February 2023 Newsletter

Dear Brethren,

I hope everyone is doing well as we head into this new year.  I have always heard… whatever you do on the 1^st of January will be a reflection of how the rest of the year will go. January 1^st was very busy… and the rest of January was also busy… and it looks like this entire year will be very busy.

If you remember from my last report, the Parks family came to visit us at the end of December and stayed till the 12^th of January. On the 1^st we worshipped early with the church here in Chiang Mai.  Then we drove to Khun Yuam and worshipped with the church there. We drove from 9:30 in the morning till 4 p.m. to get to Khun Yuam.  After worship there we drove another hour to Mae Hong Son to take Ratchanok back to the university there.  The next day we drove about 4 hours to Maelati and had a New Year’s Party with the brethren there.  There were about 70 people present. We had a short worship service to start everything off.  Nathan spoke and I translated into Thai and Chaichana the preacher at Maelati translated from Thai into the Karen language. After the worship service we played some games and swapped gifts. We then drove back to Maesariang to spend the night. For the next three days we worked on finishing the library at Thichawmae. The Parks family did a great job painting pictures on the outside and inside of the building to make it a place that the young people will love using for years to come. We arranged all the books and got everything ready. On Friday we had a ceremony in which we gave the library and the books to the school. The young people love their new library!! After that we returned to Chiang Mai. The Parks family stayed a few more days with us before returning to America. I am attaching a file to this report called ‘Thoughts from Davonne”. I think it will be good for you to hear about the work from the perspective of someone other than me.

We have some great news!! We have a new brother in Christ. Phonlawat Nanda was baptized into Christ. He graduates from 12^th grade this year. He lives near Maelati and has been attending services there regularly for the last year. He had to come to Chiang Mai to a camp for what we would call in America, ROTC.  So, he spent two weekends with us.  I studied several hours with him on the first Saturday and Sunday that he was here. He said that he wanted to put on Christ in baptism and begin his Christian walk. He was baptized on the first Sunday that he was with us. On the second Saturday that he was with us we taught him how to lead public prayer. On the second Sunday he helped wait on the Lord’s table and said the prayer for the unleavened bread. He did a fantastic job. Since he has been back at Maelati, he has been helping Chaichana. I cannot think of a better way to start the New Year.

Our schedule for this year is very busy.  We have Christians in many villages and only 4 preachers to take care of the work. Suchat takes care of the congregation at Thichawmae every week. The people there are Karen. Suchat and Chaichana are also from the Karen tribe. Suchat is weak in the Thai language so the service at Thichawmae is done all in the Karen language. When we go, we speak Thai and Chaichana translates for us. On the first and third Sunday of each month the brethren from the village Ban Na Doi travel 35 kilometers or just under 22 miles to worship at Maelati. The road is bad so it takes an hour to an hour and a half to make the trip. After worship they travel home and Chaichana travels 4 hours to Khun Yuam to worship with the brethren there.  On the second and third Sunday of each month he preaches at Maelati and then goes up the mountain to Ban Na Doi to hold services for the brethren there. On the first Sunday of the month Passakorn and I hold services in Chiang Mai. On the second Sunday of the month I do the services at Chiang Mai and Passakorn drives 5½ hours to hold services at Khun Yuam. On the third Sunday of the month Passakorn and I do the services at Chiang Mai and then we drive 3 hours to hold services at Fang. On the fourth Sunday of the month Passakorn holds services in Chiang Mai and I drive 7 hours to Mae Hong Son (I usually go on Saturday and spend the night). I hold services in Mae Hong Son in the morning then drive to Khun Yuam and hold services there in the evening.  All of the hours of driving that are mentioned are one-way. I keep telling my fellow workers… don’t grow weary in well doing!! I am thankful for the men that work with me here… they are truly servants who are willing to sacrifice for others.

Because of all our work together, the church is well known throughout the mountains. We are known as workers who help others. We have villages contacting us and want us to come and to teach.  We are trying to get to them all. We have been contacted by a village that wants us to come and teach the Bible there in March. I am excited about going. It will be the first time any of us will have been to this village. To get there we will have to drive six and a half hours from Chiang Mai, then go down the river in a boat for three hours and then walk up the mountain from the river to the village. In Thailand they count the population by roofs. In this village we have been told there are 30 roofs. So, there are 30 small houses or huts there. I asked how far we have to walk up the mountain to the village… I was told if we walked fast it would take 30 minutes if we walked slow it would take an hour and a half. Time will tell. What is exciting to me though is not the trip… but the fact that when we teach the Bible there it will be the first time that these people have ever had an opportunity to hear the gospel.

I am also excited about my upcoming trip to America to report on our work together. Together, all of you, the brethren here, and I are giving the people in Thailand the opportunity to have a better life now and in eternity. I love the Bible. I love this work. I love the people here. I love each of you and the part you have in this work. Most everyone has confirmed times for when I will be with them during my upcoming trip. There are only a few yet to confirm and I hope to hear from those congregations very soon.

We are having a youth camp here in April. I am really excited about this camp. We expect over 200 young people to come to this camp. We will have our staff of teachers and cooks there ready to go. We also have brethren coming from Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and America. We will probably end up with between 250 to 300 people at this camp. We are going to rent a school in Maesariang for the camp.  Most of us will be staying at the school. Our expenses will be the cost of renting the school, diesel for transporting all of the people to the camp, food for the week, woven mats to sleep on, and some clothes for some of the young people.  The last item might seem strange to you, but you have to realize how poor the people we work with are… they have nothing. Many of the kids that come do not have a change of clothes. We must pay for everything. It is not like a camp in America where you can charge a camp fee. These people don’t have any money. We have been saving up money. I am afraid we will not have enough money to feed everyone. Have you ever fed hungry teenagers? I am not talking about teenagers who are hungry because it has been two hours since their last big meal. I am talking about young people who never get enough to eat. When you put food in front of them it is devoured. The young people who will be coming to this camp will be made up of three groups… over 80 of them are young people that we help go to school (many of which have become Christians through our teaching).  Then the second group is made up of additional young people who would like us to help them next year. The third group is made up of young people who are friends of the first two groups. We have a great opportunity to spread the gospel. Through our education program many students, their families, and people in their villages have become Christians. They have seen your generosity in helping them without asking anything in return and it has opened their hearts to the gospel message. Brethren, I need your help. If you can help with money for this camp, it will be a great blessing. We have the equivalent of $3,000 USD. That will cover the cost of renting the school, diesel, and some food.  We really need to buy woven mats for the young people to sleep on, clothes so they can change clothes, and we need them to be able to eat until they are full (which is a rarity for them). We need about another $4,000 USD. If you can help with this at all, please do. It will be a great blessing for all of these young people. If you can help send the money to:

Loving Hwy. Church of Christ

1025 Loving Hwy.

Graham, Texas 76450

Mark the check:  Thai Youth Camp

Thank you for your help in this and in all that you do for the work here in Thailand.

May God bless us all as we work together for Him,

—Michael