Blessing Home Building Fund Update AND More news on the severe flood in Bangkok

Lots of news to tell, but first we want to update you on the progress towards the goal of raising $144,000 for buying a building for Blessing Home.  Praise God!  Over $60,000 has been raised so far.  That means we are 42% of the way towards the goal.

During this Fall itineration, we concentrated on visiting churches that we have not been to for over a year and also on new churches that we have never visited.  We wish we had time to visit everyone.  However, we need everyone’s help to reach the goal.  We are asking for every church and every family to take a special offering for buying a building for Blessing Home.  There is no better way to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ, then to help save orphans and street children from being enslaved by predators and drug pushers. 

If you want to promote Blessing Home and take a Christmas or Thanksgiving offering for the Blessing Home Building Fund, please download the video by clicking this link

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B1sGfSTQ-m5HZTc0M2U4YmYtNzc5ZS00MzVmLTgyMzAtNTUxMzI1YzI0NTFh&hl=en_US

The Blessing Home brochure can be downloaded by clicking this link

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1sGfSTQ-m5HNDVjNWZjNmItNWRkZC00OTE5LWExNDUtMTg1YWQzNmQ2OWUy&hl=en_US

We are praying that God will lay this burden on the hearts of God’s people, so that the children of Blessing Home can receive a building for Christmas.  If you would like your church to take a Christmas offering for Blessing Home, now is the time to talk with your pastor and church leaders.

ON A DIFFERENT NOTE…

Please continue to pray for all of the flooding in Thailand, especially in Bangkok.  Pastor Banya of Life Center UMC in Pattaya has said the suffering for poor people in Bangkok is great and that there has been a huge wave of refugees leaving the city.  The poor neighborhoods have been the hardest hit, and even in areas that are not yet flooded, the people have had to flee because there is no food and water to buy.  The stores are empty and they have no way to survive in the city.

The people who flee know that their belongings will be looted, but they do not have vehicles to carry their belongings, so the poorest of the lot are leaving with just what they can carry.

The floods will be around for at least 4 weeks, because the lakes and reservoirs in the north are completely full so the 2 largest dams in Thailand are releasing water at full volume to prevent the dams from breaking.  But this is just making the floods worse and they will last much longer now.  The bits and pieces of news we have seen in the international news has not done justice to the severity of the crisis.

ON A FINAL NOTE

I just chatted with Sherri who has safely arrived at home in Chonburi, Thailand.   Many thoughtful friends have been praying for traveling mercies for Sherri, and God has answered your prayers.

Flooding in Thailand

Flooding in Pattaya, Thailand

We are always touched by the thoughtfulness of prayer warriors who see the World News, hear a story about Thailand, and then ask to see if we and the Thai people we serve are OK.
Many have written to us about the floods in Thailand with great concern.

This has been an unusually harsh year for weather, with great extremes (it seems to be that way in the States too).  Now is the end of the rain season in Thailand, and Thai people are accustomed to flooding, but the massive scale of the flooding this year has caused great suffering.

Over 700,000 homes are under the flood waters, in many regions of Thailand. and the death toll is up to 270 people.  For many in the deepest of poverty, they do not have the resources and networks of relationships to get assistance.  Your prayers for this situtation is urgent.

As far as Blessing Home goes, it is on high ground, but as you see from the picture above, much of Pattaya is flooded.  Getting around Pattaya is very difficult, because many roads are closed, and traffic is at a standstill.  Fortunately, the children of Blessing Home live on high ground as well.  Teacher Pui of Blessing Home said that there was an upside to the flooding in Pattaya.  When we asked her how the floods could be a good thing, she said that it keeps the sex tourists away.  We had to agree with Pui, that is a good thing.

On a pleasant note, for the last two weeks, we have been visiting our family here in the States, traveling between Kentucky and Louisiana.  Seeing everyone, especially our grandchildren, has been a tremendously great time of spiritual refreshment for us.  Being away from our family for most of the year is the only part about missionary life that we find to be difficult.  The rest is just challenges and inconveniences.  But we praise God for the internet and Skype.  While we are away, we can still contact our family.  God is good!