“Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again – rejoice!” Philippians 4:4
When months go by without an update from us you can be certain that it is not because we have nothing to say, but rather that we have much to say, but often have run out of time to say it! We have begun to prepare ourselves for Noiy to take on the new position as Central Region leader of YWAM Thailand as we mentioned in our last update, while still continuing the ministry here in Ratchaburi. New things excite us and we are truly excited about what God has for us in this new position and to be a part of what he will continue to do in Ratchaburi.
Radio show
There are also new things happening in the ministry in Ratchaburi, one of which is that Noiy was invited to speak on the military radio station about Christianity during the month of October. The host enjoyed the show so much that she invited him to come back again. The next radio show will be at the end of this month. If you are in Central Thailand and would like to listen, you can do so on FM 99.25 MHz from 14:00-15:00 on Saturday the 27th of November. Please pray for Noiy as he shares - it truly is an amazing open door through which we believe so many Thais can be reached with God’s truth and love.Rice Seeds Child Sponsorship
Our Child Sponsorship Program is now into its fourth month and we are so thankful to the sponsors who are helping the families of the 18 children involved to stay in school. Our hope is that when the new school year begins in May 2011, families will be willing once again to allow their children to stay in school when they would otherwise have stopped school and begun working (usually at the end of Grade 6). Please pray with us, and if you feel on your heart to help with the sponsorship program please contact us – we still need sponsors!
December
We had planned a camping trip for the Burmese children’s church during the month of October, but the trip fell through and we had to postpone it until December. It is coming up on the 17th -19th of December and the kids are really excited. We have found another beautiful location that we have been granted use of for free! Praise God for the things that He puts on our heart to do that we don’t always have the finances for; He always has a way of making possible!
December is always an exciting month for us with the Christmas parties that we run. It is a chance to share God’s love and to be a blessing to those who are really in need during the Christmas season. This year we will be running Christmas parties in the Burmese community that we work with and a mentally handicapped children’s home, as well as a many alongside churches that we work with both in Ratchaburi and the surrounding provinces. If you would like to give towards our Christmas parties this year, please contact us. We always collect second hand clothes from people in Thailand for distribution, but we also purchase non-perishable food items for the people in the community and provide a meal at the Christmas party. If you are in Thailand we would love to have you join us this year!
Family It’s been more than a year since Noiy’s father passed away now, and while his mom and sister have been attending church most weeks, they just didn’t seem to be growing in their understanding of what it meant to be a Christian. Noiy made a commitment a few months ago to meet with them and teach them the Bible once a week and they have since grown a great deal. Discipling one’s own family members is a unique challenge –please pray for Noiy, his sister Patchali and his mom Piew.
We have just had a short but wonderful visit from Bronwyn’s mom and will have her dad visiting with us in December. We are also planning a visit to South Africa in February/March 2011, so lots of special family time coming up in the next few months.
An answer to prayer
We have begun travelling to visit different ministries in the Central Region to see what is in store for us next year and we are truly blessed by what we have seen. There are many more visits to come and much more travelling to be done. Noiy is doing some of the trips alone at this stage, but we hope that next year we will be able to do many of them together. One of the things that we have been praying about since considering taking on the position is a helper for our family – someone who can help us at home when we need to work, and who can come and help us take care of the kids when we need to travel and have meetings. We have found someone to help us – and what a blessing she has already been! Her name is Daow. Please pray for Daow – she is wonderful and our children love her – we would love to also have the opportunity to lead her to Jesus while she is working with us. Much work is ahead of us – but we take every day as a new and exciting challenge. To quote Dr. Seuss: “Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So… get on your way.”
Blessings
Noiy and Bronwyn
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