Oh boy am I glad that January's all done and dusted!
The new year started off with so many changes and challenges for us that I already need a break... hahaha!
Just as we adjusted to our once more empty house, after my sister-in-law left, all sorts of changes came about. The church moved from being in a detached house (in our terms, a normal house with a yard) to a single room on the second story (of some insurance business) without any windows. This had an impact on everyone! (See the bottom for a brief 'then and now' about the church).
Now the church is no longer within sight of the whole (Buddhist) community, but secretly tucked away in a room somewhere. We lost 2 valuable members who used to live at church and now had to go back to their home-towns. Our Bible study had to move to our house, as well as our Thai language classes. Our weekly free English learning classes (which mainly consist of Buddhists) are pending, etc etc etc. It is so terrible to see the Christian footprint almost disappearing from this community... we used to walk through the community daily, greeting and talking to people on our way to church, and now feel so confined to our house which has also taken on a new presence, as we receive desperate Christians on a daily basis who needs help, support and love.
So just imagine my relief when in the midst of a crazy month, God decided to bless me with a WASHING MACHINE!!!!! Oh finally, after 8 months of taking our laundry on a bicycle to wash at the communal washing machines, which so often gave various problems. Who knew your own, CLEAN washing machine could bring such a relief.....phew!!
Our Thai language learning is going quite well, we kicked off the year with a new and very ambitious level of training... eeeekkkk!! Our reading and pronunciation is well on their way, but building a vocabulary is a bit of a slow and painful process.... People at church confess that they can't gossip about us that much any more when we are in hearing distance, for our understanding has improved....mmmhhh?! I'm not sure whether that's a good or bad thing... haha!
We are also currently exploring the possibility of a specific internet based business (our religious visa doesn't permit us to work in Thailand). Due to the steady decline of the Rand, we have already lost a third of our income. We hope to have made some serious progress by next month, and we look forward to sharing more on this with you soon...
As always.... Love and blessings
xxxxxx
Zion Church: then and now...
About 24 years ago Zion church opened it's doors for the first time. Founded and cared for (especially in a financial way) by our friend Dara. Through the years she's had many dreams and visions for the church, and has attracted many members. But a couple of years ago there was a split in the church which caused the pastor to leave with more then half of the members as well as most of the equipment. Dara kept on caring for the church and was now responsible for paying most of the rent as well. The church was leaderless for a long time, but Dara managed to have a pastor in the pulpit every Sunday.
But then Dara married a pastor from another city on February 2015. With her moving away and having a new husband, she could no longer devote all her time and finances to Zion (though she still keeps on supporting them to this day). She appointed a new leader to the church, but seeing as though he is a very busy man, his brother soon became the new pastor.
After some time there appeared to be a slow decline in general. Zion lost a few members yet again, the premises were uncared for and they couldn't afford the rent any longer. And so, last week the church moved to their new location. A single room on a second floor (of a business), without any windows.
The church currently has about 20 members, including the pastor and his family, worhip band etc...
The new year started off with so many changes and challenges for us that I already need a break... hahaha!
Just as we adjusted to our once more empty house, after my sister-in-law left, all sorts of changes came about. The church moved from being in a detached house (in our terms, a normal house with a yard) to a single room on the second story (of some insurance business) without any windows. This had an impact on everyone! (See the bottom for a brief 'then and now' about the church).
Now the church is no longer within sight of the whole (Buddhist) community, but secretly tucked away in a room somewhere. We lost 2 valuable members who used to live at church and now had to go back to their home-towns. Our Bible study had to move to our house, as well as our Thai language classes. Our weekly free English learning classes (which mainly consist of Buddhists) are pending, etc etc etc. It is so terrible to see the Christian footprint almost disappearing from this community... we used to walk through the community daily, greeting and talking to people on our way to church, and now feel so confined to our house which has also taken on a new presence, as we receive desperate Christians on a daily basis who needs help, support and love.
So just imagine my relief when in the midst of a crazy month, God decided to bless me with a WASHING MACHINE!!!!! Oh finally, after 8 months of taking our laundry on a bicycle to wash at the communal washing machines, which so often gave various problems. Who knew your own, CLEAN washing machine could bring such a relief.....phew!!
Our Thai language learning is going quite well, we kicked off the year with a new and very ambitious level of training... eeeekkkk!! Our reading and pronunciation is well on their way, but building a vocabulary is a bit of a slow and painful process.... People at church confess that they can't gossip about us that much any more when we are in hearing distance, for our understanding has improved....mmmhhh?! I'm not sure whether that's a good or bad thing... haha!
We are also currently exploring the possibility of a specific internet based business (our religious visa doesn't permit us to work in Thailand). Due to the steady decline of the Rand, we have already lost a third of our income. We hope to have made some serious progress by next month, and we look forward to sharing more on this with you soon...
As always.... Love and blessings
xxxxxx
Zion Church: then and now...
About 24 years ago Zion church opened it's doors for the first time. Founded and cared for (especially in a financial way) by our friend Dara. Through the years she's had many dreams and visions for the church, and has attracted many members. But a couple of years ago there was a split in the church which caused the pastor to leave with more then half of the members as well as most of the equipment. Dara kept on caring for the church and was now responsible for paying most of the rent as well. The church was leaderless for a long time, but Dara managed to have a pastor in the pulpit every Sunday.
But then Dara married a pastor from another city on February 2015. With her moving away and having a new husband, she could no longer devote all her time and finances to Zion (though she still keeps on supporting them to this day). She appointed a new leader to the church, but seeing as though he is a very busy man, his brother soon became the new pastor.
After some time there appeared to be a slow decline in general. Zion lost a few members yet again, the premises were uncared for and they couldn't afford the rent any longer. And so, last week the church moved to their new location. A single room on a second floor (of a business), without any windows.
The church currently has about 20 members, including the pastor and his family, worhip band etc...
Aag ek tjank so vir julle stories! Wens ek kon julle daar kom bystaan! Ek bid vir julle. Julle bless my baie.
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