June

In June, we welcomed a team from Olivet Nazarene University.  This team spent most of it’s time up north in Chiang Mai and Maetang.  They worked at the children’s home doing clean-up, painting and VBS style activities with the students.  They also did a one day English camp at a local school and got to visit one of the Lahu villages for a church service on Sunday.  We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know these wonderful young adults and their fantastic leaders.  We absolutely love having university students.  It is a joy to watch them discover the world outside their home country, listen to how the Lord is speaking through their experiences and pray with them as they grapple with how God is calling them to serve at home and abroad.

Please keep our university students your prayers continually.

June also brought us a Work & Witness team from home (Redmond, Oregon)!  It was such a treat to serve with our family for a bit.  We joined a Bangkok First Church and cleaned up the neighborhood where the church is located. We managed to squeeze in a little sight seeing and shopping before traveling to Korat to put on English camps, pray for the village, build a bathroom,  and show the Jesus Film.  There the team had the great honor of staying in the homes of two local families and getting to know the people of the village.  The crew were serious troopers, some sleeping on bamboo mats on the floor of host families, using squatty potties, and “showering” using a cistern and water scoop (the girls had a real shower and bathroom ;).  My heart was warmed by the hospitality shown to us by those in the village and by Duan’s family.   If you’ve read my post entitled, “April” then you know that in this particular village there is only one family who are Christians. This family is praying that their home will be the start of a new church. To that end, Duan, who is a teacher, offers after school teaching and tutoring to village students and also gets the opportunity to share Jesus with them. She, her husband Tom, and their daughter Phoebe, open their home and hearts to love and care for the people of her village in Jesus’ name. I can safely say that everyone just fell in love with the village and with Tom, Duan, and Phoebe.

Pray for Duan, Tom, and Phoebe.  Pray for Tom’s health; pray that they will be encouraged and joyful; pray for provision for their family. Most of all pray that God will build His church in their midst and that the people of that area will come to Christ. 

The Redmond team followed up their amazing experience in Korat with a trip to the Maetang Children’s Home where they worked on clean-up, updating and repairing the playground, and played with, sang with, and loved on the children.  We also visited a Lahu village church and an orphanage nearby.  The Redmond team ended their trip in Bangkok.  We were sad to see them go, but know that they will take their love for the lost and passion to share Jesus back to Redmond.

Please pray for the Bridge Church in Redmond.  Pray for unity, clear direction, and that God will use them to bring others to Himself.

Though the Redmond team left at the beginning of July, one member of the group, Jarod, stayed with us.  He travelled with Kevin and Caleb to Cambodia where he gave us the use of his brilliant photography and videography skills to capture some of the work that is being done in places where the church is growing rapidly.

I (Jeni) spent most of July in Bangkok and picked back up with my English students.  I have been teaching English to pastors and leaders.  It is joy and privilege to be a part of their lives and to help them when I can.  We also got a 3 week “break” from travel so, Kevin was able to preach here in Bangkok.