Penetrating Thailand’s Darkness – Update December 9, 2010

The Christmas season seems to be the time of year when God chooses to move mightily in the hearts of people living here in the heart of Northern Thailand. One of our university students named Galong gave her heart to Jesus several months ago. She is being disciplined and learning how to share the love and message of Jesus and has been actively sharing her faith this Christmas season. God has given this young lady the opportunity to lead several other university students to faith in Jesus including two this past Friday. The Bible says that the angels in heaven rejoice over one sinner that repents and the Angels have been rejoicing and smiling over Thailand these past few weeks.


Like most of the ones we see give their hearts to Jesus, Galong is the first person in her entire family to become a believer in Jesus. At first her family was very upset with her decision but after seeing the changes that God has brought in her life they are beginning to warm up to the idea and it is with great joy that I will have the privilege of baptizing Galong along with 4 others this Sunday.

But that is not all. Many of you know one of our staff named Gae. Gae has served with us for 6 years now and heads up coordinating and leading our compassion ministries with special emphasis on our HIV/AIDS ministry. Gae was the first person in her entire family to become a believer as well. We have tried to be much more intentional with reaching out to the families of our staff and helping them to share their love and faith with their families. Yesterday, December 8, Gae drove over to the hospital in her village that we are working with regarding our HIV/AIDS ministry. After following up and visiting with those infected with HIV/AIDS, she went home to visit her mother for lunch and God opened her heart in a huge way and Gae had the privilege of leading her mother to the throne of grace. Wow. God is on the move in Northern Thailand and is using your prayers, your gifts, and your partnership to penetrate the darkness and change people’s lives.

BUT STILL THAT IS NOT ALL. Just as I finished writing the above paragraph, Gae walked into one of the classrooms where I was working and said, “Fluke wants to give his heart to Jesus.” Fluke is a high school student that has been one of our English students at Grace Language School for many years. Well, Gae and Fluke came into the classroom and we began to talk and ask and answer questions and it was clear that Fluke truly was ready to give his heart to Jesus so God gave me the chance to lead Him to the throne of our Lord Jesus. Wow. God truly is on the move.

For those of you who follow our ministry closely, you know well that we live in a part of the world where there has been Satanic strongholds keeping people in darkness for thousands of years. But God is bringing His love and His light into this part of the world. God is moving in a way that we have never seen before reaching down into families where there has never been even 1 Christian believer in the family and through the power of the gospel of our Lord Jesus, God is changing lives.

God is moving and we are pleading with you to keep praying and to keep giving. Finances these days are as tight as I have ever seen them and there is still so much to do. This is the time of year when we have dozens of Christmas programs to share the love of Jesus and our main Christmas event is next week and we are still very short on financial resources. We truly need your help.

Your Servants to the Nations in and around Northern Thailand,

Michael for the team

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You can send donations to support God’s work to NTIM. All donations made are tax deductible and can be made either online at www.gontim.org or mailed to NTIM, P.O. Box 26115, Birmingham, AL 35260

Reaching, Teaching, Discipling, Equipping, Training, and Serving People in God’s World through acts of love and compassionate is what NTIM and our ministry team is all about.

HIV/AIDS CHRISTMAS PARTY - UPDATE - December 1, 2010

You have been praying...and God has been responding to those prayers!!!!

On Saturday, November 20, we kicked off our Christmas season by taking the love and message of Jesus to local village hospital in Northern Thailand. A large team from NTIM and Baan Athitaan Church left early in the morning to put on a Christmas program for over 100 people at the hosptial where we have begun a new HIV/AIDS ministry.

We have been asked by the hospital to focus on supporting, helping, and ministering to 21 young children who are HIV positive. All of these children as well as their family and friends were at our Christmas Party and had great fun learning and hearing about the real message of Christmas. Most of these people heard the good news of Jesus for the very first time and received the news with open hearts. What a great joy it is to be the salt and light of Jesus in a place where God is opening huge doors of opportunity. .

Most of us took lots of pictures and enjoyed spending time sharing the love and message of Jesus but we want to say a special thanks to Ben and Jenna Winship for putting a short video clip together that truely captures the joy we experienced celebrating Christmas that day. The YouTube link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io1P-FJL6oc

We also have a link to lots of pictures on our Facebook page for Baan Athitaan Church at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=33693&l=8c794693ac&id=141698185871002

We believe in providing good quality evangelistic programs that touch the heart. We do not consider these "expenses" per se but rather "investments" into the lives of people for the Kingdom and glory of God. Would you prayerfully consider giving a donation to NTIM to help us cover our evangelism outreaches this Christmas. Your financial investments are a very practical way for you to partner with us in sharing the love message of our Lord Jesus. We can make a difference together by sending your donations to NTIM, P.O. Box 26115, Birmingham, AL 35260 USA or by giving online at www.gontim.org

"And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. Unto you is born this day a Saviour which is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11

Pray for HIV/AIDS Christmas Party - November 19, 2010

When we look closely at Jesus' mission statement and at the way He lived out the Gospel during His 3 years of public ministry, we find that He always expressed His love and devotion to God in compassionate ways that reached out to the downcast, the distressed, the hurting, the sick, the poor, those in bondage, and the needy.

As followers of Jesus, our love for God must be expressed in these same compassionate ways. Many of you know that our ministry is involved in many things including ministering to those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. There are over 21,000 Thai people that die from AIDS every year. God has recently opened up new ground for us to really make a difference with a local hospital in a village where two of our staff were raised.

We have been asked by this hospital to host a Christmas program this coming Saturday, November 20th, for 21 children who are infected with HIV. They have also invited their friends and their families as well and we expect to share the love & message of Jesus with around 100 folks this Saturday.

1) Please Help By Praying . . .

Please pray for us that God would continue to use us as his hands and feet to share the love and message of our Savior with those who are hurting, sick, and are in need of Hope.

Christmas is a time of giving and we at NTIM are wanting to take your donations and use them to make a huge impact in people's lives. If you have not given this Christmas season and would like to give a donation to NTIM, you can do that at the address or website below. Jesus once said, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."


2) Please Help By Giving . . .

For further information on our HIV/AIDS ministry, please see our website link at: http://gontim.org/main/what-we-do/care-hivaids


Your Servant to the Nations in and Around NorthernThailand,

Michael
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Your donations to NTIM will make a huge impact in the lives of people for Jesus sake. All donations made are tax deductible and can be made either online at www.gontim.org or mailed to NTIM, P.O. Box 26115, Birmingham, AL 35260

Christmas In Thailand - Prayer Details - November 12, 2010

It is our heart's desire that we see many Thai people groups, many Burmese people groups, many Laotian people groups, and many Chinese people groups give their hearts to Jesus this season. Many of you know that we live in a part of the world where less than 1 out of every 100 people know Jesus as their personal Savior. We believe God wants many of these precious people to come to know Jesus this Christmas season, but we need your help to do that. Many of the events that we have been planning require considerable resources and we are asking that each of you to help in 3 ways:

1) PLEASE HELP BY PRAYING . . .

Pray for our planning process that God would guide us to do what He wants usto do and say what He wants us to say. Pray that we would "seize the day" as the Christmas season is the most natural time of the year for us to talk about the message of our great Savior. Pray for our awesome staff and team. Pray for those who we partner with in ministry. Pray for the thousands of people who will hear the message through our very words this year. Here are some of our planned events.

November 14 - Baan Athitaan Church - We currently have scheduled a "decorating the church" event on Nov 14. Pray for all the preparations that go into our theme this year of "Gift From Heaven."

November 20 - HIV/AIDS Christmas Party - We recently kicked off our own HIV/AIDS ministry and were asked by one of the local hospitals that we are working with to host a Christmas party for 21 children who are infected by HIV. Not only will these 21 children hear the good news for the first time, but their family and friends will also be there too. We are expecting to share the love and message of Jesus with over 100 people who are either infected or affected by HIV/AIDS.

November 26 - 29 - Rebuild Church In Hmong Village - Earlier this year very strong winds basically destroyed a small bamboo church building up in the mountains in Huay Khu Village where several from our church are from. We are planning a "construction mission trip" to rebuild this church and put up a very simple and inexpensive block structure building that will make the church more stable during the strong winds.

December 14 - Christmas English Fun Day in Pan Village - Grace Language School will be taking the love and message into a school about 1 hour south of us in the Pan Disctrict where Nun's mother (a member of our staff) works as a teacher. Pray for us and for the team from Singapore that will be coming to help us.

December 15-17 - Painting and Christmas Preparation - A team from Singapore is coming to help bless several of the ministries we are involved in. They will be working with the girls home called Baan Oon Rak, our English school called Grace Langauge School, and Baan Athitaan Church.

December 18 - Baan Athitaan Church Christmas Program - This is the day that we have set aside to host the single largest evangelistic event of the year in Northern Thailand. Last year we had between 600 and 700 people attend our main Christmas program. December 18, 2010 will be a day where hundreds from our community from where over 25 unreached people groups live will come into Baan Athitaan Church in Chiang Rai. They will have fun, feel welcomed, be entertained, be fed, and most importantly hear the Greatest News that can ever be heard!!!! Many of these people will hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus for the very first time in their life.

December 20 - Christmas at Huay Khu Village - We will be driving about 4 hours to help a small Hmong church reach out to the community and celebrate the birth of our great Savior. We will have a team from Singapore join ours for a total of about 25 people to help them celebrate.

December 22 - Christmas Caroling in the Community - We will be going around in our community to various businesses and shops that we frequent, as well as some church members homes and singing Christmas carols.

December 24 - Possible Christmas program in Prison - We have been asked to host a Christmas party in the Prison in Tueng and are in the beginning planning stages of this event.

December 25 - Church Family Christmas Program - We will be having a small church family Christmas program with lunch on Christmas day at Baan Athitaan Church.

2) PLEASE HELP BY GIVING . . .

We are wanting to provide good quality evangelistic programs that touch the heart. We do not consider these "expenses" per se but rather "investments" into the lives of people for the Kingdom and glory of God. We are asking God to sell a few cows and send $6,000 to $10,000 to NTIM by the end of November so that we can prepare appropriately for these events. Please prayerfully consider giving a donation to NTIM to help us cover our evangelism outreaches. Your financial investments allow us to be your hands and feet 24-7 here in the heart of the 10-40 Window.

3) PLEASE HELP BY FORWARDING THIS NOTE TO OTHERS . . .

Many want to give in a special way at Christmas to a special cause that will really make a difference in people's lives. However, they just don't know where there is a need. This may be an opportunity for you to help your family and your friends know where their donation can make a huge difference for Jesus.
We are excited about all that God is doing on this side of the world and thanking God for each of you and your partnership with us for the sake of the gospel.

Your Servants to the Nations in and around Northern Thailand for Jesus sake,


Michael for the NTIM Team
"...Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10-11

What Next?
Start this Christmas season off right by writing a check out to NTIM and let your first gift this Christmas season go toward blessing the lives of people where the needs are truly enormous and the resources are truly limited. On our own, we each can make a difference in the world, but collectively as a team we are a force for good that exponentially surpasses what we can do alone. You can make a difference by sending your donations to NTIM, P.O. Box 26115, Birmingham, AL 35260 USA or by giving online at www.gontim.org

A Team From Alabama Comes To Love Children Like Jesus - October 27, 2010

This last weekend we were blessed by a team from Michael & Hope’s home church at Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Though they were only with us for two days before going to Chiang Mai, they were a huge help! Despite sleep deprivation and jet lag, they were eager to go with us to Baan Oon Rak (BOR) and spend time with the kids on Saturday afternoon and evening. We sang songs together and played a game like we would any Saturday, but this time the children had something special planned for their guests. They performed traditional Thai and Chinese dances for the team. They have worked very hard practicing these dances for the Christmas program and they did a beautiful job!

The rest of the day was spent doing different activities and cooking-out! With Halloween just around the corner in the US, we taught the kids how to carve pumpkins and make masks! Team members partnered up with the kids to help them with the activities. Pumpkin carving would have been a disaster without the team! They were so great with the kids and everyone had a fun time! We really appreciate the team for making our kids feel loved and for making such a big task like carving pumpkins possible for the children at BOR!

 

We at NTIM want to thank everyone who invests in the lives of our children at Baan Oon Rak! Your praying, giving, and going matter to our kids! For a write up on the ministry of Baan Oon Rak see the link at: http://gontim.org/main/what-we-do/rescue-children


I posted pictures from Saturday on the support group page on facebook. I hope you can take time to look at the pictures and see how much fun we had!

Love,

Kara Davis
“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its parts form one body, so it is with Christ…Now you are a part of the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:12, 27

HIV/AIDS Ministry - October 18, 2010

Poverty, low education, and a host of other factors help contribute to a horrible reality where over 21,000 Thai people die every year from HIV/AIDS. Many times this sickness leads to many Thai children seeing one or both of their parents die from HIV/AIDS and leaving them in very desperate situations.


In September 2010 we did not know Muay or 21 other children very much like Muay. We have had a heart to help those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS for several years and have worked in this area for over 3 years but more in a support role helping a friend in his ministry in a couple of neighboring cities but with a growing sense that we should be taking a lead role in this kind of ministry in our neighborhood and in areas that have yet been touched by the love and message of Jesus.

After much prayer and consultation, we decided to step out in faith with very little funds and kick off our own HIV/AIDS ministry this past September 2010. Many of you know Gae, who has served along side us for over 5 years now, and know that she has a very deep passion for those who are poor, needy, and in difficult situations. We have asked Gae to be in charge of this ministry and to serve as NTIM/CBF’s Compassion Ministries Coordinator.


Even in these early stages, God is opening our eyes to needs that are greater than we can meet but with your help and partnership, we can truly impact people like MUAY with the love and message of Jesus. We have been asked by one of the hospitals that we are working with to help sponsor 21 children that have been either infected with HIV or affected by parents who are HIV positive. We believe this is something our Lord wants us to consider doing with your partnership. Just this past Saturday, one of the hospitals asked us to come and present a Christmas program to all the HIV Positive children and their friends and family this year. Would you like to be a part of helping us make an impact this year and next year for Jesus?


On our own, we each can make a difference in the world, but collectively as a team we are a force for good that exponentially surpasses what we can do alone. You can make a difference by sending your donations to NTIM, P.O. Box 26115, Birmingham, AL 35260 USA or by giving online at www.gontim.org

Thailand Update - Flooding, Disaster, & Emergency Relief – Sept 13, 2010

Flooding in Thailand affects hundreds of thousands of people every year. It not only destroys lives but destroys houses, farmland and carries bacteria and parasites in the water that cause sickness to hundreds of thousands of people in Thailand.  Floodwaters in Thailand are normally full of parasitic leeches, human waste and bacteria that causes skin infections and fungus.

Attached is a link of pictures that we took this morning of flooding as a result of heavy rains over the past several weeks. All of these pictures were taken within a 15 kilometer radius of Baan Athitaan Church and most of them within 200 yards of the church. Also included are pictures at the Family Learning Center where school was closed today due to flooding.   http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=24338&l=1691966a95&id=141698185871002

God has burdened our hearts to see if we can begin raising funds to help with some of these disasters that happen like this. When we look closely at Jesus’ mission statement and at the way He lived out the Gospel during His 3 years of public ministry, we find that He always expressed His love and devotion to God in compassionate ways that reached out to the downcast, the distressed, the hurting, the sick, the poor, those in bondage, and the needy. As followers of Jesus, our love for God must be expressed in these same compassionate ways.

This Saturday a group of about 14 people from Baan Athitaan Church are going on a mission trip to Huay Khu Village, a Hmong village about 3 hours from the city of Chiang Rai. We are going to help a small church in that village rebuild their church that was destroyed by strong winds just a few months ago. We had hoped to raise enough funds to replace this very weak bamboo structure with a more solid block structure and anticipated spending less than $2,000. That may not sound like much but to those of us who live in this part of the world that is a lot of money.

Our church took up a special offering and tried various ways to help raise these funds here and praise God, we have been able to raise a little over $500. That is not enough to put up a block structure that we had hoped, so we will be putting up a very similar bamboo structure on this trip. It simply reminds me of the truth that because the Christian population in countries like Thailand is so small we still desperately need resources from Christians from other parts of the world that have a heart for missions.
We would like to do so much more and need your partnership to make that happen. Would you please pray about making a donation to NTIM and mark it “For Disaster & Emergency Relief” so that we will be able to use that in the future for assistance with flooding victims, or even for help in rebuilding churches that have been destroyed from strong winds or flooding.
Your Servants to the Nations in and around Northern Thailand,
Michael for the Team
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Your donations to NTIM are making a huge impact in the lives of people. They help us connect people in need with people who care. All donations made are tax deductible and can be made either online at www.gontim.org or mailed to NTIM, P.O. Box 26115, Birmingham, AL 35260

Penetrating the Darkness - July 27, 2010

Sunday July 25 was a day that Nong Aye, Nong Waat, Nong Pee, Nong Gung, Nong Tat, Nong Wut, Nong Pon, and Nong Yaa will remember for the rest of their lives. It was the day that they said publically that they belong to Jesus and that He is Lord of their lives. It was also a very special day for our church to reflect on what it means to be a church family and to welcome others from our community and support them in their decision to follow the commands of Jesus. Here is a link to pictures of our baptismal celebration on July 25, 2010

http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=460590&id=739870640&ref=mf

For those of you who follow our ministry closely, you know well that we live in a part of the world where there has been Satanic strongholds keeping people in darkness for thousands of years. Much like most of these people who were baptized this past Sunday, God is moving in a way that we have never seen before reaching down into families where there has never been even 1 Christian believer in the family and through the power of the gospel of our Lord Jesus, God is changing lives.

God is moving and we are pleading with you to keep praying. Please remember to pray for Baan Athitaan Church and all the teaching and discipleship ministry that goes on every week here in Northern Thailand. You have heard me say on many occasions, one of the most significant things that I do while serving as God has shaped and gifted me is to faithfully, boldly, gently, and clearly teach God’s truth every Sunday morning to our church family that is made up of over 22 different people groups from all over the 10-40 Window.

Reaching, Teaching, Discipling, Equipping, Training, and Serving people in God’s World through acts of love and compassionate is what NTIM and our ministry team is all about.

Your Servants to the Nations in and around Northern Thailand,


Michael for the team
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You can send donations to support God’s work to NTIM. All donations made are tax deductible and can be made either online at www.gontim.org or mailed to NTIM, P.O. Box 26115, Birmingham, AL 35260

Rescue Children From Poverty and Its Consequences - July 21, 2010

Poverty, low education, sickness and disease lead to many Thai children without a responsible person to care for them. Children are at great risk as child trafficking has reached pandemic proportions. Sometimes parents or caregivers will become so desperate that they wind up selling their children at a very young age. Many parents are living with HIV and/or have heavy drug habits and neglect these precious ones for whom our Christ died.

One of the ways that NTIM is responding to some of these problems is through our children’s home called Baan Oon Rak, or translated means “Home of Warm Love.”

MINISTRY SUMMARY – Baan Oon Rak is one of our “rescue the children” type of ministries. All of the children that we care for at Baan Oon Rak are from very poor broken families. We currently care for 13 precious girls, ages 4-12, and 1 boy age 5. What are some of the things that we do for these precious children?

*Protect them from the additional consequences of extreme poverty, abuse, and abandonment.
*Give them an opportunity to receive a good education.
*Provide them with a warm loving Christian home with care givers who love Jesus and who love and care for these kids.
*Teach them to love Jesus and love others.
*Bless them with a church family where they are loved and trained to be salt and light for Jesus.

MINISTRY PROJECT NEEDS – The initial funding for getting Baan Oon Rak started came from the savings and personal funds of Pii Bow (who also serves as the director of Baan Oon Rak) along with a few other friends. Those funds are long gone and we are operating on a less than adequate shoe string budget and are therefore in need of significant monthly support. We are in need of individuals, churches, and organizations who want to help provide hope and a bright future for these children through donating $35, $50, $100, or $200 monthly toward “Rescue the Children” project.  Donating $2,000 would cover the whole project for 1 month.

Be one of the first to step up to the plate for Jesus and for these precious children. On our own, we each can make a difference in the world, but collectively as a team we are a force for good that exponentially surpasses what we can do alone. You can make a difference by sending your donations to NTIM, P.O. Box 26115, Birmingham, AL 35260 USA or by giving online at www.gontim.org
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NTIM is a non-profit charitable 501(C)(3) status in the USA committed to connecting people in need with people who care. We are focused on taking the love and message of Jesus into the heart of Southeast Asia where poverty is high, education is low, needs are great, darkness is everywhere, and the message of the gospel is needed to transform lives.

There are 6 key things that NTIM does: 1) sends “laborers” into the heart of the 10-40 window, 2) builds bridges to the lost through teaching English, 3) rescues children from extreme poverty and prevent human trafficking, 4) feeds & educates street children, 5) cares for those affected by HIV/AIDS, and 6) makes disciples, trains nationals and facilitates church planting.

Alabama Team from SMBC helping reach out in Thailand – July 12, 2010

God is using English in mighty ways to build bridges to the hearts of people in Asia. A team of 8 from our home church in Birmingham, Alabama have come to help us reach out to the nations through many avenues. They have already helped host some HIV/AIDS training, host a part for Baan Oon Rak children’s home and will be blessing some of the street kids at Open Doors on Tuesday.

Another very significant avenue of reaching out this week is through doing what we call “English Fun Days.” On Monday and Wednesday, we will be going into two junior high schools and putting on an English program for two schools. This is a part of our strategy at Grace Language School to reach out and bless our community and build bridges to hearts that God can use to draw people to Him.

Pray for a special touch from God. Pray for the team as they work with our team to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this part of the world. Please also pray that God would send us laborers to help in the felds to follow up with these precious people. We are in desperate need of four people who would commit for 2 years to come and serve with us as teachers at Grace Language School and help us follow up and really make a long term impact in this part of the world.

Your Servant to the Nations in and around Northern Thailand,


Michael

Training HIV/AIDS Workers in Thailand - July 10, 2010

When we look closely at Jesus’ mission statement and at the way He lived out the Gospel during His 3 years of public ministry, we find that He always expressed His love and devotion to God in compassionate ways that reached out to the downcast, the distressed, the hurting, the sick, the poor, those in bondage, and the needy.

Jesus said in His mission statement, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19

As followers of Jesus, our love for God must be expressed in these same compassionate ways. Many of you know that our ministry is involved in many things including ministering to those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. There are over 21,000 Thai people that die from AIDS every year and we have an opportunity to express the love of Jesus.

SIM & E3Partners have developed something similar to the Evangecube but is directed more at educating people about HIV/AIDS and then using it as a bridge to share the gospel. Chris Horton, who is a good friend of mine from my home church in Birmingham, AL and also serves with E3Partners, provided some awesome training for a small group of HIV/AIDS workers yesterday.

Please also pray with us that God would continue to use us as his hands and feet to share the love and message of our Savior and continue to become better equipped to bless the communities in Northern Thailand.

Please also pray that God would send us laborers to help in the fields to follow up with these precious people in our various ministries here at NTIM.

We are in need of 2 very important things: resources in people and resources in donations.

Your Servant to the Nations in and around Northern Thailand,


Michael

Your donations to NTIM are making a huge impact in the lives of people.
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All donations made are tax deductible and can be made either online at www.gontim.org or mailed to NTIM, P.O. Box 26115, Birmingham, AL 35260

Prayer for English Camp in Thailand - July 2, 1010

God is using English to reach the hearts of young people. In just a couple of hours, we begin a 3 day camp called “Let Freedom Ring English Camp” where we will have lots of fun, make lots of new friends, and build bridges to the hearts of lost people. We have a great team from Florence, Mississippi here to help us. They have been busy all week getting ready for this very important weekend. In just a couple of hours from now, we will be registering somewhere between 50 to 60 high school and university students for this camp.

Pray for a special touch from God. Pray for us to love these campers like Jesus loves them. Pray that God would help us to be His hands and His feet. Pray for them that their eyes and hearts will be opened to message of our great and mighty Savior and King. We have already seen two students give their hearts to Jesus this week and we are seeing God to do some amazing things.

Please also pray that God would send us laborers to help in the fields to follow up with these precious people. We are in desperate need of four people who would commit for 2 years to come and serve with us as teachers at Grace Language School and help us follow up and really make a long term impact in this part of the world.

Your Servant to the Nations in and around Northern Thailand,

Michael
Your donations to NTIM are making a huge impact in the lives of people.
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All donations made are tax deductible and can be made either online at www.gontim.org or mailed to NTIM, P.O. Box 26115, Birmingham, AL 35260

Two More Chinese Give Their Hearts to Jesus - June 30, 2010

God is at work all around us! We stand amazed at how God is giving NTIM and the various ministries it supports so many opportunities to reach the nations for Jesus.

Just moments ago, two more Chinese students gave their hearts to Jesus! Wow. Go GOD!!!! God had been working in their hearts for quite some time but today was the day that God had chosen to write their names in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Today is the day that the Angels in heaven are rejoicing over these two sinners who have given their hearts to Jesus.

Thank you for your faithful prayers for our team. God is listening to those prayers and opening doors that no man could ever open. Please pray that God would send us either an ethnic Chinese or someone who is fluent in Chinese to help us. We urgently need someone who loves Jesus, loves the Chinese, speaks English well, has the heart of a shepherd, and will work as a team player to bring the Chinese into the larger church family of God. We need someone to come and serve alongside Pastor Michael and lead our Chinese ministry to the next level of impact and discipleship.

There are over 500 Chinese students from Yunnan Province that study at Rajabhat University here in Chiang Rai. That does not include the hundreds of Chinese students that study at Mae Fah Luang University just up the highway from us. God has used us to lead many to faith in our Lord Jesus over the past 2 years but we are really in need of someone to help shepherd their hearts and disciple them in their heart language. Keep Praying!!!!

We also just want to thank all of our financial supporters. It is through your donations to NTIM that make it possible for us to join God in this great task of taking the message of our great Savior to the nations in this part of the world.
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All donations made to NTIM are tax deductible and can be made either online at www.gontim.org or mailed to NTIM, P.O. Box 26115, Birmingham, AL 35250

Alabama & Mississippi Baptist Help Open New Doors in China - June 10, 2010

CHIANG RAI, Thailand (NTIM reports) – There are more than 44 million people living in Yunnan Province in Southern China and most have never heard the message of our Lord Jesus. Amongst the millions who have never heard the gospel, God is using Alabama & Mississippi Baptists in partnership with GLS to plow new ground and open doors for future work.
One of the team members from Shades Mountain Baptist in Birmingham, AL who serves as the Field Director of NTIM and Director of Grace Language School (GLS) in Chiang Rai, Thailand said relationships of deep trust and friendship were hard to build but easy to tear down. “We are so grateful for partner churches like FBC Florence’’ he said. “They understand our philosophy of teaching English with integrity and with a very intentional life purpose of being salt and light while building bridges of trust and friendship with those we teach.”

The team from FBC Florence, MS, where Buddy Sheriff serves as pastor, had six members who met in Bangkok in early June with a team of four members from GLS. They flew together to the capital city of Kunming and drove to a strategic city in the Yunnan province. There they spent three days being salt and light and teaching English to more than 2,000 students in both a university and high school where GLS has been developing strong relationships.

The team was especially excited to unexpectedly meet a couple of the university students who were led to Christ through Baan Athitaan Church in Chiang Rai one year ago.“The fields are ripe for the harvest,” NTIM Field Director said. “But the workers are truly few.”
GLS is praying for God to send seven college graduates (one preferably ethnic Chinese) who love Jesus and can go to Chiang Rai and serve for at least two years and help the school reach the nations living in and around Northern Thailand for Jesus. For more information visit www.gontim.org or send an email to pray4gls@gmail.com

A youtube video of our trip can be found at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3nm0CJDsEI

It is through your prayers and donations to NTIM that make it possible for us to join God in this great task of taking the message of our great Savior to the poor, to the needy, and to those who have never heard.
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All donations made to NTIM are tax deductible and can be made either online at www.gontim.org or mailed to NTIM, P.O. Box 26115, Birmingham, AL 35260

Prayer for English Outreach in Thailand and China - May 30, 2010

There are many things that we do to build bridges to the lost people in this part of the world. As most of you know, we live in a part of the world where very few people have ever heard the message of Jesus. 99 out of every 100 persons living here do not know Jesus as their personal Savior. Even in the midst of millions who have never heard, God is at work. God is using many people and many groups to bring the light of the gospel.

One of those groups is our English language school called Grace Language School (GLS). GLS is registered with the Ministry of Education of Thailand and owned and operated by NTIM's sister foundation in Thailand called Channel of Blessing Foundation. There are two areas that we are asking for your prayers.

We would first ask you to please pray for our outreach in Northern Thailand. GLS currently has 60+ students this term. We are asking God to send us 100!!! Please pray as we begin to make plans for registration of new students next week. We are also asking God to send us 7 new 2-year commitment missionaries to come and serve full time through NTIM and help us expand the kingdom of our great God here in Northern Thailand. The fields are ripe…but the laborers are truly few.

The second areas we need your prayer in is our 1st mission trip and outreach into China. There are over 400 Chinese students from Yunnan Province that study at Rajabhat University here in Chiang Rai. God has used us to lead several to faith in our Lord Jesus. Not only is God sending these Chinese students to Chiang Rai, God has opened doors for Grace Language School (GLS) to go into China. In just a few hours, a team of 4 of us from GLS will be traveling to Bangkok to meet up with 6 friends from FBC Florence, MS. We will then board a plane June 1 and head into China on GLS’s first mission trip into this great country. We will be plowing new ground as we teach on campus at a fairly large University on June 3 and a fairly large high school on June 4. Please pray for us as we seek to bless the Chinese people and be the salt and light our Lord Jesus has called us to be.

It is through your donations to NTIM that make it possible for us to join God in this great task of taking the message of our great Savior to the poor, to the needy, and to those who have never heard.
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All donations made to NTIM are tax deductible and can be made either online at www.gontim.org or mailed to NTIM, P.O. Box 26115, Birmingham, AL 35260

Helping Children Affected by HIV/AIDS in Northern Thailand - May 27, 2010

By Josh Grammar, NTIM Summer Volunteer from EBC, Tuscaloosa, AL USA

Yesterday morning, Gae and I drove to a hospital just north of Chiang Rai, Thailand. Gae serves as Coordinator of Compassion Ministries for Baan Athitaan Church. At the hospital we met up with a man named Frank. Frank is a Canadian born man who lived in England. He moved to Thailand on a calling from God to help families affected by HIV/AIDS. He found himself volunteering in hospitals and clinics and establishing friendships. On this morning, we drove from school to school making sure each child they support gets the money they need. Frank and Gae are tireless in their work. When notified of new candidates, Frank finds the house and makes sure it is a legitimate need and meets the families. Frank knows the families personally and you can see a smile on the kids’ faces when they see him.

Frank and Gae are impacting those affected by HIV/AIDS in Thailand for God. If there was ever a man to trust with ministry money, I can trust this man. He lost virtually all American aid when Katrina hit, so he relies on funds from England, Baan Athitaan Church, and Northern Thailand Impact Ministry to support the ministries of Open Doors and HIV/AIDS Outreach. As Frank spoke with principals and teachers, he informed me that some were very trustworthy, but that others would pocket the money. That is why he checks back with schools and families. His face shows a true heart for the children, and his passion sneaks through as you hear the slight anger in his voice as he mentions the corruption that interferes with helping the needy. Because of what Frank and Gae do, these children who have lost parents, or may be losing parents are given an opportunity to change their lives. They are all very poor. One in particular we visited lived on a little dirt road with her mother. She has to ride an old worn out bike to her school.

Christians like Frank and Gae, who have an open heart to God, are able to see the needs of God’s people and step in and make a difference. Mark 9:36-37 shows, “He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."

Christ has called us to be His body on earth. Are we limping? Are we keeping our hands in our pockets? These children are suffering and I have seen first-hand what a small amount of help can do. We are capable of so much more though, right? If we work together and support our fellow Christians, and use our whole body as we are called to, Christ’s work here on earth will be even more glorifying to God and many souls will be saved from a life apart from God. In a country where less than 1% of 66 million people know Christ, there is much work to be done.
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Projects and compassion ministries like these are possible through giving to NTIM. Donations to NTIM may be made by clicking on this link: www.gontim.org
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NTIM is a 501c charitable organization committed to taking the love and message of Jesus to the poor and needy in and around Northern Thailand.
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“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19

People Need God's Transforming Word in Northern Thailand - May 26, 2010

On Tuesday night, May 4, 2010, just 3 weeks ago, I received an urgent phone call from Kit. One of Kit's closest friends named Attapon from his home village in Chiang Kam overdosed and the doctors said he would not make it through the night. Kit is Phet's younger brother. Many of you know Phet who serves as my Administrative Assitant at Baan Athitaan Church. Kit and Phet were both shocked because Attapon had such a bright future ahead of him. He graduated from Chiang Mai University several years ago with honors and was a very gifted and talented artist and only 26 years old.

We did not know the details of what happened that day with Attapon but knew that we needed to pray for him. I asked Kit to come to the church office and several of our staff gathered together that night to pray and ask for God’s touch. First thing the next morning, we were glad to hear that Attapon had made it through the night and felt that God would have us go visit him. So, Kit, Phet, and myself set out on a two hour drive to go visit Attapon.
When we arrived at the hospital, we all realized the severity of the situation. This wasn’t your typical overdose of medicine. The previous day, Attapon made a very deliberate choice to end his life. He went and purchased two different kinds of herbicide. One type of herbicide kills grass and weeds from the outside. The other type kills grass and weeds from the roots as the herbicide is absorbed in the system. After Attapon bought these two types of herbicide, he took them home and poured 3 full glasses mixing the herbicide together and drank all three of them.

Literally within minutes, Attapon’s body began the death process. When we arrived at the hospital some 18 hours later, the doctors reported that Attpon’s kidneys had already failed and it would not be long when all of the other internal organs began to fail.

When we visited Attapon, Kit was able to share a little with him and Attapon had changed his mind and did not want to die…but it was too late. The consequences of his choice to drink this herbicide were set in motion and within another 18 hours, Attapon breathed his last breath before entering eternity and as far as we know, an eternity without our Lord Jesus.

My heart still hurts when I think of Attapon. Why do people who have such a bright future ahead of them lose their desire to live and willingly take their own life? I am convinced that one primarily reason is that they do not know why God put them on the earth and what God’s Word says about how to live our lives. I will be sharing this story this Sunday at Baan Athitaan Church along with begining a fresh 40 look living a purpose driven life and need your prayers.

I am reminded of what the Apostle Paul once wrote in in 2 Thessalonians 3:1. "Finally, Our friends, pray for us that the Lord's message may continue to spread rapidly and be received with honor, just as it was among you."

Please remember to pray for our teaching ministry at Baan Athitaan Church located in Chiang Rai, Thailand in the heart of the 10-40 Window.
God has given me the privelege of Pastoring an awesmoe church that began in our home almost 9 years ago. One of the most significant things that I do every week, is to faithfully, boldly, gently, and clearly teach God’s truth every Sunday morning to over 22 different people groups mostly from the heart of the 10-40 Window.

Reaching, Teaching, Discipling, Equipping, Training, and Serving God’s World in compassionate ways is what NTIM, Baan Athitaan Church, and all of our related ministries are all about.

Your Servant to the Nations in and around Northern Thailand,


Michael
http://www.gontim.org/

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I also send out devotional thoughts on Facebook from time to time through a group called "Pastor Michael's Messages and Devotional Thoughts in Engilsh. If you would like to receive these, you can join this group on facebook at:     http://www.facebook.com/?tid=1280305323606&sk=messages#!/group.php?gid=190077294798

If you would like to receive the Thai version of these, you can join the group on faceebook called การหนุนใจจากพี่ไมเคิล, you can join this group on facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/?tid=1280305323606&sk=messages#!/group.php?gid=210961298920