Back to Life

Well, Christmas has come and gone, as has New Years. Both were full seasons for us here in Thailand, we had the opportunity to celebrate Jesus birth many times, with outreaches and parties both in the church and outside of it. Praise God, hundreds of people who had never heard the name of Jesus, were told about the God who came to earth in baby size skin, to grow up and die for their sins. Please pray that this truth will impact their lives.

This week we started up all of our regular ministries again, and life is back in full swing. On Thursday, as always Fauna and I had the opportunity to go with Louise to Bethel Church, one of our favorite ministries. This week came with a few twists. We headed out for the two hour drive in, unusually excited, because a friend from home had given Louise $50 (roughly 2000 baht) to purchase children’s tables for Bethel. Up until this point we have just been doing crafts and playing games on the floor with them. When we got to the store where we intended to purchase the tables, much to our disappointment we found the store closed. We headed across the street to try another store. Here’s where things get exciting. As they looked at the tables Louise and P’ Nat (a Thai lady who comes to Bethel each week also) were talking to the salesman, who actually just happened to be the owner of the store. Well, that man just happened to be a Christian, a pastor actually of a church, that just happened to be next door, that we were totally unaware was there. This man, Ajan Wichai was such an encouragement to us. He gave us seven tables for the price of four. We were so blessed. But he didn’t stop there, as we talked about cell group, that regularly has about four adults, he decided to donate 20 chairs, and told us to believe in faith that God would bring 20 people to cell group. We were so encouraged. Then, we were looking at new linoleum flooring for the church, since the old stuff was mismatched and torn. I’ve been praying since Christmas that God would provide a way to get flooring for Bethel. We didn’t have the funds to buy it, but there is a team coming next month that we thought might be able to put it in as a part of their ministry here. Well, God and Ajan Wichai had different plans. He told us he was going to donate the flooring also, and install it for us! (The Picture is P' Nat, Ajan Wichai, P' Bank his son and Louise)

I wish you could have seen the looks on the children’s faces as we unloaded the van. They were so excited. It was chaos. We unloaded, and immediately the children were sitting around the tables, colouring and playing games. They were so loud Fauna could hear them from two blocks away when she went to buy water for snack time. What a good God we love, a God who blesses us so beyond our expectations. A God who hears and answers our prayers. A God who allowed us to make a connection with another church in the area. I was blown away.

<- This picture is Fauna and I ripping up the old flooring!! We found a few poisonous creatures under it, a scorpion, and the biggest spider I've seen in my life.