Chan's House & Shop

Jonathan Training/Church Multiplication

"Church Planting Movements" is the main text for the OMF Jonathan training that Kennedy, Tanom, Khrua and Chan are attending this week in the Northern Thai area of Chiang Rai (near the Burmese border.) They will be there all week, learning about teaching the Bible chronologically, house churches, lay leaders, principles of rapid church multiplication...all in Thai. This is the same training Kennedy and I went to last year for 2 1/2 weeks. This one is for Thais and will be shorter. It is very exciting that we will be able to talk about these church multiplication principles with greater understanding as a team now.

Chan Moves Into Thap Thawaan

Black piglets run all around the roads where Chan has moved into a bamboo/cement 2-story house in the Sea-Gypsy village. He arrived back here 2 days ago from going to his home in Eastern Thailand to get his motorcycle and household goods. At the next term break his wife and children will take the bus here. The next step is for Kennedy to take him to buy the supplies he will need for his electrical repair shop. He will open it right at Dean's Center, a great location for business. His house will be in the village, though, and that is where he will open a cell group Bible study.
So here we go, embarking on the first step of seeing self-sufficient, bi-vocational Thai church planters.
What is needed the most?
Prayer.

Decisions, Expasion, Prayer

Our Thai partner said, "This seems to be how the Lord is directing." We are in the planning stages of moving a Thai Christian family into a village rebuilt after the tsunami with people interested in the gospel. One of the more interesting features of this village is that it is one of the few Sea Gypsy settlements on land, the Molken. With their move on land, and their new status as Thai citizens, the enculturation of the Molken children is well underway. Though they are discriminated against by the local Thais, and they do look different, the children are going to Thai schools, and they speak both languages. (Molken and Thai are not in related language families.) They don't want to be called "Chaaw Lee" or "People of the Sea" but they want to be called "Thai Mai" or "New Thai." The children are also on their way to becoming Theravada Buddhists, from a long history of Molken animism and traditions.
As for us, we are asking prayer for direction, to know whether this is the family, and this is the time and place. The doors are all open, there have been invitations, a house provided for minimal cost, and a willing family. How does one know God's will for sure? Sometimes, in situations like this, we just can't figure it out before we act. So we are groping our way along in faith, and watching for indications that we should press ahead or re-think things. Please pray our team would understand His will.

Supporting National Workers & Other Difficult & Tricky Things

Please pray for our team here as we negotiate the idea of bi-vocational nationals. In a society where bi-vocational church leaders or pastors is not looked upon as a desirable option, it is a difficult idea to sell. We are thankful that our Thai partners and the many friends and relatives that are their "spiritual children" are very willing to consider it, though they feel quite apprehensive about trying to make a living and also to minister in a community, too. For us, of course, it has to do with the idea of teaching how to fish rather than simply giving a fish. One lasts for a time, the other is a skill that has a lifetime benefit.
So every Sunday we are meeting together with our Thai partners and those folks who are interested in joining the work talking about how to go about doing the bi-vocational ministry idea. So far the ideas that have come up for serious consideration are:
*a nursery for local children (pro: get to know people con: exhaustion & major set-up expenses)
*a small electronic fix-it shop (pro: get to know people con: can one survive on this?)
*workout gym (pro: get to know people, light work con: expensive set-up costs)
others: cabinet shop, coffee shop, restaurant, language school for English & Thai, raising vegetables for local resorts
We would greatly appreciate your prayers.

Next Available Town

We have the possibility of starting a new cell group (and future church) in a neighboring town about 20-25 minutes from here. It is one of the spiritual centers for the annual Chinese Deity Vegetarian/Possession festival, and as our Thai partners put it, "We will need to do a lot of praying because there are a lot of images and idols there." Meaning: a lot of spirits reside there. We are going to start praying and talking about opening the work there with a new potential partner, also Thai. Please pray with us, we want to make sure this is the place the Lord wants us to go. We do have contacts there, and no one has a cell-group there despite how large it is. We would do a bi-vocational kind of thing there, meaning we will need to help our potential partner open a small business and help support him and his family, too. His name is Chaan. Thank you for praying.

Hearts & Souls

Friday nights, like tonight, we have our weekly cell group/dinner/Bible study from 7p.m. to 9p.m. or so. We have dinner together, then sing worship songs, and after that Kennedy does a study on John. The folks that join us that haven't claimed to believe yet love the food, the fun talk & social time together, sometimes I think they even enjoy singing. But the Bible is so far off their radar...even though we use a common language, Biblical concepts are understood with great difficulty. As a Buddhist, to shed the blood of an animal is sin. As Southeast Asians, mild to moderate forms of deception are just part of life. When we read the great Biblical truths, you can only imagine how confusing it is for them. A different world, with different values, and a God for Whom blood must be shed for the remission of sins. A God for Whom truth is a foundational virtue and lies are from the heart of His enemy.
We need so much prayer here. Our living conditions are not difficult, the people are lovely and have taught us so much about hospitality, but when it comes to communicating the Word of God, we sometimes weep with frustration at the hardness of the hearts. They smile and nod as they listen to the Word, and then go home and prostrate themselves before images.