Thanksgiving for 2024: November Update Letter

Tien Phong Ministries Update

BOOKS
My team and I (Daniel) just finished translating and printing our first children's book titled, "Little Pilgrim's Big Journey" by Tyler Van Halteren (John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress fully adapted version for kids). For many years, Vietnamese believers have read and loved a shortened version of The Pilgrim's Progress because of its simple message of the Gospel and the Christian life. This month, we published the children's version with pictures, and Vietnamese believers are excited about it! We heard a testimony about a child who was given the book and he loved it so much that he read the whole book in one sitting. The other book we recently published is, "The Essential Means of Grace" by Paul Washer. The last time we had a pastoral training session in Vietnam, we were able to bless each pastor who attended with a copy of this book.

NEW ADMINISTRATOR
In October, we were able to hire a new member in our team. She has been a wonderful addition and is really helping us move forward. I now understand how important it is to have an admin to manage our daily tasks. We are grateful to God for His guidance and provision to be able to expand our team in this way because of YOUR generosity!

INDUCTIVE BIBLE APPROACH COURSE
Next year, as a team, we will go through an Inductive Bible Approach course that HeartCry is considering using to train pastors. We will do in-depth studies of each book of the Bible. If the course is successful, we will use it to train pastors in Vietnam and other nations in a new way.

Opening Doors for HeartCry in New Nations

LAOS
One of the exciting parts of my job at HeartCry, has been helping make new connections in new nations. Aside from Vietnam, one of those nations is Laos! As another high-risk country, there is little public information about Christianity there, and few international organizations are able to work there long-term. However, despite the difficulty and persecution happening in Laos, the Lord is using His people to reach the lost! After a scouting trip earlier this year, another coordinator and I were able to travel there in August to teach and train 10 pastors in the nation's capitol, Vientiane. We heard heart- wrenching, yet beautiful, stories that had never been shared before. The Lord our God is doing mighty works among Laotians for His glory, and we join with heaven in praising the Lord of the Harvest for these things! A couple practical steps that we want to take to help build the Kingdom in Laos, is to partner with locals to produce more Christian resources in their language, and start training a group of local pastors on a regular basis.

MONGOLIA
Each morning at HeartCry, we start our day by pouring out our hearts to God and praying for the nations. We are always looking for ways to reach countries where we don't have any missionaries yet. One such nation has been Mongolia, a place where I just happen to have a good friend who was willing to connect us with a group of local pastors. So, in September, another coordinator and I spent a week in the third largest city in Mongolia meeting with and training 15 indigenous pastors and leaders. Again, we heard many incredible stories that could only be possible with God. We met a pastor who preaches to and trains men in prison, while his wife works with women who have escaped a life of human trafficking and/or prostitution. We also met a 90+ year old pastor who used to be a Lama (a high ranking Tibetan Buddhist monk), but when God healed him of cancer, he got saved and started joyfully serving the Lord! Overall, we were so blessed to see God's providence for us on this trip and we look forward to continuing our work in Mongolia next year.

Family Praise Reports

As I (Cassandra), look back on 2024, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all that God has done! A year or two ago, I never could have imagined that we'd be living in Virginia where Daniel has reliable health care and medicine to care for his Crohn's disease or that he would have a full-time ministry job that pays him to travel the world training pastors and also focus on taking Tien Phong Ministries to new levels! Just when we thought we'd have to let go of many of the dreams God had put in our hearts, He opened the door to HeartCry Missionary Society and a life we had never dreamed of!! It's amazing to see how Daniel's translation ministry has grown as we've been able to funnel all donations toward the ministry - so thank you for your faithful giving and support!

We are especially grateful to be pregnant with a healthy baby BOY! He is due March 27th, so I am a little over halfway through this pregnancy. I have been very sick and tired this time around and it's been pretty hard to keep up with 2 active toddlers, my doula work, and everything else. I would appreciate all your prayers over the next few months!

1. For Daniel's upcoming trip to Bangladesh (Dec. 9-16) with HeartCry. This is another new country contact for them. Bangladesh is currently at a level 3 travel advisory with some places at level 4 (highest level), which means that it is dangerous to travel there, so Daniel and his teammate need extra prayers for safety!
2. For continued growth and support for Tien Phong Ministries as they would like to take on even more projects in 2025.
3. For health, rest and strength for Cassandra during the rest of this pregnancy, and for baby boy to continue to grow healthy and strong.
4. For wisdom as parents to raise our children in the Lord and have patience and understanding for them in these difficult toddler years.