March 2012

 

Greetings from Thailand once again.  Praise the Lord for His faithfulness, especially in difficult situations.  2012 has started off on a bad note, but we are confident in God’s provision and care.  As is typical, we have both good news and bad news to report. 

The bad news

One of the men that started studying in Bible Institute with us and his wife (she was saved at our church seven years ago) allowed someone (from another church) to start a Bible study at their home.  After only a few days, they decided that I was a false teacher and confronted me about my false teaching.  They claimed the Holy Spirit told them that they no longer could sin.  They immediately left the church on the eve of their sons baptism and tried to lure everyone away with them.  Fortunately, no one, except them, left.  It is sad to see one of your most faithful couples fall into false teaching and stray from the Lord.  It just confirms even more that our hope is not in men.  In all bad there is good.   

The good news

The college students that I referenced in our last letter have been very faithful to attend church and have been a real blessing and encouragement.  God is really doing a work at North-Chiang Mai University.  The daughter of one of our members accepted the Lord last year and followed the Lord in baptism at the end of January.  It is such a blessing to have baptized his mom and dad 7 years ago and now baptize their daughter too!  Our Christmas activities went well.  The church-wide Christmas party was attended by about 60 people, many of whom were visitors.  None have visited the church yet, but contacts were made.    Lastly we praise the Lord for the marriage of my son Matthew to Pauline in January.  They will continue to live in Thailand while Matt finishes Bible institute then begins other preparations for missionary service in Europe.   

  Prayer Requests:  Thanks for your faithful prayers for this ministry.  Please pray for the professors Mike works with: Aom, Ying, Noh, and Ann for salvation. Also pray for Mike’s students for salvation and spiritual growth.  Pray for the Bible school students: Tom, Matt, Dtom.  Continue to pray for the Sullivant family as they begin the difficult work of planting a church in Phitsunalok.  Pray for our special summer activities with the college students (summer is March-May).  You can view pictures of our various ministry activities as well as sign-up for updates at our web site  www.thaimissions.org.  We pray God’s blessing on you as you continue to faithfully serve the Lord! 

 

For Christ in Thailand,

 

Mike & Francis Frederick

BWMOM, Thailand

www.thaimissions.org

 

This rainy season (May-October) has been a very wet one but we have avoided catastrophic floods like other parts of the country until now. The last several days have brought torrential rains and the river Ping finally over-flowed her banks. Fortunately our home has been spared (thus far) but traffic is a mess and many people’s homes have been devastated. Please pray for Chiang Mai during this difficult time. The road to Lamphun province The super-highway where it crosses the river The night bazaar (obviously closed down)

Praise the Lord for His faithfulness and enabling. After 8 ½ years in Thailand I am slowing starting to realize how big and difficult the task is that is before us. Yet in it all, we can see the hand of the Lord working in Thailand. New Life Baptist, Chiang Mai. The rainy season has been dry concerning new visitors and people being saved. We had one young man (about 24) who was saved and baptized and has been faithful to services since. We have also had a young man (about 23) who has left the church in order to marry an unsaved woman. It is always difficult to see people fall out of fellowship with the Lord, but we thank God for the way He continues to work in many lives. Sakhorn (Bible school graduate last year) has started taking on more responsibilities in the church and now leads a weekly discipleship class as well as a new teen Sunday school class. Next month he will also teach his first class in the Bible institute. It is encouraging to see him continue to grow and serve the Lord. The Bible institute has grown and now includes five men. Three Thai men have enrolled and have all expressed an interest in serving the Lord in some capacity in the future. We now have Bible Institute classes four times a week (two in English and two in Thai). We continue to teach English at the North Chiang Mai University and are trying to make an impact with both the students and professors. Additionally, another opportunity has presented itself to help Thai High School teachers in Northern Thailand with their English skills. Although teaching English is not my priority, this is a very effective way to meet and develop relationships with other Thai professionals. Thailand is a relationship based society, so sharing the gospel is much less confrontational when presented amongst those with whom a relationship has been established. Newsletter Ministry: The newsletter ministry is finished with mixed results. We were proud of how the members of New Life Baptist church responded by faithfully distributing the newsletters each month. Unfortunately, the responses have been almost non-existent. We can rest in the fact that God’s Word has been spread and perhaps seed has been planted for later harvest. Family News: In addition to the excitement of our son getting married in January, we just found out that our oldest daughter will be having our first grandchild in April 2012. Prayer requests: Please pray for the professors Mike works with: Aom, Ying, Noh, and Ann for salvation. Also, continue to pray for the many backsliden: Ahm, Mae, Bhun, Ayima, Maem, Tom and Ann. Pray for the Bible school students: Tom, Matt, Tiang, Dtom, and Sombhun,. Pray for the Sullivant family (presently helping in Chiang Mai) as they seek the Lord’s direction for their future ministry. They have been such a blessing to our church in the two years they have attended language school, and we will be sorry to see them leave but excited about their future ministry. We pray God’s blessing on you as you continue to faithfully serve the Lord! For Christ in Thailand, Mike & Francis Frederick BWMOM, Thailand www.thaimissions.org

Greetings, Please be in prayer for our annual revival meetings this weekend. We will begin on Saturday the 23rd at 7 PM (8AM EST Saturday morning). We will have five meetings total on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. We have passed out many fliers and invited many friends and co-workers. We are praying for many to be saved and hearts to be stirred. I will update you when the meetings are over. For the Lord in Thailand Mike Frederick

May 2011 Psalms 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. This is a passage that encourages me because often serving the Lord involves waiting on the Lord which doesn’t come naturally to most of us. Yet it is a joy to see the Lord break through and work in people’s hearts. Does this mean I have some spectacular news to report? No. It just means I am waiting patiently on the Lord and based on what He has done, I know that He is and will continue to work. New Life Baptist, Chiang Mai. We were able to celebrate Resurrection Sunday with a sunrise service at a local river. After singing, praying, some preaching, and taking communion together, we returned to church to eat breakfast, fellowship and celebrate the Lord’s resurrection with our regularly scheduled services. We were pushing for a big weekend and had one new unsaved adult visitor! We were also pleasantly surprised at the efforts of one of our ladies to bring several children to church. Unbeknownst to us, she had been doing a Bible club at her home with several neighborhood children, and their parents finally consented to allow them to come to church (mostly 10-12 year olds). This is exactly the kind of effort a church planter wants to see. Often everything rides on the back of the church planter and his programs and efforts. It is therefore a great joy to see the church members taking the initiative in serving the Lord. Newsletter Ministry: We have been humbled by the many gifts for the newsletter printing that we have received. As a result, almost all of our planned newsletters have been paid for. We are currently editing our final edition; we plan to print 12,000 copies which is twice as many as normal (6000 copies). It will be a special edition containing the testimonies and pictures of many of our members. We are hoping to have a few testimonies in the Northern Thai dialect as well. We trust this will prove to be a good capstone to the foundation laid in the previous newsletters. Please pray that the Lord will use this ministry to penetrate the Thai heart. Family News: I am happy to say that Matthew (our second oldest) has become engaged to a lovely young French lady who attends university in Chiang Mai. They will be getting married on January 7th, 2012 in Chiang Mai. Please pray for them as they make preparations to embark on a life of service together for the Lord. Prayer requests: Please pray for the professors Mike works with: Aom, Ying, Noh, and Ann for salvation. Also, pray for Mike’s new students this term (names unknown as of yet). Also continue to pray for the many backsliden: Ahm, Mae, Bhun, Ayima, Maem, and Ann. Pray for the Bible school students: Tom, Matt, Tiang, Dtom, Katae, and Somsri. Pray for the Sullivant family as they seek the Lord’s direction for their future ministry. They have been such a blessing to our church in the two years they have attended language school, and we will be sorry to see them leave but excited about their future ministry. We pray God’s blessing on you as you continue to faithfully serve the Lord! For Christ in Thailand, Mike & Francis Frederick BWMOM, Thailand www.thaimissions.org

March 2011 Happy Summer! With the close of February we have the privilege of welcoming the hot weather (It’s in the mid 90’s right now). This year marks our eighth of serving the Lord in Thailand, and it also marks the tenth year since we started raising support. What a blessing to have so many churches and individuals behind us for such a long period of time. New Life Baptist Chiang Mai. In December a friend of one of our members started attending church. She was pregnant without a husband and was in a very stressful situation, wanting to give away the child. She was saved in January and has since had her child and decided to keep her. It will be tough for her, but what a blessing to see her faithfully attending church and deciding that she wants to raise her child for God’s glory instead of giving her away. We are still distributing the Twelve Questions newsletters every month. We are printing and ready to start distributing the question concerning the Cross of Christ and the resurrection of Christ (March and April). This project has not yielded much in the way of fruit yet, but it has been a blessing to see the members of New Life Baptist church work tirelessly to distribute these newsletters to friends, family and neighbors. We are still accepting special contributions for this project. Special offerings can be given via BWMOM and designated “Thailand Newsletter Printing”. Bible Institute: Mike is currently teaching Systematic Theology classes in English in the evenings and has started a new class, Old Testament Survey, on Friday evenings for the Thai. Three students have registered for credit and two for audit. These classes are an important aspect of our ministry as this is the avenue by which we will train local leaders to send out as future missionaries, church planters, pastors, and Sunday school teachers. Family News: Joshua had the chance to come visit for Christmas and returned to the states too quickly. He is enrolled at a Christian college studying graphic arts. He is doing well at college and really enjoying the various aspects of college life. It was great to see how he has grown spiritually while away. Matthew will graduate in March 2011 from the local International University with a bachelor’s degree in English Communication. He has already started a job (part time until graduation) as a teacher at a bi-lingual school. He will continue to study at the Bible Institute during the evenings as God has called him into the ministry. Matthew helps with the music ministry and preaches occasionally as the Lord opens opportunities. He also co-teaches the English language Sunday school class. Hannah just celebrated her sixteenth birthday and is finishing her sophomore year of high school (home school). She is active in the church by helping to clean and most importantly, playing the piano and helping in the nursery. She is a fine young lady who loves the Lord and is helpful beyond measure. Our oldest daughter is in Okinawa with her husband who is in the US Air Force. It is great that they are active in a good church on Okinawa and are actively serving the Lord. We are proud parents and happy that everyone is active serving the Lord (albeit we are starting to get a little too spread out). College Ministry: The English classes have slowed down considerably at the university and will be shut down for the summer. We are praying for guidance concerning this ministry. The student center didn’t go very well, and we are in the process of re-evaluation. Lord willing, we will be able to tweak some things and continue our ministry at the North Chiang Mai University. The two missionary families, the Sullivants and the Angeles, have been an encouragement and blessing beyond description. My classes have ended, and I am happy to report that they went fairly well. I have had the opportunity to make some inroads with several students and the “ice” has been broken. Village Ministry: I hate to be the one to report bad news, but this ministry is just not going anywhere right now. We were initially encouraged when the lady under church discipline started attending services again with the understanding that she needed to confess before the church. Yet she has still not agreed to confess and has since stopped coming faithfully again. Most of the young people (16+) continue to leave this village for work in the city and the older people (40+) are becoming harder towards the gospel. Pray with us as we try to determine what is best to do about this work. Sakhorn is very discouraged, as am I, concerning this work; but no one can say that it is through a lack of trying or dedication. Prayer requests: Please pray for Ahm, Mae, Bhun, Ayima, Ann who are backslidden. Also pray for the newsletter distribution. Pray for Wi, Maem (recently saved single mother) for spiritual growth. Pray for the Bible school students: Tom, Matt, Tiang, Dtom, Katae, Somsri, and Liw. May God continue to bless you as you serve Him! For Christ in Thailand, Mike & Francis Frederick BWMOM, Thailand

Below is our recently snail-mailed prayer letter. There are new pictures on our web site from the Christmas caroling. hopefully I will have video up soon. Take care and God bless... December 2010 Merry Christmas! Three of our four children are able to be with us in Chiang Mai and for that we are thankful. God has continued to multiply the work in Chiang Mai thanks to your faithful prayers and the faithfulness of the members of New Life Baptist Church in Chiang Mai. New Life Baptist Chiang Mai. We are currently in the midst of a campaign to print newsletters that we hand out in the area of our church on a monthly basis. We print and distribute 3000 color newsletters each month. Each newsletter addresses a question or obstacle that is typical in Thai culture. We have had several visitors because of this, and we are looking forward to more fruit as the new year starts. These are expensive (about $350 a month). If you would like to help with the printing of these newsletters you can make a contribution to BWMOM for “Newsletter Printing.” We had our last baptismal service of the year where we baptized two new believers who were recently saved. One young man and an older woman were saved as a result of the faithful witness of members in our church. It is great to see how the Lord multiplies our efforts, and we see II Timothy 2:2 coming alive before us. Our church expansion is finished! We have doubled our capacity and praise the Lord for opening this opportunity just in time. We are still saving to purchase land in the future, but the Lord hasn’t opened that door of opportunity yet. Bible Institute: Mike is currently teaching classes in English in the evenings. Classes will start for a new class of Thai’s in January. Right now there is one student committed to attending. We are praying for 2-3 more. Women’s Ministry: Francis is doing a great job leading the ladies of the church. She often plans outings with them. She does a great job of leading by example and encouraging the many single mothers in the church in their walk with the Lord. Children: Matthew is graduating from a local International university in March. He is tentatively planning to stay in Thailand and work for a few years while he continues to attend Bible Institute. Josh is finishing his first semester at a Bible college in the USA and is enjoying his classes in graphics arts. Hannah is halfway through her sophomore year in high school. All of our children are a tremendous asset to our ministry, and we recognize it is only through a team effort and the Lord’s grace that inroads are being made to the glory of God. College Ministry: The Missionaries that attend our church (the Sullivant family and the Angeles family) continue to teach at the student center. It is a slow process, but we are praying for students to be saved. The Angeles family will be teaching alone while the Sullivant’s are on a short furlough in Canada. Village Ministry: The village ministry, under the leadership of Sakhorn, is continuing. He is thankful that we have entered the dry season so he doesn’t get soaked on the two hour drive to the village. Though work there is very slow, Sakhorn is a faithful servant. He continues to apprentice at the church in Chiang Mai while working at the village church and is doing a good job in many phases of the ministry. Christmas: This year we are breaking out of our comfort zone. Because of a missions team from our home church, we felt encouraged to try and do a Christmas concert this year. We will be performing at the Big C (a Walmart type department store) on Christmas Eve. We have been practicing since October and feel almost ready. Michael and his wife Maureen Sullivant have been diligently trying to teach us to sing in parts. It has been rough, but we are sounding much better. This is a great opportunity to sing for and witness to the thousands of weekend shoppers that will visit the store. On Christmas night we will celebrate Christmas at our church with the members and their invited guests. Please pray for these coming events. Prayer Requests: Please continue to pray for our family and the members of New Life Baptist Church (Chiang Mai and Wang Mai). Pray for Mae and Bhun who are really backslidden and are dealing with serious sin issues. Pray for Ahm and Lii for spiritual growth and for Tom and Matthew, as they study in the Bible Institute. Continue to pray diligently for our college ministry that it will grow and reach many students and professors with the gospel. For Christ in Thailand, Mike & Francis Frederick BWMOM, Thailand

Our annual family camp went really well. The Lord blessed with several decisions and one young man accepted the Lord as Savior and two were baptized. Bro. Dennis Potts, missionary in the Philippines was a real blessing to our church. We had several last minute cancelations, but we still had a good group and there was a good spirit at the camp. Thanks for praying! Mike Frederick Chiang Mai, Thailand

July 2010 Praise God for His goodness. It has been a long, hot summer but the rains have finally started and with it our church attendance has been growing also. We have much to report, so on to the news: Attendance: During the last month, the attendance at our Chiang Mai church has almost doubled. Our members have been inviting people and praise the Lord, they have started coming. This does pose a problem as our church is almost packed to capacity. We are actively looking for a larger building but the price is almost triple what we currently pay. None of the steady visitors (most have recently moved to the area) have joined the church as of yet, but it has been steady, so please pray with us that these new people will join and become active members. Land Purchase: Our land fund is still not growing. We are looking at a plot that is located about ¼ mile from the main highway that is about ½ acre. The price is just under $70,000. We cannot finance the land since I am not a Thai citizen, and we will purchase the land in the name of our non-profit organization. Our church is not looking for a free ride as we have saved over $8000 to be used for a building and legal fees. If the Lord leads, would you be willing to assist in this worthy effort? Gifts can be sent to BWMOM marked for Frederick building fund. College Ministry: This is an exciting new avenue for our church. A missionary working with us while attending language school, Michael Sullivant, has opened a coffee shop/student center just outside the university. He has started teaching English there several times a week and has many students already. I (Mike) was contacted by the English professor about teaching on campus and am now co-teaching a class on literature and essay writing. The whole term I will be with the same thirteen students. Between the coffee shop and the on campus teaching, we are making good inroads at the college. Short Furlough: We had the chance to visit our supporting churches in Japan during the month of June. It was a great trip, especially to visit two churches we had never been to but who have been supporting us faithfully for nine years. Military ministries are very difficult, especially the navy as there is a lot of stress on military families, and the rotation of families can decimate a church very quickly. We are thankful for their faithful support these many years and commend them for their vision to reach the world. Also during our trip, Hannah (our youngest daughter) was able to attend teen camp on Okinawa. She had a great time fellowshipping with the other teens and was challenged by the messages. What a blessing that the organizers of the camp allowed her to attend for free! Francis also enjoyed the trip as she had the opportunity to meet several people who were instrumental in her early Christian growth. As for a longer furlough to the USA, we still have no immediate plans to return. We would love to come and share what the Lord is doing in person but that won’t be possible for the next year or more. You can follow our ministry by visiting our web site www.thaimissions.org. You can see ministry pictures, read updates, and see videos on the site. You can subscribe via RSS to the site so you will be notified whenever there is an update. Prayer Requests: Please continue to pray for our family and the members of New Life Baptist Church (Chiang Mai and Wang Mai). Spiritual growth for: Bhun, Dtom, Kwanchai, and Tdom. Tom and Matthew as they study in the Bible Institute. Mae who has serious personal issues. Pray for the recent attendee’s to join the church and become active. Please pray diligently for our college ministry that it will grow and reach many with the gospel. Please pray for our building fund (we are still at only about $5000 $7000). Also pray for the new missionaries attending our church who are in language school: Dong & Bell, Michael & Maureen, and Brian & Evelyn. Also pray for a revival we will have on the 24th-26th of July. Lastly, please pray about our annual family camp as we start preparations for October. I know these are difficult times financially and spiritually, and we appreciate your faithful prayers and support. God is doing a work in the hearts of the Thai people; and someday you will see the fruit that is abounding to your account! We pray the Lord’s leading and blessing for you. For Christ in Thailand, Mike & Francis Frederick BWMOM, Thailand

	Greetings from the hornets nest, I want to assure everyone that our family is safe and sound (for the time being at least).  The situation in Bangkok has spread to the outlying provinces as of Wednesday.  Chiang Mai, being the second largest city and the home of the former Prime Minister, is having some demonstrations and riots.  There have been some reported gunfire near the train station and buildings set on fire.  Most of the incidents are isolated to the area near the governor house and the train station, both of which are at least 10 KM from our home.  There is a curfew out for the city which will hopefully be lifted soon.  Only the Lord knows what is going to happen, but for the time being we are just going to sit tight and continue with the work here.  Please pray for safety, wisdom and especially for the country.  This has been simmering for some time and has apparently reached the boiling point.  I will notify you if there is a serious change in the situation or anything significant changes.  As for news sources, there is really nothing I can recommend as the state pretty much controls the news outlets and there are a lot of rumors and misinformation on other “neutral” sites.  God is in control.  Thanks for your concern and prayers. Sincerely in Christ,   Mike Frederick Chiang Mai, Thailand