News & Prayer – Nov. 2001 – Jan. 2002

Januray – Please pray for the upcoming events of January 26th.  Campus Crusade for Christ’s President, Steve Douglas, will be in Bangkok for a gathering of all of the Thai staff.  It will be a great time for the Lord to use Steve to expand our vision for Thailand and the world.  Join us in prayer that we, along with the Thai staff, will be encouraged by God through Steve, and vice versa.– ANSWERED!

January – We have some special visitors coming in January.  Our brothers in Christ, Paul Morales and Thomas Ufer, (CCC staff at Arkansas), are coming for a visit in mid-January.  They will be ministering with us on campus and planning a great deal for the large group of students that is expected to come in May and June for a summer project.  Join us in thanking God for this time, as Jordan and I are very excited to see our disciplers/ Bible study leaders/ great friends and pray that it will be a fruitful time in seeing students come to trust Christ as well as a great time of planning and lots of fun.   ANSWERED! – This was a great time for all of us.  We thank God for it! 

January –Pray for Laura as she is continuing on an extended fast for a total of 40 days.  Praise God for her seeking Christ’s face.  Elizabeth has just completed an extended time of fasting and prayer.  Praise God for how He showed Himself to her during this time.  

January – Pray for our planning of several events at Kasetsart in January.  We will have an evangelistic party and an English class in which we present the gospel.  Pray that we would attempt nothing of ourselves, but that we would be completely dependent on Jesus to do all.  Pray for the planning and preparation.  Pray that many students would trust Christ.  The ministry at Kasetsart is still slow.  Pray that God would really move there.  There is also the possibility of an overnight trip outside of Bangkok with students.  Pray for the Lord’s guiding in this as well. 

December –  On December 23, we will have an evangelistic Christmas party at church.  We will invite many of the students from our campuses and pray that God would bring many to faith in Him.  ANSWERED! – The Lord used this time to save several people, from the university scene as well as from the community.  Thank you for your prayers. 

December – The outreach at Kasetsart University with the ChristianClub was a success.  Many students were exposed to the gospel who had not previously hear it.  Pray that God would bear lasting fruit in the lives of many who head His truth during this time.

December – The Fasting Camp was a great time in which God truly ministered to us in a special way.  Thank you for your prayers. 

December –  Christmas time is approaching and we have a lot going on.  From December 5-8, Campus Crusade for Christ, Thailand will have a nation-wide prayer and fasting conference.  There will be over 100 staff there with students from campuses throughout Thailand.  We will pray to God and listen to Him as well.  We will pray for Thailand and the world.  Please lift up a special prayer for Thailand during this time.  ALSO – AN ANSWERED PRAYER FROM QUITE A WHILE AGO —  We will be partnering with the Christian Club at Kasetsart University from December 12-14 in a Christmas outreach.  This was the organization that we had difficulties with in the beginning.  Now, because of the Lord’s working, we will share God’s love with other students together for these few days.  Finally,  PLEASE JOIN US AGAIN IN PRAYER. WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE MANY PRAYING FOR THAILAND AND WE PRAISE GOD FOR YOU.

November –There have been many students who have placed their trust in Christ over the past few months.  We praise God for His work.  Many of these students though, receive tremendous opposition from family and friends because of their faith in Christ.  Because so much of the culture is wrapped up in Buddhist tradition, it is difficult for many new believers to know how to respond to family and friends.  We have already seen some students fall away at this time.  Pray that God would truly assure them of their salvation in Him and lead them to know the riches of His grace in Christ Jesus. 

November – Please pray for Aaeh, (I’m not sure how to spell her name), a student who trusted Christ about 2 months ago.  She has been to three Leadership Training Institute Conferences and God has been growing her tremendously in her faith.  Her stepfather, whom she lives with, was outraged at her becoming a Christian.  He has recently stopped paying for her college education because she would not renounce her faith in Christ.  Now, she has been forced to withdraw from college because of her stepfather and is she is seeking the Lord on her next step of faith.

November –   Please pray for our new friends at Kasetsart University and Phranakorn.  Pray that God would open their eyes to see their neediness for forgiveness  of sins.  Also, pray for the English class that we will be teaching at Rangsit University from tomorrow, November 19 – November 30.  ANSWERED!!!! —We will be teaching 70 students and discussing spiritual things with them over the next couple of weeks before sharing the gospel with them at the end of the class.   Lastly, please pray for our families as the holiday season arrives, that God will fill them with all His fullness, as we will be seperated from our families during the holidays for the first time.

November – I can’t say it enough — the Lord is really moving in the nation of Thailand.  Whether it be through our team as we minister to students in an English camp, or through Thai students reaching out to their neighbors, God is doing awesome things here.  Even the Thai government has noticed the Lord’s moving.  The last census data shows an increase of about 1% in those professing Christianity, from about .5% to 1.5%.  It may not sound like much, but in a country of sixty million people, that is 600,000 more people who instead of spending a real eternity sperated from the love of God in Christ Jesus, have entered into everlasting abundant life with our Lord.  We have only seen a small glimpse of what God is doing here.  Please praise the Lord for His moving and ask our Father to send more laborers here to the harvest.  At the same time, there are also many here who after making a one-time profession of faith, do not continue in the faith even to the point of receiving discipleship.  The parable of the sower is so true.  For example, one of our staff guys had around twenty guys receive Christ with him on campus last semester.  Only a couple are still involved with the ministry of CCC.  The pressure of family and friends here is tremendously negative in many cases, with families  reacting with anger, or even disowning of their children.  With all of this God’s truth still stands true.  The apostle Paul affirms in Phillipians 1:6, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you, will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”  Please join with us in thanking God, in praising Him, and in trusting Him with what is true and Who is true.  Let us trust God for HIS working of every step of the Christian life in every believer.  Also, join with us in prayer for the raising up of many faithful disciples of Christ, who will be used by God to teach other believers of the glory of life in Christ.  

November – Pray for Nid and her family, as they continue to deal with the death of Nid’s mother.  Pray that God would continue to fill up Nid and her sister with Himself, and that He would continue to overflow into the lives of their family members who do not yet know the riches of being in Christ.

November – We have some exciting things coming up!  We will be very busy as we help the staff on the Rangsit University campus for a couple of weeks with an evangelistic english class.  I never imagined how great these english classes and camps would be for talking about spiritual things and sharing the gospel.  Pray that God would make many more new creations during this time.  —ANSWERED!!!!!!!  Also, there is another Leadership Training Institute on November 9-11.  Pray for God to teach these students and for Him to grow them richly in their faith.  Please pray also for more laborers to come to join the campus ministry here in Thailand.  Students here are truly hungry for a spiritual life that cannot be found in Buddhism or anything else except the person of Christ.  God has prepared many hearts here to hear His word and receive it.  Thailand CCC would love to open more campuses to the gospel as we are doing this year.  Now is the time, when students in the States will begin to think about their plans for next year so please pray that God would send many more here to be used by Him in reaching out to the students of Thailand.

November 19-30 – We held a two-week English class at Rangsit University. The Thai staff have recently opened this campus to the gospel, but things have not been going as smoothly as they wanted. They asked us to help them by teaching an English class to get contacts for them and to share the gospel with the students who joined us. English classes are great ways to spend time with students as scores of them take any opportunity that arises to practice their English. The class was not nearly as big as we had hoped however. There were several students who attended who were Christians, and several more who were not. The two weeks provided great times for us to build friendships with the students. The first week, two students trusted Christ as their savior. The Lord still had much more to do in the lives of the others. Our last gathering was an English party with games, songs, a skit, and a gospel message. We prayed that God would save every one of our students there that night and that none would walk away without believing in Christ. There were seven students there that night who were non-believers. As the party ended and the gospel was presented, those seven students trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins!!! Please see our prayer page regarding the large numbers of students who have trusted Christ and how to pray for them.

November 21 – Our staff team, (the four Americans and the Thai staff as well), held the first of what should prove to be several evangelistic parties at the Phranakorn campus. The Thai staff organized it very well. One of the staff bands provided the music to go along with the games, food, and fun. The four of us put on an evangelistic skit and one of the Thai staff gave a gospel invitation. Seven students placed their faith in Christ! Also, several students who had previously accepted Christ were very encouraged in their faith, as were the rest of us. God continues to strengthen our faith as we see Him to do what only He can do. 

November 9-15 – These days saw another Leadership Training Instititute and another time for students to go and share the gospel. One of the groups had a particularly great story to tell. This particular group of students set out to show the Jesus Film to a mountain village. Little did they know that there were over 300 people waiting there to see the Jesus Film. These film showings usually have around 80, 90, or 100 people, but God had an awesome plan that was revealed for this specific day. After showing “Jesus,” 155 people responded in faith to the Lord’s call and placed their trust in Him for salvation!!!!!! There were many other stories to tell from this time – too many to type here. Know that God brought many, many people into His kingdom.

November 9 – Death has hit our team once again. As you may or may not know, our team of four Americans ministers very closely with one of the Thai CCC staff teams here in Bangkok. We are a part of their ministry team, which ministers on certain campuses in Bangkok. We live in the same neighborhood and spend time with them almost every day. One of the staff girls from this team, Nid, lost her mother this Friday. Praise the Lord that her mother was a Christian, which is very rare here, especially among the adult population. Her mother had been very sick and we all know that now she has no more pain, no more tears, and has fullness of joy in His presence forevermore. Praise God also for how He manifested His own joy and peace through Nid and her sister to the rest of their family during this difficult time. Nid was able to share Christ, the fountain of all joy and peace, with several family members; and to see five of them place faith in Jesus.