Greetings,
Building Fund: After a little more than two months we are excited to report that we are a little over $30,000 of our $165,000 goal. We are making progress. We still have four months to try to raise the remaining funds before the price potentially goes up. As I stated in our last letter, if your church would like to participate, feel free to contact me with a pledge. We will then contact those that have pledged to transfer funds once we are ready to purchase.
Bible Institute. Another student is on the home stretch and will be ready to graduate in the spring of 2022. The term which just started includes 11 students who have registered to study with us from around Thailand. We are doing a combination live/on-line class this term. Our graduate from last year, Dtom, has just completed recording an intro to the Bible class that will be used for incoming students.
Ministry: COVID, COVID, COVID. I know everyone is tired of hearing those words. We are as well. We have been closing and doing online services, opening for in person services, then starting the rotation again. We had to cancel our yearly family camp again and our outreach has been severely impacted. It is getting tiring, but we are so thankful for the faithfulness of our members. To date we haven’t lost anyone and in a certain sense the situation has drawn people closer together. One area of ministry we are working on is using our foundation to facilitate new missionaries coming to Thailand. There are several Filipino families waiting for the COVID situation to ease in order to come to Thailand and begin ministry here. They will obtain visas and work permits through our foundation which will make the costs of moving and living in Thailand more bearable for them. In preparation for this, we have started three new branches around the country.
Health: I (Mike) had my one year checkup after my heart attack last year and am happy to report that the doctor gave me a clean bill of health. My heart function is on the low side of normal, but the doctor was pleased with the results. It is a relief to have a good report.
How to Help: You can pray for us and the ministry here. Please pray specifically for the man who has been coming to church for over 6 years but has yet to be saved. Pray for our two teen girls who faithfully come, but are very lonely (one is 13 the other 18). Because they are Christians, the other kids at school tend to shun them and it is difficult making friends. Please pray that we will be able to restart outreach ministry soon. Lastly, pray about the building project. Time is moving quickly and we don’t have much time left. If you can help us to secure this great property, you can give via PayPal https://paypal.me/thaimissions?locale.x=en_US , directly to our missions clearinghouse Central Missionary Clearinghouse https://cmcmissions.org/donate , or please contact us with what you would like to pledge to the project. I am happy to answer any questions about this project via email or phone at 864-561-5217 (12 hours ahead of Central Daylight Time). My sending pastor, Mike Jones of Grace Baptist Church, Panama City, FL would happily answer any questions as well via email pastor.gbcpc@gmail.com or phone (850) 818-3883.
Sowing the seed together,
Michael & Francisca Frederick
Thailand