News & Prayer – Aug. – Oct. 2001

October –Please pray for all of the students who trusted Christ during the English Camp.  These eleven students will be meeting one-on-one with staff members in the next few weeks to begin learning more from God about what exactly happened to them when they trusted Christ.  Pray for God’s protection from the evil one and pray that He would release His Holy Spirit through them as they tell their families and friends of their new faith in Christ.  Pray that God would use them to bring more to know Him.

October –Pray for our visa situation.  We will continue to work on getting a different visa here in Bangkok.  We are need of God’s supernatural provision in light of the current world situation. 

October –Pray for Elizabeth and her family as the trust God following this time of loss in their family.  Pray for God’s continued blessing of providing them with Himelf as they abide in Christ for the experience of His joy and peace in believing. John 14:27

October – Pray for all the people that came to know Christ through the Jesus film and through the audio cassettes in town.  Pray that God would immediately strengthen them tremendously in faith, teach them, and use them to bring others to know Him.

October –  We are going to Chiang Mai for the CCC student leadership conference during October 8-12.  Pray that students would grow in their faith during this time and that others would come to know Christ as we go out and share the Jesus film in mountain villages.  
— ANSWERED IN A BIG WAY!

October 25-29 – Well, we finally ended our travels with a return trip to Bangkok on the 25th. During these last few days of October, the Thai CCC staff in Chiang Mai put on another Leadership Training Institute. We were unable to be involved, but I couldn’t resist adding this news to the site. When the students from the LTI went out to share their faith with the surrounding community, God brought 70 people into His kingdom!!!!! This is not a one-time occurence either. God is moving in such a mighty way in Thailand right now, there are truly many people trusting Christ every day throughout the nation. Read more about this on our prayer page.

October 21-24 – After a quick night’s sleep in Bangkok, we took off for Chiang Mai again. We got the job of running an english camp for 70 students as the church group from America cancelled on their scheduled visit to Thailand about a week and a half before the camp. We were exhausted at this point. Traveling, fighting over visas, difficult news from back home combined to really bring us to the end of ourselves. This is just where the Lord wanted us. He desires for all of His children to be brought to a greater and greater humble dependence on Him in all things. Praise Him for His mighty working in and through us as we embraced our neediness for Him and asked Him to be our all and to do all through us. He answered our prayer as He filled us up and overflowed from us to the students at the english camp. Eleven more students trusted Christ as their Savior at this camp! Praise God for who He is!

 
October 15-20 – We spent this time in Singapore, struggling to try and get our visas renewed. The tense world situation has caused security to tighten in international matters as we discovered. We wanted to get a longer visa, which would allow us to stay in country without having to leave again. Instead we walked up to the counter at the Thai embassy in Singapore to find a Muslim lady who wasn’t very sympathetic to us or our certification letters from CCC, with Thailand Campus Crusade for Christ printed in big letters across the top of the page. We only received another two-month tourist visa. Please pray for this situation. ALSO – Elizabeth unexpectedly lost her grandfather during this time in Singapore. Please pray for her and her family as they grieve . It is especially hard for Elizabeth to be away from her family at this time. Praise the Lord though, as He fills her and her family with His strength, peace, and joy in most difficult times. 

October 10-11 – Towards the end of our time at LTI, we split up into teams of 10 or 12 people and went to take the gospel, by the medium of the Jesus Film, to the surrounding villages. Jordan and I were so excited to get to go one of the most remote villages in that area of Northern Thailand. We had to use chains on the truck tires and even had to tie a thick rope to the front of the truck and get everyone to help pull it up some of the mud trails on the way to and from the village. Upon arriving, we went and shared Christ with the villagers who could speak Thai. Only a few could speak Thai, as these villagers have their own tribal languages. Our group saw the Lord move, as did the other groups, as people were brought to know Christ. Sharing the Jesus Film was awesome. Many in the village had never seen a movie before. These people were so hungry for the gospel, that as we began showing the film, the villagers from across the valley saw the lights, and having heard of other villages seeing the Jesus film, made an hour and a half trek to come and see Jesus for themselves! They arrived just as we were finishing the movie. They asked us to show it again and we cranked it up a second time. We were able to make it through most of the film before our generator ran out of gasoline. God was truly glorified as some people heard His gospel for the first time.

October 4-13 – We made the first of several travels during the month of October. We spent a couple of refreshing days in Chiang Mai with the Christian family–Mike, Judy, and the girls. They have been faithfully serving the Lord in Thailand for many years with Campus Crusade for Christ. We had a great time with them before heading off to CCC’s Leadership Training Institute in the mountains about 13 kilometers from the Myanmar border. Upon arriving, we were quite surprised and honestly, not very happy, to find that we would be sleeping in tents for the week. Quickly though, we learned that the cabins were out of room because of the large number of students who were in attendance. We spent several days in times of Bible study, prayer and praise, and fun activities as everyone grew in their faith in Christ. It was truly an awesome time for the students and staff as we saw God overwhelm our meeting times with his Holy Spirit. We also got an opportunity to saturate a town with the gospel. We spent one afternoon passing out Jesus audio cassettes and mini-magazines. Literally thousands of people were exposed to the gospel.

October 1 – I finally updated the Thailand Info page. It still needs work, but that will come later. We are leaving for Chiang Mai -(northern Thailand) – on Thursday. The universities are on vacation, so we will be going there for a Campus Crusade for Christ student conference. Students will come to grow in their faith and to share their faith with others. We will be showing the Jesus Film to some villages and praying for many to come to know Christ.

September – Please pray for Dia and the opposition to her faith in Christ that she has faced at the hands of her family.  Her father was furious when she told him about her faith.  He forbid her to believe in Christ.  We all know that no one can reverse what the Holy Spirit of God has done, but Dia needs our prayers as she struggles through this difficult time and faces ostracision from her family if she continues practicing her  newfound faith.  

September – Art and Hak placed their trust in Christ this week, (Sep. 18 & 19).  Jordan and I are especially thankful for these 2 guys and several others who have trusted Christ in our time here because of the small number of guys in comparison to the number of girls who have trusted Christ on the campuses of Thailand in recent years.  Please pray for these as well as the other new believers as they grow in their new life in Christ.

September –   Pray for Jennifer and her family as they trust the Lord during this most trying time following the tragedy in America.  They fear that her brother has passed on.  If so, we can praise God that her brother knows Him and  is rejoicing with fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore with the Father and the Son in glory!  This family needs prayer as they depend on God after the loss of this loved one.

September –  Please pray for everyone involved in this disaster in America.  Pray for many to come to know Christ through this time.  Pray for believers to fall on God in total dependency.  Pray for our leaders – that they would be empowered and directed by the Holy Spirit in every way.  Please e-mail us with your specific prayer requests from back home!!  We have been praying together several times since this tragedy.

September –   ANSWERED! – Pray that the Lord would work mightily to gain us access to Kasetsart University through the proper channels.  We don’t want to enter campus “through the back door.”  Pray for the Lord’s guiding in every way as we seek His will concerning how best to handle the situation. We haven’t been able to work on this main target campus, (Kasetsart), as of this time because of all the confusion.  In spite of this, the Lord has brought students to know Him as we have partnered with existing Campus Crusade for Christ movements on other campuses.  Pray for God’s continued work in drawing students to Himself on these other campuses.

September –  Please pray for Dia, Mon, Aan, Em, Pohn, Dai, Bei, and several others as they have begun their new life in Christ.  Pray that the Lord would protect them, strengthen them, teach them, grow them, and use them in the lives of their friends.

For our team, please pray that we would continue to grow in our experience of the unity of the body of Christ.  The Lord has been faithful in bringing our team together and we thank Him for what He has done. — The Lord has answered and continues to answer this prayer!! 

August – You can also pray that the Lord would provide a place for us to live near the campuses where we will spend our time.  He already has the perfect place for us, we simply wait on Him in faith to reveal it to us. — ANSWERED!!

September 18 & 19 – On these two days, our team saw two more students place their trust in Christ. I must admit, with all the goings-on of the last week, I wasn’t expecting much from our time on campus. The students are studying for their finals which greatly limits their time with us as well. In spite of my doubts, God brought 2 students to know Him. “Even if we are faithless, He is faithful – for He cannot deny Himself.” Praise God for His awesome work and His sovereign choice to accomplish His plan through people, thereby giving us joy unspeakable. It is a wonderful thing to hear someone to pray to God in their own tongue for the very first time as they trust Him for the very first time.

September 16 – Our team was deeply moved by the love of Christ that was released from the hearts of many of the Thai believers at church this Sunday morning. Christ ministered to us through them as we saw with our eyes the truth of Romans 12:15 – “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” These Thai Christians, having no connection whatsoever on a physical level to the tragic events in America, united in hearfelt prayer for our country because of the unity of the body of Christ. As you pray, thank God for the prayers that are being offered up around the world for our country.

September 14 – We have encountered more difficulties with our attempts to break ground on the Kasetsart campus. At this point, there has not cooperation on the part of some in leadership positions with different university organizations. We are awaiting further communication with them.

September 11 – We were devastated by the news from America. Jordan heard from his parents and we read the horrible news on the Internet. Our group was hit especially hard as one of our team members, Jennifer, awaited the news concerning her brother who worked in the World Trade Center. Please pray for her, her family, and all the others directly involved in this terrible tragedy.

September 8 – We found housing! We will be living in Muang Ake. It is a quiet little community just north of Bangkok. It is a wonderful retreat from the hustle and bustle from the crowded city streets.