May 2019 Prayer Requests and Praise Reports

We are blessed to have prayer warriors like you, who are the powerhouse of the Thailand Methodist Mission.  Your prayers make the mission fruitful and are "wind at our backs" propelling us and the Thai pastors, leaders, and believers to keep moving forward.  This month, we have many prayer requests and praise reports, and we hope you will take the time to read through them and keep us in your personal prayers, in prayer in small groups at church, as well as during worship times.

1.  Praise Report and Update on Church Construction for the Fire of Glory Church in Nonthaburi;

We are close to completing construction, and believe we can have an Opening Celebration and Building Dedication Service in July.  It will be beautiful when finished and will be an answer to the prayers of all at Fire of Glory Church.  We preached and taught there this past Sunday, and the old building was overflowing with people.  The children had to sit on the floor at the front of the room right at our feet when we preached and in the aisle because there was no where else for them to sit.  

The new facility will give this church room to grow rapidly.

Here are some pictures of the church construction.

2.  Six Pioneer Pastors are now Doctor of Ministry students at Thailand Theological Seminary;

Pastor Banya of Life Center UMC, Pastor Wassana of Prasiri UMC, Pastors Somsri and Warin of Fire of Glory Church, Pastor Peter of God is Good Church, and Pastor Ekerin who serves in Chiang Mai province have begun their D.Min. studies.  We are proud of them and are blessed to see the church develop in much needed depth as well as in breadth.  

3.  Continued prayers for Elder Rang and his family;

Elder Rang, one of the three lay pastors of House of Immanuel Church, is in the final stages of his battle with abdominal cancer.  He is too weak to continue chemo, and he has to have dialysis because the cancer has pushed up against his kidneys causing them to shut down.  When Elder Rang underwent surgery to excise the part of the tumor causing distress to the kidneys, the surgeon pierced his kidney, and he had severe internal bleeding.  He was very close to death one week ago, but has rallied a bit.  His wife, Mui, who is the lead lay pastor at the church, and his son Woot are physically and emotionally exhausted as they care for Rang to keep him as comfortable as possible.  We believe Elder Rang has rallied a bit so his daughter Boo Bay could complete her final exams at university and come to the hospital to be with him.  

Cancer treatment have depleted all of the assets of this family who serves the Lord faithfully and sacrificially.  So we have given a scholarship to Elder Rang's daughter Boo Bay so she can complete her university studies in English to earn a B.A. degree.  Please keep Boo Bay in prayer that she will keep focused on her studies as she endures grief and great loss.  Her dream is to serve the Lord by starting a Christian nursery in her hometown.  We thank you for your generous donations that make it possible to help the daughter of Thai Pioneer Pastors.

Boo Bay in her university uniform

4.  Pastor Nampon has moved to plant a new Pioneer Pastor Church in Buriram province

Pastor Nampon, a veteran Pioneer Pastor who planted the church at Nonsomboon, which is the location of Blessing Home Isan, has moved with her family to Lahan Sai, a town of over 12,000 people that is unreached.  Her husband, Joy (yes, in Thailand that is a man's name) is currently studying the Bible to be a certified as a lay leader at the Rhema Institute.  They are building relationships with neighbors and evangelizing during this year, and at the beginning of next year, we will rent a building to open a new church.  

Pastor Nampon and Joy are foster parents for Maria, a Blessing Home child from Blessing Home Pattaya.  Maria starts 7th grade this week and is a happy girl who loves school and soccer, has many friends, and loves the Lord.  Your faithful support has saved Maria's life and given her a Christian family that is solid and loving. 

Pastor Nampon has a young daughter, Nok, who was born with a medical condition that causes one of her legs to grow much shorter than the other leg.  Nok has to have frequent surgeries so that the leg can be extended so she can walk.  Nok goes in for surgery next week, so please keep this little one and her family in your prayers.

Pastor Nampon, Nok, Sherri, Mike, and Maria (Joy is missing because he was at Bible college on this day).

Finally, a reminder

In the past two months, there have been several people who sent funds to the wrong place, and usually when this happens, the funds do not end up coming to the Thailand Methodist Mission.  Thailand Methodist Mission is an independent faith mission.  We are not supported through apportionments or through the Advance.  Funds need to be sent to the TMM treasurer, and there are two ways to do this.  

1.  Send a check to TMM at:

Thailand Methodist Mission

P.O. Box 56

Mannsville, KY 42758

OR

2.  Give online at our website at > https://thailandmethodist.org/donate/

Transitions at Blessing Home TaPhraya

Sherri and I are having a wonderful time itinerating among some of our supporting churches and re-uniting with friends and family. We have packed our calendars, and will be traveling many miles during the next 5 weeks, so prayers for traveling mercies are appreciated.

1.  We want to announce that Joshua and Jessica Johnston have been called by the Lord to return to the States to serve at Fairview Baptist Church in Apex, North Carolina.  Joshua is serving as Pastor for Family Discipleship, a position which perfectly suits his passion, gifts, and calling.  Our heart-felt prayers and words of blessing surround them as they go to serve where they are called by God.

The Joshua and Jessica served well at Blessing Home TaPhraya, discipling and training new Pioneer Pastors Det and Dao to serve at their church and to become the new directors of this Blessing Home center.  It is the goal of every TMM missionary to train Thai Christian leaders to do the ministries that they are doing.  We work ourselves out of a job at one location so we can expand to new areas. 

2.  Please pray for Pastors Det and Dao and their daughter Noke, who are now the Directors of the Blessing Home TaPhraya Center.  They are spinning a lot of plates right now.  They have businesses to run to be self-sufficient.  They are both in their final semester of studies at Global Theological Institute, earning their Bachelor of Ministry degrees (This month is their final month of study).  And they lead a new Pioneer Pastor Church and run the Blessing Home Center.  Please lift them in prayer as that the Lord will guide them and strengthen them as they have made many transitions.

Noke teaches Catechism to the young students at Blessing Home TaPhraya

Pastor Dao teaches Bible to the teens at Blessing Home TaPhraya

3.  Please continue to pray for Elder Rang, one of three lay pastors who lead the House of Immanuel Church in Buriram province (his wife Mooey is also one of the three lay pastors there).  Elder Rang has been diagnosed with abdominal cancer and will going to the hospital for treatment five days per week for the next 6 months.  He is in pain and has difficulty breathing right now.  Please pray each day for Elder Rang and his wife Elder Mooey. 

Elder Rang at the hospital

4.  House of Immanuel Church also needs your prayers, as they are now down to one lay pastor, Elder Na, who works as a farmer, takes care of a disabled elderly parent, leads the youth ministry at church and is also the worship leader.  Now she will need to be the preacher every Sunday for the next for the next six months.  Elder Na needs your prayers.  We will be working on some solutions to bring much needed help on Sunday mornings to this church in the meantime. 

5.  PRAISE: Pastor Somchai's back is healed and he is back to work again.  We praise the Lord for answering our prayers for quick healing.  God is good!

And finally

6.  Many of you have expressed interest in participating in the KY VIM Team to Thailand in October.  Here is the link to the webpage: https://www.kyumc.org/eventdetail/2019-thailand-mission-trip-12083151

God came through "BIG TIME" and some serious prayer requests

Sherri and I are back in the States for itineration through the beginning of April and it is wonderful to be home in Kentucky.

1.  You all have been praying for TMM Missionaries Carol Fare and Vicki Brown who are Directors of Special Blessings Korat, a ministry for special needs children (check out their website at http://www.specialblessingskorat.org/).  The Special Blessings Korat building was up on the auction block after the owner of the building defaulted on the mortgage.  It is a fantastic building that God provided to Carol and Vicki for this ministry, and they have sunk a lot of time and money into this place.  So they put their names in to be bidders in the auction.  God answered your prayers "BIG TIME"!  There were no competitors for the auction (other than the bank being its own bidder), and they purchased the building for a fraction of its true value.  This is HUGE because it makes their ministry to be secure and permanent at this location.  Now please pray as they seek to buy the empty plots of land on each side of this building for parking.

2.  Construction on the new church building for Fire of Glory Church is going very well.  We expect construction to be complete by April, Lord willing.  Pastors Somsri and Warin send their thanks and love to all of you who made this possible through your prayers and generosity.

3.  Prayers are needed for 2 Thai pastors.

Please pray for Elder Rang of House of Immanuel Church in Buriram.  When we saw him last month at Christmas, he did not look his usual vibrant self, but never complained of being sick.  Then this past week, they asked for prayers as he entered the hospital for tests.  We just received the diagnosis that he has cancer in his abdomen (we don't know much more than that).  TMM is helping with some emergency funds for his medical bills at this time.  

Elder Rang of House of Immanuel Church in Buriram Province

Also pray for Pastor Somchai of Promise Church in Phanat Nakhom.  Somchai was doing some heavy lifting during a construction project at the Garden of Eden Retreat Center when he hurt his back (herniated disk).  He has a difficult time moving and is in a lot of pain.  Prayers are needed.

Pastor Somchai of Promise Church

4.  Finally, many of you have expressed interest in participating in the KY VIM Team to Thailand in October.  Here is the link to the webpage: https://www.kyumc.org/eventdetail/2019-thailand-mission-trip-12083151