Paige Turner

PHILIPPINES (BP) -- When someone shouted, "Your uncle is coming," everyone in the Philippine village knew the code meant "run and hide." Neighbors disappeared into small concrete homes until International Mission Board missionaries Dave and Ivette Daggett had come and gone. A few, however, including 13-year-old Berlyn Familaran, stuck around to hear what the foreigners had to say.

SOUTHEAST ASIA (BP) -- Mark Harrison's focus appeared to be solely on the family he had come to visit. It wasn't the North Carolina pastor's first visit to this home in a remote Southeast Asian village tucked among lush, green mountains. He had visited the family during other trips to the villages of the "T" people. Although the youngest sister and her husband had become Christians, her parents and three sisters never seemed interested in the Gospel.

THAILAND (BP) -- They walked a couple of blocks to escape the crowds and loud music, gathered in a quaint coffee shop while local musicians practiced below and took turns telling about conversations with friends during the past hour of outreach. The five college students retold conversations with excitement because they'd met with friends, yet their words were also marked by heartache at the weightiness of their friends' struggles: low self-esteem, loneliness, family problems, unhappiness at work and financial issues.

SOUTHEAST ASIA (BP) -- International Mission Board missionaries serve all over the world. They help tell people about Jesus in jungles, huge cities and rural villages. They’re serving among people from various cultures and religious backgrounds. But missions isn’t just for the international missionary. Believers can be involved in global missions right where they live. And, missions isn’t just for adults. By helping children participate in missions, parents can prepare them for a lifestyle that’s focused on serving God and others.

SOUTH ASIA (BP) -- Kathy* didn't know being able to drive a stick-shift vehicle would introduce her to the man with whom she'd serve a decade overseas, fight cancer and, come retirement, help disciple local believers in Asia. It all started when players at a Baptist Student Union flag football game asked Kathy and her friends if they would get more water for the team.

THAILAND (BP) -- "This is Jay," Lorena Mayhugh said as she introduced the Thai-Chinese man next to her to a colleague at the Baptist Student Center in Bangkok, Thailand. "He's Dr. Jay now," she added with a big smile. A few minutes later another colleague walked by and the 94-year-old English teacher quickly asked if he'd met her former student.

SOUTHEAST ASIA (BP) -- When Autumn James* arrived at the house church late one evening, she was expecting a somber gathering. But local believers surprised her as they sang loudly and with boldness in a country where many Christians are persecuted for their faith. "I had in my mind we needed to be quiet, to turn the lights off," James said. "But they sing the loudest of anyone I've ever met. … They still praised God. I was impressed … living their lives so boldly. "It changed my perspective on worship."

SOUTHEAST ASIA (BP) -- When Mark Harrison began praying about embracing an unreached, unengaged people group with the Gospel, he had no idea where to start. "I was desperate," he said. "What do you do? Throw a dart at the map?"

SOUTHEAST ASIA (BP) -- They sat on the floor of a home in a "T" people fishing village with their eyes fixed on the pastor from North Carolina. The men and women appeared to listen intently as he shared from Genesis how God created the earth.

BANGKOK, Thailand (BP) -- In a country that has already endured months of political unrest, International Mission Board leaders are calling believers to fervent prayer for Thailand after the Royal Thai Army declared martial law last week and gained control of the government in a coup two days later.