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Winter in Bangkok, sometimes as low as 70F...

 

Final Battle!

The Last Month

This article from Bangkok Post is a local update on the current status of the political demonstrations that has been going on for over a month now. This Monday is supposed to be the "final battle" but it's possible that there will be more "final" battles for the next few weeks. Please pray for peace in Thailand. Thank you so much for your continued support and prayers; please enjoy the Christmas season and stay safe (and healthy)!

Pictured above is part of the mission team from Bethany Presbyterian Church in Maryland, where my uncle is an elder. My uncle and some others worked to improve the facilities in Chonburi Mission Center while the others taught English at a local school and also did some home visitations of the church members; they did many other things as well and served to the point of exhaustion while Bangkok was going through the protests. Another team of students was supposed to come in two weeks but I advised them to postpone for at least a few months. But you're always welcome to visit. We plan to stay here until February, when we will visit Korea and the States for a mid-term visit.

Ms. Susie Lee is visiting for about 10 days. She was part of the original team from Irvine to come and teach at OLC over eight years ago, where she ended up leading English Bible studies to the working professionals in the Silom downtown area of Bangkok. Everyone is excited to see her, and we'll get together several times (maybe everyday) to eat and study the Bible together. She has been like a mother to the Thai young adults here and they love her dearly. She doesn't seem to be afraid of the protests.
 

Help Live

Kilang and friends are continuing to help orphans along the Thai-Myanmar border; these children are of the Karen ethnic group, forced out of Myanmar and unwanted by Thailand. I also am helping him with advice and administration. Please consider making a financial donation to help them continue their service to these neglected children.

The vision of Help Live is not for a specific ethnic group of children. Kilang hopes to start helping neglected children of India as well. And Yo and Kilang have been doing an excellent job in running three coffee kiosks as a sustainable way to help fund this organization. A generous "family loan" by our friend has made it possible for them to expand to a fourth kiosk, anytime now.
 

Silom

Rahab is going well. The women and local directors are truly a blessing to meet with every week. Todd and Karen Indehar have been great in providing consistent and quality English instruction and English Bible studies, and they're also drawing others to network with us. They were out of town last week and it was the first time I had to teach alone. My daughter joined me and helped explain basic English to these precious women.

OLC: Church, English language school and Night Care? The OLC English Bible study group to Thai professionals in the Silom financial district has been going strong with Todd's help. Todd, Karen and I have been meeting to discuss ways to structure our ministries in Silom more effectively. We envision a future where our Thai professional friends will not shy away from people like women of Rahab but actually minister to them and even worship together in one church! We will continue to meet to discuss ideas for a possible ministry center in Silom including an English language school and even "night care" for women with children in the red light districts. You may realize by now that most mothers look for "day" care, because they work during the day. [This paragraph is a repeat from the last update, cuz it's important.]
 

In Other News:

  • Mary, the Sri Lankan mother of three children and asylum seeker is still in the detention center. Her case, like many others, is progressing very slowly; but she is fortunate enough to be in contact with a lawyer, so we hope she will be released soon.
  • A team from NYPC (Rev. Daevid Yoon) will visit at the end of January to serve the people in Bangkok and also the Karen villages in Ratchaburi Province.
  • A third year medical student from Seoul will visit for a few weeks in mid-January for some volunteer work among the Karen villages in Ratchaburi Province.
  • I completed the final exam of the microfinance course and was relieved to find my old brain still functioning; I passed with flying colors and look forward to using what I learned for community development.
  • We're enjoying our one-year visa sponsored by ILDI, but it is going through some restructuring so please pray that it will not take too much time and money as we redo some paperwork.

 

Click on the Partnership Page to Donate

  1. You can write a check to GP USA (memo: Paul & Sarah Kim ID# T17). ADDRESS: GP USA, 10582 Katella Ave, Anaheim, CA 92804)
  2. Or donate through paypal by clicking the yellow "Donate" button at the bottom of our partnership page.
  3. If you're in Korea, KEB account number is 990-090819-148 (김바울, 김은정); please call the GP Finance staff at 02-443-0883 to confirm.
  4. Finally, you can transfer to my account in Thailand, Bangkok Bank account: 206-0-75264-5 (Paul Kim). SWIFT* code for int'l transfer: BKKBTHBK; please email me for more details).


Please pray that

  1. God will be gracious to Mary and help her be reunited with her children outside the detention center.
  2. Thailand will be peaceful and visitors will be able to return home safely.
  3. God will help us as we make plans for 2015.
Copyright © 2013 Paul Kim, All rights reserved.