Prayer Newsletter - March 2008

Thanksgiving, Updates & Prayer Requests

1. Chinese New Year – Praise the Lord for a really good 2 weeks back home in Singapore. I spent time with my family, catching up with friends and resting. It’s been a year since I’ve been home – the longest I’ve been away. I’m just really grateful that home is not too far away and I’m able to go back for my holiday. Now I’m recharged to go on for the last stretch!

2. Ministry –

a. Weekly Bible Study – One of the ladies have left the village to look for work, so we are down to 2 (Motdaeng & Nee). These Bible study meetings haven’t exactly been very ‘efficient’ if you compare it to what you would consider to be a Bible study. The 2 ladies are easily distracted and can never pay attention for very long, and since they are older than us, we can’t really reprimand them, so it’s been a little tough. However, I’m encouraged by Him to just press on and think of how the Lord would view this situation instead of analyzing it the way the world would. These weekly meetings are really very crucial to our relationships with these 2 ladies, who are probably the only adults in this village who are interested in knowing more about God. Pray for God to speak to Motdaeng and Nee, and for them to respond to Him positively. Currently, both have not been going to church on Sundays because of other commitments on Sundays. Pray for them to thirst for Him and His Word.

b. Kid’s Club – Pupae is a fairly young believer who has problems with his vision (he can’t see very well), but the Lord has been really working in his life and has given him the love to minister to children. He has been helping out with Kid’s Club in Waengyai (the other village where the church is located) and Sunday School as well. I’m grateful that he volunteered to help with the Kid’s Club in my village since it’s much better to have a Thai believer tell the stories. Most of the time, he interacts with the children and tells the Bible stories. Kid’s Club has been a little disorganized and I noticed that the kids are not really connecting with the stories (they almost always can’t answer the simple questions at the end of the story). Pray for God to work in the hearts of these young ones to help them understand who He is, and how they can be saved. Pray also for better organization and communication between me and Pupae. We have also been finding it difficult to connect with the boys in the village (they don’t come for Kid’s Club), so pray that God will give us creativity and wisdom to reach out to them.

c. Ad hoc Kid’s Activities – The school holidays are just round the corner and I’m planning to do as much as I can with the kids in my village during this time since I won’t be going to the schools to teach English. Just this Saturday, I invited the kids in the village to come over to my place, and I had a good time showing them a Thai Christian VCD for kids, letting them read some storybooks (Bible stories) and teaching them some art & craft. Pray for more opportunities to interact with these kids and build good relationships with them, and for wisdom to know how communicate and help them understand the gospel (especially with Easter approaching).

d. Youth Club – Pray that I will be able to organize a short English programme with the youths in Thalunglek during the school holidays and get to know them better. A team of Thai Christians (university students) will be coming to Khonkaen for a trip to help out with church programmes and camps. Pray that we will be able to coordinate a camp with the youths to help build bridges that will lead to them coming to know the Lord.
Language studies – I will be going for 2 checks at the same time at the end of this month (around 25 March). Pray for diligence to work towards that, and for Him to help me have a good understanding of the modules I’m working on (Mark’s Gospel and Religious Communications). Pray for wisdom to know how to go about my last 3 modules after that in terms of deciding on whether I’ll be using the same language helpers, and for discipline to just press on with language studies. Continue to pray with my relationship with my 2 language helpers (Mae Nan & Motdaeng), and for God to continue to speak to them through His Truth as I study His Word with them.

3. Relationships – Praise the Lord that I’ve been able to spend more time with the children in my village, although I’m still slow and shy in approaching the adults. Pray for boldness to initiate conversations with neighbours, shopkeepers & the children’s parents. Pray for ideas and opportunities to be able to connect to them. Pray also for my ability to communicate with them since most of them speak Isaan (local dialect).

4. Emotional and Physical Health – I have been feeling a little down since coming back from S’pore, especially when I had a slight mishap with my fridge when I got back (you can read about if on my blog if you’re interested in the details). Sometimes I feel like I’m constantly battling loneliness and negative thoughts. He’s been answering my prayers, my desperate cries to Him when I feel lost and confused. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness, He’s been so good to me. I’m thankful that I’ve been able to start exercising a couple of days ago, which helps a lot. He’s been sending the children in the village to me during times when I need company, and I’ve been so humbled by the fact that I’m not here only to give what I can to these children, but the He is using them to meet my needs as well. Please pray that I can use my time wisely, be content and able to rejoice in all circumstances, and be a channel of blessings to those around me.

5. The Last Stretch – This 2-year commitment is just a beginning of my journey in Thailand. Pray for my last 6 months here in Thailand, that I will continue to be sensitive to His guidance, and just learn as much as I can while I’m here.