I recently returned home from Bangladesh. It represents ground zero and the center of the bullseye for our vision at Unknown Nations. It is a country that is the same size as the state of Wisconsin. There are 6 million people who live in Wisconsin while 172 million live in Bangladesh, making it one of the most densely populated places on Earth!

During one of my recent trips, I met the owner of a brick kiln in Pakistan. On the surface, he appeared to be a well respected, successful business leader in his community. Behind the scenes, he exhibited many of the cruelest expressions of humanity.

There is a question that every follower of Jesus should be keenly aware of and prepared to answer. That question may seem simple but its answer affects all of us who call upon His mighty name as our Lord and Savior. It provides alignment for our life, purpose for our existence and vision for us to pour our one life into! 

If our team had to choose a Bible verse to describe our 2023 fiscal year (July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023), we would undoubtedly choose Psalm 126:3.

Every 3 seconds someone is newly displaced because of war, violence or persecution. Sometimes, this displacement crosses a country line, triggering refugee status. Many times it does not, and they often remain inside their country as internally displaced people (IDP).

God is in the refining business! Because of his love for us, he will reveal himself through adversity and trials. The most famous scripture that speaks of this process is found in Hebrews 12

In March, I returned from a visit working with our teams on the ground in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Friend, there is no way to quantify the carnage happening to the church in Afghanistan right now. Virtually every Afghan refugee has a story of an immediate family member being killed by the Taliban.

Greetings from Ethiopia! Just last month we received an update from our Indigenous Leader following a Treasure distribution near the border of Kenya. This outreach happened among an Ethiopian people group that predominantly resides in the southern desert regions of the country.

I stood at the edge of the bed with his arms clutched around my leg. He begged me not to leave and to protect his family from the living hell they were enduring. He would be beaten again that evening and feared that his daughters would be sold as sex slaves. Tears raced down his cheeks in complete desperation – “Please help me!”

The two year anniversary of the infamous Myanmar military coup came and went this past month. This unlawful regime continues its crackdown upon millions of innocent lives. Now, the UN is saying that 5 million children are in dire need of humanitarian aid due to the conflict.

On February 21, 2021, the country of Myanmar (formerly Burma) was scheduled to endorse the results of their national election from the previous November. The brutal military regime opposed the woman who won in a landslide, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

India is a country that stands alone in so many ways as it relates to the Great Commission. They have a greater concentration of unreached people than any country in the world…and it’s not even close. Christianity has always been a minority religion despite significant mission efforts over the centuries.

Happy New Year! All of us at Unknown Nations wish you a wonderful 2023. As you start this year, we pray that the Lord gives you faces and places to take the Good News. Find the lives that God intends for you to impact for eternity this year. If we all took that challenge, 2023 would end up being a phenomenal year! 

I just finished the busiest travel season of my 25 year tenure at Unknown Nations. It consisted of three separate trips to Asia within a seven week window … whew! The experiences of visiting refugee camps, seeing the impact of the Treasure, and dedicating water projects … Incredible!

In 2017, the world experienced one of the most egregious assaults upon a single people group that very few know about. Can you imagine one ethnic group being targeted by another with such hatred that children were ripped from the arms of parents and thrown into the flames of burning huts?

I recently returned home from Bangladesh. This country is located on the Eastern side of India on the Bay of Bengal and is home to the largest unreached people group in the world, the Bengali Shaikh. The Shaikh number 132 million people and are 0.00% Christian.

Since our inception in December 1994, God has powerfully used numerous circumstances and relationships to grow our ministry. Our massive vision, to reach the hundreds of millions of people without access to the gospel, has required every one of these divine interactions. To complete this task, all of us will need to find our role and actively participate!

We have been working in Indonesia for more than 10 years, declaring the Good News of Jesus Christ among the hundreds of islands that hold the highest population of Muslims anywhere in the world.

Sometimes we know God is working by the fruit - the testimonies and baptisms of those who come to know Jesus for the first time. Other times, we know God is working when we see the response to the Treasure (audio Bible) from those who feel threatened by it. 

I love our staff at Unknown Nations and know you’d enjoy sitting in on our weekly meetings every Wednesday morning to experience it for yourself. There are about 15 of us when we can all attend. Some join from their remote locations across the country as we share testimonies, pray and discuss future vision together!