Serving The Lord in Thailand

Hello my name is April and I have been married to my wonderful husband Bill for 23 years, and we are missionaries in Thailand.

Four years ago Bill and I were living in Pennsylvania, where Bill worked as an attorney and I worked for a municipal government in the Finance Department.  We were busy with work and serving in many different capacities at our church.

Back in 2005 God had placed it on our hearts to sell our large home (we were thinking Christian Bed and Breakfast, but God had a different plan.)  So we sold our home and started to rent a small bungalow.

Bill and I both felt that the Lord wanted us to serve as fulltime missionaries, but we did not know where or when.  So, we just kept praying.  We started to feel that the field had been narrowed to Australia or Thailand.  (Let me just stop and tell you that our claim to ‘world travel’ up to this point had been that we had traveled into Canada, several times.)  J  We really wanted to serve where the Lord wanted us to serve, so I kept praying that God would make it SO obvious that even I would get it.  And He did!

One day Bill and I were in New Jersey.  We had just gone to church down in Ocean City, and we decided to go for a drive.  We were driving in our Prius, when all of a sudden the GPS started talking.  It said “Your destination has been set!”  We were truly startled when the GPS started to talk.  We had not programmed it, and to be honest, we really had not used the GPS other than to look at the screen that shows where we are currently driving. 

We both turned to look at each other, and Bill tried not to drive off of the road.  Bill looked at my hands to see if I had pushed a button or something, and I looked at his.  But, neither of us had touched the GPS or any controls for that matter.  Just then, the GPS started to speak again.  This time it said “The Point of Interest will now show all Thai Restaurants.”

The screen did not show anything, but from that moment on we knew without a doubt that Thailand was where He wanted us to serve.  We had such a peace in our hearts from that time on.

So, we left our jobs, our families and our friends, got rid of our stuff, and moved halfway around the world to Thailand.  From the time we landed in Thailand, we have felt at home.  Okay so there were things that we had to adjust too: Like not being able to speak with most people, because we did not know the language; Not having the luxury of going to a bookstore to buy a book written in English; Dealing with the fact that a simple Thai Bible costs nearly $30.00, which puts it way out of the reach of the average Thai person; Geckos crawling on the walls inside and out; Washing dishes and clothes in room temp water; and Hot weather all year long.  The list could go on.  J

God has really given us a heart and a love for the people here in Thailand.  I really like the Brandon Heath song “Give Me Your Eyes”, and that is what I pray daily, that God will give me His heart shaped eyes to see people the way He does.

When we came to Thailand we did not know exactly what the Lord wanted to do through us, but in the two years that we have been here He has used us.  Praise God!  We have helped start two churches.  We opened a Youth Center and where we have Bible studies, games and dinner for youth between the ages of 10 and 18.  I teach Ladies Bible study every week.  I started to teach Ballet and Praise Dance about a month and a half ago, and the girls have danced in two churches and for church gathering of 200 people.  We have taught English at church and at an orphanage. . .

Everyday is a new opportunity for us to reach out, serve and love like Jesus.  We are so humbled that He would use us in this way.

People here ask me about my joy, which is a wonderful segue for me to tell them about Jesus.

When people ask me how I am, I always say “I am blessed!”  This too leads into conversations about the Lord.  Yes, there are potholes in the road of life.  There are challenges and hurts, but I know through everything that I am blessed because the Lord is always with me.  Loving me, and loving through me.  Guiding me, and helping me guide others.  Giving me wisdom, discernment, and encouragement, and helping me to teach and encourage others.    

So with a grateful heart I serve the Lord with my husband, here in Thailand.  I feel blessed and honored to serve the people of Thailand.

Giving all the credit, all the praise and glory and honor where it belongs, to the Lord of Lords, and King of Kings, Jesus, my God and my Savior!

Blessings,

April

Spring 2011 Newsletter

Has It Really Been a Year. . .

Has it really been a year since Bill and I left America and moved to Hua Hin, Thailand as missionaries? August 30th was our 1st anniversary of being in Thailand.

Wow, in some ways it seems like we have been here for years. We have made wonderful friends; the Lord has worked through us and used our home in a mighty way, as only He can. At other times it seems like the year whizzed by, and we can hardly believe that a year is up already.

The blessings over the year have come in the form of starting a weekly:

Ladies Bible Study -

Men’s Outreach Project

Men’s Bible Study

Day of Prayer

Youth Group – Games, Bible Study, Dinner & Fellowship

As well as, moving the Friday night Dinner and Bible Study to our home; and my taking over all of the church accounting; and Bill produces a weekly church bulletin and prints Our Daily Bread in English and in Thai for those attending Sunday services. We have added a prayer box at church for those that do not wish to lift up their prayer concerns during the service. We pray over all of the prayer requests each day of the week.

We praise God for faithful Bible Study participants that come eager to learn about Jesus; share in praying for each other and share in giving praise to the Lord.

We praise God for youth that show up for Youth Group half an hour early with grins from ear to ear, they are so happy to be here. They don’t let flat tires, or rain drenched days keep them away, and they thank us profusely for letting them come when they leave. They are joyful and thankful. Praise God!

We have added a Prayer Box and Prayer Pops program for the youth. When the youth leave a prayer request in the Prayer Box, they get to take a Prayer Pop (a tootsie pop type lollypop). It has been such a blessing to hear the hearts of the youth. They confess weaknesses and ask for strength in following the Lord, and they lift up the needs of others. We lift up these prayer concerns to the Lord every day.

Of course there have been some difficult times, but as Jesus reminds me during those times of trial “Keep your eyes on Me!”

As we continue to live and minister here in Thailand, we pray that when people see us – they will see God; and when they hear us - they will hear God. Every day we will seek to see where the Holy Spirit is leading us; seek to follow Him in all we do; and pray that we reflect Jesus everywhere we go.

A beautiful friend brought us beautiful roses to commemorate our 1st anniversary of being in Thailand. What a blessing! Thank you, Moni!

By April