no w only needing t he s igna tu re of the prime minister.

We are s t il l rece iv ing our personal suppor t t h rough Food fo r the Hungry. O ur supporters shouldcontinue sending money there. FHI is excited about what we are doing.


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The business finances are being handled by a group of Chris tian men from thr Grinnel ChristianChurch in Grinnel, Iowa. These men have formed a board of directors and opened a special bankaccount. They are going to meet every three monts to examine the books, look over our quarterlyreport, and pray for th e work. Several people have already given money and equipment for th ebusiness. Please feel free to contact Paul Lang at 626, Hwy 6, Grinnel lA 50112 or telephone 515236-3583 if you have an y questions or are interes ted in helping with th e business.

We are hoping to go back to Laos at the end of December. Please call us anytime. We ar e travelinga lot but you have a good chance at finding us at 417-626-7064, ou r number in Joplin, Missouri,or at Paul Lang s house .

Please pray for us as we are setting things up. We ar e traveling a lo t in th e s ta te s and need a loof wisdom. Continue to pray for 1 the translation of the Black Tai Bible, 2 the revival inorthern Vietnam 3 the tw o ne w Christ ians and 4 the ne w business.

Please contact us or our forwarding agent about further details. We have a nine page conceptj japer which explains th e whole thing which we would be glad to mail you.

Linda recently sent ou t some post cards for people to fill ou t and send in so we could update ou

mailing list. If you h av e n ot y et sent these please help us ou t by sending them as soon as possibleWe go t some cards back say ing they wanted to continue receiving our newslet ter but people hadfailed to p ut t he ir name and address on them so we don t know who they were from. If you thinkyou might have done that please drop Linda a note t el li ng her i f you want to continue receivingo r n o t

Yours In Jesus

r

Cent ra l Chr i s t i an C h u r c h1501 N L e o n a r d R o a d

St. Joseph, MO 64508

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Mission Services AssnP- Box 2427Knoxville, TN 37901-2427

NON PROFITU S Postage

PAIDSt. Joseph OPermit No. 2223

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Bemo Alan Janet 1996 Laos