UPDATE ON URGENT NEED FOR JOHNSON FAMILY - May 18, 2011

We serve an awesome God who knows the very number of hairs on our heads and cares for the very details of our lives. As I sit here in Barnes and Noble Bookstore in Tuscaloosa, Alabama with my son Joshua and write this update, my heart is overwhelmed with many emotions and thoughts.

I received word yesterday that one of our friends and supporters in this ministry is in the process of donating enough miles to purchase one of the remaining 3 airline tickets that are needed for the rest of my family to make the loooong trip this way. I also received word yesterday that a couple of special donations came in that will cover the other airline tickets that are needed. We are so grateful to God and to the precious friends and supporters God has surrounded us with. It is a great joy to serve both our Lord Jesus and to serve you in this partnership of taking the gospel and love of Jesus into the heart of Northern Thailand. We are willing to go, willing to serve, and willing to live among these people that we have come to know and love but we cannot do it alone. We need our Lord Jesus and we need you, each of you. We need your love. We need your encouragement. We need your financial support. We need your prayers.

Together, our Lord is using our partnership to impact a part of the world that has been in deep darkness for thousands of years and He is building HIS CHURCH and the gates of hell will not stand against it. No doubt, the enemy has not been happy with the success of the gospel and has attempted to create problems and disharmony on the field in the past, but greater is He that is in us that he that is in the world.

We will give an update on the work at a later time but today we just felt compelled to say a heart-felt thank you to all of you for your love and partnership with us in this great ministry of bringing the love and message of the gospel to millions living in the heart of Asia and the 10-40 Window of Asia.

We love you and are happy to serve the Lord with you in this great cause for Christ.

Your Servants to the Nations in and around Northern Thailand,

Michael for all

“To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has made us to be a kingdom of priests to serve His God and Father – to Him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.” Revelation 1:6

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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

URGENT NEED: Send the Johnson Family on Furlough and back to Thailand

My family and I have been serving the Lord in Thailand over 12 years now and we have planned our “Furlough” times around our children’s graduation from High school. However, this year is a very special year in that our oldest daughter Jessica is graduating from Union University on May 21, 2011 in Jackson, TN and our second daughter Liz is graduating from Chiang Rai International Christian School on May 28, 2011. As such, Joshua and I are planning to leave for America to celebrate Jessica’s graduation in the middle of May and Hope, Liz and Caleb are planning to follow on to America after they have celebrated Liz’s graduation.  

We have been praying and seeking God for the funds for our family to go on Furlough and then to return to the field the end of August 2011. This truly is a place where the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few and we wanted to let friends and supporters know about this very special urgent need. It will take an estimated $7,100  just in airfare to get our family to the US and have a return ticket to Thailand waiting for 4 of us for August. We will also be in need of a vehicle and housing so please join us in praying for God to open doors in those areas as well. However, this project is specifically for airfare travel costs to get the Johnson family to America and then return to Thailand at the end of August 2011.

For those of you who do not know our family very well, we came to Thailand in January 1999 with a very clear call and vision to plant a community, purpose driven type church in an urban setting. God has given us great favor and with the help, prayers, and support of God’s people, we have been able to plant a church called Baan Athitaan Church in Northern Thailand in the middle of hundreds of unreached people groups. 

This church began in our home shortly after we moved to Chiang Rai and opened up an English language school over 10 years ago after we spent 2 years in Bangkok in language study. I now serve as the Senior Pastor of this community church that is made up of over 20 different people groups and is truly making disciples of all the nations. I also serve as the Director of Grace Language School where we are using teaching English as a strategic way to build relationships in the community and share the love and message of Jesus to thousands of people. I also serve as the Field Director and Vice President of NTIM. Hope also serves as an English Teacher at Mae Fah Luang University where she invests her life in students who will be some of the future leaders in this country.  

If you would like to make a donation to go toward the Johnson family, please send your checks or money orders payable to NTIM at the address below. If you would rather give on line, please go to our website at www.gontim.org

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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