April 2010

Happy Thai New Year!  April 13-15 is the time to celebrate the Thai New Year.  If you’ve never celebrated it, you don’t know what you’re missing.  It is literally the world’s largest water fight.  People are lined up along the road or driving around with a load of people in the bed of their truck throwing water at each other.  It is one of those events that has to be experienced to be believed.  It is a pretty refreshing way to break the 100+ degree heat of mid-summer.  Apart from fun and games, we have been busy and want to share some of the events of the last 2-3 months.

Salvation: Dtom was saved in February after having come to church and events off and on for the last five years.  She has been under conviction for a long time and finally realized that only Christ is the answer.  It was with real joy that our whole church made the short trip to the river to see her baptized.  Pray that she will continue to grow in the Lord!

Bible Institute: Sakhorn graduated Bible Institute in March after about four long years of studying.  He has been a faithful student and has grown tremendously.  He will now enter a period of internship as he continues to mature (he’s only 23 years old) and learn more about the practical aspects of the ministry.  He has shared his desire to start a church in another province which is about 3-4 hours from us.  Our institute has shifted gears a bit as I am now teaching classes in English to my son Matthew and an English member, Tom, who are beginning their studies in preparation for future ministry.

Land Purchase: No, we haven’t bought anything as yet.  We actually have two projects going simultaneously.  The first is in the Lisu village of Wang Mai.  The property we were hoping to acquire fell through, so we are looking for another lot.  We have the cash in hand to purchase the property and build a minimal building, but nothing is available.  Right now we have a facility that we are able to use rent free, so time is on our side.  Our second and more ambitious project is to purchase land for our city church.  Land prices continue their upward trend, especially in prime locations.  We inquired about a property along the main road in our area, and it was about 10 million Baht ($300,000+) for less than ½ acre.  Needless to say, that is a little outside the realm of feasibility.  We did find an approximately ½ acre lot for about 2.2 million Baht ($68,000) which is about ½ mile off the main road on a well marked road.  It is undeveloped and looks like a good site in a well established area.  Right now we have raised about $7000 for this, and our church has saved about $8,000 for the future building.  We will just have to watch and pray.

College Ministry: After the chimes missions group opened the door at one of our local universities, we have been trying to establish contacts to begin a college ministry.  So far things have been slow, but we are hoping to start the new school year with a bang (school starts in May).  We are a bit short of quality ideas and would like to know what has worked for you in the past.  If you know or anyone you know is involved in college ministry, I would welcome some ideas.  You can send any suggestions or ideas to me at mike@thaimissions.org.

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 (she was baptized in March), Kwanchai, Kham, Aye (Serious personal issues), Mai, and Phorn.  Pray for Tom and Matthew as they study in the Bible Institute and Sakhorn as he interns.  For salvation, please remember the following:  Yhun, Torm (made a profession, but unstable right now), Eek, Mee (now in a combat zone in Southern Thailand), Kankaew’s family, Luu, Ingon, Pranii, Supot, and Nalongchai, Tui, Gung, and the children in the village.  Please pray for our building fund (we are still at only about $7000).  I know these are difficult times financially and spiritually.  We know that the Lord is still on the throne, and it is a privilege to be serving Him in Thailand.  May the Lord bless you abundantly!

For Christ in Thailand,

Mike & Francis Frederick

BWMOM, Thailand