PISHON CHURCH

It has been 4 months since we started Pishon church. Each of us here at the foundation has a part in serving God at church. Many of the students come from families that are not believers. Those that do come from Christian families come here with the understanding that a church is the sole responsibility of one person – a pastor. The idea that the body of Christ is made up of many members, all with spiritual gifts, who are to serve God by serving each other is a foreign concept to many Hmong people here in Thailand. Therefore, from the first Sunday, we have given everyone an opportunity to take part in the church. Some serve by singing in the choir, while others serve as greeters. Some play drums and guitar while others are responsible for collecting the offering. Everyone helps clean. We want Pishon Church to be a light in the darkness. We want to see God raise up mature believers in Christ. Susan has been teaching English as an outreach of the church in an effort to expose many Thai Buddhists to what a church is. Otherwise, many would never be willing to attend. She has had many opportunities to share about the One True God who created the world and who loves us with an everlasting love. Pastor Somboon is giving private guitar lessons as an outreach of the church as well. We are also doing a lot of teaching about one-on-one sharing and evangelizing with friends, family and co-workers. We want God to bring people who are hurting and who are in need that we can minister to. Please pray for this new church plant.

TEACHING A CHILDREN CLUB IN A HMONG VILLAGE

The 7 girls who live at the girls’ house have been doing a children’s club at Baan Muankan, a Hmong village about 30 minutes from Chiang Khong. They go twice a month on Sunday afternoons. They have been doing this for almost 2 years. They sing worship songs, teach a Bible story, color a picture, teach a memory verse and play games. There are about 20 children that come on a regular basis, but there are always more children who come sporadically on any given Sunday. The children are divided up into 2 groups and each of girls at the hostel has a responsibility to prepare lessons, teach a song, lead games, etc. At first, some of the girls at the hostel were very shy and refused to do much of anything, but after a few months, they looked forward to spending time with the children. When the club time is over, many of the children refuse to go home and climb into the truck, not wanting Phee (older siblings) to leave.
At the same time that the girls are teaching the children, Kia, a staff member, goes to a Christian woman’s house in the same village and spends time encouraging her and a few other Christian women from the Word. This is a special time for these women as there is no church in this village and any Christian teaching/encouragement is few and far between. These few women are God’s light and they are sharing God’s love with those around them. Please pray for them as their lives aren’t easy. Pawn, one Christian woman, said she wants to be in a place where people don’t like her and where living a Christian life is difficult so that she can be salt and light to those around her. Please pray for her and the other Christian women in this village.