Today is Day 19 of our 36 Day Spiritual Adventure of getting to know and then actively praying for Northern Thailand Impact Ministry (NTIM) and all of the various unreached people groups in and around Northern Thailand. Thank you for joining us for this great time of seeking the face of God on behalf of millions who have never heard the message of our Lord Jesus.
Today is a little different kind of update because it is a follow up to Prayer Day 12 where we talked about an upcoming event where we would be celebrating Christmas in a nearby village with children who have been infected by HIV/AIDS.
Each year the local village hospital that helps care for folks that are HIV/AIDS infected asks us to put on a special Christmas program at the local village hospital. I am convinced that hundreds if not thousands of people were praying for us and for that event. That even took place this past Saturday morning.
We met together at the church in Chiang Rai very early Saturday morning and before we headed out to the village, as is our custom, we gathered together before the Lord and asked Him to use us that day as His hands and His feet. We asked Him to fill our hearts with His love so that we could then express His love to all the people that we would be serving and meeting in our HIV/AIDS Christmas Celebration in this local village that day. And what a great time we had together.
We have been doing this event for about 5 years now and I must say that we sensed a very special warmth from God this year and I am confident that part of the reason we felt this special warmth was because of your prayers for us. Thank you for praying.
We are also so thankful for all of those who went with us and served including lots of children from a girls children’s home here named Baan Eden that is very active in our church family.
As you can imagine, in most societies including Thai society, being HIV/AIDS infected caries a very strong negative connotation and folks that are HIV/AIDS infected very seldom feel the warmth and love that others feel so we make a special effort to reach out, to hug, and to play games and sing with them. Here are a few pictures of our time with these children and some of their family and friends.
This is not the only time we support and reach out to those infected with HIV/AIDS but this is one of the most important events that we have for them. On a regular basis, one of our awesome staff Ja who is from this village makes trips to visit in the homes of about 30 children which NTIM provides some kind of support or assistance too in the name of Jesus. When one of these children has a birthday, Ja will purchase a small gift and a birthday cake and make a personal visit to them in their homes and pray for them and wis
h them a Happy Birthday.
h them a Happy Birthday.
Out of all of these young children that we support, at least one of their parents have already died from HIV/AIDS and several of these precious children have already lost both parents and are living with relatives.
Here is a short 4 minute video clip of our celebration with them a few years ago that will help you get a feel for how important this event is to the lives of these precious children and their families.
Prayer Example:“Lord, we have been reminded today that there are innocent little children in Northern Thailand that have been infected by HIV/AIDS and many of them feel unloved and rejected from the community. Yet, Your Word tells us that You love these little children. We thank You for the various ministries that You have put in the hands of NTIM and its partners. We thank you for the Christmas celebration that took place this last Saturday and we pray that You would bless all of these children and all of their families in a special way this Christmas season. We thank you for Baan Athitaan Church and for NTIM and for all of those who reached out to the distressed and downcast folks with Your love and with your message of forgiveness and salvation this past Saturday. Help them to continue to be Your hands and Your feet and to love people as You love us. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.”