“We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers.” (I Thessalonians 1:2)
Glory to God! This has been an exciting two months. While we were shopping at Tesco Lotus, Thailand’s Walmart, an employee named Oy walked up and said, “Can I help you?” “You speak English,” I said. “Yes, I used to live in Burnet, Texas,” came the reply. We talked for a little bit, and I told her we had just moved to the area and were starting a church. On a later trip to Tesco, I asked Oy if she knew anyone I could hire to interpret for me. She asked me to give her a couple days, and she would try to locate someone. When I went back to see her, she said she had talked with her husband and would be interested in doing the interpreting herself. So, we invited her and her husband to come to our home so we could talk about it. We learned that Oy and Tu, her husband, are an older retired Thai couple. They said they would like to help us. I asked if they ever went to a church while living in Texas. They said they thought about it many times but never went. Then I said, “Let me share with you the main thing I teach people.” I began to share the Gospel with Oy and Tu. When I got to the end, Oy said, “I want that!” I said, “What do you want?” She said, “I want my sins to be taken away and to go to Heaven when I die.” I then shared Romans 10:13 with them. Then I said, “Oy, Jesus is up in Heaven right now, listening for you to call upon His name; if you ask Him, He will save you.” My wife said, “He knows all languages too.” Oy said, “Okay” and bowed her head and began to talk to Jesus. “Lord Jesus, this is Oy.” My wife and I looked at each other as tears filled our eyes. Words cannot explain the feeling in my soul at that very moment. Oy continued, “I want to go to Heaven when I die. Will you please take my sin away so that I can go to Heaven? Thank you, Lord Jesus.” Well, Glory to God!!!!!!!
God gave us another young lady, who is from the local technical college, to interpret. She helps my wife with the children. Our first service was August 11. In the weeks preceding the opening day, Brother Gross, Dead, Tho, and several others came over to help us invite people to come. We had passed out hundreds of invitations and were anxiously waiting for 10:00 a.m. to get there. It finally arrived, and 28 people came. Hallelujah! A new church in Asia has begun. We preached the Gospel that day, and 6 more precious souls trusted Christ. Tu, Oy’s husband, was one of the 6 who was saved. Sumet and his family have not missed a Sunday being at church. They are so excited that their whole family can go to church together.
Joseph has made it to the U.S. and is trying to complete everything for Soso’s visa. He was very nervous about leaving her because her health is up and down. Please keep them in your prayers; pray for Soso’s health and that this process can go quickly.
Praise the Lord! The front wall and doors are in. We were still praying for one air conditioning unit ($1,400), but just before I was to send this letter, we received an email informing us that it will be taken care of. Praise the Lord! Now we are praying for a songtheow top ($1,000) to put on the back of my truck for bringing people to church.
Thank you for all your faithful prayers and support!
Yours for His harvest,
Andrew Long