“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
(I Corinthians 15:57-58)
It has been some time since I have written to you all. Although my communication has been limited, the power of God has by no means been limited in the work. Our heavenly Father has continued to strengthen and build the ministry here full-sail against the contrary winds of pestilence, political unrest, and spiritual darkness.
The pandemic still affects our daily lives with new and rigorous regulations. Although these regulations may or may not have some positive effect on the spread of the physical virus, they have definitely served to stymie common decency when dealing with strangers. Walking through the mall or the market, there is a sense of anxiety, mistrust, and desperation. Many of the small businesses are now boarded up and closed down. The proprietors have sent their children to varying provinces to live with distant relatives, as they no longer have the means to support their own children. All I can say is, What a perfect opportunity for GOD to do a great work through the local church!
. . . and He has done just that. Over the last year, our churches have made monthly trips to and from the local supermarkets and fresh markets, purchasing thousands of dollars’ worth of food and supplies. At least twice, every family in our church received grocery bags filled with eggs, rice, cooking oil, noodles, fish, water, milk, etc.—the daily staples that would feed their families for days on end.
We have also provided relief for our school students and their extended families. Several times we have made a particular effort to provide relief for the stranger, those who have never attended our churches or schools, those who have never heard a clear presentation of the Gospel, and some who had not yet heard the name of Jesus Christ. I want to thank those of you who have taken part in these efforts with labour, prayer, thanksgiving, and support. We have showered blessings all around us, and God has been glorified each step of the way.
International Baptist Church of Hua Hin
God has continued to bless in Hua Hin, Thailand. We have seen growth in our Teen Department under the leadership of Bro. Jon Beil. We have seen unprecedented growth in the adult Sunday school class taught by Adjan Sakrapee Jomhong. We have seen real spiritual growth and a love for God’s Word among the children and pre-teens. Miss Shari House has done a phenomenal job for several years overseeing our Junior Church Department, and Angkul (Tan) Juntasung leads our Preteen Sunday School Department. We have many new families, some converted Buddhists and some Thai Christians who have moved from Bangkok and been delighted to find a “real church” to attend!
I would like to ask you to pray for a man by the name of Neil Stuart. As you may have guessed, that is not a Thai name; he is in fact from the UK. His Thai wife is a staunch Buddhist, and he has a doctrinally confusing Anglican background. Mr. Stuart has attended our church faithfully for almost four years. During that time, my Baptist style of preaching has offended his Anglican sense of quietude more than a few times. On several occasions, he has come directly to me after the service and vocalized his disappointment in the sermon. He even left the church for a period of time, angered at my doctrinal stand on salvation by grace through faith alone. After a few months, he returned on a Sunday morning. After the service, he approached me and stated that he had tried every other “church” in our city and the surrounding area and could say definitively that International Baptist Church of Hua Hin is the only “real church” he could find. I have witnessed to Mr. Stuart often, but he is still hanging on to his baptism and church membership as a means of currying favor with God. His wife has completely rejected the Gospel. Please pray that this couple will soon be gloriously saved.
International Baptist Church of Nong Plap
Bro. Chad Inman, Adjan Pong, and Bro. Star are working seamlessly together, and God is blessing IBCNP with continued growth. The church leaders are soul winning regularly multiple days throughout the week, and we are seeing souls saved almost daily.
Church-Wide Soul Winning
Each Thursday evening, we go out, preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in and around our city of Hua Hin. This past week, we had 22 soul winners going throughout the week and 31 souls saved! Soul winning never gets old, especially here where hearts are so receptive to the Gospel. “. . . it is the power of God unto salvation . . . .” Bro. Sakrapee and I went together, with my son Mark, and just drove down the road looking for people to talk to. We came upon four gardeners from a local hotel, who were sitting on the sidewalk waiting for the bus. They all knew of Heaven, Hell, sin, and that Hell is the final destination for sinners. They all said that they were afraid of Hell but did not know the requirements for eternal life in Heaven. How precious it was to share that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, sent from God to redeem all of mankind! Each of them humbly bowed their heads and trusted Christ on the side of that busy, six-lane highway.
Land-Development and Building-Project Update
Since 2017, we have been raising funds for land and buildings. In December of 2019, we were able to purchase the land (more than we originally anticipated), for the ministry. This in itself was a great miracle, in which many of you took part. With the lockdowns of 2020 behind us, we hope to move forward with the land development. We have had a minor border dispute with our neighbour on the south side of the land. We have an upcoming date, March 22, to meet with the Ministry of Land to settle the dispute. Please be much in prayer about this. When we originally purchased the land, the government surveyors came out and verified the location of our chinote poles (“boundary markers”). Since then, they have “mysteriously” been moved on two occasions. Of course, this type of problem has been going on since Old Testament times. We are not worried and know that God is in control. We just have to get this issue settled before we can begin to build.
Serving the King in the Kingdom of Thailand,
Bro. Tim, Mrs. Missy, Lauren, and Mark Shook
Miss Shari House
Bro. Chad, Mrs. Sarah, Harmony, Autumn, and Forest Inman
Bro. Jon, Mrs. Brittany, and Our Newest Team Member . . . Judah Beil