06 Apr The Story of Teacher Lee in Thailand

At one time, Teacher Lee was an army major in Taiwan. Over 20 years ago, he became a Christian, and God called him into the ministry. Then, a little over ten years ago, he became a church planter in two villages in the mountains of northern Thailand, along the border of Myanmar. Those villages are home to the Akha people. No other Christian groups work in those villages.
Teacher Lee and his family live in Lee To Village, where he planted his first church. About 60 families have become involved in this congregation, and he recently baptized 33 persons.

For years, as people came to Christ, they faced persecution and alienation from other villagers. Families built homes on land owned by the church so they could have a place to live. In recent years, the persecution has stopped, as people have seen the good that the church and Teacher Lee have brought to the village. Christians can live in the village once again.

Teacher Lee is now planting his second congregation in nearby Loh Mah Village. They have reached 20 families. The people there face the same persecution that Lee To Village faced for years. As people come to Christ, they are no longer welcome in the village.

Hong Kong Conference has asked for our help in buying land in Loh Mah village. The cost is $25,000. We want to raise half of that amount through our Vacation Bible School project.

This land, a large parcel on the mountainside, would provide property for the church and space for up to 30 homes for Christian families forced to leave the village because they accepted Christ. The land is costly because the whole area is a tea plantation; it could easily be sold for that purpose. The owner lets families build temporary bamboo and thatch structures on his land in return for several days of labor each month. Church members also give this landowner 3-4 days a month of labor in exchange for the ability to have their temporary church there.

These folks are poor, but they work hard and help each another. When the land is purchased, the sister church in Lee To Village will help build a permanent church. We want to help Teacher Lee and these churches as they share the message of Jesus Christ with families on the mountaintop. Your gifts will give them land to build their church, and will build homes for their families.

Teacher Lee and his wife also give their lives to the 20 “Thai Tots” who live in a dormitory-type structure next to their house. Some are orphans; others come from families who cannot afford to care adequately for them.

06 Apr Back from El Salvador

Two groups recently returned from El Salvador. They were the first short-term teams to that country. Gerald Hervey led a group from Midwest Conference, and Bob Eberly led a group from Mid-Atlantic. They mostly did church construction work.

06 Apr People Needed for Guatemala Trip

We need 5-8 more people for a short-term trip to Guatemala this summer. Randy Fennig will lead it. He is a UB pastor in Springfield, Ohio, a former missionary in Africa, and a veteran work-trip leader.
This will be an opportunity to help connect our seven Guatemalan churches to the global UB church. Team members may be involved with two church building projects. Construction skills are helpful but not required. The trip will take place sometime from mid-July through mid-August, and will last 10-14 days. The cost should be $1000–$1400. Please contact Randy Fennig.

06 Apr From Global Ministries

• Resources. Global Ministries has prepared a monthly prayer calendar to help you pray for your missionaries in 2005. Not just tied to UB missionaries, this brochure is appropriate for any missionaries you are interceding for across the world. For copies, please contact Darlene at (888) 622-3019, or email darlene@ub.org.
• Projects. Several new mission projects were announced in a special edition of Worldview prepared for the Self-Denial emphasis. We are delighted to report that all but one of those projects are now fully funded. You have been generous. The one remaining project involves salary support for Michael Chan, the Chinese coworker in Macau.

31 Mar Update from Macau

Jana reported on March 23:

• “At our Macau Association Annual Meeting last weekend, we voted to move ahead with planting a church on Taipa by naming the center “Living Stone Church.” Our target date for the first worship service is February 26, 2006. It’s so exciting to get to this point in the process! I’ve been blessed by seeing God bring all the pieces together bit by bit.
• “Three of the women who study in the English Language Program (Cheong, Joanne, and Ah Sihn) have invited me to join them on a trip to England. I’ll be going from April 2-12. Many of you have prayed for these women over the past few years as they’ve attended Bible studies and become close friends. None of them have made decisions to accept Christ yet. Pray that I’ll have a strong life testimony to them as we travel together, and that God will guide our conversations. (We tend to talk non-stop when we’re together.) Also thank God for blessing me with this opportunity. I think I’m spoiled rotten!
• “Michael Chan is starting on submitting paperwork for registering the church on Taipa. Pray that this process will go smoothly, providing a good administrative base for the future church. Pray for wisdom for Michael in the decisions that come up along the way.”

31 Mar Missions Trip to Guatemala

This summer Randy Fennig will lead a short-term mission trip to Guatemala where the United Brethren Church has a small presence of about seven churches. This will be an opportunity to assist them and help connect them to the global UB church. There are two church building projects that a team may be involved in. Construction skills are helpful but not required. There is a need for 5-8 more people. The trip will take place sometime from mid-July through mid-August for ten days to two weeks. The cost is as yet undetermined but should be between $1000 and $1400. Please contact Randy Fennig at rfennig@woh.rr.com or 937-631-1063 for more information.