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Tennessee & Thailand Prayer Connection
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Isaan Interceders
February 2010 During the Isaan rural leadership training meeting held in February, the leaders went out into the nearby communities and shared the Gospel. Please pray for decisions to become Christians to “stick” and that new house churches would be started as a result. Due to some scheduling conflicts, the seminar you prayed for in December was actually held in February. Please continue to pray for those young couples who attended—pray they will follow through with decisions they made during that time. Pray for relationships that bring God praise and glory! January 2010 A volunteer team from Indian Wells Church (Texas) came to Isaan in early February. Please pray for follow-up from their hard work to bear much fruit in the communities and hearts they touched during that time. Praise and thank the Lord for them! December 2009 We have been “casting the vision” with several of our house church members - trying to help them see that the Lord can use all of us in the work of starting new groups. We are hopeful that “Ot” will soon take leadership of our church and I am spending time with him weekly in Bible study and training. He’s a very willing participant and we’re praying that the Lord will bless the time together. Please pray with us! November 2009 Our little church of 30 members has 5 young professional or college student couples who are serious about their relationships and planning to marry – either right away or someday soon. At this writing we are planning to hold a pre-marriage seminar for them in November with the goal of helping them prepare for God glorifying marriages and relationships that please Him now. Please pray for these couples to implement Biblical principles in their lives and so be light and salt to Isaan/Thai people around them. September 2009 She helped the missionary family do housework and, over time, made a sincere decision for Christ. However, just because we are Christians doesn’t mean we never sin again. Sad to say, this lady gave in to the temptation to steal several times and had to be let go from doing housework. Praise the Lord, though—through His grace and compassion the missionary family has been able to maintain good relationships with this lady. She has genuinely repented and now they have joined with her in opening an outreach group! Please pray that those attending will see our Redeemer through this lady and the relationships she has with the missionary family. August 2009 Mobile medical clinics were held in several areas in Isaan in August and September. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would remind people who received tracts and other information again and again about the Lord and His love for them. Pray they will be deeply touched by what they read, saw and heard. Pray they will be gathered into reproducing churches. July 2009 After many years of hard work, still less than 1% of our people group know the Lord. We are asking God to "do awesome things which we (do) not expect" (Isaiah 64:3) to draw millions of Isaan to repentance, faith and salvation. Please join with us! June 2009 In March we rejoiced at "Kyle's" baptism. Now we are grieving-- he has turned away from the Lord and says he is seeing visions and having strange experiences. Please lift up "Kyle" to the Redeemer. Ask the Lord to keep Kyle for Himself, to not allow anything or anyone to snatch Kyle away from Him (John 10:28). Pray that God will protect our relationships with Kyle and use us and His word to help bring Kyle back into a relationship of love and obedience to Jesus. May 2009 In May agriculture training was held for several self-supported house church pastors. Please pray that they would be able to use what they learned and be able to earn enough income to provide, however simply, for their families while they serve the Lord. April 2009
We started sharing our lives and faith with
You prayed for the rural house church March 2009 Thank you so much for your prayers for the rural house church leaders training meeting! Two people accepted the Lord as a result of the community –wide evangelism that was part of that meeting. They requested baptism March 8th…Praise the Lord! We will continue to keep you informed about His work there. Thank you so much for joining with us in God’s work in the mobile medical clinics held the first week of March through your prayers. Every person that came had an opportunity to hear the Gospel, many for the first time. It was exciting to see Jesus at work, healing people both physically and spiritually. I translated for a young doctor from the US who ended every exam by asking the patients, “Do you know Jesus yet?” A perfect introduction for further sharing! Please pray for the follow-up for people who indicated they wanted to believe or wanted further information. Pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to confirm the reality of God in their hearts. February 2009 ISAAN OF THAILAND (EE-sahn). In February our rural house church leaders training meeting did something they had never done before: combine a community-wide evangelistic outreach with their training. Please pray now for continued follow-up from contacts made during that time. Pray that many new, reproducing house churches would be started as a result. ISAAN OF THAILAND (EE-sahn). We’re excited about the mobile medical planned during the first week of March. Pray that lots of patients would come to hear the Good News and the Lord would minister to them physically and spiritually. Pray that many Isaan would be saved and become committed disciples as a direct result of this clinic. January 2009 The road to maturity in Christ is never-ending for all of us, but that road can be very difficult for new believers in Thailand. Despite the difficulties Kyle wants to grow in Christ. He will soon follow Christ in believer's baptism. Pray for Kyle as he participates in Bible study, prayer, worship and fellowship.Pray that he will indeed grow and develop as a believer and a leader in God's kingdom in Thailand. Pray for new opportunities to develop for ministry to medical students in two medical schools in Isaan. Pray that God would use former missionaries to Thailand to develop "bridges" to this population and current missionaries would walk across them, reaching the students on the other side! December 2008 "Pat" and "Rain" are new Isaan believers! How we rejoice in their salvation. Please pray for them as they continue to know God more each day. Both of them seem to have found a hunger for the Word of God and obeying Him. Pat, along with a large number of Isaan men, has struggled with alcoholism for many years. He knows that this his battle with alcohol is destroying his family and he wants to quit. He has been getting up early in the mornings to run and has been able to stop drinking for nearly a week now...Praise God! Also, at our house tonight during Bible study Rain praised God because she is not living in constant fear anymore. They are praying others will see the changes in their lives and want to know God as well. Please keep praying for this couple to continue to seek God for their lives as they tell others about their new life in Christ and as they make decisions for their children. We held our house church retreat on November 1 and 2 at a small meeting facility in Mahasarakham Province. There were approximately 20 of us in attendance for the weekend of worship, teaching and fellowship. Topics included "Living as a Christian in Thai Society", "Tithing", "Christian Sexuality", and many others. This was a good meeting and we believe it was beneficial for all who attended. The really exciting thing is that one non-believer who attended accepted Christ at the retreat! Please pray for all our young-in-the faith believers to daily grow closer to the Lord. November 2008 We praise the Lord for opportunities to help the folks in our house church grow through a recent church retreat. Praise the Lord for those who helped in leadership, providing a good time of worship and teaching for the believers. We also praise the Lord for the opportunity to have several non-believers at the retreat, one of whom accepted Christ on Sunday morning. Another did not yet accept Christ, but he was glad about getting to learn more and said that he has a lot to think about. Please pray for the new believer to grow in faith and obedience to Christ. Please pray for the one searching for truth to find Him! Please pray for three Lao young women living in our subdivision. We have taken them videos and Christian materials to read and they say they are interested in Christianity. Today when we went to visit, we asked one of them where she was in her reading the Bible. She said she was to the part where they killed Jesus. I then asked her , "But you know what happened next, right?"She said, "No, I don't. what happens?" I told her to keep on reading and find out-that there was a wonderful ending to the story! Please pray that she would in fact keep reading and understand what she reads, coming to salvation in Christ who was raised from the dead. October 2008 Isaan Thai men frequently travel away from home to find work. We just received this email from one of those men: "It’s long time since I have your business card but I didn’t try to contact you by email. At last I found it in my wallet plus I have my own email address then I said to myself I gotta do some thing to contact you to help me to live like Christian's (do)." Please pray for this man (we'll call him "Sam") to grow in his faith. Pray he will trust in Jesus's goodness and grace and not his own ability. Pray for his family to follow the Lord as well. Thank you! 'Kyle' believes in Christ as his Savior now for sure! It has been so neat to see him grow and reach out to others. He has finished the NT and is now reading the OT.He has encouraged his friends to come to English Groups, Friday night fellowship, Bible study and church and a good number of them have responded. Last night he brought four friends to church with him again. Wow. He's a real blessing." Please pray he will continue to grow in his faith with an increasingly close walk with the Lord. September 08 A training camp for rural house church planters was held in Isaan in September. The theme was “Families Living for Christ.” Please pray that those attending will continue to apply what they learned in faithful, joyful obedience. Pray that God would mightily bless their efforts! Ask God to help them to be “doers of the word and not hearers only.” (James 1) How thankful we are for the fruit we are seeing among students in Mahasarahkham! Please continue to pray that workers there would see the “fruit that will last” as Jesus promised in John 15:16. We are praying to God for the Isaan as in Isaiah 64, “Oh that you (God) would burst from the heavens and come down! …When you came down long ago, you did awesome things beyond our highest expectations…”For since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eyes has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!” (Life Application Bible) Please pray that God would draw Isaan people into loving relationship with him and into fellowships of believers for His glory. Aug 2008 God has answered many prayers for our work among students in Mahasarakham this summer. He has utilized our summer missionaries and other volunteers in wonderful ways. He has given them and us some amazing opportunities to share with some genuine seekers. Some great relationships have been established and we hope to continue building on what has taken place. Praise God for these answered prayers and pray that He will continue working in the lives of students and others here. Training Camp! September 3-5 a church planting movement training camp will be held for national rural church planters among the Isaan. Please pray that God will equip these servant-leaders through this training and bless their fellowship with His love-- both for each other and the unreached Isaan. Even though Kris and Misty Ellis and Andrew Fox are already in what is considered a full-time job (language and culture learning), the Lord is allowing them to meet and share with Isaan Thai people in various settings. Please pray that Isaan Thai people will be drawn to the Lord through these encounters.July 2008 Turn about is fair play! Usually, it is missionaries who give out Bibles, isn't it? Here is a different twist! Years ago, "Mr. Pipe" went to work in Australia. He met a Christian there and the friend gave him a Bible-- in English. "Mr. Pipe" speaks a little English and can read his "ABCs" but not much more. However, he recognized the Bible as being a holy book and kept it all those years. On his return from Australia, he began attending our little church in the NE part of Thailand and has now made a decision for the Lord. He has a Thai Bible and studies it regularly, trying to obey what he reads. What fun it was for me, the missionary, for "Mr. Pipe" to bring his English Bible to church and give it to the me, the missionary! Please pray God's blessings on Mr. Pipe and his family as they read their Thai Bibles and seek to obey God-- and please pray for me as I do the same, using the English version. Pray God's blessings on the Australian man who did what he could to share God's word-- little did he know God would use it to bless both Mr. Pipe and me!
June 2008 Andrew Fox asks, “Please continue to pray for me as I transition teachers at the beginning of June. The professor I have been studying with is not free once the academic term begins. I will be switching to two different teachers, aiming for better pronunciation. Ask that I am able to continue to make progress.” Pray for even more opportunities for Andrew to share his faith and spiritual fruit as a result of his sharing.
Kris and Misty Ellis write, “Your prayers are so valuable to us and the work of God here in Thailand. Our beginning here in Thailand has not been easy. We feel like we have come up against many obstacles. The Bible says we are to expect this, but nonetheless it is still hard. We invite you to pray with us that we would be faithful to follow God no matter the cost.2 Corinthians 12:9 Please also pray for Misty’s teacher who has expressed sincere interest in knowing Jesus and for our continued language learning…that it would be for His glory. And finally, please pray that while we are in language that we would stay close to God in an intimate way.
Continue to pray for “J” and her family. After sending out last month’s prayer request regarding her non-believing husband who does not help support the family, things went from bad to worse as far as their financial situation goes! Despite J.'s efforts to keep the family out of debt, her husband has made several poor decisions which have recently resulted in a huge debt for the family. But it seems that your prayers are being answered in another way. It seems that these recent events have caused J's husband to see his own weakness and realize that he must depend on someone other than himself and his wife. After a missionary “spoke straight” with him about his need to turn his life around, J overheard him say to one of his friends that Jesus is the only one who can help him get out of the mess he is in. Please pray that J's husband will give his life to Christ, and that he will become a new creature in Him.
May 2008 Pray for J, a Christian woman who works hard trying to support her family. She is married to a man who is not yet a believer, and he continues to be irresponsible when it comes to helping support the family. The burden of dealing with his immaturity and irresponsibility is becoming increasingly difficult for J. Pray that she will find strength in Christ in this situation. Pray that God will work in her husband's life in ways that only He can and bring him to saving, life-changing faith in Christ. Six summer volunteers from GA BCM will be arriving in late May to spend ten weeks working with university students in Mahasarakham, Thailand. They are excited and ready to serve. Pray that the Lord will go before them preparing the way for the work that they will do. Pray that this team will bear fruit that is eternal. "Phillip", a recent graduate from MSU, has been involved in our student ministry in Mahasarakham since his freshman year. He has been involved in weekly Bible study and knows a great deal about the gospel, but he has not yet come to faith in Christ. He will be going to Australia for a special five-week course as a result of winning 1st place in a national English speaking competition. Pray that the Lord will place loving, caring believers in his path in Australia who can minister to him and help him come to personal faith in Christ.
April 2008 Please pray for God to send an
agricultural missionary worker out to His February 2008 Kris and Misty Ellis write, “Thank you to all of you who prayed for our party that took place on December 29, 2007. After a few minor setbacks, the party took place and around 20 local people came and enjoyed Isaan food and music. We definitely learned a lot about the culture from this experience. The traditional Isaan music was provided by a church a little over one-hour from our house. We ask that you pray for the people who came to this party, and even the people who stood at our gate because maybe they were to afraid to come in... that God would draw them to Himself, and that we would be able to share His truths with them.” Scott and Valerie Payne work with students and recent college graduates in Isaan (NE Thailand). As you read and pray over these requests, praise the Lord for the heart of love He has given the Paynes for these graduating university students. They ask, “Please pray for Num. She is a believer who has been very involved in our ministry; it has been a joy to work with her. Pray for her as she is making plans to stay in Mahasarakham and work for a while. That would be great to be able to continue to work in ministry with her. Pray also for Wit. He is a student who has been involved in all the various aspects of our ministry but he has still not become a follower of Christ so pray for him. Another student who will be graduating is Nui. She was one of the first students we met, and we were happy that she had recently become a follower of Christ at that time. She has had her ups and downs in life and in her faith, but she is full of potential. Pray that she will have the encouragement she needs to live a life that gives glory to God for the things He has done in her life. Finally, please pray for Ploy. She has also been very involved in our work over the past four years, but has not yet made a commitment to Christ. She has expressed an interest in being a Christian, but is facing opposition from her family. Pray that God work will continue working in her life and in the life of her family members.” Pray that national leaders Poh Bua, Dang and Yupah will continue to love and serve God with all their hearts, minds and strength in Nong Bua Lam Phu province. |
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