May 2023 Newsletter
Transformation Ministries exists to push back spiritual darkness and the effects of spiritual darkness in our world today with the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Consider becoming a financial support team member so you can be a part of helping to create resources, empower leaders, and do "great commission work" in both English and Thai.
Thank you to all of those who pray for us regularly, and especially to those of you who are on our financial support team. YOU are the reason we are able to stay and serve here in one of the least reached parts of the world today.
Translating for Ball
I've been friends with Ball since 2016, when he was still a student. It has been amazing to watch his growth over the past 6-7 years. He is in seminary now and is leading worship and preaching from time to time, as well as leading a weekly university Bible study. So it was a great honor to help him with his sermon, and to translate for him this past month.
A Few Pesky Trials
These past few months have been interesting, to say the least, here in Chiang Rai. We had a whole month and a half of "smokey season" here, where the air was so hazardous that we had to wear masks just to go outside.
When it finally DID rain, though, and clean out the air, we got some strong tropical winds. In fact, they were so strong that they blew out some of the windows and glass walls in the new church building for Baan Athitaan Church!
Thankfully, by God's grace, no one was upstairs and none of the instruments or sound equipment got any damage. However, we did have to cancel service for 2 weeks, which gave us a chance to visit another church in town and network with some friends there.
P Got Baptized!
We also had a student that got baptized this month! We have decided to not post any pictures or her name for now, since she is a senior in high school who is still living with her parents-- parents who are not supportive of her baptism, but the baptism was particularly heartwarming.
A New Brother in Khon Kaen
Our partners in Khon Kaen posted last month that they had a new friend that was coming to study the Bible with them after his wife became a Christian and had been witnessing to him!
Online Broadcasting Ministry
Many of you know that I have wanted to start an online ministry for awhile now, and now that we have had our own space, I have finally been able to start making content. Things are going really well, and I'm already getting thousands of views and lots of engagement on some videos (one video had over 5000k views and 40 comments). Going into the future, I am going to invest more time and energy into this. It still amazes me that we can have access to the eyes and ears of 70 million Thai people here in Thailand through video platforms such as Facebook, Youtube and Tiktok.
Some Ways to Pray:
Please pray with us for blessings on our friend Mon as she moves to Sydney, Australia. There were many tears and hugs while we said goodbye. Mon has been our friend since 2016– when she was still in college— and she took care of Mary Ella during mornings for one semester a year ago. Mary Ella loves her and was not happy about having to say goodbye.
Liz's mom, Hope, is recovering from a "cardiac ablation" procedure. This past month, she had an episode of her heart beating faster than it should, and we had to rush her to the hospital. She's been on some special medications, too. She also has some big changes happening with her work, so please pray for wisdom and guidance.
We have 2 sets of friends and partners who just had miscarriages this month. One of them has already had 2 before, so this was quite frustrating for them, on top of it already being heartbreaking news.
In closing, I wanted to share this news story with you, because I thought it was fascinating, but it also highlights the reality that many people on this side of the world deal with as part of their everyday lives. https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2023/march/mayflower-church-thailand-arrests-chinese-christians-asylum.html
Thanks for being part of the team!
Transformation Ministries exists to push back spiritual darkness and the effects of spiritual darkness in our world today with the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Consider becoming a financial support team member so you can be a part of helping to create resources, empower leaders, and do "great commission work" in both English and Thai.
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