We are currently in our fourth month of Thai school! Language learning can be exhausting and a little mundane at times, but so far we have completed three courses on speaking and listening. We are now in our first reading and writing class! Please pray that we will be able to retain what we learn in class and have chances to use it outside of the classroom in everyday life. We would also love prayers for continued faithfulness in learning and studying, as we know that it will be essential for ministry in the future.
Recently, C had the chance to go with his friend Palm to his hometown. He was honored to be invited into his home and to get to spend time with his family. It was a really fun weekend and was great to get extended time with Palm. His family was so hospitable, kind and kept us well fed! It's always so great to get to have experiences like this where you get to learn the culture in a new way, as well as getting to know a good friend better. We are eager to have more in depth conversations about the gospel with Palm. Although these have been slow to happen so far, we are trusting that the Lord is still at work.
thai - holidays
While language is our main focus during this next year, we pray that the Lord will use us in relationships with our neighbors, tutors, coffee shop workers, and other people we come in contact with as we are studying and living our daily life. We already feel that the Lord has given us favor with some of these friendships and hope to walk faithfully in what He has put in front of us.
Holidays are a great time to share our faith and the reasons why we celebrate. We hosted a Thanksgiving dinner in our home and had friends from America, Thailand, South Africa, and Myanmar join us! We pray that during this Christmas season, we will have more opportunities to host people in our home, share the Christmas story, and invite them to join us for church on Christmas day!
thai - Songkran:
A few weeks ago, Thailand celebrated its most popular holiday, Songkran, also known as the water festival. While Songkran is perceived as a fun and exciting celebration, the heart of it is troubling for Christians. Buddhism is a system of merit, where one has to outweigh the bad that they have done with good in order to have a better future in reincarnation. There is a constant cycle of repentance and personal atonement, making the goal of escaping suffering unattainable. During Songkran, Buddhists will pour water over statues of Buddha and one another to gain merit, good luck, and wash away sin.
This year, Songkran coincided with Easter. There is a stark contrast between the hope Christians have in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ and the constant striving of Buddhism. In Christ, there is nothing more that I can do to make myself more clean before the Lord. It is all by grace, through faith that we have a relationship with the most loving God, who alone has the power to justify us and make us righteous through His Son's blood. We long for Thai people (and all people) to know this kind of love and freedom found in Christ.
Would you pray for the Thai people? Would you pray that as they recognize their sin and need for cleansing that they would long for salvation that is not based on their own merit? Our prayer is that the beauty and grace found in Jesus would be fresh and attractive to people that are stuck in an endless cycle of hopelessly attempting to atone for their own sin!
Thai language
Of the 69 million people living in Thailand, 61 million remain unreached with the gospel. That is over 88% of the population. The need for the gospel is great in Thailand! According to Joshua Project, only 0.6 percent of the population are evangelical Christians.
Although these statistics are staggering, we are excited to see how the Lord is using His church in Thailand and can't wait to be a part of this ministry in just a few months!
Our first official Thai lesson! Our team leader connected us to a teacher in Thailand who was willing to give us lessons via Zoom. We have so much to learn but we are grateful to learn some of the basics before we land in Bangkok!
thai - Carmac's
The Carmac's are both from Montgomery, Alabama and started dating while serving in East Asia. They spent nearly five years learning the language, culture, and sharing the gospel with college students. The Lord used these years to grow them in their knowledge of the goodness and sovereignty of Himself and to develop a burden in them to see the lost in Asia come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. After unexpectedly returning from East Asia in the 2020 pandemic, they worked with international students in Birmingham, Alabama, and married in the summer of 2021.
The Carmac's are grateful for the ways the Lord has used these past experiences to lead them to join the MTW church-planting team in Bangkok, Thailand, where they will work alongside the local church and Thai national pastors. They desire to form deep relationships within their community, allowing them to share the hope of the gospel with those who have never heard. They are humbled to be called to take the gospel to Bangkok and are eager to see how the Lord will continue to use them in Thailand.
