God’s Miracle - El Walks

Exciting news from Khao Phanom. El walks. When we first met her 3 years ago, El’s legs were gray, hard and scaly she with no feeling in her legs and had been confined to her bed for 2 years. Before we left Thailand two years later, she could stand and walk some with help. On March 4th, El got baptized in the swimming pool of one of Krabi Baptist Church’s members. Praise God for all He is doing in El’s life. Please continue praying for her to grow in her faith and have more stability when she walks.

Krabi Baptist Church has been faithful in keeping up with those in Khao (Cow) Phanom (Pa-Nom) who have made a profession of faith. Members of Krabi Baptist have continued teaching one of our groups, encouraging those who are interested. Each Sunday afternoon, the pastor (A. Dusit) has preached at Khao Phanom Baptist Church and his members have been faithful in supporting that work on Sunday afternoons. Praise God for this Church and their members, who willingly give up their only free afternoon each week to serve God.

SPEAKING FROM COAST TO COAST

Since returning to the U.S., we have spoken from coast to coast - Carolina to California about the work we were involved with in Thailand. We have been able to share about Thailand’s darkness & lostness apart from Jesus Christ. We have shared the stories of Bird & Branee, as well as El, Mike, Sai & Ngam. Also we have shared of the faithfulness of Krabi Baptist Church in following up in their vision of a church in Khao Phanom district. We are awed at God’s work among the Southern Thai.

MEETING AN OLD THAI FRIEND

While in California, we met with an old Thai friend. We first met Verachai Saechang 26 years ago, when we were assigned to attend his father’s church in Bangkok. We had not seen him in about 15 years. What a joy to re-connect with him while we attended a Global Missions Conference in California, speak to his wife by phone and find out about his life in America.

Prayer & Praise

1. Pray for El to steadily grow in her faith in Jesus Christ and have more stability
in walking.
2. Praise God for the faithfulness of Krabi Baptist Church in working with the new
church in Khao Phanom.
3. Pray that Khao Phanom Baptist Church members be faithful in attendance,
especially Bird.
4. Pray for Sef’s family to grow in their faith and for his wife Tik to believe and
soon make a public profession of faith.
5. Pray that Ngam, Sai & Mike will continue to have Christian mentors and that their
parents will believe in Jesus Christ.
6. Pray that the members of Krabi Baptist will effectively communicate their faith
in God.
7. Pray that the radio station located in Krabi Baptist Church will broadly sow the
Gospel in Krabi Province

Vegetarian Festival

The end of September the Vegetarian Festival began. This festival is a clear demonstration of the animistic and demonic forces among our people group, especially those with Chinese ancestry.
The festival begins and is centered around local Chinese temples. To begin the festival, they erect bamboo poles for the gods to descend from heaven. They believe these gods (sons of the Chinese Queen of Heaven) oversee, protect and bless the event. All participants wear white and eat only vegetables in order to cleanse themselves. Participants are expected to go to the temple daily to make merit and to receive good fortune.
The most disturbing aspect of the festival are the scores of people (men, women and children) that open themselves up to be possessed by evil spirits. Each day parades, which last for hours, march through city streets and are filled with those who claim to be possessed by these spirits. They file through the streets shaking their heads side to side and with their eyes rolled back into their head. Many of them pierce themselves with knives, swords, poles, picks, etc., usually through both sides of the face in order to demonstrate to the crowd that the power of the gods is able to protect them.

Please join us in prayer for the hearts of these people. Our desire is that the Southern Thai would cast off their fear of spirits and submit themselves to the one true God who has power over all. May the Lord reign among the Southern Thai!

Visit with a Friend

We visited some Thais we had known through the years in south Thailand. One of those was a girl named Dang (not her real name). She was a m*slim, who came to have a relationship with Jesus Christ about 10 years ago through the witness of 2 journeymen. However, over a year ago, her family put pressure on Dang to marry a m*slim man. This was an arranged marriage. She now has a small child and goes to a church in another town when her husband is away. She wanted Richard to do a private ceremony dedicating her baby to God. Once we were alone, Richard did the ceremony. We gave Dang a letter explaining the meaning of the baby dedication. She is to present the letter when her child reaches adulthood. Dang clearly made a wrong choice in getting married to please her family. However, please pray for her to be able to withstand the pressures of family and maintain her faith in Jesus. Pray that she may be able to share her faith with other m*slim women without endangering her life. Pray also for her husband who is a strict m*slim to have miraculous Damascus road experience and become a strong believer.

Saying Goodbye

The Krabi Church gave us a going away dinner. The members of the church fixed different foods that have been our favorites like sweet & sour fish & musselman curry. Church members sang a song which flooded our minds with pleasant memories of our shared time together. Several stood and gave testimonies about the work we had done in Krabi Province & how it had affected their lives. Later others came privately to tell of their appreciation for our years of service.

On Sunday the members in Khao Phanom Baptist Church gave us a special dinner to celebrate our work among them. We were blessed! Pray for the small group of worshippers in Khao Phanom to grow in faith. Pray for them to be a strong witness to draw others to God.