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