Sinclair-Peters in Thailand
"Only ask and I will give the nations as your inheritance"
New life for Kan
When Kan arrived home from camp she told her mother that she had become a believer in Jesus Christ. Her mother said, "Okay, you can believe in Jesus Christ. But just don't throw away our Buddhist practices." "After all," she said, "you need need to make merit for your father so the spirits will take care of your dad."
This request from her mother left Kan deeply troubled. Kan did not want to upset her mother. But more than anything else, Kan felt a new holy conviction that she was not to sin against Jesus Christ, the only true God. We encouraged Kan to explain as much as she could to her mom and at the same time, ask God to provide for her a way to escape from the daily merit making and eating food sacrificed to idols. Praise God, each day, Kan excitedly tells us all the ways God is helping her stay true to Jesus.
Father God, we lift up many young men and women in our youth group who have been forbidden by their parents to believe in Jesus Christ. We ask that you would draw near to them and strengthen them in their faith through your Living Word. We ask that you would give us increased favor with these parents so that the whole family can be welcomed into your Kingdom and receive your free gift of eternal life. Amen.
I've NEVER heard that before
Praise God, this past week the Pacific Grace team performed powerful drimes that opened the door wide for us to share message of Christ's Love and Salvation to over 500 teenagers.
I've NEVER seen that before
Worship had just ended at Bethel church on Mother's day when one by one the Thai youth went to the mothers in the church and bowed down. As is custom on the Queen's birthday, the children ask their mothers for forgiveness and the mothers speak blessings over their lives. And once one child starts crying, then even old, tough-hearted men like P' Chin break down and cry too!
Romans 12:10 says, "Love one another with brotherly affection. Out do one another in showing honor."
Always be prepared to preach the Gospel. Whether before kings or mere men.
But in just a short time, these tough looking cops became our good friends. The South Vancouver Pacific Grace team did an excellent job re-enacting crimes and police dialogues like: "Stop! Put your hands up."
Each day, we began with a drama and a testimony. Pastor Naat was bold as a lion as she shared the Good News of Jesus Christ while standing in front a large Buddha. Pastor Charlie shared his powerful testimony about how only God can change the heart of a lawbreaker and set them free from anger and addiction. At the end of the week, we placed new testaments and Gospel tracts at the back of the class and invited people to take a copy home. Much to our amazement, the men got up, rushed to the table and picked up a Bible!
When EVERYTHING goes wrong...
Strangers and new friends that we had invited were just settling into their seats when the dark, black, menacing clouds started rolling in. I was deeply moved to see Pastor Naat and everyone on the team, down on their knees calling out to God to stop the rain. But in the end, the wind picked up and the rain came down in torrents!
Frightened that people would be electrocuted, we made a mad dash to turn off the power and save the instruments. We were surprised to see that many of our new friends stayed to help us and take shelter under a gazebo close by.
Looking at all of the teenagers standing around soaking wet, we saw the opportunity and quickly went to plan B...C...D! Before long, Naen had everyone mixing and mingling and shouting, "rock-paper-scissors" The skies started to clear and Pacific Grace team gave testimony and performed their powerful Gospel dramas on the grass. Ajaan Naat wrapped up the evening with an invitation for people to put their faith in Jesus Christ. We heard almost 30 young people pray out loud and ask Christ to be Lord of their life. Yes, everything went wrong, but for God, it was ALL right. And He did more than we could have asked or imagined! All The Glory Goes To God!
We can't thank Edd and Ingrid Russell enough for working with our team for the past 8 months. They've been reaching into a new community and the last week their neighbors threw them a big going away party. What an impact in just a short time. Edd even preached in Thai on their last Sunday here. A huge accomplishment for the end of their 1st term in Thailand.
Its not what you know but WHO you know...
One day while teaching at the Police station, Ajaan Naat came to me in a panic and said, "Louise, if we bring the semi-trailer with the stage into city park, the police will stop us! What will we do?" I looked around at the 60 police officers that we were teaching and began to smile. I said, "Naat, after 3 days of free teaching, don't you think there might be just one person here who could help us?" She saw me wink and began to laugh. That afternoon we walked out of the police department with a business card and phone number of a high ranking officer. Their parting words to us were: "If anyone gives you any trouble just call me!"
Fast-forward to Friday night... We were running through last minute sound checks for the concert. Suddenly, a drunk man starts being "overly-friendly" with the team from Canada. We tried for about an hour to keep him happy but our patience was wearing thin. At one point our drunk friend started taking all the candy we hand prepared for the children. Finally, Ajaan Naat said to him, "If you take that candy I'm going to call the police!" He was just about to walk away with the loot when a man sitting with his kids in the front row said, " I'm a police officer. Touch that candy and you're going to jail!" The man dropped the candy and ran! We all laughed and praised God that we were surrounded by so many new "strong friends" that night!
We love Pineapples!
Dave & Louise Sinclair-Peters
Please give to our projects at : http://www.mbmission.org/index.php
Dave & Louise Sinclair-Peters project: C0113
Bethel Church project: C0509
Lighthouse Church project: C0509
House of Hope project: C0625
Email: dlbangsaen@gmail.com
Website: http://www.mbmission.org/connect/missionaries/sinclair-peters-dave-and-louise
Location: 19/13 Mu. 7, Khlong Luang Phaeng, Muang, Chachoengsao, 24000, Thailand
Phone: 66-87-141-4198
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dsinclairpeters