%20copy.png)
It has been a busy couple of months here in Chiang Mai and we are, as always, extremely grateful for your prayers during what has proved to be a busy period of transition for all of us. In May we had the privilege of welcoming three men that were sent as representatives from our sending church, Central Baptist Church in Grenada, MS. It was a great encouragement to have them here as we discussed current ministries, future goals, and the continuation of the Preachers training that has been on-going for nearly twenty years here in Thailand. I am grateful for the opportunity to continue training these men and as you will read below, we praise God for our first successful month of preachers training here in Chiang Mai. Thank you for all of your prayers and support during this time!
Grace Baptist Church - Doi Saket
We have had a completely full room for church each Sunday with around 50-60 in attendance each week! This week, the church bought additional chairs and tables to accommodate the extra visitors we have had each week. When we moved outside of the city we were not sure how that might affect church attendance and simply accepted that we may not have a lot of “drop in” visitors due to the distance. We were certainly wrong! Each week, we continue to have visitors from all over different parts of Chiang Mai. Praise the Lord! In May we also began meeting mid-week. We meet in a different members house each week and read the text from the previous week’s sermon, go through questions anyone might have had, and also pray together. It has been a fruitful and encouraging time!
GTS - Grace Theological Seminary
Sometimes our plans are not God’s plans and this past couple of months has certainly been a good reminder of this simple but profound truth. We were geared up for our next batch of full time residential students to begin in May but the Lord had other plans and we have shifted the ministry in a way that will include both the on-going modular trainings we have always done alongside and in conjunction with the continuation of the monthly preacher’s training that started many years ago by Brother Bill Lee and Brother Wayne Camp and was also the primary ministry of Brother Paul Brown. Essentially while we thought we would have 12-15 young men studying with us each day, we now have 40+ pastors as well as a handful of young men desiring to be in the ministry, joining us for two separate trainings each month. In the current class we are doing a general overview of the Bible and have scheduled to meet with each group (first group in Thai an the second group in Lahu) for several days to teach on the Word of God, the Attributes of God, the Trinity, and Creation.
During the sessions we have multiple break out groups where we sit and discuss questions and dig deeper into the material that was presented. I was encouraged by these discussion as it afforded me a time to really hear what each man is struggling with and what they desire to know more about. Our next training will be in less than a week so we appreciate your prayers as we prepare for the next round of classes.
Throughout the rest of the month I am also overseeing the daily studies of a few young men who are staying with us here full time. I meet with them throughout the week and they also meet with one another twice each week to read and pray together. These men are serving in the church here and also in the village nearby. Just this past week, they were able to attend a local public (Buddhist) school to have a time of morning devotions with over 200 children. We were even invited to come back each week so please pray the Lord would use these young men to faithfully share the Gospel to these children and the teachers and administrators of the school. Please pray for the President of the school as one of these young men was able to share the gospel with her and she is the one who specifically invited us to come back the following week. We are continually in awe of the doors the Lord has opened here!
Grace Bannasan - Printing Ministry and Bible Projects
With all the new men that are attending the trainings, we are more and more grateful for the growing number of resources that we are now able to distribute in both the Thai and Lahu languages. Since we started the printing ministry a couple of years ago, we have published 30+ books in Thai and Lahu and have several more in the works as we speak. I wish I could better share with you how grateful these pastors are to have good resources at their disposal! It is easy to take for granted the unlimited number of commentaries, study bibles, and books that are available in the English language. That is not currently true in a country like Thailand but we are grateful to be used by God to help change that a little at a time! This month, we were able to send packs of books and a Bible home with all the pastors who attended the trainings and they were exceedingly grateful. Thank you to all those who have prayerfully and financially given towards the printing ministry!
Family
The kids have finished another school year and are on summer break for the next couple of months. The two oldest kids are “working” alongside us here as there has been a lot of extra work these past couple of months. They have been a huge help by working on some of the smaller projects that we just haven’t been able to tackle ourselves. We are so thankful for them and for the huge heart they each have for the people here in Thailand. Brittany has started teaching English again to some of the kids here in our village and many of them have started coming to church on Sundays as well…Praise the Lord! Prayers appreciated as she also continues to help me with the printing ministry. The two littles are enjoying their time off school with lots of outdoor time now that smokey season has come to an end and the rains are brining in some cooler (to us) weather!
For HIS Glory,
Matthew Villandry
Comentários