Bethel Church Plant

New year and New Life for New Friends!!

2010-05-03T18:28:00.000-07:00

Recently we celebrated “Song Khran”, the annual Thai water festival, with the offer of a joyous feast of snake eggs. Sadly, we all happened to be on a diet that day so we had to politely decline. (When you see the size of those eggs, you just have to ask yourself, “so how big was the mother snake and where did she go??”) Even boiled snake eggs could not deter us from our mission that night: We wanted to share the life changing message of Jesus Christ in a new Rice factory in Bangkok. We stood before a small crowd of about 30 Burm*se workers. We were overjoyed at the end to have 14 people get up off their pile of lumber and come forward to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior!

The next day we hosted a big water party for the Burm*se workers in the Chachoernsao area. Since Burm*se workers only make about 5 dollars a day and get only one or two days off a year, we were unsure if people would want to come. Praise God, over a hundred Burm*se descended upon our little church! It was “controlled chaos” as we tried to serve people water while the temperatures soared over 40* C! People were sweating and stuffed tightly inside the church. They were sweating and stuffed along side and back of the Bethel church. All day we happily sweated and listened to great music and preaching. We even laughed and sweated together over a Burm*se face painting contest. Finally, we all cooled off with a huge water fight! At the end of this glorious day, over 60 people came forward to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior! As people stood with their arms held open to God, it was the first time many of them had ever heard the name of Jesus. But since it is the Holy Spirit’s joy to make Jesus known to our hearts, the Holy Spirit did not hold back. He moved powerfully in many people’s lives. Some spontaneously fell down under the power of the Holy Spirit and experienced the love of God for the first time. Others manifested evil spirits and were delivered. Others declared Jesus had healed them from sickness and pain! Is God’s power to save not amazing?!!

Last week we started our follow up. Praise the Lord, we now have a new cell church started in Minburi, a major city about 1/2 hour away from us in Bangkok. We also have many new believers coming to church. Please pray for our Burm*se Ministry team as we follow up with these precious new Believers:

"Heavenly Father, Thank you so much for throwing such a great party for the Burm*se people! Lord, your Word says that you are Living water to our thirsty souls. Thank you God for satisfying us so deeply with your love and forgiveness. Father, we pray the same prayer that Jesus prayed, we ask that not one person that you have given us would be lost. We ask that you would help us to grow each new believer into maturity in their faith. We ask that you would continue to reveal Jesus’ power to each person and cause each one to hunger to know you more. We ask for strength, strategic wisdom in planting cell churches and for the joy of the Lord to be in upon our missionary team and our Burm*se ministry team as we make committed Christ followers for you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!"

Thank you for all your prayers and generous financial support. We need your help supporting this growing church plant. Please give to MBMS International’s new Burm*se church plant. You can donate online at http://www.mbmsi.org/ Our project number is: C0509.

Love, Dave and Louise Sinclair-Peters

Bethel Church Anniversary, February 2010

2010-03-04T01:23:00.000-08:00

God continues His Blessings on Bethel Church, Chachoengsao, Thailand!!

“Zacchaeus, I need to come to your
home today!” (Luke 19:5) Randy Friesen preached to a
full house at Bethel’s 1st year Anniversary service on
February 14th. Without knowing it, a man whose
nickname is Tia or “Shorty,” was sitting in the service.
When Randy invited people to come forward and receive
Jesus as their Lord, Tia didn’t move. Louise looked at him
and knew the Holy Spirit was calling Tia to give his life to
Jesus. She knelt beside Tia and asked, “Do you want to
pray to receive Christ today?” “Yes, I just don’t want to go
up to the front,” he whispered. Knowing that Tia had been subject to ridicule and shame his entire life
Louise and Grandma Kham quietly prayed for Tia as he sat in his chair. And Tia , who is 51 years old,
said YES to Jesus!
The Bethel Church has been a whirlwind of
building activity since January. We’ve drilled a well, built
walls on our gazebo, extended the roof, painted, planted a garden
and even built a cool grass hut for the Trek team to live in. As the
Trekkers say, “This grass hut is totally LEGIT!”
Yes, our center is looking great. But even better than all
the beauty on the outside, are the beautiful trophies of God’s grace
on the inside! At our Baptism on February 14th,
5 people plunged into the muddy waters of the canal
and 4 people prayed to receive Christ as their Lord and
Savior. At the end of the day, it made us all shout… What a great
and mighty God we serve!
Friends of Bethel,
Would you consider giving a financial gift to us? We are now supporting 2 new church plants this
year… a new Burmese church and a Thai church! Thank you for your partnership in this amazing
season of harvest.
Love,
Dave & Louise,
Kyla, Micah, Grace and Sierra
Please give to MBMSI’s work with the Bethel Church in Thailand. You can send a cheque to:
MBMS International
302‐32025 George Ferguson Way
Abbotsford, BCV2T2K7 Canada
Or call1‐866‐964‐7627
Please indicate our project#C0509
To donate Online:
http://www.mbmsi.org/projects/thailand/projectc0509betlchurchplant

A New Well and Lots of New Life!

2010-01-21T18:41:00.001-08:00

"Only Ask and I will give you the nations as your inheritance" Ps2:8

A New Well of Life for Bethel!

Jesus said. “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed,
the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling
up to eternal life.” (John 4:13‐14)

We thank God for the new well that has just been installed at
church. No more washing dishes in dirty brown water. No more
parasites! All our stomachs say, “hallelujah!” The well is a
prophetic picture to us that God wants his church to stop drinking
contaminated “spiritual water” and seek Jesus alone for all that
we need.
"Lord God, thank you for satisfying us completely! Father, we ask that our new Thai and Burmese believers would be so full of your Holy Spirit that neither drinking, gambling or other lusts would entice them anymore. Just like Jesus responded when he was tempted, we decree ”be gone Satan!”
You have no authority anymore in the life of God’s children. In Jesus’ might name, Amen!"

God is our Strong Tower
“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him” (Acts 12:5)

On December 27, something very frightening happened to one of our believers. As Som left her house to go and clean the church, she was attacked by two men. They
punched her, threw her to the ground and stomped on her back. She knew they
were going to rape her. She cried out to God for help. She saw a metal shovel near
her. She grabbed it and hit her attacker over the head! The shovel cut his head
open. When they saw the blood, THEY started to cry out for help! You’ll never
believe what happened next: They ran and reported her to the police! Som suffered
a lot bruising and internal bleeding but with lots of prayer and help of her new
“God Family”, she is healing well.

Last week one of our new Burmese believers was arrested and put in jail (think
Thai jail... only rats and a dirty floor). He was falsely accused of killing a man. He called his wife crying and asked us all to pray. We all prayed earnestly. Thankfully, after 2 days, Loong was released! However, once the word spread into the Burmese community, our believers were too scared to come to our evangelism seminar. We knew this was a tactic of the enemy to keep our Burmese believers from going out and sharing their faith.
"Father, we thank you that you are our Strong Tower! We ask the Holy Spirit to give our Thai and Burmese believers boldness and courage. We ask that they would not shrink back from loving you even in the face of intimidation and assault."

No matter what comes against God’s people, nothing can stop the Gospel from going forward! Amen?
We are rejoicing with the angels that 30 people have made commitments to Christ in the last 4 days!
We thank God for the Trek Team and Reg Toews from DMI who went out and shared the message of Christ’s love with our Thai and Burmese believers.
We are ecstatic that the Gospel has born fruit in two new completely unreached villages. Our new Believers who went with us said, “Impossible! Those people are way too angry!” But God was not intimidated! O.K. that doesn’t mean we weren’t ... one lady yelled, “get out!” really loud the first day. But the second day, she followed the team and prayed to receive Jesus Christ as her Lord and
Savoir! Ha! Only God’s power can do that!

Another highlight was a young 18-year old man named “Aun” who accepted Christ Saturday. Sunday, he came to church and loved it! He told us he didn’t want to go home so we brought him along with us into a Burmese factory. By the end of the day he had helped us lead 9 Burmese workers to Jesus! This young man has been catapulted into the Kingdom of God and now he is on fire to save souls! He will never be the same. Please pray for all Aun’s friends- they are next on our radar! 

Thank you for all your prayers and financial support!
Love,
Dave & Louise
Guitars Needed!

Do you have any second-hand guitars or other instruments that you don’t use anymore?
We have a vision to raise-up worship leaders for our new cell groups in the factories.
Send us an email if you can help in any way! Thanks!

Bethel Baptism Nov 2009

2009-12-20T23:08:00.000-08:00

As a Christmas gift to all of our friends and followers, we would like to give you the opportunity to celebrate the grace of God in the lives of 5 new believers in Chachoengsao, Thailand.

Thanks to Phil Davis for the video:)

And thank you for your prayers and support for mbmsi's work in Thailand.

Merry Christmas! From the Bethel Team

From Dave and Louise SP

2009-11-26T20:13:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you so much for all your prayers for us last week! We sure needed them!

On the day of our baptism we nearly had a funeral instead of a party. Pote, was at the church during the day putting up lights, when he accidently touched some wet ground that had a live current flowing through it. Our members were wondering where Pote had gone when they saw him rolling on the ground, being jolted with 220 volts! Thankfully our believers turned off the power in time. There were lots of jokes after that about being baptized with power from on high!

Your prayers were also powerful and effective in Mr. Chin’s life. The week preceding his baptism, “all hell broke lose” with problems, conflicts and crises following Chin everywhere he went. But by God’s grace, Chin stayed the course; He kicked his life long smoking habit! Praise God! The smile on his face at his baptism and his gratefulness for the cross of Christ and his Salvation brought cheers down in God’s house!

After all the B-----se Believers saw the baptisms and understood its symbolism, they excitedly asked, “when can we be baptized?” So we will have a B------se baptism on December 15! Please pray that they would be completely confident that the evil spirits of their animistic beliefs are powerless compared to the radiant, glorious, power of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

And if, we didn’t have enough to celebrate already, last week Sunwest Church from Calgary put up the most amazing playground in the poor local school right near our church. The love of God and the love of the church was clearly seen by all our Thai neighbors! Thank you Sunwest!
Don’t forget to take a look at the photos on this blog!

This Christmas please support MBMSI’s ministry in Thailand and the Bethel Church plant. You can donate on line at: mbmsi.org. Note: our project number is C0509. Use the links below.

https://www.mbmsi.org/donate/cdn/C0509
https://www.mbmsi.org/donate/us/C0509

Love,Dave and Louise Sinclair-Peters

Baptism in the Canal (at night)!!!

2009-11-23T06:07:00.001-08:00

November 17th, 2009; the date of the first ever night-time baptism service at the Bethel Church. It was an awesome evening that was attended by over 80 people, including friends from TLC and Angsila churches, as well as the Sunwest Team from Canada, who were here building a playground at the local school.

The evening began with worship that went back and forth between Thai and B-----se, as Tuesday evenings are when our B------se church meets. Below Pastor Isaiah and team lead worship. Our church members had worked all day to make the church beautiful. Thai people love Christmas lights, for any occasion!

As part of the worship, we listened as each of the 5 people who were baptized shared their stories of how God had worked in their lives to bring them to this step of faith.

Below is Sunday (with Bob and Ozz). He is Thai, but his wife is B-----se. She cannot read Thai, so she asked her husband to read the Bible to her. He did, and through that God worked in his own heart and he accepted Christ about 1 year ago.

Below is Chin (with Ozz, Bob and Pastor Naat). His wife is also from B----a and she also had asked him to read the Bible to her, and God used it to begin revealing himself to Chin. He is the man who built our church building, and has a very powerful testimony. He has been involved in nearly any form of evil you could mention, but God has changed his heart and is making a man of God out of him.

This is Pote. On the day of the baptism he was knocked unconscious by an electrical schock, putting up the spotlights. Everyone there at the time gave glory to God for protecting him. His wife is also a believer who had already been baptized.

This is Meet, Sunday's wife. She was challenged to pray that God would bring someone to serve with us who spoke her language, and God heard that prayer and sent us Pastor Isaiah. Now there are about 2 dozen B-----se believers that meet for worship every week, and many are preparing for baptism next month!

This is Uncle Man. His wife (Auntie Kham) came to the Lord before him, and he was impressed with how she read her Bible every day, and how bold she had become in sharing her faith. He has always been very quiet, but since we went on the missions trip to Isaan and he stood up and shared his faith with his family, he has become very bold himself!

Each person who was baptised received a new Bible or worship cd (if they already had a Bible).

Uncle man receives his....

And of course, the evening finished with Communion, followed by a great meal of Thai and

B----se food. This was truly an international service, and one we know that God was pleased to bless!

God has blessed us with several families where both the husband and wife are Christians. That is a great thrill to us. Please pray for all our families to love God with all they've got, and their neighbors as themselves (and for the missionaries to do the same). Pray for our ministry with the factory workers, and for the new opportunities in the local school. Please pray also for our upcoming Christmas events, that Jesus will be lifted up! Amen!!

New Playground!!

2009-11-23T05:44:00.000-08:00

Thank you Sunwest Team and Emmanual Foundation for coming to Chachoengsao and blessing our local elementary school with this amazing playground!!

Several weeks ago we thought we had a site all sorted out; a local man had agreed to donate some land near our church for a playground for the local children. Much to our surprise, when we returned from our mission trip to Isaan, we found that the government had come in and built one there already! We began to pray for a new site, and God led us to the school just across the canal, where many of the children who come to our club and church go to school.

Below is what their old playground looked like: not really adequate for over 200 students! The team came in and in only 4 days a miracle of transformation happened!

All week the kids were watching it go up, and helping by sanding the old paint off. They kept asking, "when will it be ready?" The buzz was building! Besides building, some of the team were able to go into the classrooms and teach English for several hours everyday.

The finished product was amazing! There was an opening ceremony on Friday, with district officials and everything. There was even a ribbon cutting ceremony (Thai people love a bit of pomp....who doesn't?). And then....200 really happy kids were turned loose!!

What's the point? Well much more than just providing a place to play; really valuable relationships were established all week long, and we know that God is going to use this gift for His glory in reaching into the school and beyond with the good news of God's amazing grace!!

Please keep the school in your prayers....

Bethel Mission Trip to Isaan!

2009-10-26T06:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

In a recent letter we asked you to pray for our upcoming missions trip to the northeast region of Thailand, called Isaan. As you may know, many of our church members are from that region and we wanted to give them the opportunity to go home and "tell what great things the Lord has done".
So...we loaded almost 30 people into 3 pickups and headed off:

Bob and Chris's truck soon became "party central" as the teens claimed it as their own, as well as the bongos and assorted other instruments (including a plastic bucket and roll of duct tape). The singing was non-stop! The first place we visited was Aunt Kham's family. She hadn't been home in years and wasn't even sure how many of her relatives were still alive. They were thrilled to see her and hosted us with grace and kindness. When the gospel was presented to her family and neighbors that evening, several responded by praying to believe in Jesus!

Before we left the next day we gathered them together for one last "prayer meeting".

Our next stop was for lunch at the home village of her husband, Uncle Man. He hadn't been home in over 40 years, but he remembered the way with only a few stops to confirm we were on the right track. Here we presented the gospel again, through drama, songs, and testimonies. Again, several indicated their desire to follow Jesus.

We managed to round up a few kids for a teaching time as well. Some of them took one look at the white folks and ran away, but the braver ones stayed.

Below: That's Uncle Man in the blue shirt. When he got up to share, he had a song sheet with him, and we wondered if he was going to sing. Then we noticed that he held it up in front of his face as he spoke and we realised that he was crying as he shared his love for Jesus with his family! Well, we all joined in...

Everywhere we went we were warmly received and "fed and watered" really well. The next stop was our co-worker Naat's home village. She had only been back once in many years, and there had been many problems in her relationships with her father and siblings.

In the evening we held a sort of street party in front on Naat's sisters house, and many people from her street came over to check out the singing and dancing. Quite a few took gospels of John in Thai and other literature.

On our way out of town the next day we went to seen Naat's 78 year old father. Louise very gently explained the gospel to him, and when asked, he said he would like to believe in Jesus too! It was a very emotional time for Naat, and for the rest of us as well.

On our way to our next destination we took a detour to visit a young couple who used to live in Chachoengsao, and who had come to faith in our church. They went "back home" to have their second child. It was an opportunity to see them and the new baby, as well as to share a little with their family and neighbors.

The next stop was the home village of Gaow. We stayed at the home of her sister and family and the next morning presented the gospel again. Here several ladies prayed to recieve Jesus also.

Our final destination was to the home of May. May had not been home in many years also, but again God blessed her with almost perfect recall as she directed us right to a small market where her aunt and sister were selling. It was a very emotional reunion as May was reunited with the aunt who raised her when she was rejected by her mother at a very young age.

May has carried anger and bitterness toward her mother for rejecting her all of her life. A miracle happened on our last day as May and her mother sat together and Naat and others spoke to them both about the need to forgive and let go of all the pain they have felt and caused each other. It was a battle, but God won the victory as their hearts melted and they were able to embrace and be prayed for together.

All in all, we covered almost 2000 kilometers in 5 days. We saw around 17 people pray to ask Jesus to be their Lord. We gave out dozens of gospels and other literature. We prayed for many other people. We were kept safe after witnessing many accidents on the roads. We asked God for divine appointments, and there were many. We asked for open hearts, and we met them everywhere we went. God blessed us and blessed others through us. Glory to His Name!

Please pray; much seed was sown. Pray for fruit that remains!

Outreach to the Factory Workers

2009-09-09T04:29:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,
We have told you before about the amazing opportunity that God has given to us to preach the gospel in several nearby factories. This has been happening on a weekly basis for about a year now, and we have several believers in 3 different locations. They are all from a nearby country (M******) and are amongst the poorest people we have ever met. In addition to the regular weekly cell group we have in 1 location, we bring 2 families to church with us every Sunday from another location. Over the last year there have been a number of times we have taken teams and visitors into these places to have special events, where the gospel has been proclaimed, and people have responded by placing their faith in Jesus Christ!

A few months ago we began praying that God would bring us someone who could communicate better in their heart language. Some of them speak a little Thai (and even a few words of English), but communication has been a challenge. However, God has heard our prayer and brought us into contact with a Pastor working in another part of Thailand who speaks their language! Last Sunday he (Pastor Isaiah) came to visit us at Bethel, and brought a team of 8 others with him. Our local friends were thrilled to meet a Pastor who speaks their language, so much so that 1 man cried when he heard the Bible being taught in his own native tongue!

It was a great day, and was awesome to see these young, new followers of Jesus embracing and being loved on by other believers who can truly understand the challenges they face, living and working in Thailand. We are hoping to have a worker come each week and help us reach out to the many hundreds of people from this ethnic background who live and work in Thailand.

Please pray with us: "O Lord, we glorify and worship you for the wonderful way in which you are working in the lives of these dear people. Please call many of them into your kingdom and into service for you, to reach out with the message of grace to their families and neighbors. You are an awesome God who loves to heal the broken and bless the poor and humble. Glorify Yourself in and through the lives of your children and servants here. Praise Your Name!!!" Amen!

Mothers Day at Bethel-2009

2009-08-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

In Thailand, the Queens birthday is "wan meh" or mother's day. It was August 12th, so on Sunday the 16th we decided to have a special event to honor mothers.

Our believers at the Bethel church were given invitations to give to their friends, and they even delivered some small bags of rice in the name of Jesus to the people they were praying would come.

On the day, we were pleased when a small group of ladies from across the canal walked over and waited patiently while the church members worked hard to finish setting everything up.

BUT THEN, more and more new people began arriving! We had at least 40 first time visitors, with over 100 people total present, from babies to grammas, worshiping God and honoring mom's together! Our young people had prepared a dance (their first public performance). They were led by Naan, Naat's daughter, who has been teaching them every week. There were also several songs from the children and a chance for them to say how much they love their moms and grandmas.

The sign at the church reads: "Welcome to the Bethel Church". Our members did a great job of welcoming these many new faces!

We are so blessed to meet so many new people! Please pray that we will have further opportunity to get to know them, build relationships, and lead them to Jesus!

Louise shared from the scriptures, then invited Goong to share a story of God's provision. One day Goong was sitting by the canal, praying and asking God for work to buy food for her family. Just then she noticed a large freshwater shrimp (these things are really huge) swimming ON TOP of the water near her. She was able to simply pick it up! Then, there were several more, and she got like 6 all together. She was able to sell them and had enough money to buy food for several days! When other people saw what she was doing, they tried to catch some too, but she said, "God gave me these because I prayed. You won't find any." And they didn't!

After the preaching, singing, games, gifts, praying, dancing, and honoring moms, we ended by eating a great meal prepared by some of the church members. Eating together is one of the most important things we do in Thai culture. It shows a commitment to true friendship.

Please pray with us; "God thank you for the amazing opportunity we had to share your love with so many new people. Thank you for the hard work that your children in the Bethel church performed to make it happen. Please bless the seed that was sown in the hearts of everyone who came and heard and saw your love at work. Bring many to salvation, for your glory. Amen!"

2009-05-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

We have often mentioned our short term helpers (the Trek team). Their time in Thailand has come to and end, and we will miss them more than we can say. They have been truly awesome!
Here are some memories from their times in Chachoengsao! One of the things they helped us with was the KIDS! During their time they ran clubs, taught English, hung out, swam in the dirty canal, got climbed all over, sang silly songs and danced crazy dances. Basically they showed the love of God to alot of people.

Oh, and played cool games.

Soon after they arrived, God began to move and people began to come to faith in Jesus. One person was Ba Kham ("aunt laughter"). She accepted Christ at one of our outdoor meetings.

Her husband followed a few months later!

They will always remember riding around in the back of Bob's "Farang Teow". Awesome!!

They did all these things with enthusiasm and unlimited energy.....except Caleb.

Before the salaa was built we had several months meeting outside, in the dark. Usually the Trek team would do a short English lesson, and/or a skit.

There was also the club in the city, where alot of the same things happened, with less dirt.

When Disciple Makers International came, they took the training and then went out with the new believers at Bethel to tell their friends about Jesus.

We are grateful to God for bringing these young folks here to serve Him in this place. They will be fondly remembered, and prayed for.

Trekers, we love you guys, and will miss you.

The Bethel Team

2009-04-20T01:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,
God continues to bless us at the Bethel Church Plant "along the khlong". Last week we gathered everyone together for some picture time!

Below is the congregation after worship. Pretty much all these same people come on Wednesday
for Prayer and worship time. But, we also teach English on that night, so there are alot more kids running around than on Sunday mornings.
This is Pastor Naat leading worship. Our folks love to praise God together!

More worship....

These are the 10 people who were baptized last week, along with Louise and Naat. They all received new Bibles too.

Here is our version of Sunday School, with Pastor Ozz teaching the story of Paul and Silas praising God in jail.

Most of the time we begin by playing a game, because our folks also love to laugh!! Here we are playing a game where one person has to guess who is leading the actions that everyone else is following. Who says you can't laugh in church??

Please continue to pray with us, for these new believers, and as well new opportunities that God is showing us. Pray for a spiritual breakthrough in the life of several we know who are deeply held in spiritual bondage, that God will bring deliverence to them.

Thanks for checking in!!

Bethel Baptism Number Two!!

2009-04-05T09:16:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, the 5th of April we celebrated God's continued faithfulness in bringing His light into the darkness "along the khlong" (canal) in Chachoengsao. We did it in style in our newly painted Salaa (thanks Trek team...it looks great!!). About 60 people gathered to worship God with singing, praying, dancing, preaching, and eating.

There were a number of friends who made the trip out from Bang Saen (TLC), incuding a dance team and 2 new friends from the USA, husband and wife team: Dancing Debby and Preaching Len.

And then we all gathered "down by the river" to witness the obedience of 10 precious new believers following the Lord by being baptised!! Thai Pastors Naat and Awt (pictured) asked each of them to declare their love for Jesus, then gently immersed them. Hallelujah!!

Thank you for praying for the Bethel Church in Chachoengsao. God continues to amaze us!!

News from the Salaa at Chachoengsao

2009-02-28T23:28:00.000-08:00

It hardly seems possible that only a few short months ago we were meeting with only a handful of believers sitting on the floor of a broken down house. God has blessed us with many new "babies" (in Christ), and a beautiful building on the "khlong" (canal).

Here is a normal Wednesday night adult worship service: Our church is known here as the FUN church, as you can see from these pictures. Thai people love to laugh, and God has given these new ones of His alot to rejoice in.

We have started having Sunday services here now (2 times so far). We have everyone together for worship time, then bring the children out under this tree for Sunday School. When the rainy season comes (usually May through October) we will need to move into a house.

Our first Sunday service here was the day after Valentines day. 72 people came to hear about the Love of God! It was a great time of worship and fellowship.

Then in February we hosted a DMI team (Disciple Makers International) who came and taught our new believers how to share their new faith with their friends and family. The TREK team received the training too and for several days we went around and shared the good news with anyone who would listen. During that time, something like 8 or 10 people put their faith in Christ!

Here 2 workers in a factory close to our home are praying to receive Jesus as their Saviour! We have friends in this factory who are interested in studying the Bible and learning English.

Please keep praying. God is blessing us in so many ways!!

Christmas Celebrations

2009-01-03T23:51:00.000-08:00

Friends,
Thank for praying with us as we used the opportunity that Christmas presents to tell the story of Jesus to many people here in Chachoengsao.
Our outreach efforts included a party at the school where we teach every Tuesday. We gave every child in the school (over 150) a gift bag, and all the ones we teach (about 80) received a Bible story book in Thai and English as well as a Christmas card from the children of Buhler MB! At our kids clubs in the city and the country we did something similar, with every child receiving a gift bag and a book.

Here are the kids lined up outside our building in the city, waiting for the party to start!

And making Christmas cards...

Our biggest event was at the water market, where over 400 people came together to sing, listen to preaching, watch drama and dancing, eat together, and receive gifts. It was an amazing time!

Many new people came for the first time. Please pray with us as we seek to follow through on the many contacts God has given us. Thanks!!

"Lord, glorify your name in the lives of all those who heard about you at these events. Bring forth fruit for your name. Amen."

Building the Kingdom in Chachoengsao

2008-12-05T19:31:00.000-08:00

God continues to encourage and amaze us! Here are some examples of His faithfulness in shining the light of His grace and glory into the darkness:

Our building in the "slum near the klong" (aka May and Lek's mubaan). We will be able to use it soon! Thank you to all who have given and prayed for this project. It is not yet complete, because we are running short of funds to finish it off. It you are interested in helping us, the project number at MBMSI is C0509. You can contact us for more details or visit www.mbmsi.org

We have told you about Jamlong, who had his leg amputated due to diabetes, which made it impossible for him to continue working as a taxi driver. We were able to get in touch with a foundation that provides prosthetics for free. He has his new leg! Please pray that he will adjust to using it quickly and without complications.

We continue to meet outside Pen's house on Wednesday evenings and share the gospel. Over the last few weeks, several people have received Jesus at these meetings! "Thank you Lord, for the power of the gospel!"

On the last Sunday of November we held our first ever combined worship service for our Bethel cell groups. About 70 people came together in our small building in the city to worship God together, eat together, play and pray together. It was an awesome (and historic) time for our believers, most of whom have been Christians for less than a few years (some only a few weeks).

Awt led worship and Naat preached. Louise taught the children, the Trekkers did a skit, our believers cooked and served the food, and Bob and Chris helped. It was a team effort all around!

"Lord, we praise you for your love and the opportunity to see you at work in people's lives. You have promised to bless your word, and you have. You have sent your Spirit, and He is at work bringing people into your wonderful light. We glorify you!!"

2008-11-19T21:53:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends, things are moving here! We have a new group of "Trekkers" (short term team) who come out with Louise and Naat every Wednesday and we INVADE May and Paa Lek's mubaan (village)! Here are some hi-lights......pic 1, at the Kid's Club, having a blast; singing, teaching, hugging, acting silly, making each one of these little ones feel special to God!

pic 2; then we have an adult cell group. This week we invited several new families to come and learn some English, eat together, and hear the gospel! We met outside the home of one of our new believers, and it was amazing.

The highlight was at the end, after the team had performed a drama of "The Lost Sheep" and Naat had explained the gospel meaning of the story, when 2 people indicated they were ready to believe in Jesus! One was Paa Kham (Aunt Laughter). Pictured with Caleb, one of the Trek team.

The other is Sunday, the man of the left. His wife is Burmese and is already a Christian, but he was not, and NOW IS! Louise (and the whole Bethel team and Trekkers) rejoice!!

"Lord, with give you the glory for what you are doing in the lives of these precious people. Thank you for saving them, for keeping them, and for using them for your glory in the days ahead. Please bless the seed of your word as it is continually being sown here. Amen!"

2008-10-19T08:45:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we loaded our pickup and another one and headed into Bang Saen to attend TLC, our MBMSI church there. For some of our people this was their first time in ANY church! God blessed us with a great group, a good time of fellowship, and a super worship service, followed by a safe trip home!
And best of all, a friend of a new believer who we met for the FIRST TIME trusted the LORD at the end of the service. Her name is SUAY (which means "beautiful") and she has 3 lovely children. Her husband has left her, so she is raising them on her own.
Below: Pastor Somchay (from The Promise Church) leads Suay in prayer to accept the Lord Jesus! "LORD, thank you so much for allowing us this opportunity to expose our wonderful Bethel people to this worship experience. Thank you for the seed that was sown, and especially thank you for working in Suay's heart to prepare her to receive your Word. Bless her now as she begins her NEW LIFE with You! Amen!!"

Projects in Chachoengsao

2008-10-11T21:02:00.001-07:00

Recently a team from a church in Prince George, Canada came and helped us with some projects. The first was a house for May and her 3 lovely daughters; Mew, Maay, and Min (also in the picture is their friend, Waa). May and her girls have been living with her in-laws in a broken down 2 room house with 9 people living there. They slept in a small lean-to at the front of the house.
The local land-owner gave May a plot for very low rent, but there was no way she could afford to build on it. She was the only wage-earner for the 9 people-and only makes about 120.00 dollars a month. But God knew her need, and the money was provided to build a small home for her and her girls.

Another project was to replace and enlarge the broken deck at Baa Lek's house. We use this for our kids club which meets there every week. God has blessed these faithful believers, and they are blessing others in return.
"Lord, we thank you for your faithfulness in meeting these needs. Bless those who gave and worked to make it happen. Use these gifts as an opportunity to grow your kingdom in that community. Amen"

2008-10-01T23:10:00.000-07:00

Recently we hosted a great team of helpers from a church in Prince George, Canada. Some of the things we did while they were here include: a "party in the street" for the kid's from our club in the city, followed by a meal and a time of worship and testimonies... Another party at the camp where the team was staying, which is near the school we teach at and one of our cell groups. We played games (including the ever popular ABC BINGO) and had singing and testimonies for the whole community.

Teaching at the school EVERY DAY for a week!

There were always kids around wanting to play...

AND the team even got their hands (and feet) dirty installing a path to the new home of May and her 3 daughters.

In fact the team got involved in 3 building projects: a new home for May; repairing the broken deck for Lek and installing a bathroom and replacing the broken floor at Jamlong and Waa's.

COMING SOON: PICTURES FROM THE COMPLETED PROJECTS!!!!

"Lord, we praise you for what was accomplished through your visiting servants. Thank you for the love of God that was clearly demonstrated through these acts of service and the impact that has been made for your kingdom in these places. Please bring fruit from the seed that has been sown. Amen!!"

Pictures from Bethel Baptism August 2008!!

2008-09-02T07:29:00.001-07:00

Praise God with us, as we celebrate the baptism of 7 new believers in the muddy waters of the canal, near one of our house church locations. Many friends (and quite a few strangers) gathered with us to witness this step of obedience and testimony. This is Khun Jamlong who on the same night of his salvation had all the images and idols removed from his home. He phoned his adult children to say "we are following Jesus Christ now!"

Above in Pa Waw. She is Jamlongs wife and May's mother-in-law, and a very joyful believer.
Above is Ampan. She often says, "I was a very bad person" whenever she gives her testimony. She has decided to follow Jesus with her whole heart.

Above is Pa Lek. She is a gentle, quiet believer who radiates the grace of God.

Above is Serena. She is a close friend of Ampan, and has the heart of a servant. She often cooks the food for our cell group that meets near her home, in the city.
This is May. She has experienced a lot of rejection in her life. Her father left when she was five, her mother and step-father rejected her as a child, then her husband abandoned her about 2 years ago. However, she has found the love of God, and she often tells people (with tears in her eyes) "God will never throw you away!" She is becoming a passionate witness to others as she grows in her understanding of the Love of God.

"Lord Jesus, we praise you for what you are doing in the hearts of people. Thank you for your grace and glory. Please watch over these new followers, and give them a hunger and thirst for you and your word. amen."

Welcome

2008-09-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

Thank you for visiting our site. In the days ahead we will be sharing with you many stories of God's amazing grace. We are blessed to be a part of what God is doing here in Chachoengsao, and we want others to rejoice with us. God is always working, but we are not always allowed to see the results; however, when God does allow us to see "fruit" from the faithful sowing of the "seed", we are told to rejoice with one another, as heaven rejoices over 1 sinner who finds life in Jesus! Rejoice with us!

The Bethel Team: Louise, Naat, Awt, Bob and Chris and our many partners in the work of the gospel. Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.