Dear Partners in Ministry:
The rainy season has started in earnest and people are starting to sow the rice seedlings that they will uproot and transplant out in a few weeks. People are plowing and starting to talk about the rain again, too much or too little?This year it is starting out as too much but in a few weeks it could be too little and then back again.The endless cycle of farmers!
Religious persecution is something that we usually say we don't have here in Thailand.Officially they have freedom of religion even though the government is pro-Buddhist.We are here legally as missionaries and are free to write this on forms, though the number of foreign religious workers is limited.Even with this official acceptance, on a local and family scale there is still resistance.When they first came to Payameng Rai, Tom and Noi, our co-workers, encountered some resistance.They got a letter from the local temple asking them to leave and had the sign on the Christian Center defaced twice.Over time the resistance has faded and they and the community of Christians that has come out of the ministry here are well accepted in the community.
Around Christmas time, Niam and Ampai, a couple in a village about 5 miles from us, made a commitment of faith and at Easter witnessed to that faith by being baptized.Now they have been asked to leave their village and have been told they are no longer members of the village community.It seems that becoming a Christian is anti-social behavior and they are being given the same treatment as drug dealers.
They haven't moved nor do they intend to.They intend to stay and prove to their neighbors that they are good members of society and that being a Christian is a positive thing, not a negative one.It will be difficult for them to live in such a hostile environment.Please pray for them.
On a personal note, after a wonderful but short holiday with friends we have just one month left here in Payameng Rai - we have started to go through our stuff.Never a fun experience.Though we leave here at the very beginning of July we won't actually leave Thailand until July 24th as we have meetings and other commitments that will keep us here till then.
Prayer points:
- Please pray for Niam, Ampai and their children, Pim and Bank in their situation.
- Pray for us as we complete hand over and prepare to leave.
- Pray for Tom, Noi and the church here, as they too have to adjust to our absence.
Larry and Jan Martin