{"id":7005,"date":"2019-07-16T15:25:44","date_gmt":"2019-07-16T15:25:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maiglobal.org\/?p=7005"},"modified":"2019-07-16T17:05:20","modified_gmt":"2019-07-16T17:05:20","slug":"god-always-gives-second-chances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maiglobal.org\/id\/god-always-gives-second-chances\/","title":{"rendered":"“God always gives second chances”"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
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Photo is not the actual book festival described in this article<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On a warm Wednesday morning this March, MAI\u2019s Ramon Rocha strolled with Joseph (a pseudonym) to witness the first book festival in this closed country of Asia. Hundreds of uniformed school children lined the sidewalks in front of book stalls flanking an urban mall. Under a large covered tent, crimson-robed Buddhist monks clustered on chairs beside high schoolers to glean wisdom at an author\u2019s book launch. More than 2,000 readers perused and purchased titles each day. Joseph\u2019s help coordinating the 11-day event had paid off.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to push people to love reading,\u201d<\/strong> Joseph said.<\/strong> As a child, he was forced to repeat several grades\u00a0 and endured his classmates\u2019 cruel teasing as he struggled to read and write. He finally became an accomplished reader thanks to his younger sister\u2019s daily tutelage.<\/p>\n

A passion for words and languages has fueled Joseph\u2019s pursuits ever since. After mastering English, at age 25 he launched Hosanna Translation Services. Since then the business has translated dozens of children\u2019s books, theological titles, Christian living and UN health materials.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo of anonymous Asian man by David Hendriyan, Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last year Joseph\u2019s story detailing his hardship learning to read was published as You Can Read<\/em>, a bilingual literacy coloring book for kids by Firefly Publishers. Christian publishing is illegal here, but the 36-year-old father of three regularly shares his faith on Facebook with 5,000 \u201cfriends,\u201d careful not to criticize readers\u2019 beliefs.<\/p>\n

Joseph\u2019s parents, ardent Buddhists, once threatened to disown him. Despite their disapproval, he decided to follow Christ after accompanying a friend to church at age 15. He has pursued Jesus since then, albeit down a rocky path.<\/p>\n

A flourishing youth ministry today stems from Joseph\u2019s dating troubles. Love and sex are taboo topics in this culture, so when he and his girlfriend of three years succumbed to sexual temptation, they had nowhere to turn. \u00a0The guilt-ridden couple wanted to marry, but lacked funds. When she became pregnant, the couple prayed for solutions. They considered abortion but, \u201cWe decided to do the right thing,\u201d Joseph said. They borrowed funds for the wedding and an apartment deposit.<\/p>\n

Today Joseph and his wife aim to break the cultural silence by leading two-day relationship workshops with churches. Other counselors help respond to thousands of questions on their popular Facebook page. \u201cWe tell youth that God always gives second chances to repent. It\u2019s never too late to start anew,\u201d<\/strong> he said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Young and old alike can hear the Good News via Joseph\u2019s current project, the country\u2019s third international Gospel music festival this November. A founding organizer, he says bands from multiple nations will perform before at least a thousand guests each day at an outdoor venue. Although public preaching is forbidden from the stage, \u201cwe believe that Jesus Christ can work in non-believer\u2019s hearts through music,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A message of grace also permeates Joseph\u2019s forthcoming book for singles, \u201cHealthy Relationships and Pure Living: 99 difficult questions about love and sex.\u201d He requests prayer for its publication and his newest project\u2014the founding of a Christian printing house. \u201cI know many local authors whose writing is ready to print and inspire readers,\u201d he said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

>>Christian publishers and writers “on the front lines” are being equipped and encouraged because of your partnership. Donate online<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On a warm Wednesday morning this March, MAI\u2019s Ramon Rocha strolled with Joseph (a pseudonym) to witness the first book festival in this closed country of Asia. Hundreds of uniformed school children lined the sidewalks in front of book stalls flanking an urban mall. Under a large covered tent, crimson-robed Buddhist monks clustered on chairs […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7008,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"iawp_total_views":6,"footnotes":""},"categories":[306,307,45],"tags":[13,536,339,235],"class_list":["post-7005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia","category-christian-writer","category-publishing","tag-asia","tag-book-festival","tag-christian-author","tag-christian-publishing"],"yoast_head":"\n"God always gives second chances" - Media Associates International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/maiglobal.org\/id\/god-always-gives-second-chances\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"id_ID\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""God always gives second chances" - Media Associates International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On a warm Wednesday morning this March, MAI\u2019s Ramon Rocha strolled with Joseph (a pseudonym) to witness the first book festival in this closed country of Asia. 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