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.”