God is good ALL THE TIME

With just over a month to go before we leave for Thailand, things are getting busy!! Starting from this Sunday, we will have meetings every Sunday before we leave! A wonderful way to support our team would be to check in on any of our members and ask how they're doing and how you can pray for them. :)

Last week Justin Lee taught our team about classroom management and other useful tips for teaching high schoolers. Classroom teaching partners were also announced, plane tickets were bought, and things are coming together quickly! This week, we will be working on our lesson planning and performance ideas for the trip. Hopefully we will have many creative ideas on how to teach and present the gospel.

Prayer Requests:

-Half of our team have FINAL EXAMS and are ending school this week. They're probably exhausted and running on little sleep, so keep them in prayer.

-Alisa and Kara's upcoming baptisms on June 26-- come out & support :) Find their testimonies on the bulletin board in the courtyard after service.

-Pray for good communication with Lillian & the school administration. It's been a little tough coordinating times to Skype, and the school administration seems hesitant to answer many of our questions. Pray for patience as we work with this new school.

Missions Monday!

PTL for the successful ministry opportunity among the Navajo people over Memorial Day weekend. Pray for the ongoing follow-up ministry of the Twin Mesa Bible Church and the surrounding community.

Check out their blog to see pictures of their weekend: fcbcnavajoministry.blogspot.com

Operation World

Sorry for the blog hiatus... here are the country prayer requests from our last few meetings:

1. Particularly Needy People Groups:

• Children in crisis—1+ million child laborers, including 40,000+ sold into sex trafficking as a minor. Tens of thousands of homeless street children. Many are from foreign background. Children are subject to all kinds of abuse and ill treatment.
• HIV/AIDS sufferers—highest infection rate in Asia, with at least 700,000 affected. Much in part to the combination of the bustling sex trade and drugs.
• Students—many are responsive to the gospel, but backsliding is a huge challenge. Pray for the 1.3 million students who remain unevangelized.
• Buddhist monks—number 300,000+ and highly honored in Thailand. High-profile scandals and being targeted by Islamic insurgents in the south have troubled the monastic institution. Pray for Christian outreach to them—many are true seekers and open to the gospel.
• Refugees—Thailand has long been a haven for those fleeing neighboring countries. Notably, the 1.2 million from Myanmar, where many are from persecuted minorities. Most refugees are illegal and face harsh exploitation, from dangerous manual labor, to sex slavery.

2. The historic lack of Thai leadership in churches is part of the slow growth, the failures of rural churches and the lack of vision, but this is rapidly changing. 1,500 attended evangelism training in 2010, and there are 20 Bible schools and seminaries and 17 seminaries and 17 TEE (Theological Education by Extension) centers, in addition to many informal training programs. Pray for the shaping of Christian leaders who demonstrate vision, integrity, and wisdom and who assist in the flowering of a truly Thai Church.

3. Chinese-Thai Christians are a significant minority in the Church, especially at the leadership level. The charisma and financial clout of this community could be very beneficial for evangelism if fully activated. But many are deeply embedded in sin-- prostitution, gambling, drugs. The Chinese-Thai community as in the last few generations increasingly assimilated into Thai culture. Pray for more Chinese-Thai Christians to be called into serving in and supporting full-time ministry.

And So Summer Begins...

Team Update & Prayer Requests

- Yesterday our team met and it was nice to have everyone together again to pray and plan. We shared our testimonies and gave each other feedback on how to improve. It was a good time of practice and sharing! Next week we're focusing on classroom management and teaching strategies.

- Thai summer break is over, so planning can continue with the school/Lillian & Peter-- hooray! Keep the school in prayer... because it is our first time teaching there, pray that the administration would be open to our programs

- Much of our team is still busy with finishing school/finals and figuring out their summer plans (working, serving in camp, etc.)

Operation World Prayer Topic: The Extensive Sex Trade, focused in Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, and HatYai
a. The girls involved (typically from poor, rural families, from the NE, from ethnic minorities, from Myanmar)—trapped in the business, at high risk for mistreatment and disease
b. Those who are profiting (corrupt police/officials, traffickers, mafia, relatives)—pray for moral conviction and an end to this trade
c. The users (“sex tourists” typically from the West and East Asia, Thai men)
d. The government—officially oppose the sex trade, but little is done to discourage it.
e. Agencies seeking to minister to those in the trade—very difficult work to save individual girls and close individual brothels, but much bigger change is needed


Missions Monday
Navajo Ministry Ministry Trip (Memorial Day weekend): the team would be effective in the three major ministry projects planned which include building projects, medical/health education clinics, and discipleship for teens. Also pray for travel safety.

Slow Week

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”-Matthew 11:28-30

The last few weeks have been busy for much of our team (Easter, Mother's Day, midterms, Big Sunday, etc.) and many seem tired and even burnt out. For our collegians, final exams and the end of the school year are coming up too. Pray that our team will find rest, assurance, and rejuvenation in their quiet times with God.

Also, please pray for the leaders as they begin talking to the Thai school administrators again. Thai schools are coming back from their summer vacation this month, so we can continue working out the logistics of the trip.

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Missions Monday

Pray for the people of Japan: God's mercy & grace to abound as they continue to recover; many would turn to Him in this time of great difficulty.

The Sunday Special

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there! Hopefully everyone had a relaxed day with their families.

Thailand Team did not meet today, but continue to keep us in prayer.

1. We are still looking for plane tickets. We found some good prices this past week and are hoping to finalize ASAP!

2. Last week our team was challenged to rethink the way we think about evangelism (the language, context, and attitude we approach it with). Pray that we would learn how to be sensitive and effective, against cultural and language barriers.

3. Many of our team members are participating in Big Sunday on May 15. Pray that this service will be a warm-up for our trip!

Missions Monday

Pray for various summer short-term missions: preparation would enable them to be ready both in the knowledge and skills they will need but also that God would enable them to have a life-changing experience.

bonus prayer requests~

Here is the Operation World prayer requests from the last meeting:

Pray for the development of a truly indigenous expression of Christianity

Christianity is still seen as Western, a huge problem in Thai Buddhist culture and its deeply divergent world views. Pray for development of: Thai music, hymns, art forms, worship patterns, architecture, and styles of leadership. Pray that Bible study and witnessing will be more encouraged and developed, making the church more relevant to non-Christians, and giving believers new spiritual insight and grounding.

WE are Thailand Team

Hello to our lovely support team! As Uncle Chris reminded us in service yesterday, the whole body of FCBC is Thailand Team. What an incredible encouragement for our team, and already we feel and appreciate everyone's support. Thank you again!

Missions Monday:

Pray for those participating in short-term mission trips both as a part of FCBC-sponsored teams and other organizations. Pray that others would be willing to financially support and pray for those who go out from among us.

Team Update:

During the past two meetings, our team has been learning about Thai culture. Our hope is that a deeper understanding of cultural barriers would make it easier when engaging students, or any others we meet, in conversation. We challenged our team to participate in Big Sunday or simply engage their friends in spiritual conversation. It is a challenge to be deliberate and concise, but pray for boldness!

Also, continue to pray for our team to find airline tickets quickly so we can continue planning.

Lastly, prayer letters should be going out soon. If you would like one, leave your info in the comments, or ask anyone on the team to send you their's! :)