Tastes of Fiji

Our hosts have introduced our team to some amazing food! So thankful for national believers who are helping us learn more about the local culture & ministry.

Pray for the local churches to have a clear vision to reach their surrounding areas... especially the university students at nearby schools.

-Carson

South Pacific Summer

Suva, Fiji

  

The Light Shines in the Darkness

I sat at a table where my teammates, Sarah and Grace, were sharing the Gospel, next to a girl named Ice. Our Thai friends at that table were talking about the "ghosts" or "spirits". I asked, "Oh, are you afraid of them?"

"Yes!" They exclaimed. "Very much."

"What is it like?"

"It is very uncomfortable when they attack you." They said, "But Ice, she can sense them much more. Sometimes we will feel uncomfortable, and she will scream because she can see them." I looked at the girl next to me who seemed very troubled. 

My teammate Grace said, "Sometimes Aiden can sense ghosts, too." (We are referring to demons when we say "ghost" or "spirit").

Ice looked at me when Grace said this, and urgently asked, "Wait--what is your name?" We talked for just a moment before joining back into the big conversation. 

There is a traditional Thai house on campus that felt very dark and heavy as we were walking through it a few days before. Now the Thai girls were talking about how it is haunted by spirits. "We felt that the other day," I told them.

Ice looked at me urgently again, as if to say "I feel it, too." I asked, "What do you do when you feel the spirits?"

"We pray!"

"And then do the spirits leave?"

"No!" They said, "When we pray, the ghosts come to get us." My heart shattered. 

We shared with them that, for Christians, when we feel the “ghosts” coming we can pray to Jesus. God is more powerful than the demons & when demons see the light of Jesus they have to run away. 

"Wow. I wish the Thai people could be protected by a God like you have." 

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it - John 1:5

We are meeting with these girls again as soon as possible; they want to learn more Bible stories. 

Please pray for Ice, Popcorn, and Baby to truly understand that they can have a relationship with God like we have. 

Pray for them to understand that God, the Creator of the universe, is more powerful than any demon.

When sharing stories of Jesus with these girls, they said they had heard it before. "We were taught that it ended here," they said, pointing to a picture of Jesus on the cross. Oh, how they lit up when we told them that was not the end of the story! We have a God who could not be held by death. We have a God who died, for our sake, then rose again. 

-Aiden Grace

University Pioneer Team

Bangkok, Thailand

Meet the Team - Philippine Summer: Socorro Island Team

Hey everyone!! This summer we are staying in Barangay S until the end of June and then we will move to another barangay (village) for the rest of the summer. We are here to share the gospel with as many people as possible! We have been going door to door to share the gospel with them and do Bible studies in their homes. We have already seen God at work in Barangay S. Many have came to faith and are participating in weekly Bible studies. Join us in praying that God would continue to open hearts and minds to the good news of His gospel and that the believers in this village would come together to form a church! 

Hey everyone! I’m Hayley and I am the team leader for the Socorro team. I am 21 years old and from Knoxville Tennessee. I attend East Tennessee State University where I am pursuing a degree in nursing. My favorite animal is a hermit crab because I have 2 pet hermit crabs Cosmo and Brooke and my favorite food is any type of pasta. 

Heidi!! I’m Canaan and I am 19 years old. I'm from Powell, Tennessee & attend Roane State Community College. My favorite animal is a horse, and my favorite type of food is Chinese!

Hey y’all! My name is Bailey! I’m 18 years old and am from Knoxville, Tennessee where I attend Roane State Community College. My favorite animal is a monkey and my favorite food is my mommas chicken pot pie!!

Hi! I’m Sydney! I’m  a 21-year-old from Houston, Texas. I study Biology and run cross country and track at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas. My favorite animals are salamanders, jellyfish, and octopuses, and my favorite food is plantains.

Please join us in praying that God would continue to open hearts and minds to the good news of his gospel and that the believers in this village would come together to form a church! 

Social Mapping

Along with teaching English, my teammate & I have been going through a process called mapping. There are three different layers: physical, social, and spiritual. 

The social layer is exactly what it sounds like, talking with students. We survey students with a few questions about their life on campus. The very last question is if they would be interested in practicing English. The hope is that students would be interested in going through Creation to Christ (C2C) stories, while learning English. 

Please join us in praying that God will prepare the hearts of the people that we will meet in the last few weeks. 

Pray they will be open to being connected to Christians here. 

Pray that my teammate & I would be bold and intentional as we go out.

-Kat

NT365/Hands On

Bangkok, Thailand

Prayers for a harvest

Wow... the past few days have been packed! We arrived at a new area a couple days ago and made it to one of the villages of the L people. The village we are staying in is a "Christian" village. While there are some strong believers, many in this village have not truly accepted Jesus into their hearts. 

Pray for the Lord to work in the hearts of the people in W village! We have shared the gospel and our testimonies with many people here and they have all been very eager to listen which is a great sign.

-Judson

Reaching the Unreached

Southeast Asia

Looking for Friends

It's always awesome to get updates like this from a field supervisor...

Trip to a local waterfall

Our team is doing great!! They are getting out there, meeting people and sharing with people. We’ve given them a lot of freedom to explore certain areas of town looking for our people group and they are taking on that challenge well! They are helping our team get back in some refugee schools that we lost touch with post COVID. They are even teaching secondary math for 2 hours.

This weekend our team is hosting a big outreach block party, which the team is helping with. Pray for many opportunities to share and for good follow up.

-ESL Friends

Southeast Asia

Which way to the Gospel?

Be sure to take advantage of all situations... 

Zach got to share the gospel with a man who was giving us directions!

Pray for the Gospel seeds which were sown during this conversation.

-Carson
South Pacific Summer
Suva, Fiji

Village Teaching

I had the privilege to teach in the village to about 30 believers about one of my favorite Bible characters, David. The newer believers were so excited to hear about the story of David! Following the telling of the story, they had incredibly Spirit-led responses to the questions we asked them.

Pray that these believers will be encouraged by the lives of the Biblical characters they learn about & that they will apply what they learn to their own lives.

Pray the teaching of the newer believers in the village would go well and that they would be brought closer to the Son.

-Josh

Church Planter Interns

Southeast Asia

The Gospel is Precious!

One of my favorite moments recently is when we attended a BBQ with some Thai friends. There were unbelievers & believers present. A close friend we have made came to Christ. I was able to witness her sharing her faith & why she accepted Jesus to her people. It was such a special moment that I praise God I got to be a part of! 

Her eagerness, boldness, and joy to share is an encouragement. I realized that she reflects all of these things because she sees the Gospel how every single believer should: PRECIOUS. 

This is why we go, to faithfully share, to encourage believers to share with their people groups. Oh how it’s going to be so glorious in Heaven worshipping the Lord before the throne with my Thai sisters and brothers!!

-Kat

NT365/Hands On

Bangkok, Thailand

Sharing the Story

Each morning, we meet students and share the Gospel with them, hoping to form relationships so that we can continue to disciple them. If they’re interested, we’ll form a Bible study usually in the same place so that we can continue to pour into them. 

Later in the day, we visit with communities of people who are a part of our ministry and use their home to have Bible studies with people in the area that are willing to join. We share stories such as the rich man and Lazarus or Zachaeus and Jesus... simple stories we learned as children in Sunday School but many of the people here have never heard. 

Pray for people to be receptive to the Gospel & that we will boldly share it with them.

Pray that we will be available for the Lord to use us in any given moment!

-Mattie

Tropical Disciplemaker

Batangas City, Philippines

Team with national ministry partners

Joy in daily life

After being on Camiguin I've learned a lot from the people that live here. They are so full of joy and are very welcoming. Just how they live here makes me want to take what I have learned and apply it in my workplace and at church...and just apply it every aspect of life." 

-Lily
NT4 Teens
Camiguin Island, Philippines

Whatever it Takes Update

We hit the ground running, teaching English at an international school. We have been building relationships with students both in & out of the classroom.

We have shared the gospel using C2C (Creation to Christ) with about 25 students so far... with the plan to have done so with every student at the school by the end of summer.

Pray for us as we share C2C... pray that students will understand the truth of the Gospel story & have a desire for a relationship with Christ.

-Landon & Ben

Whatever it Takes for Cambodia

Meet the Team: South Pacific Summer

Zach, Carson, Mason & Allie in their local "Sunday best"

In partnership with a local church, the South Pacific Summer team will be reaching out to local university students. The team is spending their days on a local university campus, initiating conversations with students with the desire to share the Good News. Pray for opportunities to meet new friends.

Pray as relationships are built with young adults from the local church. It's also a goal to train these friends to be able to share & train new believers after the team returns to the US.

-South Pacific Summer Team
Fiji

 

Jesus Loves the Little Children

My favorite moments have been our kids classes that we did the first few days. We were able to interact with the kids, play games, and teach them Bible stories about how Jesus loves them.

Pray for the Gospel seeds that have been planted in the hearts of these children.

-Jules

NT4 Teens

Camiguin Island, Philippines

Bold Faith

Sharing the Gospel in local schools

While on Camiguin Island [God] has shown me the importance of being bold in my faith. Not being afraid to put myself out there.

-Kylie

NT4 Teens

Camiguin Island, Philippines 

God opens the doors

I have never done door-to-door evangelism & sharing the Gospel with a stranger was a scary thought! But here i've learned how willing people are to listen. God opens doors & softens hearts when He calls us to minister to others. So... just live boldly in your faith.

-Samantha

NT4Teens

Camiguin Island, Philippines 

Are you a tiger?? Sharing Can Look a Bit Different Here

Tonight I taught English to two girls. I was talking to one who asked me two weeks ago if I was Christian. She was asking through Google Translate and she ended up asking if I was a tiger. Some fun moments with that... but glad we figured it out.

Tonight, again using Google Translate, I just got to share with her and answer some questions she had. I was able to see what she believes about Jesus while explaining more about Him... and about being a Christian. It was just a really really sweet moment. She’s 12 years old and interested & intrigued. Google Translate is hard to do that with but I’m definitely glad that we got to do that and just be praying for that conversation and for her.

-Darla

NT365/Hands On

Southeast Asia

Learn more about NT365 Gap Year

A Little Bit of Faith

During Summer 2022, I served with Nehemiah Teams on Camiguin Island in the Philippines.  About three weeks into the trip, our team was  starting to lose steam and I especially felt overwhelmed & exhausted from living hardships and discouraging responses to the gospel. I even began to doubt God's willingness to perform miracles. 

One day, as I sat at an ultimate low, I prayed to God and said "Lord, I can't keep asking you to show me something if I won't actually listen and look." So I decided to look, and that's when God brought Nanay Bibi. 

Nanay Bibi is an eighty-year-old grandmother who lives with her husband in a small hut that would fit inside a king-size bed. Half of the hut is made of rice bags and most of the interior is a wooden slat to sleep on. 

    

Our team met Nanay on the narrow wall of a giant canal. She was struggling to get on the wall and when she saw us she cried out and said "Please help me, I have no food and my husband is sick." Later I learned that the reason she had no food or help was because her family had rejected her for abandoning the island's Catholic faith. 

    

We immediately helped her back to her hut, since she was in no condition to be moving, let alone climbing. Then we shared the gospel with her and she broke  down in tears.           

When we told her that faith in Jesus meant she would have an eternal relationship with God now on Earth and forever in Heaven, she nodded her head eagerly and asked to have it. We prayed with her. When she opened her eyes we saw tears of joy in her eyes as she jumped and praised God! I had never seen such immediate faith in the few words we were able to share with her that day. A week after her salvation I received news that she had been baptized and is remaining as faithful to God as physically possible for someone in her condition. 

    

Now, a year later, I've gotten to come back & see her once more and hear how she admitted she was ready to die that day. She said she was terrified of dying, but that she "just wanted to be with God forever." It was hard to listen and watch her recount her past because she was obviously in a lot more physical pain than before. Some of the men with us had to carry her to a seat just so she could come out. What really struck me about that whole encounter was that our  team had made no intention to meet Nanay that day. We simply remained faithful in going and God answered my prayer by saying "I have some one special for you to meet, and I want you to tell her about me." I witnessed the miracle of this woman's salvation as she rested on her potential deathbed. 

The problem with people in the same condition as Nanay is: first, there are few gospel proclaiming Christians going to the far reaches to find people like her, and secondly, there are few Christians willing to stay, disciple, and support new believers. I recall Mathew 9:37 when Jesus says "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few." 

-Nathaniel

Philippine Summer: Camiguin Island

    

Pray that God sends disciplining believers willing to testify to God's grace and minister to the needs of Camiguin Island. All it took was one faithful conversation for one more soul to be added to God's kingdom. Praise the Lord. 

 

Meet the Team: NT 4 Teens

The first Nehemiah Teams 4 Teens was sent to Camiguin Island in the Philippines for a two-week trip. The team went door-to-door, sharing the Gospel & leading home Bible studies, and sharing with children using healthcare & Bible stories in the several villages. They were also invited in the local schools to share the Good News with the students of all grade levels from 1st to 12th grade. 

Left to Right
Jules | Kylie | Joy | Samantha | Lily 

Field training with Kuya Joe

for more information about NT4 Teens... click here.

When You've Grown Up Buddhist

I’ve been meeting with my friend R. She has been told about the truth of Christ so many times, and is currently in a Bible study with others. She’ll go to church sometimes. She does believe in God. Recently, I asked her why she hasn’t made a decision to follow Christ. She said that her family believes in Buddha so she can’t change. For those of us who grew up as Christians, it’s kind of hard to imagine this situation. The simple answer would be, “Well, it doesn't matter what others think... just follow Christ.” 

But it is so much harder to actually do than that to change from a belief in a faith that your family won’t agree with. There are often many different things that can happen. The fear that they will reject you. When you follow this, they can separate from you, some even experience physical persecution because of this. Or even just the fear of following something new and that not many in this country believe in. It is a much bigger decision... in her mind, it isn’t even an option that she is allowed to change. 

Please be praying for her, that she will be able to make a decision to follow Christ. But right now, pray that God will be speaking through the people that she has Bible study with and that their relationships will continue to develop.

-Darla

NT365 Gap Year/Hands On

Southeast Asia

Meet The Team: Camiguin Island

Our team is staying on the Philippine island of Camiguin this summer. Our goal is to share with every household in our area, finding individuals who desire to learn more about Christ. We want to disciple and pour into these people with the hopes that they will choose to follow Christ and start churches here. 

Please pray for open eyes for us to see the need & open hearts to receive the Good News we're sharing.

Pray for a lasting sense of ownership by the local believers to start a church here and develop their fellow brothers in Christ.

I am Austin, I’m 22. I am the team leader for the Camiguin Team. I just graduated with a degree in counseling from Liberty University and am pursuing a master's in crisis relief and trauma coupling in the fall. My favorite animal is a raccoon because they are essentially puppies with thumbs and my favorite food is Maryland blue crab. 

Hey guys! My name is Nathaniel, and I’m a tall 20-year-old redhead. I’m currently about to enter my third year of college at West Virginia University Institute of Technology studying Civil Engineering. I love carrots and red pandas just because…(gotta stick with the orange/ginger theme). This is my second time on Camiguin and my favorite word so far is the made-up phrase “kahoy manok,” which is tree chicken!

Hey y’all! My name is Sierra & I’m 20 years old. I am a junior at the University of North Alabama. My major is Recreation Management and I plan to do camp ministry after graduation. My favorite animal is a dolphin and I love to eat tacos. 

What’s up. My name is Maycen & I’m 20 years old. I am a senior at Ouachita Baptist University studying family and community services. I will be pursuing a seminary degree after graduation. Can dinosaurs count as a favorite animal? If not, I like goats. My favorite food is probably mashed potatoes and gravy. 

-Philippine Summer: Camiguin Island Team

What is Success??

Over the past couple of months, I've been hit with different waves of emotion. Sometimes, we've been having really great conversations with people, and people have been growing in their faith. Other times, we've seemed stuck... people aren't responding to conversations, or people are having trouble growing in their walk with the Lord.

It has made me ask myself the question, How do I define success? A lot of times, I define success as growth or a certain number of conversations had, or a certain number of hearts changed. But I have come to realize that success is none of those things. The definition of success is, Have I been faithful to God today? And if I can look back over the day and say, "Yes," then it was a success, no matter how many people's hearts change.

-Ty

NT365/Hands On

Southeast Asia

Strength in weakness

Daily reliance on the Lord is something you learn about pretty fast when you’re serving on the mission field. Following the Lord and walking the straight & narrow is difficult and very challenging at times, especially in this setting. But despite hardships, it doesn’t even come close to how the Lord provides for me spirituality, emotionally and even physically at times.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 it says “But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness'. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 

I can’t live a perfect life that will glorify God by myself, that would be exhausting and impossible. But it’s only through Christ that I can do what he has called me to. And not just to do it, but do it with joy, peace, boldness, kindness and humility. 

Yes, hard things happen sometimes but that doesn’t overshadow the amazing work God has done... and is doing. Just like the children of Israel or the prophets wondering/running in the wilderness, the Lord will Guide and provide! 

"And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in

scorched places and make your bones strong..." 

Isaiah 58:11

-JD

NT365/Hands On

Southeast Asia

Preparing the workers

Recently, we've been getting ready for more volunteers to come to our area. While planning and getting excited for more people, we've been able to also start training some of the local students to share the Gospel, and further their own relationship with God. It's been really amazing to be a part of a students sanctification process. We have been able to disciple a couple of really specific college students, and they have taken on the challenge. They are getting really excited to help the new volunteers share the Gospel and make friends right away! 

Please pray that these local college students would continue to have more and more courage and confidence to communicate and interact with the American volunteers, as well as other locals as they share the Gospel.

-Ty
NT365/Hands On
Southeast Asia