Around the World
Saying Yes!
In 2018 Monte LeLaCheur, lead pastor of Turning Point Open Bible Church in Spokane, Washington, felt inspired to help support the ministry efforts of Ly and Sarin Mak, missionaries in Cambodia. The Maks are directors of the Lifesong Learning Center, a ministry base that offers a safe environment for children to receive an education and to experience the love of Jesus. In Cambodia women and children are susceptible to human trafficking, many lured by false promises of good jobs. The Maks are finding creative ways to respond to this horrific evil, using sewing machines and technology in learning labs to teach legitimate job skills.
One obstacle to this vision was workable electrical power. The Center had been operating on roughly 30 amps of power, which was intermittent at best. The Center also needed a way to respond to the villagers’ dental and medical issues as well as a ministry team to teach children about the love of Jesus Christ.
When Monte and others at Turning Point heard of the need, they took on the challenge of raising $25,000 to purchase and install new solar panels that could help create sustainable power for all the learning programs that Lifesong facilitates.
The Turning Point church family exceeded their original goal by raising nearly $55,520 (more than double the goal) for the solar panels, a medical response, and other ministry efforts in Cambodia! I was asked to coordinate a team that had the expertise and passion to go. Twenty-four people including electricians, grandparents, pastors, schoolteachers, teenagers, and medical professionals said yes to going.
Our team landed in Phnom Penh just prior to monsoon season. We were immediately captivated by the heart and vision of Ly and Sarin, who have a deep love for the children of Cambodia. Upon arrival at the Center, our team began to work feverishly on installing the solar panels, treating medical conditions, extracting teeth, and praying with people to receive Christ. The team did this for several days, serving with joy, tears, and laughter. Seeing the children come to the evening classes and Sunday morning service filled our emotional tanks and reminded us of our mission.
One of the young people we were blessed to work closely with was Sok Mabbman (known to us as “Mab”). Mab was a graduate of Lifesong and went on to university to learn English. Mab is now on staff at Lifesong, and his love for his people and surrounding villages is contagious. He did a wonderful job translating for our team. Mab was often pulled in multiple directions with many different people needing his help, yet he remained unwavering as he worked with our medical and ministry teams.
A sobering and heart-wrenching experience was the team’s visit to the Killing Fields of the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center, the site of a mass grave of victims of the Khmer Rouge. As we walked, seeing and hearing the stories of atrocity and evil that ended the lives of nearly two million people, our team gained an unparalleled appreciation for the Cambodian people and all they have gone through.
At one point I asked Pastor Ly, “Tell me about your smile.” (Pastor Ly has an infectious smile!)
He responded by sharing that one time he asked God, “How do I reach these people?”
God asked him to demonstrate his joy through his countenance because this would be the only way to appeal to people. They would ask him, “Why do you have so much joy?” and Ly would answer, “Let me tell you why . . . ”
With the help of the Lord and so many people who said yes, the team was able to see over 200 patients, share the gospel of Jesus with hundreds of children, and complete the solar panel project. The crew installed 82 panels and ran over 10,000 feet of cords that fed 5 inverters. The night before we left Cambodia, we were able to completely switch over the electrical system to the new solar panel system. Now the lights are running, and the Center has more than enough power to support their current and future needs.
God has mobilized people throughout history to make a difference wherever He has called them. “I [Paul] planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6). Our job is to plant and water and then trust God with the increase!
How an individual responds to God’s call varies depending on the role God calls them to. Someone may be asked to give financially, pray, or provide a resource or expertise – or they may be the one who physically goes. Regardless of the role, the key is to say yes! I encourage you to say yes to planting and watering the gospel!
See the whole gallery here!
About the Author
Joshua Stelly is the Executive Pastor at Turning Point Open Bible Church in Spokane, Washington, and he is passionate about the gospel! He is a husband to Melissa and dad to three beautiful daughters: Chloe, Addy, and Josie.
Have you ever wondered, What in the world are our Open Bible missionaries doing now? We wish we could visit every church or sit down over coffee and share what God is doing where we serve—but that isn’t always possible.
So this month, we’ve gathered brief notes from missionaries around the world. As you’ve read these updates from around the world, we invite you to pray for our missionaries—their families, their ministries, and the communities they serve. Please also share these stories with your church so others can join in prayer.
Use the interactive map below to see the updates:
Trouble seeing the map? Click HERE
About the Author
Tammy Swailes is passionate about cross-cultural Christian education, so working with INSTE Bible College to disciple and equip leaders throughout Europe and beyond is a great fit! Tammy has lived in Europe since 1999 – first in Hungary and now Ukraine. Before that, she was in Japan, as well as Spokane, Washington. She now serves as INSTE regional director in Europe, assisting INSTE programs in five languages. Tammy has her undergraduate degrees in both Missions and Christian Education and a MA in Intercultural Studies. Photography, good coffee, multi-cultural experiences, and the family’s Yorkie are some of Tammy’s favorite things.
Ask Open Bible pastors in Africa what the biggest problem in their church is and most reply with one word: REVIVAL! Just as Saul once ravaged the early church in Acts 8, our African brothers today face similar conditions: harassment, arrest, and even death for following Christ. But in the face of persecution, our churches are experiencing rapid growth in thirteen African nations. They’re calling for our help, not to alleviate the suffering, but to build new church facilities to serve their expanding congregations and communities.
The Global Harvest Offering of 2026 is “Building Hope in Africa,” and it is our opportunity to participate in this revival. In this initiative, we will partner with our missionaries and national directors to fund thirteen new church building projects across the continent. God is using faithful missionaries and nationals to plant churches, raise leaders, and reach communities with the hope only found in Jesus!
… in the face of persecution, our churches are experiencing rapid growth in thirteen African nations.
Our missionary partners are many: the Godwins, the Kopps, the Parkers, Okon Obot, Peter Mahoye, the Moores, the Welches, and our brothers and sisters throughout the Antioch Network.
Thirteen churches.
Thirteen countries.
One goal:
to raise the $200,000 needed to
cover the costs for all thirteen projects.
With over 230 Open Bible churches in the United States, we can meet the financial goal of the Global Harvest Offering if each church gives $875. Alternatively, just 2,000 people giving $100 this year would meet the goal. Your support in this effort helps build more than walls; it builds hope, community and the Kingdom of God. Look for the QR code or this link to give to Building Hope in Africa today. Thank you for your partnership to build hope for Africa.
On October 31 – November 5, 2025, Japan Open Bible Churches celebrated their seventieth anniversary. Global Missions Director Vince and Lois McCarty, Open Bible President Michael and Julie Nortune and I were honored to join them for this celebratory occasion.
My own connection with Japan goes back to my twenty-third birthday when I boarded a plane to Kobe with two suitcases, only five words in my Japanese vocabulary, and a heart full of missionary zeal. During my six years there, the Japanese church shaped me deeply as both a missionary and a person. When I left Japan thirty-six years ago, I left a piece of my heart. Joining them again to celebrate seventy years brought me real joy!
When I left Japan thirty-six years ago, I left a piece of my heart.
Japan Open Bible has become a true partner in ministry with Open Bible Churches globally, a partnership especially visible across Asia. The anniversary celebration honored the legacy of Japan Open Bible missionaries and the heritage of churches they planted while also affirming the importance of today’s smaller, community-based congregations. We visited, preached in, and celebrated with churches and pastors in both eastern and western Japan.
Japan’s geographical isolation and a 250-year ban on Christian missions in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries gave Japan a reputation as “the missionaries’ graveyard.” Yet, after World War II some US veterans, having seen the spiritual vacuum in Japan, returned as carriers of the hope of the Gospel. The Jake Collins, Eddie Carnes, and Phil Rounds families were among the first in the 1950s era to be sent by Open Bible Churches.
From a handful of missionaries and new believers in the early years to a network of Open Bible Churches across Japan today, God’s presence has been a steady flame of hope in the darkness.
From a handful of missionaries and new believers in the early years to a network of Open Bible Churches across Japan today, God’s presence has been a steady flame of hope in the darkness. Even though fewer than one percent of Japanese identify as Christian, today across Japan we see our churches, large and small, alive with joy and power of the Holy Spirit.
One of the early converts, now ninety-year-old Yaeko Yoshinaga, is likely the oldest surviving member of those first Japan Open Bible congregations. As an eighteen-year-old, she lived with the Rounds family helping in the home. She loved their children and learned to love potatoes (more than rice) as they did, but even more, came to faith in Jesus Christ.
Yaeko says, “I would not have believed in Jesus if I had not met Mr. Rounds, the missionary.“ She and her husband later pastored for 45 years, and today her son and wife pastor the flourishing church. Decades later, the flame of God’s love still burns brightly in Yaeko sensei. Her love, joy, humility, and faith impact every generation in the church. She remains a powerful reminder of how one relationship can change the direction of an entire life.
Pastor Yoshio Ishikawa told me the story of how he came to Jesus as a young boy. In the late 1960s, ten-year-old Yoshio’s family lived near an Open Bible Church in the Sumida neighborhood of Tokyo. He recalls, “When I was ten, I saw a TV drama about an incurable disease. It scared me, and without really knowing why, I walked into the church in my neighborhood that I had passed by many times. That church was Sumida Open Bible – the church I now pastor.”
Today, Pastor Ishikawa uses his talent as a skilled musician to reach people in new, non-traditional ways. He teaches a group ukulele class as a bridge to the gospel. Students learn to play the ukulele, then hear a teaching from the Bible and join in prayer. Other approaches, like book clubs, English lessons, and choirs, give churches relational ways to connect and open doors for evangelism.
In fact, many “unconventional” forms of evangelism are used to touch lives in churches in Japan. Often, churches and Christians invest years building trust and relationships before someone decides to follow Jesus. In my own experience, I saw that converts under my ministry were often a result of groundwork laid by others before me.
Looking ahead, Japan Open Bible embraces a bold vision: to plant ten new churches throughout the country in the next decade. I, for one, believe it can happen! God has not abandoned Japan. The hope of the Gospel that the missionaries brought with them back in the 1950s continues to burn brightly in our brothers and sisters of Japan Open Bible. May God fan that flame as they carry His hope across the country in ways we have not yet imagined!
As I leave Japan once again, I reflect and am grateful to have shared in the celebrations of what God has done, excitedly anticipating what He will do next!
Listen to Yaeko Yoshinaga’s testimony:
About the Author
Tammy Swailes is passionate about cross-cultural Christian education, so working with INSTE Bible College to disciple and equip leaders throughout Europe and beyond is a great fit! Tammy has lived in Europe since 1999 – first in Hungary and now Ukraine. Before that, she was in Japan, as well as Spokane, Washington. She now serves as INSTE regional director in Europe, assisting INSTE programs in five languages. Tammy has her undergraduate degrees in both Missions and Christian Education and a MA in Intercultural Studies. Photography, good coffee, multi-cultural experiences, and the family’s Yorkie are some of Tammy’s favorite things.
