Musings

We have recently had a large influx of missionaries to Thailand which is a blessing. Three families have decided to study language in Chiang Mai and have started coming to our church.  This has increased our attendance significantly.  it is very difficult coming to a new country with your family and you cannot understand the songs, the preaching, the prayers, nothing.  In order to help encourage these new families (and ourselves) we have started Sunday evening services in English.  Our first service was this evening (January 17th(.  We had a good time singing in English and listening to the Word preached by a new missionary form the Philippines.  Please pray for these new families about their language studies and that they would not be discouraged in their transition.

Wang Mai as you might know is our church plant in a Lisu tribal village.  About 6 months ago we found a small lot to purchase for our church there.  Our home church's Men for Missions group donated money for the land and most of the building construction costs.  We were ready to close the deal when we found out the owner doesn't have a title.  He assured us the government would do a survey quickly (government, quickly; get it??)  and we would be able to purchse the land in no time (six months and still counting).  We continued to meet in a members small bamboo home.  Then the Lord opened an opportunity for us to start using an abandonded concrete home for meetings.  The ladies cleaned it up and the church bought some paint to spuruce it up a bit.  Our first week we had an almost all time low in attendance since we started going there a few years ago.  I was ready to hang up the work there and see about other possibilities.  The next week we had an all time high.  Many people saw what we were doing and were curious.  For the last month we have had good attendance and even have had some young adult men start attending regualrly!  it is amazing what the Lord can do with an abndonded house.  We are still praying that the Lord will open the way for us to purchase a lot.  Until then we praise the Lord for his provision.

 

As most of you probably know, we have church plants that we are working on. One in Chiang Mai (New Life Baptist Church), and one in the province of Lampang in a Lisu village (Wang Mai Baptist Church).  We are trying to buy land for both of these churches and are encountering various difficulties.  In Chiang Mai, there are many lots for sale, but our funds are not nearly enough.  We are trying to raise about $70,000 to purchase land near a main road.  In wang Mai we have the funds (thanks to a men for missions project from grace Baptist church, panama City) but we can’t get the lot!  The land is under a special title the Thai government developed to give land rights to poor country people (especially hill tribe people), but they are not allowed to sell or rent the land. It is for their personal use.  After discussing the issue with several people we discovered that land can be used for non-profit works (i.e. a church), but a survey needs to be done.  So that is our status now. Waiting for funds to come in for Chiang Mai and waiting for the Thai government to do a survey for the land in the village.  In both cases we are waiting; understanding that the Lord ahs a purpose in all of this.

It is always exciting to see someone get saved. It is even more exciting to see how mysteriously God works in the hearts of men.  Around the beginning of May we had a real surprise.  The son of one of our ladies told his mom he was coming to church on Wednesday night.  A week later he told his mom that he had gotten saved.  She had been inviting him and witnessing to him for years and then wham. For no apparent reason he realizes his need and accepts the Lord as Savior!  God really does work in mysterious ways.