Uniforms for the Blessing Home kids

March is always a great blessing for us, because it is the month the Blessing Home kids get measured for their new school uniforms.   Each teen needs 3 sets of uniforms and shoes (younger children only need two sets), an academic uniform, a scouting uniform - yes, every Thai student is a scout, and a physical education uniform.  These uniforms are required for every student to attend school.

For Sherri and I, seeing our Blessing Home kids in their school uniforms.  These uniforms are a manifestation of how wonderful the trajectory their lives are on because of your generosity that makes this ministry possible.  These children and teens are in school and are not being trafficked!  God is great!  God is good!

(Below is a picture of some of our teens at Blessing Home Isan being fitted for their new uniforms.)

English Camps

For Thai kids, summer break is from the middle of March through the first week of May.  This is the time that many of our churches do English Camps.  You would call it Vacation Bible School, but we call it English Camp because every parent wants their children to learn English because it is the language of international commerce, and being fluent in English opens many doors of opportunity.  At English Camp, they hear the Good News of Jesus Christ and worship the Lord, they learn English with fun games and songs, and eat good food and snacks.  

Below is a picture of children at the Chaiyaphum outreach (which is a location where we are planting a new Pioneer Pastor Church and a new Blessing Home Center) enjoying a game together.  

Our pastors are very busy during this time, because they will usually do at least two of these camps, one at their own church and another at a location (like Chaiyaphum) where there is no church.  Most Thai churches connected with Thailand NOW go on to plant at least one or two other churches, and these English Camps are one way that they use to evangelize and make disciples of Jesus Christ.  

Songkran

Songkran is the Thai New Year celebration and it was celebrated on the weekend of April 13-14.  During Songkran, most shops and businesses are closed so that everyone can travel to be home with extended family.   Usually when tourists think of Songkran, they think of children and adults wearing vibrant colored flowery shirts having fun out on the streets tossing water on each other.  But Songkran was not always celebrated in this raucous manner.   Songkran was originally a time for young people to bless their elders.  

In the Thai churches, we celebrate Songkran in a beautiful way from their tradition.  The elders will sit while the young come and kneel and pour flower scented water on the hands of the elders, as a sign of gratitude (many times this evokes tears of joy which are contagious).  Then the elder will lay their hands on the younger person and give a word of blessing.  This is truly a magnificent custom.

If the Lord leads you to donate...

Checks for Thailand NOW can be mailed to:

Thailand NOW

P.O. Box 56

Mannsville, KY 42758

OR Donate Online at our website >> https://thailandnow.org/donate-2/

2 New Church Plants and Training Center Update

Praise God!  Great is the Lord!  We want to some wonderful recent victories to share.

First, there are two new church plants happening this month. 

• Please pray for Pastor Gorowit as he is moving his family to the far South to Nakhon Si Thammarat province.  This region is still majority Buddhist but has a significant Muslim minority.  Please pray for hearts to be open to the Gospel.  This is the 105th church planted through Thailand NOW.
• Please pray for Pastor Sunan, a veteran church planter, who will be planting a Pioneer Pastor Church in an unreached county called Pru Yai which is in Korat.  Pru Yai county has over 10,000 souls and now there will be the first church in history in that county.  This church is called Trinity Church, and Pastor Sunan already has a group of Christians who will be going there with him.  This is the 49th Pioneer Pastor Church, meaning a church planted in a county that had no Christian churches.  

All Pioneer Pastor churches are self-sufficient.  Pastor Sunan has leased a very large building that the owner is allowing us to use for a very modest price.  It is a two-story commercial building that has many classrooms (both large and small) plus a large room that is ideal for a sanctuary for worship.  Teacher Palm, a member of Trinity Church, will be starting a language school at this facility, and the profits from the language school will pay for the rent of the building.  Through your generosity, we have been able to help with startup costs for this church.

Below are pictures of the building from the outside and the entrance.

Below are pictures of  1. Pastor Sunan by one of the many smaller classrooms on the first floor.  2.  One of the large classrooms. and 3.  The large room that will be the sanctuary.

Please pray for success for the language school, and that Pastor Sunan will make many new disciples of Christ.

Second, we have more progress on the construction of the Abundant Life Training Center.

We have now received $32,150 of the goal of $47,000 needed for Phase Three of the construction (this will be for six large air conditioners for the sanctuary, installation of 220 Volt, 3-Phase commercial electricity (installing a large transformers and poles to distribute electricity across the campus), as well as a security wall around the perimeter of the Abundant Life Training Center.  $14,850 is still needed to complete this phase.  If you want to donate towards the construction of the Abundant Life Training Center, please designate your gift to the Building Fund.

This next week, the kitchen and restrooms building, which is behind the large sanctuary, will be complete.  Below are some pictures.

The only thing left is to install the water filtration system and some painting on the outside.  Also, we have ordered the air conditioning units, and those units will not arrive from the factory until April.  These are special 3-phase units that will be more efficient than single phase.  

If the Lord leads you to donate...

Checks for Thailand NOW can be mailed to:

Thailand NOW

P.O. Box 56

Mannsville, KY 42758

OR Donate Online at our website >> https://thailandnow.org/donate-2/

A Praise, an Update on the Abundand Life Training Center, and an urgent Prayer Request

First, the Praise.  As you know, we have been trying to get visas for our four Thai national missionaries to come to America to visit supporting churches.  Last year, we failed to get a visa for Pastors Wassana and Corn.  We had all of the necessary documents, in fact, we far surpassed all of the requirements.  But the officer at the American embassy in Bangkok would not even read any of the documents showing full sponsorship and itineration details of all the supporting churches they would visit.  The officer rejected both of them without even a cursory examination of any supporting documentation, and it was discouraging.  

So this time, we sent May, who is the Director of the Abundant Life Financial Training Program, to try a different location to get a visa.  Last week, May went to the American Consulate in Chiang Mai, which is in the "Bible belt" of Thailand.  The consulate officers there would be accustomed to giving visas to Thai pastors and Christian leaders serving with Christian organizations in America.  The consulate officer there in Chiang Mai carefully read all of the supporting documents, and May was granted a visa to come to America.  God is good!

Also, a few weeks ago, May and her husband Teddy, had a House Dedication Worship Service.  Many Thai pastors and Christian leaders attended this ceremony.  Their house is at the Abundant Life Training Center, and your donations for Phases 1 and 2 of the construction of this project bought the land (which includes the land the house is built upon) and also 40% of the cost of building their home.  Thank you for your generosity which made this possible.  (Below is a picture of Sherri giving words of blessing to May and Teddy at the House Dedication Worship Service).

Second, the Update on the Abundant Life Training Center.   

Phase Two Construction is wrapping up nicely.  The Director's housing (May and Teddy's home) is complete.  The sanctuary is complete and the construction of the restroom/kitchen building will be completed this next week.  (Below is a picture of the sanctuary, which is temporarily being used to store some of our items until we can distribute them.)

We have been fundraising for Phase Three now, which includes:  1.  Purchasing and Installing a large 3-Phase transformer and poles to carry electricity to every building on campus; 2.  Purchasing and installing eight 3-phase air conditioner units; and 3.  Constructing a Security Wall around the perimeter of the campus including gates in the front entrances and a beautiful sign as well.

Total cost of Phase Three is $47,000 and we have now received $23,150.  We need $23,850 to complete this phase.  We are almost half way there!  If you would like to donate to this project, please be sure to designate your gift to the Building Fund.

Installation of the 3-Phase transformer and installing the electric poles on the campus has been accomplished.  We hope to have the air conditioner units installed in the next few weeks.  Then we will wait for the remaining funds needed, so we can build the perimeter security wall.  This will be a big project, since it is around 11,000 feet of wall that must be built.

Finally, we would like to forward an Urgent Prayer Request from Allie and David Houle that they shared via email.

After sharing with you all last November about our adoption finally being approved, we have been working to get all the documents in order and translated into English to be able to bring Aden back home to America to meet the rest of her family. We have finished all the paperwork on the Thai side and Aden now has a passport, but now we must wait for her visa to be approved to go to America. Aden is a Thai citizen with a Thai passport, and because she was adopted locally in Thailand (not internationally), she was not automatically given an American visa and it will take time for her to get citizenship. That’s why we must go to the US Embassy and request a visa. We’ve already applied for the visa but we must go in-person for an interview scheduled on February 27th. Please pray that we meet the right officer who will see and understand our situation and grant Aden a 10-year visa so that she can travel back and forth to America with us for years to come.

After the interview, Aden should get a visa within a week or so and we will plan to travel back home to America for a visit in mid-March. It’s hard to believe that it has been 5 and a half years since we have been home and I know there will be an adjust period for us and for Aden. We are extremely excited to be back home and plan to take a longer itineration in America, for about 5 months. This will allow for time with family, fundraising, and therapy for Aden.

 Your prayers are greatly appreciated and very powerful.  We are blessed to have so many people lifting this all of the missionaries and team members of Thailand NOW up in your prayers.  God is good!