September 2021

Bible School Update

Sorry for the delay in writing to you! We have had another fruitful couple of months and my time has been divided up into so many areas that I just haven’t found the time to sit and write. We are extremely thankful for another productive and very busy few weeks. Three weeks ago we finished our first module with the men in the Bible School. They completed all their assignments, midterms, and final exams on the Fundamentals of the Faith. They learned basic truths about the Bible, the attributes of God, the person and work of Jesus Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit, Salvation, Prayer, the Lord’s Church, Evangelism, Obedience, God’s Sovereign work in the world and in the believer. It was a challenging month of study but they each learned a lot and seemed to really enjoy the material. This month we moved into our second module on how to study the Bible. We are finishing that up this week and the men are working on 3 different topical Bible Studies for their final projects. The first is a basic study with a key text, the second is a biographical study, and the third is a topical study. It’s been challenging for them but such an important skill for them to learn how to use their bibles as well as the few resources they have. I was so happy to find a Strongs New Testament Concordance in Thai with a small Greek dictionary in the back. Using this wonderful tool was a big part of their study. I am excited to see all that they gain from these final projects. Additionally, the men have spent each day learning new hymns. I wish I could attach videos to my prayer letters because it is such a joy to watch these young men as they practice new hymns together. I have asked Brittany to post some of these videos on the video section of our website. Please check them out if you have time!

Covid 19

Covid is rampant in Bangkok, about ten hours south of where we live in Chiang Mai. However, cases here have remained minimal and thankfully only a few restrictions have been put into place. We are still able to have class with our students that live on campus and are using Zoom to stream the classes to those who normally traveled in every day. Church meetings are limited to groups of 20 so we are working around that as best we can. We have been unable to visit villages due to their understandable fear of covid being brought in from the larger cities. However, the Lord has certainly provided plenty of other opportunities to keep us busy during this time. We are happy to be doing His work in whatever capacity He allows and provides.

Bibles and Hymnals

About 2 months ago, we were disheartened to learn that the only in print Thai Hymnal was no longer available and could not be found in any store in all of Thailand (trust me...we called them all). We immediately set to work to start working on our own version that would get us through until a reprint could be done of the hymnal sometime in 2023-2024. However, we were contacted by the publisher about 3 weeks ago, asking if we were interested or able to help with printing some additional copies. We had some funds set aside for hymnals given by some of the churches and were able to pay to have fifty copies printed. We will use some of them in our Sunday services and hand out the rest to villages and others in need whenever time allows. Praise God for providing for this need!!

Translation Work

We are in the process of working on another book translation and have two or three more on the waiting list. We are thrilled to have received a generous love offering that will allow us to properly translate and publish some decent theological books to share among the brethren here. Translating books here is a serious challenge. Publishing rights and approvals are convoluted from one country to another and there is a lot of confusion and miscommunication in the mix. We are patiently awaiting approval to move forward on one book in particular that we would like to use for a class some day. I wish it were quick and easy, but that just isn’t the case. Things seem to take a lot of time here so patience is key!

Prayer of Thanks!

Last month we were given a love offering for a new printer/copy machine! It is already being put to good use to print workbooks and literature for the students. We are also working on additional brochures and tracts as time allows so we are thankful to have a new heavy duty printer on campus to help with the load! After the company came to install the new printer, Brittany told me that previously when I asked her to print books for the school it took 6 full days/nights to print on her little home printer. It’s no wonder we keep going through cheap printers so quickly!

Family Update

The kids will all be starting their fall term on September 7th and Brittany is busy gearing up for that. Everyone has been healthy and overall happy. It is a blessing to see my kids share a desire to serve along side us. The older two will often join Brittany in her English classes so they can help the students practice vocabulary and homework. Cohen also sits in on the music and Choir classes and helps teach guitar. In doing so they have both become much more proficient in the Thai language. The younger kiddos are already doing school and are staying quit busy. When they speak to the students and staff here they use a mix of Thai and English and it is neat to see them learn and grow in this way. Please pray for the continued health of my family.