An Urgent Prayer Request for Chiang Rai

We caught news today from BBC that 17 girls died in a fire at a school in the city where Liz and I will be living and serving soon. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36355971?SThisFB

The news sits heavy on my heart right now. As I think about it, I try not to be overwhelmed, but I am reminded of the seriousness of missions. Chances are, the majority of these girls never had a chance to hear the gospel.

I hope they did. I really hope they did.

But I don't know. And that's the thing that drives me to want to make my life count for the expansion of the church in the world. I can't stomach the thought of people dying in a nation or a culture that is so underchurched that they don't even get the chance to hear about the free offer of grace that Jesus offers.

If that means I have to go through the discomfort of selling my stuff, asking people for money, learning a new language, learning how to drive on the opposite side of the road, and becoming a total foreign outsider, then it is worth it.

So, the worst part about any tragedy is when it happens and nothing changes because of it. So I am asking you to pray with me that God would use this tragedy in Chiang Rai to bring people to himself. There are Christians there from Thailand and America that will be ministering to people close to this tragedy this week. Pray that Satan's purposes would be thwarted, and that God's purposes of blessing would prevail in Chiang Rai, and that as a result many people would place their faith in Jesus in this region of the world.

Edit: You can see the NTIM update about this, along with practical ways that you can help, here: http://gontim.org/main/urgent-call-to-prayer-for-outreach-in-thailand-update-may-22-2016/