Back in March of this year, Sherri went to the campuses of Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky and Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Illinois to recruit students to come serve as missionaries in Thailand. We had two pressing needs here for more missionaries. First there was a need for missionaries to be in charge of the mercy ministries of the Thailand United Methodist Foundation. The task of initiating effective orphan and street children ministries, economic development programs, elder care ministries, and programs to deal with the devastation of AIDS in here, is a full-time ministry in itself. We have a couple that will be coming to Thailand as missionaries in November, and we will introduce you to them in a future article.
The second need was for missionary professors at Phayao Bible College, where United Methodist Pastors from Thailand and Laos go for education. Phayao Bible College has more students than ever before but also does not have enough faculty. The present faculty are stretched for time and it is their dedication to the Lord and to the students that keeps the college going. A couple from Asbury Theological Seminary answered God's call to serve at Phayao Bible College. Meet Holle and Jamie Wollin and their son Thomas. They arrived last week and it has been an honor to get to know these servants of God. They spent the first 6 days getting aquainted with the United Methodist churches and ministries in Thailand, and then we brought them to Phayao, which is a 12 hour drive to the north of Chonburi. Little Thomas was thrilled to move into his new home. He has been living out of suitcases with his parents for about 6 weeks. Thomas will have many children to play with at Phayao.
Holle and Jamie will begin language studies there at the college. We don't know yet if they will do all of their language studies there or will go to the language school at Lopburi. Please keep this family in prayer as they make all of the adjustments to a new life in Thailand. The Wollins will fill a great need for training pastors and Christian leaders in Thailand.
The Wollins are Volunteers in Missions, which means they are not supported through apportionments as we are (We are standard support missionaries with GBGM). They receive housing from the college but no salary. They rely on the generosity of God's people for their support. They have commitments of support from several churches but still are in need of more financial support. If you are interested in supporting them, please give to Advance #00403A and send us an e-mail saying that this support is for the Wollins. We will send the funds to them when they are received.
The fields are "white unto harvest" and our Lord has sent workers into the field. We praise our Lord for answering our prayers and we thank the Wollins for courageously saying "YES" to God's call on their lives.
