Cambodia & Vietnam: Doug & Bethany

Bethany and I have seen God do amazing things in India and Nepal. I met Bethany on the mission field. I am from Kansas, and Bethany is from Maine. We met as I was living in India planting churches, and she came on a mission trip. I carried her bags, and we became friends. We married and went back to the mission field together.

From 2006 to 2016, we saw God raise up new churches and orphan homes, bringing the beautiful light of Jesus to the darkness of unreached and poor people in India. And now through discipleship and Bible college training, we have seen the local leaders and pastor take responsibility. We handed over the leadership of the ministries to our disciples, and the Lord has led us to go further into more unreached areas of Asia for the gospel of Christ. We now are reaching into Cambodia and Vietnam!!

Our mission board, Greater Grace Missions, sent us to evangelize, disciple and church plant.

1. In north Mumbai, India, we saw God raise up 3 churches. We helped Pastor Ganesh and family to reach into the slums of Nalasopara, and make disciples in God’s Word. Many young leaders have been raised up participate with Ganesh in ministry. Many are being trained in the Word under him now. Ganesh and his team still need help with special projects to print discipleship material, to travel to new unreached areas to share the gospel, and to pay for Ganesh’s children’s college education. Projects include Jesus film teams, passing out clean water, relieving needs of the poor in the slums and befriending the homeless on the street—all these practical outreaches have been a grace adventure in the midst of that overpopulated city of 20 million.
2. In Orissa state, India, in one of the poorest and most persecuted areas, we trained Pastor Pradeep and the students under him. I personally discipled Pradeep during my first year in India back in 2006. After we sent him back to his Orissa state to plant a church, I have taken 20 short term trips to minister alongside Pastor Pradeep and the believers there. Orissa has villages upon villages unreached for the gospel, full of poverty and idols, children and widows being despised and neglected by society. We helped Pradeep to rescue orphans and to feed and clothe many widows. We helped him establish a strong teaching ministry, founding the Orissa Bible College. Many village pastors and leaders from all over Orissa came to Pradeep to be trained in grace and in discipleship. I taught alongside him. Some of his students we sent to Mumbai Bible College. And other of his students in Orissa benefitted from many guest pastors from Kansas City coming to teach the Bible College. We graduated some as they matured and have taken in new students. Overall, the one church Pastor Pradeep started has now turned into 23 churches planted there. All this Orissa ministry still needs help and support.
3. In Nepal, we took many trips there to help the Bible college, church and orphan home.
4. Back in Mumbai, I had the privilege to teach in the Mumbai Bible Institute and to see our students sent out and start loving churches in Rajasthan, in Uttar Pradesh, in Bhutan and in other dark places of North India and Nepal. And now there are about 15 Greater Grace Churches planted in Mumbai City. Much of that fruit happened recently and needs more sustaining grace and discipleship. Pastor Karl Silva and his team have been such an amazing miracle of spiritual covering for this whole movement of God.

We are still just scratching the surface of reaching all the lost souls in the midst of over 1 billion people in that sub-continent.

5. But now God has opened to us Cambodia and Vietnam. Pray for God’s wisdom and strength be given to us, His weak earthen vessels. We live in Cambodia and take special trips into Vietnam.

In both places we have seen great response in local people meeting us when we go out soul-winning and sharing the gospel of Jesus, especially at the college university campuses. We introduce ourselves and then lovingly listen to the new person we meet. 

Many speak English. After we get to know them for a while, we bring up God, the story of Jesus and ask them if we can share it. They usually say, “YES!” and are very hungry to know about God. They usually meet with us again and again, week after week. We even have a party at our apartment every Saturday. And we organize English classes in which lost people can come and we use the Bible to teach English.

I am following up with key people here to give them one-on-one discipleship, and we believe the church will grow here.

All this is still new as we started in April of 2017. But so far, we have seen some accept Christ and others say they are close to fully believing in Christ. Yet it takes them awhile to put away old things in Buddha.

6. We hope we can visit you again and minister with you. I am writing a Grace Discipleship manual that I hope will edify many believers in the USA. I already have taught much of it in Asia.