our goal in Thailand

I have this amazing opportunity to join our high school students on a mission trip in Thailand this summer. 6 adults will be traveling from Fort Worth, Texas to Phang Nga, Thailand along with 22 high school students from our church’s youth group on July 15, 2008. 2 of our college students will already be in Thailand and will meet up with us when we arrive. We will return home on July 25, 2008. The area that we will be traveling to is in the South part of Thailand, situated right in the center of 3 other countries that are closed to American missionaries bringing in the message of the gospel. This region also was hard hit in the Tsunami of 2004 where almost 2 million people were killed in this area alone. In light of the huge loss these people have faced, this is a prime time to bring the gospel and to offer hope to a country where only 3% of the population believe in Jesus Christ and in God. It’s hard to imagine such a small number of Christians in a highly populated area like Thailand after having grown up in the “Bible Belt” where it feels like there is a church on every street corner. In spite of the loss these people have experienced, they continue to smile and are incredibly friendly.
Our goal is to share the gospel with as many Thai people as we can so that God will be able to work in their lives and raise up Thai missionaries who can go into those closed countries and spread the gospel. Because of their easy going personalities, they can easily travel in and out of the surrounding countries (Indonesia, Sumatra, Burma) with their Thai passports where it would be unsafe for American missionaries. Some of the ways we plan to do this is to go into schools and share the message via skits, musical interpretation, concerts sung by the girl’s choir, and by sitting down to interact with the students while they practice their English language. We will be learning some Thai language so that we might be more equipped to communicate with them. Because the Thai school officials see differing religious beliefs as a “cultural experience” it is easy for us to go into the public schools.

The missionaries we are working with are trying to make sure a gospel message tract (written in Thai) is placed in the hands of every person in the country. This is a huge goal, and I believe that God can do this.
Another goal we have is to share the message with Chinese tourists in the area, as Thailand is a big vacation spot for the Chinese. We will be handing out Chinese bibles to these folks.

Where do you come in? I believe that God calls us all to share the message of His love with others (once we’ve experienced it ourselves). “…you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 There are many ways we can all contribute to this calling. I’m inviting you to join me in sharing this message of love. This is not a journey that we can make on our own or in our own power. In order for this to be successful, it must be bathed in prayer. So, I’m asking you to join us as our prayer warriors as we prepare for this trip, as we travel, while we are there, and as we return home. I’d ask you to specifically lift up the leaders who will be taking the students over as we set the example for our students. There will be culture shock and we will need to handle it gracefully so that we can guide our students through it, too. The leaders are: Theresa, Amy, myself, Stu, Todd, Andrew, Corey, and Adrian.

Please keep in mind God’s preparing of hearts of the Thai, Chinese, and Burmese people who we will come into contact with, so they are ready to hear the gospel or be encouraged if they are already believers.

You may be wondering how we get funding for an expensive trip like this for 32 people. The cost is approx. $1800.00 per person. We have been working hard to raise the money in a variety of ways: the students have been selling “stock” as a way of raising funds; doing odd jobs for people around the church; we hosted a benefit concert to raise funds for buying Chinese Bibles; and we’ve been donating to and working in our church garage sale to raise funds; and we have written letters for support to our family and friends. I believe that God is going to provide the finances for all of us who are going on this trip and I believe that everyone who is a part of this project (in whatever way God leads them) will be blessed beyond measure!

We also very much want to be an encouragement to and supportive of the missionaries, Keith and Tracey Richards, and their 3 children as we are working with them. We want to be extremely helpful and not a hindrance as sometimes mission teams can be. Please be in prayer that all of us would be spending time in God’s word and strengthening our walks with Christ before hand, so that we can be flexible and ready for whatever unfamiliar things will come across our paths.

Kahb khun kah! Thank you! For the part you will play in sharing the gospel message of the love of Jesus Christ to the people in Phang Nga, Thailand!

“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12