Being the Church

This week, I returned to Phang-nga for a few days to worship with our group in Deen Khao and to encourage them and help them understand their role as the Church in their community. I must say that I was the one who was encouraged! They are continuing to meet on their own and encourage and pray for one another. Last month, Gao had surgery on his hip to close up a bedsore. We all praised God because He provided a doctor who really showed compassion and skill in patching him up. Gao and Nit said that they shared with three others in the hospital. They were themselves greatly encouraged by another missionary couple, David and Joy, who prayed with them and played Uno with them in the hospital! Jiu continues to share her testimony with others also. Pray for the health of the members of this group and pray that they will continue to grow in their faith and share Christ with their community.

3 Day Prayer "Push"

Last week, we asked our prayer partners to join us for a 3 day "prayer push." Following our time of prayer, we went out looking for opportunities to meet people and share the good news. The biggest blessing was sharing with my next-door neighbors, a young couple named Bow and Dtam. They both confessed that they would like to believe, but said that it is impossible for them to leave their religious community without persecution. Pray for this young couple that they will give their lives to the Lord and determine to follow him no matter the cost. In addition to this young couple, many doors were opened for Tracy at the local hospital and for me with the many people that we made acquaintance with during this time. Pray for these that the Lord will open the door for them to hear the good news.

Starting Over

This past week, we have spent a great deal of time beginning to set up our ministry. For me, that means a lot of emails. We plan on using various types of teams from U.S. churches to help us enter the communities regularly for the purpose of sharing Christ.
This week, I also had the opportunity to go out a couple of days to start meeting people and developing relationships. Satoon is filled with tea shops. (This people group does good tea, both hot and cold!). The Lord blessed me with getting to sit and talk with several groups of men (a restaurant owner, some men at a bus stop, and some men at a tea shop). I have much to learn and covet your prayers. My desire is to share the gospel through these relationships and pray that the Lord will lead us to men of peace who will in turn connect us with others.