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BibleHere is a report about Michelle’s trip to help the flood victims in Southern Thailand. Thank you to many of you that donated to help with this mission. We still need additional funds to assist the local churches in sharing the Gospel in the flood affected areas.
Michelle writes: “On March 30, 2011 the children and I were visiting our Thai neighbors and watching the severe flooding in Southern Thailand and I felt convicted to help. After calling many missions, I finally found a couple of Christian groups who needed help. So my husband, Phil, and I prayed about it and decided that I should go and help with the relief efforts there, so that Phil could continue preaching and teaching in Chiang Mai at Ban Sila Christian Church, the church we just started in January of this year. (Phil also taught all of my English classes and took care of the kids for me until I returned 12 days later on April 13th)
On April 1, I flew down to Trang, Thailand and then rode a bus to Nakorn Si Thammarat which was one of the cities experiencing heavy flooding. I stayed in the cheapest hotel I could find for 5 days and the local Thai pastors and Korean missionaries would come to pick me up and take me to their office at a Christian hospital in Nakorn Si Thammarat where we would pray together, plan, and pack the food and water which were to be distributed to the flood victims. The Christians there had raised about 3,000 dollars to help with relief to those in about 5 - 10 congregations as well as non-Christian neighbors in the vicinity of the churches which were hit hard by the flood. However, this money didn't go very far to help many neighbors in the area, so we also contributed over $2,000 from our ministry fund to buy rice, water, and canned fish and other small things to put in the packs- as well as Christian literature and Jesus DVDs to distribute to those in need.
For the children, I made a coloring book with includes pictures of Jesus with a child, the story of creation, how sin entered the world, and God's remedy for our sin through sending His Son to die on the cross for us. It also includes the verse John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me". (I asked the parents to read it to their small children so that they could hear the good news as well). In Nakorn Si Thammarat we passed out 350- 400 packs to families in need. In some places the water had already gone down, but we could see all the damage it had done. In other places the water was still flooding everything. Many people had their own personal boats- some were real, others were just homemade. Sometimes we would ride in the boats to go and distribute our packs to those who had a hard time getting around- mostly elderly and handicapped- as well as families with small children. We would tell the people that we came from the nearby church and that God loves them. We told them if they needed anything to call the number of the preacher which was included in the packs. Most of them were very thankful and said that they would read the literature we gave them.
After working in Nakorn Si Thammarat for 5 days, I went on to Krabi province to work with Pastor Sii who cares for several congregations in the surrounding area, including Surat Thani province which also experienced heavy flooding. They also did not have sufficient funds to respond to the great need surrounding them, so we contributed 76,000 baht (about $2,500) to help with the food packs as well as additional money for gas and Christian literature. We distributed around 450 packs to families in several neighborhoods which were devastated by the flood waters.
In one neighborhood the flood waters came so fast and furious that the people had to hurry to higher ground to save their lives. About 3 families lived in a cave for 3 days until the flood waters went down. The waters also knocked over houses and moved one to another place. These people were so happy that we came to share with them. Some had tears in their eyes and listened intently as we explained God's love for them in sending Jesus to die for them. It was a very fruitful visit as many were able to see the love of Jesus in action and receive the good news of the gospel of Christ. I stayed there for a week until returning home in Chiang Mai on April 13th.
Our goal for going down to Southern Thailand was to partner with the existing churches in the area and help them to spread God's message of hope and love to those in difficult times. We were also able to buy some resources for the churches to use for future outreaches as well- Christian literature and Jesus DVDs in both Thai and Southern Thai. I was able to develop good relationships with the leaders which should prove valuable in the nearby future when I go back down to visit once again. When I went to worship with the Christians on Sunday, I saw that the churches there do not have an established children's program to both teach the children of the members and reach out to the unchurched children in the surrounding neighborhoods. I have a vision to put together a good Thai curriculum that will teach important Bible stories for children of all ages. First I'm going to see what all that I can find that has already been made. From there, I may even make some materials that can be used for big groups of kids. We are finding that one good way to reach the community with the gospel is to reach out to the children since the parents are always looking for good programs for their children to better themselves with.
I hope that this report explains our work in Southern Thailand. Since we live so far away, it may not be possible for us to continue an on-going ministry there. But I do plan on visiting again in the nearby future in order to visit some of the people who we passed out packs to, perhaps do some more relief work if need be, as well as to meet with church leaders about developing their calling and children's programs.
You can find out more about our ministry on our website at www.victory44.org Thank you so much for your faithfulness in serving the church and those all over the world who are experiencing difficulties through natural disasters. May the Lord bless you in your work as you serve Him.”
In Christ,
Michelle Parker
