09.28.06
Posted in Journal Entry at 12:00 am by dannyjones
We finished up another quarter in the Udon Thani Baptist Bible Institute this month with a class in Bible Doctrines, music and two English classes. The classes correspond to the Thai school year, which is enjoying a semester break right now. During the break, we are focusing on getting the building project completed. One praise report is that of Bee, a girl in Udon, came to profess Christ as her Savior even with opposition from her family. She has been coming faithfully to church for almost a year now, and has talked with me repeatedly about salvation and the message of God’s Word. Pray for Bee as she begins her new life as a child of God.
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09.25.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:00 am by dannyjones
This month we are wrapping up what has been five months of hard labor in the construction of a new church facility in Udon Thani, Thailand. The Lord has used many people in helping us financially just when we needed it. He has taken care of us and kept us safe despite Satan’s constant efforts to thwart the ministry here in Thailand. This month, one of the workers threatened to kill us if we didn’t pay him some money that another man owed him. He came to us in a drunken rage, saying he knew we had the money and would come back with a gun if we didn’t pay up immediately. Thankfully, he changed his mind about killing us. Even so, he sabotaged the electrical wiring just installed in the new church building and caused a fire that set us back several days. The building had to be completely rewired, as even the conduit inside the walls melted. Constant rains at the end of the monsoon season have also kept us from finishing work on the exterior, yet the past couple of weeks we have been making up time in what is proving to be and example of the power of God in the face of adversity. In mid-October, a building crew from Westwood (our sponsoring church) will come to help with the finish work of the building and we should have our first service in the new facility on October 18th. Praise be to God for His watch-care over us and giving us the victory no matter what the devil throws our way.
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09.20.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:00 am by dannyjones
Recent events in Thailand have left our phones ringing off the hook with concern over our safety during the current political crisis. As the former Prime Minister of Thailand was visiting the UN in New York, tanks and soldiers stormed government offices in a bid to take control of the government in this country’s fifteenth military coup since becoming a constitutional monarchy in 1932. Although the current regime claims corruption in the former government, one of the main issues at stake was the former Prime Minister’s harsh handling of Muslim insurgent factions in southern Thailand who claim to be fighting a war of independence. Thailand now has a Muslim general at the helm who claims to seek peace between the Muslim minority and the rest of Thailand. The fact of the matter is that this new regime has censored all forms of media, outlawed gatherings (or even speaking of the political situation) with more than five people, is dealing a heavy hand to curtail all foreign interests in the country, and will continue to keep the nation under martial law for an indefinite length of time. With all that said, we would like to let everyone know that as of now, none of these measures pose an immediate threat to the ministry or our wellbeing. Shocking to me is the general apathy of the populace over the entire affair. One direct effect of the coup to our ministry may be the non-profit foundation that we are trying to start to legally have the Bible school and carry out ministry work. Our paperwork is still pending, and we have been offered the services of a Thai law firm to do all of our work free of charge. Please pray that the current political situation will not cause any roadblocks for the work of the ministry here in Thailand.
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