Baptism July 2012

Recently we had a baptism ceremony in Chiang Khong, Thailand. There was a total of nine people who were baptized including Somboon's father. Many of you may remember seeing the pictures of Somboon's father receiving Christ as his Savior last May on this blog. He was Shaman (witchdoctor) in his village. He has now taken the step in obedience through baptism. The others being baptized were students who lived at the Hmong Foundation Hostel. Some of them received Christ as their Savior this year and others last year. We praise the Lord for His mighty workings among the Hmong people.

Prayer Request!

Recently I talked with the new boy named Xai Xong.  He comes from a Christian family but he said he was not a Christian. I plan to share the gospel with him. Please pray for him to open his heart to God.

Everyone here is doing good.

God bless you.

Somboon

Please pray!

Hello every one. I ask you help me to pray for this young girl. If God speak to your heart you can help her as you can.

God bless you,

Somboon

My name is Seang La Seachang.  I was born in a Christian family.  I am the 3^rd child in my family.  I have 4 brothers and sisters.  My family serves God in the church in our village church. 

I accepted Christ at a Christian youth camp.  Before that I didn’t know God.  Before that, I went to school at a Buddhist school and they taught Buddhism.  Every day I had to wai the Buddha statue.  I didn’t understand why we had to wai (placing both hands together) in the Buddha statue.  All of my friends would wai the Buddha statue.  It was just me who didn’t.  The teacher yelled at me.  I started to feel scared about these things.  I had many questions in my heart.  I didn’t want to go to the temple.  I had bad feelings about going in and I had no peace.  One day, I had major issues with my friends.  I was very sad.  I didn’t know what to do.  At night, I would go outside and find a quiet place to pray.  I didn’t know if God was really there or not, even though I was born in a Christian family.  But I felt an inner peace every time I would pray.  When I prayed, I had peace.  I would hear God’s voice speaking to me.  At that time, when I was very troubled, God told me to read the Bible and to go study Bible.  I didn’t know where that voice came from.  I tried to look for the voice, but I couldn’t find it.  At that time, my friends told me that I was crazy for Jesus, and I didn’t like it because it made me feel like I was crazy.  After these things, I went home.  I was preparing to continue studying.  But I had no peace at all.  I prayed about what I should do.  God told me for the 2^nd time, to serve God. It was a still small voice that had a lot of power in it.  I cried and I didn’t know what to do.  I talked to my father about it.  My father told me to pray again, so I prayed again.  I told God that if He really was calling me and wanted to use me, to speak to me again for the third time.  And God did just that.  I prayed and devoted myself to study Bible.  At that second, I believed God with all of my heart.  I really felt God’s love.  When I surrendered to Jesus, my life totally changed.  I had a goal in my life.  I had peace in my heart with God every day.  God changed this girl from someone who didn’t know her own worth to someone who knows that she has value in Christ.  After that, many good things came into my life.  I still had problems, though.  But one thing that I have never forgotten is that God is always with me in the middle of these problems.  I praise God that He has called me and He uses me in order to release Hmong people from the power of Satan and to help Hmong children to walk in the way of God through the power of God.  My life has meaning because I have met the Lord of my life.  The amazing thing is that my younger brother committed his life to the Lord and wants to serve God also.  God is using my family for His work.  In the future, I want to be a servant of God.  I want to be a missionary in Laos.  I want to help Hmong women who don’t know God.  I want to share the gospel with them. 

Right now I am currently studying Bible at Bangkok Institute of Christian Theology.  I will be starting my second year in June.  Tuition for one year is 36,000 baht.  This includes room and board, but not personal spending money. 

God bless you.

Sengla Seachang

Please pray for the Hmong in Vietnam!

Please pray for the Hmong in Vietnam. A book I (Duane) am reading Vietnam's Christians by Reg Reimer states there "some 350,000 Hmong Christians in Vietnam." They see persecution on a daily basis. Read the following article:
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Hanoi-jails-eight-Hmong-Christians-for-disturbing-security-24240.html

Students Evangelizing in Hmong Village

One of the aspects of the Hmong students who stay at the Hmong Foundation is ministry to the Hmong villages. Here are pictures of them traveling to the village, talking with the children and sharing God's great News!

Student Evangelism in Hmong Village

One of the aspects of the Hmong students who stay at the Hmong Foundation is ministry to the Hmong villages. Here are pictures of them worshiping God and sharing His great News!

Student Bible Training & Worship

For the next four weeks, the kids (10 girls and 9 boys) will be having Bible and training at the Center. The schools in Thailand have their summer break from March through May. They will be studying Bible and English in the mornings, evangelism and music/crafts in the afternoons and worship and devotions in the evenings. Here are some pictures of the students studying the Bible.

White Unto Harvest!

I (Duane) went to visit a Hmong village recently. One man had recently lost his wife. She had been very sick for several months. The Gospel has been shared with this man many times on different occasions over several years. He listens but is resistant to accept Christ as his Savior. He is about 60 years old. Please pray for his salvation. In another village we were asked to pray for a Hmong woman who lost her husband about two and half years ago. He had been dealing and using drugs. The drugs finally took his life. He left behind a wife and three children. It is hard for her to keep everything going without a husband. She is a fairly new Christian.

Most of the Hmong are very poor. The Thai government has tried to help the hilltribe peoples to plant corn, flowers and other vegetation in place of opium. They do not make much money from this so many have reverted to planting opium which is much better cash crop. As a result, many are becoming addicted or put in prison. In Thailand, dealing in drugs means a life sentence generally without parole. This may involve both parents being in prison leaving the children without parents.

It breaks our hearts to see Hmong people suffer. As Jesus said, “Truly, the fields are white unto harvest.” Please pray!

His servant and yours,

Duane & Kathy

We traveled 12 hours from where the Hmong Foundation is located to Yee's (Somboon's wife) village near the Burmese border. It was a very remote Hmong village.

Here are some pictures of Somboon's and Yee's wedding on Friday, March 9, 2012.

Hmong Foundation Projects

Hello everyone,

This is the project that I have written up [If you would like a copy, please email Duane Carmody at dc_kc73@hotmail]. I believe that it’s necessary and will help the children here. It looks like a lot of money, but when God moves on peoples’ hearts I know that God can make it happen. Please send this project on to whoever you feel may be interested. They are currently building a bridge here in Chiang Khong between Thailand and Laos. Because of this bridge, land here is very expensive now. We would really like to have our own land because we just throw money away every month in rental fees. But if we have our own land, then even though there isn’t any money coming in from overseas, we could still live on the land that is ours. Also, there are currently almost 30 people living here with us, and we only have one vehicle. That one truck isn’t big enough for everyone. If God suddenly calls me home, I would like to leave these things to those who come after me. We are all the body of Christ and I believe that if we all work together and help a little here and there, we can do this. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but I do know that today I want to do my best for God. I would like to share this vision with many people and those who have a heart to share in this vision with us can do according to God’s will. Thank you very much and we appreciate your prayers!!

God bless you.

Somboon