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Dr. Patrick’s Message
“And Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31 (KJV)
These verses are the greatest commandments according to Jesus. These are the heart of what we are doing in the years since the Lord started Southeast Asian Missions. Our love for GOD is shown in our obedience to the great commission: Matthew 28:18-20 says, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Southeast Asian Missions has been reaching multitudes starting with just a very few. When Dr. L. Thomas & Mrs. Eileen Rayner went to India as medical missionaries so many years ago, they had trouble reaching the Indians while they were doing medical mission work, but they kept at it because God had given them a heart for the land of India and her people. After Eileen Rayner and her two sons went home to be with the Lord, Dr. Rayner heard from Jesus what he believed the next step in the mission was to be. In the midst of the heartbreak and despair of loosing his wife and sons to a dreadful disease in India, Dr. Rayner turned to fervent prayer and believed he had a vision of his wife and sons telling him to return to India to continue the heartbeat of the missions.
Added to that, Dr. Rayner believed Jesus gave him these words, “Trust Me for I have greater things for you to do,” thus, the heart and soul of Southeast Asian Missions began. Dr. Rayner passed the mantle, the heart and the soul of Southeast Asian Missions on to me before his death in Nepal in 1984. As I was burying Dr. Rayner in the British Embassy Cemetery in Kathmandu, Nepal, the Holy Spirit seemed to speak to me in that still small voice and encourage me to take up that mantle. I promised God right there and then I would continue the work of Southeast Asian Missions with all my heart, and with all my soul, and with all my mind, and with all my strength. I have, through God’s grace, been able to see that promise fulfilled even though at times it has been difficult because of the enemy who would like nothing better than to see SEAM fail. For instance:
When I was in Desert Storm in 1991, several tanks exploded one after the other only about 100 yards from my hospital, which nearly took my life. I can only thank Jesus for sparing my life that day and several other times. He has a purpose for SEAM and has called me to help fulfill that purpose.
In 1992, my wife Jan came down with a catastrophic illness – pheochromocytoma that caused temporary blindness and paralysis. Jan has helped me fulfill this God called purpose and has the same heart I have toward this great mission. Jan has put her heart, soul, mind and strength into this work by writing many of the newsletters over the years and corresponding to sponsors, as well as other personal letters for me.
In recent years, Jan was attacked again by the enemy with metastatic ovarian cancer, which has required treatment in 5 different hospitals and 14 surgeries, and also resulted in cardiac arrest, DIC, septic shock and a very lengthy recovery, which she is still going through. The Bible reminds us that, “Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.” And we know that, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Because our hearts are right with Jesus and our hearts are united with His purpose, we have been spared to continue His work, which we recommit to do with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind and all of our strength.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. Jesus died that we might have life. He became our substitute and He wants us to live as He lived. Here at Southeast Asian Missions, we believe, as did Dr. Rayner, in the heart of the Missions and the work that continues in the far away lands of Southeast Asia. Dr. Rayner said just before departing on his last mission trip, “Please see that the heart of SEAM continues to beat and is kept strong and that many souls are saved and brought into the Kingdom.” Jan received that word, also, and I promised that word to Jesus at Dr. Rayner’s gravesite. Praise GOD, I can report to you that the Mission is well and its heart is beating stronger than ever as we move forward with His word and promise to make disciples for eternity.
As I write this in the wee hours of the morning, telling you what Jesus has done for SEAM and what SEAM has done for Jesus, I want to begin telling you about an exciting adventure GOD is leading us into at the present moment. Jan and I just returned from a very exciting, prosperous trip to Israel where we believe God is leading us for further mission work. We cannot tell much about it now, but it is exciting and we will have more to share in the months ahead.
Jan and I would like to first of all thank GOD for our safety and healing through the stripes of Jesus Christ, and second of all we want to thank each and everyone of YOU for your faithful prayers in bringing this all about. We also want to thank each of you for sharing our heart in seeing orphans fed, clothed and educated, widows attended to, pastors and evangelists cared for as well as seeing churches spring up all over Southeast Asia, and we will not forget our Bible Colleges that teach and train our pastors and evangelists to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the brokenhearted.
God bless you – we love you and praise God for each of you.
Southeast Asian Missions
To download a PDF version of the SEAM FEBRUARY Newsletter - PLEASE CLICK HERE
To read more from the SEAM FEBRUARY Newsletter PLEASE CLICK HERE
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