Today is Day 19 of
our 36 Day Spiritual Adventure of getting to know and then actively praying for
Northern Thailand Impact Ministry (NTIM) and all of the various unreached
people groups in and around Northern Thailand. Thank you for joining us for
this great time of seeking the face of God on behalf of millions who have never
heard the message of our Lord Jesus.
Today is a little
different kind of update because it is a follow up to Prayer Day 12 where we
talked about an upcoming event where we would be celebrating Christmas in a
nearby village with children who have been infected by HIV/AIDS.
Each year the local
village hospital that helps care for folks that are HIV/AIDS infected asks us
to put on a special Christmas program at the local village hospital. I am
convinced that hundreds if not thousands of people were praying for us and for
that event. That even took place this past Saturday morning.
We met together at
the church in Chiang Rai very early Saturday morning and before we headed out
to the village, as is our custom, we gathered together before the Lord and asked
Him to use us that day as His hands and His feet. We asked Him to fill our
hearts with His love so that we could then express His love to all the people that
we would be serving and meeting in our HIV/AIDS Christmas Celebration in this
local village that day. And what a great time we had together.
We have been doing
this event for about 5 years now and I must say that we sensed a very special
warmth from God this year and I am confident that part of the reason we felt
this special warmth was because of your prayers for us. Thank you for praying.
We are also so
thankful for all of those who went with us and served including lots of
children from a girls children’s home here named Baan Eden that is very active
in our church family.
As
you can imagine, in most societies including Thai society, being HIV/AIDS
infected caries a very strong negative connotation and folks that are HIV/AIDS
infected very seldom feel the warmth and love that others feel so we make a
special effort to reach out, to hug, and to play games and sing with them. Here
are a few pictures of our time with these children and some of their family and
friends.
This is not the only time we support and reach out
to those infected with HIV/AIDS but this is one of the most important events
that we have for them. On a regular basis, one of our awesome staff Ja who is
from this village makes trips to visit in the homes of about 30 children which
NTIM provides some kind of support or assistance too in the name of Jesus. When
one of these children has a birthday, Ja will purchase a small gift and a
birthday cake and make a personal visit to them in their homes and pray for
them and wish them a Happy Birthday.
Out of all of these young children that we
support, at least one of their parents have already died from HIV/AIDS and
several of these precious children have already lost both parents and are
living with relatives.
Here is a short 4 minute video clip of our
celebration with them a few years ago that will help you get a feel for how
important this event is to the lives of these precious children and their
families.
Prayer Example:
“Lord, we have been reminded today that there are innocent little children in
Northern Thailand that have been infected by HIV/AIDS and many of them feel
unloved and rejected from the community. Yet, Your Word tells us that You love
these little children. We thank You for the various ministries that You have
put in the hands of NTIM and its partners. We thank you for the Christmas
celebration that took place this last Saturday and we pray that You would bless
all of these children and all of their families in a special way this Christmas
season. We thank you for Baan Athitaan Church and for NTIM and for all of those
who reached out to the distressed and downcast folks with Your love and with
your message of forgiveness and salvation this past Saturday. Help them to continue
to be Your hands and Your feet and to love people as You love us. We pray this
in Jesus name. Amen.”
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