April 05th, 2017

Ministry in March

It has been a full and fruitful time of ministry this past month at TCI!

To start, New Vision Church launched cell groups led by some of TCI’s staff and key members.  The cell groups meet in homes off-campus, with the goal of including non-church goers in a more homey setting.  The groups have been a success, with as many as 30 people attending one group!  After a time of fellowship, the group leaders lead the attendees in some simple discussion questions based on a key verse.  We pray that this initiative will spark interest in the Bible and give us more opportunities to interact with non-believers.

Next, Pastors David and Paula completed a short intensive Bible school with those on our team who had never attended Bible school before.  The graduates have now completed part of a three-part school, based on a simple curriculum that has been very successful with non-churched people.  They will complete the rest at a later date, but so far are armed with key doctrines and the basics of walking with God!

Pastors David and Paula also took a trip to Burma this month to set up a location and time for a meeting they will hold at the end of April.  Here is a brief word from Pastor Paula on the situation there.  Be praying for the upcoming seminar!

“The hunger of the Christians for a move of God in Burma was refreshing. At that particular church a handful of believers meet everyday to pray for a move of God and to encourage one another. But sadly, they said there are no young people. That broke my heart, as you know David and I have always had a heart for the youth. We do want to find away to reach the young people! Pray for that with us. We did see however, the influence of Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam seems to be on the rise and flourishing, there seemed to be a lot of young people involved in these false pagan religions. The Hindu’s were having one of their biggest holidays, Thaipusam, and it was a remarkable sight to behold! People were blindly, wildly dancing in weird devilish costumes with metal rods sticking out of their cheeks and walking on coals of fire right beside the highway for all to see! It was obvious they were under the unmerciful influence and control of demonic spirits. It reminded us once again why the Lord sent us to SE Asia and the 10/40 window more than 30 years ago. There is such a great need for the Lord Jesus Christ here and as it says in Matthew 9:37, Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” Pray with us and the upcoming seminar for the Holy Spirit to have his way and send revival down on this spiritually dry and thirsty land.”

Our missionaries Chris and Sarah have been doing a great job with children’s church.  As we’ve added many kids this past year, our Sunday School class has grown, too!  Sarah has done a great job engaging the kids with Bible stories!

It wasn’t all business this month, however!  We had some fun taking all of our kids and several of our staff members to the beach for the first time!  They had the time of their lives playing in the ocean and soaking up the sun (some, a little too much sun!)!  We traveled south and then went to a nearby island, accessible by ferry.  It was such a blessing to help them have the experience of a lifetime!

We also saw the graduation of two of our boys, Sansuk and Wonchai, from agricultural college.  We are very proud of their progress.  Sansuk is already back home with us, applying his knowledge to our large farm!  Here they are before they graduated, meeting with Bart and our pastors.

Finally, Polly Mae Design (by Paula Mahawon) has been making many beautiful bags that are for sale!  She employs our staff and other local women to make hand-crafted and individually-designed bags of all shapes and sizes.  1/3 of the profits go right back to the Faith Village Children’s Home.  Email her at trailofpeace@gmail.com for orders and more pictures!

Please be in prayer for the upcoming meeting in Burma and for the cell groups at the church.  As always, we are eager to see souls won for Jesus Christ, and lives transformed by the power of His love!  Thank you for your support of our ministry here in Thailand.  God bless you!