Great News about Blessing Home Isan

Preschoolers of Blessing Home the day of their special Christmas program.  The older children have not yet had their Christmas celebration.

The staff of Blessing Home, all of the members of Life Center UMC in Pattaya, and the children wish you a Blessed and Wonderful Christmas.

We have great news to bring you.  Two very generous Christian women have given a matching grant of $20,000 towards the Building Fund of Blessing Home Isan.  These women will match all gifts received for Blessing Home Isan from now until Sherri and I return to Thailand on January 29.   At this time, we have received about $18,000 for the Building Fund (shown as the dark pink bricks on the picture below).  The light pink bricks represent the matching grant.  Any donations to the Building Fund that you send between now and January 29th will be doubled in value.  If we receive $20,000 in gifts, combined with the matching grants, we will have $58,000 out of the $60,000 needed to open this new Blessing Home center in Northeast Thailand!

Remember, if you want to donate to Blessing Home Isan's building fund, please designate your gift as "Building Fund" OR "Blessing Home Isan".

You can give by mail to: TMM, P.O. Box 56, Mannsville, KY 42758

OR give online at: thailandmethodist.org

Update on Blessing Home Isan

We wish you a wonderful blessed Christmas.  We have been thoroughly enjoying the holidays.  As we speak at churches, we have had the opportunity to hear two Christmas cantatas in our own heart language (English).  And we have been enjoying spending the holidays with family.  It has been a very long time since we were together with all of our family for the holidays.  This time together is a gift from God.  Thank you, Lord.

We thank everyone who has been lifting us up in your prayers as we speak at churches to raise funds for the general budget and especially for the purchase of land and building a new building for the Blessing Home center in Northeast Thailand (Isan) which will be called Blessing Home Isan.  So far, over $17,000 has been raised for the new Blessing Home Isan center.  It is our prayer that God's people will remember Blessing Home Isan during this Christmas season.  With your prayers and support, many more children can be saved from traffickers and have a future of hope in Jesus Christ.

Remember, if you want to donate to Blessing Home Isan's building fund, please designate your gift as "Building Fund" OR "Blessing Home Isan".

You can give by mail to: TMM, P.O. Box 56, Mannsville, KY 42758

OR give online at:thailandmethodist.org

God of This City

We never would have thought that the city of Pattaya, the epicenter of sex tourism in Pacific Asia, would inspire a musician to make such a magnificent worship song.

Many of the churches that have contemporary worship in the States sing the song "God of This City", but do not know the story behind the song.  The first video is the story behind the song.  The second is the song by the original artist.   And the final video is the version made popular by Chris Tomlin.

We invite you to take time to hear the incredible testimony, enjoy the song, and remember to pray for the children of Blessing Home Ground Zero in Pattaya.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXh_tgjnYJw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=I1YECQwk1_g&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGkEE5dwmdY&feature=related

Pioneer Pastor Team needs your prayers

As missionaries, our goal is to train Thai Christian leaders to lead the ministries.  During this past year, a Pioneer Pastor Team of veteran Thai pastors has been formed and trained to take leadership in planting new churches in unreached sub-districts in Thailand.  The Pioneer Pastor Team discovers the right leaders for pioneering churches, trains them in Biblical and Pastoral studies, and also forms effective business plans and gives grants for pioneer pastors to start businesses to be self-supporting.  They provide coaching for the new pioneer pastors too.  And all of this happens while we are in the States for itineration.  And we are very, very pleased.  It is our vision that we will be able to train many teams of Thai pastors to plant churches in unreached areas of Thailand.  This first Pioneer Pastor Team is the firstfruits of the vision.

A new pilot program has been initiated by the Pioneer Pastor Team called the Lay Pastor Institute.  We believe most of the new pioneer pastors will be Thai laypeople who have never had the opportunity to go to Bible College.  The Lay Pastor Institute is a new program using the "Portable Bible College" curriculum provided by Evangelism Resources, a sister mission agency from Wilmore, Kentucky.  The curriculum is designed to train lay people to serve as pioneer pastors.  Every month the Pioneer Pastor Team provides training, both on-site and at the Blessing Home building in Pattaya (this building is a godsend to the ministry!).

The first class of the Lay Pastor Institute met on October 11 at Blessing Home Ground Zero in Pattaya.

Please pray for this new pilot program and for the Pioneer Pastor Team that will be meeting this month to make decisions concerning new church plants.  They have been very busy interviewing candidates and doing on-site visits.  We pray for the Lord to guide us and the Pioneer Pastor Team.  We want to do the Will of the Lord.

Blessing Home Isan Building Fund Campaign Begins

Please pray for us over the next few months as we seek to raise funds for the TMM budget and for the Blessing Home Isan building fund.  During Thanksgiving and Christmas, please remember the children in Northeast Thailand and help save them from traffickers.  Any gifts for Blessing Home Isan should be designated for the Building Fund or Blessing Home Isan.  Gifts can be sent to:

TMM 

PO Box 56

Mannsville, KY 42758 

or online at thailandmethodist.org

TMM will open a new Blessing Home center in Northeast Thailand in 2013

We are excited to announce that TMM will build a new Blessing Home center in Northeast Thailand called Blessing Home Isan. Please view the video and pray that over the next three months we can raise $60,000 to buy land and build the new center. Remember Blessing Home Isan during Christmas, and help save Children in Thailand to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  We need your help.

Christians in a very remote area need your prayer

This summer, the Pioneering Pastor Team has been at work in some of the remotest places in Thailand, seeking to open churches in unreached places, where no church of any type has ever been opened.  This pioneering work has brought them to Tahp-Sahdet, which is on the border of Cambodia.  During the Vietnam War, this region was deserted because it was a war zone.  After the war, some people settled into this area, but it is still remote and isolated.  There is no church in the vast majority of the sub-districts in this region.  When Mrs. Pimpeekah received land here from the government of Thailand and relocated here, there was no church.  So she started a cell group in her neighborhood which has over 200 families living there, even though she has no Bible college training. 

Mrs. Pimpeekah, on the left, is the leader of the cell group in the remote sub-district of Tahp-Sadet.  

View Thap Sadet, Ta Phraya, Sakaew in a larger map

The Pioneering Pastor Team will help to provide Bible training to Mrs. Pimpeekah and will bring Christian education resources to help them transition into becoming a church.  Our hope is that this new church will help to plant cell groups in the adjacent sub-districts that have no church whatsoever.  This is truly ministry at the edges of the Kingdom of God.  Tahp-Sahdet is located in the district called Ta Praya, which has 15 villages with a population of over 17,000 people, and this will be the first church in this district.  This district needs many churches because it is very large with no public transportation.  Please keep Mrs. Pimpeekah and the new church plant at Tahp Sahdet in prayer as well as the Pioneering Pastor Team.  

The Christians of Tahp-Sahdet meet for worship at Mrs. Pimpeekah's house.

A very inspiring worship service at Life Center UMC

This past Sunday morning worship at Life Center UMC (the church that sponsors Blessing Home) in Pattaya was a great blessing.

This past Sunday, the women from the Tamar Center worshipped with us.  The Tamar Center is a ministry of Youth With a Mission (YWAM) in Pattaya that helps women to leave prostitution and develops them to have new life in Christ through a residence program that teaches them other vocations, such as becoming beauticians or managing a coffee shop and bakery.  The members of Life Center UMC have had a special relationship with this ministry, helping with vocational training, such as making greeting cards that can be sold to tourists.   12 women and 3 staff from Tamar Center were worshipping the Lord with us, and it was amazing to see how God has radically changed their lives, giving them hope and joy and a community of faith that supports them.  Changed lives and hope in Christ is what our ministries are all about, and it gives a great feeling of satisfaction, knowing that God is working in the lives of these women.  It is a privilege for Blessing Home to work together with other ant-trafficking ministries here at Ground Zero for sex trafficking in Pacific Asia.

We usually like to take pictures and post them on the blog, but we need to allow these women to have anonymity which they need.

Also, on Sunday morning, we heard the testimony of a follower of Jesus Christ who used to be Muslim.  This past Sunday was Muslim New Year, and he attempted to call his mother to express his love for her.  But she would not receive his call, which was expected.  This man, named Moses, has been rejected by his family and cannot return to his home town in the Southern region of Thailand because he would most likely be killed for becoming a Christian.  Moses is a brave man who has given up everything for Christ.  And now his church family is his only real family.   It is an honor to worship the Lord together with Moses.  He is truly inspires us.

Meet Pastors Rungroj and Somjit

Pastors Rungroj and Somjit are veteran pioneer pastors.  We met them six years ago when they planted a new church in an unreached sub-district in Thailand near where we live, at Sichang Island.  That church is now doing well, and they are being called by God to go to his hometown of Nong Phikun in Nakhon Sawan province (Nakhon Sawan means "Heaven City").  The sub-district on Nong Phikun and two neighboring sub-districts have no church of any type whatsoever.  We are resourcing and training Pastors Rungroj and Somjit to go there to pioneer a church, starting at the end of September.

Nong Phikun is a beautiful rural area, where they grow many things, especially corn.  They type of corn grown here is used to make corn oil.  We are resourcing Pastors Rungroj and Somjit for agricultural projects which will support them in their ministry.  They have many plans, including building a fish farm.
This is how we do church planting in Thailand, we help train pastors in the Cell Group method of church planting and we help them form business plans and coach them to implement them, so they can support themselves.  Self-supporting pastors and churches are permanent ministries.

Please pray for Rungroj and Somjit as they prepare to pioneer once again.  Your prayers make the difference.  Also pray for their youngest daughter, who is in the picture with them.  She is in her final year of high school and will remain with friends of the family on Sichang Island, so she can graduate.  This is a big transition for her as well.

Veteran pioneers, Pastors Rungroj and Somjit with their daughter standing in a corn field on their farm in Nong Phikun.

View Pastors Rungroj and Somjit in a larger map

This is the location where Pastors Rungroj and Somjit will plant a new church.

Thank you for your prayers

A special word of thanks to all who have been praying about the Supreme Court of Thailand and the potential crisis of protests and civil war if they banned the ruling party for a third time in 5 years.  We were very concerned.  And the Lord has answered your prayers and ours too.  The Supreme Court of Thailand did not disband the ruling party, and instead ruled in their favor.  There will be protests coming from the other side, but the tensions have decreased.  Thank you.  Your prayers make all of the difference.

Two prayer requests

For all of our prayer warriors: Two urgent prayer requests.

First, summer slump has hit our finances at TMM pretty hard.
We have had two slow months in a row, and this past month was very slow on financial support.
We need received only $2,132.76 for our general budget, but we need $10,194.42 to meet our expenses.  Please pray for God's provision.

Second, the political situation in Thailand is getting very intense.  The Supreme Court of Thailand is considering whether to abolish the ruling party, Puea Thai, which won a landslide victory last year.  If the Supreme Court of Thailand does this, it will be the third time in the past five years that they would disband a ruling party which has won the popular vote of the people.  Civil war is highly likely if the court makes this fateful decision.  We cannot comment on this matter more than this, because we must be careful to be neutral.

Below is an article from BBC news.

Thai court to rule on new constitution plan

Friday's ruling could spark a new wave of political protests in Bangkok

Continue reading the main story

Thailand's constitutional court is set to make a ruling on Friday which could spark a new round of political unrest.

It will vote on whether politicians can start work on drafting a new constitution, or whether that process could undermine the monarchy.

If the judgement goes against the ruling Pheu Thai party, it could be dissolved and senior members banned from parliament.

Security is reported to be heavy at the court ahead of the hearing.

The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Bangkok says any decision to disband Pheu Thai would almost certainly trigger mass demonstrations by the party's supporters.

It is headed by Thailand's Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, sister of deposed former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Although a decision to disband Pheu Thai may not bring her down, the constitutional court has already disbanded parties linked to her brother Thaksin twice in the last five years.

Mr Thaksin was ousted by the military in a September 2006 coup and is now living in self-imposed exile in Dubai.

Rivalry between his supporters and opponents, known and red shirts and yellow shirts, has been a frequent cause of political unrest in the country.

The yellow shirts were behind the huge street protests that led up to the military coup of September 2006 and the ones two years later which led to Mr Thaksin's allies being forced from power.

In April 2010, the red shirts occupied Bangkok's historic and commercial districts in an attempt to topple the government. The demonstrations turned violent when the army tried to disperse protesters, with at least 17 civilians and four soldiers killed in clashes.

We thank you for your prayers and support.

If the Lord leads you to donate, you can give online at thailandmethodist.org
or send a check to TMM at
TMM
P.O. Box 56
Mannsville, KY 42758

Mai Ya church now has a noodle soup restaurant

In a previous blog, we told you that a plan was formed to start a noodle soup restaurant that Pastor On and some of the members of Mai Ya church would operate to help support the pastor's family and the church.  At that time, we did not have pictures of the restaurant, but we met last week with Pastor Jerron (On's husband) and he gave us these pictures.  Pastor Jerron still has a barber shop, but it is now at a better location on the main road.  It is through economic development projects like these that churches become self-sufficient.  And self-sufficient churches are permanent ones.

One of the members of Mai Ya church works at this restaurant with Pastor On.

From the inside of the restuarant looking out towards the road. 

Looking at the restaurant from the main road. 

Please pray that these businesses that help to support Mai Ya church and Pastors Jerron and On's family, will thrive and prosper.

Grand Opening Service

We had an absolutely fantastic weekend.

On Saturday, we spent the day at Nong Nooch Garden with Beth Coale, who is serving as a short term missionary at Blessing Home.  Beth is a student at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, and is training to be a missionary.  She is spending her summer break working hard at Blessing Home and going to language school in the evening to learn some Thai language.

We are very blessed to have Beth working with us this summer.

Beth uses Facebook and constantly writes about her experiences here in Thailand.  Here is one of her articles in Facebook.

There are Buddhist temples in every village. There are shrines and idols with offerings outside buildings on every street. The smell of burning incense is everywhere.

There are so many children, young girls, women, and men (some only former) everywhere in this city with the beach (where they sell their bodies) looming in the near distance. For a poor person (in Pattaya or in the outside regions) the tourism Pattaya is known for is always in the back of their minds as a last resort for money. Children are vulnerable to being sold while they are young and innocent and have no say.

“It makes you feel as if you couldn’t sit still. You must do something, try to do something, anything! … Oh to get into that stronger, calmer current, out of the feverishness of human haste. Do please, dear friends, ask that we may exchange the eagerness of the flesh of the Spirit and so move in the force of that Holy Wind that we shall be carried along by His great calm.” (-Amy Carmichael; Taken from A Chance to Die, pg 126)

Please pray this for the Thai Christians here and me. The circumstances here are so saddening and overwhelming. Ultimately, the purpose of Blessing Home is to keep as many children as possible away that. It's like the man who was throwing back starfish into the sea. Though there were so many and it didn't seem like he could even make a dent - each one mattered.  

Beth Coale is serving the Lord at Blessing Home this summer.  Beth is feeding the children, who are all have powdered faces to keep them cool.

This past Sunday was the Grand Opening Service for the new Blessing Home building.  We had a soft opening three months ago, but this service was very big, with Christians from other churches and ministries in the region attending to consecrate the new building.  There were so many people in attendance, that most of the church members had to stand outside during the service to make room for all of the guests.

Pastor Neo translated for Mike at the Blessing Home Grand Opening service.  There were many foreigners there, so the service had to be in both Thai and English.

We were honored that special guests, Rev. Cherlue Vang, GBGM Thailand national director and Mrs. Mang Vang, blessed us with their presence and support. 

GBGM missionaries, Mrs. Mang Vang and Rev. Cherlue Vang

Pastor Ahlung and members of the Pattaya Akha UMC also came to the Grand Opening.  This church is a thriving church that struggles financially.  They meet in a small building, packed together tightly as they worship the Lord each Sunday.  The Thailand Methodist Mission purchased a video projector and screen for their church and gave it to them after the Blessing Home Grand Opening service.

Now for a prayer request, but it is not for Thailand.  It is for a precious church in Kentucky.  The members of Dennie Memorial UMC in Lebanon Junction, KY have been faithful and enthusiastic supporters of TMM.  They have had many special events and regular monthly giving to support the mission, and they have given generously so that Blessing Home and the Life Center UMC in Pattaya can have a beautiful building.  Last Wednesday, we received an encouraging card in the mail from the members of Dennie Memorial, who signed it and sent it with their prayers.  On the same day, we received news that their church building had burnt to the ground. 

Please pray for the members of Dennie Memorial, as they rebuild their church.

The members of Life Center UMC in Pattaya and all of the Christians from other churches in this region of Thailand are praying for the members of Dennie Memorial, that the Lord will help them to rebuild and that they will grow stronger than ever before.  Our hearts are burdened because they have given so generously so that we can have a building, and now they do not have one.  Brothers and Sisters of Dennie Memorial UMC, you have hundreds of Thai Christians praying for you.  God has great plans for you.

Life on the road

Much of our life is spent on the road.   All of Thailand is our parish, so travelling to visit the churches we have planted and working in cities and villages where we will plant churches in the future is a constant part of life.  So we spend a lot of time in our little Kia Picanto car.  Mike is always getting teased about being a big man trying to fit into a sub-compact vehicle.  But it really is a good car and it really serves us well.

This is a map of Thailand superimposed on a map of the USA.  You can see we have extensive territory to cover.  It takes much longer to get from one place to another also, because there is much traffic and the roads are not as developed as in the States.

And then when we get back to the States, we spend most of our time on the road visiting supporting churches.  The Kentucky Annual Conference has been very generous to us, loaning us a Ford Taurus to use most every time we have come back to the States for itineration.  We spend large amounts of time in that vehicle as well.  We really feel like modern day Methodist circuit riders.  We have just exchanged cars for horses.

Since coming back to Thailand, we have been on the road quite a bit, and will be for the foreseeable future.  When coming back, we made it a priority to visit the pioneering pastors and churches that we have been privileged to help start.  It is important to encourage the pastors and members, because Christians are very isolated in Thailand and face much pressure.

While visiting the churches, we find ways to help the churches the pastors to make their members and churches stronger.  In Mai Ya, Pastors Jerron and On had to quickly move to another house.  They had been living in Jerron's sister's home, while she lived overseas, but she came back to Thailand unexpectedly and they needed to find a new place.  They have now rented a place on the main road (great location) and are using this new location as their parsonage and as a new church building.  The picture below is at the new church building on their first Sunday worshipping at this new location.

Our focus in on planting self-sustaining churches in counties (sub-districts) that have no church of any type whatsover.  So we help the pastors to start businesses that will support their families and ministries.  Pastor Jerron has a barber shop, and his wife, Pastor On approached us about starting a noodle soup restaurant at the market in town, which is a great location.  We worked together with Pastor On to create a business plan and TMM gave a grant to open this restaurant, which will soon be in operation.  Next time we are visiting there, we will take pictures of this new economic development project.

This is the leadership team of the Mai Ya church which was planted in August of last year.  

Please remember to pray for us as we travel and work in the outer provinces.  Please also pray for the Pioneering Pastors and their congregations, who face many challenges.  Your prayers make a difference.

Also please remember TMM this summer with your generosity.  We always experience a summer slump in giving, but our monthly needs for the ministries here continue.

Below are some pictures from some of our church visits.  If these do not show up in your email, then please visit our blog at msmorrissey.blogspot.com

Pastor Amnat of Pradumri Bowin church preaches in the new building the church purchased last year.  Bowin was the first church we helped to plant in Thailand and it is a great pleasure to visit here, where we have many friends.

Somchai is Mike's friend and we are always very happy to see each other.  Somchai is a strong leader at the Bowin church.  Earlier in the week, Sonchai, who is a truck mechanic, hurt his hand and had it bandaged.  When Mike saw the bandage, he decided he had to wrap his hand in tissue so he could look like his friend for this photo.

This is a worship service at Nakhon Pathom church.  The room is very small, but does not have a front entrance wall.  Instead it has an overhead door (like a garage).  They open up the overhead door and some people sit inside, but most sit outside under the overhang, which is behind this photo.  

Pastors Ekerat and Da have effective children's ministries at the church's Youth Development Center.  The children come on weekdays to learn music, to enjoy reading books, and Bible clubs.  This focus on children and youth is seen on Sunday mornings.  Nakhon Pathom church has three Sunday School classes for children and youth.

  

An opportunity to serve on a VIM team to Thailand

Pastor Ted Beam and Mark Pafford of Petrie Memorial UMC are leading a VIM team to Thailand from September 10-23.  Below is the information for this VIM team.  Please contact Pastor Ted Beam ASAP for more information at this email >> ted.beam@hotmail.com

Registration

We have limited this team to 12-20 members. 

Dates

The team will fly out of Nashville on Monday, September 10, through Chicago O'Hare with a plane change in Tokyo, arriving in Bangkok. The team is scheduled to return from Bangkok to Nashville on Sunday, September 23. We will use United Airlines.

Cost

We have settled on flights, travel insurance, lodging, meals, in country transportation, etc. for a total of $2,810.00 per person. We have already begun our fund raising efforts. If you do not plan to go but would like to help another person go, you may make your check out to Petrie Memorial UMC with "Thailand Mission" on the memo line.

Purpose

Children's evangelism. We will be conducting an "English Camp" for 2-3 days in 3 different communities. If we call it Vacation Bible School, the non-Christians will not attend. We will site see and shop 1-2 days.

Meet Sungwieng, one of our Blessing Home guardians

At Blessing Home, when we help save and protect children from trafficking, we also help the guardians and families of the children.  We want the children to know Christ and their families too.

Some of the guardians and family members of the children of Blessing Home are so touched by the love of God that they experience through the members of Life Center UMC in Pattaya that they want to learn more about Jesus Christ and receive Him as their Savior and Lord.

One that comes to mind is Sungwieng, a 68 years old seamstress who ekes out a living by herself.  Her daughter died and there she had to take care of her two grandchildren, Mickey and Nobita.  Sungwieng was in great distress, because there were no other family members to help her and she could barely afford to feed them, and it was impossible to send them to school.  When she found out about the ministry of Blessing Home, she found hope that she could receive assistance that they desperately needed.  The older brother, Mickey, was one of the first 10 children we received at Blessing Home.  A year later, Nobita also started to come to Blessing Home.

Sungwieng with her two grandchildren, Mickey and Nobita. 

Sungwieng was deeply touched at how well her grandchildren were nurtured and cared for.  She saw Christians who loved her and her grandchildren, even though they were not related to her and didn’t know her.  So when church members at Life Center UMC invited her to come to a Bible study, she was very interested to get to know more about Jesus, the Lord of these Thai Christians.  It was not long before she heard the testimonies of the Thai Christians and how Jesus Christ gave them new life.  After only a few months of attending Bible study and Sunday worship, Sungwieng gave her life to Jesus Christ.  Sungwieng will be baptized this summer and become a full member of Life Center UMC.

If you ever visit with us at Life Center UMC, you will be sure to see Sungwieng.  She is at church whenever the doors open, with her joyous smile that comes from the love of Jesus in her heart. 

Sungwieng says, “I only regret that I didn’t know God before now, I should have known the Lord much sooner in life.”

            

Thai Christian volunteers are doing a great job of getting the new building ready to use

First, we want to let you know that next Sunday (April 15) will be the first worship service in the new building and the Monday after that will be the first day the children of Blessing Home will enjoy the new building.  Originally we thought the move in day would be the first Sunday of April, but there was just too much work to do.  The owner of our former building was very kind, and is allowing Blessing Home to use the old building for half a month in April at no charge.  We appreciate his kindness and mercy.

Second, we want to thank everyone for the donations to the building at Blessing Home.  The building is still being worked on.  The vast majority of the work is being done by members of Life Center UMC of Pattaya, Thailand and native mission teams from other churches in the region.  Pastor Banya has an amazing ability to make a dollar stretch and stretch, and the work is being done at a fraction of the cost that it would cost if we had to hire contractors to do it all.

The building is being made child-safe as well as security doors and bars on the windows.  The whole place is being beautifully decorated, and the front of the building has sharp looking glass doors and façade.

As more funds come in, we will install air conditioners on the second and third floors.  Pastor Banya had to concentrate on safety issues first before comfort features, like air conditioners.

Your prayers and gifts make it possible to do the mission here in Thailand.

Please make checks payable to TMM and send to:

TMM

Box 56

Mannsville, KY 42758

Security doors and bars on the windows were installed to protect the children and keep the balconies safe.

Volunteers are doing the majority of the work on the building.  We could not do the work without the help of the members of Life Center UMC and native mission teams from nearby Thai churches.

The stage area of the sanctuary on the first floor is beautifully designed.  The circle on the stage represents the empty tomb.  A cross will also be installed inside the circle.

The glass front doors and facade look amazing.  

The security bars are placed on the balconies.  This picture was taken before the glass doors were installed on the first floor.

Sorry that this picture is sideways, I can't seem to get it to show upright.  Anyhow, this is the rear of the building.  A roof with good ventilation is being installed to make this area usable as an outdoor kitchen.

Modifying the new building for Blessing Home

 Pastor Banya and the members of Life Center UMC of Pattaya have been busy getting the new building ready to use.  Blessing Home and Life Center UMC will move into the new buidling before the end of March, and they have a huge amount of work to do.

Here are some pictures of them getting the first floor at the front of the building ready for use.  The concrete at the front of the building sloped down to the road.  In the pictures, they are forming a level tile floor on the outside of the building and enclosing it in.  This will make the front of the building useful as a receiving area for the kids, and as an overflow when the main room is not enough to hold everyone during special events.

 One of the members of the Board of the Blessing Home Foundation is Pastor Buriwat, who is a pastor in Chiang Rai and a businessman who is an encyclopedia of knowledge.  He made the 16 hour drive down to Pattaya to help with the transition to the new building, and is leading the effort to decorate the building.
Below is a picture of Pastor Buriwat with 2 members of Life Center UMC, choosing building materials.

Pastor Buriwat and the Decoration Team

In the next week, they will need to make a "storefront" style aluminum and glass front to the building and move the old airconditioners to the new building.  Later, as funds come in, we will install air conditioners on the second and third floor. as well.

We are very, very excited, and truly blessed.  Thank you very much for your prayers and support which make it all possible.

GREAT NEWS!!!

GREAT NEWS!!!

All of the funds needed to purchase a new building for Blessing Home have been received!  Pastor Banya and the Board of the Blessing Home Foundation closed on the new building this week.  Praise God!  This building is in the right location and it meets the needs of the ministry here.

We still must modify the building to make it fully usable.  Pastor Banya is in the process of moving the air conditioners from the old building to the new building, but we only have enough air conditioners for the first floor.  We will still need to purchase eight more air contioners (about $1,200).  We must also enclose the balconies to make them child-safe, and glass-in the front of the first floor.  Pastor Banya is pricing these modifications out at this time, so we don't know the prices yet on those.

Thank you everyone for your prayers, for your very generous donations, and encouraging words, which made it possible to purchase this building.

Mission work in Thailand can be counter-intuitive

In Thailand, the mission field here is counter-intuitive.  One thing that goes totally against expectations is that the hill tribe people in Thailand are well reached.  Most of the hill tribes are majority Christian.  Whereas the Thai people are mostly unreached, with less than half of 1% of the population being Christian.  People usually think that the hill tribes would be unreached, but actually they are the most reached and receive the most mission effort.

All of the pink areas are unreached areas, with no church of any type.  The green areas, concentrated in the North, are areas which have churches.  Most hilltribe people come from these green areas in the North.

In the Pioneering Pastor Program, our goal is to train and resource pastors to pioneer churches in these pink areas, where there are no churches.  The Thai people will not be reached for Christ if Christians of all denominations and flavors do not work together to go into these unreached areas.  This is our vision, that every sub-district in Thailand will have a vibrant church.  We want to see the Thai people worship the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord has blessed the ministry here in Thailand, and over the past 5 years, we have helped 15 new churches to be planted in unreached areas of Thailand.  The most important facet of our ministry, is finding the right pastors to be pioneers.  They must have the heart and character needed to be a pioneer.  They must be wise, they must be tough, they must be called by God to this work.

Because the majority of hill tribe people are Christian, most Bible college students are hill tribe. A few of these hill tribe Bible college students become native missionaries, reaching across culture in their own nation to pioneer a church in a majority Thai community.  Some of our pioneering pastors are hill tribe.

Pastors Da and Ekerat 

Pastors Da and Ekerat are hill tribe pastors who pioneered a Thai church in an unreached part of Nakhon Pithom province.  They are not only pioneering pastors, but also missionaries who had to cross cultures to reach the Thai majority in Nakhon Pithom. 

Each Christmas season, it is traditional for hill tribe people to go back to their home villages to celebrate the birth of Jesus together with family.  Pastors Ekerat and Da went back to their villages to visit their parents and relatives.  They took a few pictures of the worship service at their village and they are posted below. 

When we talk with missionaries from other organizations, we have discovered that a large portion of the pastors who plant churches in unreached areas of Thailand, are hill tribe pastors planting churches to reach the Thai majority.  When you see the village above, you would expect it to be a village that only receives missionaries.  But this hill tribe village, and many others like it, are one that sends missionaries to the unreached Thai majority.  Like we said, it is counter-intuitive.

We have found the right building, now we need your help

Many of you have been praying that the Lord would lead us to the right building for Blessing Home and God is good, He has opened up a building for sale that is perfect for the needs of the ministry.

This is the building we would like to purchase for Blessing Home. 

This building is two rows wide and three stories high, but the rows are wider than in our old building.  Each floor is 45'x30' for a total of 4,050 sq.ft. (compared to 1,728 sq.ft. in our present facility).  The front of the building has a very large awning, making the front of the building usable for activities and/or a receiving area for the children.  The building is set up beautifully for us too, not much would need to be done to the building to make it fully usable, other that installing some air conditioners and some minor modifications, but these can be done over time.

The old building of Blessing Home is just a bit down the road.  This is the view from the 3rd floor of the new building we would like to purchase down the street to our present rented facility.

The location is perfect, being very close to our present location, so we can continue to serve the children close to where they live.  Location was vitally important, and God blessed us by opening up this building for sale.  Also, there is parking spaces available, which is a rare thing in crowded Pattaya.

The new building is in front of the Buddhist Temple.  You can see the temple from the back of the building.

This is a view of the Buddhist temple from the 3rd floor window of the building we would like to buy for Blessing Home.

People of God, we need your prayers and help.

At the present time, we have only $129,000 of the $144,000 purchase price of this building.  We need $25,000 to purchase the building, and any extra funds would go towards purchasing air conditioners.  We need one last wave of generous giving, one last drive of church special offerings and individual donations.

If the Lord is leading you to give to help purchase this building, please send a check to TMM at:

TMM

P.O. Box 56

Mannsville, KY 42758

or give online at:

http://thailandmethodist.org/donate.html 

Life at Blessing Home

Some of the children at Blessing Home who needed some extra help from Teacher Pui.

Years ago, Sherri worked at a shelter for homeless teens, and it was very frequent that one client would come in with lice and if not caught very early would soon spread to many people.  We remember all of the hard work, to wash clothes and blankets, as well as the special shampoos and using the fine-tooth comb to get all of the eggs out of everyone's hair.

So we empathize with Pui and the staff of Blessing Home whenever one of the children come in and has lice.  Usually if one has it, many do.  And Pui has to treat their hair and make sure the families of the children have special shampoo and make the effort to rid themselves and their house of lice.  We cannot just send the children home, this must be done at Blessing Home.

This type of problem is just one of the common things that happen that the staff must deal with.  Pui and the staff and volunteers never complain, but lovingly and patiently serve.  It is an honor to serve with such wonderful people.

Pui with one of our new children, Jenn

Last week, Blessing Home received a new child named Jenn.  Jenn is a 6 year old child who was abandoned by her parents (we have no idea who her parents are, actually).  A kind-hearted couple now take care of Jenn, and she is now attending Blessing Home and receiving services through this ministry.  Jenn  is challenged with autism, so Jenn, the staff, and the other children, are all learning and adapting together.
At first, Jenn was constantly agitated because there are many children all crowded together at Blessing Home.  Jenn likes quiet spaces and limited stimuli, so the first few days were tough.  The staff have been very patient, and finding ways to give the best care possible to Jenn.

Jenn is developmentally challenged.  She can talk, but most of the time, she "parrots" whatever anyone says to her.  So if you ask Jenn, "Are you hungry?", she will smile at you and say "Are you hungry?'.  Pui says that Jenn has made great strides in adapting, and so have the staff and other children.

We thank everyone who helps to support Blessing Home.  Abandoning children with physical and mental challenges is very common, and ones like Jenn need the ministry of Blessing Home.  Thank you for your compassion.
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Blessing Home is a ministry of the Thailand Methodist Mission
Donations can be sent by mail or by internet

Please mail checks payable to TMM to:
TMM
P.O. Box 56
Mannsville, KY 42758

or give online by clicking this banner.