Projectors in the Jungle

Greetings brother and sisters in Christ, we thank God for the many tools He equips us with in order to help spread the good news to the lost. You may have heard of the Jesus film made in 1979 and shown all over the world. This film is still widely used today to spread the gospel. This is what teams of Church Planters in Southeast Asia are being equipped with in order to reach the villages of the Grace tribe (not real name), but in a much more effective way than used before.

In the late nineties they used to borrow the film from Campus Crusade for Christ and use many people to carry a heavy projectors and generators through the jungle to a remote village. When they arrived, men were recruited to help set up all the equipment. But technical difficulties could sometimes get in the way. The film strip could snap, the generator could overheat causing the film to be cut short, or the generator could run out of gas. Modern technological advances have eliminated these issues.

Today, thanks to modern technology, we are able to use projectors that fit in your pocket with a solar powered battery that Church Planters wear on their backs so it charges as they hike through the jungle, making their way to the village. In some villages they have to get permission from the chief in order to show the film. They then set up a king size bed sheet on a couple bamboo poles to use as a projector screen. The whole village comes out to see the film. In other villages they go from house to house and show the film. The injustice Jesus endured had a phenomenal impact on them, moving some to tears. Injustice is something the villagers can relate to because of how they are treated by their government.

The greatest appeal to the modern day projectors is that they were able to show the villages the film in their own language which is something they have not had before. More than seven hundred people have heard the gospel as a result of being able to show this film to remote villages. Over eighty people have accepted Christ.

Currently Go Give Hope has been able to provide four projector sets to native missionary teams. Two more sets are going with GGH leaders on their next trip on February 18th. The goal is to have twelve projector sets by next year. Each set costs four hundred and seventy five dollars. Please pray that God would provide the other six projector sets needed to reach our goal.

On their next trip to Southeast Asia, GGH leaders will be going to encourage and teach Church Planters as well as get reports about what is happening in the villages. Some villagers have faced persecution for deciding to follow Jesus. With their homes destroyed and banished from their village, they are forced to live in the jungle. All the while these believers sing a well-known hymn “I have decided to follow Jesus”. In the 19th century an Indian man named Nokseng began to sing the words while his family was killed in front of him because he would not renounce his faith. This song has become the anthem of those facing persecution and being driven from their homes. GGH workers are trying to help these believers relocate to villages that accept Christians and land to farm. GGH then provides them with materials to build a new home.

GGH is also planning to build a vocational training center for the people of the Grace tribe. The government will not provide training to these people in order to keep them dependent on farming for an income in. Without having much of an education the people are easily taken advantage of. Villagers will have the opportunity to learn a variety of trades such as: plumbing, construction, electrical, carpentry, sewing and ecommerce. They can then take the skills they have acquired and move from to a city to try and transcend from rural, agricultural lifestyle, which is the only life these people have ever known. Or they can stay in the village and use their skills to help their own people.

Please be in pray for those going to Southeast Asia on February 18th, specifically for protection while traveling. Also for programs already established by GGH in order that they may continue to grow and be effective. Please also keep the Church Planters that they many continue to have open doors to sow seeds and reap a harvest, as well as the villagers they are reaching. May God continue to strengthen and encourage them as they hold fast to His Word.

We thank God for your generous support and love for the church in Southeast Asia. May God continue to use you for His glorious plan in spreading His truth throughout the whole world. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14.

Your brother in Christ,

Cameron