Joyful Reunion

While we were itinerating in the States, one of the miracles that we spoke about was Santa Clara KUMC Mission Team as they served in Bangsaray. We enjoyed showing pictures from the event, because it was a time of seeing God's power at work in the ministry of the Thai Christians who witnessed faithfully and effectively. (If you did not hear this story while we were itinerating, follow this link to read about it in our blog: http://msmorrissey.blogspot.com/2008/09/miracle-at-bangsaray-and-pattaya.html )

This week, we had our first UM pastors and interns meeting at our house since we came back to Thailand. It was a joyful reunion. So many things had transpired in their lives and we wanted to hear all of their stories and be able to pray with them. At the meeting, some of the new pastors and interns saw the pictures of the event at Bangsaray, and we told them the story that we told you. They had shocked looks on their faces because they had never heard of such a thing in Thailand.

One of the evangelists at this event who witnessed to many, many people was Pastor Nampon of Almighty God UMC in Nonsomboon. She is pictured above at the event in Bangsaray (photos courtesy of Mr. Park Tae Hwa of Santa Clara KUMC -- www.thpark.com ) Pastor Nampon gave testimony at the pastors and interns meeting that she had a crisis last month. There was an senior woman who was a new believer that joined Almighty God UMC. This woman wanted to cleanse her house of idols. As usual, there was a special worship service to remove the idols. However, 2 weeks after cleansing her home of idols, this senior believer became suddenly ill and died. Her family and many in the town blamed Pastor Nampon because they believed the spirits were taking vengeance on the woman for removing the idols. Pastor Nampon faced persecution for the last month, but things have calmed down. Please keep Pastor Nampon and this situation in prayer.

The Santa Clara KUMC Mission Team will be here in September to do another eyeglass mission. They will be going up to Pastor Nampon's church. Please pray that the Mission Team's act of mercy in providing free eyeglasses and portraits will help to rebuild good relations with community leaders in Nonsomboon. This mission team and be a key to bridging trust in this town.

Serendipitous Blessings at Life Center UMC in Pattaya

Today we worshipped at Life Center UMC in Pattaya. The previous two times we visited, we attended the Chinese service in the afternoon, so we really wanted to connect with the Thai believers at the morning service.

When we pulled up to the church, the first thing we noticed was a new church sign with the cross and flame logo of the United Methodist Church. The sign reminds us of how proud we are to be United Methodist. Life Center UMC serves as a lighthouse of hope in the midst of a dark city, and seeing the UMC logo reminds us of the Connection which means so much to us.

When we went inside, the church was filled with joyous people worshipping the Lord. We really enjoyed the service, which had many people standing up to give a testimony of how God has changed their lives and blessed them. In fact, there were a few people who gave testimonies that we believe God will some day call into pastoral ministry. They were filled with holy boldness as they gave testimony to the goodness and power of our Lord.

There were many new faces and the numbers of worshippers have grown in the last few months. When we met some of the new people, we were truly blessed to discover that some of them were the grandparents or "foster" parents of the children from Blessing Home. We gave praise to the Lord that God is using this ministry to not only save these children, but also to reach the families that care for them. It is working! Blessing Home is truly a ministry to the community, reaching the children and the adults that care for them. This is what makes Blessing Home different than other orphan ministries. God is good!

On a side note, we are still adjusting to the heat here. It has been 100-110 degrees with 95% or higher humidity everyday. When we went back to the States, we were there long enough for our bodies to adjust to the moderate temperates of Kentucky (especially since Kentucky had unusually cold weather). Now we have to re-adjust to the sweltering heat of Thailand. We find ourselves quickly physically drained in this heat and must pace ourselves. We have been enjoying air conditioning more than usual in the effort to adjust.

Since we have been back, we have been trying to meet with the pastors and interns on an individual basis and will have our first group pastors meeting on Tuesday. We must make plans for an upcoming Mission Team from Santa Clara as well as plans for a License to Preach School coming up soon.

Keep lifting us and your Thai brothers and sisters up to God in prayer.

Back in Thailand

Well.... we arrived early in the morning on August 7 at BKK airport and we proceeded to take a few days off to rest and get our house set back up (buy groceries, unpack bags, etc.) before getting back into action here. Itineration in the States was draining. We were in the States for nine and a half weeks, with one week devoted to our medical examinations in Atlanta. In the remaining eight and a half weeks we spoke at 85 churches, 2 annual conference meetings, and 2 large retreats. All in all we preached and spoke close to 120 times. Our goal was to visit as many churches as possible, and the reception we received was wonderful.

Sunday morning was a joyful time at Pradumri UMC. Wednesday is Mother's Day in Thailand, because it is the Queen Sirikit's birthday. (Queen Sirikit's picture in on the left)

The Christians of Pradumri UMC have a tradition of placing flowers at the altar table. People will take flowers and give them to their mothers and "spiritual mothers". Pastor Sarah had a large bouquet of flowers as other women showed their deep gratitude for her pastoral leadership and spiritual nurture.

There was also much special music by the children, as well as a four-part harmony a cappella choir singing hymns. Harmony and multi-part singing is not usual in Thai music, including worship music. So this was a venture into new territory. There was also a humorous skit about being thankful and respectful to mothers. The Thai Christians are very creative and love to celebrate and have fun.

We thoroughly enjoyed worship at Pradumri UMC. We experienced passionate, joyful, Spirit-filled worship of our Lord Jesus Christ that fills the soul. We enjoyed worship even though we were both completely exhausted and very sleepy. Thailand is on the opposite side of the world, so we are completely turned around on time. I (Mike) didn't sleep at all on Saturday night.

Today (Monday, August 10) we go to get our visas. This is a multi-step process. We must stop for copies of our passports (every page) and a photos. We must also go to the language school to pick up our paperwork and fill it out. Then we go to Immigration Police in Bangkok. First we have to fill out our 90 day reports and get them registered. The ninety day reports lets the police know our where we are staying in Thailand. Then when that is complete, we put in our visa applications and paperwork and wait. These are always days filled with prayer, that all will go well and that God will give us favor in their eyes. The top priority we have is staying in the country because we cannot do our work otherwise.

I am going to close this blog out now and will get back with you later this week. We have much to say but do not have the time today. We have to head off to Bangkok now.