Christmas at Blessing Home

It was a wonderful Christmas outreach at the Blessing Home this past Friday.  A very large contingent of members from Life Center UMC in Pattaya helped to put it on, and without their help, it wouldn’t have been possible.  Missions is about Christians across the world working together for the Kingdom of God, and together we can do ministry that would be impossible without this connection.  We praise God for Christians who care for the orphans and street children on both sides of our planet, East and West.  Thank you.

At the Blessing Home Christmas Outreach, the place was packed, beyond packed…. If there was a space, people were standing there.  So crowded that when the children would come out to sing or dance, we would bring them out in small groups because all could not come at the same time.

The crowd was filled with the family and guardians and all who are connected with the orphans and street children who receive care at the Blessing Home.  Pastor Banya gave a beautiful message that explained to these Thai people about the true meaning of Christmas, since most had no idea that Christmas was a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.  It is odd, there are Christmas trees decorated beautifully all over Thailand, but hardly anyone knows why Christmas is celebrated, that is it all about the birth of Jesus our Savior.  Pastor Banya’s message was very much needed.  He then presented the gospel of Christ in a clear and compelling way, because we know everyone needs Jesus.

The children shared the gospel in song and liturgical dance and they were very charming, as you see from the pictures.  Most of the children were from Blessing Home and some were from Life Center UMC. 

We thank all who prayed for this special evangelistic event, because it is only with the power of God that lives are changed, and we want all of the children and the adults and family members connected with them to know the love of the Lord Jesus Christ and be changed by His power.

One of the great joys of Christmas is to be able to go buy Christmas presents for the children at Blessing Home.  And we thank you for your generosity, so that we could purchase gifts for every child.  We had funds to spend about $4 per child, and we were able to get some toys, and teddy bears, and snacks for each child. The children were very happy, but we know we received much more joy purchasing and preparing the Christmas gifts.  We had an absolute blast.  Thank you for making it possible.

Sherri and I will be spending Christmas visiting the UMC pastors who live in this region (within a two hour drive of here).  We will also have little Igo with us, who is nine years old.  Igo (pronounced ‘eye-go’) lost her Japanese father and her brother in a car accident two years ago in Japan.  Her mother, Ning (who is Thai), and her had to move back to Thailand and were destitute.  Ning studies English in a class with others with Mike twice per week.  Igo comes to our home often, and has adopted us as her uncle and aunt.  Igo will be with us for Christmas, and we are blessed to have her with us.  She is bright and fun and it is good to have a child around the house at Christmas.

We really miss our family during Christmas and we know they miss us.  Please pray for us and other missionaries, because this can be a tough time to be far away.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

Yours in Christ,

Mike and Sherri

The Christmas tree at our home in Chonburi surrounded by Gift Bags for the children of Blessing Home

The entrance to Blessing Home.  To get into the Christmas Outreach, you had to wade through a sea of shoes.

Thailand Methodist Mission has a newly designed website

Please visit the newly designed website for the Thailand Methodist Mission at http://thailandmethodist.org

Fellow missionaries Sawang and Lee-Anne Treetippayapitak of Victory Bible College International helped to design the new site and we are very thankful for their help.

A new UMC church in Pattaya for Akha hill-tribe people

Wonderful news!  A new UMC church has opened in Pattaya for Akha tribal people who work in this city.  The Akha people are from the hills and mountains of Northern Thailand, but many must live in Pattaya to sell their handcrafts to tourists here.   Last year, we had plans on starting this church and had some wonderful organizational meetings with Akha Christians in Pattaya.

Here are links to those articles from last year.

http://msmorrissey.blogspot.com/2009/11/akha-gathering-in-pattaya.html

http://msmorrissey.blogspot.com/2009/11/this-week-l2p-school-and-ethnic.html

The organizational meetings were well attended and there was much enthusiasm and excitement.  We thought we would have this church started by January 2010, but God has His timing and it was different from ours.  The one who was going to be the Akha pastor for this new congregation was disqualified from service, and we could not find a replacement that would be the right person to serve in Pattaya, a very difficult place to serve.  Also, the place where we were going to rent became unavailable, and we could not find an affordable place (Pattaya is very expensive for Thailand).  So, this was put on hold until both the right pastor and the right location could be found.  Church planting is always a process, sometimes it is short and sometimes not.  But God’s timing is always the best.

We praise God, that the work that we started has now come to completion, because of the efforts of Rev. Cherlue Vang and Pastor Sarah of Pradumri First UMC.  Pastor Sarah has graciously provided for the funds for renting a building in a good location in Pattaya.  She has been key to the whole process and we thank Pastor Sarah for her faithfulness to the Lord.

Mike and Pastor Ahloong

The new Akha pastor is Pastor Ahloong, who we trained during the last two years.  In the first year, Pastor Ahloong as he served as an intern and received training from us twice each month, including credentialing training essential for all United Methodist pastors, Local Pastor School.  This year, he completed his final year of studies at Phayao Bible College, and completed the three United Methodist Advanced Course of Study classes essential for ordination: UM History, UM Polity, UM Doctrine, which Sherri and I taught last Spring.  Pastor Ahloong also received training from us in the Cell-based church planting method, which is effective all over the world (and very Wesleyan as well).

The Grand Opening for the Pradumri Akha UMC of Pattaya was last Sunday, but we could not attend because we had a previous commitment to be in Western Thailand, in Nakhon Pithom, for the dedication service for their new Youth Center.  So we visited this Sunday afternoon with the Akha church, for they were having their Christmas celebration (very early in the month, it seems).  There were over 120 Akha in attendance, which was not surprising because of the strong support we saw at last year’s organizational meetings.  They are a friendly, outgoing, lovable people and we rejoiced in the welcoming spirit of the members of this new church.  We rejoice that this church has a very strong start.  God is blessing the efforts of Pastor Ahloong and all who have had a part in this new church.  There are now 12 UMC churches in Thailand, glory be to God.

Sherri and the Devil from their drama

Most people sat outside in the street

Later this week, we want to introduce you to Teacher Mali, a Chinese Thai Christian who was the key person for planting this church.

On a side note, Mike did his first bi-lingual (English-Thai) wedding at Life Center UMC in Pattaya.  Ken, an Englishman, and Duan, a Thai woman, had their wedding as part of the worship service this past Sunday.  Attached are some pictures of the wedding.  Mike was more nervous than the bride and groom because he had to do the ceremony in Thai as well as English.  All went well.

It was one of those truly blessed Sundays that are a gift from God.  God is good!

Duan and Ken Grainger, with Duan's mother

Consecration Prayer at the wedding

Important Announcement Concerning Blessing Home

Little Naet of Blessing Home

It is official now.  Blessing Home is now an official ministry of the Thailand Methodist Mission (TMM).  The Board of Directors of TMM voted on Monday to receive responsibility for the Blessing Home ministry to orphans and street children.  We are very grateful for their affirmative vote, because the children of Blessing Home needed an organization to step up to the plate to help them.

Blessing Home started as a ministry of GBGM, and our poster child, Naet, was also once the poster child for GBGM’s Annual Report to their Board of Directors just two years ago.  But since then, GBGM has experienced financial problems and it was decided that they could no longer support this ministry. 

The Thailand Methodist Mission stepped in on an emergency basis in September 2010, to begin providing support for Blessing Home, and we put out the call for the need for immediate donations because we did not have the funds on hand to “dive and catch the ball”.  YOU, God’s people, responded with compassion and generosity, and we helped to save Blessing Home from closing, which would be tragic for the children here who are at great risk of the child sex trade and the illegal drug trade as well. 

The Thailand Methodist Mission offered to take responsibility for GBGM, and GBGM has agreed to hand over responsibility in the month of November, 2010.  This still required a vote from the Board of TMM to receive responsibility and place Blessing Home in the General Fund budget.  There was unanimous agreement on the Board of TMM to do this.

We need your prayers as there is much work to do.  We must now register Blessing Home as a Social Work Agency within Thailand.  It is necessary for Blessing Home to receive this certification because without it, we will not be able to own property, and we move towards owning our own building rather than paying rent.  But first, the registration as a Social Work Agency must take place.  To do this next step, will require hiring a lawyer and security deposit.  We need about $12,000 to do this next step.  Again, without this step, Blessing Home and TMM cannot own property in Thailand and we will be forced to rent a building, which at this time makes up about 39% of expenses for Blessing Home.

If you or your church feel led by the Lord to help us with this, it would be wonderful.  The faster we can receive funds for the security deposit and legal fees, the sooner we can raise funds for purchasing a building.  This will be wonderful, because it will free up funds for providing services to the children.  Please pray about this matter and do as the Lord leads you to do.  

Giving can be done through the mail or online.

Please send checks to:

TMM

P.O. Box 56

Mannsville, KY 42758

OR give online by clicking this link

https://www.justgive.org/nonprofits/donate.jsp?ein=27-2388347

God Bless You,
Mike and Sherri

Nakhon Pithom Dedication Service

It is always a joyous occasion to visit the UMC churches that we have had the privilege to help plant in Thailand.  At each church, we always feel welcomed to the point of wanting to move to live with our fellow brothers and sisters there.  Really.  Everytime, we go away thinking, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to come here and worship with our brothers and sisters here all of the time?”  This Sunday was just the same. 

This weekend we went to Nakhon Pithom for a special consecration service for the new United Methodist Youth Center.  Because of the generosity of their sister church, St. John’s UMC of Aiken, S.C., the United Methodist Church of Nakhon Pithom was able to open this new Youth Center where the Gospel is taught and lived out, where children can borrow good books to read, and where they can learn to play music for free as well.

At the dedication service, some of the children and youth from the center performed Thai dance for us, so we could all be blessed.  They have just started learning music, so it will only be a few months before some are playing worship songs with guitars and drums.  We were very impressed by how friendly and polite the children were.

Our prayers are that many children and youth will come to have new lives in Jesus Christ, and that through these youth, all of this region of Thailand will be reached for the Lord.  Blessed by the name of the Lord!

A Tale of Two Baptisms (2 out of 7, actually)

Life Center UMC in Pattaya is our home church in Thailand and we love our brothers and sisters here.  Life Center UMC has both a Thai congregation and a Chinese congregation, and both are growing and getting stronger every month.  This is wonderful news, because Pattaya is a very difficult place to grow a church, because it is the Sodom and Gomorrah of Southeast Asia.  Yet Pastor Banya, whose name means “wisdom”, lives up to his name in his wise and faithful leadership.

Life Center UMC is also the church which sponsors Blessing Home, which most know is a ministry which serves street children and orphans in Pattaya, providing food, education, safety, medical care, Christian education and the Love of the Lord to the 64 children who receive care each week.

This past Sunday was a special day in the life of the Thai congregation as 7 new believers were baptized in the universal church of Jesus Christ.  Out of the 7 that were baptized, we wanted to highlight 2 of them. 

The first is a young teenager named Nok, who is the daughter of Pui.  Pui is the director of Blessing Home, and we are very blessed to have her leading this ministry.  Pui is one of those people that is highly gifted in many areas of life, and she is a faithful hard worker in the church.  She leads cells the praise team and can play the guitar, she teaches children, and then leads large events at the church. She can teach and preach and do it all.  And by her side is her daughter Nok, who is a sweet-spirited young lady who help run the computer at church and is one of the most thoughtful teenagers we have ever met.  No one has to ask her to do anything.  If there is a guest speaker, she will get them water to drink.  If there is a young child who needs assistance, she is right there.  Well, today, Pui’s daughter Nok and her brother and sister-in-law were all baptized.  Pui was beaming with joy the whole day.  It is wonderful watching Nok grow up to be a very kind, gentle, generous, and gifted young woman, just like her mother, Pui.  God is good!

The second new believer is Sinchai, who was the oldest person baptized.  Don’t ask his age, because I (Mike) forgot to ask.  Sinchai has been a believer for 29 months now and during that time God has held his hand through many serious trials, the largest of which was his stroke which paralyzed his left side.  Sinchai had a very slow recovery from his stroke, and yet He has trusted in God the whole time.  Sinchai is a real prayer warrior.  When he prays for you, you know that things are moving in the spiritual realm, because he prays with his whole heart.  When he prays, it is often that we find ourselves weeping with joy over the goodness of our Lord.  It was a joy to be there with him at his baptism.

I know recently we have posted many baptism pictures, and we hope you do not grow tired of articles about these baptism services.  It is just that it is a great time of rejoicing for us here in Thailand, and we want to share that joy with you.  New believers in Thailand face much pressure to return to their old life and their old faith.  Some new believers experience persecution and loss  for their new faith in Christ, and it is a miracle when they overcome all of this to be baptized members of the church. 

So today in your prayers, please give thanks and praise to God for working miracles in the lives of these new believers in Thailand.

Pictures that give glory to our Lord

Here are some of the pictures I promised we would put on the blog.
Our camera is an inexpensive one that cannot take far distant shots, so we have to rely on others to take pictures and send them to us.  Pastor Theradon sent this graduation picture, of him receiving his Master of Divinity Degree.  He is now the third UMC pastor with an M.Div. degree, and next year Pastor Panya will join the group and make four.  We give praise to the Lord that TMM was able to give a full scholarship to Pastor Theradon to finish his M.Div. degree and pay for graduation fees as well.  God is good, and so is His servant, Pastor Theradon, who serves two churches in the Suphanburi Circuit.  He is a true pioneer, because both of his churches are the only churches in his district (comparable to a county in the States).  He serves in isolation from other churches and ministries, and he needs our constant prayer.

The other pictures are of Dr. Somsak baptizing 20 new believers at UMC camp at Sattahip.  There were pastors and members of 9 of the 11 UMC churches across Thailand in attendance.  It is a great blessing to see new believers being baptized, most of whom were Buddhist last year.  For some of them, they will face great pressure from family and friends because they are now Christians.  Please pray for these new believers that they will be steadfast in the faith and will grow in Christ.

Pioneering Pastors Program: First Training Event in Sriracha, Thailand

We want to thank everyone who has been praying for the first round of training in the Pioneering Pastors Program (PPP).  PPP is a project  of the Thailand Methodist Mission, with the purpose of training and resourcing pastors to pioneer churches where there are none.  At the present time, less than one percent of the population of Thailand is Christian, and one main reason is that most regions of Thailand remain unreached.  In fact, 85% of the subdistricts and villages in Thailand are unreached, having no church of any denomination or group.  The Pioneering Pastors Program is designed to be a catalyst to help other churches and denominations to plant churches.  We are a para-church organization, not a church, so we do not start churches in the name of our own organization.  We simply help other organizations to pioneer, with the hope that soon, every subdistrict and village in Thailand will have a healthy, vibrant church, so that all may have a chance to know the Lord Jesus Christ.  Because we are United Methodist, UM church planters that qualify, receive top priority over other organizations. 

To qualify as a Pioneer Pastor, the church planter must commit to planting a church in an unreached subdistrict.  After receiving training, the pioneer receives a Basic Kit, which is designed to help the pastor have the equipment needed for planting cell groups.  The Basic Kit includes a used motorcy (a small Asian motorcycle) for visitation, a guitar and case, songbooks, Bibles, and Christian education materials, plus one year of coaching.  If the pastor follows the training given and is fruitful, she/he qualifies to receive the Advanced Kit, which is designed to help bring the cell groups together to form a worship service.  The Advanced Kit includes a sound system, musical instruments, computer (with Bible study programs), and a video projector.  The Advanced Kit provides a boost to the new church and a reward for pastor for the hard work of pioneering.  The training, one year of coaching, and both kits cost a total of $4500.  If you or your church would like to make a great impact for the Kingdom of God, please pray and consider being a sister church which sponsors a Pioneering Pastor.  It makes an eternity of difference when you help to plant a church in an unreached village.

The training that we began this week was in Sriracha, just about 8 miles south of us.  Pastor Neo, who serves together with us as a translator, is also a pioneering pastor who graduated from Victory Bible College International in Sriracha.  Pastor Neo is re-starting his congregation, with a new move and new direction.  We are training members and leaders in his church as well as Victory Bible College students who seek to pioneer churches in their nations. 

The training was well attended, with over 30 in attendance.  What thrilled us was that there were people from many nations, not just Thailand.  There were students training to be pioneering pastors from Nigeria, India, Nepal, Burma, Philippines, and Vietnam.  It is very humbling to work together with these pastors who will go back to their home nations to pioneer for the Lord.  What a great blessing.  We were encouraged by the responses received by the pioneers being trained.  We know God will use them to be a great blessing.

Next week we do the second half of the training.  In fact, the training given is an abbreviated form of the training we will usually do.  We had to edit some content due to time restrictions.

None of those who are receiving any of the resource kits, some because they do not qualify (they are planting a church in a sub-district that already has a church), and others because we do not yet have funds for purchasing the kits.  We are praying for God’s provision that we can help to plant more churches in unreached areas of Thailand.  And throughout the world, because everybody needs Jesus.

Thailand UMC Camp 2010

This past weekend was an exciting time for United Methodists in Thailand.
It was the first camp that Thai United Methodists from all churches in Thailand attended.  Many traveled for 15 hours or more to get to camp.  There have been camps each previous year, but not one that was nationwide.

It was a great pleasure to spend time with United Methodist believers from every church.  Truly an encouraging experience for me (Mike) as I was able to see how these believers have become strong Spirit-filled leaders.  It is always a spirit-booster to be able to see the fruit of the ministry.  All the glory belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ, who changes peoples lives.  Praise the Lord!

I do not know the number that attended camp this year and do not want to venture a guess.  I will have to ask later, but it was by far the biggest camp ever.

Thai Christians are filled with the joy of the Lord and it shows in their worship, in their fellowship, and in their everyday lives.  There were many fun skits and shows and games.  The worship was celebrative.  The fellowship was sweet.

There were around 20 people baptized at this year's camp, and you see the pictures of the baptismal candidates praying with Dr. Somsak, who performed the baptisms.

At Thailand UMC Camp 2010, we had the privilege of meeting Rev. Cherlue Vang and Mrs. Mang Thao Vang, who are the new GBGM missionaries.  Rev. Cherlue Vang is the new National Director for GBGM in Thailand, the position which we held when we were with GBGM.  We rejoice in their arrival and for the opportunity to work together cooperatively with them.  God will bless their ministry.  You can visit their blog at http://www.gbgm-thailand.blogspot.com/

Clergy Stoles

At Annual Conference this year, we sold Thai silk and goods to help support the ministry of the Thailand Methodist Mission, and the response was wonderful.  Some United Methodist Women looked at the colorful Thai silk we had for sale with the intention of making clergy stoles as gifts for their pastors.  Unfortunately the silk we had was too short to do the job.  


In response, in the past several months, Sherri has had many clergy stoles designed from Thai silk in beautiful patterns.  These clergy stoles would be unique gifts for pastors and also help support the work of the Thailand Methodist Mission. 


Sherri will be selling these clergy stoles and other Thai silk and Thai goods at the Kentucky Conference UMW Annual Mission Celebration at Christ UMC in Louisville on Saturday, October 23rd.  


(Sorry, I wish I had a picture of the clergy stoles)

Pastor Tharadon earns his Master of Divinity degree in Bangkok

Today was both a joyous and a sad day for me (Mike).  It was a joyous day because Pastor Tharadon who serves the Suphanburi Circuit in Western Thailand, received his Master of Divinity diploma today in Bangkok.

Pastor Tharadon is a pioneer for the Lord, planting churches in two unreached areas of Thailand.  It is difficult work and often lonely, but he has persevered and has even sacrificed time to continue this studies to have the educational qualifications needed to be an Elder in the United Methodist Church.  We are very proud of Pastor Tharadon, who has been a good friend and brother to us.

Because of your faithful giving to the Thailand Methodist Mission, this day was possible for Pastor Tharadon.  The Thailand Methodist Mission gave a scholarship to Pastor Tharadon so he could pay for his last semester of tuition and graduation fees.  Thank you for your generosity that has helped to train a pioneering pastor in Thailand.

God is good!

The sad part of today was that I am sick and cannot travel to attend his graduation.  I am very disappointed in not being able to go today.  Knowing that Sherri would be in the States, I put off much travel last month so I could be with her.  I put the travel off until this month, and have been on the road constantly, since it matters not where I am when Sherri is not here.  We must wait until the 25th of October to be together again.

TMM and St. John's UMC of Aiken, SC will soon open new Youth Mission Center in Nakhon Pithom

God is good! All the time!
It is our Lord who brings fruitfulness to all ministries, and it is to our God that all glory and honor belongs.

St. John's UMC of Aiken has been in a sister church relationship with Nakhon Pithom UMC, which is located west of Bangkok, for the past year. A sister church relationship is beautiful, because both sister congregations receive great blessings from each other.

Pastors Ekerat and Da of Nakhon Pithom UMC told us last month that the place next to the church was vacant and may be available for rent. They wanted to see if there was any possibility to rent it and create a new Youth Mission Center. As I sat with them in front of the church discussing this vision, I saw many children and youth passing by the church. Pastor Ekerat said that the children all live in the nearby slums, and that they walk past the church to go to the internet cafe. In the internet cafe, you see children packed in there. Usually there will be 4-5 children per computer, and one will play games while the other watches. Usually this is because only one child will have the 10 baht (33 cents) to play, but the others enjoy watching.

Pastor Ekerat said, "Pastor Mike, what if we had a mission center here for the youth. We could give free music lessons and we could have a library here too. My wife (Pastor Da) really wants the children and youth to have an opportunity to read good books. These children have no access to reading good books at this time, and it would really help them to have this opportunity. If we had this Youth Mission Center, they would come for the music lessons and the library, and we would have the chance to teach them about Jesus Christ too. They would come to the Youth Mission Center and many would follow Jesus Christ."

When I heard the vision for a Youth Mission Center from Pastors Ekerat and Da, my heart was touched and it was obviously from the Lord. So we began to make plans. When the owner of the building was contacted, we found out that someone had already rented the building, but had not yet placed a security deposit and had not yet arrived. The owner said that at the end of the month of September, if the man who wanted to rent the place did not show up, he would rent it to the church. So we all started praying that the building would be available to the church.

God answered everyone's prayers, and funds that were donated by St. John's UMC was used to pay for a full year of rent as well as the purchase of musical instruments and books and bookshelves. The library is starting out small, but we know bit by bit it will grow.

We hope in the next few weeks to be able to open the Youth Mission Center and I will have pictures then.

There is a mission team that will come from Kentucky, and this location is one of the worksites, where the team will work to paint and spruce up the building which is in rough shape.

We praise God for His great blessings. Praise the Lord!

New Online Donation Service

The Thailand Methodist Mission has a new online donation service with www.JustGive.org
Our blog at msmorrissey.blogspot.com has a button that you can click on to give online. Of course you can always send a check in the mail to:
TMM
P.O. Box 56
Mannsville, KY 42758

The online giving through the TMM website is still not working. We will be renovating the TMM website this month with the help of some people who know what they are doing (meaning someone other than us).

Thank you and God bless you for your faithfulness.

Nakhon Pithom UMC receives musical instruments for worship and teaching

Sister church relationships are a beautiful thing. Nakhon Pithom UMC and St. John UMC of Aiken, S.C. are sister churches that pray for each other. The believers of St. John UMC knew that there was a need for musical instruments at their sister church. Instruments were needed, not just for Sunday morning worship, but also because the church is a youth center during the week, where free music lessons are given to children and youth who live in poverty in the nearby community. But it was difficult to give lessons with just one guitar to share among many. Because of the generous donation of St. John UMC, two more acoustic guitars, an electric guitar, a bass guitar, and a drum set were purchased for use at the church.

The believers at Nakhon Pithom UMC are now praising God with the new musical instruments and now many more children receive free music lessons at the church while at the same time being taught about the Lord Jesus Christ who loves them dearly.

The pictures above are of the church, before the musical instruments were purchased. I will have newer pictures, hopefully next month.

Meet the Board of the Thailand Methodist Mission

Sherri and I would like to take a moment to extend our thanks to the sacrifice that the Board members of the Thailand Methodist Mission give to make the mission here possible. They provide the connection and accountability that the mission needs. We give special thanks to the Executive members who are seated in the front row. They are hard workers who always serve with the joy of the Lord in their hearts.






Seated LtoR: Vice-President: Bryan Lewis, President: Thad Prince, Secretary: Janet Bradley, Treasurer: Terri Gabehart

Standing LtoR: Rev. James Kingry (Russell Springs UMC), Rev. Doug Stilwell (Glasgow First UMC), Rev. Steve Drury (Lexington Trinity Hill UMC), Karen Prince, Lea Ann Johnson, Michael Norton, Rev. Ric Holladay (Greenville UMC).

Not present: Nola Gaddis, Rev. Michael Gibbons (Elizabethtown District Superintendent)

Sherri will be at the Kentucky Annual Conference UMW Missions Celebration

Sherri will be back in Kentucky for a few weeks in October, to visit family and friends. She will also have the privilege of attending the Kentucky Conference UMW Annual Mission Celebration at Christ UMC in Louisville on Saturday, October 23rd. She will have a booth set up where she will present the ministries of the Thailand Methodist Mission. Just like at Annual Conference, we will be selling Thai silk items, including handbags, clothes, and crafts at the UMW Annual Mission Celebration. It is a great way to buy beautiful unique Christmas gifts as well as raise support for missions as well.

Blessing Home Brochure and Powerpoint

These are links to a Brochure and a Powerpoint for promoting Blessing Home.

Please place a copy of the brochure on your church bulletin board or make copies available for members.

The Powerpoint can be used during Sunday morning worship as a 3 minute quick presentation.

Here are the links:
Download the TMM Blessing Home Brochure at: http://tinyurl.com/BlessingHome1

Download the TMM Blessing Home Powerpoint at: http://tinyurl.com/BlessingHome2

Urgent Message from the Morrisseys concerning Blessing Home

We are sending this bulletin to inform you of an urgent need for support for Blessing Home. Blessing Home is a ministry of Life Center United Methodist Church, which provides food, clothing, education, medical care, and Christian nurture to sixty four children in Pattaya. Pattaya is the epicenter of child trafficking in Southeast Asia, so this ministry seeks to save these children from those who seek to enslave them. Blessing Home is truly a life saving mission center.

In the past, Blessing Home received the majority of its support through your apportionments via the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM). Designated gifts for Blessing Home, with the exception of one large gift from a church in Central Kentucky, have been only a minor portion of the $1,258/month needed to rent facilities, pay staff, purchase food, provide transportation and other services for the 64 children.

Now there is an urgent need. Gary Moon, GBGM missionary in Thailand, has informed us that there are insufficient funds in the GBGM budget in Thailand to fully support Blessing Home. For now, Blessing Home can only count on receiving designated gifts (donations directly to Blessing Home). In an email to us, GBGM missionary Gary Moon said it would be very helpful if the Thailand Methodist Mission (TMM) could raise funds for Blessing Home so “no one falls through the cracks.”

Providentially, TMM had sufficient funds to give the full support of $1,258 for the month of September. However, we need a great wave of generosity from God’s people in order to fully support this ministry. We cannot give money that we do not have. This month, Blessing Home will only receive about $355 from GBGM and must use funds from the limited amount of savings Blessing Home has, to cover the rest of the expenses.

We have been in prayer with Pastor Banya and the leaders of Blessing Home seeking God’s direction. While in prayer, the one thing that God made clear to all was that we cannot let any of these children be released back into the streets without education, without proper nutrition, without supervision, without safety from predators who would enslave them. In fact, the thought of that happening is revolting to us. God made it clear to all that He would provide for the needs of these children through Blessing Home.

So, we need urgent help. We need special offerings at your churches in support of Blessing Home. We need special generous gifts from God’s people who have a heart for these children.

Please send gifts for Blessing Home to the Thailand Methodist Mission. You can send a check in the mail or give online.

Checks can be sent to:
TMM
P.O. Box 56
Mannsville, KY 42758

Or give online at http://thailandmethodist.org/

Thank you for your prayerful consideration of this request for support.

United Methodist Mission Center opens in Chiang Mai

August 21st was a very special day for United Methodists in Thailand. GBGM Missionaries Gary and Cindy Moon opened a new Mission Center for GBGM in Chiang Mai. It was a large celebration with guests from Thailand, Korea, and America in Attendance. Pastor Ekerin was chosen to be the worship leader for this historic event and Professor Werachot who is president of Phayao Bible College was the guest speaker. Others who took part in the celebration were a praise team comprised of Phayao Bible College Students, Dr. Tanapong (director of the Global Theological Institute and pastor of Lamppost UMC in Chiang Dao), Rev. Jong Sung Kim of GBGM, and Dr. Erlinda Senturias of the Christian Churches of Asia organization.

Mike celebrated at this event, but Sherri could not because she was busy teaching the second half of the Course of Study class on Pastoral Care as well as traveling to the Northeast to visit Pastor Nampon and the members of Almighty God UMC in Nonsomboon. This is a common occurrence where we must split up and be in different regions of Thailand.

While Sherri was visiting with Pastor Nampon, she was able to see the wonderful progress that has been made on the Pig Farm Cooperative, an economic development project that was started several months ago. Economic development projects, like the Pig Farm Cooperative, are developed in the churches and institutions to lift people out of poverty permanently while at the same time helping the churches and institutions to become financially self-sufficient. The Pig Farm Cooperative provides income for the church and helps 3 church families to have steady income. They have just completed their first cycle of raising pigs, and now they have re-invested some of the profits to expand the project even more. Sherri was absolutely pleased with the progress on this project. God is good!

TMM Is Officially a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization now!

Praise God! On August 17th, TMM application for 501c3 status as a Non-Profit Organization was approved by the IRS, so now all of the legal work is complete. This is a great answer to prayer.

We want to give special thanks to Terri Gabehart and Karen Prince, who sludged through all of the legalese and did much research, to make sure that TMM did everything the right way. This was the first time any of us had ever started a new non-profit organization, so there was a steep learning curve, and Terri and Karen did a marvelous job of making it happen.

We also want to express our deep appreciation for the pro-bono legal work of Attorney Jerry Fowler, Jr. of Lebanon, Kentucky. We are deeply indebted to Jerry who has served with a joyful heart.

God is good!

Pradumri Bangkok UMC has first Sunday morning worship service in new building

Last Sunday was a wonderful and joyous Sunday. Pradumri Bangkok UMC moved into a new six-story facility and celebrated their first Sunday morning worship service. This is a great answer to prayer because this church was in a very small facility before and they have been overcrowded for the past year. The previous building was also not in a good location, but this new one is right near the main road and has wonderful parking. We wanted this church to move to this building last year, but the rent was way to high. Now the Lord has provided and has made the building affordable.

The entrance to the church is on the side of the building. The very front of the building has a very large sign that you see on the picture. The sign quotes from Matthew 11:28 "Then Jesus said, 'Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.'"

Now this church will be able to grow at a faster rate than ever before because they have room to grow and a fantastic location. Pastors Sila and Wassana have provided strong leadership and we know that God will bless this church.