August has come and gone! Our family has been in Thailand for just over three months. Missy and I have had the joy of seeing souls saved each week, and God has brought a couple of our converts to church.
The team has started going through a discipleship program that will prepare us all to teach the same material to our church folks. Missy has begun studying with the team ladies during their team ladies’ monthly meeting, where they share experiences and helpful tips on discipleship. We are also in the process of having these materials translated.
One of the many aspects of the ministry that I have enjoyed lately is visiting throughout the week with our Thai staff. Our family has made a point to go visiting together several days a week (outside of our regular church visitation program). Often I will take our son Mark, and he and I will go out with the men on our staff and visit regular members and visitor in their homes. We are working on implementing a program where every first-time visitor will get a visit from the pastor and one of our staff members each week.
One night Kuhn Signat, Tan, Mark, and I visited a family who had come to our church a few weeks before. Kuhn Signat had met this family on a Thursday night while he was out soul winning. They have been Christians for a long time but were looking for a good church to attend. Praise the Lord! He led us to their door. They enjoyed our visit so much that they even took us to meet more relatives who lived nearby. We sat and fellowshipped together for over an hour. The next Sunday the whole family came back to church! What a thrill it is to serve Him.
Missy has also enjoyed spending time with some of our staff ladies as they make weekly visits. One week Missy and Kuhn Da visited a Karen lady who has faithfully come to our church for four months. Her name is Jumbeen. She is a 36-year-old single mother with four children. Her youngest two are nursery age, so her 14-year-old son is the provider of the home. They live in a one-room shack with just a hot pot, a large mattress, a small table, and a clothesline that stretches across the ceiling where they can hang their clothes. Jumbeen shared with Missy that she reads her Bible every day and trusts that God will take care of her needs. She comes to church almost every Sunday to hear God’s Word preached and to gain encouragement from God’s people. I’m so thankful that we can be a part of her life, and I pray that she will always see Christ’s love in us as we do what we can to love, help, and encourage her family.
Thank you for giving so that we can go, serve, and stay here on the mission field in Thailand. We could not be here without your financial support and your faithful prayers! Your investment is not in vain. We are working diligently, for we see the night approaching.
For Him,
Tim Shook
