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y team drimePraise God for opportunities to share about God in schools in Phrom Khiri. Usually our team here has just shared in schools in the context of Christmas. But recently another missionary gave me the idea to ask schools in the area about sharing about the love God other times of the year as well, starting from the story of creation. With the coming of a Thai YWAM team, I decided to ask permission to share in 2 schools in which I teach English. The YWAM team was great, fitting in to lead Christian Thai kids songs on the spot, helping organize kids and costumes in the impromptu creation skits we did and the kids loved them.

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Category: Serving in Mission
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As church planters, we're trying to reach out to groups, not just individuals. And when we reach out to an individual, we want to connect with their family and friendship groups as well. In one family, I reached out to the father first and shared a number of gospel stories with him, but he hasn't shown interest to go deeper. As time has gone by, I've been able to connect with his 20 year old son as well.

And now God has opened the doors with his son's group of friends, through music. It turns out that the son may in fact be more interested in the gospel. And this past week, we told me, that when he was younger, he had gone to play music at a church and enjoyed it. 
 
This example also is part of a shift in my strategy. At first, I was trying harder to reach men who already have families. But as I see the example of Jesus, he chose mostly young guys around 20 as his disciples.
So, at this time, I am looking to focus most of my time on guys in their teens or early 20's, though at the same time investing enough time with the older ones to build trust. 
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Category: Personal Reflections
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The roads were quiet as I drove to my language helpers shop and home on the eve of Chinese New Year. As I drove I noticed many shops and homes had Chinese lanterns and outside many Thai homes I saw tables prepared for the offering to the ancestors and idols. I was surprised to see how many were celebrating Chinese New Year, I had not previously realized how many Thai Chinese lived in our area.

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Category: Life in Thailand
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It was a chilly morning for Thailand as we set off on a short motorbike ride to a local temple, by the time we got to the temple I was feeling quite cold. Friends had invited us to observe this annual event that raises funds for the temple.

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At 6 am the temple was bustling with people many having been there since 5 am and some much earlier, a large bonfire was burning, and we walked into what appeared to be a market. As we walked around we were greeted by friends and shown around. As we walked around and chatted to people I asked about payment for the food. I was told that all the food was being donated by the people making it and the people “buying” the food did so by placing a donation in a bowl. Each person who either made the food or gave a donation towards the food was making merit. Many of the cooks had been up since 3am that morning preparing their food with no monetary gain for themselves, just the hope that this would gain them merit.

A Thai book “Accumulating Merit” explains making merit in the following way:

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Category: Life in Thailand
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Sydney team

The video ends with the word – Unfinished! This word challenged both Trish and I as we watched a video that was made by a short-term team from Sydney that partnered with us during our Christmas outreach ministry.  At the end of the 2 weeks each person was asked to use one word to summarize their experience during this time of ministry in Thailand. Examples of words used were ‘Rewarding, Experiential, Faith, Prayerful, Eye opening, Delicious (referring to the amazing food in Thailand), Humbling, Good, Fruitful, Hope, Blessing, Unity, Hopeful, Exciting and Unfinished. We don’t know what the speaker’s interpretation was when they said unfinished, but for us the word reminded us that the work here in Thailand is still unfinished.

Video Hyperlink 

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Category: Serving in Mission
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Nothing happens by accident because God orchestrates everything, whether large outreaches or divine appointments! December is always a busy time for us. Christmas has become more familiar to the Thais, although it is still understood as a foreign holiday where gifts are exchanged. And so we take this opportunity to run different outreaches to introduce them to the true meaning of Christmas. This year, we praise God for opening the door to allow us to share the story of Christ’s birth in many venues, including local neighborhoods, local schools, the municipal office, and even the local police station!

Though we praise God for all these opportunities, we know that it’s only by His leading and grace that anyone will be saved through Jesus Christ. This is our constant prayer for the people in Phrom Khiri. We praise God for the 100’s we get to reach out to through large outreaches, but we also realize that God works just as powerfully through divine appointments with a single person.

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Category: Serving in Mission
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Over this past year, I have been wanting to do adventure ministry in the area where I live in order to reach local youth and young adults. A few kilometres from my house there is a small mountain that looks like it has good potential to be used for rock climbing and also has large cave inside. I had run into one man, Uncle "A", who works at the temple there who said he was really interested in us developing the area so it can be used for rock climbing. After an unsuccessful attempt to meet with him, we arranged another time to meet. As me and Jeff were coming to the entrance of the temple there, we ran into a neighbour of mine, a tourism official in the local municipal office, who just happened to be there.

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Category: Life in Thailand
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