Jiap

Jiap had a dream in which she went to the bathroom to wash her face. As she looked in the mirror, she thought this is odd, “I have a beard. My face is like a face of a man. I look like Jesus!” When Jiap woke from the dream, she became excited and called us about 9:30 a.m. She said she thought that Jesus was reminding her to learn the Bible & become more like Him. She asked us to return to teach her the Bible. Words can’t express how happy we were! We are teaching her lessons for new Christians. She is showing more growth and A. Dusit at Krabi Baptist has agreed to baptize her. Once she is baptized next month we will continue teaching her the Chronological Bible Stories so she can have a better Christian foundation of belief.

Seminary Students

The week of April 1st seminary students helped Krabi Baptist Church and one day also helped us in Khao Phanom. They were great to watch witnessing. Some had not had a lot of practice passing out tracts and talking to other Thais about God. As their day with us ended, we saw improvement in their boldness and presentations. Each Sunday we are so grateful that members from Krabi go out with us to witness and talk to interested non-Christian Thais.

Thailand Baptist Association Camp

Over 700 Thai Baptists from all over Thailand converged on the Baptist Camp in Pattaya, about 2 hours southeast of Bangkok. The business part of the meeting took place first. Then they focused on a revival which lasted the next two days. Seminars and Bible studies occurred as well. A mass baptism in the Gulf of Thailand was held the first afternoon. Richard was asked to baptize a man from Krabi church. Our Southern Thai team spent time eating together, playing games, and participating in the meetings. Over 150 Thais from the south attended.

Bangkok

We stayed in Bangkok after the Associational meeting to appear at the Immigration Office in Bangkok before our visa expired and pay for the new visas. We received a new visa for next year while waiting 2+ hours. Using the opportunity to be in Bangkok we saw doctors and had several tests done. Our health is good and the doctors ordered physical therapy for Linda's wrist and are adjusting medications for Richard's cholesterol. We also had the chance to visit with some Thai and western friends.

Ganchanadit

We returned to Ganchanadit this month in Surat province. We had been struggling with whether to continue going there because of the time involved in travel. We knew that going there once a month was not really enough to teach the Bible, nor fair to the ladies studying. We talked it over with these ladies and it was agreed that they would begin doing Bible Correspondence. We are sad that we no longer will be going to personally teach them. However, it appears to be the best solution at this time.

Thai New Year

Thai New Year occurs each year from April 13th -15th. Because it happens during the dry season, it is an occasion to get wet and feel cool. Throughout the country, people return to their hometowns. Buses, trains and planes are filled to capacity. The first day of the New Year, Thais go to bless and receive blessings from the older generation. The following days they visit friends and have lots of fun throwing water on each other. This festival has gotten out of hand in recent times and this year the government asked the people to have their fun a little more respectfully. While in Bangkok, Richard and I received our share of wet blessings.

Praise and Prayer Requests

1. Jiap is now selling Cell Food Supplement and is better able to pay her bills. Pray for God to bless her work. Jiap returned to studying the Bible. Continue praying that she will grow in the Lord & soon be baptized.
2. The ladies in Ganchanadit to do the Bible Correspondence Courses and become Christians.
3. For Lek, who Richard baptized in Pattaya, to grow in his Christian faith.
4. For more Thais to come to faith at Krabi Baptist Church and the church members to impact their community for Christ.
5. For physical therapy to cause healing of Linda’s arm and hand.
6. Pray for our former Thai language teacher, A. Tittaya, to heal quickly from a stroke and be able to return to work soon.
7. We are re-writing some Chronological Bible Stories to simplify them and make them easier to teach. Pray that this effort goes smoothly.