Micro-loans in Central Asia

In Central Asia, one of our Field Partners recently launched a micro-loan program that allows graduates from our women's sewing training to launch and manage their own businesses from home. The graduates receive a small loan to buy materials and a sewing machine, and are able to pay it back with earnings from their new business. Our partner has given out three loans so far, and sent us this update from one of the recipients:

A girl who received a loan bought a used sewing machine. When I spoke with her mother, her eyes were filled with tears and she said, "Their father has become blind and we have no support. Thank you for teaching my daughter to sew. Thank you for buying her a sewing machine. We will never forget your support and cooperation. She will help her sisters  learn and work at home and earn money."

She continued, "Before my daughter learned sewing here, I was always worried about what to do. But now we will work together and try to solve our economic problems by ourselves."

Since 2022, our Field Partners have given education opportunities to over 540 girls and women through underground schools and sewing or weaving training. This expression of the gospel opens the way for long-lasting relationships and trust, leading to introductions to Christ and changed lives. Please continue to pray for our Partners in Central Asia—the government continues to make life harder for everyone, but the light of the gospel will not be overcome.

A story from the HImalayas

The region of our focus in the Himalayas is home to around 27 million unreached people and is considered less than 1% reached. It’s also a geographically difficult area, and our Field Partners, all natives of the region, often have to walk or bike for hours just to reach a new village or visit a church plant. In the Himalayas, Uncharted partners with recent graduates of church planting training who are sharing the gospel in these remote communities. Here is one of their stories, from our Partner S*:

S came to faith in Christ after a personal experience with healing prayer, and soon she began sharing her testimony with relatives and neighbors, adding new believers to their church fellowship. S’s passion for sharing the gospel has grown to include a passion for church planting.

S has chosen to work in an area with no existing believers or churches. She is actively preaching the gospel, sharing God’s stories and her own, and teaching her church members to share the gospel themselves.

S faces several challenges, including the difficulty of walking long distances for her ministry work. She also faces pressure from her family, who push her to leave the ministry work for more financially stable opportunities, despite being believers themselves.

Here’s how you can be praying for S:

• Pray for the guidance and financial support needed for her ministry

• Pray that S’s family will be encouraging to her continuing in church planting

• Pray for the young believers in S’s church, that they are able to receive the training needed to empower and mobilize them as future church planters

Supporting women in Central Asia

Over the summer, women in Central Asia have had their rights systemically stripped from them. Women now cannot raise their voices, show their faces, or sing in public. They also cannot leave their homes without a male guardian.

Though things continue to worsen, our Field Partners are still working to serve the women in Central Asia and introduce them to the hope of Christ. They operate two underground girls' schools, two carpet weaving businesses that employ women, and five sewing courses that have enabled several young female students to start their own businesses.

Two of our Field Partners in Central Asia are women, who are leading a church plant and boldly sharing their faith with the community of women around them. They meet weekly in their homes and over the summer studied Genesis, Ephesians, and Galatians. In a recent report, our Field Partner shared, “I ask you, dear ones, to pray to God to pray for our church and for all the believers who are present in this small church that their faith is a true faith and their path is the path of justice.” Join us in praying this over the church of Central Asia, and specifically for renewed faith and boldness for the women.

Stories from Serbia

Our friend Samir leads a newly planted church in Pavlovac, Serbia, mostly among Roma people. Many Roma people are very talented musicians, and earn an income by traveling across the country and playing at different celebrations, like birthday parties or weddings. When they return home, they usually get together to drink, gamble and party. When Samir planted his church, he started to build relationships and shared the good news with people. Then the gospel began to change lives and families.

Instead of spending money on drinking or gambling, families have have started to invest in the local church and to help those in need. Samir first started a home group, but as more and more people started attending with every meeting, he planted a church. And the people of Pavlovac were able to purchase the equipment needed to host regular services.

One owner of a local bar and gambling place asked Samir what was going on in his church. Samir was surprised by that question and told him, “Same as every time we gather. We worship, pray, and read the Bible together. Why do you ask?” The man then told him that he doesn’t have any customers anymore. All of them are going to church instead of going to his place.

Our Partners in Serbia shared, “Our Lord encounters people in his time and place, resulting their lives being changed forever by his love. We are thankful for this story of change and renewal, eternal purpose, faith, love and hope in the lives of local people in Pavlovac.”

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In Belgrade, Center Church celebrates their first service in a new building.

In August, Center Church celebrated their first service in their new building! For a long time our Field Partners, Danko and Sladja Dudok, have been praying for a reliable location that’s big enough to host their church. There has never been an evangelical church in part of Belgrade where Center Church is now located. Over 90 people came for the first service.

Continue to pray for the Center Church team as they settle into a new community.

A Summer in North Africa

In North Africa, our Field Partners operate a Community Center for the Arab refugee population. After months of preparations, renovations, and prayer, the Center is open and offering free resources or classes nearly every day of the week.

This summer, the Center has had:

• Summer school for 25 kids

• Arabic-English tutoring

• Recycling projects

• Art classes

• Guitar lessons

• Korean lessons

• A women’s Trauma Course

• Nutrition and Women's Health Symposium

• Two medical outreaches

Over 300 people have been served through the Center this year, many of them being returning participants.

These programs and classes are part of a larger effort to build relationships with the refugee community. Elements of scripture and Christian faith are woven into many of these offerings, which prompt various questions from time to time. Home visits, especially those with women, often lead to deeper conversations and many people are expressing interest and asking a lot of questions.

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This summer, the Uncharted family raised enough money to fully fund the refugee Community Center for an entire year!

Our Partners can continue to build on the work they’re doing in the community, deepening relationships and serving overlooked and unreached people. Thank you for giving, sharing, and praying!

Movement in Central Asia

The Kingdom of God is on the move in Central Asia! Though the region is still suffering significantly from the oppressive governing regime, our Field Partners have encouraging reports. Just in the first six months of 2024,

• Over 1,200 have heard the gospel

• 23 people have accepted Christ

• 12 people have been baptized, the youngest being 14

• 4 new people have been added to a leadership group, including 2 women, where they receive training in leading church plants, evangelism, and discipleship

All this is possible because of the boldness of our Field Partners. However, this is dangerous work. Two of our Partners recently had their homes raided, with one invasion including physical violence. Another partner is having to flee the country with his family, due to his evangelism activities being known. As you pray for the global church, remember the brave men and women in Central Asia who are risking everything to make the gospel known. 

Myanmar Soul Care

This June, Uncharted staff and volunteers facilitated a Soul Care retreat in Yangon for our Myanmar Field Partners. This is one of the few times our Partners are able to gather, rest, and enjoy a community of believers. Hear Uncharted President Ben Stewart reflect on the gathering:

This gathering included times of worship, prayer, teachings on identity, and a time of communion. The team and Partners also enjoyed times of friendship and shared meals. Keep our Field Partners in your prayers as they return to their home villages, that the encouragement from this time would last and that they would be reassured that they do not stand alone.

New Believers in Central Asia

In Central Asia, our Field Partners have to think creatively in order to find opportunities to share the gospel with their communities. Across the country our Partners are launching underground schools, employment training, farms, and other initiatives to not only meet the needs of their neighbors, but also find ways to deepen relationships and start conversations about faith.

One of the ways our Field Partners are introducing people to the hope of the gospel is through a local gym. Regular gatherings at the gym are a safe space for young men to gather and develop relationships, and our Field Partners are seeing a lot of fruit from this new community.

In the past few months, three gym members became believers and two of them are hoping to be baptized soon. And just six months after one student became a believer, he is sharing the gospel with others and helping organize a new house church.

Community is the greatest need for the church in Central Asia. Many new believers are suspicious of others because of the very real danger for Christians in their country. But attending prayer meetings and developing personal relationships with other believers emboldens their faith. Many of our Partners are trying to facilitate more in-person meetings, because the new believers love the community they’ve found.

F*, who helped launch the gym, has since become a refugee in a bordering country. He has started new exercise initiatives among the refugee community and works with a lot of young adults. Through these programs, he’s starting to share Christ and disciple the men and women. His hope is to introduce the believers into a bigger community.

A place of Peace in North Africa

War and poverty has led millions of Arabs to flee their home country for the relative safety of North Africa. While many of these are registered refugees, others hope to return to their home country one day in safer circumstances, or after receiving medical care.

Though they are allowed entrance into North Africa, the government provides no further assistance and work is hard to come by. Many of these refugees continue to live in poverty, but now in a foreign country separated from their families or support systems. Even leaving their small apartments for the day is impossible for some, as they are unable to afford the minimal costs of transportation or activities.

Our Partners there have launched a Center in the heart of the area where most of these displaced people live. The purpose, one of our Partners said, was to create a place of peace that people can retreat to. In a crowded and chaotic city, they want to provide a space that is quiet, clean, and restful.

Several days a week, our Partners host free activities open to the community. There are art lessons, craft workshops, and medical clinics where participants receive free basic supplies and education. Soon, they will offer guitar lessons. These community activities not only help meet the physical needs of the neighborhood, but also provide vital opportunities for community that refugees—especially women—don’t have access to.

These people come from one of the least reached people groups in the world, and now they live in a safer, more accessible location. But though it is not illegal to be a Christian, these displaced people still face incredible amounts of family and community pressure to reject Christ. No one feels comfortable asking questions about religion, especially in group conversations, and even believers find it hard to trust each other.

Our Partners use the Center activities as a means of developing relationships, and visiting participants in their homes. Away from strangers, people are more willing to receive prayer and show their curiosity in Jesus.

The Center recently underwent many renovations, and now it is a beautiful and peaceful space for community. Soon, they will finish a rooftop patio where community members can relax and engage in conversation. Within the next few weeks, our Partners hope to be hosting activities and workshops every week day.

a Prayer for our Field Partners

“We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

Throughout the past few years, the stories our Field Partners have been sharing have been focused more and more of their experiences of persecution, and the incredible ways that the church is growing despite these hardships. Specifically in Myanmar and Central Asia, the situation for Christians has become almost impossibly hard. And yet, we are seeing growth like never before.

This year, we as a staff, are using 1 Thessalonians as a guide to our prayer for our Field Partners. In this letter, Paul is expressing deep gratitude for this beautiful history of faithfulness between him, God, and the church at Thessalonica, despite hardships the church had experienced.

Join us in remembering our Field Partners all over the world, thanking God for their boldness and faithfulness, and praying for their safety and for the continued growth of their ministries.

Hope amid fear in Central Asia

Our Partners in Central Asia are always finding creative ways to serve their communities and bring about opportunities to introduce gospel conversations. One Partner, I*, has been helping facilitate an underground school for girls as well as vocational training for women. These women now have the opportunity to learn a trade in carpet weaving or tailoring, giving them the ability to work from home and help support their families. In a recent conversation, I* shared this story:

“One of the students who learned tailoring and now works at her home said, ‘I go to the shops and buy small fabrics that cannot be sold. I buy them cheaply, then I bring them home, sew children's clothes, and then sell them.’  

Her eyes sparkled with joy as she explained her plan. I think she's found her way now and she's not waiting for someone to help her, which was not the case before.

I'm not saying it's a great job and pays well, but she has found the confidence to stand on her own feet and be financially independent in the future. This is perfect for a girl here and in these conditions.”

Though many good relationships are being started and many women are finding hope, the situation in the country is getting worse day by day. The girls and women in these programs are very worried for their safety, and are often escorted by family members. Around the country, women have been arrested and beaten for not wearing "proper" head coverings.

I* also included this piece in his report:

“The days are hard. The roar of ignorance and madness seeks to destroy everything: humanity, ethics, teaching, education. And even being alive. Going out is a sin, speaking is a crime. But the question is what should be done?

Until now, with your cooperation, we have kept the light of hope on in our area, although with great fear. How tragic it is that a mother takes her daughters to school, and waits every day with fear for her daughter to come back home? Only God knows this, and they themselves.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to write everything, sign all the sufferings, show all the sorrows with words. We can only thank each and every one of you for standing by these girls and making it easier to bear this suffering. You give hope.”

This work is not without risk to I*, the teachers, the students, the women learning to sew, and possibly the families of those who participate in these things. Please pray for their protection, for their encouragement, and for their continued boldness.

3 Updates from Myanmar

Recently, we connected with several of our Myanmar Field Partners over Zoom. The ongoing military crisis continues to impact daily life for everyone. Several mentioned major concerns with the new conscription law instituted by the junta requiring all healthy men and women between 18-35 to sign up for two years of military service. Junta officials are visiting homes to take a census.

• One of our Partners was warned not to allow new people to stay at the house and to report any visitors immediately. He is hosting discipleship training for young people, but officially calling it an English class due to the risk from the military. 

• Raj, a church planter and Field Partner, told us, "We are very close to the fighting and are often worried about what will happen, even in the next hour. Last night we packed our bags and were ready to run but realized we did not need to yet." 

• Please keep Paung Maung in your prayers; he was in a bad motorbike accident and suffered a head injury. He is currently staying at a hospital receiving treatment. 

Myanmar Christmas Outreach

Every year, many of our Myanmar Field Partners host Christmas outreach events for their communities. These are often their biggest events of the year, and serve as a way to build relationships with those in their neighborhoods. This year sixteen Field Partners hosted events in 28 locations and were attended by 6355 people. In the month of December, 254 people chose to start following Jesus and 37 new believers were baptized! Though the Christmas celebrations are over, our Partners will continue to foster the relationships built during these events and follow up during the year.

Unfortunately, violence from the military junta continues to spread throughout the country which prevented several of our Field Partners from hosting Christmas events.

As the fighting moves closer to villages and urban areas, please keep our Partners who live in these dangerous places in your prayers. While some Partners have relocated to safer areas with their families, Myo San has chosen to stay in his village. He is using his home and resources to shelter the elderly, sick, or other neighbors who are not able to flee to safer areas.

We are so proud to be supporting Myo San’s work. Join us in prayer for relief from fear and violence in Myanmar, as well as for the continued resilience of our Field Partners.

Our Newest Location

Over 3 billion people still haven’t heard the hope of the gospel. And the vast majority of global mission efforts are focused on places considered already reached. That’s why we’re committed to connecting you to disciple-makers in overlooked places, and to going boldly to new Locations where the local church needs support. And we’re excited to share our newest Location!

We’re proud to share that Uncharted now has six new Field Partners in the Himalayas! We are partnering with four men and two women who are recent graduations of church planting training, and are setting out to remote villages to share the gospel and create Christian community. Due to security concerns, we can’t publicly share our new Partner’s names, faces, or locations, but we are excited to keep you in the loop of their new ministries.

The region of our focus in the Himalayas is home to around 27 million unreached people and is considered less than 1% reached. Our Field Partners, all natives of the region, often have to travel to remote places in order to reach new villages, and that can mean biking 30-40 miles to visit a new church plant.

One new Partner, M*, is a young woman serving in a small village. M is from a low caste, or disrespected ethnic group, and is struggling to be accepted among high caste villagers. But despite these difficulties, M has led four people to Christ and started a house church with two of them.

We can’t wait to see how these brave men and women share the hope of Christ in their communities!

Ministry among the Romani people

In Serbia, we partner with Bridge United and church planters across the country. One of our Field Partners is Avdija, a Romani church planter living in Vranje—a city in south Serbia.

In recent years there’s been a lot of gospel movement happening among the Romani community in Serbia. Romani are a stateless people numbering anywhere between 2 and 12 million, and live mostly in Europe and western Asia. As a people group, they’ve historically faced much discrimination and still deal with racism today. Though they’re spread across countries, there is a unique Romani culture that includes a musical and artistic emphasis and strong sense of family and community.

Avdija has been planting churches in and around Vranje with the goal to raise up and equip young leaders. Many young people leave Serbia due to the hard economic and difficulties finding employment, so Avdija is encouraging them to plant churches where they move.

Recently, four young leaders from Avdija’s church have moved and planted a new church near Cologne, Germany. The church is hoping to partner with other churches in Serbia, Germany, and Sweden to develop new relationships among Romani people.

The next location Avdija' has in mind is a city near the Kosovo border. The area has a strong Muslim influence, but also a tense history with Serbia. Avdiaj’s hope for this location would be to help reconcile people with God and one another.

“We have challenges,” he said, “but that helps us focus on Him.”

This summer, the churches in Vranje hosted many ministry activities and camps, partnering with 13 other churches and organizations. Through their efforts, 625 kids heard the gospel for the first time, and 37 made decisions to follow Christ.

Difficulties in Myanmar

Recently, our staff was able to connect with two of our Myanmar Field Partners—David, our ministry coordinator, and Van Thang, a church planter. We asked them about the current climate in Myanmar and how we can be praying for them. In Myanmar, the military junta continues to cause chaos and violence throughout the country.

Though cities like Yangon are relatively stable, many other regions are experiencing constant fighting, bombing, and fires. Thousands of people have been displaced. Many feel there is no hope for positive change. Even times of stability are fraught with worry, as no one knows what might happen next.

Our Field Partners, spread throughout the country, have been boldly and faithfully serving their communities. They are distributing food, helping people set up shelters, and sharing their land with displaced people. And all the while they are spiritually encouraging those they meet, sharing about the hope of Christ and for eternity. Because so many people have been displaced, the numerous religious and ethnic groups in Myanmar have become less segregated. More people are having to rely on each other, breaking down religious and ethnic barriers. And people living in refugee camps are able to live alongside Christians for the first time, and experience the love of Christ first hand.

As you remember our Partners in Myanmar, please do not cease in praying for them. David and Van Thang shared a few ways you can pray: As the situation in the country seems like it will only be getting worse, pray for the safety and physical health of our Field Partners. And be ready to respond to physical needs that are sure to come in the future—both for our Partners and for the new believers. Pray for more opportunities for our Field Partners to share the gospel with others.

Encouragement means a lot to our Field Partners. You can let them know you’re praying for them by sending a message through our website: unchartedinternational.org/write

A Loss in Serbia

We are sad to share that our Serbian Field Partner, Sasa, recently passed away from complications following a stroke.

Sasa was a faithful and effective pastor and church planter who spent decades investing in his community and changing the public perception of the Church.

One of the ways Sasa cared for his community was by giving to those with low incomes, despite having little to share himself. But the generosity of Sasa and his church was multiplied by the Lord and inspired others to do the same. This March, there was little to share and a meal distribution ministry didn’t seem possible with sickness and a lack of resources. As the pastors in the area prayed for something to provide to needy families, Sasa received a call from a restaurant telling him they’ve prepared food for 50 people that he can distribute to people in his community.

Sasa leaves behind a family, including a young son who just started or will soon start the Bridge United church planting program. Please pray for Sasa’s family, and his community, as they grieve their loss.

A team from One Life Henderson, with Bridge United director Dusan Smudja, visiting Sasa (left) on a 2022 trip.

Baptisms in Central Asia

Our partners in Central Asia are introducing the hope of Christ to the unreached, but the story doesn’t end there. Faithful leaders are crucial in discipling new believers in overlooked places.

One of our partners, A*, is a woman living outside the main country of our focus and disciples believers who have fled. Here is a recent story she shared with us:

“In the last days of April, I met three sisters who were believers. They had received the gospel in their home country, but were unable to be baptized. So on May 4 we gathered together at their request, and in the bathtub I baptized them in the name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

“One of the sisters is E*. E got married 14 years ago and had five children. While she was a mother and a woman at home, she earned a degree in psychology. Her life was going well, but one day she heard the news of her husband’s death, killed because of a family feud. After his death, she began a difficult life with her children.

“Days and months passed until one day, a brother who believed in Jesus Christ shared gospel with E. She was only able to join the meeting of believers twice before the government collapsed.”

E and her children escaped the country and moved near our Field Partner. When our partner met E and her sisters, they quickly bonded and our partner brought up the idea of baptism.

“On May 4, we gathered together in the house of Sister E and they were baptized in the bathtub with the help of the Holy God Jesus Christ. After the baptism, they were very happy, and they felt that they were being lightened and that they had been lifted from their burdens.”

Our partner was able to baptize the three believers. And when E’s eldest daughter heard her mother describe her experience, she chose to be baptized as well.

“When I asked her daughter how she felt. She said, ‘I am no longer anxious as I had been before, and now I feel at ease.’ We didn’t know each other before but God gave me this opportunity to know them and they asked me for baptism.”

We are honored to stand alongside bold disciple-makers like A and brave women like E and her sisters! Please continue to pray for the growth of this small community, that their impact be mighty.

To support our Field Partners like A, join our Base Camp community. By committing to give monthly, at any amount, you can equip and encourage disciple-makers around the world. Head to our Base Camp page to learn more.

Uncharted expands

The Stewart family in their new home state of Colorado.

After seven amazing years of living in Evansville, IN, the Stewart family has moved to Denver, CO! Ben (Uncharted’s President) and Kathy (Relational Curator) Stewart, along with the Uncharted board and leadership team, have discerned that this is the best move for their family and the organization.

Uncharted is expanding. We will maintain our office in Evansville (did you know we rent out our building space in Evansville to three other faith-based non-profits?) and expand a second working-hub in Denver. As our network of Church Partners continues to spread across the US, it’s important to have a Midwest/East-coast presence and a Mountain/West-coast presence. In addition, the Stewarts proximity to the Denver International Airport will make international travel easier and cost-effective. All of this allows us to increase our intentionality on the importance of relationship—being more present with both our Field Partners internationally and Church Partners domestically.

The Staff is decentralized. Our staff has officially shifted to a decentralized working model, though we’ve actually been doing this for several months already! We have staff in Indiana, Illinois, and Colorado, and don’t want geographical location to be a constraint for future hires. This allows us to decrease costs, hire top-notch people without requiring them to relocate, and remain nimble as an organization. Our biggest challenge is fostering the healthy staff culture we’ve worked hard to build over the last few years. But the team is stepping up to the challenge and finding creative ways to stay connected, deepen relationships, and remain focused on the mission to which we are aligned.

All of this represents a significant shift for Uncharted. More than a new chapter, it feels like the start of the next book in a series: same story, but a significant new part of the tale. The board and leadership team are excited about where God is taking Uncharted and what this move represents. We are humbled by the growth we’ve seen over the past few years, and we thank you for playing such a significant role in helping us get to where we are today. But we believe there’s more to come! Driven by our vision to help people do brave things to advance God’s Kingdom, we long to work together to reach the unreached and activate God’s people into His mission.

We are grateful for you. Let’s continue to Go Boldly together.

The Uncharted board and leadership team

Myanmar Cyclone

In early May, a massive cyclone hit Myanmar causing immense damage and killing at least 400 people. The true extent of the destruction is hard to know due to flooding, blocked roads and downed communications.

Thankfully all of our friends and partners were physically safe, but Aung Pha and Thida suffered significant damage to their home. Insurance does not exist in Myanmar in the way we are familiar with, and in the face of disaster many people are left on their own.

We were able to help Aung Pha receive the financial support needed to repair his home—around $1,700 US dollars. Because of the generosity of the Uncharted community, we were able to respond immediately and Aung Pha is able to start working back toward normalcy for his family. If you would like to contribute to designated funds for Myanmar and be a part of responses to immediate needs and emergencies, you can make a special gift to Myanmar here.

While clean-up efforts are underway for the millions of people affected by the storm, clean water and supplies are running low, and there is a critical need for shelters, food, medicine and healthcare services. Please continue to keep the people of Myanmar in your prayers and pray for our Field Partners to find ways to respond.