Concordia Gospel Ministry                                            December 2002

Bangkok, Thailand

Volunteer Missionary Newsletter 

It is, again, with much praise and thanksgiving that I share more of the amazing and wonderful things that God is doing here in Thailand.  It is already December, and the Christmas season is fast-approaching.  Here at the mission we are very excited for the many wonderful ministry and outreach opportunities this time of year presents.  It really is such Good Newsthe birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  And we are all so delighted to be called messengers of the amazing love and saving grace to be found in the birth, life, and death of Jesus.     

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel which means, God with us.   Matthew 1:23

This past Saturday we kicked off the Christmas season with a decorating party here at the center.  We spent a better part of the evening working on various craft projects.  It was a great event, and I came to discover that many of my students are quite artistic and very creative.  Within the span of about two hours, the teaching center was transformed from a cozy English-learning haven to a Christmas wonderland. 

But the most exciting part of the entire process was the outreach that went on in the process.  Nearly all of the students who attended the party were new to the center, most of them only having studied for one or two terms.  So it was a wonderful opportunity to spend time getting to know them better, while enjoying fellowship with each other and, of course, lots of delicious Thai food.  But the most important part of this particular event was the questions that were asked about the meaning of Christmas.  

Jum, a new student this term, summed things up very nicely.  She was working on decorating an ornament in the shape of a cross.  She had chosen a nice assortment of colored glitter, and it was looking very nice.  But it was the big heart in the middle of the cross that really caught my eye.  And before I even had a chance to ask her why she chose to decorate it that way, she was eagerly explaining her decorating decision.  She said that the cross means Jesus, specifically Jesus died for us.  And so she needed to put the heart in the middle to represent Gods great love for us.  He loved us so much that He died for us.  She continued to explain that the heart also represents her love for God. 

I thank and praise God for moments like this.  Jum is just beginning to learn of Gods love for her, and the seed has clearly been planted.  It is my every hope and prayer that she and all of the students that God leads to us here at the teaching center would continue to learn and grow, and that these seeds would someday blossom and flourish. 

I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields!  They are ripe for harvest.  John 4:35

v     Please continue to pray for all of the students that God continues to lead here to studythat the Spirit would work in their hearts to someday bring them to that saving faith to be found only in Jesus Christ.   

v     Please pray specifically for Jum, Kwang, Nudang, Tik, Oh, and Tungning by name, all of whom were very involved in the decorating party.  Pray that the seeds that have been planted in their hearts and lives would someday blossom and flourish. 

Some Visual News

I would like to conclude this newsletter with some photos that were taken during the last term.  These are the faces and names of just some of the lives that we are touching here at the mission.  Please take a moment to look through them and put names with faces.