Khao Phanom Christmas Program

Thanks for praying. God heard your prayers!!! We had 32 Non-Christian Thais come to the Christmas program in Khao Phanom. In addition,10 members from Krabi Baptist Church came to help, plus ourselves and Nantana. So altogether, 45 excited people participated in this special Christmas outreach. What a great celebration of the birth of Christ! The children in Khao Din surprised us with a dance that they decided to do on their own. The dance was performed to music of 2 Christian songs. Our pastor from Krabi Baptist preached for 15 minutes and everyone enthusiastically listened. Our co-worker (Nantana) told the Christmas story as we changed scenes using felt figures depicting the story of the angel visiting Joseph & Mary, the shepherds in the field hearing the Good News, and the Magi’s visit to worship the new born king. There was plenty of singing, games and of course prizes. Everyone got a present. With any celebration in Thailand, there must be food. On this day the people in Khao Din provided plenty of food. The entire day was truly a blessing from God.

Krabi Baptist Christmas Celebrations

In Thailand, many think that Christmas is the westerner’s celebration of the New Year. They don’t know that Christmas is the birthday of Jesus Christ. Christmas is truly a special time of year in Thailand. It is the best time of year for Christians in Thailand to explain the meaning of Christmas.
Church Christmas Caroling took place Christmas night by going to homes & businesses of church members. We started at the pastor’s house and proceeded around the province until 3 AM. All were tired and needed lots of sleep, but all had a joyous time singing and praying for of the families of each home where we caroled.
Lotus (the local Walmart type store) allowed us to do a Christmas program in their mall. This included children dancing, Christmas songs, and the pastor telling the meaning of Christmas. While the program was taking place, other members of Krabi Baptist went passing out special Christmas tracts to shoppers.
Krabi Baptist Church invited many Thais to a special community Christmas program on December 27th. The program this year had over 500 people attending. The program was held outside in the field beside the church. Children did traditional Thai dancing, the pastor preached for 15 minutes about Jesus' birth and the worlds desperate need for a Saviour, several plays were performed, lots of games took place and food was eaten at the end of the event. It is our prayer that God works in the lives of the Thais who came to the Christmas program so that they will make Jesus Lord of their lives.

Bicycle Race

On December 11th, Richard entered a mountain bike race in Krabi. He and his friends practiced a few weeks before the race. The competition began near the Andamen Sea and ended on a steep 45 degree angled hill overlooking the sea near Krabi’s Royal Residence. Richard was able to keep up with most contestants through out the race with many being much younger than he. However, the last hill of the race did him in. After 34 kilometers of riding non stop on dirt roads, trails through rubber tree plantations, & a few paved roads, he struggled to make it to the top. Two men in the same age group passed him at the last minute beating him by about 20 seconds! Going across the finish line Richard was exhausted but proud that he had finished the race! After recuperating with 3 bottles of cold water plus 3 bottles of Gatorade type liquid, he felt much better. Overall, Richard came in 12th out of the 26 participants and got a trophy for his efforts.

Lottie Moon

At this time of year we want to express our appreciation of your support through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. This funding helps by providing a truck for us to drive while doing ministry, tracts and books to give out, Bible teaching materials, and resources to do special evangelistic events through out the year. The offering is a vital funding for our organization’s work. Thank you for your support.

Prayer and Praise

1. Praise God that A. Nantana’s baby boy arrived safe and healthy on December 30th. We are now without a Thai co-worker. Pray for God to prepare the right person to work with us.
2. Children’s Day is January 9th. We will be tying balloon animals & giving our Christian tracts in Khao Phanom city. Pray that these activities touch the lives of Thai adults and children that attend the Children’s Day Program.
3. Pray for Ran, a father in a family at Tung Pru, to be completely healed so that he can work again and support his family.
4. Pray for Linda to be completely cured of related effects of chikungunya disease.
5. Pray for the husband, Vern, of a recently deceased Krabi Baptist church member to come to know God as Savior.
6. Pray for the quick and complete healing of Montri, a member of our BlayPraYa seeker group. (He was hit by a motorcycle as he was walking home.)
7. Pray for Kingsley (a Christian from Cameroon) as he teaches and witnesses at Blai PraYa High School, a school of 2,000 students.