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.

MOST WANTED

KHUN FONE – Wanted: to become a Christian. This young married woman came to live in the south with her husband. She works with her husband in the rubber industry, but is often sick. She has migraines which hinder her understanding what she studies with us. Pray that she gives her life to Christ.
KHUN SOM – Wanted: to become a Christian. He is a middle aged rubber farmer. He learned about God from Branee and Bird. He studies with us on and off as we teach Branee & Bird. He tells us that he reads his Bible we gave him and prays each day. He quickly understands the Bible teachings and asks questions. Pray that he give his life to Christ.
KHUN BUN – Wanted: to come to church. She is a young mother, who moved to the south because her husband abandoned her after their daughter was born. A local family is adopting her baby and Bun lives with the parents of the adopting family. She is expected to care for her baby, clean, and look after the fertilizer shop while the family is out selling. She has little money, no vehicle and is living 12 miles deep in the countryside. Pray that she have the opportunity to worship in the city of Khao Phanom each week.

Vegetarian Festival

The Chinese gathered not far from our house in the provincial field next to the city pillar for the opening event of this 10 day festival honoring the 9 emperor sons of the Queen of Heaven. There must have been around 700 people who came including small children. All the Chinese shrines were represented from throughout Krabi Province. Participants came in trucks to transport their small ceramic Chinese gods. Most had big drums and cymbals to bang on along the way. Once in Krabi, they gathered at the field, beat on the drums as if competing with each other. At times the noise was deafening! Then in certain areas, mainly woman dressed in special Chinese style costumes, danced in front of their ceramic gods. There was a group of men with whips that marched around looking as if they were in a trance ready to crack the whips at a moment's notice. Before traveling to Krabi city, most had called down the Chinese gods at their local shrines to inhabit them. (Some were no doubt demon possessed.) Then there were the men & woman who pierced themselves with rods through the cheeks, who were constantly being hydrated. They at least got to sit in chairs until the ceremony was over. The mayor & governor of Krabi said a few words praising the tradition of the Vegetarian Festival. Then the parade into the downtown began.
Each group gathered their gods to carry in palanquins on their shoulders. Other people drove the gods on the back of their pick-up trucks. Loud firecrackers were lit often and Chinese dragons were winding their way along the roads among the gods. Supposedly, the gods had come out to bless their believers. Those mediums for the gods were dressed in Chinese clothing with their eyes rolled back in their heads, drooling, and acting crazy. Some adherents routinely used swords, knives, or axes to cut their tongues. Sometimes large wooden blocks were thrown to guarantee good luck to store owners. At some homes/businesses tables were set with paper money, rice, chrysanthemums, pears, apples, pineapples, drink - all for the gods to spiritually eat and bless the people.
Vegetarian food was everywhere - guaranteeing to cleanse the soul according to their belief. On into the evening trucks drove around with people banging drums and singing. On the last night of the festival, the ceramic gods were driven down to the river to go back into Chinese heaven to the sound of firecrackers and fireworks.
Pray for the people who follow these gods to soon come to know their true creator and Savior.
"For more pictures of the festival, click on the link below":
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2105646&id=1419370438&l=487e5048e9

Vacation

Our schedules are usually busy, so a vacation of peace and quiet was great. We walked on the beach, Richard rode his mountain bike, but most of our time was resting and reading. One day we even went to a tin mine museum. (Tin mining, up until 30 years ago, was the economic mainstay of Phuket island. Now its tourism.)
Walking down the street each night to get supper, we were mobbed by vendors trying to get us to buy all kinds of merchandise from tee shirts to pirated DVDs of all the latest movie hits from the USA. (Many displaced Nepalese and Bangladeshi people are now selling instead of Thais at many beaches in south Thailand.)