Lighting Up Northern Thailand With God's Word - Update Sept 2, 2013

Many of you know that we live in a part of the world where less than 1 out of every 100 people know Jesus as their personal Savior. Northern Thailand has great outward beauty but most inwardly their hearts are crying out with pain and need to be embraced with the love of God and the truth found only in God’s Word.

Their hearts long to know the truth but most have never even once heard the message of Jesus. Who will join us and go and tell them? The good news is that the light of Jesus is beginning to shine brightly in this place. God is truly at work penetrating the hearts and lives of people with His love and with His Word.

Please remember to pray for us, our staff, our partners, our various ministries and for this awesome church family we call Baan Athitaan Church. Pray that God’s Word would continue to impact the hearts of people and draw them to Jesus and help us all become better fishers of men and better disciple makers.

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 without the knowledge of Jesus for thousands of years. Like each of my awesome staff, most of the people whom we see come to Christ are either the first person in their entire family to know Jesus or they are in the first generation of people who are embracing Christ.  God is moving and desires to reach the whole family and He is doing just that … one heart at a time. God is truly changing lives through the power of His Word.

God is moving and we are pleading with you to keep praying. Please remember to pray for Baan Athitaan Church and all the teaching and discipleship ministry that goes on every single week here in Northern Thailand.

You have heard me say on many occasions, one of the most significant things that I do while serving as God has shaped and gifted me is to faithfully, boldly, gently, and clearly teach God’s truth every Sunday morning to our church family that is made up of over 23 different people groups from all over the 10-40 Window and is also a mix of several international groups. Our desire has always been to plant a community purpose driven church that welcomes every ethnic group of people that comes through our doors and not segregate their ability to serve based on ethnicity or nationality but based upon gifting, calling, and heart. We are truly becoming a vibrant and active community church and I believe we have the blessing of God upon us  at this time …… in this place ….. and for His purposes and His glory.

Just this last Sunday I shared a message on how to receive the blessing from God’s Word. I shared the message in English and Pii Phet – one of our awesome staff – translated it into Thai. If you would like to listen or if you know a Thai person or anyone else for that matter that would like to hear it, you can click on the link to hear the audio version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3mFEzqwb1M&feature=youtu.be

Reaching, Teaching, Discipling, Equipping, Training, and Serving people in the heart of South East Asia through acts of love and compassionate and through the teaching of God’s Word is what NTIM and our ministry team is all about.

Jesus said, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

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

If you have Facebook and would like to keep up with our church happenings and see lots of pictures, please go to the following link: https://www.facebook.com/BaanathitaanChurch?fref=ts

If you would like to get on our email update listing, please send me an email at pray4ntim@gmail.com 

Penetrating the Darkness With God's Word - Update May 20, 2013

Many of you know that we live in a part of the world (in the heart of Southeast Asia) where less than 1 out of every 100 people know Jesus as their personal Savior. Think about that for a moment . . . . 1 in every 100 people and there are over 66 million people living in Thailand alone. It has great outward beauty but darkness is everywhere. The good news is that the light of Jesus is beginning to shine brightly in this place. God is truly at work penetrating the hearts and lives of people with His love and with His Word.

Please remember to pray for us, our staff, our partners, our various ministries and for this awesome church family we call Baan Athitaan Church. Pray that God’s Word would continue to impact the hearts of people and draw them to Jesus and help us all become better fishers of men and better disciple makers.

Just yesterday, (May 19, 2013) a young man in his mid 20s came up to me after preaching God’s Word from the “Be Attitudes” (specifically on “Happy are those who are Pure In Heart”) and wanted to give his heart to Jesus. God is on the move. So, I grabbed Pii Jay - one of our key Thai partners in ministry - and Pii Jay and Tawaan headed off to a room together where some 30 minutes later, Tawaan gave his heart to Jesus! Tawaan’s name is now written in the Lamb’s book of life. What a great joy that brought to my heart. I praise the Lord for the opportunity to serve Him …… in the place …… at this time and ….. in this way as Pastor of Baan Athitaan Church. I could not be here and my family could not be here if it were not for many of you who prayfully and financially support us through NTIM.

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. Much like Tawaan, most of the people whom we see come to Christ are the first persons in their entire family to know Jesus… but it doesn’t stop there. God is moving and desires to reach the whole family and He is doing just that … one heart at a time. God is truly changing lives through the power of His Word.

God is moving and we are pleading with you to keep praying. Please remember to pray for Baan Athitaan Church and all the teaching and discipleship ministry that goes on every single week here in Northern Thailand.

You have heard me say on many occasions, one of the most significant things that I do while serving as God has shaped and gifted me is to faithfully, boldly, gently, and clearly teach God’s truth every Sunday morning to our church family that is made up of over 23 different people groups from all over the 10-40 Window and is also a mix of several international groups. Our desire has always been to plant a church that welcomes every ethnic group of people that comes through our doors and to not to segregate based on ethnicity or nationality but based upon gifting, calling, and heart. We are truly becoming a vibrant and active community church and I believe we have the blessing of God upon us for this focus at this time …… in this place ….. and for His purposes and His glory.

Reaching, Teaching, Discipling, Equipping, Training, and Serving people in God’s world through acts of love and compassionate and through the teaching of God’s Word is what NTIM and our ministry team is all about. Jesus said, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

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

If you have Facebook and would like to keep up with our church happenings and see lots of pictures, please go to the following link: https://www.facebook.com/BaanathitaanChurch?fref=ts

If you would like to get on our email update listing, please send me an email at pray4ntim@gmail.com 

Urgent Prayer Needed For Northern Thailand - Dec 15, 2012

URGENT PRAYER NEEDED FOR 

NORTHERN THAILAND - DEC 15, 2012

Many of you know that we live in a part of the world where less than 1 out of every 100 people know Jesus as their personal Savior. We believe God wants many of these precious people to come to know Jesus this Christmas season, but we need your help to do that. Many of the events that we have been planning require your help and we are asking that each of you help in one or all of 3 ways:

1) Please Help By Praying . . . Pray for our planning process that God would guide us to do what He wants us to do and say what He wants us to say. Pray that we would "seize the day" as the Christmas season is the most natural time of the year for us to talk about the message of our great Savior. Pray for our awesome staff and team. Pray for those who we partner with in ministry. Pray for the thousands of people who will hear the message through our very words this year. Here are some of our planned events. Some have already happened and some are in process.   December 1 - Children's ESL Christmas Outreach God has given us great access into our community through teaching English. We teach English to not only young people and adults but also to children. We teach about 50 children grades 1-6 every Saturday morning and we had an awesome time helping these precious ones celebrate Christmas. Pray that God would draw these little hearts to Him. December 8 - Thai Church Children Christmas Celebration - God has given us great access to several children's homes that are a vital part of our church family and give us a special opportunity to love on kids that come from very difficult family backgrounds. Please pray for God's blessings on Baan CFPM, Baan Eden, Baan Happy Home, and Baan Oon Rak and for the precious children and staff. Pray that we would continue to be a church family that loves people the way Jesus loves people and takes the love of Jesus into our community. December 15 - Baan Athitaan Church's Main Christmas Evangelistic Program We have decorated the church and as I write this, it is already the morning of Dec 15 here in Thailand and we have dozens of people here getting all the preparations in order for our program tonight. Please pray for a special touch from God. The theme is "Miracle of Love" and we have skits, dramas, music, a time to share the message of Christmas, and an evangelism booth. We want to be used of God to bring people closer to God and lead some even to the throne of Grace tonight. Please pray for us. December 21 - Thai Youth Group Christmas Celebration - We are blessed to be located very close to two universities in our city. We have always had a huge heart for reaching these young people and we will have a chance to bless them in a special way this year. Pray that God would bless these future leaders of Thailand. Pray for all of us who are involved in discipleship of these future leaders. December 22 Morning - HIV/AIDS Christmas Outreach - There are 30 young children and their families that are HIV infected that we try to minister to in a special way. This year, the hospital that we work with has asked us to host a Christmas celebration for them at the hospital. We are expecting to share the love and message of Jesus with over 100 people who are either infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. Please pray that many would open their hearts to Jesus this year. December 22 Evening - Christmas Caroling Outreach - We will be going around in our community to various businesses and shops that we frequent, as well as some church members homes and singing Christmas carols.

2) Please Help By Giving . . . 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. We are asking God to sell a few cows and send $6,000 to $10,000 to NTIM. 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.

3) Please Help By Telling Others Of This Opportunity To Help. Many want to give in a special way at Christmas to a special cause that will really make a difference in people's lives. However, they just don't know where there is a need. This may be an opportunity for you to help your family and your friends know where their donation can make a huge difference for Jesus. We are excited about all that God is doing on this side of the world and thanking God for each of you and your partnership with us for the sake of the gospel.   Your Servants to the Nations in and around Northern Thailand for Jesus sake,   Michael for the family and the NTIM Team   "...Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10-11

What is NTIM?   NTIM is a non-profit charitable organization with 501(C)(3) in the USA committed to connecting people in need with people who care. We are focused on the heart of Southeast Asia where poverty is high, education is low, needs are great, darkness is everywhere, and the love and message of Jesus is needed to transform lives. There are 6 key things that NTIM does: 1) partner with churches to send "laborers" into the heart of the 10-40 window, 2) builds bridges to the lost through teaching English, 3) network with and assist children's homes in providing a church family for children at high risk of being trafficked, 4) care for those affected by HIV/AIDS,  5) make disciples, train nationals and facilitate church planting, and 6) coordinate the use of short term volunteers in Northern Thailand.   On our own, we each can make a difference in the world, but collectively as a team we are a force for good that exponentially surpasses what we can do alone. You can make a difference by sending your donations to NTIM, P.O. Box 26115, Birmingham, AL  35260 USA or by giving online at www.gontim.org

Project: SPORTS ART FOR MISSIONS-Update August 11, 2012

Greetings friends, family, and partners from the Northern part of Thailand. 

What great joy it brings my heart to get email from friends and loved ones. This week we received a special email from some very dear friends that we have known for over 20 years. These friends were active members of our church in Tuscaloosa (Emmanuel Baptist Church) when Hope and I were in college at the University of Alabama. The Donald Rush family and the Rick Rush family were very instrumental in our lives as young college students, and Don played a very special role in my life as a friend and mentor. It has been quite a long time since we have seen either of their families, but what a joy it brought to my heart to receive an email from Don this past week saying they have been thinking about us and praying for the ministry here in Northern Thailand.

These two families recently felt challenged after hearing a story about people raising and selling piglets to support missions in Nepal.  Don went on to say, “Rick and I do not have any pigs but we have lots of art. We want to offer you up to $10,000 of art to be used for your ministry.” 

Many of you on this email list know the Rush families but for those of you who do not, let me take a moment to say a word about their business  Rick is an extremely gifted professional sports artist based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Don helps market his work as the president of Jireh Publishing International.

Don has proposed a project called “Art for Missions” to help support NTIM’s ministry:

      “Your supporters or any interested party can go to our website www.RickRushArt.com and pick the art out and we will ship it directly to them and 100% of the money will go directly to your ministry. …. Rick’s large serigraphs sell for approximately $800 each so if you had 12 people respond, you would be close to $10,000.”

As their website says, “The essence of sports is a fleeting moment of intense exuberance--life at its most exhilarating. At its best, sports art acknowledges yet counteracts life's brevity by allowing the viewer to savor the intensity of a moment in motion. Artist Rick Rush is a master of the Sports Art genre.” Art for Missions is a great opportunity to accomplish two things: (1) receive some fabulous sports paintings and (2) help up to $10,000 go directly to our missions work through NTIM. 

Please join me in praying that God will use “Art for Missions” to help raise much-needed funds for NTIM’s continuing outreach to this part of God’s needy world with the love and message of Jesus. If you know someone who loves sports, please feel free to forward this email to them. They may be interested in purchasing some of this great artwork while at the same time supporting God’s work here in Northern Thailand. 

Your Servants to the Nations in and around Northern Thailand,

Michael for the team

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You can also send donations to support God’s work to NTIM directly. 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.

Good Memories and Sad Goodbyes

I can’t believe that 2 years has narrowed down to less than 2 weeks!  There’s no way I can express everything I’m feeling right now, and there isn’t enough space in this update even if I tried.  But I will say this: My time here in Thailand has been unforgettable!  There are so many places, experiences, and people that will always be in my heart.  I’ve been blessed with many special memories that I will treasure for a lifetime.  God has taught me SO much and really stretched my faith during this journey.  I wouldn’t trade it for anything! 

This is a really bittersweet time for me.  While I’m beyond excited to go home and see my family and friends again, I can’t imagine saying good-bye to these people I’ve grown to love.  I wish I could fit all of them into my suitcases and take them home with me! (They’re small enough that they could fit!)  I’m sad to be leaving, but excited about what the future holds.  What does the future hold, you ask?  Well, that part isn’t so clear, yet.  I’ll be going back to Oklahoma for a while and reconnecting with people and readjusting to American culture.  During this time I’ll be working for a friend while praying for and expectantly awaiting God’s direction for what’s next.  I don’t know what it will be, but I know it will be good! 

Thank you to all who have prayed for me, encouraged me, and financially supported me during the last 2 years!  I can’t even begin to tell you what an important part you have played in my life!  Please continue to pray for me during the next couple weeks as I prepare to move home.  I will be very busy with work, finishing up “to-dos,” and saying good-byes.  I hope you will keep me in your prayers as I settle back into life in the states (some of you know that it is completely different from life here in Thailand!) and for God’s direction in this next part of my life. 

In Christ,

Kara

“Whoever serves me must follow me and where I am, my servant also will be.”  John 12:26

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Don’t forget to pray for NTIM!  I leave August 5^th, and the Espy family leaves around the first of September.  Pastor Michael and his family will be the only missionaries left on the field for this ministry.  Our English language school, GLS, has reached its goal of 100 students, but soon we won’t have enough teachers to teach them!  As of right now, there are no prospective volunteers coming out.  Please pray for God to send more workers!      

                                     

Summertime = Teams!

It’s officially summertime in the U.S., which means it’s time for teams here in Chiang Rai!  We’re very excited about several teams and summer missionaries coming out to serve and be a part of our ministry!  

Some of last summer's volunteers

Our first summer missionaries, Liz Johnson (Pastor Michael’s daughter) and Dallas Vaughn, arrived on Friday the 25^th and will be with us several weeks helping us out in many ways.  Our first team, Mt. Zion Baptist Church from Florence, MS, arrives tomorrow, the 31^st.  Also serving with us this summer will be summer missionaries Nikki Crew and Adrienne Bridges, a team from First Baptist Church in Florence, MS, the Mississippi Law Enforcement Defensive Tactics Team, and the Lupinacci family from Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL. 

Our teams and summer missionaries will be involved in many different projects, including (but certainly not limited to!): prayer riding in Huay Khu village, teaching a B.I.B.L.E. training seminar for Hmong pastors, English Fun Days, teaching English at Grace Language School, Coffee House, an instructor course for Human Trafficking Rescuers, and an outreach mission to feed street children in the city of Mae Sai on the Thailand/Burma border. 

A church in Huay Khu village

Please pray for these people as God prepares them and works through them over the next couple months.  Also, please keep our staff in your prayers during this busy time, especially the Espy family as they oversee the teams and volunteers.   Most importantly pray that God will use the teams to make Jesus famous in Northern Thailand!  

*Special Prayer Request: Pastor Michael had hernia surgery yesterday morning (Tuesday, the 29^th).  Everything went well and he is doing great.  Please pray for his recovery to be quick and painless! 

In Christ,

Kara for the team

“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.’”

                                              -Mark 16:15  

Summer Adventure English Camp

Last month, we took almost 90 kids to the mountains, the beach, and 4 foreign countries!  Well…ok, not literally, but we did use our imaginations to travel to these places during our Summer Adventure English Camp!  On March 21-23, we were blessed with the opportunity to build relationships with and show God’s love to children from many different backgrounds. 

A little more than half of the kids at our camp live in children’s homes, most of whom attend our church.  These children have been rescued from extreme poverty, sex trafficking, and/or abusive home situations.  The other half of our campers comes from the surrounding Chiang Rai community.  Many of these community children are students in our Saturday morning English classes.  Most of these kids are Buddhist and have no idea who Jesus is.  

God has given us at NTIM a huge opportunity and responsibility to reach out to children in Northern Thailand.  Teaching English provides a natural bridge to sharing the Gospel.  English Camps are a fun way to draw the kids in, build relationships with them, and love on them with the love of Christ. 

Please pray that the relationships built between the children and our staff and volunteers will continue to grow.  Also pray that the children saw Christ’s light shining through us during the camp and that seeds were planted. 

Please pray especially for people who love God, love people, and love teaching English to commit to serving at NTIM for 2 years or more.   The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 

In Christ,

Kara for the team

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  Matthew 19:14