{"id":6843,"date":"2025-08-01T14:04:38","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T19:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/?p=6843"},"modified":"2025-08-01T14:04:38","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T19:04:38","slug":"west-newsletter-august-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/west-newsletter-august-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"West Newsletter: August 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Greetings from Malaysia!<\/strong><\/p>\n

We have been in Malaysia for over a month now and are settling here, south of the capital, Kuala Lumpur, not far from the airport. We are living next to Xiamen University, the Malay campus of a large university in Fujian, China. It\u2019s a cool area. There are many international students, especially from China and Central Asia, and lots of Chinese is spoken all around. (Loads of good Chinese food, too.)<\/p>\n

\"Xiamen<\/a>

Xiamen University from the Wests' apartment building.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Ben<\/a>

Ben with two friends who came to visit shortly after arriving.<\/p><\/div>\n

One Church for 20,000 People (+ Students)<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is only one church in this district, a Chinese Church that also serves as a student outreach center. We are already involved and continue looking for ways to make our own impact as well. Far from China\u2019s borders, there are no restrictions on reaching out to the Chinese here in Malaysia. Yet it still feels like there is a \u201cwall\u201d of sorts between the mainland Chinese students and the other students. Pray for wisdom, boldness, and divine appointments!<\/strong><\/p>\n

China Visa Update: So, You\u2019re Saying There\u2019s a Chance?!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I made another attempt to apply for a Chinese visa in late June at the China visa office at the border of Macau. I was denied again but told (politely) to try applying at an actual Embassy. I\u2019m still quite skeptical, but I will indeed attempt to apply for a Chinese visa interview here in Malaysia this fall. Pray that God would open China's doors for me in His perfect time!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Betong: Where North (Thailand) Meets South (Malaysia)<\/strong><\/p>\n

In February 2023, I sat in the fellowship hall of a little church in Mossy, WV, praying for Asia and brainstorming for the future. I knew that southern Thailand had a spot that jutted way down into northern Malaysia, but I had never taken the time to look up what was actually there. That was when I discovered the isolated little town of Betong, at the far southern tip of Thailand.<\/p>\n

My initial Google search told me that Betong is primarily a destination for sex tourism. While prostitution IS a big problem, the local food (native fruits and the famous Betong chicken) seems to draw even more admirers than the \u201cother\u201d industry. Also, the region, as a whole, is dominated by Islam (southern Thailand and Malaysia share the same religion and ethnic background).<\/p>\n

We first visited Betong as a family in September 2023. On our first day, we attended what we thought would be a regular midweek service at a small local church but were surprised to find a guest speaker (Chinese) from Malaysia and a gathering that had been years in the making. Among others, we met an older (78 y\/o) Malay Chinese missionary lady who had been serving in Betong for 10 years. Sweet little Ms. R has since become a friend and our primary local contact.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Wests with Mrs. R and a couple of her local partners.<\/p><\/div>\n

Deysi spent the past two weeks serving with Ms. R in Betong and the nearby villages, ministering through English classes, Bible lessons, and youth discipleship classes. Ms. R\u2019s work touches numerous nationalities, including the Lahu and Hmong tribal peoples, who migrated south to work on the rubber plantations. Yesterday (July 27), I was asked to preach in the local Hmong church, where a large group was visiting from Laos for seasonal work in a local durian processing plant.<\/p>\n

\"Deysi<\/a>

Deysi teaching children in the village.<\/p><\/div>\n

Pray for all these hard-working brothers and sisters, who are often far from home and isolated from other Christians, working long hours with barely a day off.<\/strong> Going forward, we hope to visit at least quarterly, as Betong is much closer to the heart of Malaysia than Bangkok, far to the north!<\/p>\n

Recruiting Resources vs Reaping a Harvest<\/strong><\/p>\n

My hometown OKC Thunder won the NBA Championship back in June! Afterwards, I spent some time pondering the dynamic of team building versus winning. Coaches spend years recruiting, planning, and preparing for what they hope to be an excellent team. But the time comes when the players must go win the game!<\/p>\n

With that in mind, how do we build and sustain a team of supporters while faithfully sharing the Gospel and taking new territory for the Lord in hard places? It\u2019s easier said than done. Days fly by (deadlines, too), weeks and months pass, and testimonies and stories build up into an undefined heap.<\/p>\n

Pray that we would be able to update the support team adequately (we could not do it without you!), but in such a way that it doesn\u2019t distract from the work itself!<\/strong> As is often the case, the Apostle Paul shows us how this is done as he shares impactful \u201cupdates\u201d from his current place of ministry (prison):<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this [imprisonment] will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.\u201d <\/em>
\n(Philippians 1:19-21)<\/em><\/p>\n

Blessings in Christ,<\/strong><\/p>\n

THE WEST FAMILY<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Email: china.myadventures@gmail.com <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/strong>Blog: ChinaCall. Substack.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Facebook: www.facebook.com\/ChinaCompass<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/strong>Twitter: www.twitter.com\/chinaadventures <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Instagram: www.instagram.com\/chinaadventures<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greetings from Malaysia! We have been in Malaysia for over a month now and are settling here, south of the capital, Kuala Lumpur, not far from the airport. We are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":6287,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,1,4],"tags":[590,165,31,121],"class_list":{"0":"post-6843","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-missionary-newsletters","8":"category-uncategorized","9":"category-world-missions","10":"tag-august-2025","11":"tag-ben-deysi-west","12":"tag-missionary-newsletter","13":"tag-west","14":"entry"},"title_es":"Bolet\u00edn Oeste: abril de 2020","content_es":"\u00a1Saludos en el precioso nombre de Jes\u00fas!<\/strong> Es un placer estar con socios y amigos para agradecerles personalmente por sus continuas oraciones y su apoyo incondicional. Hemos estado viajando en los Estados Unidos desde el 6 de diciembre de 2018, desde California hasta Carolina del Sur y del Norte. \u00a1Dios es bueno! \u00c9l siempre nos proporciona un lugar para quedarse y un autom\u00f3vil para usar para desplazarnos. Agradecemos a las siguientes iglesias que hemos visitado por su amabilidad, calidez, hospitalidad y generosidad: la Comunidad Internacional de Cristo, los Ministerios Cristianos de Berea, Jes\u00fas es el Se\u00f1or, la Iglesia de la Ciudad Cristiana, la Cruz a la Vida, la Palabra de Vida, la Iglesia Cristiana Filipina, Springfield PH Church, Laurinburg PH Church, Woodville PH Church, Abundant Life Church, Goose Creek PH Church y Brock's Chapel. Nos sentimos honrados y encantados de testificar de la bondad y la fidelidad de Dios. \u00c9l continuamente prospera y bendice el ministerio en Tailandia y los pa\u00edses vecinos (Laos, Vietnam y Myanmar). El 23 de diciembre, 24 budistas recibieron al Se\u00f1or Jes\u00fas durante la celebraci\u00f3n de la Navidad en nuestra iglesia en Don Muang, Bangkok. El 24 y 26 de enero, el pastor Steve Willis y Jim Cox de Valley Harvest Ministries en Virginia llevaron a cabo un seminario de liderazgo en el Centro de Capacitaci\u00f3n de Misiones Indo-China (Mekong Bible Training Center) en Mae Sai con la ayuda del Pastor Chi Chang, el Pastor Big Laddawan, y los misioneros, Doug y Jill Nelson. Fue un gran seminario al que asistieron 40 l\u00edderes provenientes de Tailandia, Laos, Camboya y Myanmar. El tema de la conferencia fue \"S\u00e9 fiel\". La construcci\u00f3n de la tercera fase del dormitorio en el Centro de Capacitaci\u00f3n B\u00edblica Mekong y la cafeter\u00eda en el Seminario Teol\u00f3gico de Tailandia est\u00e1n avanzando. Ambos proyectos deben completarse para obtener mejores instalaciones y programas de discipulado efectivos para nuestros estudiantes. Si desea ser parte de este esfuerzo, env\u00ede su contribuci\u00f3n a IPHC WMM, Oklahoma City con el n\u00famero de cuenta del proyecto designado: 74015 para MBTC y 74520 para TTS. Gracias a IPHC WMM, a la subvenci\u00f3n del Proyecto Antioch, a Valley Harvest Ministries en Virginia, a Bible Temple Church en Toledo, Ohio, y al Equipo de Construcci\u00f3n de Cornerstone por apoyar el proyecto MBTC. Agradecemos a nuestro director nacional, el Dr. Wallapa Wisawasukmongchol, por asistir a la sexta Asamblea Mundial en Chile, del 20 al 22 de febrero, para representar a Tailandia. Ella fue animada y tuvo un tiempo maravilloso con hermanos de diferentes partes del mundo. Damos gracias a Dios por su liderazgo. Tuvimos la suerte de participar en los eventos de comidas de la Gran Comisi\u00f3n de Carolina del Norte, dirigidos por Doug Bartlett, que comenzaron el 14 de febrero y se extendieron hasta el 7 de marzo (totalizando 12 reuniones). \u00a1Estas comidas estuvieron llenas de grandes personas, excelentes informes de misioneros, excelente comida, excelente compa\u00f1erismo y una gran oportunidad para que las iglesias se asocien con misioneros! Gracias a los representantes de IPHC WMM, el Dr. Terry Tramel y el Reverendo Brian Nix, por animar a las iglesias a ganar almas para Jes\u00fas en todo el mundo al apoyar a los misioneros y diferentes proyectos. Sus oraciones y amables invitaciones para que vayamos a su iglesia son muy apreciadas. Puede contactarnos al (916)841-7412 o jiepalbert@hotmail.com. Por favor, oren para que podamos cumplir con nuestro presupuesto y regresar al campo en o antes de mediados de junio por otro per\u00edodo de tres a\u00f1os. Que se haga su voluntad. Gracias y que Dios los bendiga a todos.<\/strong> Sus<\/strong><\/em> colaboradores<\/strong><\/em> en Cristo, el<\/strong><\/em> hermano Albert y la hermana Jiep<\/strong><\/em> \u00a0<\/em> Gonzales<\/em><\/strong>\r\n

<\/div>\r\n

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