getting the word out

These pasts couple of days, we've spent getting the word out about the birth of Jesus. If you ask the average person in our village (or everyone in our village, which I did) what Christmas is about, they'll respond that they think it is a New Year's celebration. The younger people may add in something about Santa Clause as well, but they are still unsure as to who he is. Today I spent the day in the village handing out and discussing little booklets about Christmas. The booklets explain about Santa Clause, Christmas trees, Christmas cards, Christmas music, and of course...they true meaning of Christmas. My goal is to get them to about 150+ families, and I've only got about 50 to go. Please pray that God will work in the hearts of these people. Pray that people would respond to the booklets. Pray that people in our village would have a desire to know the Truth.

Today and yesterday, we helped World Vision and a nearby church with 2 different Christmas events. These were just about 20 minutes or so from our house. There were probably some Kui kids, but it seemed like the majority of the kids speak Khmer (which is similar to the primary language in Cambodia). Some of our close friends work with this people group and were also able to help out. We had a great time. In two days, we were able to share the Gospel with 1100 kids from 12 different schools. Please pray that seeds will have been sown and that God will move in this area of Thailand.

Some of the World Vision folks helped these Thai kids have an awesome Christmas event

Fun and easy game--just rubberband a balloon to kids ankles and let them try to pop each others balloons

Hudson wanted to go up on stage, so they tried to get him to sing jingle bells. Needless to say, in front of about 600+ people he was a little too shy to sing...but he sure didn't want to get off the stage

Please Pray for Tdaa (Grandfather)

Yesterday, I was walking around in our village, and came across an elderly man (probably about 50 feet from our house), laying on a bamboo table. He looked really bad, kind of like a skeleton . He's got liver cancer, I think, and seems to be doing really bad. Walking has been difficult and its hard for him to eat much at all. He talks frequently about a burning sensation in his stomach. I prayed for him and asked God to do a work in his life, a miracle if it be God's will, and that God would use this to help his family to acknowledge and follow the creator God. Tonight, 2 girls came to my door with a cup of water. They were asking for me to bless the water and they were going to take it to Tdaa to drink. I passed on the water blessing, and went straight to pray for Dtaa. I told him that I would have others praying for him. It shows a lot that people came to our door to ask for prayers. Please pray that God would work in this family's life, and would heal Tdaa, if it be according to the will of God. Pray for opportunities for us to be able to lovingly share the Gospel with this family.

Some random family pictures

Pamela keeps telling me that I should put up some more family pics, so here they are. We also just had some pictures taken recently of Katy for her 3 month photos, so I'll include those as well.

Hudson and his girlfriend Aum--we told him he was a little too young, and she was way too old for him, but we'll you can only do so much

Happy Father's Day "Wan Paw"

The Kings birthday was yesterday, and Hudson and I made it out to one of our local celebrations. It included lots of Thai dancing from kids up to adults. People from our village and lots of the neighboring villages came to celebrate.

Christmas Camp Surin 2008

This year the Kui team and Northern Khmer team put together a Christmas English Camp. The purpose was to be able to share the Gospel with those who we already have relationships with. About 40-50 teenagers attended this camp. They learn English, cultural aspects of Christmas in America, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas. They had a great time learning, playing games, dancing, getting gifts, and bonding with friends. We pray that God will use this experience to lead many of these young people to Christ. Here are some pics.

"Wii," a new student of ours poses with Moriah, the daughter of David and Debbie Cobb, missionaries to the Northern Khmer people group of Thailand

Nan, Aim, and Noon Pose with their new gifts

The group of students who study English with us at our house. They come from our village (Bahn Bpuay), Bahn Alang (a nearby village), and 2 from a nearby town

These 2 sets of twins came with David Cobb to the camp. They are excellent English students

New shades & Santa hats = styling (or at least they think so)

Some kids doing the motions to Christian song

Staples Mill Road Baptist Church Team

A team from Staples Mill Road Baptist Church came to serve in our area for about a week or so just recently. We had an awesome time. Amy Bowles, a former missionary in our area and good friend, coordinated the team (Jared, Amanda, Roland, Connie, Debbie, Jamie). In addition, Phyliss and Sam (who was born in Thailand), from Mississippi, joined the time as well. We believe that God has used this team in a special way. They reached out to youth at an English camp, in a school, and in our village. When the 3-day English concluded, the kids and the team were in tears. The team did an awesome job sharing the Gospel. Of course, they shared at the camps and in the schools, but they also shared whereever they were...in airports, 7-elevens, etc. For 2 nights, they stayed with Thai host families, which meant living in a much different way than they were used to. Please be praying that as a result of their prayers and efforts, new work will be able to be started in some of these areas. Pray that some of the youth will respond to the Gospel that was shared with them. Here are just a few pics that we took during their trip.

Teaching at our house!

Closing Ceremonies at English 3-day English Camp

Skit performed at English Camp

Hanging out with some elephants in Surin

Katy's Thoughts on NC State Football

Katy wanted to express her feelings about football season this year.

Pamela's Birthday

For Pamela's birthday, we had a party with some of our Thai friends. It was lots of fun, we had 2 Thai dishes and then a crock-pot full of barbecue chicken wings and ribs. None of our friends liked the cake too much, they said it was too sweet. If you've ever tried cake in Thailand, you would understand why.

Mouse attacks and gets what it deserves

A few days ago, we were just about to begin our trip to Bangkok. I was in a "storage" room in our house, that also has two book cases full of books. As I was looking through the books, some of the books started to shake. My first thought was that a small lizard (very common in houses in Thailand) was hiding behind some of the books. These lizards don't bother me at all...in fact, I kind of like them because they eat insects. As I moved a book to free the little lizard I found that the lizard was not a lizard at all, but rather a big mouse. The big mouse proceeded to jump on my arm and then run to safety in the midst of all of our stuff. After trying to get our cats to find the mouse, I finally gave up, and we went on our way to Bangkok. A few days later, I found myself going in to that room to find something, and was about knocked-out by a terrible odor. I had a hunch it was a dead mouse, but the difficulty was finding it. After moving around all kinds of boxes, I finally found the nasty critter. I thought at first that it was still alive, because it was moving; in actuality, it was only moving because it was being eaten from the inside-out by little worm-like things. Anyway, I'm hoping that the smell will go away quickly.

Pray for Neey's Persecution

All of you prayer-warriors, please take a few minutes to pray for Nuhy, a new believer in our community. She came over today to visit during her work break and was greatly distressed. Her family and other people in the village have recently expressed anger towards her for her choice to follow Jesus. Being in a Buddhist/Animist community, she is expected to follow the norm and participate in the various ceremonies that Buddhist do. When she doesn't, people are angry. Please pray that Nuhy would be strong in the midst of persecution, and that she would grow closer to God. Pray for Nuhy's mom and siblings that they would see how God changes her life, and that they too would want to follow Jesus. Thanks!

Recent Pics

This past month has been pretty exciting. After Katy was born, Pamela's mom and my mom came to visit us in Thailand. They helped a ton, and had a great time spoiling their Grandkids. Things have been a lot busier with 2 around. After a meeting in Bangkok just finished up last week, we are now back in our village getting things rolling again.

Moms Pose for a picture on their visit to Thailand

(for my Uncle Mickey)

Hudson Singing NC State Song...sort of

This is Hudson's version of the NC State Fight Song. We are just hoping that NC State wins some football games this year.

More Pics of Kathryn at Hospital

Kathryn Marie

Pics from a big park in the middle of Bangkok

These are some pics we took today at a big park in Bangkok. Hudson was excited about this first picture because he took it. He did a pretty good job. The others he took included the sky, his thumb, our legs, and other slanted shots.