Hat Yai Flood Relief

Ten thousand tourists were stranded in Hat Yai. “The water came so fast we couldn’t get much of our possessions upstairs.” “The water was 5-10 feet in different parts of the city.” “I saw my refrigerator floating downstairs in the flood water.” “I couldn’t wait for the city water to come back on so I used dish soap and flood water to clean the marks & mud off my walls and floors.” These were just a few comments of people affected by the flood.

The pastor’s car at HatYai Baptist and the church vehicle were submerged in the flooding. The pastor didn’t have insurance. His car was stripped to the bare metal. In the church’s parking lot, a man using a high powered washer was cleaning the inside of the shell of the pastor’s car.

Church members came and cleaned the inside of the church building. Desks and chairs were warped. Office equipment such as printers, paper, & literature were lost. Wet hymnals and Bibles were spread out to dry.

We were asked to help another missionary couple get and distribute bags of food. Food was brought to HatYai Baptist Church, put in bags and distributed to families near the church. One community on an island where there is a small 4-5 member worship group also got help. The Thai Baptist Association in Bangkok sent 1,000 bags of items to be passed out. During the handing out of bags at the church, the gates had to be shut so that enough aid would be left to give out on a nearby island. On the island, a community government official helped us get food to those most in need. Our 3-day work helped the community. Thank you Southern Baptists for your help through the Disaster Relief Fund!

Loy Gra-Tong Celebration

This annual ceremony is asking forgiveness of the Mae Kong River for polluting the water. It is also the floating away of your sins. This year the celebration was held on a weekend. Some people painstakingly prepared their floats. Many venders also came to sell to those not having the time to prepare a proper gra-tong. These beautiful floats are made with a section of banana trunk as a base, with flowers, incense, candles and a small coin on top.
The worshippers go to the nearest river or body of water when it gets dark. There they pray to mother earth to forgive them for polluting the water. Then they gently push their small floats into the stream and watch it disappear in the current.

MOST WANTED

Khun El is paralyzed. She has been studying the Bible with us for about 7 months. When we first met her, she could not move her legs much and her foot was stiff and hard. She is improving and she can now kneel and come up straight on her knees with help. Pray for her to walk again & become a Christian.
Khun Guy is the father of 6 children. We teach 3 of them and those 3 profess faith in God. He is a tenant rubber worker. He is addicted to playing cards and has caused his family much grief. He says he has to be perfect to become a Christian. Pray that he will allow God to change his life.
Yik is the wife of Guy. She is a hard worker. She has come to church with us several times. She is afraid for her children to become Christians, but is not formally blocking them from coming. She blames her husband for their family’s money problems. Pray for her to trust in God and depend upon Him for the needs of her family.

Prayer & Praise

1. Praise God for the Disaster Relief fund which made it possible for our flood
relief efforts.
2. Pray for Yik, Guy & El to become Christians.
3. Pray for our Christmas program that we’ll present in 6 schools to be effective in
presenting the Christmas story.
4. Pray for some to come to know God from our church Christmas program in Khao Phanom
and in Krabi town.
5. Pray for Som, Fone, and Nit to consistently study the Bible with us.
6. Pray for us to find a clean stream to baptize in Khao Phanom.
7. Pray for more Thais to come worship with us in Khao Phanom.