Happy Thanksgiving!

As Thanksgiving draws near, I’m reminded of the bountiful harvest that comes with the season. A few hours away from my home, my family would often visit the apple orchards this time of year and taste the most delicious of crisp, fresh apples. I love the green ones because of their tart flavor. I’m also reflecting on those seasons where I visited family in Oklahoma seeing all sorts of grains spanning for miles on end.

What does Thanksgiving season bring to your attention?

This particular November, I’m overwhelmed with the stories I’ve been hearing despite the pandemic’s impact on our world. This week I’ve been with friends from South Asia who have seen a mighty harvest in souls—what recently was the fastest growing church movement in the world. Today, 35 of our graduates in that nation are reaching 92 of the 119 unengaged and unreached people groups of their nation!

That report came on the tails of reports from SE Asia where A2 alumni in two countries are passionately trying to reach the lost in their respective nations. In fact, they have adopted every village of their nations with plans to plant a church in each one. How exciting is that?

These stories are not alone.

Another nation we serve went from less than 0.5% Christian to around 6% following Jesus today.

This Thanksgiving season, I am grateful for what God is doing in the nations. Even with the challenges of COVID-19, which have been horrific (many of our alumni have died, faced crippling economic pressures, or been hospitalized for weeks on end—some have faced unspeakable horrors following a military coup), God is still at work redeeming in the midst of disaster. Our friends in the most populous country on earth have spoken of near revival-like conditions.

Today, I thank God for what he is doing in the midst of the pandemic. And I want to thank you for your partnership that has helped resource these Christ-like movements.

Finally, because I value your partnership, I want to ask you to join us in prayer for some important requests.

Prayer Requests

1. Please keep praying for all our partners who have lost so much during the pandemic; the health and economic challenges have been immense.
2. Pray for our meetings in December with the Persecuted Church organizations that are looking to partner with us in empowering leaders in the countries most impacted by persecution. Pray especially for our friends in Myanmar suffering during the military coup.
3. Pray for the conversations across the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and even Latin America as they all have expressed an interest in Asian Access.
4. And, as you’ve seen in this praise report, we long to see a revival come to Japan. Please pray for the Lord’s spirit to launch something fresh in the country.

With much gratitude,

Rev. Joseph W. Handley, Jr., Ph.D.
President, Asian Access

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