Jan/Feb 2009 Prayer Letter
DOWNLOAD PDF - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 DAHLFREDS PRAYER LETTER
Dear Friends & Family,
Thank you for praying for us during the Christmas season. It was a very busy time and when we finally finished our last outreach at Nong Doan High School on Dec 30th, we were exhausted. However, we praise God for the many opportunities to get the Gospel out.
We were able to get into all three public schools (two elementary, one high school) in Nong Doan and share something about Christmas with the students. This was a great blessing and opportunity, and not without a certain irony since Christ is virtually banned in American schools yet the doors are open to share Christ in public schools in Thailand, a very Buddhist nation.
The outreach in our neighborhood on Dec 20th went reasonably well, considering that this is the first time that we have tried it. We had lots and lots of kids show up, a handful of adults from the neighborhood, and some folks from the PhraBaht church to help out. It was chaotic at times but people had fun and we were able to share something of the Christmas message and give out some Christian literature, including John’s Gospel and some evangelistic magazines for kids, centered around Christmas. The Christmas outreach in Nong Doan on Dec 27th was well attended, and I was very grateful for the help of PhraBaht church members and my friend Off, who gave the evangelistic message. Off had me help him with message a few days before at a college in Saraburi (see photo above) where we needed to do it in English as well as Thai in order for school officials to be satisfied that it was of educational benefit to their students. This past Christmas season was the first time that we were so involved with organizing evangelistic events and school programs. Some things went better than others and we are continuing to think about what went well and what could have been done better. Karl particularly, is thinking through what evangelism that is Biblically faithful should look like (especially as applied to Thai culture) and has recently posted some blog entries along those lines (www.dahlfred.com/blog).
January has come and gone and we are looking forward to see how God is going to build his church this year. Karl has started taking PhraBaht church members out to Nong Doan every two weeks on a Sunday afternoon for Bible study, prayer, handing out tracts, and visitation. We’re not sure that all of the Phra Baht church people truly understand the Gospel and can express it well to others, so we are hoping that these evangelistic outings will be on-the-job training as we review the essential elements of the Gospel and Biblical evangelism and then go out and practice it.
Sun is diligently working away at her Thai language study while Karl feels occasional twinges of guilt for neglecting his formal Thai studies. Seriously, I am getting back on track and hope to plough through some language modules so I can finish out the final year of formal studies.
Please continue to pray for us, for Thai believers, and for those who have yet to hear the gospel of the Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit work faith in the hearts of many (John 3:8).
by Christ’s grace,
Karl & Sun Dahlfred
PRAYER REQUESTS
- Bi-weekly visits to Nong Doan for on-the-job evangelism training with PhraBaht church members
- Thai believers who want to study the Word of God with us
- Good health and wisdom in forging ahead in evangelism and discipleship in 2009
- Perseverance in language study
- Holy Spirit change hearts
PRAISE GOD
- Abundant opportunities for Christmas evangelism in December
- Many people who received tracts, the Gospel of John, and heard evangelistic messages during Christmas
- Open doors to do Christmas programs in all three public schools in Nong Doan
CALENDAR
01/12-17 SEANET missions conference on Family Matters in Asian Contexts, Chiang Mai
01/18 Karl preach at In Grace Church, Chiang Mai
02/1 & 2/15 Tracting and Visitation in Nong Doan
