Have you heard about VALBI?

Most readers of FIRE will have heard about the teaching ministry of Asia Focus in Vietnam. It is usually described as VALBI which is short for Vietnam Australia Lutheran Bible Institute. The concept of VALBI came out of links established between Pastor August Fricke and leaders of small groups of pastors around Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Da Lat, who were seeking teaching for themselves and the emerging pastors they were discipling. Most of the ‘students’ had little education beyond year 6 and many had become pastors later in life. The old model of formal seminary training was simply unsuitable for the task…

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History of Abundant Life Church, Cambodia

Overall, AFA sought to bring a holistic perspective on mission including evangelism, church planting, diakonia, interfaith dialogue, aid and relief when required.

This is an extensive history of the Abundant Life Church, please click through to read the entire article.

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Zooming to VALBI

It’s Thursday evening and the first edition of Zoom Teaching for the Vietnam Australia Lutheran Bible Institute (VALBI) has concluded.. Both David Christian and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. There were no problems with the technology and both of us quickly discovered the best way to set up. Better still... around 160 people were tuned in... Yep, that’s right... 160 participants...

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December FiRE now available

In this edition of FiRE we explore the women of influence that we work with and those that also helped shape AFA as an organisation. Also included are updates from Nepal, the Philippines Thailand and Bhutan.

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September FiRE reprint

The September FiRE and in fact the whole website had been held up in a complex web of domain hosting and email misery. It’s all finally back alive again and ready to get the word out!

In this edition of FiRE we explore men of faith that have helped shape mission throughout Asia and have influenced the journey of Asia Focus as an organisation. COVID is still rearing its ugly head throughout the region, but there are also blessings to be shared for the work that can be done in these trying times.

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November FiRE now available

Pastor August is unable to publish an edition of Fire but the Committee has assisted to publish this modified edition. We feel that it is of the utmost importance to keep in contact with our supporters and that the important work started by Pastor August can continue

The November edition of FiRE is now available. Read about many things on church and world mission in Australia, Africa and Nepal and all kinds of places. Read about yourself. Understand yourself, face yourself. Be challenged and disturbed!

There will be a Zoom session tonight to discuss the articles in the in the newsletter, but will drop back to being only after a Wednesday email has gone out.

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An update on Pr August

This communication is to bring you up to date with the health issues facing Pastor August and the processes that have been put in place for the interim management of the day to day running of Asia Focus

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Damadi home update

The Damadi centre in Myanmar has published an update on the past 6 months and how the children are faring (newsletter below). As with most of the world, Coronavirus is still having a major impact on the health, economy and day-to-day activities.

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Nepal – Facing its greatest Emergency in History

Nepal is presently experiencing its greatest emergency in history, according to Pastor Rabindra Das. Please think about this. Nepal is already one of the 10 poorest countries in the world even before COVID-19. This country had also been devastated as a result of the 2016 earthquake that brought AFA into this country. Poverty had been even worse since then.

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South Sudan: Lord, have Mercy!

In a country in which people are always struggling with mere survival, Covd-19 has arrived only recently, months after it came to Australia. This is making a terrible situation worse and is causing more pain and hopelessness. Here is a touching letter just arrived from the frontline of human suffering.

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In the Name of Allah, the All Merciful – Murder in the Name of Religion

Crimes against humanity of the worst kind go systematically unpunished in developing nations such as Pakistan because Muslim extremists commit them in the name of Allah against unbelievers including Christians. In Australia, some of these crimes would attract a life sentence in jail. We are talking about rape, gang rape, property destruction, robbery, anything, really, right up to wholesale murder.

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AFA and "The Church"

The following is a vision of how the One Mission, One Spirit, One Faith, One Church that inspires us all as the One Body of Christ, must drive us to cooperation and loyalty but with the freedom of using different paths to the same goal. Our different pathways are not poles apart but meant to be supplementary based on transparency and mutual respect.

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