EXCITING!

          Wow! Things are starting to come together as our vision for church planting in a new area is slowly taking shape. Saturday we had our first ministry "meeting" with the owner of the home that has invited us to begin a Bible study in his home. His main desire is that his home would be used for the Glory of our Lord. It was a great time of prayer and fellowship with Joni and his wife and two young boys. Sarah, Marissa, and Joe took most of the afternoon there in nearby Kamala beach to pray and scout the area. This village is largely populated by Muslims and currently has no known Bible study or churches. There was a small home study a while ago but since has been discontinued. Aside from the Thai population there is also a large population of foreigners that have homes in the area as well, and many of the Thai speak English as well. Currently we have a possible three people to attend our "new" Bible study. We are praying to begin in about two weeks, taking this week to spend getting the word out and really digging in to the community, making connections and praying. We are very excited and were greatly encouraged by another local pastor, Joni's pastor, in regards to beginning a work in this area. To his knowledge there is no Christian witness in the area and he would love to see somebody begin to reach the English speaking community as well as the Thai. This pastor has a great ministry here in Phuket and also one of the few Thai pastors that I know and have ever really heard of that are focused on Discipleship. This man has given his blessing and offered his full support of the work there in Kamala as the Lord grants and grows this work.

              Sarah and Samantha are working on preparing for a childrens ministry so that during the Bible study the children are able to learn as well. The International Fellowships (IF's) that we have attended lack in this area and the children are either very bored, or running around. This will also be a great area of ministry.

             Joe has finished his TEFL course and we are awaiting his certificate/license to teach English. This took about 5/6 weeks to complete and this will enable him to teach in the local schools, both opening the door to further the Gospel, and prayerfully providing us with a work permit allowing us to reside in Thailand longer than the 15 months we returned with.

           We are currently praying and slowly backing out of the ministry north in Ban Nam Khem. As the Lord furthers the ministry in the South there is less time to travel to the North. June will be the last month for Joe to make the travel for Sunday morning, at this point he will be traveling however for the mid-week ministry as he continues to minister in the prison and tend to the small fellowship there.

          The four "adults" are learning to read Thai and Joey and Joe are excelling quickly. The children are really enjoying their time in school and being able to have friends and learn the language. Thankfully some of the teachers speak some English and are able to help our kids in their understanding of instructions. Daily they have much homework and it has been a blessing watching them grow.


Please pray for:

Kamala- As we begin to really move forward here we need the Lord to guide and continue to open doors in this area. Joni and family as they open their home for study

Teaching opportunity- As Joe receives his certificate that the Lord would grant him favor with a local school willing to assist and working with the schedule Joe must keep.

Childrens ministry- Everything would come together in preparing for children to hear the Word.

Language study- As we continue to grow in Thai,that we would continue to grasp the laguage skills needed to properly communicate.

Finances- While the ministry grows so does the financial need, please pray for the Lord's provision and how He may use you to partner in the work here.

GOD BLESS AND THANKS FOR READING!