Blessings in the Ups and Downs
The
month of March and April has been a busy time for us as we travel back and
forth between Chiang Mai and other provinces. Initially, we have begun teaching
the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the members of the Friendship Church. However,
these two months were the months of summer holidays for the students and many
have gone back to their homes in other cities and provinces. There were fewer
church attendees during these two months.
Nonetheless,
we diligently continued to teach those who remained in Chiang Mai the true
meaning of the Gospel message. We also had the opportunities to visit several troubled
families, prayed for them and spent quality time with them.
There
was a young couple who came to visit the church one Sunday. When they heard
about the Gospel Message they decided to accept Jesus Christ as their personal
Saviour. We praised the Lord for His goodness and grace!
On
March 19, we were invited to attend the 2013 Convocation Ceremony for Bible
college graduates at Payao Bible College in the province of Payao. It was a joy
to watch these young graduates complete their education and see their energy as
they prepare themselves to serve in God’s ministry. We were able to give
encouragement to several of them whom we knew and supported through prayers and
financial support. One of these graduates was Por Chua Hang. He was a student
who came from Laos to study at the Bible college. Initially, Por Chua and his
family came to study in Thailand with no financial support. He came by faith
alone. However, through connections and prayers Por Chua was able to complete
his studies with financial supports from friends and families overseas,
including those in Canada. Now he is preparing to return to Laos and pastors to
believers at his home church.
During
our time at the Payao Bible College, we were also able to encourage the current
students, especially those who have burdens for God’s ministry, but lack
sponsors and financial supports. We challenged them to continue to keep their
passion to minister aflame and encouraged them to continue to build their
leadership characters for God’s future ministry. We prayed for them and
brainstormed for ways to find sponsorships for their education.
Particularly,
we met and spoke to Ger Xiong, a first year Bible college student at that time.
Ger also struggled with finding financial support for his education.
Specifically, he had no money to continue his second year studies. In fact, he
did not even have enough money to return home to visit his parents during the
summer holidays. Hence, we offered him to stay with us at our rental home in
Chiang Mai and through connections found a summer job for him so that he could
earn enough income to return home.
This was also a good opportunity for us
to spend time with Ger and train him in God’s ministry. During his stay in
Chiang Mai, Ger often traveled with us to various places. We used this
opportunity to teach and train him about the mission work. We are hoping the
time he spent with us will help prepare him to serve the Lord in the future. We
also thank the Lord that God is faithful and has answered our prayers! We have
found sponsors for Ger and now he will be able to return to school to continue
his second year in June!
During the month of March, a friend
came to visit us in Chiang Mai. He encouraged us to plant a new multicultural
church in the city Chiang Mai. We are very interested in his suggestion and
continue to pray for the Lord’s guidance. If it is the Lord’s will, we would
like to start a new church in the month of July.
Also during this time, my father’s health
condition continued to deteriorate. It brought much sadness to us as we
realized that he no longer had much time left on this earth. We frequently
traveled to Kampaengphet province to be with him and to pray for him. We were
grateful that our family was able to come together during this time to spend
our last moment with our father, whom passed away on April 21, 2013. The
funeral was held from April 21 to April 24.
We were quite grieved by his passing, but
we also thanked the Lord knowing that he has gone to be with the Lord in heaven.
During our father’s funeral, many of our non-believer relatives and friends
attended. We were able to use this precious opportunity to witness and share
about God’s grace and love with them. Thank the Lord that many have shown
interest in the Good News!
From April 26 – 28th, we were
invited to be the main speakers for a revival conference for Hmong-Laotians in
Nong Khai, a province that lies between the Laotian and Thai border. The
conference was crowded with many eager attendees from across the border. There
were approximately 150 attendees. These people were desperately thirsty for the
Word of God. Even after a day’s worth of teaching they would linger around our
room waiting to hear more about God’s word. Many of them face spiritual bondage
and could not find a way to be set free since they were still under the
dominion of the darkness.
We used this opportunity to teach them
about being set freed and prayed for their freedom through Jesus Christ. Towards
the end of the conference many gave their lives to Christ and accepted Him as
their personal Saviour. We thank the Lord for His grace that was able to set
many people free.
These two months were quite eventful for
us, full of both happy and sad news. However, we continue to thank the Lord
that He has always been good to us through good and bad times. We see that
God’s work is innumerable, His burdens are great and at times we feel that we
are unable to accomplish or address all the needs that we see here in Thailand
and Southeast Asia.
Please pray for us so that we can
prioritize our work efficiently. We are excited for the upcoming month as we
prepare to go back to Canada. One of our biggest events is the Mission Day,
which will be held on June 15, 2013 at St. Jacobs Mennonite Church. During this
event we will be sharing many our mission works as well as encouraging our
neighbouring churches to join in the work of God in Southeast Asia. Thank you
for your support and please continue to pray for us!
Sincerely,
Rev. Dan and Sarah Yang
