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Tennessee & Thailand Prayer Connection
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Isaan Interceders
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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