Jesus for Asia: Thailand

Greetings Everyone,

Dr. Somsak, our landlord, came from Bangkok to visit for a few days. He calls this place his mountain cabin, so I guess our lifestyle has not changed all that much, except that we are half way around the world from where we were in the NE corner of Washington State. Dr. Somsak loves to garden. He has developed a nicely landscaped yard that we enjoy. He appreciates our willingness to keep the grounds watered and the leaves raked, both of which are a never-ending task.

Here are some of the things that have been transpiring over the last month. Bill and I continue to take Thai language lessons with our teacher Ooy. She is a lovely 33 year old, Mother of 2 children, and a fairly new Christian who came out of the Buddhist religion. We enjoy her very much. She is very patient and longsuffering with us, and truly gifted teacher.

The All Asia Studio project is progressing. Rick Hernandez, the engineer of this project, came up with a plan to cut down on the echo problem in the TV set area. He has covered the 18-foot walls, nearly to the ceiling, with thick foam. There are pictures of this process on our web blog at: www.jfathailand.org. A different type of foam lines the sound room, and makes it perfect for recording. Rick has been very ingenious in his thinking and problem solving, because he has not had the materials available, so common in the U.S. He has lined other rooms, such as the mixing room with canvas, to hide the not so pretty foamed walls. He has constructed wood frames and stretched the material over the frame to create a pleasant finished look.

Bill has been putting in hours and hours learning new software programs, one in particular called “Final Cut Pro”, which is offered in College as a 1-year course. His goal is to become proficient enough to help team member’s work through problems, and give suggestions as to content and professional editing guidelines. God is blessing him through the learning process of these very detailed tutorials. We trust that the Lord will send the team members to the studio when the time is right.

We had great fun furnishing the entryway, reception office, and conference room in the studio. At a village town south of Chiang Mai, woodworker’s and local artists display their artwork. We especially like the shop that specializes in elephants, sculptured into teak wood wall art (see pictures on web-blog).

This month the Chiang Mai Adventist Academy had a “Week of Prayer” with meetings morning and evening throughout the week. Many young people responded to the call to give their lives to Jesus. In speaking with the Administrator of the school, David Bell, he said this was amazing, since a large percentage of the students are Buddhists. There were 26 young people who were baptized on Sabbath, ending a spiritually rich week of prayer. Bill was able to film the entire service and make a DVD video for each of the candidates. It was a beautiful service. Thai’s love flowers, and there were rose petals in the baptistery and many flowers given to the newly baptized youth. It was a very happy day for all.

Wendy and Larry are engaged in creating a curriculum for teaching English, establishing an organic garden, and finding spiritual lessons to share during worship time in the girl’s dorm that they oversee for Pastor Phamor. This school year there are 13 sponsored girls in the EOP (Education Opportunity Program) dorm, several of which will stay on through the summer. School ends at the end of next week. School will resume in mid May. Wendy and Larry are enthusiastic about how God is able to use them in this special ministry.

For this month’s video clip:

Click here

We think of you often.

Doing, not saying merely, is expected of the followers of Christ. It is through action that character is built. “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14. 
We would ask that you make this Studio Project a part of your active prayer life.

God Bless,

Venie and Bill Osborn