Last week, the Within Reach Global Thai Outreach Team traveled down to the Thailand and Myanmar border. The purpose of the trip was to work alongside our ministry partners along the border and encourage their ministry efforts. We wanted to help initiate a gospel-centric outreach that met the tangible needs of hurting people, too. The team encountered numerous people who have been seriously impacted by Myanmar’s ongoing war. The images they saw and the things they experienced were heartbreaking. They visited a children’s home of 25 kids (soon to have 25 more) from Buddhist or animist families. The children are between the ages of 10 and 15 years old. These children were given the opportunity to have a safe space away from the tragedies of war. They are receiving a menial education as they reside together, far from their families. Many of them have lost loved ones along the way.

The kids our team encountered were scared, shy, and overwhelmed because familial ties were broken and their entire world turned upside-down. All hope seems lost through the eyes of these little ones. Military attacks continue relentlessly, and everything is uncertain.

Imagine your kids in this situation. It would tear you apart. This should cause Christ-tethered compassion to rise up in your heart and mine.

Driven by compassion, we supplied the children with the blankets, mosquito nets, and mattresses you provided. Your generosity was felt. For the first time in months, the kids have a blanket to stay warm during lonely nights and hope to know that someone cares.

But that’s not all you helped provide. We also brought Bibles in the Karen language so that they can learn God’s word. This is how you’re impacting people on the other side of the world. Thank you so much for your generosity!

Most of these kids had never heard the gospel before our team arrived.

The Bibles we provided empowered the leader of the home to share stories from God’s word and introduce these precious kids to the love of God.

But the list of needs goes on for miles. Thousands of people still need shelter, food, and clean drinking water.

While we desire to meet all of these physical needs, more than ever we want to address their spiritual deficit. We want these people to meet the Savior of the world: Jesus!

Your prayers and generosity in providing for underprivileged and forgotten people do not go unrecognized. We encourage you to pray that God continues to raise many Christians from around the world who will help these lost and hurting unreached peoples.

The post Blessing Tribes In The Conflict Zone appeared first on Within Reach Global.

But before we jump into a new year, we want to pause and remember what God did in and through us in 2019.

Isaiah 26:12 describes what really took place in 2019: “All that we have accomplished, You have done for us.”

These words ring true in our hearts. God somehow chooses to use our feeble efforts and inabilities to reveal His glory in and through us. We are simply jars of clay that house all-surpassing power.

With that thought in mind, here are some of the highlights of what God did through the ministry of Within Reach Global in 2019.

Our local missionaries and foreign staff shared the Gospel to 1,700 people from 120 villages. 19 unreached people groups were impacted by this witness. We saw 105 recorded healings—a powerful testimony of God at work to reach the unreached!

To start a giving plan or to continue your donations in 2020, please visit our Donate page here.

Download the PDF of the Within Reach Global Year in Review here or click the image below.

The Rock Outreach Center

• Visited The Rock outreach center
• Experienced severe persecution
• 1 church multiplied to 4 churches
• 450 people from 20 villages heard the Gospel

New HQ: Chiang Mai, Thailand office

• First office since the founding of WRG in 2008
• The office serves 7 outreach centers in Southeast Asia
• New staff and interns joining
• Center for hosting short-term trips and teams

Missions Pulse Podcast

• Tagline: Know God’s heart. Join His mission.
• Viewers/listeners inspired to join WRG
• Thousands of YouTube watch-time hours and engagement
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Visit the website

Gospel-Loaded MP3 Players

• Voice of the Martyrs partnership
• Gave away 2,400 Gospel-loaded mp3 players
• Healings and salvation happened through mp3 content

Chinese Student Outreach

• Regular outreach to university students
• Reaching unreached people groups in the urban setting
• Relational discipleship changes lives

WRG Missionary Convention

• Theme: Colossians 1:27: “Christ in You The Hope of Glory”
• Gathered in Thailand for security purposes
• Time of refreshing, strategy, and renewed vision
• Focused on disciple multiplication movements (DMM)

2020 Focus

• Continued focus on the vision of reaching unreached people groups
• Growth of staff and interns
• Upcoming short-term mission trips

We are so thankful for your faithful prayers and financial support! You are a rope-holder, lowering us down into the goldmine of souls in Southeast Asia.

Without your generosity, there would be little impact. In fact, your generosity creates redemption and transformation.

Thank you for continuing to link hearts and hands to reach the Gospel-deprived people groups of the 10/40 Window!

To start a giving plan or to continue your donations in 2020, please visit our Donate page today.

To donate by check, make your check payable to “Within Reach Global” and send to:

Within Reach Global
P. O. Box 1591
Prescott, AZ 86302

We are so grateful for your monthly giving. May God bless you back richly this new year!

The post 2019 Year In Review appeared first on Within Reach Global.

Have you heard nothing of the mass genocide taking place among some of Asia’s ethnic tribes?

Have you heard nothing of the mass genocide taking place among some of Asia’s ethnic tribes?
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I know. You’re not to blame. The media machine feeds us a looping sketch of only that which (supposedly) directly applies to your life. And meanwhile, millions of monumental stories go unnoticed as our severely ethnocentric newsreel distracts us from the needs of real people.

The Karen. The Kachin. The Wa. The Rohingya. That’s just to name a few of the ethnic tribes who are being forced to flee their hometowns as the nightmare of war, torment, and torture ensues.

Image by: Partners Relief & Development

They are the displaced peoples of the 21st century. They are the helpless ones. They are the marginalized, forgotten, and voiceless, and we as the Christian community are doing little to speak on behalf of their plight.

We as the Christian community are doing little to speak on behalf of their plight.
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This morning I received a disturbing text message in Mandarin Chinese from Zhang Rong (not his real name), one of our Within Reach Global local missionaries at The Edge outreach center:

“David, please pray for us,” he said. “The situation here in Wa State, Myanmar is very tense. The Burmese army and the United Wa State Army are firing upon each other right outside our door. They are actually inside our courtyard right now. Over 20 soldiers were killed this morning. Please pray for wisdom for us. We are considering crossing the border back to the safety of China.”

Bullets are flying over the heads as we speak. I hate the thought of it. As their leader and mentor, I hate that I can do nothing to protect them

Zhang Rong has been faithfully planting churches with us among Asia’s least reached people groups for nearly two decades. He is a pioneer, an apostle, a pastor, a mentor, a husband, and a father. He and his wife have 2 children of their own, and 3 adopted Burmese kids. He has been loving the marginalized peoples of Southeast Asia for years.

You can read more about Zhang Rong in my book, The Space Between Memories: Recollections from a 21st Century Missionary.

“Our clothes are packed,” he continued. “We’ll let you know if we need to flee to war zone or not.”

Image by: Partners Relief & Development

Image by: Partners Relief & Development

These displaced peoples are no stronger to me. I’ve been traveling among them for nearly 2 decades. In fact, I once snuck across the border from China to Myanmar to translate for Time Asia and was caught by 100 child soldiers with Ak-47s (you can read about that crazy story in The Trouser People by Andrew Marshall).

Maybe you’ve never heard of the Kachin, the Karen, the Wa, or the Rohingya. That’s because they don’t live in your zip code and barely ever (never?) cross the headlines of the daily news. You are not to blame for being unaware of these people. But because they are precious in the eyes of God, you and I both have a responsibility toward them. The first step: pray!

Pray for their safety: many of them are war refugees.
Pray for their salvation: many of them are unreached.
Pray the Lord of the harvest sends more workers into the harvest fields.

And finally, don’t stop with empathy; find compassion for them, for compassion is love in action, empathy with wheels, love which knows no bounds.

Compassion is love in action, empathy with wheels, love which knows no bounds.
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Then you might want to give financially to help Within Reach Global bring the life-changing message of the Gospel to these tribes.

In an ever-increasingly ethnocentric media reel, there are some voices out there. Listen to some of the stories at Partners Relief & Development, Free Burma Rangers, Within Reach Global.

More importantly, listen to the heart of God for people he loves. Let’s not let their cries go unheard. Let’s stand together to bless the nations with the blessings we ourselves have received. After all, isn’t that how the Kingdom of God works?

The post Bullets Are Flying Over Our Missionaries’ Heads In The Ongoing War In Myanmar appeared first on Within Reach Global.

Heroes who risk their lives and well-being to rescue perishing souls from the “dragon” and then impart healing and Sprit-life into them.

They do it through midnight hikes, shining hope and carrying living water to women who are devalued and persecuted by their husbands. These women escape under the cover of night to drink of the life flowing from these heroes.

These heroes do it by rescuing neglected, starving, and “sold” children, bringing them both real and spiritual food. Then they bring these precious ones into the loving arms of a family.

These heroes are rescuing neglected, starving, and “sold” children.
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The suffering and traumas these heroes face are counted as joy if only they can see their Savior’s glorious face.

Yet, even heroes need an occasional break and encouragement from the Christian family. They need new equipment to use in their daily “search and rescue” missions. They need to know that they are not alone.

On July 15, some of these heroes came together in the sticky, humid air in the jungles of Southeast Asia. They came to fellowship together, learn of their Heavenly Father’s love and receive new trainings. It was a joy to be one of the teachers—and humbling at the same time.

I looked into one man’s tearful eyes as he poured his heart out about the multitudes of starving children at The Edge outreach center he oversees. As he spoke, he held a baby he had just adopted out of human trafficking. I thought to myself, “He should be teaching me how to have more faith and love!” Yet all he sought was a listening ear and encouragement that he was on the right track. “Don’t ever give up,” I said. “God is using you mightily!”

For 2 days, these heroes learned about deliverance, forgiveness, how to involve communities in stopping human trafficking, and also learned a very impactful curriculum about God’s heart and plan for women. They were delivered from lies and also had prophetic words of encouragement spoken over them.

In a world filled with so many distractions, let’s not forget to pray for these dear brothers and sisters, who die daily to love the broken and bring salvation to unreached places. Let’s listen to the voice of our Heavenly Father. Perhaps we might just step out of our comfort zones, bring help to Christian heroes, and entertain angels in the process.

step out of your comfort zone, bring help to Christian heroes, entertain angels.
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We will continue to bring new trainings to these missionary heroes. But it costs money. If you feel led to give towards this joyful cause, donate here.

The post Anti-Human Trafficking Training For Southeast Asia’s Heroes appeared first on Within Reach Global.

Campus ministry to college students and young professionals
Ministry to orphans and underprivileged children
Village trips to unreached people groups
Holistic evangelism to Buddhist monks
Prayer walks through Chinese cities
Pastors and leaders conference

Watch exciting testimonies of the power of short-term missions teams.
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There’s a lot of controversy surrounding short-term missions teams. Some have alluded to these groups being nothing more than Christian tourism. But there is a certain power that comes from short-term missions trips.

David Joannes, president of Within Reach Global, talks about this subject with one of his visiting pastors on Missions Blab. Watch the video and give your thoughts in the comments section below.

Have you ever been on a short-term missions trip? How did it impact your life? How did it leave a lasting gospel impression in the lives of the locals?

Want to join Within Reach Global for a short term trip? Get involved here.

The post The Power Of Short Term Missions Teams appeared first on Within Reach Global.

• 3 countries
• 6 outreach centers
• 13 local missionaries from 7 different people groups
• 10 foreign missionaries
• 9 church plants
• 10 tons of clothing given to the poor
• 150 led through our discipleship course
• 3-5 English Corners per week
• 120 students reached through Camps
• 135 college students / young professionals reached weekly
• 650 children reached, discipled, fed, and given school supplies
• 60 Burmese (scattered by war) reached and being followed up upon

Persecution. Revival. Police beatings. Underground trainings. Baptisms. Discipleship. Local missionary homes demolished by the government. Hope. Joy. Glory. You’ll be amazed at all that God has done through the ministry of Within Reach Global!

See the full scope of God at work in Southeast Asia. Get the Within Reach Global 2015 Year In Review here!

The post 2015 Year In Review appeared first on Within Reach Global.

They live near The Edge outreach center. They are the least of these. They are not beautiful.

But God has a special way of bringing beauty up from the ashes. 

God has a special way of bringing beauty up from the ashes.
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At Within Reach Global, we are passionate about unreached people groups—people who have never heard the name of Jesus before. These few represent many more who have been overlooked and despised by community and the general population. They’re the perfect ones to focus our love and the love of God upon!

These few represent many more who have been overlooked and despised by community and the general population. They’re the perfect ones to focus our love and the love of God upon!

These few represent many more who have been overlooked and despised by community.
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Two children have already undergone successful surgeries, and many more will soon be taken to other parts of China to receive medical care that the China government is providing.

As you see these faces, see the hurt and heartache, we pray that your heart would be moved with compassion as well. 

Partner with us to bring the message of salvation to those who are waiting.

The post These Poor Precious People Are Receiving Free Medical Care In China appeared first on Within Reach Global.

We wanted to share this with you, not so that you would be filled with sadness, but that you might sense our hearts for the lost, unreached, marginalized and forgotten.

Yuxiang, an 11 year old girl we have been ministering to at The Edge outreach center in Myanmar, passed away last week. She was diagnosed with comprehensive meningitis and, despite our efforts to rescue her life, she left us so suddenly. Our eyes well up with emotion even as we write this.

Yuxiang’s father had left the family for another woman. Her mother turned to drugs, and is now an addict. She was basically orphaned, living alone with her sister.

“Before she died, she came to know the Lord!” our local missionary informed us. “Now she is in a much better place, being cradled in the arms of Jesus.”

We pray that as you read this update, your heart would be moved to pray with us for Yuxiang’s family. Pray comfort and hope. Pray salvation. Pray also for our local missionaries who are under great stress and sorrow at her passing. And pray for the many families in the area who have yet to heart of the gospel of Jesus.

We pray that you would join hearts and hands with us to see the hope of the gospel brought to this dark region of the earth.

The post She Left Us So Quickly And Went Home To Her Heavenly Father appeared first on Within Reach Global.

She has always been in His arms. Now she can see the One who is holding her.

Our hearts broke as we heard the news today.

Our local missionary left us a tearful voice message, “This afternoon, a few minutes past 3:pm, Yuxiang left us.”

A tearful voice message, “This afternoon, a few minutes past 3:pm, Yuxiang left us.”
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Cradling my phone against my ear long after the message had played, I stood there shocked and silent. My heart sunk. “Poor little princess,” I thought, then tears streamed down my cheeks.

I replied to our local missionary’s voice message with one of my own. My voice crackled as I asked if she had an opportunity to meet Jesus.

“Before she died, she met God!” our local missionary replied. “Now she is in a much better place, being cradled in the arms of Jesus.”

“Before 11 year old Yuxiang died, she met God! She is being cradled in Jesus’ arms.”
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A few days ago, 11 year old Yuxiang had been diagnosed with comprehensive meningitis. Her life was in danger, and our team from The Edge outreach center joined together to help provide medical care for this precious little girl from Myanmar. Her father had left her family. Her mother had turned to drugs and is now an addict. After taking extreme measures, and driving her 10 hours to a hospital, we believed that she would see a full recovery.

But the disease was much more advanced than we had imagined.

Her sister was with her as she passed. We are happy that she had at least one relative present at her death. Her body is scheduled for cremation, and her sister will carry the ashes back to Myanmar.

Families around The Edge outreach center are clasped in the strong clutches of drug abuse and poverty. There are many more like Yuxiang, but most in an even worse state—unknown, forgotten, hopeless.

We pray that as you read this update, your heart would be moved to pray with us for Yuxiang’s family. Pray comfort and hope. Pray salvation. Pray also for our local missionaries who are under great stress and sorrow at her passing. And pray for the many families who have yet to heart of the gospel of Jesus.

We pray that you would join hearts and hands with us to see the hope of the gospel brought to this dark region of the earth.

So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. – 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

The post Sad Update: 11 Year Old Yuxiang Passed Away This Afternoon appeared first on Within Reach Global.

A terrible story. It saddens our hearts. And yet we know there is hope.

A terrible story. It saddens our hearts. And yet we know there is hope.
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Yuxiang is 11 years old. She is a statistic. She is a number, one of thousands of children like herself. But to us, she is more than just a number or a statistic. She has value. She is the object of God’s loving affection. She is a little princess. – David Joannes

After our local missionaries at The Edge outreach center in Myanmar learned about Yuxiang’s situation, they immediately rushed her 10 hours to a hospital to get medical care.

The ongoing civil war and continued political unrest in Myanmar creates a constant security issue for our local missionaries at The Edge outreach center. After seeing the immense pain caused by drugs, prostitution and poverty, discipleship and evangelism are underway, accompanied by our weekly feeding program for the children. – The Edge outreach center

It has been confirmed that Yuxiang has comprehensive meningitis. She is now receiving treatment, and we are praying that God will intervene for this precious child. We are praying that her health will return, that she will experience the love of God shown to her by our missionaries, and that her family and community will understand the power of the gospel.

Would you please pray about giving financially to Yuxiang’s medical needs? We are just now commencing the treatment that she needs, and we are still unsure of the total cost that will ensue. But we believe that by loving this precious little girl, many will see the love of God.

Please pray about giving to Yuxiang’s medical needs. https://withinreachglobal.org/donate
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Please keep Yuxiang at the forefront of your heart and mind.

By helping provide for the medical needs of little children like Yuxiang, this is how we reach unreached people groups in rural settings. The marginalized tribes of the 10/40 Window need a tangible experience of God’s love, and we are here to make sure that happens.

Marginalized tribes of the 10/40 Window need a tangible experience of God’s love. #unreached
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The post Poor Little Princess. 11 Year Old Yuxiang Has Comprehensive Meningitis appeared first on Within Reach Global.