July, 2009
7017 North 58th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53223, (920) 254-5270, ntxoovyias@wi.rr.com
www.hmonglcms.org
NEW MINISTRIES
• SWD - New Light Lutheran Church in Brown Deer, WI
• MNSD - Neej Tshiab Lutheran Church in Robbinsdale, MN
• OKD - Good Shepherd Lutheran Church - Hmong Ministry in Tulsa, OK
HMONG MINISTRY CONFERENCE
The Hmong Ministry Conference is scheduled for July 23-26, 2009, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 2220 E. College Ave, Appleton, Wisconsin 54915. This year's theme is: "CHRISTIANITY - CROSS or GLORY" Matthew 16:24 "Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."
The conference schedules are: The difference between the Theology of the Cross and Theology of Glory, Take up the cross as a Christian, Take up the cross in the Hmong culture, and Theology of the glory in the LCMS.
Please mark your calendar and join us for the conference. I am looking forward to seeing everyone at this important event. Should you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me at 989-239-4758.
Your Servant in Christ,
Lang Yang Rev. Lang Yang, J.D., President
LCMS HMONG MINISTRY NEW HYMNAL
"Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples." Psalms 117:1
This is an update on the Hmong Hymnal Project. The committee had selected the logo for the Hmong Hymnal Cover:
The border is Hmoob paajntaub "Pan Dao," the book represent the Scripture, hymn with music notes, liturgy, and rites. Meaning of the LCMS Logo Cross: The LCMS logo is three crosses in one. It declares that "we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity." The open arms point upward toward God in prayer and openly receive God's grace. The lower arms point down, as if open to embrace the world with God's love. The 12 individual parts of the logo cross remind us of the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles. The four arms appear to be in motion, as we urgently tell the world what God’s love in Jesus Christ means to us and, uniquely, as Missouri Synod Lutherans.
Sharing Christ Mission,
Lang Yang
Rev. Lang Yang, J.D., Secretary/Treasurer
LCMS Hmong Hymnal Project
HMONG INTERNATIONAL MISSION
From March 1st to April 14th, Fungchatou was in Thailand doing work among the Hmong people. Fungchatou visited three of the Hmong congregations that we are supporting in the mountains of Thailand. Fungchatou, CWEFT staff members and the Hmong Pastors in Thailand were blessed with the opportunity to dedicate a church building to the Lord on behalf of our members in the village of Ban Pakham Mai. It took about two months to finish the building project with fundings from Hmong Mission Society, Inc., LCMS World Mission, and private donors from the US. The project was supervised by the CWEFT staff. The building is a blessing to our 17 Christian families and the other 70 non-Christian families in Ban Pakham Mai. We would like to thank Pastor Bob Hedtke for securing much of the fundings needed for this building project. All glory belongs to our risen Lord Christ Jesus!
Our next project is to help the members in Ban Lok Ko build a church so they can also have a place to worship the Lord. At the present time, the members are meeting in an empty space under a member's house. The cost of the project will be $1,500. We want to give thanks to Trinity Freistadt Lutheran Church's Endowment for the support this project. We hope the building project to be completed by the end of this year or early next year.
We are also taking on another church building project in Laos. As you might already know, it is illegal to build churches in Laos for Christians to worship the Lord, but it is legal to host church services in someone's house. The challenge is that the houses are small, and no more than 10-20 people can come together for worship. Therefore, we are helping a leader in Laos to expand his house so there will be more space for the members to worship the Lord. Trinity Freidstadt has given some funds to help expand this leader's house so that more people can come together for worship. Again, we are grateful to Trinity Friestadt for their generosity and kind support of this project.
In addition to the above activities, Fungchatou spent 1 1/2 week giving theological instructions to the Hmong lay leaders who will become ordained pastors after they finish a 3 1/2 years of our theological program. There are four students from Laos and ten from Thailand. Please keep these students in your prayers. Most of them travel very long distances to get to our Mission Center for the training.
Fungchatou has recorded a CD album of Indonesian Gospel hymns in the Hmong and English languages. The CD album contains beautiful vocal and instrumental music along with lyrics in both Hmong and English languages. The project is to support the Lord's work in Thailand.
If you are interested in obtaining a copy of this special CD album please contact Hmong Mission Society at 7017 North 58th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53223,(920) 254-5270, or via email to Hlegacy66@gmail.com. We are asking a donation of $10 for the CD.
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NEEDS
We thank the Lord for being so faithful and gracious to include us in the work He is doing in Thailand. Please keep the following needs in your prayers:• More opportunities to continue to share the Gospel to the lost.
• More leaders willing to be trained for the holy ministry
• Formation of a Hmong Lutheran Thailand and Asia Synod
• Registration of the Hmong International Mission Bible Institute as a formal and recognized private theological school in Thailand.
We invite you to partner with us in this blessed mission work among the Hmong people in Thailand. We are inviting you to:
• Pray for HIM, theological students, theological teachers, missionaries, congregation members, and the Hmong people in Thailand and Laos.
• Prayerfully support HIM financially. You could choose to direct your financial support to any of the following areas:
- Mission Center's rent ($ 400/month)
- Mission Center's maintenance cost ($100/month)
- Sponsor a theological student ($10/month)
- Sponsor a theological teacher ($100/month)
- Sponsor a congregation ($100/month)
- Sponsor the Mae Rim Student Center (a student boarding house) ($300/month)
- Build a church building ($5,000/building)
- Purchase two motorcycles ($3,000)
- Support Film Ministry ($200/show)
- We need more Hmong, Thai and Laotian Bible ($500)
It is truly a blessing to see how the Lord is bringing people into His Kingdom in Thailand. Please send your support to: Hmong Mission Society 7017 N 58th St. Milwaukee, WI 53233. Your support is tax deductible.
GIVE THANKS
Please help us give thanks to the Lord for:• LCMS World Mission and CWEFT for their partnerships and financial support.
• LCMS Congregations in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin for their prayers and financial support.
• LCMS Hmong congregations for their prayers and financial support.
• Donors who have committed to keep our Mission Center open.
• Our theological pastors/professors for their commitments of time and finance as they travel to Thailand to do the training.
Article by: Dr. Fungchatou Lo, LCMS Missionary to Indonesia
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THANK YOU
Greetings!
Thank you for taking time to read this issue of the Hmong Mission Society's newsletter. This newsletter comes to you quarterly. In each issue we update and report to our readers the ministries of the Hmong Mission Society: Hmong International Mission, LCMS Hmong Ministry Conference, LCMS Hmong Pastors' Conference, Hymnal Project, and what's going on with LCMS Hmong Ministry in North America.
According to the Lao Human Rights, there are 12 million Hmongs world wide, but no more than one percent of the Hmong population is Christian (estimated from Hmong Christian groups in North America, Asia and Europe). The Hmong Mission Society joins with the Synod's Ablaze Movement to share the Gospel to 100 millions all over the world. We plan to share the Gospel to the Hmong people all over the world. To meet this goal, this year the Hmong Mission Society together with Hmong International Mission applied for a non-profit organization status with the Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand to plant more Hmong Lutheran Churches and to establish a Bible Training Institute in Thailand to train indigenous men and women to become pastors and leaders and to carry on the mission work in Asia. The LCMS World Mission in Asia has loaned money to Hmong Mission Society to fulfill the financial requirement by the Thai government.
We want to give thanks to the LCMS World Mission in Asia for their support and our partnership to bring the Gospel to the Hmong people in Asia. We are also grateful to all those who have prayed and given financial support to help the mission of the Hmong Mission Society in the past. THANK YOU ALL! We continue to need your prayers and your support. May God continue to bless you and your ministry!
In Christ,
Rev. Yia Vang Chairman of Hmong Mission Society