God placed man in a beautiful garden where He provided everything they needed.

 I am so excited!

In just a few days we will be traveling to Isaan one of the poorest parts of Thailand to do mobile clinics and an English camp at the school where our clinics are.  We have been able to find Jr. High and High Schools that will allow us to come and teach English using the Bible.  We have developed some new tools to use that you see in the pictures here.  Please pray with me for the week ahead that the Lord will use this time to draw many to Him.  Our clinics are September 14-18.  I will post updates on my facebook page. 
For details about each day please click the Prayer Partners tab above.   

Jesus died on the cross to make a way for us to be with God when we die.



God created the Heavens and the earth.

This is a reading book to go along with what they will be taught about
creation and the reason we need God. 

 

Then and Now..............


2003

2006

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2014

 

  I was inspired by a friend’s blog to write a, “Then and Now” blog.  So here it is.  Doug and I arrived on the mission field almost 23 years ago.  What I thought then and what I think now are so different.  So here are a few of my top picks.



1992

Then:  I had 3 kids under the age of 4. I thought that was all I could handle.

1993

Becky's wedding 2014

Now: I have 6 kids (4 ours, 2 in laws), all young adults and 2 precious grandbabies.

 

 

 

 

 

Then:  I thought I would never learn Thai well enough to share my faith or sing as a soloist ever again.



Now: I teach nationals how to share their faith, I disciple women, I teach children’s Sunday school…All in the Thai language.  Additionally, I have not only sung many solos in Thai but have written several Thai songs.  Crazy! 

1998 The first of many evangelistic Christmas events

Bangkla Christmas Choir 2001

One of my first invites to sing at a Thai pastors conference.199???

 

Then:  I did not have an evangelistic heart. 

Sharing Creation to Christ 2014

Now:  Everything I do is centered around evangelism.  All I can think about is how to develop more ways to share the Gospel more readily in all situations.  English camps, Mobile clinics, in the homes our TCT workers.  I think I now have an evangelistic heart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas 2012 Heaven Came Down

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then: I thought, I’ll never use the skills I developed as a retail manager, while putting Doug through medical school.

Thai Country Trim's full time staff

Now:  I oversee a national business that makes thousands of products for a distributor in England…..and  shares the Gospel with more than 200 rural women weekly. 

Then: I was afraid my kids would grow up and choose not to follow Christ.

Now:  All my kids have the same heart as their father and I and are striving to share Jesus and make disciples right where they are.

Becky and Josh just a year or two away from going overseas to serve God

Gary , Rez, Karim and Naima working at a local church in Gilbert as youth and young adult minister

Jonathan "Derby"  just finished 2 years on the mission field and is currently attending Southeastern Seminary

Sandi, serving next to her Dad this summer.  Currently is attending CBU nursing school.

 

Right Now:   All I can say is, “Wow, Lord, I never imagined where you would take me, if I was only willing to walk with you where you told me to go.”

Isaiah  55:8 &9

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD.9"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts

 

Hand Bag Evangelism at its Best

Several months ago I began dialoguing with one of the WMU staff at Worldcraft.org about making some purses for their 2015 fall catalog. As we made samples and I shopped for the right materials, I hoped this would not only bring us a nice size order for this little group of rural Thai women in a small village in Chaing Klang, but but also provide more chances to share the love of Christ and how to know him.  My hope was not disappointed, a few weeks after the samples were approved, we had our largest order ever of purses from Worldcrafts.  I was so excited.  When I called the group leader there, she said, “I’m not sure we can make these in time, we’ve never made this much before.  Can we hire more women?”

 

 I enthusiastically said, “Yes!”  So, Wanpen, went about finding just the right women to help her with the order.  A woman in her neighborhood, Bun, found out about the work available and came to see if she could help.  Wanpen explained to her that she would like to teach her about God once a week during the time she worked for us, and she agreed.  Little did she know that this young lady had learned a little about God when she was young and even went to church with a friend, and then when she was in college she also had some Christian friends.  But no one had explained to her how to follow God.  She always wondered about it.  So as Wanpen began to explain God’s plan for her life, things began to make sense and 2 weeks ago, she gave her life to Christ and is now being discipled by Wanpen and others at the local church.  All because she came to sew some purses.  What a great work we have.

 

What a great time of sharing.  Wanpen is on the left and Bun is on the right. 

 

  I visited these ladies last week and found so many wonderful things.  En, another new believer who came to Christ after being hired to work on orders for TCT last year, is now a vibrant believer, and a leader in the local church.  In addition to that, her whole countenance has changed.   She has gone from being a shy, backward little thing to a woman of great faith.  You can see it all over her face.  She is now the one encouraging Bun.  It was a joy to see.  One of the ladies who works making the wallets and also attends the Bible studies wants desperately to give her life to Christ.  However, her husband will not allow it.  He won’t allow her to eat with the Christians or go to the church building.  He will allow her to work from Wanpen’s home where she does get to learn more about God.  She cannot bring any Christian reading material home or her husband will burn it.  So I promised her that I would ask all my friends to pray for her and that the Lord would change her husband’s heart, like he did for En.  Our God is big and mighty.  Join me in praying for these ladies in Chaing Klang. 

Wanpen- the group leader, that she would be able to explain the deep things of God to the women God brings to her.  Also pray for her husband who is a believer but is still struggling with alcoholism.   

En_ Our new vibrant believer who came to faith just over a year ago.

Bun-  our 2 week old Christian that she would grow in her faith and be a witness to her husband.

Prin- our woman who wants to believe but is hindered.

Kit- Wanpen’s sister who has an inoperable tumor on her brain and suffers horrible headaches.

Yohan- Wanpen’s brother, who just gave his life to Christ last week.  Pray that he will follow God all his days and that he would grow in his faith. 

Here is the direct link to find our purses at the Worldcraft website http://www.wmustore.com/product.asp?sku=H154236

 

Great Small Beginnings

Thai provinces are divided into districts, similar to what we might call counties.  Each one has tens of thousands of people in it. Our burden is that there are seemingly a countless number of districts that have no churches – and many without even a single Christian.  For over 20 years our family has worked here with the desire to see God’s kingdom come and His will be done here in Thailand just as it is in heaven.  We share Christ with patients at the clinic, we knock on doors and visit people in their homes, we teach English in schools as a springboard to bring the Gospel to communities, and we do mobile clinics in districts all over the country with the desire to see people introduced to the Father’s love so that a local body of believers might be born and the Lord would be glorified in their praise.  
     BP is a district about 40 minutes southwest of us.  There is no body of believers there.  There has never been a church there.  Three years ago we began concentrated efforts to bring the Gospel to BP.  We did a number of mobile clinics, taught English in schools, knocked on door after door, passed out tracts in the market, and shared the Gospel over and over again – year after year.  Occasionally, someone would show interest for a short time, but local pressure and their own disbelief would always stop them short of following Christ.  
    

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the 10th grade class Gary and Rez taught 

 Then a few weeks ago, Gary and Rez brought a team to join forces with a team from South Mountain to come teach English and again help us take the Gospel into BP.  Sandi came a couple months in advance and she and I teamed up with some of my Thai staff to walk the streets of BP, knocking on doors, sharing Christ with people we met on the streets, and passing out tracts in the market.  In all our visits, we found no one even remotely interested.  But the principal of the school was very anxious to have us come help his students learn English, and many of the school’s students were freshly embroiled in a number of personal difficulties, so the Lord was preparing the soil for the Gospel seed that Gary and Rez’ team was bringing.
     After 4 days of teaching English and sharing the Good News, we gathered in the middle of the school’s soccer field to worship the Lord and intercede on behalf of the people there.  Two boys from the school followed us, and accepting our invitation, they joined us as we sang and prayed.  We asked them how we could pray for them and then gathered around them to pray.  Both of them were from broken homes.  After our time together, I asked the boys where they were headed.   One said that he was going to set up his roadside cart where he and his mom sold home-made ice cream every day after school.  I asked if we could visit.  Nearly 20 of us drove up to his little stand where he and his mom were selling their coconut ice cream.  Mong was obviously very happy to have us visit him, and his mom was perhaps even happier.  We all enjoyed having ice cream together, and enjoyed getting to know each other even more.  Soon we were talking about the Lord and His plan for our life.  I asked Mong’s mom if he had talked to her about what he was learning about God through the English teachers.  She said, “Yes, I think he wants to become a Christian.”  I asked her how she felt about that and she said, “Well, I’d like to know more about it.”  I said that I would be very happy to tell her more and asked when we could meet to learn about God.  She said, “How about right now?”  So right there we talked with her about who God is – that He made the world, that He is holy, that He loves us, and will one day judge all men and decide their eternal destiny.  When we finished, she seemed eager to have us come back – and very eager for us to continue to befriend her son.  

This is Mong drawing the bridge diagram Gary taught them  answering the question for that day. 
Why should I believe in God?

 

 

     Then a week later, we visited again.  This time a friend of the family was there. Also a student at the school where we did the English camp.  I asked her if she had talked to Mong and his mom about God, and her reply was, “I want to become a Christian too!”  So right there, just as Mong and his mom had done a week earlier, she prayed to make Christ her Lord.  Now there are 3 in this place that had no believers for such a very long time.  
     The “church” of BP is still very small – just 3 believers, with a faith that is less than 2 weeks old.  But Sandi encouraged me with a quote from Zechariah: “Do not despise the day of small beginnings.”  I am overjoyed by seeing the Lord save these 3 precious people.  Please pray for BP and this brand new family of faith – and thank the Lord with us for these days of small beginnings.

Mong and his mom's ice cream shop

Add caption

    A week later we returned and taught her more of the death and resurrection of Jesus and how men could have their sins forgiven and at last be right with God.  When we finished I invited her to repent of her sins and submit to God as Lord of her life.  And right there, at a table a few feet from her ice cream stand, she and her son (who smilingly said that he was very ready!) placed their faith in Christ.  We rejoiced as we watched salvation come to this BP family.



 

 

 

\Aunt N. was wheeled in to see me a month ago.  She had severe Rheumatoid arthritis which had steadily worsened over the years despite treatment at several different hospitals.  She was in misery with severe pain in virtually all her joints.  She couldn’t  walk, couldn’t stand, couldn’t dress herself.  She was miserable.  Yesterday, she nearly ran in to the clinic for her follow up appointment and to tell us what God had done for her.

    The night after she saw us at the clinic, while lying in her bed late at night, a bearded man with a cross appeared to her.  She said, “I was confused that a Christian would come to see me because I was Buddhist.  I thought he might be an important Christian person, but I didn’t recognize him so I asked, ‘Who are you?’  The man answered simply, ‘Dad.’  The man said to her, ‘Get up, take your medicine from the Christians, and you will be healed.’  Then he led me by the hand out of bed and walked me over to the table where your medicine was.  I took the medicine and the next morning I was so excited to tell my family what had happened.  I told them that they could do what they wanted, but I was going to follow the Christian God.”

     We made Aunt N. retell her story for us over and over again as all our staff wanted to hear her tell her wonderful news.  Then we made her retell her testimony for DP who was visiting us that day.  She was so excited by both her encounter with God and with how good she felt.  She said, “Look at me!  I can walk.  I can ride my motorcycle!  I can dress myself!   And Sunday I will come to worship God with you!”

     Please pray for Aunt N.  She lives in Klong Keuan, a district that has never had a church.  We have tried for years to start a work there – doing mobile clinics, holding English camps, and even going door to door to share the Gospel, but we have never had anyone come to Christ there – until now.  May the Lord use Aunt N.’s faith to begin His church in Klong Keuan! 

.... and Sunday she did come to church and worshiped the One True God!

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel's hand." –Zechariah 4:10

     Baan Po, a place that has never had a church and where almost no one knows God. With an effort to change that we have been going out on Thursdays for the past few months  to knock on the doors and hearts of the people in Baan Po. We soon discovered, not surprisingly, that hardened hearts and blinded souls made up the people who populated this city. Week after week, door after door, no one has even shown a glimmer of interest. The same awkward laughs, crooked smiles, and annoyed greetings possessed everyone we met and talked with. Until today. Winding our way through the back roads and rice fields we stopped at a small cluster of houses. A man stood at his drink stand ready for us to order. We asked for some milk teas and told him why we were here. We came to tell him who the Creator of the universe was and how He could cleanse him of his sin. His expression was different from the dozens of blank faces we are usually met with. He told us how he tried to wash his sins away at the temple and he went every week to make merit but knew it was not enough. After a long conversation with Ratana he agreed to have us come back and teach him more every week. Ratana’s brother who was being shared with by our wonderful x-ray tech came over and joined our conversation. He agreed he wanted to know more and that he and his brother would meet with us to learn more.

            Oh how wonderful, how marvelous, how great the Lord is. It would be silly of us to not be elated in this small beginning. The Bible tells us the Lord rejoices in these small things. If our massively powerful God can take delight in these small beginnings, shouldn’t we too?

     Ratana and his brother live just down the road from the high school that is hosting a week of English camps led by our son Gary and 2 churches from Arizona.  Please pray for these two men and the students that we will be teaching from July 20-24^th.  Pray that the Lord will bless these small beginnings. 

by Sandi Derbyshire

 

"Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.”—Luke 14:23

 

 

            There are plenty of exceptions, but many things that happen on mobile clinic can be expected and are pretty routine. For instance, it is expected and routine for there to be a nurse’s station with blood pressure cuffs, a doctor’s station with flash lights and tongue depressors, and a pharmacy station with all the meds laid out A-Z. It is expected that everyone who comes will have the gospel shared with them one on one. It is routine for us and expected that on a mobile clinic there are patients to be seen. But on this particularly special day on mobile clinic in June 2015 there was no one.  We had arrived early in the morning to the village where we had appointed to hold a mobile clinic.  We had set up our tables, set out our meds, and set our sights on treating the sick and preaching the kingdom of God.  We only lacked one thing.  There were no patients.  We had sent out our invitation, but no one was coming.  

            To solve this simple issue Uncle Rob Pengra suggested we go into the village and tell them that we were here. So three of us set off in an effort to “compel” people to come get their free meds and hear about the God who made the world. At the fourth house I walked into there I met a sweet auntie who was about 50 years old who had all sorts of questions and was very excited when I told her about the clinic. About midway through one of her sentences she grabbed my arm and whispered, “You need to go visit that house (she pointed) my neighbor has a very sick child who never leaves her room.” Many things came to my head on why she was whispering this information to me. One thought being that I should not go into that house alone. Right at that moment Uncle Rob walked up to us as we were talking. “Perfect timing,” I thought, “now I can to the house without hesitation.” The Lord knew I would be messing up this opportunity if I did not go, so in his perfect timing he sent Uncle Rob.

            We walked up to the house and a kind man greeted us and immediately showed us into the house.   Assuming I was a doctor, (probably because I had my stethoscope around my neck), he proceeded to tell me a bunch of information that I was not understanding about the girl behind the door we stood in front of. Not sure what to expect I nodded my head and opened the door. I met two sunken eyes that looked at me from a mat on the floor. A 19 year old girl, we will call Tye, was skin and bone and deathly still in the center of the room. Her grandmother, sitting next to her, got up to come and tell me about all the doctors they had seen and how they couldn’t afford the “special” doctor because they had little money. I told them I would be back with a doctor shortly and I ran back to the clinic to grab my dad. When we came back we discovered that Tye had an incurable complication of Aids. We went through her bag of medicines and found that there was nothing that we could add that would help to cure her dying body. But, we did have lots to offer to cure her dying soul. We shared the gospel with her.  We started by introducing her to the Creator of the universe.  We talked with her about the ugliness of sin, and the Savior who made a way for us to be with that awesome loving Creator. My dad asked her before he started sharing if she had strength to speak. She said yes and after the gospel had been shared she said she believed in Jesus Christ and she prayed to receive Him into her life. We prayed over her and with her after this and talked to the grandmother awhile after this. The local pastor was then able to be brought to the house and he prayed for Tye again and said he would be able to visit her weekly.

            When Jesus walked the Earth rarely did you find him in one place for an extended amount of time. He went to people, He found people, so that His house would be full. You would think that with thousands flocking to Him He would have a good reason to stay in one place but He didn’t. Jesus sought people out – and He gave us His example so that we would do the same.  What a mighty awesome God we serve.  I want to serve Him in His house and in the highways and byways as well.  I want His house to be full.   

 

(By the way, after our little visit into the village, over 200 people came to see us and hear the gospel story.)