36 University Students Give Their Hearts To Jesus - Update Dec 5, 2011

Many of you have heard me say many times that 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. As I sit and write this update for you, my heart is overjoyed that it is only December 5, and we have already played a small part in seeing 36 college students give their hearts to Jesus.

God has blessed our church in Northern Thailand – Baan Athitaan Church – with some people who love Jesus and who want to be the hands and feet of Jesus to bring others to saving faith in our Lord Jesus.

This last week we “kicked off” our Christmas evangelism season by decorating the church last Sunday and then working together to put together some booths for the Christmas program at Mae Fah Luang University (MFLU) on Wednesday night November 30^th.

Several churches and organizations like Youth For Christ (YFC) were asked to work together with the Christian Club at MFLU this year to put on a Christmas program at the university. After lots of prayers, significant financial investments, and many hours of preparation and set up, we are very pleased to say that the Lord allowed us to play a small part in seeing 36 university students give their hearts to Jesus.

One of the things that we helped put together was a “maze” that people could walk through who wanted to know the whole story of Christmas. Various churches had taken certain “booths” that were along the maze that shared a certain part of the Christmas story with the final booths telling of the story Heaven, Hell, and ending with an Evangelism booth where we shared the gospel in a clear way and gave people an opportunity to make a decision. There were 77 people who wanted to hear the gospel presentation and 36 out of these 77 made decisions to invite Jesus into their hearts!!! We were so excited to hear the results and are thankful to God that He allowed us to be a small part of expanding His kingdom here in Northern Thailand.

Please join us and the angels in heaven who are rejoicing over the 36 who gave their hearts to Jesus this past week.

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.

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. Would you also join us and asking God to move in the hearts of His people to sell a few cows and send $6,000 to $10,000 to NTIM in the next few days so that we can prepare appropriately for some of 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 and allows us to expand the kingdom in ways that we could not do without your partnership and support.

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.

BANGKOK FLOODING UPDATE - November 8, 2011

"To The Ends of The Earth" - Summer Missionary, Susan Green, Speaks Out

Less than one percent. This is the number that represents the population of Christians in a nation—not a city or even an ethnic group but a NATION! The percentage of Christians in all of Thailand is represented as 0.7%. Not even one percent.

I have been immensely blessed to be able to travel to Chiang Rai, Thailand every summer the past four years. The past two years, I was able to spend the majority of the summer season living and working at Baan Athitaan Church. When people hear this, many respond with looks of confusion or admiration, like I am an alien from another planet or a super-Christian. I can tell you that both of these assumptions are wrong. Generally, I feel a certain degree of confusion at their responses. Why is it so strange to “give up” my summer to reach out to the lost? Why is it considered sacrificial at all? Hasn’t Jesus commanded us all to give up the things of this world and follow Him? To the ends of the earth, nonetheless.

Over the past four years, I have seen God’s mighty hand at work in many ways in the people of Northern Thailand; however, this past summer, my team and I were able to sense God’s presence in ways unseen before. One of the many ministries my team was involved with was a ministry at the university—Chiangrai Rajabhat University. Each day we sought to make new relationships with the students and build stronger bonds with those we knew already. The second day of doing this, I met a girl named Yui. She, along with most Thai people, was extremely timid. Stepping outside of my comfort zone, I reached out to get to know her. We spent the next few days doing much of the same. The fourth day after I met Yui, we were talking, and I was helping her with homework…or at least, attempting to help, when all of a sudden, Yui made a statement, “I have a friend that is Christian. But I am Buddhist because my parents are Buddhist.” Caught off guard, I casually asked her to explain the basic concept of Buddhism to me. Her response to me was what I expected, “If you are a good person, you go to heaven. If you are not a good person, you do not go to heaven.”  Although I understand this concept as basic Buddhist doctrine, hearing her say the words broke my heart.  Over the next 30 minutes or so, she allowed me to explain our basic Christian beliefs—from creation to crucifixion to the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She listened intently, frequently commenting and asking questions, thus assuring me that she was listening and understood. Yui was hungry for more than the “religion” her culture has fed her. Countless other Thais are just like her, while many more don’t even realize there is something more than working for a false salvation.

Friends, John had it right when he wrote, “The fields are RIPE with harvest!”(John 4:35).  However, no matter the ripe harvest, the workers are few (Luke 10:2). Today there are millions, even billions, of people that have never heard the good news about Jesus Christ—people that believe satan’s lies that only the good go to heaven, or there is no heaven and no God. They believe these lies because there is no one to tell them the truth. And that is our fault.

This summer, I learned that we as Christians don’t have to have all the answers. We don’t have to be profound theological speakers with doctorate degrees. All we have to do is be the willing and obedient hands and feet of Jesus that GO. When we answer God’s call to go, rest assured that He accompanies us to the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:20). There are too many people dying and going to hell for us to sit back and wait for the “elect few”, the “super-Christians”, to go. God is calling us. Me. And you. YOU. If you are a born-again believer, God has called you to the mission field. As a dear friend said, “Our mission field is wherever our feet are.” –Rebecca Godfrey.

The staff at Baan Athitaan has answered the call of our great Lord. Both the Westerners and Thai staff have left behind their fathers, mothers, friends, and materialistic things of this world to follow Jesus with one intention: make disciples among a nation that is less than one percent Christian.

So when I tell about my summers in Thailand and receive questions of why I spend the money and the time, I remember the 67 million people of Thailand that do not yet know about the man named Jesus that cleanses us of our sins and desires an intimate relationship with us. Then I remember my friend Yui, curious and desperate to know more, thirsting for more in a dry and weary land where there is so little water.

By Susan Green, Florence, MS

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NTIM is a non-profit charitable organization with 501(C)(3) in the USA. All of your donations to NTIM are tax deductible and help us connect people in need with people who care and send them to places where millions have never heard about Jesus. Checks can be made out to NTIM, P.O. Box 26115, Birmingham, AL 35260 or online at www.gontim.org

Summer 2011 - Field Update From Northern Thailand

 SUMMER 2011 - FIELD UPDATE FROM NORTHERN THAILAND

As I put the final touches on this update, the Lord has gently reminded me of how vital each of you are to the ministry of NTIM. We truly are committed to taking the gospel of our Lord Jesus into some of the darkest and most needy places in the world. We are all about making disciples of all the nations!!! But we do not do this in isolation. We do this in partnership with each of you who loves and encourages us, with each of you who gives so that the Johnsons, the Espy's, Kara, and others can go and live among the people.THANK YOU FOR GIVING TO THE LORD and for supporting the work God has put in our hearts and in our hands. Here are some of the highlights from the Field this Summer of 2011. Your servant with gladness of heart, Pii Michael

HIV English Fun Day – June 21 – Thank you Team from Amory!

A team from Amory, Mississippi came in June to help our HIV ministry.  One of the things they did was lead an English Fun Day at a school in the village, Tung Young.  Many students, ages 11-12, came from 5 different schools around the area to participate.  About ninety students attended the fun day, and everyone had a great time!  The purpose of the English Fun Day was to teach English, teach sex education with a focus on HIV/AIDS, build relationships with the students and teachers, and to be a light for Jesus.  The team talked with the students about being teenagers.  They focused on puberty, HIV/AIDS, and Internet usage.  (Internet gaming addiction is a problem in Thailand, especially among university students.    On the road where our church is alone, there are 20 Internet Cafes).  HIV/AIDS is the #1 cause of death in Thailand!  The team did a great job of explaining the disease and how it is transmitted.  They also emphasized abstinence and what God says about sex.  At the end of the program, they gave rings to each student, symbolizing a choice to abstain from sex until marriage.  They encouraged each student to make it a promise that they would wait until marriage. 

Serving The Nations In And Around Northern Thailand for Jesus,

Kara Davis, for the Team

“American Teen Sports” English Camp – July 1-3, 2011

Another team from FBC Florence, Mississippi arrived at the end of June and stayed through the first week of July.  They came to help with our English Camp.  They are awesome partners. Our English school, Grace Language School, hosted a camp for our students and for students, ages 15-22, from the surrounding communities.   Almost forty students attended the overnight weekend camp.  Friday night was a time to get to know the students and start building relationships.  All day Saturday, students went to different rotations where the Mississippi team members taught the students about American football, baseball, and Frisbee golf.  Saturday afternoon, we had a sports tournament where the students competed against each other and against the staff team.  (The staff team won!)  Saturday evening, everyone competed in a cheer leading competition.  The students were so creative, and their cheers were awesome and hilarious!  (They put the staff to shame this time ha ha)  Sunday morning was the closing of camp and after, students were invited to stay for church.  The purpose of the camp was to teach English, build relationships with students, give students a positive and fun perspective of English, invite new students to attend our language school, and to be a light for Jesus. 

Serving The Nations In And Around Northern Thailand for Jesus,

Kara Davis, for the Team

NTIM SUMMER VOLUNTEERS – From Mississippi & Alabama

We were very blessed to have a team of four from Mississippi and Alabama who were here for 6 weeks as summer volunteer missionaries.  We at NTIM are so grateful for teams that come and share the love of Jesus with the people of Northern Thailand!  Teams make it possible for us to reach out to people in ways we cannot do on our own.  Short-term volunteers are so wonderful, but we are also really in need of long-term volunteers who can come serve for 2 years or longer.  If you are interested in learning more about NTIM, please visit www.gontim.org for more information on our ministry and what God is doing in Northern Thailand and feel free to send us an email at: michael@gontim.org 

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord...It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”  Colossians 3:23-24