But, God is so faithful to give us the desires of our heart, He has opened a door for me to go back into the Muslim Slum every Monday with one of the Life Impact International missionary couples to do an outreach! We do a Bible study for adults, followed by an English & Bible camp for the children!
Already we have seen God moving greatly through this outreach. Two women have asked us to pray for their sick babies and they now claim it was our God who healed them!
We have also built a close relationship with one of the families who has been coming to the Bible study. Even though the father has always been a devout Muslim, he came to us after a recent Bible study and asked, "the scriptures you read are really good, would it be okay if I brought more people next week?" It has been amazing to see people's hearts open up just because we have truly invested in their lives. I am learning how important it is to build relationships. There are times when very few show up for the Bible study, but I have learned that our only responsibility is to keep going each week, ready to share the Gospel with those who do come and trust God to use His Word to work in the lives of those who do come in order to reach more in the village. If they see nothing else in us, they will at least see the love of God which compels us to keep coming.
While I am growing in ministering to adults, as you know, my heart is for children! The English & Bible Camp we do with the kids is SO FUN!
We walk through the slum each Monday morning asking kids if they want to come to the camp, and they just start following us. Oh, how I love walking down the dusty road with kids holding my hands, knowing I'm leading them to a house where they will experience the love of God and learn the stories and message of the Bible! Sometimes I think about Jesus walking the dusty roads of Judea teaching any who would listen and sharing a new Gospel of God's love instead of God's law. And, I think about the little children wanting to come to Him and how precious they were to Him.
A lot of these children have to work or they are busy all day long just trying to help find food for their families. But, for a few hours each Monday, these children of the slum have a chance to escape their difficult lives and just get to be kids! They play games, make a craft, eat cookies, sing songs and learn about the Jesus who loves each one of them. By the end of the camp, I'm usually teaching with a sleeping baby in my arms. It's such a beautiful and blessed time!
These children and families need so much prayer. They all need to come to know the joy, hope, peace and love of God, but these precious children need the hope that they don't have to follow the same path in life as their parents and grandparents. So many of them can't even imagine that there is a possibility for a better life - that there could be a way out of the poverty and hopelessness they face every day.
The people of the slums are so dear to my heart. As I work in this place and with these people, God is beginning to fill my mind and my heart with dreams and visions of the work He is preparing for me!
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is (springs) from God; and he who loves [his fellowmen] is begotten (born) of God and is coming [progressively] to know and understand God [to perceive and recognize and get a better and clearer knowledge of Him]. Beloved, if God loved us so [very much], we also ought to love one another. No man has at any time [yet] seen God. But if we love one another, God abides (lives and remains) in us and His love (that love which is essentially His) is brought to completion (to its full maturity, runs its full course, is perfected) in us!" - 1 John 4:7, 11, 12
Please see the pictures below - Muslim Slum. With the advent of the rainy season here in southeast Asia, the streets are not so much dusty as muddy!
Update on finances - I have to go to Burma to renew my Visa ($550 for the trip) and will need to start thinking about purchasing my plane ticket (about $1400) for my flight home in July, and need about $400 a month for living expenses for May & June. If you'd like to be a part of my work here in Thailand, you may make a tax-deductible contribution through God's Shining Light Church - www.gslchurch.com - by clicking on "DonateNow" on the God's Shining Light page and designating your gift for: KT2Thailand
Without your prayers and your financial support, this work would not be possible! Thanks so much to all who have given and continue to give to share Jesus with these wonderful people - especially these precious children!
Serving him in Thailand,
Katie
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