Make the Most of Every Opportunity!

Hey everyone!

So this last month we've continued to teach tons of music and tons of English! And it seems like we have more people coming every week! Praise God! The church here truly is a family - they meet together every day, share meals together, worship together, pray for one another, laugh together, share testimonies of God at work, and just live life as a community. No wonder the church is so attractive, and more people keep showing up. The love of Christ, and their love for another is bringing people in!

This last month I've also started exercising early in the morning with Mary and Moe (the wonderful church-planting interns in Bang Sai). There's this beautiful park at the end of our street, right by the ocean, complete with walking paths, and outdoor exercise equipment! So a few mornings a week we head out there to work out. After we finish, we've been heading to the pier, to do our stretches and to pray for the community. This pier is also where tons of B*rmese people work on the many fishing boats. So as we stretch and pray, we've also had the chance to meet tons of new B*rmese people. Mary and Moe never hesitate to invite them to church, English classes, or evening bible studies! Morning exercises have turned into such an amazing chance to share the gospel and build relationships! God continues to teach and remind me to make the most of every opportunity!

So at our evening bible study that next week, tons of the people we had met at the pier showed up! That night our bible study was on John 3:16, and Pastor Moe Aung (the pastor of the Lighthouse church in Chachoengsao) shared the gospel with everyone there! And more and more people would walk by the house we were in, stop to look in the window for a while, and then come in and join us. Normally we have about 7 or 8 people, but that night we had about 15! 

That night one of the men that showed up also accepted Christ!! And since then, he's been faithfully coming to church every Sunday! Continue to pray for him, as well as the other men that have been coming - that their hearts would be open to the gospel, and that they would experience the love and power of Christ.

This last Monday, we also had the opportunity to go to Bo Thong for the day. Bo Thong is where Sue and Htoo are now living and serving, so it was great to visit them for a day, and serve together with them again. Bo Thong is a small community made up mostly of migrant workers from B*rma, and other neighbouring countries. There's tons of factories in the area, and most people work extremely long hours with tons of overtime. It's awesome that so many of them have consistent jobs, but it poses a bit of a challenge for the church-planters and interns. Since people work late into the night, it's been difficult to have any bible studies, or to teach any music. Basically the church has only been meeting on Sundays, and even then lots of people have work.

But, this last week God really opened up a new opportunity. Quite a few people from the church decided not to work overtime on Monday, so that they could come learn guitar, piano, and drums. So that evening for almost three hours Jeremy and I, together with Pastor Isaiah and Vi Jay, taught tons of music! And as people heard what was going on, slowly more people trickled in - even some people that had never attended church before! After teaching, we ate together and excitedly talked about how God was opening a new door in Bo Thong! We're hoping to keep going out there on Mondays, to both teach music, and start a Monday evening worship night and bible study. Pastor Isaiah was really excited at the opportunities to go in and share the gospel! So, continue to pray for Sue and Htoo, and the community of Bo Thong. Right now the church is fairly small, but I know that God is going to continue to draw in new people and transform that community!

Thanks so much for all your prayers and notes of encouragement! Please continue to pray for the churches here (in Chachoengsao, Bang Sai, and Bo Thong), and the leaders and interns that we serve with! 

God bless!