December Christmas Newsletter

Christmas Greetings from Thailand,

“Yay! Christmas is almost here,” is what I keep hearing from Moriah and Jenn almost daily. Our family’s excitement for the Christmas season lasts 365 days a year. Seriously, we love Christmas. I hope you enjoy this year’s “Byers’ Christmas letter” and I pray it will cause you to be grateful for what God has done and is doing in the world. 

I think we can all agree that we live in a changing world; from the way we communicate with one another, to the rise and fall of political powers and the shifting economies. The effect of globalization and the digital revolution has made its mark around the globe. Whether we like it or not, things change. Whatever emotions this reality causes you, there is one change that brings joy and praise: this is the growth of the global church of our Lord Jesus. During this season, let’s not only celebrate the coming of the Savior over 2,000 years ago, but also celebrate how the Lord is birthing himself in lives and in nations around the world.

No longer in missions is it only the west going east, but now it’s everywhere going everywhere. The Boomer generation (born around 1946-64) is really the generation that can truly stand amazed at how and where the Lord has built his church. Can you believe?! The land of the Khmer Rouge (Cambodia) is seeing church planting movements. 

Have you heard?! The children of the Laotian and Vietnamese refugees are today’s modern day missionaries, bringing the gospel of reconciliation to their parents’ home countries. Did you know?! The Mongolian church is growing and the country now allows Christians to come in and freely proclaim new life in Christ. South Korea now stands as the number one sending country for missionaries in the world. In the modern day mission movement we can honestly say, all nations are working together to reach all nations. This is truly something to celebrate!

I hope this Christmas season you and your families find the joy in knowing Him as Savior and Lord, and also pause and reflect on how He today is working in the local and global church and using people like you and me to build His kingdom.  We also thank you for supporting our family and your prayers for us, the body of believers in Sahatsakhan district and for the Isaan people.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from our family to yours!

-Jason, Jenn, Moriah & Isobel Byers            

 
 

September 2015 update - Back in Sahatsakhan, Life 3+1

Moriah in schol uniform

Dear Friends and Church Partners,

Hello from RAINY Isaan! We are definitely in the rainy season now...we can't get our clothes to dry! I hope you are all doing well and staying encouraged in our Lord. I hope you enjoy this new update of our life and ministry here with the Isaan people.

Recharged
We are now feeling recharged and refocused after the birth of our daughter Isobel in Chiang Mai. The adjustment back to our rural village was difficult at first but now we are doing well. Isobel is now 2.5 months old and very smiley. Moriah loves having a sister. Since being back, she attends a local Thai preschool two times a week. We feel this is important for her cultural adaptation, social life and language learning. Jason teaches a little bit of English to the children as well. Children seem to open many doors into the community.

Isobel

Mission Teams
Another team from Hong Kong came out for a week. They taught English and Chinese in two different schools. This allowed our senior missionary Rolf to share the gospel at these schools as well. The team also did an outreach at one of the villages, there was a good turnout!

Hong Kong Team (back row left of Jason) with students (in front)

Mentoring / Ministry
Jason has started shadowing Rolf on Thursdays when he does evangelism. This is great, practical training that we are very thankful for. We continue to help out with "Kids' Club" on Saturday nights in our Thai coworker Tu's village. Soon Jason might start visiting some lonely believers on Sunday afternoons in a district next to ours. We hope it will bless these young ladies (the youngest is 70!).

The church
Baan Santisuk (“House of Peace”) is our local fellowship. Last Sunday there were 30+ people! Most of these are contacts of our friend Tooy. Since the beginning, he has told us that he plans to open his own church north of where we live. This is both exciting and an interesting situation, because many in the church are his contacts/family and will go with him. We praise God that we have a good relationship with him and plan to continue working together now and in the future. However, the "not knowing" what Baan Santisuk  will be after Tooy leaves is a little unsettling of course. Please pray for this situation and that God will be glorified!

Prayers answered – more missionaries in Kalasin!
We are very thankful that God continues to move missionary families to our province. In Kalasin city, we befriended a group of missionaries that are with CCF (a mission organization out of Chiang Mai). We are very thankful to have fellowship with them. One of their families has a 4 year old daughter that Moriah LOVES to play with!

Moriah and her friend Xili ("Zee-lee")

Home Assignment Countdown!
We are now 5 months away from coming back to the US to visit with family/friends and visit our supporters/supporting churches. We plan to be back no longer than 6 months and will be based in Ephraim, Utah. More to come!

Prayer
Please pray for us as we would really like to focus more time on language studies. There just never seems to be enough hours in the day!  We can have casual conversations with people but we still have a LONG way to go. Please also pray for our continued adjustment to life here. Sometimes the cultural stress can feel overwhelming. Also, please pray for our relationships here in Sahatsakhan and that friends would see the work of Christ in our lives. Please also pray for Geng and Naacomb. This couple became believers last year. Geng is the sister of our Christian coworker, Tu.  Please pray for them to grow in the Lord and that God would provide a way for them to come on Sundays (they usually have to work).
 
We miss you and please let us know how we can be praying for you!

-Jason & Jenn

Dave and Oy Voetberg live in the city of Kalasin about 30 minutes from our house. They have just translated the book "52 Reasons Why Jesus Died," by John Piper, funded by the Gospel Coalition’s Theological Relief Project. If you would like to know more about their ministry or just want to send them a note of encouragement, here is Dave's email: davevoetberg@gmail.com

Phii Tu teaching the Creation story at a local school