On Saturday morning, after breakfast, we drove to the Song Hong village house church. It was about a 45 minute drive away. We stopped at the market on the way to get some food for lunch. The people at this church are beginning to all bring parts of the lunch meal, rather than having the host take care of everything. This is a new concept for them.
They were all excited to meet us. One of the new Christians even had on a tie! He was so excited…he had even called Kris that morning at 6:45 concerned that they wouldn’t have church because it was raining pretty hard at that time. The rain had stopped by the time we went to church. We opened the service with introductions and then a time of worship. The last song we sang was “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever,” so we could sing in English while they sang in Thai. In all of the cultures I’ve been in, this is one thing I appreciate and think is so cool! After singing, the group shared praises and testimony. There were 6 adults and 3 children and the rest of us. The home where this church is held is “Grandma’s” house. She was someone the team had been praying for and that her house would be a house church. She has passed away and knew about Jesus, but we don't know if she became a believer or not. Now the church meets in her house! God answered the team's prayer for the house church! Alan shared the message and it was on “prayer.” The concept of prayer is difficult for the Thai people to understand and grasp because Buddhism is a lot of chants and memorization, where as prayer is talking to Jesus and having a conversation. Pray for these new believers that they will really understand how to have a relationship with Jesus! I’ve included a group photo.
We had lunch together. I had something that I haven’t had yet—cooked bamboo. Can’t say I really liked it at all, but I can say I ate it! After lunch, Alan, Kris, Silk and I went through the village to visit and pray with others. Emily, Amy and her kids, stayed back to do some children’s ministry with the kids in the village. They played Twister, practiced their English, English alphabet and sign language and played some other games.
I have been so blessed to be part of the prayer time and visiting with the village people! It has been amazing to be used by God here! Our first visit was to Ma Jong. (And, I’m trying the Thai name thing again, but I’m sure someone will get a chuckle out of my spelling or something!) She is a 38-year old woman with a tumor on her spine. She is paralyzed from the neck down. But, what a beautiful woman she is! She has Jesus, but her life definitely isn’t easy. Her husband is not a believer, and there is definitely opposition there. I was able to encourage her and pray for her and her marriage. I’ve included a photo of her.
Our next visit was to Ya Pa. She is an older woman, new believer, but can’t straighten her back. She walks completely bent over (from all of the years harvesting rice). She had been sick, so Kris and Silk hadn’t seen her for a while. We prayed with her and Kris reminded her that she can pray to Jesus anytime, on her own! There is a photo of Kris praying with Ya Pa. Our next visit was to Ya Pa’s daughter, May See. I’ve included a picture of her, too. May See has liver cancer and was laying down. Her one leg was extremely swelled up. It had been her other leg the last time Kris and Silk visited. We prayed commanding prayer to remove the afflicting spirit within her. As we prayed, and also prayed for healing, she told Kris and Silk she actually felt things leaving her body. We continued to pray! The cool thing about this is….it was ALL God! We were praying in English and not leading this woman in any direction—she had no idea what we were saying. God was answering our prayers! She got up and walked around after we prayer, feeling stronger! We have the authority in Christ to pray this way…yet how many of us do it? Please pray for these three women, and the others of Song Hong Village.
We left the village and went back to the Guest House. On Saturday night, Alan and Emily blessed Randy and Jodi by babysitting their kids. Vicky blessed Jon and Becky by babysitting Caleb. It was wonderful to be able to do this for the team.
On Sunday morning, I got up early to go for a run. Alan actually joined me…sort of. J We walked to the University track nearby (this is actually a sports school, not really a college university) and jogged one lap together, and then I lost Alan. I didn’t go too far—I ended up walking and talking with Alan. We both shared our testimonies of what God has done and is doing in our lives. It was pretty cool. After breakfast, we had the Ubon City house church at Kris and Silk’s house. There were about 9 people, plus our team, there. Amy and her kids attended the Ubon Church where she had attended when she lived here.
Alan shared the message this morning – on being filled with the Holy Spirit to overflowing! He shared how he had been disciple by Lynn and was touched by how Lynn dealt with ALS and the adversity. He always had a smile on his face and his faith never waivered. We had a time of prayer together. I was able to pray for some of our team members, for strength and refreshment for them. Then, I was lead to pray for a young Thai woman there, while Silk translated. Her name is Fai. She asked for prayer for her studies and her work. She’s studying to be a lawyer. So, I prayed for her while Silk translated. When we finished, I wanted to give her a hug. She clung to me and began crying. It was very moving! Then, I find out that her mother died a month ago…well, then I lost it myself! We just grieved together for a bit and then, through Silk, I shared some encouragement with her and even my butterfly stories. I told her that when she sees butterflies, she can be reminded of God’s faithfulness and that he is always there for her. What a blessing, to be able to be a blessing to her! God is awesome! He has a way of orchestrating everything in ways we could never imagine! Please pray for Fai. Praise God that her mother knew Jesus and is in heaven. Please pray for her younger brother and her Dad. They are not believers yet. I told her that I (and many others) would be praying for her and her family! I’ve included a picture of her, too.
After lunch, we went back to the Guest House for about 2 hours to chill out, before leaving for the Dongaul village house church. I’ll fill you in on that one next time!
Thanks for your prayers! Everyone is doing great! And, God is moving in Thailand!
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