TOMORROW LET US BEGIN THE NEXT 365 DAYS BEING MORE FULLY ON GOD’S AGENDA – December 31, 2020

Today is the last day of a 365 page book that covers everything you and I have done, everything you and I have said, and everything you and I have thought for the last 365 days of 2020.

This morning as I begin to write this devotional thought on behalf of God’s Work here in Thailand, I would like to take a moment and share from my heart to your heart as we come to the close of this last page of 2020 and prepare for the first page of 2021

God has been doing some absolutely amazing things here in Northern Thailand and I am normally very quick to report on God’s Working here in Thailand because I want my family, my friends, my neighbors, and my partners in ministry to know that God is good and that He is very active in using the people here at NTIM, Grace Language School, and Baan Athitaan Church in God’s work of reaching and transforming the lives of people from some of the least reached people groups in our world today.

BUT TODAY, God has prompted my heart to speak to you (and to others whom you feel led to forward this to message to) about ending this last page of the book of your life in 2020 on a good note by intentionally preparing to make some changes in your life as you begin a new chapter of the book of your life during 2021.

We as followers of Christ sometimes get sidetracked so easily from what is truly important to God. Life is not about gaining more stuff…. better housing, better Cars, better furniture, better phones, a larger savings account. No, that is not what life is all about.

Life is also not about having more fun. Now don’t misunderstand and think that it is wrong to have fun, no there is nothing at all wrong with have fun from time to time. I have fun almost every single day and have lots of fun when teams come out and serve with us in expanding God’s kingdom here in Northern Thailand. But, the motivation of our lives should not be seeking to have more fun. Rather we should seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness first and learn to have “fun” being obedient to our Master who has commissioned us with the task of joining Him in going to all people groups in our world and making disciples.

Listen to what God’s Word says about the meaning of life and where we are to find our direction for life in Deuteronomy 8:2-3, "You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.” Deut.  8:2-3

As followers of Jesus, our lives are not to be wasted.

As followers of Jesus, our talents are not to be wasted.

As followers of Jesus, our financial resources are not to be wasted.

As followers of Jesus, our time is not to be wasted.

As followers of Jesus, our lives are to be driven with a deep desire to be obedient to live according to what pleases God.

The Apostle Paul wrote to a young Pastor named Timothy and basically said something along these lines: “Timothy, the goal, the objective, the purpose of everything I have ever taught you is directed down to paths. The first path is to love God and the second path is to love others. But this love that you learn to give to God and to others should be a love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a genuine faith. That is the Michael Johnson paraphrase version. Here is what he technically said in 1 Timothy 1:5, “The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.”

Today is the last page of our lives for 2020. You cannot go back and change what has already been written in your book but you can learn from it and intentionally choose to write a different story for 2021 starting tomorrow.

God understands that we slip up and fall and make mistakes from time to time. But He does expect us to not be driven by the same values that drive those who do not know Christ. We are not to be driven to gain more stuff but really to learn how to give more stuff away as we “store up treasures in heaven” not store up treasures here on the earth. We are not to be driven to have more fun. No, we are to learn to be more obedient to God and live in a way where we “have fun” doing the will of God for our lives.

Today God has given us an opportunity to reflect on 2020, rejoice where we have pleased God and recognize where we have not pleased God like we should have and INTENTIONALLY choose to start the new year off right with the helping our first page of the book of 2021 be written as a living sacrifice please to God.

We love you and have shared our heart with you and want to say Thank you for sending us to Thailand and supporting us as we seek to lead a small part of God’s work to reach the least reached peoples in this part of God’s World.

May this new year of 2021 be a year where you and I are more intentionally focused on seeking God’s Kingdom and His righteousness above all other people and things.

Much Love & Prayers. Your Servant to the Nations in and around Northern Thailand,

Michael for the team

 

 

How To Understand and Pray for Cross-Cultural Missionaries living far from “Home” During This Holiday Season - Dec 30, 2020

As I prayed about what God would have me write today and say to you about “how to pray for missionaries,” I was reminded of a speech that was given many years ago by the famous Paul Harvey called, “So God Made a Farmer.” This speech was a speech given by radio broadcaster Paul Harvey at the 1978 Future Farmers of America Convention. The speech was first published in 1986 in Harvey's syndicated column. Then several years ago I heard a “take off” version of that but it was related to missionaries and I want to ask you to click onto the link and listen to that short video clip first before reading any further. It is only 4 minutes long but very helpful in understanding the “heart” of a cross cultural missionary. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9E7AhUAzbY

Today, I want to ask you to join us in praying for a few cross cultural missionaries that partner with us in a very special way on a regular basis through Grace Language School and through our church family at Baan Athitaan Church. We do not want to give out too many details for their own “security” purposes so please just remember these names:  Keith, Taran, Cody, Jayda, Alexa, Del, Michael, Hope, Daniel, Gary and Mem, Kim and Gahn, Jon and Chrissy, Travis and Naamwaan, Jim and Jin, Jim, Jack, Susan and many others who all serve on the field here in Northern Thailand and are active in our church family.

I think I speak for most of us when I say that this is a time of year that is full of heightened emotions and adjustments. It is great because of the receptivity to the gospel that we see as we share it at Christmas time, but we also miss our friends, relatives and families of origin that we would normally spend the holidays with. For many of us, our children are grown and most of our relatives are thousands of miles away during this time. We are honored to be serving on the field and do not want to “stray from the course God has for us,” but it is a difficult time of missing family, friends, and loved ones.

We are deeply connected to our friends, coworkers, and the people we have come to serve here in Thailand, and are involved in many outreach events almost every day, but our hearts also long to be with our families and friends back home. For example, Hope and I deeply miss our children and grandchildren who are scattered all over America. Our oldest daughter, her husband and our first two grandkids are in North Carolina. Our second daughter, her husband and our third grandchild are in Tennessee. Our oldest son is in Atlanta. Our youngest son and his wife are in Michigan. This was mine and Hope’s first Christmas without any of our children since 1988.

I can’t remember the last time we had Christmas together with my mom, brother, Hope’s dad, sisters and relatives. I would love to walk up to my mother and give her a hug and say “Merry Christmas Mom. I love you.”  I would love to go over to my brother’s house for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and have a meal and celebrate Christmas with both of our families. I would love to spend time with Hope’s Dad and sisters and their families as well. Those are desires that we have tugging at our hearts this time of year in a way that is very difficult to pen. Please understand and pray for your missionaries, especially those that are long term missionaries. This is the time of year that we really do have struggles and we really do need your love and your support. 

Pray for us. Yes. Pray for us earnestly. We need your prayers. But please do not stop there. Write us an email or a message on Facebook. Send us a Christmas card, a New Year’s greeting, or a care package. Send our children a card or small gift for Christmas. Make a small Christmas donation on our behalf expressing your support of our mission. Reach out to your missionaries this Christmas in a meaningful way.

Also, please pray for continued bonding with nationals who, in some ways, function as family and also pray for openness from the people we are trying to reach with the gospel, that God might open doors wide for the gospel seed to bear much fruit.

Prayer Example: “Lord, we thank You for raising up people who are willing to follow You wherever You lead them to go. We thank you for Keith, Taran, Cody, Jayda, Alexa, Mic the reminder that they really do struggle during this time of year. Please help their families understand the call You have placed on their lives and help our missionaries to stay the course and rest in Your perfect plan for their lives. Help us, Lord, not to forget them but to reach out to them in a special way this year. May You wrap each of our missionaries and their children in Your arms of love and bless them in a special way. Help us do our part in reaching out to encourage them this Christmas and New Year as well. Open doors for them for the gospel and help them see that You are with them. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.”

I want to thank all of you who have been praying for us and reading these updates each day. I pray that they have helped you to see what an awesome God we serve and how deeply our Lord loves all these unreached peoples living in and around Northern Thailand and how He has invited us to join Him in His great work.

Breaking Strongholds of the Spirit World in Thailand – Prayer Day 17 – Dec 29, 2020

Anyone who knows me knows that I love the Thai people very much. It gives me great joy when I see one of them open up their mind and give their heart to Jesus. I have seen hundreds of Thai people give their hearts to Jesus and many of them become the first person in their entire family to be a follower of Christ. This is one of my life purposes – to join God in what He is doing to reach the Thai people with the love and message of Jesus. 

But it doesn’t stop at salvation. That is just the beginning. It also gives me great joy when that new Thai believer begins to learn to walk with God as a disciple and follower of Jesus and begins to share their faith with others and lead others to Christ and learn what Jesus meant when He said in Matthew 4:19, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  It gives me great joy to see them give of their time and mentor new believers.  

But let me be very clear today about a very critical subject I want to ask you to pray about. There are many strongholds that have kept the Thai people from Jesus for thousands of years. Some of these strongholds are thought patterns. Some of these strongholds are traditions and practices that have been handed down from one generation to another. Some of these strongholds are related to cultural norms that are in conflict with the teachings of the Bible. And some of these strongholds are related to the very real spirit world that is very active in this part of God’s world.

Think with me for just a moment about what the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:12 when he said, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Friends and prayer partners, please understand that the battle over the hearts and minds of the millions of people from some of the least reached people groups in the world is not a battle over flesh and blood at all… but a battle with the spirit world that most do not see. These spirits and forces of evil have kept the Thai people from the love and knowledge of Christ for far too long. The time has come for the light of the Jesus to shine brightly in this part of God’s world. It is time for God’s people to pray for the release of the minds and hearts of Thai people so that they can turn to our great SAVIOR! Let us pray, let us give, and let us go!!!!!

Prayer Example: “Lord, We thank You for each of the missionaries living in Thailand and especially those supported through NTIM and partnering with NTIM who are committed to making disciples from some of the least reached people groups in Asia. We also thank You for the reminder that our battle with darkness is not between flesh and blood but with the rulers of darkness. We pray that You would raise up more workers for the harvest and that you might be pleased to remove the blindness over the Thai people’s heart and help them to be open to the “good news which is for all people.” Help us Lord to pray fervently, to give generously, and to be willing to join you in your work of breaking the strongholds set against the gospel among the peoples of Thailand. May Jesus be lifted up in Northern Thailand in a special way this Christmas season and in the new year so that all men could be drawn to Him. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.”

Understanding the Task of Reaching Unreached People Groups

As I write this update, I am sitting in my office in Northern Thailand reflecting on what God is doing in this part of God’s world that many have described as the most thoroughly Buddhist area in the world today. It is said that 95% of Thai people consider themselves Buddhist followed by about 3% consider themselves Muslim, which leaves less than 2 percent that consider themselves associated with some other religion. The facts are that Thailand is one of the least reached countries in our world today and is filled with some of the least reached people groups in our world today.

What a great honor we feel to have been chosen by God to join Him in taking the greatest message in the world along with our lives and skill sets to some of the least reached people groups in our world today right here in the heart of Southeast Asia. We thank God that He has placed a little part of His love for the Thai peoples in our hearts and we are continuing to grow in our ability to adjust to, to adapt to, to understand, to embrace, and to be about sharing the love of Christ with these people whom we have come to love very deeply. But let me be clear. Moving across the globe and joining God in this great work of redemption is not for the faint hearted. Reaching the unreached requires deep love, deep conviction, deep relationships, deep dependence upon the Word of God, the Spirit of God, and the people of God, and it requires a type of commitment to perseverance that reflects a belief that it is Christ who wants to use our lives to be the messengers of redemption to these precious lives He is seeking to restore to a right relationship with Him. Reaching the unreached is not “catch phrase” it is one of the driving motivations of our hearts in all that we do so that we might please Him and glorify His name. 

This time of year is always a very reflective time for me personally where some of the deepest desires of my heart are to not only join God in what He wants to do but also to invite and to facilitate others joining in on God’s agenda to reach the “nations” for Jesus Christ.

Back on DAY 1, we shared with you about “God’s Heart for the Nations” and the meaning of “Panta Ta Ethne” as it relates to the Great Commission so I will not review that now but ask you to go back and look at that later. Here is the link for that discussion if you would like it:

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Day-01---God-s-Heart-For-The-Nations---Season-of-Prayer---November-24--2020.html?soid=1103335986076&aid=90Fb32CcTYs

Jesus has empowered His followers to go into all the world with His authority. Jesus stared that great commission passage with “All authority has been given to me in Heaven and on Earth….. Therefore GO and MAKE DISCIPLES “PANTE TA ETHNE” (of all the people/ethnic groups of the world.)

Think with me for just a moment. What is the “business” of Toyota? I would describe the business of Toyota as a company is to meet a transportation need of people who want to get from one place to another place by relying upon their own vehicle to drive. It is not just about selling as many cares as they can…when you really think about it, it is really attempting to meet a felt need in the consumer’s life. What is the “business” of SHELL? In a similar vein, I would say that the business of shell as a company is to meet a transportation need of people who already have a vehicle and need the fuel necessary to get from one place to another. It is not just about selling gas… it is an attempt to meet the felt need of people who own cars and trucks and need fuel to get them to their destination.

You might think it strange that I ask these questions. But let me take your thoughts a little farther.

Now, let me ask you this question?  What is the “business” God has commissioned His Church to be about? Jesus commissioned His disciples to join God in His work of redemption and of life transformation (discipleship) of every people group in our world today. We are in some ways to be like international farmers…. Taking the good seed of the gospel of Jesus Christ to very dark places that have been steeped in traditions that have been handed down from one generation to another for thousands of years.

We are to go to those places as farmers and we must till that hard soil. If we don’t work that hard soil, this good seed of the gospel will never enter into Thai people’s hearts. We will never have a huge harvest if we do not spend time preparing the soil for this good seed.

 Most of us are very willing to help with the harvest at harvest time…but some of God’s people must go and do the hard work of preparing the soil? If we truly desire to reach unreached people groups and have a good harvest, we must never ever forget that it is critical that we work hard at preparing the soil of the heart so that when the seed it planted, it may bear fruit. How do we do this? This is where we must work hard at changing people’s attitudes and beliefs about God, Christianity and about Christians. 

In Thailand, Christianity is seen as the religion of “the white man.” They have a saying and thought pattern that says, “To be Thai is to be Buddhist.” These are some of the strongholds that keep the soil of the heart hard and unwilling to accept the good seed. Let us be good and wise international farmers and make sure the soil of the heart is being prepared through love and good deeds through lives that are full of kindness and truth.

One of the ways that have seen God at work changing hearts and attitudes is though identifying some of the felt needs of these people groups and then helping meet some of those felt needs in a way the allows the love of God to flow through our lives and touch them at the heart level and in a very relational way. This is one of the reasons we spend so much effort, time, and resources on Teaching English, conducting English camps and English Fun Days. Yes, these are fun, but let me be perfectly clear that we do these things not because they are fun, but because we are fighting over the souls of people who have been trapped in darkness in Thailand for thousands of years and it is our honor to be able to serve God in a way that blesses the Thai people, helps change attitudes toward Christians and toward our Savior, and love Thai people enough to invest and pour our lives into them in order that we might have a chance to join God in seeing some of them become followers of Jesus and have their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

If teaching English helps advance the kingdom of God then I am willing to become a teacher of English who desires to live my life in such a way that others see the love of Christ in my life and am drawn to this great Savior. This is the hard work of preparing the soil of the heart and after 20+ years of doing this, I have seen God do some amazing things that only God can do. As I think about all the lives that we have been able influence for the advancement of His kingdom, I am deeply humbled that God would use sinners like us.

Please pray for all of us in Northern Thailand who are working the fields and plowing the soil of the heart through teaching English, through meeting felt needs, and by taking the message of our great Savior to people during this Christmas season.

Prayer Example: “Lord, We want to begin our prayer with thanking you for the awesome opportunity that you have given to NTIM, Grace Language School, and Baan Athitaan Church to celebrate Christmas and share the message of Jesus with thousands who have never heard and some from the least reached peoples in Asia. We thank you for their English teaching ministry that is truly reaching into the community and changing attitudes and beliefs as they allow your love to flow through their lives. We pray that you would work in the hearts of these unreached people groups and help them to see the love of Christ demonstrated through good works and help their hearts to become more tender toward the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  We recognize that our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with spiritual forces of wickedness. Please help your faithful servants to stay the course of preparing the soil, sowing the seed, removing the weeds that choke out the gospel and be faithful at being fishers of men! We pray this in Jesus name. Amen”

I want to thank all of you for joining us in this Spiritual Adventure and Season of Prayer. We need your prayers. We want your prayers. We ask for your prayers. We believe God is asking you to pray for His work that He has entrusted to us as stewards.

Until all the Thai people have a chance to know Him, 

Michael

VP & Director of Field Operations for NTIM 

 

"BEACH HEAD VISION" For Lighting Up The Darkness in Thailand - Dec 27, 2020

As we have shared many times over the past few years.   When we came to Thailand over 20 years ago, I never could have imagined the ministry and opportunities God would give us as we stepped out in faith and followed our sense of God’s leadership in our ministry. God has truly been at work radically changing lives in Northern Thailand. Baan Athitaan Church and Grace Language School serve a very diverse community of over 23 very different ethnicities and language groups. These different ethnic people groups are some of the least reached people groups in our world today located right here in and around Northern Thailand. This place we call Northern Thailand has become home for us. Words cannot express how exciting it has been to join God in seeing hundreds of people from many of the least reached people groups in our world today become the first person in their entire family to become a follower of Jesus. It is incredible how God has grown the ministry to beyond what even our current rented building can even occupy.  Here is a short 5 minute video clip we put together several months ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKpwnvLu5wM&t=144s

The building we’ve been renting has been our home base for so many years. But since we’re renting, we feel it is not good stewardship to make the kind of improvements that are needed. This rented building is aging badly with water leaks, rotting wood, faulty electrical wiring, and just not enough classroom space.

We began our first phase of building a multi-purpose facility by buying a piece of land in 2018. We are now in Phase 2 of building this facility on that land that we want to call “The Lighthouse.” With our own land and our own building, we are saying to the darkness that God’s Work is here to stay. This new building also gives us so much more room – room to grow for many years to come.

We’re close, and that’s why we need your prayers. We needed to raise $300,000 in donations and pledges to complete the final phase of construction. I am very pleased to announce that since we started our capital campaign called “Bringing Hope to Thailand,” as of December 18th, we have received $276,800 in donations leaving us a balance to raise of $23,200. Wow. We are so close to completing our goal and we say glory to God and thank you to God’s generous people.

Here are a picture of our building progress just taken a couple of days ago.

We want to thank all of you who have given. We also want you to know that any gift of any side if given to glorify God is pleasing in the sight of our Lord Jesus. Please partner with us to finish our new multi-purpose facility that will serve the unreached peoples of Northern Thailand and beyond and help us continue the process of expanding God’s Kingdom through making disciples who will make other disciples all for the glory of God and the expansion of His kingdom.

Checks can be made out to NTIM, P.O. Box 26115, Birmingham, AL 35260 or you can give online at www.gontim.org Gifts given for the building should be designated for “Building.”

Thank you for your generosity.  Your donations serve as a visible affirmation of your commitment to the great commission of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May God bless you.               

Prayer Example: “Lord, we have been reminded today of how You are at work building Your church in Northern Thailand. We thank You for allowing us who have been praying to be a part of seeing young people give their heart to Jesus. We thank You for allowing us to see how You are using 1^st generation believers to reach and disciple other 1^st generation believers. We thank You for Grace Language School and how you are using them to reach out not only to Thai people but to Chinese people and Laotian people, and Burmese people and many others. We do sense that it is Your time for them to establish a more permanent beach head and to say to the forces of darkness that God’s work through NTIM is there to stay. We ask that You would open the storehouses of heaven and provide NTIM with the needed resources in money and personnel to do all that You have put in their hearts to do. Please guide them as they seek for the piece of property that can best be utilized for Your purposes in that part of Your world. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.”

Today is Day 15 of our Season of Prayer of getting to know and then actively praying for Northern Thailand Impact Ministry (NTIM), its partners, 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.

Ball's Story of Transformation - Reaching the 3rd Largest UPG in Thailand - Day 14

 God is doing some incredible things in the heart of Southeast Asia drawing people to Himself who are the first persons in their entire family history to become followers of Jesus. Many of those people give their hearts to Jesus during a very pivotal period of time in their lives where they are the most inquisitive time of their lives, the time between 1^st year at the university all the way up until their last day at university. 

Let me tell you about one of those university students who became the first person in their entire family to follow Jesus and who now serves God on our NTIM Thai Staff team. He, like the rest of my staff, is one of my Thai heroes.

Ball is a Thai citizen and is from the 3^rd largest ethnic unreached people group in Thailand called the Muang UPG or more popularly known as the “Northern Thai UPG.” Ball joined the NTIM ministry team on August 1, 2017, 3 years ago, shortly after he graduated with a degree in English Education from Chiangrai Rachaphat University.

Ball became the first person in her entire family to become a follower of Jesus while he was in his 3rd year as a university student. Ball began going to an English outreach of Grace Language School at Rachaphat University called “English Corner.” The relationships he developed led him to a Christmas program at Baan Athitan Church where he received a scholarship to study at GLS and became one of Michael’s students.

Many people spoke into Ball’s life and all of us rejoiced greatly on February 25, 2015 when Ball made the decision to become a follower of Jesus. Michael had the privilege of baptizing Ball on September 13, 2016 at Baan Athitaan Church. Here is a short video clip of that day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anwzOtDRzgA&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR254jG7qOAAIeZfnJpy6zNw5K9zZMo5qsqon-EQNEm6-GDMuso_m5RdJrQ

Through God’s leadership, we invited Ball to come and serve the Lord with us shortly after he graduated from university. Since that time, Ball has been involved in many aspects of the ministry. Today, Ball is primarily involved in teaching English and takes the lead role in organizing and leading our GLS Children’s English program on Saturday mornings for children grades 1-6. Ball is also one of our key translators and is even learning and enjoying leading worship from time to time. He is also very active in teaching the Bible and leading our youth ministry to junior high students. Ball is also involved in mentoring and discipling new believers and currently mentors and meets with several guys every single week helping them grow in their walk with Jesus. Ball’s favorite Bible verse is Micah 6:8 which says, “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?”

Prayer Example: “Lord, thank You for loving us enough to send someone into our lives to tell us about the gospel. We thank You for loving Ball enough to send someone into his life to tell him about the gospel. We thank You for loving others enough to send people like Ball into the lives of others to tell them about the gospel. We want to take this moment and ask You to bless Ball in a very special way. Help him to be salt and light in all that he does. Help him as he serves You faithfully through NTIM at Grace Language School and at Baan Athitaan Church. We ask that You would be pleased to use him to help reach his family, his friends, his neighbors, his own people group, and even other people groups. Thank You for his work with NTIM and how he faithfully serves You each and every day. We pray that You would give him great love and wisdom as he pours his life into discipling young university students there in Northern Thailand. We pray this in Jesus name.”

Today is Day 14 of our Season of Prayer of getting to know and then actively praying for Northern Thailand Impact Ministry (NTIM), its partners, 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.

Bee’s Story - Reaching The Akha UPG living in Thailand- Day 13, Dec 25, 2020

As I write this update, I am sitting in a local coffee shop and thinking about all of the discipleship and mentoring that happens through the awesome Thai staff that God has surrounded our work with. All of our 5 full time staff are 1^st generation believers and committed to evangelism and discipleship. We have introduced three of them to you already but today we want to introduce you to Bee who like Boom, is a 1^st generation believer from the Akha Unreached People Group (UPG) and who also serves as NTIM Staff at Grace Language School and Baan Athitaan Church.

As we shared in our last update, one of the great joys that God has graciously allowed me to experience on a regular basis is the joy of seeing 1^st generation believers grow in their relationship with God and become true fishers of men and mentors for other 1^st generation believers. Jesus said in Matthew 4:19, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.”

 Now let me tell you about a Thai hero. Bee is a Thai citizen and is from the Akha people group. Bee joined the NTIM ministry team on September 15, 2017, 3 years ago, shortly after she graduated with a degree in Tourism from Chiangrai Rachaphat University. Bee is from the Akha UPG, a UPG that is scattered all over Thailand, Myanmar, China, Laos and Vietnam. Bee became the 1st person in her entire family to become a follower of Jesus while she was living in a Christian children’s home called “Baan Eden.” We have known Bee since the time she was in the 4th grade when Baan Eden began coming to worship with us at Baan Athitaan Church. We have been a part of this young lady’s life and have tried to work closely with Baan Eden to see Bee grow into the woman she is today who deeply loves the Lord and wants to serve her Lord Jesus. Here is a short video clip of Bee’s baptism.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abzj_wZZMGs&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR1lq4y-8Wdwf8EDFgl6lrFOYlA397ADCjDvd9cwciS3DSiE6ieqsBuGi1g

Through God’s leadership, we invited Bee to come and serve the Lord with us shortly after she graduated from university. Since that time, Bee has served in many different roles. Today, Bee is primarily involved in handling most of the coordination of things related to Baan Athitaan Church. She serves as our Administrative Assistant at BAC. She coordinates our ministry related to children’s church, related to our outreach to HIV infected children, and related to our building. She also is active in teaching the Bible and leading our youth ministry to senior high students. She is also involved in mentoring and discipling new believers and currently mentors and meets with several people every single week helping them grow in their walk with Jesus. 

Bee’s favorite Bible verse is Matthew 5:16 which says, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” God has truly blessed the work of NTIM through this young lady and we are glad God has placed here on our team for such a time as this. 

Prayer Example: “Lord, thank You for loving us enough to send someone into our lives to tell us about the gospel. We thank You for loving Bee enough to send someone into her life to tell him about the gospel. We thank You for loving others enough to send people like Bee into the lives of others to tell them about the gospel. We want to take this moment and ask You to bless Bee in a very special way. Help her to be salt and light in all that she does. Help her as she serves You faithfully through NTIM at Grace Language School and at Baan Athitaan Church. We ask that You would be pleased to use her to help reach her family, her friends, her neighbors, her own people group, and even other people groups. Thank You for her work with NTIM and how she faithfully serves You each and every day. We pray that You would give her great love and wisdom as she pours her life into discipling young university students there in Northern Thailand. We pray this in Jesus name.”

Today is Day 13 of our Season of Prayer of getting to know and then actively praying for Northern Thailand Impact Ministry (NTIM), its partners, 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.