We're Growing: June Update Letter

Welcome Micaiah Minh Doan

On March 25th, at 12:30am, we welcomed our son, Micaiah Minh Doan, into our family. He was 7lbs 15oz and 20in long at birth. He was born at home with the help of our midwife and her team. I (Cassandra) felt so blessed to be surrounded by the love and care of such a supportive birth team, all of whom love Jesus. Having a baby has been a pretty big adjustment for us as a family - we're returning to the infant stage and learning how to balance the needs of all 3 of our children. Lydia and Avigail love their brother so much and (most of the time) are very helpful big sisters! Micaiah is now 2.5 months old and still surprising us every day!

Dubai

At the beginning of the year, I (Daniel) attended Desiring God's Global Resources and Training Initiative (GRTI) conference in Dubai. This conference focuses on bringing publishers and ministry leaders from around the world together. It was a unique opportunity for me to learn, connect with others, and refine my vision for resourcing pastors and churches in Vietnam. I met many pastors and missionaries from the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and all different parts of Asia. One highlight was talking with D. Woollin from Reformation Heritage Books. I have always loved reading about the Puritans and have desired for a long time to translate the Puritans series into Vietnamese. Through this new connection, I was able to get the rights to translate 2 titles from the series per year and start working towards making this dream a reality! You can learn more about the Puritans series here: https://heritagebooks.org/products/ptft16bundle.html

Laos & Vietnam

In February, I traveled to Laos and Vietnam to continue pouring into the pastors we have been investing in there. Last year I helped open the door for us to get into Laos for the first time and we are looking forward to returning regularly to help train a group of pastors and church leaders there. Ministers in this nation are in desperate need of resources and Biblical training - very little is readily available to them. This trip we were able to document some of the stories of suffering and persecution that the pastors have experienced and we are working to release one of their testimonies soon. Please pray for these brothers in Christ to persevere in their faith as they face such hardship.

Tien Phong Ministry

This year I decided to have my Tien Phong Ministry's team do a year- long inductive Bible study so we can all grow in our knowledge and understanding of the Bible. I believe this will help us to better translate the Christian literature we work on and will also encourage us to go deeper in our indivdual walks with the Lord. When I founded this ministry in 2017, it was just me translating, editing, formatting and publishing books; but now the Lord has grown my team to include 5 staff members and 2 volunteers. As my team grows, I think it is important that we take this time to grow and learn together. This is a big commitment, as I am either teaching or translating classes 4-5 nights a week for my team. I may be extra tired, and we may be slowing down our translation work some this year, but in the long-term, I have faith that this season will bear much fruit in our lives and in our ministry.

Despite dedicating a big portion of our time to this intensive Bible study, we published another book in April: "Nine Marks of a Healthy Church" by Mark Dever. We hope that this book will be a blessing to many Vietnamese people around the world. This year the authorities in Vietnam made some big changes that have majorly affected publishers. At this time, the religious publisher that we use has closed due to these changes. Please join us in prayer for them to reopen so that we can continue to physically print the books we publish in Vietnam.

The Stroke

In January, my (Daniel's) dad unexpectedly had a stroke. My family was able to get him to a hospital quickly so he could receive the care he needed. Now he is continuing to recover at home. He still has some memory loss and paralysis on the right side of his body. This has been very hard for my whole family. He's not able to move around much by himself and requires a lot of help and care. Please pray for a full recovery and for strength for my mom who is caring for him full-time. Thankfully I was able to visit my dad a month after his stroke during my ministry trip to Vietnam. We are also looking forward to spending more time with him and the rest of my family in July when we all head to Vietnam for a family ministry trip with a few vacation days at the end! This will be the first time my family gets to meet Micaiah in person.

1. For our family as we prepare for a month-long trip to Vietnam in July. Pray for the kids (especially Micaiah) as we travel for 30+ hours to get there and then as we travel within the country to visit different pastors and friends, attend the national YWAM gathering, and spend a few days with Daniel's family.
2. For each member of the Tien Phong Ministries team to grow deeper in their understanding of the Gospel and God's Word as they finish the New Testament next month and then move on to focusing on the Old Testament for the rest of the year.
3. For Tien Phong Ministries to find a good place to rent in Ho Chi Minh City. They want a central location where they can set up an office, store the books they publish, have a bookstore and also host training seminars.
4. For the religious publisher in Vietnam to reopen soon.
5. For Micaiah's tongue tie corrective procedure on Tuesday (June 10th) to go smoothly, heal correctly, and improve his breastfeeding and digestive issues.