Hi to all our friends, brothers and sisters in
Christ,
We apologize for being so quiet for such a long
time but as the statement says, “No news is good news ". We trust that
everything is well with you all and that the Lord is busy doing incredible things
in and through your lives.
The last two months were quite a busy time and I
had to travel to different places in Thailand. We had an YWAM conference for a
week last month, where about 500 people attended. It was good to be refreshed
with all that is happening in Thailand and abroad. The sad part is that there
are still 1 percent Christians in Thailand. This is the Asian country with the
lowest amount of Christians even less than North Korea. Yes, it is still very
true, although we can see that there is a positive trend in the increase of
Christianity.
I really enjoyed my time at the sea as the
conference was at a beach hotel. Those that don’t know, we are living about
12-13 hours drive from the closest beach. It was so great to be able to walk on
the beach, away from the hustle and bustle of Chiang Mai. The beach was a place
where I could see open spaces and not only buildings. The sound of the sea was
like music to my ears and not just traffic noises from the millions of
motorbikes and cars. I have to say that there were not great waves where we
were, but who cares!
I was privileged to be able to travel with a
missionary from South Africa to an island of Koh Phayam on the Burmese border.
Here a missionary friend is living between the Moken (fishing) people. It was
wonderful to be able to assist, visit and encourage him. All I can say is that
he needs serious full-time assistance.
The trip was very satisfactory for me because I
had wonderful opportunities to share the Gospel with Buddhists, atheists and
agnostics. I shared the gospel right in the sea with some Thai’s while I had a
cool down and in another case I shared the love of the Father with a Thai lady
and when I finished sharing I felt the leading of the Spirit to give her a hug,
and that is a no-no in Thailand. She suddenly had tears running down her cheeks
and she didn’t want to let go. I immediately knew that the Holy Spirit was busy
working in her. There were also opportunities to pray and lay hands on sick
people. This was really an awesome trip although I picked up sand fleas and it
was very uncomfortable for a long time after the trip.
Last week I was in Fang, North Thailand, where I
was invited for a week to teach on the nature and character of God and also on
missions and evangelism. It was with "Shan”people group. They are actually
Myanmar (Burmese) and quite a suppressed group here in Thailand. They are poor
and desperate, and they come easily to know the Lord. Their Bible knowledge is
unfortunately very sketchy because of the Buddhists influence over the years.
Most saw the Bible as a book that was changed and written by people but they
believe totally when it comes to evil spirits. Well, nothing that the Holy
Spirit cannot change. I was invited back and will soon again have to go the
border. There is really NOTHING so amazing, as to see how God can change
people's lives.
There is a regular influx of teams and it is a
privilege to be able to help them and equip them with everything to be
effective in Thailand for the Kingdom of God. Today, for instance, I had a
church team, that was sent by their leaders to enable them to know all about
missions, what God is doing all over the world and to encourage, motivate and
inspire them to be part in missions somehow. We could provide them with Gospel
tracts, Bibles and DVDs as well, for a more effective outreach. This team was
from Sydney, Australia although we get teams from all over the world, including
South Africa.
The 5000 Bibles that we had printed, are almost
finished and I trust that Jesus will provide for us to print another 5,000. It
will be about R150 000 again because it cost around R30 each. These Bibles
are given to all unbelievers, even in prisons. It's really a great blessing to
see how they devour these comic bibles and to hear all the stories of people
that understanding the Gospel and others that accepted the Lord in their lives.
It is still very warm and very humid because of
the rain that falls nearly every day.
These days I feel very strongly that the Lord is
prompting me to separate myself to fast, pray and seek Him regarding something.
I’m not sure for what, but I am looking for a place where there are no people
or houses and traffic, but there is no chance that this will be possible in
Thailand. I am looking for a place in mountains or close to the see but
preferably in cool weather. I have New Zealand in mind but need to pray and get
His go-ahead and then I know the finances will be provided as well.
Well, now I am busy writing a book again. I pray
that the Lord will bless you and thank you for your care, love and prayers.
Many blessings
Len
