As I write this update it is already very late in the evening on December 14, and we just got home from a very full yet very rewarding day taking the Love and Message of Jesus into A Khon Muang village this morning and then taking the Love and Message of Jesus into an Akha Village this evening.
I will share more details with you tomorrow but let me share enough with you to help you will be informed on how to pray for God’s work here in Northern Thailand. This morning started very early as we loaded up three trucks and one “song teaw” (which is the Thai version of a small bus that carries 10-15 people) full of mostly young people from our church family and headed to a hospital in a Khon Muang village about a 30 minute drive from the church to put on our Christmas program for the young children who are HIV/AIDS infected that we serve and minister to.
The program was designed to bless them and encourage them in the context of sharing the Christmas Story and how much Jesus loves them. We have been doing this each year for many years now and this year seem like the best HIV/AIDS Christmas program we have done and 99% of the whole program was done by Thai nationals and the only English spoken at the program was from a song that some of our young people used as part of one of their presentations. I am not sure of the exact numbers but must have had about 120-130 people at the program. What a great time we had loving on these children and their families and helping them to feel loved and special.
Then this afternoon we loaded up 5 trucks of people and things to help with the Christmas program at an Akha Village. One of the key founders of Child and Family Prison Ministry is a man named Arlang. Arlang is one of my best Thai friends and helped found and leads Child and Family Prison Ministry in Thailand. They are also a very integral part of our church family. This year Arlang asked us if we would help them put on a Christmas Program in an Akha Village about 30 minutes from our church. We were very happy to go this afternoon and help them reach out into this Akha Village tonight. It was awesome to see all of the CFPM kids serving in some way in the outreach event tonight. It was also great to have some of our young folks from Baan Eden and from Rachaphat University and Mae Fah Luang University come and serve the Lord together.
Prayer Example:“Lord, we have been reminded today of some of the Christmas Evangelistic events that have been going on in Northern Thailand. We thank you for using NTIM to help bring various Christian ministries together to reach out into various villages at Christmas time for the sake of the Gospel. We pray that the message of the love of Jesus that has been shared today would penetrate the hearts of these various people. We pray for you to soften the hearts of all of those who came to these two events today. Help them to embrace your love and have a desire to know more about You. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.”