We are back home from the Rodem House Retreat Center, where we have finished the first half of the class on Pastoral Care and Counseling, one of the required classes for Course of Study,the United Methodist study program for lay people who seek to be pastors but have not received training in a seminary.
There were over 30 lay people training, plus pastors and youth who accompanied them. There were also several people who came for the training from other denominations. This is very typical in Thailand. Because the Christian population is so small and the opportunities for training so few, when we or others provide training, pastors and lay leadership from many organizations come to the trainings.
The second half of this training will be at Life Center UMC in Pattaya next month. Also next month, Sherri will be teaching a block course on "Biblical Roles of Women in Church" at our Bible college in Chiang Dao.
This week, we were thrilled to be able to purchase a new car, a Kia Picanto.
As some of you know, we were originally going to purchase a 4 door Tata CNG Pickup, but unfortunately they are no longer sold in Thailand. After much prayerful consideration and comparing different vehicles, we decided the Kia Picanto best met our needs for a way to transport 2-3 people comfortably while using as little fuel as possible. It was very helpful to have the car available for this last training. It made life much more efficient and easier too.
Thank you to all who gave generously to make it possible to purchase this car.
God is good!
