Thailand!

God willing, Jessi and I will be headed to Chiangmai, Thailand this Summer! I had been meaning to post a note here about it for some time, but have been busy studying for finals and such. (still am...or should be...)

We will be gone from July 11 through July 30. While there, I will take a class on "Buddhism and Islam" and an "International Evangelism Practicum." Translation: I get to learn about both of those religions and witness to Imams at Mosques and Monks at Temples. We will also get to go to the Buddhist University near Chiangmai and talk with students who want to improve their english.

Of course we won't be alone. A group from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, another from Southeastern Seminary, and some missionaries from Southeast Asia will all be meeting up in Chiangmai. A couple of our friends who are lifetime missionaries, Katie and Joseph, will also be going. So while Joseph and I are in classes and out at various locations, Jessi will be helping Katie with the kids as they traverse the area witnessing to locals and doing a little shopping/site-seeing.

Thailand is 95% Buddhist, 4% Muslim, and 1% everything else. So, please be praying that God would open the hearts of the Thai people to receive the Gospel, and that we wil be emboldened to share it with them.

Recently, I had the wonderful opportunity to speak in front of the Eisenhauer Road Baptist Church congregation about our trip. It was "Missions Day," so I was able to put in a plug for various kind of missions, as well request for ourselves prayers, encouragement, and financial aid.

One plug I made while talking, which I'm making again here, was for the Cooperative Program of the SBC. Besides cutting my tuition in half for seminary, which is already significantly cheaper then other evangelical seminaries, the Cooperative program supports other efforts including the 5000+ international missionaries and 5000+ North American missionaries. So instead of missionaries spliting their time and energy between missions work and worrying where their next meal will come from (or requesting aid from friends, family, and churches like we are doing) they get to devote all of their time to their work.

The one drawback of the Cooperative program is the annonimity. Most of us don't kno who any of them are. So while their financial needs are met through the Coop. Prog. (most of it from Lotti Moon offering) we do still need to partner with them for prayer and encouragement. Maybe send them care packages occasionaly as well. In many places you can't get BBQ sauce, or coffee, or even a pound of sugar.

Jessica and I might not be called to full time international missions work, and you might not be either (though none of us should ever rule it out and tell God what we won't do!) But we are all given the Great Commission, and one of the ways we can fulfill that is by sending out and supporting missionaries just as Paul and Barnabas were sent out. Pray for them, encourage them, partner with them, let them come tell their stories at your churches when they come back to the States, and give to the Lotti Moon Christmas offering. 100% of that goes directly to funding international missions work. Since I've been here at SWBTS in Ft. Worth I've been able to meet and get to know closely a number of missionaries. I've been highly impressed by their character, so if I come off sounding passionate about missions, its because I've really come to believe that the work they do is of God and worth our support.

Alright, that's the end of my plug for the Cooperative Program. :) If you have any questions about our trip to Thailand, please let me know. If we are able to, Jessi and I will post blogs and pictures from Thailand. Pray for us!