Missionary Mondays - Meeting with Thailand Missionaries

Welcome to week 1of my August series called 'Missionary Mondays'!

Missionary Mondays are weekly updates on how God is guiding Dave and I in our journey to Burma & Thailand. We hope these posts will help answer any questions but if you have any other questions please ask! We love questions.

For previous updates on what God is doing please read the following:

Overdue Update - This gives a general overview of our upcoming move and plans.

Pam & Zama in Myanmar - The people we are going to serve with in Burma have been so kind as to write a blog post all about the work they are doing over there. I hope you will check it out.

Today I'm sharing a bit about Thailand! Let's get started! 

Why Missions in Thailand and not just Burma?

I've mentioned this before but thought I'd re-explain a bit: we originally were planning on only going to Burma. However, The Burmese government will only grant us 10 week visas. Therefore every 10 weeks we have to leave Burma, go to Thailand and renew our visas. It's a short flight, one country over.

We decided that since we have to go to Thailand we would pray and see if God had work for us to do there. And oh my friends, there is so much work in Thailand! 

Mr. & Mrs. Holmes who faithfully serve Jesus in Thailand

Missionary Contacts in Thailand - The Holmes

Let me give you an introduction to the Holmes first! These two dear missionaries have been in Thailand for over 30 years! They have faithfully served the Lord and shared the gospel with many people. They are based out of Bangkok and are sort of the 'home base' for the many many ministries they run there. 

My Dad was the one who introduced us to the Holmes. When Dave and I first started talking about international missions my Dad kept telling me about Mr. Holmes. He told me how Mr. Holmes had a great influence on him life during his teenage years and that him and his wife had a great ministry in Thailand. 

Long story short the Holmes came to the US for a short visit and we were able to meet up with them. I'm glad that through their busy schedule God allowed us some time with them.

I had never met the Holmes before but from the first moment I saw them it was an instant friendship. We laughed, we talked about missions, we talked about life, it was just awesome. Mrs. Holmes was also so kind and had a small gift (handmade bracelet from Thailand) for my Mom and I. 

What Ministries are there in Thailand?

I don't know that I can remember them all but let me try:

-Churches - I know in Bangkok alone there are 7 churches.

-Prison ministries - Apparently Thailand has a lot of international prisoners due to drugs. Therefore they need people who can speak Spanish & Portuguese because there are prisoners who speak those languages. Dave and I can speak basic Spanish and I can speak basic Portuguese. 

-Orphanage - I think the orphanage is called the Bethany Home. The children from this orphanage were born to the women in prison. I'm not sure how all of those details are worked out but I do know that there is a safe place to raise these kids and to teach them about Jesus. 

-Long Neck Tribe - They have a mission team that goes to the Long Neck Tribe. If you are wondering who these people are my friend Amanda wrote about her visit with them here. 

-Other Tribes - I think another tribal village is called the "Auca" tribe. I'm honestly not 100% sure that is there name nor do I know much about them except one important fact - I do know about their food and you will have to come back next Monday to hear about that. It deserves a post of it's own. 

-Medical - I know they send out medical teams. I'm sure this will be a great opportunity for Dave. I'll go along and play with the kids because medical procedures of any kind make my stomach churn. 

-People - To be honest, it doesn't matter what 'kind of ministry' there is. Wherever we go, whether it be Woodward, or Thailand there are people who need to hear the gospel. That's our whole purpose and all these ministries are practical ways to love and live like Jesus has called us to do. 

                          

Can I just tell you one more thing? At the end of our dinner at Panera we all walked out into the parking lot and Mr. Holmes suggested we should pray. So right there on the sidewalk we gathered in a circle, held hands and prayed. I was humbled. I was thankful. Humbled because I was surrounded by my parents, by missionaries and by a husband who love Jesus. Thankful because we have the freedom to pray on sidewalks. Not many people have that privilege.

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What questions do you have?