Dear Prayer Partners,
A missionary going into an unreached people group discovered that God was already there! What does it mean in Ecclesiastes 3:11 where it says "He has put eternity in their hearts"? Could it be that an unreached people group has been thinking along lines that have a bit of an eternal look? During the storying workshop held in our office in February we did a lot of thinking about felt needs and redemptive themes. We're fortunate to have several language groups represented by our Thai staff. We chose three for our study: Hmong, Northern Thai and Isaan. It was very interesting to see the redemptive themes of Love, Family, Provider and Honor. We then chose Bible stories that highlighted the redemptive themes.
Please join us in prayer as we continue in a fresh way to match Bible stories to the heart longings of the people groups of Thailand and beyond! Thank you so much.
Jon Rulison
Prayer Guide for GRN Thailand April 2024
1) (Mon) Yoy and other groups: Please pray for the following: 1) Strength and wisdom for Da and her husband as they serve God, 2) Safety in travel for the youth as they travel to a Christian camp today, 3) Healing for Da's father who has shingles, and 4) Good health for Fon's family and for them to experience the peace of Christ.
2) (Tue) So Thavung Group: Please pray for the following: 1) Healing for Net who has infectious gastritis and for her to truly know Christ in a deeper way, 2) Nam Phu (young boy) and his parents to have appropriate active concern for his health as he is overweight, 3) God's blessing and fruit as Pastor Lek is involved in sports and music ministry and as he visits the So Thavung in early April, and 4) Good health for Pastor Lek's family.
3) (Wed) From Dan and Na Tisdale on furlough in the USA: Please pray for our trip to Alaska from April 3-16, for a good visit with our supporting churches in Fairbanks and North Pole. Also, pray for God's miraculous mercy for Dan as he navigates challenging family issues.
4) (Thur) Thai Song Dam (from Suphanburi Province) and other groups: Please pray for the following: 1) God's help and favor for Pastor Chalao, Ploy and Phet as they have an interview on 4 April for visas to go the USA, 2) Pastor Chalao and Ploy as they serve God in the church and visit villagers, 3) Strength and good health for Bim's grandmother (interested in the Lord) and for her to want to go to church, 4) The new believers Kwan, Nam Phet and Bim to grow in Christ as they study the new believers' lessons together, taught by Ploy, 5) Good health for all of the elderly in the church, and 6) Strength and good health for Mr. Thuan, and Mr. Chuay who haven't been able to attend church for a while because of health issues, and for successful cataract surgery for Mr. Thuan.
5) (Fri) Thai Song Dam Group in Kanchanaburi Province: Please pray for the following: 1) God's blessing on special activities for the children during the summer break this month, 2) The church members to grow spiritually, and 3) Good health for Song and others who help her as they serve the Lord.
6) (Sat) Boy's family: Please pray for the following: 1) Strength and wisdom for Boy and Aom as they serve the Lord, 2) Safety for Boy's daughters during the current summer holiday, 3) The provision of sufficient finances to build the house for Boy's family and God's blessing on the construction, and 4) Safety in travel and a good visit for Boy's family during the Thai New Year holiday this month as Boy's family plans to visit Aom's father and relatives in Pae village, and God's blessing as they hope to share the ministry of GRN in the local village church.
7) (Sun) Nyah Kur and Isaan Groups: Please pray for the following: 1) Healing for Thep who has thyroid problems, wisdom and blessing on his work, and for him and his wife to have more time with each other, 2) Good health and strength for B and G, and for B to recover quickly and completely from shingles, 3) Wisdom for all of the pastors and leaders to be able to help the church members to not follow the world's way during the annual Thai New Year celebration this month, and 4) Yuak to repent and truly follow the Lord.
8) (Mon) This is the hot dry season in Thailand. Please pray for enough rain to keep the air clean, and strength and good health for the GRNT staff and volunteers, to be able to serve the Lord fruitfully.
9) (Tue) Vietnamese in North and Northeast Thailand: Praise God that Pastor Tam and his family completed their English studies. Please pray for the following: 1) Safety in travel and wisdom for Pastor Tam's son as he studies Thai and English, 2) Good health and wisdom for all those serving God at the Thai-Vietnamese churches, and unity as they serve with other churches, and 3) The Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of all of the believers, for them to fear the Lord and do His will as they celebrate the Thai New Year this month.
10) (Wed) Lawa in Pae Village: Thank God that Chat, See's husband has been attending church some. Please pray for the following: 1) Good health for See's family, especially baby Esther, and that Chat will truly open his heart and believe in Jesus, 2) Strength and good health for Dough and for God to bless his farming work, 3) True revival in the hearts of Dough's mother and other Lawa women who attended a Christian camp for ladies at Non-mae-la last month, and 4) The youth to want to attend youth camp held during the Thai New Year holiday this month, rather than play elsewhere during the New Year celebration.
11) (Thur) Isaan and other Groups: Please pray for the following: 1) Strength, good health and encouragement for Pastor Supote and his family as they serve God, 2) Good income for Pastor Supote's daughter, June as she sells fish 3) Good health, wisdom, and sufficient finances for Pastor Prasit and his family as they serve God, 4) Good health and wisdom for Pastor Prasit's daughter, Bee as she does her Bible School studies, and 5) Wisdom to follow up the new believers.
12) (Fri) Praise God that the Motorcycle Gospel Team (MGT) had a good visit and was able to encourage Mien believers in Lampang Province last month. Please pray for wisdom and direction for the Motorcycle Gospel Team (MGT) as they plan to visit villagers of various languages monthly and that God will open the way for them to do so.
13) (Sat) Please pray for safety and refreshment for GRNT staff and volunteers as the GRNT office is closed for a few days during the week of the Thai New Year celebration.
14) (Sun) Thank God for guiding Jaew in preparing documents for visas and work permits for GRNT staff, and for the continuation of board members of SOLF. Please also pray for strength and good health for her.
15) (Mon) Ugong Group: Please pray for the following: 1) The Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of everyone who has heard about the Lord, both children and adults, 2) Good health for all of the elderly in the village, and 3) The believers to not forget the Lord and for them to be good examples to others.
16) (Tue) Please pray for the GRNT team as they learn how to make effective presentations of the ministry of GRNT. Pray for good opportunities to present in churches and elsewhere.
17) (Wed) Thank God for the annual SOLF Board meeting last month. Thank God that we have been able to satisfy the requirements of Immigration and City Hall in order for the foreigners to continue to serve in Thailand.
18) (Thur) Lot's family: Please pray for the following: 1) Wisdom for Lot and Muang as they serve the Lord, 2) Good health for their three children and for them to depend on Christ and walk closely with Him, and 3) Provision of school tuition fees for Rappon for her senior year of high school which begins in May.
19) (Fri) Phu Thai Nakae and other groups in Nakhon Phanom: Please pray for God's help and blessing for the following: 1) All Christian workers' meetings in Nakhon Phanom Province, 2) The prison ministry of visiting believers in prison, 3) Reporting the number of Christians in the province to the Nakhon Phanom Provincial Cultural Office, 4) Opening of a new church in Wang Yang District, 5) The restaurant ministry, which gives an opportunity to build relationships, while selling food at cheap prices for the benefit of needy people in the communities, 6) The annual youth camp and wisdom to encourage and help the youth, and 7) The annual foundation meeting.
20) (Sat) Nyaw Group: Please pray for wisdom for GRNT as they continue building relationships with the few Nyaw that are Christians and seek to partner with them in reaching out to other Nyaw, and as GRNT prays about recording more in the Nyaw language in the future.
21) (Sun) Phu Thai and other groups in Sakon Nakhon and Mukdahan Provinces: Please pray for the following: 1) Good health, sufficient finances and wisdom for Pastor Meesak's family as they serve God, 2) Wisdom and God's blessing for Pastor Meesak and his team as they visit in a village and in another district to start cell groups, and as they visit other various cell groups during the week, 3) A new ministry to children, and 4) Strength, good health and wisdom for Pastor Wichai as he serves the Lord and follows up new believers.
22) (Mon) Nyeu Group: Please pray for wisdom and accuracy for Paw, the Nyeu language helper, as she continues to prepare the Good News script in the Nyeu language and practices speaking in preparation to record in the future.
23) (Tue) Pray that our GRNT recording team will find reliable contacts in each language group from whom we can learn what their underlying felt needs are, and then for wisdom to connect felt needs to redemptive themes (ways God has provided to meet those needs).
24) (Wed) The recording team of ministry partners (not GRN staff) in a nearby country: Please pray for the following: 1) Wisdom and God's help to complete the translation of a script and a song in one language, 2) Unity for the team leaders and all of the team members as they translate and record, and for God to help them and their families, and 3) Provision of a motorcycle for S, so she can travel to different places more easily to do research and evaluation of existing recordings.
25) (Thur) Pray that our GRNT recording team will have knowledge and wisdom to choose Bible stories that show God providing help in time of need.
26) (Fri) From Joshua and Gloria: Please pray for the following: 1) Evangelism via the W3 youth ministry and via the Love Touch healing ministry to be led by the grace of God and the Holy Spirit, so that leaders are established and much beautiful fruit results, 2) The construction of Esther Center to be completed and for the center to be used for the glory of God, 3) God to send youth who can be trained at the center, and 4) Wisdom, guidance and grace for Paul to make right decisions for his future.
27) (Sat) Phu Thai Renu and other groups: Please pray for the following: 1) Good health for the following church members: Mrs. Kham, Mrs. Bua, Ratri and Ley's mother, 2) Much fruit from the Easter outreach last month to the children in the community and the children and relatives of the church members, and 3) Wisdom in making decisions regarding the rice planting.
28) (Sun) Pray for wisdom in planning to visit the Moken in South Thailand and also in partnering with the Urak Lawoi believers in having a Christian camp for Urak Lawoi children later this year.
29) (Mon) Thank God for continued opportunities to put into practice things we learned from the workshop we took in February on how to choose Bible stories for audio recordings.
30) (Tue) Pray that the GRNT team will be diligent to practice new skills and concepts that we learn, about how to share the Gospel, especially with people whose language is not written.