Bird and Brani

One day passing out tracts in Khao Phanom, our Thai co-worker, A. Nantana met Brani. Nantana explained that we were followers of Jesus and wanted to tell others about God. Brani said that she followed a Japanese Buddhist cult. After exchanging thoughts about what they believed, Brani asked A. Nantana to send her a VCD on the life of Christ and Christian book. The following weeks we returned to see if she had read what had been given her. Brani said that she had and each time wanted more books.
While we were sitting on her front porch one afternoon, Brani’s son, Bird came up. He asked what we were doing. After telling him we were followers of Jesus, he disappeared into the house. A few minutes later, he returned with a Gideon’s Thai/English New Testament. He began asking questions about Christians, prayer, and God. We answered his questions for about 45 minutes. Then we asked if he and his mother would like to study the Bible with us. We agreed upon a time beginning the following Tuesday.
The following Tuesday we were visiting some people in Khao Phanom, when Linda’s telephone rang. It was Bird wanting to know if we were coming to teach. He had wanted us to come earlier than we had promised. After finishing our visit, we went immediately to Bird’s house. Bird had lots of questions about God and why God wasn’t answering his prayers.
As we were eating lunch the following week, Bird called Linda’s phone again. This time he wanted to know if we were coming to his house since it was raining. He was pleased that we were coming & wouldn’t allow a hard rain to stop us. We talked about Christian baptism and the Lord’s Supper. To our surprise, he wanted to be baptized because he had already made up his mind to follow Jesus! We asked him to study more before he committed to such a big step.
When people are empty and without meaning in life, GOD’S WORD draws people to HIMSELF. Keep praying for Brani & Bird.

Annual Meeting

Approximately 300+ persons attended our organizations annual meeting for SE Asia. Our new leader gave much encouragement and his ideas for a new direction in our area was very motivating. We heard practical and inspiring preaching and uplifting music from a church in Alabama.
Richard & I spent some of the time helping out in the office set-up for the meeting. This gave us a chance to serve others and we kept pretty busy. We had excellent help from several volunteers in getting things set up, keeping track of equipment, and directing people to the right rooms for meetings. Everyone had safe travel to and from the meeting. Thanks for your prayers!!

Katie

What can a person do in 6 weeks of teaching in a Thai school?
After her shock of sleeping on a pallet on the floor each night, “squatty potties” (toilets), and cold dip baths, Katie adjusted well. Living at the school in one of the houses provided for teachers has been good for Katie. She has learned to eat a variety of Thai foods daily with the teachers . Many times trying to smile while eating foods she didn’t like. In the evening she exercised with them.
At her desk, Katie had her Bible, Christian tracts, and an Evangi-Cube. During long breaks, she read her Bible and did a Bible Study. When students and teachers asked her about what she was doing, Katie had an opportunity to tell them about God. During her English classes, Katie taught songs like “My God is so big” to her students too. Before leaving to return to America, her students lined the way out of the school to say “Goodbye” to her.
During her time here, Katie has had opportunity to get close to two teachers, A. Nit and A. Biap. As she got closer to these teachers, they opened up and told her about their struggles in life. Her housemate, Nit, wanted a Bible to read and has been asking questions about what she has read. Nit was impressed by the geneology of Jesus in Matthew chapter one because of her Chinese background. Once back in America, Katie will keep in contact with her new Thai friends and will be emailing some favorite scripture verses for A. Nit to read. Another teacher, who was closed, has begun asking questions, as well. Two students have shown interest in God and asked for a visit and more Christian literature.
Before leaving a teacher told Katie, “Thank you for coming and bringing so much good to our school.”
What can a person do in 6 weeks in a Thai? They can be a good friend and share the love Jesus with others.

Prayer and Praise

1. Praise God for the inspiring annual meeting and our time in the office which helped us better understand the inner working of such a big meeting.
2. Praise God for Katie’s 6 weeks in Blai Praya which produced some Thais (students and teachers) wanting to know more about God and one requesting a Bible to read.
3. Pray for us to find the all of the people from the Mobile Clinic, who said they wanted to know God.
4. Nantana has been pretty sick with morning sickness and a bleeding stomach ulcer. Pray for Nantana’s health to improve.
5. Pray that all the members of the Tung Pru group will soon accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.
6. Pray for more adult Thais to join in studying the Bible with us in Khao Phanom.
7. Pray for our plans to encourage our groups by bringing them together soon.
8. Praise God for good results from our annual medical tests.