Hello friend. Across Asia, the gospel is spoken in quiet but powerful ways. In Laos, believers whisper songs of worship in hidden rooms. In Cambodia, the church’s story is being rewritten—from near extinction to renewal. And as David reminds us this week, our lives—brief as mist—are meant for moments like these.

Each story points us back to one truth: God is always at work, even in the silence. The question is how we’ll use the short breath He’s given us—to spread the good news of Jesus, quietly or otherwise.

In today’s edition:

• The gospel may be quiet, but it’s never silent 

• We’re here for a short time—let’s make the most of it

• How God is rewriting Cambodia’s story

🇱🇦 They are quiet—not silent

Laos is tucked between mountains and borders, where less than 4% of people confess Jesus as Lord and Savior. Communist authorities tightly control religious expression, viewing Christianity as a threat to social unity and government control.

Churches must register with the state, and those who meet without permission risk interrogation, fines, or imprisonment.

Following Jesus here can cost you your home, your freedom, even your safety. Believers are treated as outsiders in a culture shaped by Buddhist and animist traditions, facing rejection from families and local officials.

And yet, the gospel is not silent. 

In hidden rooms and whispered prayers, believers gather in small groups, nurturing faith one family at a time. House churches grow through quiet invitations, discreet Bible distribution, and digital evangelism that reaches places missionaries cannot. 

What happens in those secret places is part of our shared family story. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Let’s not lose sight of that.

How to Pray

• Ask God to give Laotian believers both boldness and wisdom as they live under constant watch.

• Pray that whole families—and even whole villages—would turn to Jesus together, easing isolation.

• Pray for faithful leaders to emerge who can shepherd quietly growing churches under pressure.

Let’s make the most of the mist we have 🤲🏼

I’m writing this on a plane headed toward Brazil, where I’m scheduled to speak at a large missions conference. By God’s grace over recent years, the Brazilian church has been sending multitudes of men and women to unreached places around the world.

But right before I boarded the plane, I received news that the leader responsible for producing this conference, Marco Aurelio, suffered a stroke that caused severe damage to his body and brain. I’d like to ask you to pause and pray for him and for his family as they surround him at the hospital.

As I adjust the message I’m planning to share as this conference opens, I can’t help but to think about the brevity of each of our lives. 

We know what James 4:13 says, that each of us is a “mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” I’m not guaranteed to make it off this plane, and you’re not guaranteed to make it through this article. God makes clear to us that our lives are fragile, and none of us can presume upon another moment.

Yet isn’t this part of the impetus for missions in the first place? 

Yes, we are made to seek and be satisfied in God above all else, and the most important aim of our lives is to know and love Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. But if that was all our lives were about, then just as soon as we were restored to relationship with God through faith in Jesus, He would immediately bring us home to be with Him so that we could love Him perfectly forever. 

However, God hasn’t done that. Instead, He’s left us here (for at least this moment), and He’s given us a mission: to lead people around us and around the world to life in Him. And by the way, all of their lives are a mist, as well.

So I want to encourage you to live with urgency today. Is there anyone in your life who doesn’t know Jesus and hasn’t heard the gospel from you? Why not share the good news about Jesus with them today? Seriously. Why not stop right now, pray for boldness and wisdom to know how best to share the gospel with them, and do it this moment? Or at least before this day ends?

As long as God gives us breath in our lungs, a beat to our hearts, function in our brains, and the ability to communicate with our words, let’s steward these good gifts for the great purpose for which He has left us on this planet: to lead people to eternal life with Him.

And let’s not stop with the people around us. 

Let’s steward the good gifts God has given us for the spread of the gospel to people who have never heard it. Let’s follow in the footsteps of our brother Marco, and as we do, let’s not be surprised that the adversary is at work in this fallen world to prevent the gospel from spreading to the unreached. 

At the same time, let’s remember that this adversary is defeated, and let’s remember how he is defeated. In the words of Revelation 12:10–11…

And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

Let’s praise Jesus for conquering Satan by shedding His blood for our sins, and let’s proclaim Jesus with all of our lives until the moment when this brief mist gives way to brilliant glory that is far beyond what any of us can imagine.

—David Platt

🇰🇭 Renewal in the Shadows

The Details: Cambodia’s story carries both scars and hope. In 1923, the first Protestant missionaries arrived. Forty years later, foreign missionaries were expelled and nearly every church was shut down. 

Today, 95% of Cambodians remain unreached, yet the gospel is quietly spreading again—especially in rural villages where believers share Jesus in simple, relational ways. 

With Radical’s support, ministries are walking with survivors of trafficking, offering safe homes and the hope of Christ, while a local Bible school trains pastors to plant new churches. What was nearly erased is being written anew—God’s hand still moving through His people.

The Takeaways

• God is rewriting Cambodia’s story—quietly, but surely.

• Victims of trafficking are encountering both healing and Christ through local believers.

• Training leaders today means a healthier, more enduring church tomorrow.

How to Pray

• Ask God to strengthen Cambodian believers as they share Christ in hard soil.

• Pray for trafficking survivors to find lasting healing and hope in Jesus.

• Pray for new leaders being trained to plant churches that transform communities for generations.

📍 Attention Worthy

• “No one’s perfect,” as the saying goes. Everyone except Jesus. He was sinless—and that’s good news for those who aren’t.

• Missionaries aren’t superhuman or super-spiritual, but they do need to be competent for the task. Here’s what that looks like.

• Evangelism isn’t the job of paid professionals. Here are practical ways to mobilize ordinary Christians for everyday mission.