| Due to the sensitive nature of this ministry, some details, photos and videos have been removed from the below update that was sent to our prayer partners. Prayer Partners: Thank you for your steadfast support! Good News! The Lord has provided to open a church. First Sunday for youth was this past Sunday, 4/2. We are preparing to open to the public (adults) on Resurrection Sunday, 4/9. As with any church plant, it has been a tremendous amount of work. The cross went up Tuesday. PRAISE THE LORD!!!   “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.” Psalm 20:7-8 Please stand with us in prayer, and fast a meal or two toward salvation for the lost. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 In preparation for the new church and inevitable spiritual attack on the horizon, the Lord led to educate our youth in Satan’s counterfeit paths (Matt 7:13-14) – world religions and false teachings. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” Hosea 4:6 Headed into this new season, many of the youth signed up to serve in various capacities. Two popped in today without being asked and took the initiative to clean. Evangelizing the LGBTQ: The gay life is grim. Recently I found out that two more of my past life friends died. I reflected, as any believer would. Is their blood on my hands (Acts 20:26-27)? Did I share the gospel with them? The Lord uses such news to drive me to witness more. After completing seminary and prior to opening a church, it was been a blessing to have a window of time to get out and witness, witness, witness… In March, armed with tracts in each respective language, the Lord led to witness in Cambodia and Thailand’s red light districts and transgender prostitution hubs. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23 Relationships that began in 2016/2017 were deepened with Bible-based conversation correcting misinformation widely embraced by today’s world cultures. Ultimately the decision whether or not to surrender to the Lord is in each individuals’ hands. “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20 Red light districts bring heavy tourism and migrant workers. Often they are more responsive to the gospel than the LGBTQ. The guy on the right in the below photo, is an immigrant from war-torn Myanmar who has a tailor shop in Thailand. Remembering me from street witnessing several years ago, he approached me. After hearing the gospel again, he wanted to know more. I took him to meet another seeker from Myanmar who recently began leading a Bible study after another evangelist gave him a Bible and shared the gospel with him. I added both of them to our online “Bible Myanmar” group where Scripture is posted daily, walked them through Bible basics, answered questions and prayed with them. They vowed to ask questions as they arise. What an honor.. Thankful to be of service… Praise the Lord!  “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105 In Thailand, the Lord provided opportunity to serve by sharing the gospel and ex-gay testimony at two churches. Churches around the world struggle with how to handle issues relating to the LGBTQ. Click to watch the video below. Praise the Lord! Ex-Gay Testimony, Explanation of My Ministry & The Gospel Message C&MA Church, Thailand; VIDEO => https://youtu.be/TmAEdPdLCvY   “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” Galatians 6:10 Any of us could die at any moment. Click Here to find out how you can know enduring peace, God’s purpose for your life and be sure you will go to heaven when your brief time on earth is up. PRAISE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST! Ways to Partner: 1. Pray for: – Conviction, eyes to see and ears to hear for the LGBTQ. – That seeds would bear fruit, that the Lord would raise up Cambodian evangelists. – Revival for the U.S. church – that we would stand for difficult truth in these days no matter what the cost. – Pray for our marriage and the promised son. – Financial support to keep me in the field doing what I am called to do. 2. Click to Donate via PayPal (tax deductible)! |
Tag Archives: red light district
August Ministry Highlights
| Due to the sensitive nature of this ministry, some details, photos and videos have been removed from the below update that was sent to our prayer partners. Prayer Partners: Thank you for your support! LGBTQ Evangelism, Bangkok: In 2016, Castaway Ministries was born with outreach to the LGBTQ in global sex tourism & gender re-assignment hub, sin city Bangkok. Recently I returned to Bangkok and hit the old stomping grounds (red light districts) to witness. It is relatively common for Cambodians to relocate to Bangkok for work, including sex work. The Lord led to some transgender prostitutes from Cambodia (“ladyboys”, as they call themselves and are commonly known in Thai/Cambodian culture). If Christ can forgive me, He can forgive them. Praise the Lord. “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” 1 Timothy 1:15 Over the years, the Lord has also provided opportunity to speak biblical truth into life-changing decisions, if you get what I’m saying. Having made just about every poor life choice in the book myself, the Lord leads to use those “lessons learned the hard way” to urge others to avoid making choices that derail God’s plans for them. But even if the decision not to move forward with a procedure is made, the soul is not saved through behavior modification. Beyond avoiding a particular sin and subsequent guilt, the urge and hope is for repentance and salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt 3:2; John 3:3, 16, 36). Happy lies put a smile on one’s face for today and send him to hell for eternity. If we truly love people, we must tell them the truth. Only the truth can set them/us free (John 8:32; 17:17). “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 Muslim LGBTQ Evangelism, Bangkok: First morning after arriving in Bangkok, I went downstairs in the hotel for breakfast. A man who said he was in town for work-related training asked me to sit with him. Conversation went from, ‘Why are you here?’ to testimony and the gospel. He demonstrated knowledge of the Bible’s Old Testament, which would be highly unusual for the Thai Buddhist majority to know. Then he revealed he is from the predominantly Muslim southern portion of Thailand that borders Malaysia. The Quran, a satanic counterfeit of the Bible, includes some of the Bible’s Old Testament. Additionally, a man named Jesus is revealed as a prophet who performed miracles but never died for our sins. In other words, all of the attributes essential to salvation (e.g. His deity, substitutionary atonement) are removed. This man is a counterfeit Jesus. I corrected him on the deity of Christ (most notably using John 10:30, 14:6), contended that no one can know God apart from the Lord Jesus Christ and told him if the Quranic Jesus is true, we are all bound for hell because God provided only one door to heaven – by repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 10:9; John 3:16-18). Most Muslim men would rebuttal that, but he did not. Hmm… I wondered why. Toward the end, we took a photo and connected through social media. When I saw his profile, I got the feeling that maybe he struggled with same-sex attraction (had not picked up on any cues previously). After breakfast, he asked, ‘Which room are you staying in?’ I told him the floor (many rooms) but did not divulge my room number. He said, ‘I’m on the 6th floor. Room 666.’ I reacted, ‘Wow!’ He looked blankly, unaware of its biblical significance. The Lord was saying, ‘In case you didn’t realize, this is of the enemy… a test.’ This is standard operating procedure for many who live closeted gay lives. Though typically much more overt in my approach, I once was that man. This is my life and ministry. It’s laden with risk. Separated from my wife, I am tested at my weakest moments. Satan whispers, ‘No one has to know!’ It requires in depth knowledge from my past life (“the depths of Satan,” Rev 2:24) plus biblical wisdom and power from the indwelling Holy Spirit to fight. If I were back in Pittsburgh working for the bank, similar testing would come. This is the norm for the ex-gay. The Lord has prepared me… for such a time as this. Praise the Lord! Please pray that M comes to know the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible, is transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light and fights on the right side of this war over the souls of men (Eph 2:13; Col 1:13). “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 Neighborhood Youth Ministry – Door-to-Door Evangelism, Cambodia: Back across the border in Cambodia… Remember from July’s update that an envious mother pulled her three faithful kids out of our youth ministry over a dental emergency. I had been praying and trusting the Lord to resolve. Not long afterwards, apparently the Lord provided through someone else to get her teeth fixed. It seemed to solve the problem, no more need to envy. She really does look good, and I told her so. The kids returned on the last day of the Joseph story where Joseph forgave his brothers. Praise the Lord! It was an opportunity to clarify, contrary to Buddhist belief in karma where people who “do bad receive bad,” that Jesus forgives the repentant! This past Sunday, we door-to-door witnessed in the neighborhood and ended up at their home (unplanned). We shared the gospel with their mom. Her son (oldest) has been stepping up to serve, to share the gospel and pray with/for unbelievers. He walked away from praying for someone with the joy of the Lord, ‘I am so happy in my heart. Before I was scared to share the gospel. Now I’m not scared because I have Jesus in my heart.’ Praise the Lord! True joy is found only in serving the Lord (Matt 16:25-26; Neh 8:10)! A few minutes later, he told me his friend asked him to go to a coffee shop and hang out but that he didn’t have the money (nudge, nudge). Gotta love these kids! “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” Hebrews 10:38 Saved and Loved Podcast (Duration: 33 mins): Seema and I discuss content of all three books in the Straight series, including The Church: We Shoot Our Wounded. This interview includes (1) discussion about root causes of the normalization of homosexuality in today’s culture, (2) common gender role reversals, (3) biblical role of women in home and church, women pastors and Male Headship, (4) how to battle LGBTQ indoctrination of our kids and (5) encouragement for ex-gay men to fight forward, standing alone on the Word of God in these last days of rampant heresy and apostasy. Any of us could die at any moment. Click Here to find out how you can know enduring peace, God’s purpose for your life and be sure you will go to heaven when your brief time on earth is up. PRAISE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST! Ways to Partner: 1. Pray for: – Conviction, eyes to see and ears to hear for the LGBT. – That seeds would bear fruit, that the Lord would raise up Cambodian evangelists. – Revival for the U.S. church – that we would stand for difficult truth in these days no matter what the cost. – Pray for our marriage and the promised son. – Financial support to keep me in the field doing what I am called to do. 2. Click to Donate via PayPal (tax deductible)! |
Castaway Ministries 