On Fire – Almost Literally

Visitors to the city of Phichit, Thailand, will see monuments and statues of crocodiles wherever they go. The crocodiles, idolized by many in the province, represent an ancient Thai fable based on a powerful crocodile who turned himself into a man and married a local woman.

So, we got moved into our new place, and I’ve been kind of whinin’ about not having an oven. I was hopeful about the little toaster oven our landlady left, even though it is about 90 years old. I spent an hour and a half cleaning it one afternoon. I plugged it in. It started smoking and electrocuted me. So much for 90-year-old toaster ovens.

HOWEVER, former tenants left behind a microwave, and the landlady said we could have it because she doesn’t like microwave ovens. I got so busy unpacking and wiping up gecko poo, I forgot about the microwave. The settings are all printed in Thai, and since my Thai lessons haven’t covered “defrost” and “full power,” I avoided putting any more pressure on my brain.

When I got around to plugging it in and downloading the English manual for it, I discovered it is an almost brand new combination microwave, convection oven, and grill! Score! That night we baked a casserole and cookies. Feeling so blessed! Plus, through friends, we’ve accumulated a muffin tin, pie

New-to-us Samsung combination microwave, toaster oven, and grill! Woo Hoo!

plate, two spatulas, a ladle, a cheese grater, a skillet, a small covered saucepan, silverware, a rice cooker, an apron, curtains for Justine’s room, and four tea towels. Our house is becoming a home.

PRAYERS AND PRAISES

The first edition of the online publication I told you about last month has finally been published. Woo hoo! Follow this link to Create Prints and read about the latest happenings from our base in Thailand: http://issuu.com/createthailandprints/docs/prints_july_2013
A much, much, much anticipated release of a three-year long project finally arrived last Friday! I cannot give specifics because of the nature of the project, but know that it is touching nations with little to know exposure to the Gospel. I get chills every time I watch it. I know God is crashing through barriers with this project!
Eleven water filters arrived in Cambodia last week following the conclusion of our water filter campaign we started last year. The filters will go to our friend Bona’s village. Bona’s mother has been very ill. Please keep her in your prayers. She suffers severe stomach pain on a daily basis. Her sister, her last living sibling, passed away a couple months ago. She and her family are survivors of the Khmer Rouge, the Cambodian genocide and civil war of the 1970s. Thanks to everyone who helped with this campaign. Eleven water filters may sound like a small amount (it does to me), but I keep reminding myself that 11 filters are better than no filters. I know God has chosen the homes in which those filters will be placed. The people who will receive the filters are not believers, so please pray they will come to know Jesus’ love through receiving a filter. All glory to God. Praise Him for his faithfulness.
We visited the Northern Thai province of Phichit this week and experienced a fantastic outreach. The province is the least reached province in Thailand, with only .01 percent Christians and only three churches. We arrived in the capital city of Phichit and went with a pastor and a few members of her congregation to the city gate, near the “ancient city” (established around 1060 AD), to pray for the entire province. The pastor said she had never prayed there before. She was frightened to pray near the old temple, but she walked hand-in-hand with our outreach coordinator and lifted up prayer to release her and the people of Phichit from their fears. We went back to the church and shared Create’s film, “When the Storm Comes,” and then prayed the remainder of the evening with about 10 members of the congregation. The next morning we visited two ladies who asked us to come pray for their restaurant and house of prayer. They wanted us to pray for more people, specifically murderers and drug dealers, to visit the restaurant so they can tell them about Jesus. God answered our prayer immediately! As soon as we finished praying, a couple who had come to the restaurant asked us to pray for them. The husband said he has been wanting to understand more about God and felt like something drew them to the restaurant that day. They live in a city with no churches located more than 50 kilometers away. After we prayed, both the husband and wife said they want to know more about Jesus. We gave them a couple DVDs that will explain more about God and took down their address so we could send them a Thai Bible. God is good! Please keep the Phichit Province in your prayers. I’ll write more about our outreach in the August edition of Create Prints. (The link I posted earlier will take you to the July edition.)
Thank you to those who contributed to the finances we needed to go on these monthly outreaches and for the girls’ online homeschooling curriculum. We reached our goal! Will you consider supporting more outreaches? We are praying about going in early October with a team to Nepal. We don’t have specific costs for that outreach, but I am estimating a cost of about $3,000. If you feel led to support this outreach, please visit our Sponsor Us page to contribute. We will spend three weeks in Kathmandu. I will communicate more as I know more. Thanks for your support and your prayers. I am also praying about staffing the Create International Discipleship Training School, which starts in January. Please join me in asking God for clarity on whether I am to staff this school or not. It seems so overwhelming right now, but I know big plans come from God, and He always makes His plans possible for those willing to obey. This school involves extensive outreaches to places unknown at this time. I trust God for His plan and financial provision.

Enjoying time with Noy, a Thai lady who runs the house of prayer.

Thai women from a rare house of prayer in Phichit.

Praying with Pastor Nong Lak (Mrs. Lak) and her husband.

Thai goodies. Yum.

Dinner! So good.

Praying for healing for a young woman named Yui.

Worshiping and praying in a local park.

Praying for new believers at a local restaurant. They asked us to pray for them. God is good!

Praying at an ancient temple at the city gate.

Jaynee sharing with a friend.

Justine buying fish food at a local park.

Thai bathrooms are always entertaining.