“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27)
As we approach the month of October, our churches are still in the highest COVID-restricted zone. We are planning and praying as to how we can strategically open for Sunday services within the guidelines of “no more than 25 people at a public gathering.” There are strong enforcements on those who do not comply with the mandates, such as a minimum two-year prison sentence. We value your prayers as we continue to preach our services online and also as we prepare and plan for possible in-person services.
For the last two years, the church in Hua Hin has followed a corporate Bible-reading plan in hopes of bringing us all closer to the Lord, and together, through His Word. This has brought such unity to those who have decided to follow the plan. It thrills my heart to receive messages and texts from our members sharing what the Lord gave them in their Bible-reading time. It’s our church’s great desire to have new believers and members reading the Bible faithfully and growing in the Lord.
We took a day and drove south to visit Kaye, one of our most faithful members, who has been coming to our church for five or six years. He lives almost two hours south of our church with his extended family. Kaye is in his 60s and teaches part-time at a local school. He had heard of our church when traveling through our city years ago. One Sunday he decided to attend. He rode his bike about 10 miles from his house to hitch a ride with a large produce truck that was driving up to Hua Hin from his city. The truck took him to the road that leads to our church from the main highway. From there, Kaye rode his bike down the long side road and arrived at International Baptist Church for the first time. He has been attending Sunday services since then, and his weekly mode of transportation is the same as it was on that first Sunday. What a joy Kaye is to our church family. His desire to come, learn, and fellowship every week is a joyful conviction to my heart. I wonder what silly excuse so easily keeps other believers from attending church every week.
Our dear friends, the Longs, surprised us with a gift of money to give to some families in need. Their two daughters, Emma and Martha, set up a lemonade stand several weeks ago. On their busy street on a very hot weekend, with a big traffic jam, they sold hundreds of cups of lemonade. They gave over $200 of their earnings to our ministry! Through their giving, we were able to help four different families with food, laundry supplies, and personal items for their household. One of the recipients, who was a grandma and also a widow, exclaimed in tears, “I don’t know what to do but to thank God for taking care of us in this difficult time!” Another grandma sent Missy a text after we had delivered the supplies. It read, “Look! We ran out of rice just this morning, and I was praying that God would supply our need. He didn’t even wait a whole day!” Attached in the text was a picture of her empty rice bin. God used two young girls in America to answer the prayers of hurting and needy believers in Thailand. THAT is pure religion!
God continues to open doors and show us ways to continue reaching others, helping those in physical need, and giving out the Gospel during this time of strict mandates.
We’re grateful for your faithful prayers and support! Also, thank you to those who reach out to us with a text, a message, a letter, or an email of encouragement. We are blessed by you.
For Him,
Tim Shook
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- Nong Bin with Missy (one child who received help)
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- Visiting Khun Kaye in his home in Bang Saphan
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- Visiting Khun Kaye in his home in Bang Saphan
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- Supplies given to each family
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- Emma and Martha Long