“Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:38)
Follow-Up on the Urgent Request
Praise the Lord! I am happy to report that all of the orphans have made it out of the war zone safely. God allowed humanitarian workers and an Indian Army escort to help make this happen. The kids came out with minimal clothes, as each was only allowed a small bag for their things. Joseph has secured temporary housing that is available till Christmas. We are praying for funds to start building a permanent home immediately on the land that was given to him. They need to move by Christmas, and they need a vehicle for transportation for taking the children to church, school, and other necessary places. These needs total $80,000. Please pray for Joseph. He is there without support or income, totally depending on God, trying to make a difference. Anyone who would like to help can do so through:
Reaching the Next Generation
2700 Clinton Street
Longview, TX 75604
Memo: India Children’s Home or Missionary Joseph Long
Starting a New Chapter
After much prayer and counsel, we have made the move to begin the next chapter of mission work. My wife was needing some medical attention, which we could not obtain where we were, though we sought long and hard. After God gave us a verse and peace in our hearts that this was the right thing to do, God began to take care of all of the necessary things for it to happen. As the work in Chom Thong was going strong, we were praying about what to do with it. God answered and provided the Gallardo family, a dear missionary family from Mexico, to step in to take over the work. Souls are still being saved, baptized, and growing in the Lord. Hallelujah for the Cross!
We have now moved to the southern part of Thailand and joined the Painter family to plant a new church in Pranburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand. There have been several saved and baptized already, and the attendance is steadily increasing. When we moved there, God confirmed His plan with blessing upon blessing. He provided us with a beautiful building that has a parking lot, an extremely rare thing in Thailand. There is an office building by the church that can be used for the Bible institute and also provide additional Sunday school space. These are just a few of the many blessings.
People began to get saved immediately, while others were glad to hear a church was starting. One of the neighbors jumped up from her seat when we told her where we were starting a church. She said, “Look at the goosebumps on my arm. I’m so happy.” She said that she didn’t get to go to church often because she had to travel a great distance to go, and now God was putting one so close to her that she could walk to it.
Praise the Lord for Salvation
When the owner of the building we rented for the church was originally showing us the building, a neighbor, who lived across the street from the building, came to see what was going on. The owner told her we were thinking of renting the building, and she asked what we were going to use it for. He told her that we were Christians and were going to use it to teach people about Jesus. You could see as fear came over her immediately. She grabbed the owner’s arm and said, “You can’t rent to them. I don’t want to lose my eyes.” She said that her mom had told her that Christians take out the eyes of unbelievers when they die so they will be blind in the next life. The owner ignored her, and we continued talking. Again, she grabbed his arm and pleaded with him not to rent to us. To which he quickly replied, “I know what to do, and they can’t take your eyes.” “What is it?” she asked, as she earnestly awaited the answer. He said, “It’s easy—don’t die.” Everyone burst out laughing, even her.
Afterwards, we took some time to explain Who Jesus is and what we believe. Then later that week, Gai and I were able to sit down with her, share the Gospel with her, and answer her many questions. While visiting with her, we realized how much she loved to grow plants, so my wife and I bought her a beautiful lotus plant. When we gave it to her, she lit up with amazement, and God used this to form a friendship. A couple of weeks later, she was at the Opening Day for the church. Evangelist Craig Bryan was visiting Thailand at that time, and he preached the morning service. When he gave the invitation, she sweetly put her faith in Christ. What an amazing God we serve!
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support!
Yours for His harvest,
Andrew & Denise Long
Romans 10:14