Grace and peace to you. We hope you are all doing well. This past Sunday (June 1), we celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary! God is faithful!
The following provides some updates about our ministry and life from May 2025:
• A Trip to the Northeast — Titus and I took a road trip with a family from our church to the Northeastern part of Thailand. This was my first time being in this part of the country. I wanted to visit our church member’s family, who are not Christians, to see where they are from. Additionally, I wanted to survey the area to see how we can pray for the people in that area. It was a seven-hour drive. Like many parts of Thailand, there were numerous temples, and we probably saw only one church (after we reached our destination). Once again, I’m reminded of the need for the gospel and faithful local churches. Please pray that God will raise up men and women to carry the message of hope throughout Thailand, especially in the smaller towns and villages we saw during the trip.
• Ephesians 6 T-Shirt — It was just another regular day. I stopped by a cafe on the way to church to get myself a cup of iced lemon tea (I don’t drink coffee, but I love tea). While the guy was making my tea, I was immediately drawn to the big, bold letters on the back of his t-shirt that read “Armor of God.” I thought to myself that it sounded like Ephesians 6. Sure enough, when I looked closer, I couldn’t believe that it was Eph. 6:11 that says, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” So, I asked him right away if he knew what it said on the back of his shirt. He said he got it second-hand and didn’t know the meaning. I turned to Ephesians 6 and showed him where it came from, along with a brief explanation of the text. I also told him that I’m currently teaching through Ephesians at the church down the road. It’s not the first Bible verse I would normally choose to discuss with non-believers, but it was interesting to see that he was curious and wanted to read what it said in Ephesians 6. He told me he enjoys reading, so I plan to give him some books and gospel tracks soon. Please pray for this man.
• Big Cleaning Sunday — It’s been over five months since we moved into this new building for worship. Each week, different members sign up to clean and get the church ready for Sunday. But a couple of weeks ago, we had a big cleaning day. After we were done with church on Sunday, people changed their clothes, brought out their tools and cleaning supplies and started working! We spent the majority of the afternoon doing that, and also fellowshipping with one another at the same time. We love seeing people come together to serve. It was a long Sunday, but a blessed one.
• Meeting with Couples at Church — Recently, I began scheduling appointments and meeting with married couples from the church, one couple at a time. Most of the people in the church we only get to see on Sundays, and it usually doesn’t allow us to have time for a deep conversation. So, I’ve wanted to be able to talk with each couple from the church to check on them and encourage them on various issues dealing with marriage and parenting. Wow, it turned out to be a really good time. It was great to simply hear them out and pray with them about what was on their minds. I plan to continue doing that every once in a while to encourage them.
• Sermons — While we regularly record and post short videos online, we haven’t done so with Sunday sermons for a while now. Some people have contacted the church and asked if we could do that as well. We began recording sermons from each Sunday in May and posting them on the church’s YouTube and Facebook pages. The person managing the videos and channels told me that it has been well-received so far. He even told me that it seems people watched the sermons more than they did the short videos, which is surprising because the sermons are at least 40 minutes long.
In addition to these, we also recorded and posted videos answering questions that people asked, such as: “What is repentance?” “What is the will of God and how do we know it?” “What is fasting?” “Can a Christian be baptized more than once?” and several others.
Although I still can’t stand seeing or hearing myself talk, I’m thankful that we were able to serve others in this way and that some people find it helpful.
• Studying the book of John — For the past several months, our church has been studying the book of John during Sunday school (Inductive Bible Study). We divide into two groups — men and women. Each member will prepare the assigned passage and lead the study each week. This has turned out to be a blessing in at least two ways — it has helped members study the Bible on their own and trained them to teach what they have learned. It’s a joy to see members serve one another in this way and witness some who try to get out of their comfort zone to serve. We are not yet finished with the book, but we will take a break from it for now and resume later.
• May 17, 2024, and 2025 — It’s been two years in a row now that we woke up on May 17 (May 16 in America) and the first thing we heard was the devastating news about the passing of our loved ones. Last year, it was the passing of my dad. This year, Jessie’s dad also passed away. The amount of tears we shed on this same date in both years is too much. I’m grateful Jessie was able to fly back to the States for a short time to attend her dad’s funeral service and be with her family during that time. Thank you to many of you who attended the service or sent your condolences. It wasn’t enough time for them, and we wish it could have been a longer visit for Jessie and her family. However, we are happy to have her back, and surely the house isn’t the same without Mommy! While she was gone, I was beyond grateful that one of my little sisters sacrificed her work for a week to help me with the boys.
Please pray that God will continue to give Jessie, her family and my family much grace as we are moving on without our loved ones.
• Roman Officially Started Pre-school — Many of you know that Jessie homeschools the big boys. However, when they were younger, we sent them to preschool for a year, primarily to help Jessie focus on teaching the other one. Now it’s Roman’s turn! He started his preschool this past month (just half a day for a few days per week). Preschool is usually three years here, but we don’t know how long he’ll attend (his brothers only went for a year). We were discussing how crazy it is that schools already send a three-year-old back with homework!
• A Devotional Thought — As we mentioned earlier, in addition to the videos we post, I also write a short devotional thought on various topics a couple of times a week and have our church share it online. Here is one sample from last month (translated from Thai) about “Being Filled with the Holy Spirit,” in case you may want to read it: “This phrase does not mean that a person is weeping, jumping around madly, rolling around on the floor screaming or speaking in tongues incessantly. Instead, “being filled with the Holy Spirit,” in a sense, refers to a believer’s life that demonstrates the Holy Spirit directing every aspect of their thoughts, words, and actions. When a person is filled with the Holy Spirit, we can see the fruits, such as “…love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” (Gal. 5:22-23 NKJV). Therefore, a person who is “filled with the Holy Spirit” is not someone who is out of control, but someone who is in full consciousness and who is used by God to produce fruits that build up others and glorify Him!
Thank you for your prayers, love and support!
