End of Year Newsletter 2021

"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." Galatians 2:4-5 (ESV)

Sa-wat-dee-kha from Thailand! I hope that you will find this update encouraging and helpful as you pray for un-reached peoples around the world--that the nations would turn from their broken cisterns and learn to drink from the Spirit. 

Ministry Update Counseling + Lahu Trainings update (from Jason) 

I (Jason) have continued with encouraging the local church to reach out to ones struggling with substance abuse. A fellow co-worker (Yo-sha-pa), who works in agricultural development in a few different Lahu and Akha villages has a heart of compassion for ones that are trying to live life with a chemical dependency. I've been able to meet a few times with Yo-sha-pa and discuss how to go about ministering the gospel to this population. Recently, he has felt burdened for a husband/father that has found himself bound up in the messy cage of a meth addiction. Yo-sha-pa has asked for advice on what he should do to further the relationship with this man. My reply was to continue in relationship building with him and his family—showing the warm welcome of Father's love, and that when our love is genuine the next steps follow. We hope to travel to this man’s village together and share a meal with him, and slowly begin the process of walking alongside. Showing that Christ is the “yes” in our quest of finding meaning and deeper pleasures.  

Jay has been able to do more teaching during the Foundations PET (Pastors, Evangelists, Trainers) Ministry, which is a ministry that offers monthly trainings for two years to Lahu people. A lot of the teaching is to help Lahu people to grow in their understanding of who God is and the gospel. Jay has been able to do one of the sessions on addiction ministries. This has been a great opportunity to encourage and equip Lahu believers to reach out to hurting people, and an opportunity for Jason to grow in this area of focus.

Family News School update (from Jenn)

Moriah and Isobel have been attending school since August and overall it's been a great experience! It is quite a shift from homeschooling but we are seeing them grow academically and socially in a Christian school environment. The spiritual climate at the school is AWESOME and this has been so encouraging after living pretty isolated for several years. I (Jenn) am volunteering at the school every day of the week (half days) and it's been great to get to know the staff and the parents. Isobel has made a best buddy named *Lily. Lily was born in Isaan (where we used to live) and her mom is Isaan. Jason and I have been able to spend some time getting to know the mom and Jason is enjoying speaking Isaan again. God is good, isn't He? Please pray for this relationship and that Lily's family would come to know Christ. 

End of Year Giving 

Our monthly gifts make up 60% of our yearly budget. We still need to raise the remaining 40% for the 2022 year. Please pray for the funds to come in! 

Holy-days + Prayers for you With all that's gone on in the last few years and our not being able to come to the States to visit, we mean it when we say WE MISS YOU and so look forward to seeing you, whenever that is! We would love to hear about what you've been up to and how we can pray for you. Finally, we hope you have a wonderful time celebrating the birth of our Redeemer and Friend, Jesus!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Jason, Jenn, Moriah, Isobel & Titus

Praises 1. We received 100% of the funds we needed for this school year. Thank you for praying and giving! 

Prayer Requests 1. One-time gifts and new monthly givers to join our team. We are currently at 60% of our support. 2. Ministry for addiction work would continue to grow and more materials for counseling will be produced in the Thai language. 3. The Holy Spirit would work in mighty ways during the PET trainings. 4. Strength to finish Masters classes. 5. Relationships with parents at the girls' school.

August 2021 Rainy Season Update

Greetings from RAINY Thailand! 

Dearest Family and Friends, We are now entering our 8th year in Thailand and granted a 1 year visa with the new foundation (The Way)! Some of you have partnered with us since the beginning and some have come along the way. We always had long-term missions in mind but it is through your support, prayers, and the Lord's sustaining grace that we have stayed on. Thank you for joining our family, we very much miss you! 

Family News... International School...here we come! When we moved to Chiang Rai, our desire was that our children would have friends they could see on are regular basis and that they would attend the international school. The Lord has provided them many friends...and just yesterday we received the news that now BOTH of the girls have been accepted into the school. (See crics.asia to view the school, called Chiang Rai International Christian School). Though a huge blessing, this is a huge SHOCK to us as we had not been accepted originally back in April and therefore didn't fundraise for their tuition. This is a pretty large jump in support for our family. Jenn will be volunteering at the school one day a week (lowers the tuition some), but the amount we have to raise is still significant. Will you join with us in praying for the funds to come in? If you specifically feel led to give, a giving card is provided or you can give online (www.cten.org/jasonbyers). 

Next US furlough/home assignment? Currently, it is still very difficult to get back into Thailand if we visited the States. Next tentative visit will be Summer 2022. We want to see you all IN PERSON!

Ministry Update Good Soil Community Center/ Covid/ Counseling Work + Lahu Trainings update (from Jason) 

I continue to volunteer at Good Soil Community Center (a project that is under the Way foundation) and work alongside the team as an English teacher. Jenn and the kids join when they can. The Covid situation here in Thailand is the worst that it's been. Rules and regulations are constantly changing, with the center closing and reopening several times. This can prove challenging to minister to the community that is very fearful. The team has been continuing to visit parents of some of the children, elderly, and the sick. This visitation has proven to be fruitful for the team. I am getting to know the guys at the Way Foundation (the new foundation we work under). Some of them have a heart for ministering to those stuck in addictive habits. Many have loved ones that have been caught in ongoing cycles of addiction for decades and have felt the grave effects. It is a privilege to come alongside these young men to encourage the process of forgiveness and healing. One young man in his early twenties, whose father has been struggling with meth and opioids for years, stated, “I have never been hugged by my father.” The emotional pain and cognitive confusion that takes place when the ordained protector of the house is physically present, but affectionately distant—rarely does that not leave deep cuts to the ones who yearned for his love. The young man continued by saying, “I want to help my dad. I think the drugs will kill him soon.” There is a young generation who have been affected by the drug pandemic here in Southeast Asia but have a desire to change it. It seems like the time for addiction counseling in the local Thai church is ripe. Join us in praying for the captives to be set free! I will soon be joining The Way's PET (Pastor, Evangelist, Trainers) project. This team provides monthly Biblical training for Lahu pastors and evangelists. I will be sharing at these trainings starting on August 2. Amid this Jason is continuing part-time with his Master’s degree work in Pastoral Counseling (Addictions and Recovery) and still hoping to be finished in 2022. 

Blessings, Jason, Jenn, Moriah, Isobel & Titus

Prayer Requests 

1. Funds for the school year and overall yearly support (we are roughly at 55% of our budgeted support) 2. Ministry for addiction work would continue to grow and more materials for counseling will be produced in the Thai language. 3. The Holy Spirit would work in mighty ways during the PET trainings. 4. Strength to finish Masters classes.

Chiang Rai update - March 2021 - Smokey Season

Hello from Chiang RAI!

Dearest Family and Friends,

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. What a year it's been! We hope you can read this letter with a good cup of coffee or tea in hand!

Family Life/Next USA visit

update from Jenn:

We have now been in Chiang Rai for a few months and we are really enjoying our new town! Chiang Rai is a mountainous city and home to Northern Thai, many hill tribes (Akha, Lahu, to name a few) and to many expats. Our kids have been making friends and our girls are meeting with some other homeschool students for Thai classes and an Art class. We are now entering the HOT season (fondly known as “Mango season”) and we are also in what’s called “Smokey Season.” The air quality is at unhealthy levels so we are mainly indoors with air purifiers and special masks for when we go outside. This should stop sometime in May. Because of the Covid situation, we still have no idea when we’ll be able to return to the States for a visit. The process to get back into Thailand is very complicated, inconvenient, and expensive! We are trying to ride out this wave as the Lord gives us the grace to do so. We miss you and our families very much!

Ministry in CR

update from Jason

Training believers in addiction and recovery work

The first week in CR our family attended a Lahu church. Some of the men knew about my current counseling studies in addiction and recovery They are eager to talk about how to help drug users and their families among the Lahu people. Since the Lahu people have been overwhelmingly impacted by drug abuse, they have been praying for a recovery ministry to take place. Therefore, I (Jay) have been able to meet with three Lahu men and provide some basic training in addiction recovery. Our first session involved looking at some of the aspects of our inner man-cognitive, volitive, and affective-emphasizing that the goal is heart change, not just behavior modification. The second session we focused on counseling families who are impacted by addictions. For session three the guys have suggested that we create an action plan for ministry!

Good Soil Community Center (GSCC)

Good Soil Community Center (GSCC) is a new community center located in a Tai Yuan (Northern Thai) area. The Tai Yuan are the majority peoples in Northern Thailand and historically were the ones who set up the Lanna kingdom. Unlike many of the hilltribes, the Tai Yuan are unreached. Our family helps at the center two times a week. We help develop relationships and teach English during after school programs. I (Jay) have the role of getting to know the community, history, and needs.

Isaan Communities

To our surprise and joy, we have discovered a multitude of Isaan migrants living in CR; also, Isaan migrant communities that have settled in CR over sixty years ago and still function in Isaan language and culture. This discovery has opened opportunities to do some basic ethnographic records in these communities. This gives Jenn and I joy that we are still able to mobilize and work with Isaan peoples while living in CR.

The Lord be with you and keep you!

Jason & Jenn

Moriah, Isobel & Titus