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6 Reasons for our Survey Trip to Thailand

Many have asked the plan for our survey trip to Thailand.  So, this is our plan.

Why go on a survey trip anyway?


1.  Because my eye affecteth mine heart. 
I know the Gospel, and I have read the stats, talked to people that have been there, and I know Thailand’s fate without the Gospel, but to see the land, I expect, will break my heart for Thailand in an entirely different way.  But I want that.  I want it to become more personal to me than it already is, and that God would use visual and auditory cues in Thailand to awaken deep affections to motivate me to work, pray, and try harder than I ever have in the past.

2.  Because it is wise to spy out the land. 
There is something about being there with the sounds, and smells, and sights that clarifies a vision and plan.  I need a lot of wisdom to make concrete strategy for what will actually happen when I land.

3.  Because I need to sit down and count the cost, literally. 
Costs vary greatly in a foreign country.  Some things are very cheap, and other things are very costly.  So, we plan on finding a location in the city that seems like a good place to start ministry and find prices, in that area, for a place to live and a place to rent for the church so that we know better what we need to raise financially.

4.  Because I need to provide for my family, and that takes preparation. 
I want to consider and provide for Lori and the family the Lord may give us as best as possible in a foreign land.

5.  Because there is safety in a multitude of counsellors. 
Other very wise men, including my pastor, have volunteered to go on this trip with me and will provide invaluable insight.  I don’t take that lightly.

6.  Because the Great Commission is given to the church, not to me individually. 
And my home church understands that. So, leaders of the church are making plans, as we speak, to accompany me.  The pastor, the youth pastor, the treasurer, members of the world evangelism committee, another missionary, are planning and others are considering.

The plan:

1.  Leave from Atlanta February 1st.

2.  Fly into New Delhi, India because it is actually cheaper to stop there first.

3.  While in India, we will visit the birthplace of Buddhism.  Buddha preached his first ‘sermon’ here underneath a giant tree and most Buddhists will make a pilgrimage here sometime during their life.

4.  Fly over to Bangkok, the 12th largest city in the world.  Obviously a city of that magnitude has a ton to explore, so we will spend days here talking to other missionaries that have been in the city, visit their churches and see what unique challenges Thailand will present to ministry and living.

5.  Look at rental and purchase prices for a place to meet so that we know what to plan for.

6.  Gather some photos and video so that we will be able to communicate the need and situation in Thailand effectively to others that are interested in partnering with us financially or physically.

7.  Fly back to Atlanta on February 10th.

The cost for this trip will be about $2800.  If you want to help you can send support to:

Vision Baptist Missions
Project Thailand
P.O. Box 442
Alpharetta, GA 30009

Or give online at Vision Baptist Missions, and mark it for our survey trip.
Would you please pray for the Lord to provide the funds in the next few weeks, and see if the Lord would lay it on your heart to give?
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Some Things God Revealed to Me About Thailand

There are still a ton of things that I do not know about Thailand, but God has given me some divine revelation, specifically for me, to help me know some truths about

people in Thailand, the moment I meet them, before they even open their mouths.

  1. I know that they were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26), and still bear that image (Genesis 9:6), though sin has warped that likeness (Genesis 5:1, 3; cf. Ephesians 4:24), and though they try hard to efface it (Romans 1:18-32).
  2. I know that everything they will tell me will come from a heart that is (A) self-deceived, and (B) definitionally unaware of that self-deception (Jeremiah 17:9).
  3. I know that they are at war with God, and hate Him (Romans 8:7).
  4. I know that they are under the wrath of God (John 3:36; Romans 1:18; Ephesians 2:3).
  5. I know that they are dead to God (Ephesians 2:1).
  6. I know that it is natural to them to resist the truth of God, and to warp truths about God into forms that do not threaten their war against God (Romans 1:18).
  7. I know that their very ability to see and understand the truths of God is so mangled by sin that they could effectively be said to be blind to them (Psalm 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 4:17-19).
  8. I know that they are blinded to the beauty and truth of the Gospel (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
  9. I know that what they most need from me is to be loved (Luke 6:26-27).
  10. I know that the specific expression of love they most need from me is not for me to affirm nor enable their self-destructive errors, nor for me to tell them about myself (2 Corinthians 4:5a).
  11. I know that the specific expression of love they most need from me is that I tell them the good news about Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:5b), and that if they do not hear that good news, they have no hope of being saved from God’s wrath (Romans 10:8-17).
  12. I know that Jesus Christ came to save people exactly like them (Luke 19:10; 1 Timothy 1:15).
  13. I know that if they believe the Gospel and come to Jesus Christ the saving Lord, in repentant faith — and only then — they surely will be saved (Matthew 11:28-30; John 6:35, 37, 40; Acts 16:31; 17:30).
  14. I know that if they do not come to this saving faith, they have no hope whatever (John 3:36).
  15. I know that they must do this, and that they can only do this if God does a graciousmiraculouslife-giving work within them (Matthew 11:25; John 3:3; 5:25-26; 6:37, 44-45, 65; 2 Corinthians 4:5-6; Ephesians 2:1-10).
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