Paul and Sarah Brown
February 2024
Reflection – Take Nothing for Granted
It is the second month of the year already, and many in Thailand are now celebrating Chinese New Year. So, we think this still counts. It is always good to take a healthy, reflective approach as we ask God to guide us for the year ahead. Are you feeling sentimental over the past year, excited or anxious about the New Year? Or a mixture of everything? Reflecting calms any unsettled feelings and brings peace and assurance. God is Lord of all time, and space and has everything in His hands.
We would like to say a big thank you to all of you who prayed for the students at Siloam Bible Institute (SBI); three groups travelled to Karen communities in remote locations to do Christmas outreach. A wonderful time was had by all who went and attended, most importantly, the true, love and joy of Christ was heard by all ages, through fellowship, encouragement and friendship building.
We resumed teaching at SBI at the beginning of January. The students were ready to get going again which was encouraging. Thailand Baptist Missionary Fellowship (TBMF) will be 50 years old this year, so Paul along with the TBMF Planning Committee have begun the task of preparing for the special event that will be held in October 2024. It is hoped that mission boards from the UK, US, Sweden, Thailand, and alumni of TBMF will be in attendance.
Sarah is now the liaison for all the TBMF mission workers serving within or linked to the Thailand Karen Baptist Convention (TKBC). She attended TKBC's Executive Committee's first meeting for the year, she updated everyone on the work being done by TBMF mission workers over the last 6 months. It was a good opportunity to reflect on work done within TKBC during 2023 and look ahead to how God will work through TKBC this year.
Evangelism is continuing to grow at TKBC; an encouraging start to the year, around 3-4 Karen are interested in discipleship training and along with 6 evangelists they will all receive further coaching in mid-February from Biglife, a partner of the mission training hub, (BMS are also a partner), which we mentioned in our December 2023 newsletter.
One of the areas we have reflected on is -'not to take life for granted'. Unfortunately, on 22 January 2024, the associate Pastor of House of Praise Church; the church we attend passed away suddenly. He was only 46 years old. It has been a shock and the congregation is deeply saddened; he led the Sunday service and gave the sermon the day before he passed away. He was very mission-minded and in his short life, he accomplished so much and impacted many. He lived his life to the full in Christ and for Christ, he planted churches in Thailand and other countries, ensured the gospel was heard, brought many to Christ and equipped local people with the power and spirit of God to teach others. He was personally a great encouragement to us and spent time praying with us through hard times. We attended the memorial service and celebration of his life on 31 January 2024.
To further assist SBI students in learning English, we hope that some of them will join us at church this year. The aim is to enhance their understanding of biblical-based English. This will enable them to interact with English speakers who have various accents from around the world, providing them with more valuable experience. Additionally, it may help them build new connections.
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone – Proverbs 27:1, God wants us to hold our dreams and plans loosely and say “not my will but Yours be done'. – Luke 22:42. The Lord wants us to rest our hopes in His version of tomorrow. We must allow God to tell us what His plans are and be willing to obey and follow His leading, be obedient with the gift(s) and talent(s) that God has given and use the time granted to us wisely. The tomorrow we hope for seems important, but it's the tomorrow God has promised that matters most.
May we keep our eyes on the greatest prize – eternity in Heaven with Christ and endeavour to point the lost to this prize also.
Thank God:
*For the fruitful way, the Lord used the SBI students during the Christmas outreach to plant seeds for the Kingdom.
Pray:
*For comfort and peace for Pastor Chris' family, the congregation at the church plant called Blessing Church, which has first-generation believers and for the House of Praise congregation as we come to terms with this loss.
*Pray for our upcoming home assignment, as we prepare flights, presentations, and church visits.
God willing, we will be coming to the UK for home assignment from the beginning of June to mid-July 2024. We do not have specific dates yet. Please look out for these dates on the BMS website or contact BMS directly if you would like us to visit during this time.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. – Ephesians 6:10
God Bless
Love
Paul & Sarah