It’s not only an honor to know that we are being recognized
and regarded as an official Bible Institute, but it’s also great
news for both our current and future students.
Those who attend our school can become a Licensed Minister in an
accelerated amount of time because of the concentrated teachings and experience
that students receive.
So what exactly is the
One of the unique experiences I had in Thailand was coming face to face with an elephant. While I was having a meal in downtown Khon Kaen with a great missionary couple, Oskar and Rebecca, they noticed an elephant walking down the street. (Some people walk their dogs and some people walk their elephants). Since this isn't something that you see everyday in America, I decided to go take some pictures. However, not only was I able to get some pics, but I was also able to feed the elephant. I purchased some vegetables (cucumbers I think) and fed him right on the street.
Although we're home from Thailand, there are still more stories to tell! Over the next several days I'll highlight some things in my blog that I didn't get a chance to share.
One of the things I'm very grateful for happens to be bathrooms in the U.S.! You can see a picture of one of the bathrooms that we utilized in Thailand near the church that we were working with, Khon Kaen International Church. It's a covered hole in the ground with no where to sit. Your "balance" must be up to par when using this style of toilet, otherwise you could really face some challenges! The "pool" of water beside the toilet is NOT for taking a bath. It's used for dipping water into the whole after business has been taken care of. That's the way it's "flushed."
And finally, the toilet paper cannot be put in the hole. The plumbing system cannot handle that. You must place the toilet paper in a bucket located in the corner of the room. As you can imagine, this allows for many strange smells to linger in the room. . .
Tonight was a great follow-up party! The students and teams did a great job of getting people to attend. I had the opportunity to preach and many people came to know Jesus, were filled with the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and several people were even baptized in water!
The baptisms took place in the outdoor food court, right outside of Khon Kaen International Church. So people who were eating in the food court got a glimpse of the baptisms that were taking place as well. Sarah Graefe had the privilege of baptizing one of the Thai girls who made a decision for Christ. It was a memorable occasion, both for the girl and for Sarah.
Tonight we had our first night of follow-up
parties for those who gave their lives to Christ during the Festivals. The parties are held at Khon Kaen International Church. The purpose is to teach some Bible basics to those who are newly saved, and to connect them with a local church. There was also a fellowship time with smoothies beforehand and afterward. We had a packed house tonight! Tomorrow night we'll start baptizing people and I'll be speaking on the baptism in the Holy Spirit. That's a good combination!
Last night was the last night of our evening Festivals. (We'll still do ministry this next week, so I'll continue to update my blog). It was truly a great night. There were so many people saved and many healings as well. God's presence was there in a strong way. As part of the response time after the sermon, an opportunity was presented for those who wanted to receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. I took them to a tent beside the staging area and taught them on the topic of the Holy Spirit. I then led them in aggressive prayer to receive the Holy Spirit and almost everyone was filled! It was wonderful to see and hear those Thai men and women crying out to God in their new prayer language.
The security guard/police you see pictured here received a healing in his back on this night. He was so excited to be able to move it freely once again (Note: it's not uncommon for the people to wear dust masks). I loved his enthusiasm. After he received his healing, he came into the tent where I was teaching. Moments later, he also received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit! The other Thail girl in the picture was one of our translators assisting me in communicating with the security guard. This was a great way to end a wonderful week of evening Festivals! We'll continue to have more ministry this week that I'll provide updates on. Thank you for your continued prayers.
One of the creative outreaches that took place during the day was a dance class. Lyndsi Crum was leader. She spent several days teaching a hip-hop dance routine to a group of Thai girls. She also made signficant efforts to build relationships with these girls. They looked forward to seeing Lyndsi each day of the class. This is a big part of reaching the Thai people, as they respond well to those they have friendships with.
After earning their trust, Lyndsi officially invited them to the Festival one evening. It was an awesome sight to see that ALL the girls she invited accepted Jesus into their lives on that night! Here you see them pictured, just after accepting Christ. They will never be the same, and I'm sure they will never forget the "girl from America" who taught them how to dance. I bet the angels in heaven were also dancing on the night they gave their lives to Jesus!
I'm told that eating fried bugs is a popular snack in Thailand. Different vendors actually sell them and you also purchase them at the local market. I promised the MCM Ministry School team that I would eat a fried bug while I was in Thailand. Well, tonight was my night I guess you could say. Not only did I eat one, but I actually ate 4 different kinds! The one that I'm holding in my hand in is a larva or grub worm of some kind. Whatever it was, it had one of the worst "after-tastes" that I've ever experienced. Then there were a couple different kinds of crickets as well as a grasshopper. The best tasting one (or the least offensive tasting one) was actually the grasshopper (I can't believe I just said that).
Several others on our team also ate some bugs. Scroll down to see some up-close pics of these Thailand "snacks." The large water bugs or cockroaches (I don't remember what kind they were) were huge - at least several inches in length. I didn't eat one of those. Gilbert did, however, and it took him about 15 minutes to finally get it all down. I enjoyed watching him almost "lose his lunch" in the process. It was priceless. The pics below are worth a view. Enjoy. . .
Many of the daily outreaches take place in the marketplace, in food courts and on the streets. Wherever we can draw a crowd and set up a sound system with enough space for some dance, drama and preaching, qualifies as a potential outreach location. Here you see one of our MCM Ministry School students, Melanie Morrow, preaching in a food court. Other students have also preached and done an outstanding job. It's exciting to see them doing things they have never done before. Not only is it impacting to others, but it's also faith-building for their own life. People are getting saved and healed, right on the streets!
