May 2003
February 2003
September 2002
April/May 2002
November 2001
April 2001
December 2000
March 2000
October 1999
May 1999
November 1998
April 1998
November-December 1997
August 1997
March 1997
As a local Thai organization committed to planting and nurturing local churches, LIFE desires to move toward financial self support. Over the years, LIFE has attempted a variety of activities which have not been successful.
About four years ago, LIFE started a cross stitch project. The staff train village women to do cross stitch, provide them with patterns and materials, and pay them for the finished pieces. Then LIFE finishes the pieces, packages them, and finds markets for the work. The project goals are:
Each Wednesday and Friday, women bring their handiwork into the LIFE office. While one of the staff checks over each piece, two others lead the women in a time of fellowship and talking about spiritual issues. Since virtually all the village women in the project are Buddhist, they are using the seeker booklets that the LIFE team recently developed. As might be expected, some of the women who come are very responsive and some don’t seem very interested.
The products include wall hangings, cards, and bookmarks. Some have Thai themes, some have Bible themes, and some are more general. One product which we expect to have broad appeal is a set of ten ethnic angel notecards. We also have a set of six flower notecards.
The main channel of marketing for the early years of this project has been through the Southern Baptists Thai crafts projects. In order for LIFE to have a more firmly established financial base, it needs to find additional markets. The Covenant Bookstore in Chicago is selling some of our products. While we are in the US this next year, we will be looking to add other avenues of sales. As we visit churches we will bring products with us, so keep your eyes open for LIFE handicrafts when we visit your church.
One of the ways in which Doug has been involved with the handicraft project is in helping to develop systems and computer spreadsheets to keep track of various aspects of running this project. It has taken time to develop the different pieces that need to go into making the whole project flow smoothly.
Developing a means of supporting LIFE’s ministry has not been without its challenges. At the end of April, the staff working with the cross stitch project did a thorough inventory of stitched pieces and finished products. In the process, they uncovered a pattern of theft involving one employee within the cross stitch project. This employee already had a history of stealing. Even when confronted with the testimony of multiple parties, she continued to deny her actions. She was released from LIFE early this month.
The woman who was fired is a member of the Khan Hak village church. We ask you to pray that Satan would not use this event to tear down the church community. Rather, may the Holy Spirit bring the local believers into an ever deeper relationship with each other and with God.
Jennifer will graduate from Chiang Mai International School June 5. She has decided to attend Willamette University (Salem, OR). She will be traveling to the US on June 24, attending a MK reentry seminar, and spending time with her grandparents.
The rest of us will be flying to the US on July 22. Our address there will be:
4625 NW Hill Road
McMinnville, OR 97128
Phone: (503)472-2269
e-mail: jdouglas@loxinfo.co.th (no change)
Grateful for your partnership in reaching Isaan for Christ,
Doug and Carolyn Johnson
It has been quite a few months since our last print prayer letter. Here is an update on what has been happening.
Church planting: Bringing Isaan people into relationship with Jesus has always been a major goal of our ministry team. Two to three hundred individuals have made confessions of faith during the almost 15 years since the Covenant ministry in Roi Et began. But two years ago our team looked closer and realized that we had just two small communities struggling to be consistent in weekly worship. The other believers were scattered in too many villages for the LIFE team to be able to adequately support them. Quite a few were the only Christian in their village. Many of those who had professed faith in Jesus had fallen away, most who still considered themselves Christians were not moving into closer relationship with Christ, and healthy worshiping communities were not forming. We were failing at leading people to maturity in Christ. To address this issue, over the last two years we have worked to better understand the church planting process and make needed changes in our approach.
We have spent time learning together as a team about what the church is, what healthy churches look like, and how to help young believers grow in their faith. Basic discipleship materials have begun to be developed. Each member of our team has grown tremendously in his or her daily walk with Christ, particularly in terms of prayer and time in the Word. Each of the team in turn is involved in discipling other individuals. For the first time, we are seeing village believers reading the Word on a regular basis. The use of a 365 day children's Bible has been very helpful in getting adults with poor reading skills and no habit of reading to begin to move into the Bible. It is early in the process, but firm foundations are being put into place.
The LIFE team has felt for some time that healthy families are an important component of the spiritual health of both the individual believer and the local church. With this in mind, a booklet for life as a couple was developed and believing couples were led through this material. The response has been mixed. For some couples, life together has greatly improved. In another situation, there was an unwillingness to follow through on the implications of our faith, so life for this couple has remained unchanged. Overall family life has improved and this has contributed stability to the local church.
Another observation that the team made recently was that regular attendance at worship does not in itself form community. The Khan Hak village church meets weekly and the members are responsible for all aspects of worship. But it was felt that the members were still functioning as individual Christians who come together once weekly rather than as a loving family. In December, a men's small group was started. They started with the idea of meeting once per month, but decided in late January to change it to bi-weekly. The group helped each other make it through New Years without getting drunk (a challenge in this culture). They are working on projects together, such as rebuilding the house of one man who has struggled to walk closely with Christ. We are already seeing signs of growing, loving relationships and encouragement to walk closer to Christ.
With a discipling process now in place, it seems like God is bringing our team back to attention to evangelism. We have discussed a change in the model of evangelism. Traditionally LIFE staff went out to do evangelism themselves, either individually or as two or three, but not in team with village believers. We want to move to more of a team approach with village believers. This will provide training to Christians who are gifted to learn to do evangelism.
Over the last year we have put much time and effort into developing a supplemental evangelism tool. A set of simple, basic lessons have been developed into a two booklet set. They were printed around the first of the year and are beginning to be used with seekers. The booklets provide material for discussion, insure that certain basics are covered, and can easily be used by successive generations of village believers.
Youth: LIFE first started to give particular focus to youth 7 years ago. Since that time, three youth groups have been started which each meeting weekly on Friday evening. One of the groups is mostly Christian teens, another has about half non-believers and the third group is 90% non-believers. We have found that teens are more open to new ideas (like following Christ) than adults. But they are also less stable. As might be expected, kids with Christian parents tend to be more stable and receive better encouragement to follow Christ than kids from Buddhist families.
LIFE is now preparing to give evangelistic focus to the parents and other adults in the village with the youth group with so few believers (Non San). This will integrate a team/partnership approach to evangelism between LIFE staff and believers from the Khan Hak church, the newly developed booklets for use in evangelism, and a view toward the importance of Christian families for the health of the individual believer and for the health of the local church. The leaders of the Non San youth group feel that a number of the kids are ready to make a commitment to Christ but are held back by uncertainty about the response within their families. This concern will evaporate if parents themselves come to Christ.
A second area of youth ministry we would like to highlight is the training of youth leaders. A number of the youth have been involved from the inception of our youth ministry. They have grown in their faith and are open to exploring serving Christ. They range in age from 15 to 25 years old and include some from each of the three groups. LIFE is now attempting to give some focused attention to further training of this group. They were the ones taken to the Thailand Covenant Church youth retreat in October. We are now trying to meet together once per month for training. Varying work and school schedules make it a challenge to find a common time to meet together. On a recent Tuesday, 15 teens and 5 adults gathered from 9 PM until 11:15 PM. It was agreed to meet again at the same time the last Tuesday of the month.
Family News
Prayer Points
Grateful for your partnership in reaching Isaan for Christ,
Doug and Carolyn Johnson
Dear Friends,
We send you greetings from Northeast Thailand, where the tail end of the rainy season is bringing heavy rains almost daily and flooding in low lying areas. We praise God for the blessings he is raining down upon the church here.
We both have the privilege of meeting weekly with Isaan Christians who are in discipling ministries with others. In our role of mentoring these ministers, we have seen the Lord do wonderful things in their lives and ministries. Doug has been able to help a couple he meets with to make some positive changes in their family life. All of our Isaan colleagues are deepening their knowledge of the Bible and their practice of prayer. Just this week, Carolyn asked some of those whom she mentors to reflect on how their prayer lives had changed in the past six months or so. All of them said that they are spending more time in prayer; they are praying more frequently and for longer times. Two of them mentioned that they find themselves praying scripture more. One young woman who is involved in youth ministry noted that she prays for others much more than she used to, sometimes even "forgetting" to pray anything for herself. Several of them said that they take time in their prayers to listen to God and to meditate on what the Lord is saying to them. This growth in their prayer lives is very encouraging. We pray that just as they have grown in prayer and the knowledge of God's Word over the past year that in this coming year they may nurture a similar growth in those whom they disciple. Would you join us in that prayer?
We are very thankful that so many of you pray for us and for the ministry here on a regular basis. We have seen God answer your prayers for specific people to become Christians, for youth to draw near to God, for the provision of a teacher for our boys, and many other needs we have shared with you. We would like to encourage you to lift us up in prayer anytime you think of us.
Would you pray with us regarding the following items (even now as you read them):
1. Family: Carolyn will be traveling with our oldest daughter, Jenny, to the States Oct 18-27 to visit three college possibilities for next fall. Please pray that their travels would be safe and that they would be sensitive to the Spirit's leading regarding these colleges.
2. Khan Hak village church: Please pray that the young believers in this church would have faith in God's trustworthiness and be set free from some very unhealthy money management practices that are endemic within the culture.
3. Youth: Pray for the teens in the three youth groups who do not know Christ. Pray also for those who do, that they would begin to draw ever closer to our Heavenly Father.
Rachelle Nordman, a delightful answer to prayer, arrived in Thailand a month ago to teach Ben and Nathan. It is a great help to have her here and for Carolyn to be able to focus more time and energy on ministry with our Isaan colleagues and developing curriculum for use in the discipling ministry. This is Rachelle's first time living away from home and there is so much new to get used to. We are thankful that she gets along well with the boys and is very patient with them.
As we are thankful for your partnership in prayer, so also we are thankful that many of you have been able to partner in our financial support. We are grateful for the support we have been given to be able to serve the Lord here. Those of you who are members of Covenant churches may be aware that for many years (longer than our sixteen years of service), the budget of the Department of World Mission has not been completely covered by the department's share of the Covenant Coordinated budget. The remainder of the funds has come from other sources, such as bequests. Viewing the dependence on such outside funds as undesirable and desiring to move towards the entire World Mission budget coming from the Coordinated budget, delegates to the Covenant Annual Meeting in Keystone, Colorado supported an initiative to increase local church support for mission. This is called the "Keystone Challenge" and aims to increase ongoing financial support for Covenant World Mission through the Covenant Coordinated budget. Your pastor and your missions committee have already received letters more fully explaining the challenge and asking your church to consider increasing your financial support for Covenant World Mission. We encourage you as members of your church to support an increase in your church's budgeted giving to Covenant World Mission, so that we missionaries can respond to the many opportunities before us to advance the Kingdom of God. [Special note to those of you who are not Covenanters: you also are welcome to contribute to our support, and/or to ministry projects as they come up.]
Again, we are truly thankful for your partnership with us in sharing the Good News of Jesus with the Isaan people. We could not be here if it were not for your prayer and financial support. If you are not on our e-mail prayer list and would like to receive those updates, please let us know by sending a note to jdouglas@loxinfo.co.th.
May the Grace and Peace of the Lord sustain you.
In Christ,
Doug and Carolyn Johnson
Dear Friends,
We are excited about what God is doing here in Northeast Thailand. We are seeing transformed lives and growing communities. Let us share some of the highlights with you.
Last July we began a new focus on discipling believers. One village in which this is bearing much fruit is Khan Hak village. There are at least ten adult believers in this village church who are being regularly discipled by LIFE staff. This has made a difference in their spiritual lives. Many are reading the Bible regularly on their own. This is particularly significant because for years we heard that Isaan people are just not readers and that it was unrealistic to expect them to read the Word on their own. Average village believers are now proving that to be false. A number of them are also growing in their prayer lives, finding intimacy in talking with their heavenly Father. Changes in life style naturally flow out of a deeper relationship with Christ.
There are a number of couples who are together receiving discipling that has made a significant difference in their marriage relationships. Couples who before were not able to talk without fighting are learning new patterns of communication. Spousal abuse has decreased; so has yelling. One couple, having prayed out loud together as a couple for the first time ever, reported back to their discipler that in praying together, they saw each other's hearts like they never had before.
Transformed lives and transformed relationships are visible to the surrounding community. Old friends want to know why someone is no longer interested in drinking and gambling. Neighbors want to know what has helped a husband and wife learn to care for one another in new ways. They begin to see faith in Christ as not just another religion, but as something with the power to change lives. And that draws people.
Four in Khan Hak put their trust in Christ during the last few months of 2001. In the first four months of 2002, there have been eight more new believers in that village. Other village churches have also seen new believers and believers recommitting themselves to Christ.
So we are encouraged at what God is doing here. We ask that you would pray that our team would grow in ability to nurture spiritual growth in Isaan believers. The church here is still so young in their faith; new believers sometimes have problems learning how to relate to one another in God's family. We ask you to pray for the church in Roi Et, that they would develop as a community in healthy ways. May the Spirit lead them to maturity in Christ.
A few other news items:
When our last short-term missionary teacher, Alicia Nolan, left two years ago, Carolyn added teaching the boys to an already heavy mix of responsibilities. It was too heavy a load to carry long-term. She resigned as country coordinator and Carl Groot resumed that position in November.In March, the Thailand Covenant Church elected a new President, Inchai Srisuwan. Please pray for Inchai as he takes on this leadership responsibility.
Rachelle Nordland of Kent, Washington has applied to come as a short-term missionary to teach Ben and Nathan this next school year. Please pray that the approval and preparation processes would go smoothly.
Jenny is involved in the college search process. Pray that she would get a clear picture of the schools she is considering and would have wisdom in making the choice of which schools to apply to.
If you are not on our e-mail prayer request list and would like to be, please send us a message at jdouglas@loxinfo.co.th
May you experience the transforming power of Jesus in your life.
Grace and Peace,
Doug and Carolyn Johnson
Dear Friends,
Over the past few turbulent weeks, a Ken Medema song has repeatedly come to mind:
"Though the world is a scary place to live in,
And living is a scary thing to do,
In the darkness of the night we are called to be the light,
So let the flame become a torch in you."
These are some of the ways that we are involved in bringing the Light of Christ to our dark world.
Ministry in the Lower Isaan Foundation for Enablement (LIFE)
Discipleship Married Couples Handicrafts Youth Family News |
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Thank you for your support through your giving, your encouragement, and your prayers. We value your partnership in reaching the Isaan people for Jesus Christ.
Grace and Peace,
Doug and Carolyn Johnson
| April 2001 | ||
Dear Friends,
Hello from Northeast Thailand, where the weather is heating up. April is the hottest month of the year in Thailand and is the summer break for Thai schools. The high temperatures lately have been over 100F.
April is a busy month for the church here in Thailand, and for us. Here are some of the month's events:
Aside from all these special events, our energy continues to go toward the ongoing work of leadership training here in Roi Et. An exciting new part of that in the past couple of months has been working as a team with our LIFE staff to develop curriculum to use in discipling believers. We have lead our elders through the first two units, "Who are we in Christ? " and prayer. Future units will cover Bible study, worship, spiritual gifts, sharing faith with others, working together in the church, family life, etc. The response to the initial lessons has been very positive, as they have been used both in worship and in small groups. Feedback tells us they are easy to lead and village Christians can understand them.
We ask that you would join in our work here by praying for the development of this new curriculum, both the writing of it and that it would bear spiritual fruit in the Isaan church. We also ask your continuing prayers for the following items:
In closing, we'd like to share from a little book that we find ourselves returning to again and again, With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray. "We thank Thee for all whom Thou are teaching to cry day and night for labourers to be sent forth. Lord, breathe Thine own Spirit on all Thy children, that they may learn to live for this one thing alone--the Kingdom and glory of their Lord--and become fully awake to the faith of what their prayer can accomplish. And let all our hearts in this, as in every petition, be filled with the assurance that prayer, offered in loving faith in the living God, will bring certain and abundant answer. Amen. "
Joining with you in praying for the coming of the Kingdom,
Doug and Carolyn Johnson
| December 2000 | ||
Dear Friends,
Can it possibly be December already?? This year has flown by! Since our last letter to you in March, we were able to share with some of you personally, during our summer home assignment. Many of you have kept up through our e-mail praise and prayer messages. Those who do not receive those e-mail updates and would like to are invited to let us know by sending us a message at: Family News Ministry in the Lower Isaan Foundation for Enablement (LIFE)
Strategic planning Having reviewed our primary goal as an organization (to enable Isaan people to come to faith in Jesus), we are in the process of working through how to structure for this ministry. Would you pray for growing unity among the LIFE team as well as sensitivity to the Holy Spirit's leading in helping the church to grow.
YOUTH Youth groups: September marked a change in how the groups are studying the Word. Two groups are studying the gospel of Luke. On a rotating basis, every youth comes prepared to give a summary of the paragraph or story they have been assigned, moving more or less straight through the gospel. 5 to 7 kids share each week . To date none of the kids has a habit of reading the Word (the local cultural has no tradition of reading). Pray that this would get the kids in the Word, may they learn the story of Jesus and meet him, and may the Holy Spirit move in each teen's life. A third youth group was begun in Non San village in October. Youth Camp - October 18-20 Praise God. God 's movement through the youth camp this year exceeded our expectations. Forty two youth from our three groups joined with eight adult sponsors for three days and two nights of celebrating our unity in Christ. Participants took home a clear vision to share their faith with family and friends and to serve each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. We praise God: Church Planting Khan Hak Village: In the past several months at least eight individuals have made commitments to Christ. Praise God !! Pray for the nurture of these new believers so that they may be stable and grow in their relationship with God.. Pray also for numerous others showing interest. We value your partnership with us, which takes many forms. Thank you for your support through your giving, your encouragement, and your prayers. James 5:16 says, "The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. " This letter is scattered with the word, "pray " because we believe that it makes a difference here in Isaan when you pray. You can check for updated prayer requests by following the missions and Thailand links on the Covenant web site : www.covchurch.org. Missions is a complex task, which requires a diversified team. We anticipate our Thailand team being enhanced next summer by the arrival of Tim and Tammy Friesen, who will be dorm parents for our children in Chiang Mai. They need to have their support for their two years here raised (meaning at least pledged) before their departure for Thailand next July. If you would like to support ministry in Thailand and Laos by supporting those who look after missionary children, you may send gifts or pledges designated for the Friesens to the Evangelical Covenant Church. Thank you so much for your partnership in reaching the Isaan people for Jesus Christ.
Joyous Christmas,
Doug and Carolyn Johnson
Temperatures over 90 show the ending of the cool season and the beginning of the hot season. This will continue until rains begin in May. We will enjoy (endure?) numerous days over 100 and almost continuous days over 90. With the heat will come the joy of mangos but that is getting ahead of things as that will need to wait for April. For now the scenery is predominantly brown, rice stubble-filled fields or blackened fields recently burned off. Not the prettiest time, but still a part of God's amazing creation
"Seeker" Outreach Don Sai Village Asian Church Planting Consultation YOUTH CAMP LAND UPDATE Youth groups Getting Together WITH OTHER ISAAN CHURCHES WITH OTHER MKs WITH FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS Thank you for your partnership in bringing the good news of Christ to the people of Isaan. Grace and Peace, Doug and Carolyn Johnson
The Johnson family took a trip around Thailand during summer vacation to learn more about Thai history. From June 23rd to July 3rd they drove to various parks and historical sites, learning about the countryís past.
The Johnsons visited Ban Chiang first, to view pots and skeletons 3000-5000 years old. Then they visited several national parks with strange rock formations, cave paintings, pines, trails, etc.
Next the Johnsons visited the ruins of Sukothai, the first capital of Thailand, and Ayudhya, the second capital of Thailand. Bangkok was the grand finale, where the Johnson family visited the Emerald Buddha, the Grand Palace, and Leo Land (an amusement park). Mr. Johnson and Jenny Johnson attended STAR WARS, EPISODE ONE. On the long drive home they stopped to see Pi Mai, an ancient Khmer temple.
All of the Johnson family agreed that it had been a fun and worthwhile trip. Mr. Johnson was sure that they had "learned something." "It gave us a better idea of Thai history," Jenny Johnson concluded. Our youngest, Nathan, was hospitalized in Roi Et from August 28 to September 1 with mesentenic lymphadenitis (an infection of the lymph nodes in the abdomen). After his discharge, he continued to have some abdominal pain for several weeks. Thank you to all of you who prayed for him during that time. He is now back to his bouncy self.
During his time in the hospital, we took turns staying with him, while keeping up with some of our other responsibilities, facilitating Jennyís birthday party with her friends, and then having a family celebration of her birthday in Nathan's hospital room. Many of you were alerted to Nathanís condition through e-mail. We have a list of people to whom we send e-mail prayer and praise items (lately about weekly). If you are not receiving these updates from us and would like to, please let us know via our e-mail: jdouglas@loxinfo.co.th. Conversely, if you would like to be removed from the list, let us know. We invite you to join us in praying for Nat, who has worked for us for the past 7 years. God is continuing to pull on her heart to give her life to Christ. She has encouraged her daughters to become Christians (they haven't yet), but is not ready to take that step herself. She occasionally reads parts from the Bible at home and has prayed to God. She is now willing to let her husband see her reading Christian literature at home, though she still does not want others to see this. She is concerned about being ostracized by her relatives if she became a Christian. Nat also does not know what to do during the many Buddhist festivals when everyone else in the neighborhood is participating. She has come a long way and it seems that she is continuing to draw closer to the giver of life eternal. Would you join us in tearing down the walls of Satan that prevent Nat from coming into relationship with Christ, the only one who can make her joy complete? Pray that she would have increasing contact with Christians, so she could have a glimpse of the family God has waiting for her. And may she have faith in how utterly superior Christ is over against all other things in this world. The annual October youth retreat is fast approaching. Please pray for the staff of the Lower Isaan Foundation for Enablement (LIFE) as they prepare to host the youth retreat at their farm October 16-17 for teens from several provinces in Northeast Thailand. Pray that the Holy Spirit would be at work, so that each participant would experience afresh the love of Christ and be drawn into deeper fellowship with God. It has been a while since we’ve updated you on what is happening with various members of our family. Here is a bit about each of our children.
Jennifer is finishing eighth grade at Roi Et Covenant Academy (a.k.a. RECA, our small school taught by short-term missionary, Alicia Nolan). She likes to write poetry and to read. She has three pet guinea pigs, Streak and Patchwork, and their baby, Mishael. Jenny is part of the teaching team for the preschool/kindergarten children of the Sunday School that meets at our house. Jen was part of a group of teens who performed Thai dance at the Roi Et churches Christmas celebration and her youth group performed a skit at the Easter celebration. In February, we took Jenny to visit Chiang Mai International School in the city of Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. Our plans are for Jenny to stay here for ninth grade and to attend CMIS for the last three years of high school.
Amy is in sixth grade at RECA. She has delighted in swimming for PE. Her favorite subjects are history and reading. She enjoys looking at maps and is helping to plan the route for our summer vacation. In her free time, she enjoys reading, doing puzzles, riding her bike, and spending time with her sister. In April, Amy joined the youth group.
Benjamin is about done with kindergarten. His favorite free time activity is riding his bike on the dirt roads. He also likes to play with Legos and toy cars and to make things out of cardboard and tape. Ben has recently discovered The Chronicles of Narnia and thinks they are really special books (we agree). We have been reading through them as a family and have finished the sixth book. Ben’s own reading is coming along well, which gives his teacher (Mom) a great deal of satisfaction.
Nathan likes doing preschool with Mom and "Aunt Gretchen" (DeNeui). He enjoys puzzles, playing with cars, swinging, and riding his bike in the yard. His favorite thing about Thailand is eating sticky rice and fried "kung chiang", a kind of sausage. He is so fond of that meal, that he requested it for both lunch and dinner on his fourth birthday last October.
Carolyn is Country Coordinator for the Thailand Covenant Mission. The role involves facilitating communication and decision making both among the missionaries in country and between the "field" and the Chicago office. She also supervises the Covenant’s short-term missionaries in Thailand. She is one of the teachers for the adult/teen group in the Sunday school which meets in town. Carolyn has recently begun a new role of training some of the LIFE staff in how to better understand the Bible
Now for a glimpse of some ways we see God working in children and youth ministries, one of Doug’s responsibilities.
Over the past couple years we have held a VBS at our farm. The first time was for 8 kids. It went well so we were encouraged to do it again. Last April another was held with approximately 30 kids coming together at the LIFE farm. An emphasis was given on learning to play instruments, training whose impact can still be in some of the kids.
This year we held VBS gatherings simultaneously in 4 separate villages: Nong Rua, Non San. Don Sai and Pho Sai. Between 80-100 kids were involved, thus greatly increasing the number of children exposed to the love of God in Jesus. Village elders and teens made up 80% of the leadership teams. Praise God for the growth in taking responsibility we are seeing in both village elders and some of our youth leaders.
Non San village has always struggled with only a handful of believers. Doug remembers two years ago hearing the church elder say in a meeting that she did not think anyone was interested in the gospel. Their VBS attendance progressed from 13 to 17 to 19 to 25 kids on each successive day. 7 of these kids made professions of faith in Christ. They formed a kids group and selected a leader for their group. God is beginning to shatter this elder's ideas of what God can do. While we have youth groups for Jr. and Sr. high kids, we have never had nor discussed having groups for primary school kids. Praise God for the movement of the Spirit in this village that gave the idea and freedom to start such a group. Please pray that these kids can be quickly strengthened in their new faith and begin to grow in their love of Jesus.
The kids in Nong Rua have been attending Sunday School for a couple years now. One of the VBS leaders remarked to Doug that she felt the kids were beginning to understand and own the fact that God loves them. Praise God! This is significant.
The church elders from Pho Sai and Khan Hak villages were completely responsible for leading their VBS. They chose to emphasize prayer, ensuring all of the kids attending knew how to pray. Lots of practice was included. Doug was particularly excited to see this fruit of teaching and encouraging spiritual growth in the church elders.
Finally, Don Sai was joined by Lao Klang village, led by village church elders and a teen leader. The disappointing response by kids in Don Sai was readily acknowledged by the church elder, who said she looks forward to next year when she will make up for this year. What a great attitude! What a blessing to watch all 19 kids on the last day sing praise songs, both in groups of four and individually. The love of God and his Word is being planted in a whole bunch of kids.
All involved are eager to do it again next year!! Please pray that the seeds that have been planted will be cared for and will grow to yield 100-fold in the years to come.
Looking Back ... ...looking around... 1. Four kids accepted Christ as their Savior and Lord. These included three girls: Ben, Tik, and Paeng and one boy: Pom. Tik's parents had said she could attend the youth group in her area but she could not become a Christian. She very much wanted to attend the retreat but her parents said she definitely could not. The day before the retreat, she asked one of our team who lives in the same village what to do. She was told she should pray that God would soften her parent's hearts to allow her to go on the retreat. So she prayed ....and the next morning her mother said she could go the retreat. Her response: "Now I know there is a God who hears my prayers." When Doug asked that Friday night if there was anyone who would like to invite Christ into their lives, she was the first to come forward. 2. The kids got along exceptionally well. Kids from the city and the villages intermixed well and it was common to see boys and girls involved together in different activities, both those formally planned and in their free times. Solid foundations are being established in terms of relationships for the future health of the church here in Roi Et. These are future leaders of the church. 3. Doug taught the Bible at the four worship meetings. It is our hope that the Bible times can serve as a foundation and stepping stone for these kids growing in unity, love, care, and service of each other and the greater church. As for the larger picture of ministry to children and youth, we have only just begun, after a many year lapse, to give focus to enabling the different groups of worshiping believers to minister specifically to their children. Raht and Doug have started to meet with adult elders from 5 worshiping groups to help them gain a vision for teaching children, including teaching them songs and games to use with the village kids and then to work with them to learn how to do Bible teaching for primary school kids. ...and looking forward. 1. May Ben, Paeng, Tik and Pom become well grounded in their new faith and protected from Satan's attacks. 2. For Tik's parents to soften their hearts toward Jesus. 3. For Noon and Naen, two sisters who were the only ones to return from camp not having committed their lives to Christ. Their parents, Sak and Nat, have been very resistant to their becoming Christians. Would you join us in beseeching our Heavenly Father for this family, that they would all come to Christ. This is a spiritual battle!! A breakthrough in Satan's stronghold at this point will surely lead to breakthroughs at other points. 4. Continued growth in unity in Christ amongst all the youth. And may the movement of the Spirit among these young people impact the greater church and their community. 5. For wisdom, strength, and strong dependence on the Spirit as Doug trains youth leaders. 6. For Raht as she travels to villages and meets with elders to reinforce the songs they are being taught on the Tuesday training day. 7. That each of us would be centered in the Lord and able to balance the many tasks we face each day. Joyfully in Christ, What a blessing it was to have Brian Carlson as teacher for the missionary children in Roi Et! The ministry of a teacher for our children has a broad impact as it frees up two experienced missionaries, Gretchen DeNeui and Carolyn, to turn their time and energy to ministry with Thais, to do the kinds of outreach that are only possible for one with knowledge of the Thai language and culture. During Brian’s two years in Roi Et, Carolyn became involved in outreach to youth — including starting and leading a youth group and discipling new believers, which she could not have done if she had been home schooling. Gretchen and Carolyn have both accepted other responsibilities that will be greatly facilitated by having a short term missionary in Roi Et to teach our children. We are excited that Alicia Nolan, a senior at Linfield College in McMinnville, has been approved by the Department of World Mission and is preparing to fulfill the teaching role in Roi Et for the next two years. She has been a big part of our experience at McMinnville Covenant through her ministry to the middle schoolers, including our daughter, Jenny. We are thankful that God has answered our prayers by calling Alicia to short term service in Thailand and we would appreciate your prayers for her as she enters the phase of raising support and preparing to head to the field. We hope she can leave for Thailand in July. If you share our excitement in God’s provision of Alicia, we invite you to share in her financial support. She needs $1,000/month for two years. This will cover her transportation, ministry expenses, living expenses, and orientation. Contributions could be either in the form of monthly pledges or a one time gift. Alicia has received a matching grant from the North Pacific Conference of the Covenant Church. This means that those of you who live in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, or Montana can really make an impact, as your gift will be matched dollar for dollar. Checks and/or pledges should be sent to the Department of World Mission (address at the end of letter) and marked "for the support of Alicia Nolan". Winter and the start of spring have been busy times for our family. Doug has been traveling almost constantly since January, visiting Covenant churches in a variety of states to tell them about God’s work in Thailand and to encourage personal involvement in missions. We are thankful to have him home for most of this month; we look forward to the family time together. Jenny played basketball on one of her school’s teams; it was a great learning experience for her. She continues to enjoy her involvement in public school, Girl Scouts, and youth group. She participated in a 30 hour "famine" (fast) to raise money for World Vision. She surprised us all by selling 210 boxes of Girl Scout cookies, thus paying her way on a weekend trip to Seattle with the Girl Scouts this month. In May, she will attend a writer’s workshop in Portland as one of the twelve students selected from McMinnville. In sum, she is still going strong, trying to get as much out of this year in the States as she can. Amy remains content to be home schooled. We have managed to fit in a few field trips; she particularly enjoyed our visits to OMSI (science museum) and to the End of the Oregon Trail Center in Oregon City. Her ballet lessons occasionally spill over into dancing around the house; she is becoming graceful. Ben continues to thrive at his preschool. We are thankful for his loving teacher and for the positive experience he is having at school. He finally got to go on the longed for field trip to the fire station in February. Lately, he has been pretending to be a police officer. Nathan keeps us amused by the cute things he says. There is something about the way he expresses "That’s incredible!" and other such statements that just makes us smile (sorry, I can’t convey his cuteness on paper). He is doing pretty well with his dad’s frequent absences, but one time he referred to Doug as "Daddy, you know, who lives with me in Thailand." Carolyn enjoyed traveling to Chicago with Doug to attend the Covenant Midwinter Conference (for Covenant ministers). She had the opportunity to speak at a number of churches in Oregon and Washington during these past few months. Most of her time is taken up with caring for the family. Most of you are aware that we have been raising money for a van to replace our old crew cab pickup. Generous gifts from both churches and individuals have brought us about two-thirds of the way to our goal. If you can help with this need, it would certainly be appreciated. Checks sent to the Department of World Mission should be accompanied by a note indicating "for Doug and Carolyn Johnson van".
All of you who are connected to the Internet, be sure to check out the Thailand Covenant Mission World Wide Web site at: www.iserv.net/~thaicov You can explore what is going on at all the areas the Covenant is working in Thailand, find out about the missionary families, and get current news and prayer requests. Updates are posted every week or two. Look for our Roi Et ministry under "LIFE".
Finally, where ever you are in your own faith walk, we would like to invite you to pray, asking God to show himself as more real to you. We hope that you will experience the love and transforming power of Christ in your life.
In the joy of the Risen Christ,
August brought a major change to family life when Jenny and Amy moved to Chiang Mai, a city in Northern Thailand, to attend Chiang Mai International School. They are living in a small dorm with two other Covenant students and the Bevis family (Randy and Cheryl Bevis are Covenant missionaries based in Chiang Mai. They have two children, 5 year old Elsie and 3 year old Noah). Both girls have adapted well to their new situation. They are enjoying the stimulation of larger classes, good teachers, and a more active social life than they had in Roi Et.
On the home front, Brian Carlson and Alicia Nolan decided not to return to Thailand this fall, so we are without a teacher in Roi Et for our boys. We have been sharing the home schooling load. Doug is responsible for math, science, and PE. Carolyn teaches history, geography, language arts, and Bible. A highlight for Ben and Nathan is learning the countries of the world through songs; this method is highly effective with our auditory boys. The biggest challenge for us is adding this to our other responsibilities; the combined load is heavy.
We would like to have a teacher with a love of elementary school aged boys come as a short-term missionary to teach our boys from summer 2001 to summer 2003. If you know anyone who might be interested, they may either contact us directly or contact Barbara Johnson, Coordinator of Short-term missions, Evangelical Covenant Church, 5101 N. Francisco Ave. Chicago IL 60625, e-mail:
Spiritual Battles:
If God lays this on your heart we would appreciate your ongoing prayers for the youth here in Roi Et:
Lao Klang Village: Pray for revival. Once the strongest church, this church has fallen on hard times. In recent weeks worship was restarted after a long period of none. May worship be regular, may new believers be cared for, may forgiveness be experienced, and the power of the Holy Spirit transform the lives of these believers.
Pho Sai, Don Sai, and Non San villages: Each has a small group of believers. Pray that several new families would be added to each church. Pray too for the husbands of women in all three villages who do not yet know Christ.
Ku village: There are a number of adults and teens who are showing interest in the gospel in this village, 1 1/2 hour drive from the LIFE farm. May God lead LIFE in planning how to take part in the harvest that God seems ready to make in this village which does not yet have a church.
March 2000
Things Are Heating Up
Here comes the Hot Season
A weekly Friday evening gathering has been started in Roi Et City, focusing on adults. Several individuals interested in learning more about Christ have been participating along with several believers. In fact it has been hosted in the homes of interested people. They have enjoyed meals together and lots of laughter mixed with discussion about life and beliefs. Pray that God would move in the hearts of people and bring them into new life in Christ. Pray also for those who could come but have not come for a variety of reasons.
Two to four adults and a number of children gather for worship on their own each week. Praise God for their faithfulness. Plans are being made for an evangelist to make regular visits to stimulate growth both in the number of Christians and in their spiritual maturity. Pray for a movement of the Spirit so this church might have an impact on both its own village as well as those around it, bringing the Kingdom of God to the local community.
As many of you have heard via e-mail praise or our web page, the Asian Church Planting Consultation was a wonderful time of fellowship and sharing on ministries in Asian Covenant Churches. 90 people from Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Laos, India, and the USA attended. Participants had the opportunity to see many of the ministries of the Thailand Covenant Church first hand, while ministries from other countries were shared through presentations including slides and videos.
COMING EVENTS
February 26
Roi Et Youth Outing to the Chi River
March 28-31
Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand meetings, celebrating 30 years of the EFT
April 1-8
Carolyn travels to Europe for Country Coordinator meetings in Prague
April 7-9
First denomination wide youth retreat of the Thailand Covenant Church to be held at Phu Pan National Park.
May 18-July 31
Johnsons in the USA
Praise God! The process of purchasing just over 6 acres of land adjacent to our farm has begun. We have made two down payments after taking possession of the land deeds and signing a purchase agreement with the owner. Please pray that the process will continue smoothly. Pray also for the development of a strategic development plan for the camp.
Praise God! The in-town group is on the move. They are beginning to move between the homes of different kids each week. This brings their parents and neighbors into contact with the group so they can freely see what is going on. May God use this to bring the gospel more fully into the lives of the kids' families. The village youth group has restarted youth leadership for the Bible study time. Please pray that this experience will open these kids to God's word and the transforming love and power of God.
It is always a highlight for the youth when they are able to get together with youth from other areas. Two upcoming events will give them that opportunity.
We have invited youth from two other locations in Roi Et to join us on our February 26 outing to a river beach. Please pray that kids will be strengthened in their relationship with Christ during a time of great fun.
April 7-9, 2000 we will hold our first denominational youth retreat. Please pray that this would be a great blessing to the kids attending, challenging them to give their lives fully to Christ. Pray also that the local churches will be blessed as a result of this also. Finally pray for the planning committee in the next few weeks and their working together.
Representatives from two other two church organizations joined the weekly elder-training day Feb 15. Six adults from Mukdahan and 11 adults from several other provinces came to learn more about how the Thailand Covenant Church, and more specifically LIFE, carries out it's contextualized ministry (which is to say how the gospel is expressed using the local culture to communicate the good news of Jesus). Praise God for the opportunity to interact with these brothers and sisters in Christ.
March 10-13, Carolyn will take Jenny up to Chiang Mai for a weekend, so she can hang out with kids her age and get a feel for life in Chiang Mai. We have submitted her application to Chiang Mai International School, where we anticipate her starting her sophomore year in August. March 17-19, Jenny and Amy will be spending a weekend in Bangkok with the other Covenant missionary kids (middle school and up), hosted by Karen Groot.
We will be in the US on a short home assignment May 18 to July 31. We hope to see as many of you as possible. We will be staying with Carolyn's parents at 4625 NW Hill Road, McMinnville OR 97128. Telephone (503)472-2269.
October 1999
[This article was reprinted from RECA NEWS, Vol. 2, #1]
Mesentenic What??
E-mail Prayer Partners
A Long Journey to Faith
News From the Johnsons
May 1999
Rejoicing in the Lord Jesus,
Doug and Carolyn Johnson
A letter from the Johnsons
As we left Thailand for our home assignment, we shared with you our excitement about the growth of the youth group here in Roi Et, which had grown from four kids in January '96 to 14 by July '97. We asked you to pray that the kids would open their hearts to the Gospel and experience new life in Christ.
God is answering our prayers and bringing youth into relationship with Jesus. The youth group has grown into two groups, each drawing as many kids as the single group did a year ago. Most of those who come have now made commitments to Christ.
Upon our return to Roi Et, the LIFE staff asked Doug to head up a new department, focusing on ministry to children and youth. Working with him in this new department is 16 year old Raht.
In mid-October, a group of 37 traveled to a national park 2 1/2 hours north of Roi Et for a youth retreat [15 in our new van!]. The group included 27 teenagers, 2 children, 2 young women age 22 (this included our short-term teacher, Alicia), and 6 adult leaders. The following are some of the highlights:
Of the 27 youth who went on the retreat, 25 are now Christians. Three years ago, out of all these kids only our daughter, Jenny, was a follower of Jesus.
Being convinced of the importance of discipleship and spiritual growth to the long-term health of the church, we see a need for leaders be given detailed intensive training. God has given Doug the gifts and vision to work with the youth leaders in a more intensive manner, so this is the first area he is choosing to invest his energies. There are two youth groups at this time and each has chosen 4 leaders. He is seeking to meet with most of them once a week. The initial focus is helping them learn how to do basic Bible study and learn to lead a group Bible study. He will supplement this over time with other material.
There is a possibility that the two existing youth groups will be split to make four groups. This will take more adult involvement but should stimulate each of the groups toward greater growth and easier teaching. We have a sense of anticipation for what might happen in the future.
Would you please join us in continuing to pray for the kids and youth here in Roi Et.
Doug and Carolyn Johnson
APRIL 1998
| Address corrections to: Marilyn Nixon 921 Ashworth Place Glendora CA 91741 |
Support contributions and project gifts to: Department of World Mission 5101 N. Francisco Avenue Chicago IL 60625 |
Dear Friends,
We arrived back in the States August 24 and spent a hectic first month getting the kids settled into school and other activities. We are living with Carolyn’s parents, who have graciously opened their home and unsettled their lives to receive us. Here is an update of what we have been doing.
Doug has spent 34 days traveling this fall to share with churches about what God has been doing in Thailand. He has enjoyed the opportunity to renew relationships with folk in a variety of churches in Michigan and Minnesota. From mid January until the end of March, he will be on the road almost constantly, visiting churches in California, Iowa, Nebraska, Washington, and Oregon. It looks like we will both go to Kansas in April and in May, Doug will be traveling to the East Coast. When he is in McMinnville, Doug enjoys the fellowship at the Wednesday a.m. men’s Bible study at McMinnville Covenant Church.
Carolyn enjoyed spending 8 days in September speaking at three Covenant Women’s retreats in California. It was wonderful to see many women from our California supporting churches and share with them about life and ministry in Thailand. It was a refreshing and encouraging time for Carolyn. Most of the time Carolyn is trying to keep up with being a mother of four children who are involved in a variety of activities. She has been enjoying how lovely fall is in Oregon, as the weather turned cool and the trees celebrated with beautiful shades of yellow, orange, and red. She thinks her home state is one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Jen is trying to get the most of her year here. She played on the 7th grade B volleyball team (undefeated!) and learned how to play the game (she's one of only a couple who hadn't ever played before). At the end of the season, she won the prize for the most improved player. She's joined a Girl Scout troop and is involved in a youth group. Middle school in America was quite an adjustment for her, but she is doing great in school and enjoys it.
Amy is enjoying ballet class twice a week. She also is taking swimming lessons, goes to a Wed. evening "Pioneer Club" at church (so do the boys) and likes Sunday school. Carolyn is home schooling her, and that is going pretty well.
Ben goes to preschool three days/week at a Lutheran church. He loves it and it's good for all of us. He has been taking swimming lessons, getting more used to the water.
Nathan is mostly home, except for going to church Sunday mornings and Wed. evenings (and going along on errands). He had a hard time feeling secure when we started traveling and he woke up at night often for a while, but seems to be doing fine now. On his third birthday in October there was a party for Baby Bop's third birthday on "Barney"; pretty exciting!
Meanwhile in Thailand . . .during the October school term break, LIFE staff held day camps which were attended by 30 kids. Twelve children made commitments to Christ; please pray for these new believers to grow in their faith: (boys) Joh, Ma Noi, Athit, Kay, Fium, Ben, and Prik (girls) Deh, Daew, Big, Nut, and Mai. Eighteen people went on the youth campout at a national park in Mukdahan province; reports are that the stars were fantastic and it was a good relationship building time.
Some of you may have noticed from the news that Thailand has been in a period of economic and political instability for the past several months. The devaluation of the baht has caused the cost of living to rise rapidly, which causes real hardship for the poor, who were already struggling to make ends meet. Pray for economic and political stability in Thailand.
Due to the generous gifts of a few individuals and the offerings from California Covenant Women, we have enough money to pay for our new dryer and also to replace our aging washer. Funds continue to come in for a van for our ministry in Thailand. We have raised about $15,000 so far, 50-60% of what we will need to buy a new van when we return to Thailand next August. We extend our heartfelt thanks to those who have given toward these projects. If you would still like to help with the van project, contributions may be sent to: Department of World Mission, 5101 N. Francisco Ave., Chicago IL 60625 with a note earmarking your gift "D/C Johnson van".
Thousands of lights twinkle on trees and public buildings, bringing a festive air to the cool December evenings. Visitors from abroad are surprised to see these seasonal decorations in a Buddhist country. But the lights are not in celebration of the birth of the King of Kings, as are similar December lighting displays in other countries; Thailand’s December lights honor the December 5 birthday of the Thai king. Department stores in large towns display Christmas trees, Santa Claus, and many of the other secular decorations associated with Christmas in the West; most Thais think Christmas is the West’s New Year and the New Year is a time for gift giving in Thailand. But as Christians make up only about 0.5% of Thailand’s population, most Thais have no real understanding of Christmas as the celebration of God’s coming to earth in human form to show us God’s love and to sacrifice himself to restore our relationship to the One who made us.
In our Covenant churches in Thailand, Christmas and Easter are occasions for big celebrations. Believers will gather together from many churches in an area to spend many hours celebrating together. These gatherings include worship together: singing praises to the Savior born to us in Bethlehem (Christmas favorites include "A Great Day", "Jesus Loves Isaan People", and "Celebrate the Victory of His Birthday"), studying God’s Word, and remembering the Lord’s death through communion; often Christmas worship concludes with a baptismal service (in a local pond, when one is available). After worship, there is time for games, fellowship, and eating a meal together. Sometimes special entertainment (singing or dance) is performed in the evening. These occasions are wonderful celebrations of praise to the Lord Jesus and enjoying the bond we have with one another as God’s children.
Wise men follow the star to find the newborn king.
May the joy of the Lord fill your hearts as you celebrate Christ’s birth.
Doug & Carolyn Johnson
"Change--that seems to be a dominant theme in our lives these days. We'd like to share with you some of the changes in our lives.
"The youth group here in Roi Et is experiencing exciting changes. We have grown from four kids in January '96 to an attendance of 14-18 kids on Friday nights for the past couple of months. The leadership team has grown from just Carolyn to include Doug, Daeng, and Paul. Most of the youth know very little about Jesus, and think Christianity is like Buddhism, that it teaches you to "do good" to be saved. Pray that these kids would open their hearts to the Gospel and experience the change of new life in Christ.
"One of the boys who has come to youth group since February became a Christian at a youth group meeting last month. He was one of seven new believers here in Roi Et that week. The next Sunday, two women accepted the Lord at the worship service in Lao Klang village. The Spirit is clearly working here.
"Changes have also been happening at Good Friend Bakery. At the end of May, the bakery moved to a new building down the street from the former place. The new location is close to a corner, more visible, more attractive, and more easily accessible by kids walking home from the nearby elementary school. They now also sell Wall's ice cream and will soon sell drinks as well.
"Our Roi Et missionary team is changing as well. We will all miss Brian Carlson as he returns to Nebraska this month, after two years of serving as the kids' teacher. Brian's impact has been broader than his teaching role; he has been a great asset for the ministry here. There is no short-termer to replace him, so the teaching function returns to the mothers. This means a big change in roles for Carolyn and for Gretchen DeNeui. Each has had to pull out of ministries they were able to do while Brian was teaching. We hope to have another short-term teacher in the future. Anyone interested in further information can contact us or Barbara Johnson, the director of short-term missions, at 5101 N. Francisco Ave. Chicago, IL 60625-3699.
"The biggest change for us as a family is that we have moved up the date for our home assignment. We are returning to the States two months earlier than previously planned so that Jenny won't miss the first day of school. She wants to see what a "big" school is like, so she will be attending Duniway Middle School in McMinnville, Oregon. At this point, we still expect to home school Amy. We will be returning to the States the last week of August and plan to be there until mid August 1998.
"September marks the 11th anniversary of our arrival in Thailand. Some of the equipment purchased for us at that time is wearing out. Doug has had to load the washer and dryer into the back of the truck several times in the last year and drive them down to Bangkok for repairs. It is less than three months since the last time Doug took the dryer for repair, but it has stopped working again. Clothes dry slowly in our wet weather, so we have been coordinating with the DeNeuis to use their dryer (quite a feat with the amount of laundry two families of six can generate). Given the high cost of repeatedly repairing our dryer, it seems time to replace it. If this is a need to which you would like to contribute, checks can be sent to the Department of World Mission, earmarked "D and C Johnson--dryer".
"We have already contacted some of you about a more sizable need. Our brown pickup, allocated to us when another missionary couple left Thailand, has served us well for 10 years, but no longer suits our ministry needs. These days, we carry more people than things. Our colleagues have agreed that a van would better serve our needs here. We hope to have the funds to purchase a van when we return from home assignment (when we leave for the US, the truck we have been using will go to a younger missionary couple who do not yet have a vehicle). We have been encouraged by the initial response to this need; in the past three months we have received quite a few gifts that give us a good start on the $30,000 needed to buy a new van (yes, vehicle prices are expensive in Thailand), but we still have quite a ways to go. If you have not yet had a chance to contribute to this project and would like to, contributions can be sent to the Department of World Mission, marked "D & C Johnson van". Gifts for both the van and the dryer are tax-deductible.
"In the midst of present and anticipated changes which surround us, we trust in Christ, whose love and grace never change. Thanks be to our faithful God.
Joyfully in Christ,
Doug and Carolyn Johnson
Items for prayer:
--That Doug would be able to help the bakery become stronger and
more stable before we leave on home assignment.
--That each of us would be centered in the Lord and able to
balance the many tasks we face this next couple of months.
--For a teacher for the Roi Et missionary kids for the '98-'99
school year.
--For the spiritual growth of the new Christians, that they would
be firmly grounded in their faith.
--For the adjustment of each of our children to life in America.
--That Jenny and Amy would each find a good friend in
McMinnville."
After August 25, 1997:
2140 N.W. St. Andrews Dr.
McMinnville, OR 97128
(503)472-2269
E-mail "nonnie@onlinemac.com"
"He is risen!"
"He is risen indeed!"
The exclamation and response will be spoken by one believer to another in countries around the world this Easter. The Lord is risen, and the risen, living Lord is still at work in the lives of those who put their trust in Christ’s saving grace and open themselves to his transforming power.
One of those who has been transformed by Christ this past year is Areerat Satarat, also known as Raht or Toom. This 14 tear old Isaan girl opened her heart to Christ a year ago. The only Christian in a Buddhist family, Raht is the third of four sisters. Their father died two years ago Their mother sells sticky rice and papaya salad (som tam) for a living. Raht just finished ninth grade this month, the end of her formal schooling, and has been hired to work at Good Friend Bakery. Here is her story in her own words (translated, of course):
"I am Areerat Satarat. Before I came to believe in Jesus Christ, I insulted him in many ways. I thought he was bad in many ways. Back then my younger sister and some friends were going to study the Bible together with the Christians and one day they invited me to go along to study the Word. In my heart I thought that no matter what, I would absolutely not go, because at that time I thought Jesus was no good for my life. Until one day one of them brought a craft she had done during the activity time at Sunday School and I listened to her explain it. That night I thought a lot about whether or not to let God become involved in my life. As I thought about what my sister and friends had told me, it was like I was being drawn to want to know more about him. After that I started to go to Sunday School each week. When I heard them tell about the Father and Jesus Christ I felt the Father loved us and wanted to save us form our sins, so he gave his Son to come save us from our sins. He taught me many things which made me understand him better. I saw that before I had disdained him, but that I was loved in him. After that I believed in him, which made me understand him more, so that I wanted to be his disciple. When I was baptized, I felt my new life in him even more and understood more about him. I think he is very good to me; he gives me strength and helps me in my thoughts. Everything he has given me and done for me is good for me. I pray that everyone in the world would turn to understand him and put their trust in him. I pray also for my Christian friends, that each of them would love him very, very much as I love him."
Raht participates enthusiastically in Sunday school, youth group, and a weekly discipleship group. Her faith is growing amidst the ups and downs of life. She has said that she wants to be a missionary someday, perhaps to Africa.
In the months to come, we hope to introduce to you some of the other people with whom we work. As we do, would you pray for the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in transforming these special people?
As we celebrate the resurrection this year, it will be a special joy to celebrate with those who are for the first time experiencing the joy Easter brings to those who know the risen Lord.
We join with Raht in prayer that "everyone in the world would turn to understand him and put their trust in him." We feel privileged to be a part of what God is doing here in Northeast Thailand; we are encouraged to hear about what the Lord is doing in the midst of so many of you.
On Easter Sunday, Covenanters have a special opportunity to reach beyond the ministries of their own congregations and touch the world for the risen Lord. Easter is World Mission offering day. Every Covenant church has received special offering envelopes so that its members can participate in spreading the good news, "He is risen!" If you attend a Covenant church, we encourage you to use your Easter offering envelop to make a gift to World Mission. If you do not attend a Covenant church, but would like to participate, you may write a check to the Department of World Mission, designating it to "Easter offering", and send it to the address at the end of this letter.
We pray that this Easter would be for you a truly joyous occasion of rejoicing in the new life available to us through the risen, living Jesus.
Joyfully,
Doug and Carolyn Johnson