March 2025 Newsletter

Dear Brethren,

February was fantastic! BIBLES, BIBLES, BIBLES!!! The Bibles that we have worked on and waited for so long have finally arrived! To remind you why this is so important, the version of the Bible that we use is out of print.  In the past, even though it is out of print, the Bible society would make a special printing if we ordered 10,000 Bibles or more.  They printed them very cheaply… quality-wise. Some words were missing, it was hard to read, and the Old Testament and New Testament were formatted differently.  About 5 years ago, we were running out of Bibles, so I went to the Bible Society… they said they would not print them for us no matter how many we ordered. We decided that we would print Bibles ourselves. I did not know how large an undertaking this would be.  I started reformatting the entire Bible. To make a very long story short, I finally completed reformatting the entire Bible and fixing a few mistranslations. I then added introductory material to the beginning of each book, a summary of what happened in the 400 years between the testaments, and some material at the end of the book to help with evangelism.  Then came the task of printing.  I had no idea how to go about it. Kyle Butt of Apologetics Press helped us work through all the printing process. I owe Kyle a great debt. He helped us find a publisher in China and acted as a go-between throughout the whole process. I am extremely thankful for him and all his help. The Bibles came on a Saturday, and we started passing them out on Sunday, and have been passing them out ever since. They are fantastic!! Those who have been members of the church a long time and used the old Bibles we had, said they are so happy to have this new Bible, which is much easier to read because the print is larger and clearer. For many who received a Bible, this is the first Bible they have ever owned. One of the young ladies who recently became a Christian, sent me a picture of a passage of scripture. She attached a note that said… When I feel worried or discouraged, I read my Bible and I feel better immediately.  That makes all the hours working on the Bible, all the years waiting, and all the expense worth it!! Being able to give people a copy of God’s word makes me happier than I can express!!

At the beginning of February, Greg Pollock, Perry Bretherick, and Justin Bretherick came to teach a series of lessons on the life of Christ.  Sometimes, things do not go exactly as we planned them to go.  We had a situation arise that comes from Thai culture and especially from the culture of the mountain tribes. Many of our young men who want to become preachers graduated from High School this year. Their parents think they are now old enough to go to work and send money to the family. We want to prepare them for the ministry so that they can begin their work for the Lord. We had plans for them to come and live in Chiang Mai and study the Bible, help in the work here, and go with us each week to spread the gospel and see how we work. However, their families were putting great pressure on them to get jobs and send money to their families. We, at the last minute, decided to change the lessons, change the location, and go visit with the families in their homes to discuss the future of their sons. Before I go any further, I want to thank Greg, Perry, and Justin.  They are beloved brethren and fellow workers.  Even though they had spent hours preparing lessons, they were willing to change their lessons and what we had planned for the time that they were here. The next hurdle was logistics.  Perry was in Thailand before Greg and Justin.  He came to Chiang Mai on Thursday.  Greg and Justin were to arrive at Chiang Mai on Saturday at 11:00 PM. Greg’s flight was delayed till Sunday afternoon. We hired a driver to pick up Greg on Sunday and take him to Maesariang.  Perry, Justin, and I left on Sunday at 4:30 a.m. to begin our trip to the mountains. We drove 4 ½ hours to Mae Hong Son and worshipped on Sunday morning. We drove three more hours to Maesariang and put our things in the hotel room. We then drove another hour to Maelaw to worship with the brethren there.  Then we drove about a half hour and had another worship service at Maekhaduan. At that service, one of the young men gave the lesson.  We invited his parents to come and hear him speak.  After the service, we talked with his parents about his future and how he wanted to spend his life in the service of the Lord. On understanding what he wanted to do, they were happy for him to follow this path. When we arrived at the hotel that evening, Greg had already arrived. On Monday, we had four lessons and periods to discuss the lesson and how it applied to our lives. The lessons were on the cost of serving God and being willing to pay the price. It was a great day.  The lessons were wonderful and the discussion sessions went very well. On Tuesday, we traveled to two villages. We went to Adirake’s village first. We got to his home and had a worship service. Adirake gave the lesson. Then we talked to his family. When they heard what we said, they were excited for him to come and work with their village and teach the gospel there.  We ate lunch with them and then traveled a little further to Montri’s village.  At Montri’s house we had another worship service. Montri gave the lesson there.  After the service, we talked with his parents and aunt. They also, once they knew what Montri wanted to do and how we would help him accomplish his goal, were happy for him to become a preacher. On Wednesday, we had four more lessons and discussion periods. These lessons were on how to be a good leader. After those lessons were done, we went to Maelaw and worshipped at the home of one of the brothers from there. We then went to talk to Chanon’s family. His family said they were fine with him doing whatever he wanted to do. On Thursday we traveled back to Chiang Mai. We had a planning meeting to discuss dates and lessons for the Chiang Mai Bible School through 2026.  I am excited to continue working with these brethren as we teach the lost and train workers for the Lord. Even though things did not work to plan, much good was done for the Lord through their visit and teaching.

We had eight of our young people here in Chiang Mai graduate this year. They will begin the next stage in their lives. We pray that these young people will continue to grow and be able to accomplish the goals they have set for their lives. I want to thank all of those who help support the students here in Thailand. These young people would not have been able to stay in school and graduate without your help. You are helping them have a chance to get out of poverty and have a good life here and in eternity.

May God bless us all as we continue to work together for Him.

Michael