Dear Family, Friends, and Partners in Ministry,
Many of our
Family and Friends have reached out to us in the last 24 hours checking to see
how we are and if we were affected by the earthquake. This is simply a short
update on the Earthquake with a few ways that you can help your family and
church family know how to pray for Thailand and Myanmar at this time.
Yesterday
afternoon, I was in my office when the whole building began to shake. I got up
from my office and walked out to the main office area and both Jaa and Ball, where
looking at each other saying we are having another earthquake. The shaking didn’t
last too long – at least at our location – but it was a frightening feeling.
Before long we began to hear reports about some of the details.
One news reporting agency in Thailand wrote this heading yesterday, “Today's quake: the strongest tremor felt in Thailand in 95 years.” Followed with this picture.
The report
yesterday went on to say, “The earthquake today, measured at between 7.4 and
7.7 on the Richter scale, was the strongest tremor felt in Thailand since 1930
when about 500 people were killed, said Phichit Sombatmak, director-general of
the Mineral Resources Department.
He said
that the tremor was first measured at 7.7 magnitude at 1.20pm, at a depth of
about 10km. It was caused by the movement of the Sagaing fault in Mandalay,
about 16km from Sagaing town and about 1,100km from Bangkok.
The quake was followed 12 minutes later by a 6.4 magnitude aftershock. The strong vibrations were felt in the northern, north-eastern, eastern and central regions of Thailand, including Bangkok, he said.”
As most of you know, God has shaped my life and allowed me to serve Him in many different roles. One of those roles is working as the Vice President and Director of Field Operations for a USA based non-profit foundation called Northern Thailand Impact Ministry or NTIM for short. We are primarily focused upon following God’s leadership in many different capacities but one of those capacities is what we call advocacy for God’s work in and around Northern Thailand. We have over 100 different language and people groups that live in Thailand and some of these people groups are considered some of the least reached people groups in our world today and one of the jobs God has put in my lap, is to bring awareness to God’s people of the needs that are in and around Northern Thailand.
NTIM has
always tried to be one of those “first responders” to natural disasters when
they occur having helped in past years with earthquakes, hail storms, wind
storms, flooding and many other types of emergencies.
If you
would like to make a donation to specifically to go toward the effects of this
earthquake, then we welcome you to do that. Any donation of any size will go a
long way in helping NTIM share the message of our Lord Jesus with millions and
millions who are lost in the darkness. If you do make a donation to help with this
earthquake disaster, please send me a note personally of how much you have designated
and I will ensure that this designated donation gets to the appropriate people.
But a second
thing I would like to do today is to give you and your church family a few
pointers as to how to pray specifically for Thailand during this time of
disaster.
SUGGESTED WAYS TO PRAY FOR THAILAND
1)
Pray
for those who have Lost loved ones during the earthquake.
2)
Pray
for those who have lost homes.
3)
Pray
for those who live in high rise buildings that are now living in fear of the
structural integrity of their “homes.”
4)
Pray
for hearts to be drawn to our Lord.
5)
Pray
for Christians to be gentle yet bold encourages of people to make The Lord
their stronghold and Protector.
These are
times when “acts of kindness” can go a very long way in breaking down
resistance to the gospel of Christ as we do things that reflect the love and
compassion of Christ in ways that reach the heart.
Would you first pray for God’s mercy for all those who have been
affected in this natural disaster. Secondly, we would you to consider sending a
donation to NTIM, either in the form of a check to our Birmingham, AL address
or give on line at our website at www.gontim.org and look for the “donate”
button.
May God bless each of you for your prayers and your gifts given in the
name of our great Savior Jesus Christ.
Until all the people living in and around Northern Thailand have a
chance to become followers of the One True God and His Son Jesus Christ.
Michael for the team…
“For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves
as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake.” 2 Corinthians 4:5
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Financial support can be given through NTIM....
Northern Thailand Impact Ministry (NTIM), P.O. Box 26115,
Birmingham, AL 35260 USA Main Website: www.gontim.org
NTIM is a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization based in the USA.
We are committed to connecting people in need with people who care and are
focused in the heart of Southeast Asia where poverty is high, education is low,
needs are great, unreached people groups (UPGs) are all around us, and the love
and message of Jesus is needed to transform lives.
Reaching, Teaching, Discipling, Equipping, Training, and Serving People
in God’s World, through acts of love and compassionate as the light of Christ,
is what NTIM and our ministry team is all about.
