Peeking Through the 10/40 Window

By Johnny J. Esposito

It has often been said that first impressions are lasting impressions. While not sure if that is always true, I am certain that our eyes affect our hearts. This principle is taught in God's Word, and has been played out over and over again throughout history. What we see does affect our hearts. Often all it takes is a peek, just a little peek, and the impression can become a "lasting impression."
With God's help, this is exactly what we want to do in this short book... make a lasting impression. My prayer is that God will open our eyes as we take a peek into a window-the 10/40 Window. Many millions of people in this world are lost without Christ, and the vast majority of them have very little hope of ever hearing the Good News of the Gospel. Will you be willing to take a peek into the 10/40 Window along with me and see if we can leave a lasting impression?
By peeking into the 10/40 Window and having our hearts moved with compassion to either "go to the field" or financially support those who surrender to go and do our part in praying, then writing this book has been a good investment of my time and yours.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael Taylor
• Release date: Jun 4, 2016

Book preview

Preface

After a couple of years wrestling with God about the great need around the world, I am finally writing this book that has been on my heart for quite some time. Learning about the 10/40 Window and what I should do about it, spending another year on deputation, and then completing over two years on the mission field in Southeast Asia, this book is just something I felt compelled to do. That gnawing sense of you should be writing wasn’t about to leave me.

Someone once said, If there is a book that you really want to read, and it has not yet been written, then you must write it. Another has written, When genuine passion moves you, say what you have to say....  Still another penned these words, Write what should not be forgotten.

I like what a fellow missionary in Cambodia wrote in the introduction to his book Pioneer Missions: Meet the Challenges, Share the Blessings:

To be honest, if I didn't write, I'd burst! While many older and wiser men might be asked to write on these topics, I feel much like Elihu in Job 32 in regard to some topics in this book. Like him, the spirit within me constrains me…I must speak, that I may find relief. My heart is simply filled with the need to communicate about some of these matters. They are of great importance to me because I believe they are important to my God and Savior Jesus Christ. 

While I may have read a few books similar to this in the past, they have not been written by those who have sent me, who serve with me or support me. This book comes from a passion that God has birthed in my heart over the past few years. I feel it has a message that not only must be read but must not be forgotten. As Forrest McPhail writes, To be honest, if I didn’t write, I’d bust!

Each of us has something about which we are passionate, something that compels us to say the things we say, to do what we do, to spend what we spend, and even to go where we go.

Passionless people are people without purpose, often found drifting aimlessly down the stream of life and never really going anywhere or doing anything of significance for God and their fellow man.

May I share with you what has become a passion of my life over the past few years. The prayer of my heart is that God will use something in this book to stir hearts. May the things that break the heart of God break all of our hearts.

God has given me the privilege to write seven books in the past fifteen years. I love writing. If you were to read these books, you would be able to see my passion.

The books dealt primarily with three different topics.

1. Dealing with the educational problems in American public schools and the need for a distinct Christian education.

2. Dealing with the various social ills in America.

3. Dealing with the great need for revival in America. Oh, how America needs a revival here in the twenty-first century!

Then something happened! God started rocking my world in 2008 and shook my world to its very foundation in 2010. My passion, as well as my purpose in life, changed dramatically.

When God first started working in my heart and life about surrendering to the mission field, I had this overwhelming desire to write about my experience and what God was doing in my heart. Procrastination played a big role in my delay because I felt I needed to be on the field for a longer period of time to get a proper perspective before writing.

I have now been on the field for over two years. An expert? Hardly! In fact, it seems like the longer I am here the more I realize how little I know about God’s heart for the world and this thing we call world-wide missions. By God’s grace, He is definitely working on me.

I now feel it is time to write about some of my experiences and about the passion God has placed in my heart. Perhaps after many more years on the field, there will be a sequel to this book.

Who would have dreamed 38 years ago that one day I would be living in Southeast Asia. Even 30 years ago when I graduated from Bible college or 20 years ago while serving at Cambodian Baptist Church in Long Beach, California, I never imagined that my new wife and I would be living here.

I was working as assistant pastor, administrator at Pacific Baptist School, vice president of Pacific Baptist Bible College and experiencing a flourishing ministry. But God had other plans for our lives.

Well, guess what? My wife and I are presently living in Southeast Asia. We have been here for two years now. We spent the first 17 months serving with our team located in the country of Laos and are now living and serving alongside our team in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This area is often referred to as the 10/40 Window. It has been an interesting journey, and we look forward to what God has in store for our future.

Maybe some are wondering how we ended up in Southeast Asia. We have five children serving the Lord full-time, four of them married, and 15 grandchildren. We were part of a great ministry.

In this book, I will share a bit of how God brought us to this place in our lives, what He has been teaching us and continues to teach us, along with some observations about missions.

From the new kid on the block’s perspective, I would like to share the great need for more laborers and resources in the 10/40 Window in general and Southeast Asia more specifically.

Prayerfully this book will give us a small peek at the 10/40 Window and a glimpse of what and where the 10/40 Window is. Perhaps also it will give a clearer understanding of the great physical and spiritual needs found in this area.

Introduction

It has often been said that first impressions are lasting impressions. While not sure if that is always true, I am certain that our eyes affect our hearts. This is taught in God’s Word and it has been played out over and over again throughout history.

Lamentations 3:51,  Mine eye affecteth mine heart ...

It is definitely true, what we see does affect our hearts, sometimes for the bad and sometimes for the good. Amazingly, often all it takes is just a peek and the impression that is made can be a lasting impression. ONE THAT COULD LAST A LIFETIME!

With God’s help, we want to take a peek into the window–the 10/40 Window. My prayer is that God will open our eyes as we look and that it will have a lasting impression.

Of course, what your eyes read in this book will most likely not affect your heart like a trip to this part of the world, but there is one thing that I do know. Most of those who will read this book have had very little interest in visiting the part of