The Glory of the Lord

I have always loved huge crusade evangelism.  It is so exciting and fun to be a part of something like that.  The excitement and anticipation I feel when I see hundreds and even thousands of people gathered together to see God work is overwhelming.  When I was first saved and living in Oxford, MS I would drive past the Ole Miss football stadium and imagine it filled with people who had come to worship Jesus!  I've had visions and dreams of huge stadiums filled with people to seek God in many years past and I still believe it will happen someday.  The stirring in my spirit is still there.
This past weekend our family was able to help with a crusade here in Korat. To my knowledge there has never been a crusade like this in this city.   It was held outdoors, in an open field, next to the King's Stadium.  It was such a blessing and encouragement to be a part of this huge event.  I call it huge, not for numbers alone, but because we saw God working in amazing ways.  People were worshiping together--dancing and praising God.  Hundreds were professing Jesus as their Lord and Savior for the first time.  Blind eyes were seeing, the lame were walking and the deaf were hearing.  My heart was pounding and my eyes filled with tears as I saw these people being changed right before my eyes. 
I know that these types of miracles and salvations are pretty common in Africa and India and such places.  But having been here 7 years, I guess I was really losing hope that it could happen for the Thai people too.  With only .5% of the population of Thailand being Christian (this number includes all cults that profess to be Christian) it is sometimes hard to believe it will happen in your own backyard.  So you can only imagine the thrill we all felt as we watched this happening. 

One of the personal highlights for me was watching Ben on the stage, introducing those the Lord had healed, seeing Margaret used to translate during the healing, watching Benjamin carry the sick into the crusade, and seeing Isaac and Ruth praying for healing for these precious people.  It brings tears to my eyes to think how our little family team was being used in their gifts to see these people come to Jesus. 

This road has not always been an easy one. We have had our struggles as do all missionaries.  There has been times when I wondered why we were even here.  But this past weekend once again brought the Glory Of the Lord before my eyes.  We are nothing with Him and total fulfillment comes in doing His Will.  Thanks be to God for allowing us to be a part of this. As Ben and I are like to say---"We're still in it!"

New Life

This is such a beautiful picture of New Life!  Babies are amazing and wonderful, whether they be human or horse.  Just gazing on the simple yet utter complexity of creation gives us reason to pause.
How much more must  our Lord Jesus rejoice in the new life of a son who believes!  We are all known for our fruit and the fruit that we are producing is new believers in Jesus.
This past week our family had the privilege to attend a conference with the Christian Outreach Center in Chiang Mai.  We were challenged and encouraged as we met with other Asian leaders and workers for a time of worship, prayer, teaching and fellowship.
One of the couples we met were a native couple, living and working in Bangladesh.  This humble couple is from the lowest class in their country.  Because of their class they are unable to even get their hair cut in a shop.  But they are diligently working to produce fruit.  In the last few years, they have won over 26,000 new believers to the Lord.  One of their own disciples was beheaded for his faith.  Yet they are not discouraged.  They are on fire and willing to give it all for Jesus.
This precious couple does not have a house of their own to live in.  We would love to be able to give them a simple home.  This will cost about 30,000 USD.  During one meeting of the conference, COC  was able to raise over 3,400 for this couple.   I am asking that you would add to that to see this couple blessed in a way that many of us can't begin to appreciate.  If you would like to donate, please send a check to ISAAC, In, t, 4960 Bentridge Drive, Concord, NC  28027  and make sure to mark "Bangladesh" in the memo line.

There is no reason we shouldn't be able to give these laborers the basic needs within the month.  Thanks so much for believing with me.  New life is what it is all about.  Let's feed His sheep and take care of His lambs.

I love you all...

Double Standards

This week I got to witness first hand some very troubling "double standard" situations.  The first happened while Benjamin, Margaret and I were teaching English to nursing students at a local university.  We were invited to be part of an English camp for these students.  The camp was run by a local church and all the teachers were Christians.  The students were fun and cooperative and we had lots of fun teaching them that day.  That evening we were invited back to their evening program where each group of students were asked to put on a short skit in English.  It was an eye opening experience.  The themes of the skits included cheating on your pregnant wife, revealing you are gay, stealing from your friends, being told fat is ugly, being ashamed of your parents, cheating on your husband with a white man, and getting a massage from a prostitute.  As I sat there and endured this, I realized that these young people think these are "normal" events and are no longer shocked or saddened by them.  In this same society we have been told it is shocking for a woman to touch the hand of Jesus during a drama/skit of the gospel.  What a double standard!
The next day, we had to go on our 3 month visa run.  We always drive to Cambodia and cross the border on foot and walk back into Thailand to renew our visa.  After we crossed back into Thailand yesterday, I saw a little boy, about 1 year old, sitting on the sidewalk in the sun,  with a plastic cup in front of him.  He had obviously been used to beg like this many times, because he did not attempt to get up or move around.  He was about 5 feet from some old woman and other school age girls, but it was not apparent who was in charge of him, if anyone.  His purpose in life was to make money.  There are plenty of police and official people at this border, but no one seemed to mind this was happening.
This is the same country where a few of my friends, lovely Christian people, have had to jump through hoops for years to adopt children that no one else wanted.  One has recently been denied a visa to America for the 2 boys she loves and raises because the government is afraid she will not bring them back to Thailand if she takes them to visit in America.  Are you seeing the double standard?

All I can say is Thailand really needs your prayers.  If this is what is happening in public, it is hard to imagine the private life of many of these people.  We know that Jesus came to bind up the broken hearted  and to set the captives free.  We need a move of God in Thailand!  Please remember us when you can.  The only hope for Thailand is Jesus!