Rainy season started full force in the middle of May. After about three days of nearly nonstop hard rains, we picked up people for Sunday church, driving through flooded streets and a nearly washed-out road. Praise God, He let the sun out and gave us a nearly dry day. We had a full house despite the rainy weather.
With two years of starting and stopping our services, we had lost some people, and some had gotten out of the habit of attending church. We have been focusing on regathering everyone and reteaching the basics of our faith through one-on-one discipleship and preaching the foundations of what we believe. Some of our youth, who had stopped attending church and were unsure of their salvation, got their questions answered and became sure of what they believed. Others, after learning about baptism and understanding that it is the first step in following Christ after salvation, have decided to get baptized. After a Wednesday night Bible study on the Word of God, a teen girl asked for a Bible to take home and read. Praise the Lord, little by little, God is working. My sister, while in the hospital with COVID, met Sandar Lwin and invited her to our church. She had recently trusted Christ and was looking for a church. She has been faithfully attending our church since the beginning of this year. Tiffany has been doing Bible studies with her at her home. Sandar Lwin is so thankful that God used COVID to bring our church into her life. Once again, we are reminded that “. . . all things work together for good to them that love God . . . .” (Romans 8:28)
We are thankful for God always providing everything we need and, at times, spoiling us. We were blessed to be able to take a weeklong holiday in Hua Hin in the south of Thailand. When Tiffany first came to Thailand, she served with the missionaries there for nearly four months. We had a wonderful visit, reuniting with friends and making new ones. It was a special blessing to visit with a grandma and two sisters she has raised. Khun Yai befriended Tiffany eight years ago. It was Tiffany’s first Sunday church service in Thailand, as well as Khun Yai’s first time coming to International Baptist Church. She later trusted Christ. Her parting gift to my wife before she went back to America was for her to see Khun Yai get baptized. Khun Yai and her two girls are faithfully attending and serving at International Baptist Church in Hua Hin.
In June, Chaiya Khamnon completed his first year of Bible school. He was the only one out of three who had signed up for studying online with Lone Star Baptist College in Bangkok not to quit. LSBC works with the local church. This way the Bible students can serve in their home church and practice what they are learning while attending Bible college. It has been exciting watching Chaiya grow spiritually. He will begin his second year at the end of August. Please pray for God’s guidance and direction on Chaiya’s life.
Thank you for faithfully praying for us and the ministry here. Please pray for good health, wisdom, guidance, and softened hearts. My wife will be visiting her family in the USA from August 20 – September 9. Please pray for her safety while she travels.
God bless,
Teerapat and Tiffany Phaisarnpiwat