February 2015 Prayer Letter

Click to download the McClain Family February 2015 Prayer Letter

Dear Pastor and Praying Friends,

We are really moved, humbled, and blessed by all of your sacrificial gifts, cards, and letters to our family this Christmas. May the Lord tremendously bless you for your outpouring of love toward us.

In our last prayer letter we mentioned that two more parents brought their children by the church to find out more about our English classes. Since then only one of the children has come a few times but we have had four new children come in the last two weeks and two of them came to church this last Sunday. Pray for Grace, Unging, Ice, Jenjira, Jaja that they will come to the church services on Sundays and that their parents will either stay for the church services also or at least drop their children off and these children and parents will be saved. Also pray that the English speakers that go to Wiang Ping Baptist Church will give of themselves and help with teaching English at Wiang Ping Baptist Church or will start English classes at Pa Mai Deng Baptist Church as a tool to get the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those that usually would not come to church.

We celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ three times this year at all three churches and it was an exciting time as we had visitors at each church who were able to hear the true meaning of Christmas. Some of the youth from Lanna Baptist Church in Lampang did their first Christmas program for all three churches and some of the youth are fruit from the English camp in April 2014. There was singing, testimonies, preaching, fellowship, and games afterward. Nam & Nod who have been studying English with us for awhile came and had part in the special singing and Paul and his wife came also. Continue to pray for Paul as somethings have recently happened in his life that seem to kind of caught his attention and has reminded him of his need to make the decision to really walk in the truths of the Word of God that we have studied already. The Bible tells us that we shall reap if we faint not!

We are continuing to preach every Sunday at Pa Mai Deng Baptist Church and Pastor Srithone and I are still continuing the Thursday night Bible study there also. I have just finished preaching and teaching about what Biblical Salvation really is and it seems that the people are gaining a better understanding of what God has written in the Bible about Salvation. As we said before that this church has been with several different Christian groups over the years which has confused them about somethings but they seem to have a real desire to know the truths of God’s Word. Therefore we are continuing to work with them and are looking to the Lord to continue to work in their hearts and give the increase in His timing. Please pray for Pastor Anucha’s daughter named Nabphraphon as she still is not saved, a teen boy named Jeray who is about 17 but is not serious about the things of God, a nephew of one of the members named Somboon who is 18 and has came to the services a couple of times and started asking questions about the differences he saw between the church and the pentecostal college that he has studied at. We started showing him the answers to his questions from the Word of God in which he saw several things that he has been taught were actually contrary to the Word of God. To make a long story short he said that he decided to go back to the pentecostal group and we thought he did that but last Sunday we were told that he did not go back but went somewhere else and is supposedly living with some friends and has gotten a job. This was surprising as he said he did not want to work but wanted to study the Bible more fulltime to really see what God has said and serve the Lord. So pray along with us that he will take time to think about the things we discussed with him and will study the Bible studies that we gave him and will accept the truths of the Word of God and let the Lord work in his life. Also pray for the members and people that come to Pa Mai Deng Baptist Church as most of them are part of the Lahu minority group and most are day workers earning the minimum wage and are faced with corruption about several different needs in their lives. Pray that they will have consistent work, that the corruption they face will be taking away, and most of all that they continue to receive the Word of God with gladness and will faithfully live their life according to the teachings of the Word of God. Also pray as we are trying to find some ways to help them help themselves with some of these difficulties.

We will have English Camp again this April 6-10 and we are asking the Lord not only to let us see Him working in the lives of the people that come and see many of them be saved but also help us have some methods that I have taught of to be ready to help us be more of a continual witness to everyone after the camp is over.

Pray for the nationwide Thai Independent Baptist Church Camp that will be April 13-15. I am trying to get people more people from Wiang Ping Baptist Church to go as its a time that they can meet other Christians from around the country and see that the Lord is working their country and wants to use them in His work.

Also pray as Pastor Srithone which is the Thai Pastor that I am working with, who is actually sent out from the USA, will be going back to USA to visit churches from April 13 to around October. During this time I will be heading up the Wiang Ping Baptist Church and continuing to work with the Pa Mai Deng Baptist Church. This is a big task as I will be preaching and teaching in the churches 5 times a week, plus trying to continue teaching Bible studies and teaching English. Also pray for my wife and girls during this time.

Lastly, I am working on another tool to get the Gospel to the immediate areas around the churches. I praise the Lord that 3 young people from Lanna Baptist Church in Lampang have volunteered to help me get some of the material that we have formatted for this new task. Pray that all of us will be diligent in this task as we are trying to have everything together before English Camp in April. Plus I am also trying to figure out how to make and put a form/survey with pictures in it online, so if anyone has the knowledge and the time to do this or explain how to make a form/survey with pictures to be used online please let us know.

For the Millions of Untold Souls in Thailand,

Brian, Evelyn, Ruth, and Rachel McClain

*Click the download link at the top to see pictures of the Christmas Celebrations at all three churches.

December 2014 Prayer Letter

Click to download the McClain Family December 2014 Prayer Letter

Dear Pastor and Praying Friends,

We want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and as we look back to the time when Jesus Christ was born into this world, let us not forget that the manger is empty, the cross is empty, the tomb is empty because Jesus Christ is alive and is coming again to call us home to be with Him forever more!

Once again, two weeks ago we had two more parents bring their children by the church to find out more about our English classes and this week one of them came to study English on Saturday and we invited her to come back on Sunday and she did! So please pray with us as we are trying to get the Gospel to these children and their families and are also trying to get them to come to the churches services on Sundays but many of times this is meet with opposition and these children and teens are not allowed to come back and study with us. We will be inviting the students and their families to come to our Christmas celebration on Sunday Evening, December 21, so please pray with us that we will see these students and their families come and hear about the most wonderful gift that God gave to mankind which is His Son, Jesus Christ.

I am continuing my weekly Bible study with Paul and it seems that he just needs to surrender to God’s working in his life. The other day he told me that he is starting to run out of excuses as why he does not act upon the truths of the Bible that we have been studying, so God is working! Continue to pray also for Paul that he will let go and let God have His way in his life and pray as I have been inviting him to the Christmas service also.

I am also continuing going through the Bible college material with Apisit and we are in book number four of Bible doctrines and its such a joy to go through this material with him and see how God is working in his life and is already using him and his family in Lanna Baptist Church in Lampang.

In our last prayer letter we asked you to pray for Thong Kham, who is the oldest brother of Sumet who is a faithful member of Wieng Ping Baptist Church here in Chiang Mai. Thong Kham has had various sicknesses for the past several months and was talking about moving away from his house and near Sumet but he moved to live with some of their other relatives and sadly, he is still trying to find a witch doctor that can cure him from these sicknesses because he thinks that these sicknesses are a result of someone casting a spell on him. Pray with us that he will see the vainness in these things and will wholeheartedly come see what Jesus can do for Him!

We praise the Lord that we have seen God fulling His promise again that we shall reap if we faint not. Over the past 10 years Pastor Srithone has several times tried to teach true Bible doctrine to a man of the Lahu ethnic group named Anuchai but instead he choose to be with several other Christian groups over the years. Then about three months ago, Anuchai came to visit Pastor Srithone again with a desire to really study the Bible and know God more. Anuchai is the leader of a Lahu church but they have been confused about some things as a result of them being with different Christian groups over the years. For almost three months now I have had the opportunity of teaching and preaching every Sunday morning at this church about the fundamentals of faith in Jesus Christ. And Pastor Srithone and I have been holding a Bible study at this church every Thursday night also. Already some of the members have shared how they have a better understanding of salvation and faith in Jesus Christ and two Sunday’s ago we had a baptism service at a pond near the church because several of the members have never been scripturally baptized. We praise the Lord that these people are asking questions and want to know what God has said in His Word about several things in regard to faith in Jesus Christ and the Christian Life. Please pray with us that these people will continue having a hunger to know more and grow more in their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

For the Millions of Untold Souls in Thailand,

Brian, Evelyn, Ruth, and Rachel McClain

Renewed Visa!

We want to thank all of you that prayed along with us that we could renew our visas with no problems.  We were able to renew our visas last Monday!

Then I was able to complete all the other requirements to renew my work permit, last week also.

Thank you so much for praying with us about these things.

September 2014 Prayer Letter

Click to download the McClain Family September 2014 Prayer Letter

Dear Pastor and Praying Friends,

We thank all of you for the cards, emails, and special offering that you sent for Rachel’s birthday! We are also thankful for your continual emails, letters, cards, prayers, and faithful support for us as we continue to serve the Lord here on your behalf!

We thank the Lord that we have recently seen some fruit of about 6 new English students coming to church to study English with us from a neighborhood near the church that we tracted down a couple of months ago. Evelyn teaches the children up to 4^th grade, which is the hardest group to teach because they are on so many different levels. I am teaching from 5^th grade up and about 3 months ago I have started using a Creation to Christ Bible study to teach my English class. We have just started to study about the fall of satan and will probably be in this lesson for another week or so because some days we only get through a couple of sentences or to about 2 paragraphs. For the majority of my students this is the first time they have studied about any of this and I thank the Lord that we have this Bible study also in the Thai language. I am making lesson sheets with English on the front and Thai on the back so they can study both languages and understand what we are studying about. Because faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Please pray that our students will come faithfully so that they will not just get bits & pieces of our class discussions, that they will open their souls and really think about the truths that we are studying, that we will see the new students also start coming to the church services, that God will open the doors for us to have an in road into their families, and that they will receive Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

Please continue to pray for the Thai man named Paul that I am still having Bible studies with. The other day he asked me if I remember the first time that we meet him and what he said to us that “faith was only good for some people,” then he said can you believe that we are now having Bible studies together. Please pray that Paul will be sincere and fight against satan and the many things in his life that are battling against him from acting upon the Bible truths that we have been studying together.

Several times in the past, I have asked you to pray for a young Thai man who use to come to the church named Nung. About a month ago I started having a Bible study with him but in the last two weeks he has went and done other things instead of us studying the Bible together. Please pray that the Lord will give me wisdom in studying with him and that he will truly be sincere with God and let God work in his life.

We praise the Lord that I get to teach and study through the Bible college material with Apisit and Sumet almost every Wednesday and Friday. It’s a blessing to see these men have a desire and hunger to study the Word of God to know more about their Lord and Saviour and use what they have studied to witness and teach to others. Please continue to pray that God will give all of us wisdom and understanding in studying, applying, teaching and preaching His Word. And please pray with us that God will raise up more Thai men, who will be true Bible believers that will start new churches throughout Thailand and the world for His glory.

Also please pray along with me as I am praying for wisdom in finding more people who are open to the Gospel and willing to come to church or at least study the Word of God with us, in hopes of them being born again or strengthened in their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that will be evidenced by them faithfully serving the Lord for His glory through His local church. Also please pray for Sumet’s older brother named Thong Kham. Who before opposed Sumet trying to preach the Gospel to their family back in their village. For the past several months Thong Kham has been battling some sicknesses and has seen several medical doctors and several witch doctors also but he has not be cured. About a month ago when Sumet went back to visit his village, I asked Sumet to see if his brother would be open to studying the Bible with me but his brother said that he is not ready yet. But about two weeks ago he said that he is thinking about moving near Sumet which is in the area of the church. So pray that he will be more open to the Gospel, and that he will come to church and allow the Lord to work in his soul.

Please also pray that we will receive all the papers that we need to renew our visa before it expires next Wednesday the 24th!

For the Millions of Untold Souls in Thailand,

Brian, Evelyn, Ruth, and Rachel McClain

June 2014 Prayer Letter

Click to download the McClain Family June 2014 Prayer Letter

Dear Pastor and Praying Friends,

We want to thank you for your faithful support and prayers for our family and ministry here in Thailand! 

Thank you for praying for our 3^rd Annual English Camp from April 2-6. We praise the Lord that we had around 75 Thai youth and adults that came to the camp. During these days we not only taught English but we had several Thai Christians give their testimonies and we had 2 preaching services a day and were able to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them. For the majority of them this was the first time that they have had an opportunity to hear a clear presentation of the Gospel and we praise the Lord that around 15 campers not only listened to the Gospel but responded to the Gospel and received Jesus Christ as their Saviour! Plus a lot of the campers are asking us questions about the Bible, the Gospel, and Jesus etc. We are reminded that before we can have a harvest, there must be the sowing of the seed, the watering of the seed, and then God will give the increase. There were only a few campers that came from the greater Chiang Mai area but there were a lot that came from the Lampang area and several of these have been coming to church. Please pray for these as some of them have already faced various struggles with coming to church etc, also pray as we are following up these campers. 

Also from April 14-17 even though we were not able to get the families of the Thai kids that are learning English with us at the church to go with us, we still went with the church to the Thai Independent Baptist Church camp. Around 12 Thai Independent Baptist Churches from across the country came and there was around 125-150 people there. God once again did a work among His people, around 4 people made a profession of faith, and others gave testimonies of things that God has done in their lives. It is encouraging to go this yearly church camp because even though it takes time for Thai people to respond to the Gospel and grow spiritually, this camp reminds us that God is still doing a work throughout the country. 

We praise the Lord that for the most part over the past couple of months that all of us have not been really sick that often and we have been able to faithfully continue teaching almost every week our English classes, Sunday School, Bible study, and I have also preached several times over the past couple of months here in Chiang Mai and in Lampang. I have also just started using a different method in teaching English, where I am using a Creation to Christ Bible study and I am explaining it also in Thai to help the students understand it better, so I am looking forward to God also using this to continue working in the hearts and building the faith of our English students. 

Also since our last prayer letter I have been able to continue having the Bible study with Paul. He has told me several times that with us studying the Bible together, that it is helping him in his understanding about God, Jesus, Salvation, and has given him several things to think over.

On Monday we were studying about what Jesus has said about life after death and it seems that he is getting a better understanding of this and is accepting that there really is life after death. This is one of the things that can be hard for some Thai people to understand and accept because Buddhism teaches reincarnation and once you have possibly done enough good, then you may reach nirvana, which is when a person ceases to exist anymore. Another reason why it is hard for some Thai and other Asian people to accept the doctrine of Heaven and Hell is because some of them wonder if it is fair for them to get to go and enjoy everything about heaven, while their lost family members are still going through the trails, burdens, and pains of this life and will go to hell and suffer there at the end of this life, if they do not get saved. And also, if it is fair for them to be in heaven while their lost ancestors are more than likely in hell. When I come across this I try to explain to them that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and just as God has worked in their soul that God works the same way in everybody’s soul and each person has to decide for themselves if they are going to accept or reject Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. So hopefully you can see that satan has blinded many of the peoples’ eyes here in Thailand and throughout Asia but thanks be to God that Jesus is victorious over satan, and has given us the glorious light of the Gospel to give light to them that are blinded by satan and sit in spiritual darkness.

Please continue to pray for us to have wisdom in my preaching and for Evelyn and myself as we continue teaching English, our Bible study, Sunday School, as I continue teaching and going through the Bible College curriculum with Apisit and Sumet and that God will open more doors for us to proclaim His love for all people. 

Also pray as I am in the process of completing all of the paperwork to extend our missionary visa and work permit for another year. As many of you know there was a military coup about a month ago here in Thailand so I am not sure if this will affect the processing of our paperwork. But please pray that we will be able to extend our visa and work permit without any complications before our current one runs out in September.

For the Millions of Untold Souls in Thailand,

Brian, Evelyn, Ruth, and Rachel McClain

Current Situation in Thailand

Hello to all of our loving supporters!

We pray for you often and are trusting that you are experiencing the Lord working in your lives and through your churches in marvelous ways.

As you may know there have been anti-government protests in Thailand for around the last 6 months, in which various political parties have been calling for the current ruling political party to step down. Two days ago the military declared martial law because of some sporadic violence that has taken place over the past month or so. Then around 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon the military stepped in and performed another military coup. All of these events that have recently taken place are nothing new to Thailand. If you want to know more about Thailand’s political history, you can search the internet to find out more.

As far as we have experienced here in Chiang Mai over the past two days you would not have known that the military had declared martial law. Plus, we did not know that a military coup took place yesterday afternoon until we got home last night from going to an open market, to the store, and checked my email. The only noticeable things that are different now are the military has taken over the local tv stations and they are broadcasting the military newscast, schools and colleges are closed until May 26, and a nation wide curfew from 10 PM to 5 AM. With the school closings and the curfew there will be people across the country that will be affected economically. At Wiang Ping Baptist Church here in Chiang Mai and Lanna Baptist Church in Lampang some of the members are teachers and some others work at night but because of these things they will not be able to work. Please pray for these people that they will rest in the promise of God that if they seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness that God will supply their needs. So pray that this will be a time when they clearly see God fulfilling His promises again and again in their own personal lives.

I do want you to be aware that I have read on the internet but I do not know if this is true or not, that the military government could shut down the internet. So if you send us an email or try to call us and you do not get a response from us, please do not be alarmed. If things happen as they have in the past then there should be very little problems if any at all.

Please pray with us that with this situation people will be more open to the working of God in their hearts, many would turn and trust Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour, that Christians will become stronger in their personal walk with Jesus Christ, and that the people of Thailand will peacefully work through this time period.

Thank you for your time, support, and prayers for our family, ministering, and for the people of Thailand to not only know Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour but to serve Him with all their hearts,  

For the Millions of Untold Souls in Thailand,

Brian, Evelyn, Ruth, and Rachel McClain

March 2014 Prayer Letter

Click to download the McClain Family March 2014 Prayer Letter

Dear Pastor and Praying Friends,

We are praying for all of you, that this year, each of us will see God work mightily in our lives and that we will see fruit that will remain from each of our labors for the Glory of God!

Last month after teaching for about 3 months, I finished teaching in Sunday School about “What is the Great Commission of Jesus Christ.” I know that the Word of God will not return void and I am continuing to trust the Lord to do the work that I cannot do, which is working in the hearts of the Thai members about their responsibility to reach the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Also last month we were able to teach and preach again for Missionary Enrile Badua at the Bangkok Baptist Church for their Mission’s Month. And I believe that the Lord really did a work during their Mission’s Month and there will be fruit in heaven because of this. It was also good to meet again some of the members that have been faithful in serving the Lord at that church for several years and also some new people that we did not know.

We have been trying to follow up on several of the people that we have asked you to pray for in the past and these are some updates from it. Because of one of the news paper ministries, Sompasong came about 2 years ago to Wiang Ping Baptist Church for a couple of times but then moved somewhere else. Later he returned back to the area and came again but somethings happened and he did not receive some correction from the Bible so he stopped coming. We have been praying for him and 3 weeks ago he came back and got right but sadly the doctors have told him that he has around 18 months to live because of intestinal cancer. But we know and he knows that God is in control of all of this but sadly, he has only been back one other time to church. So pray with us that Sompasong will fully follow the Lord and will be an example to His wife, which is a new Christian and his daughter, which is around 7 years old and that this family will grow spiritually and that if Sompasong does have only 18 months left that he will leave a good testimony of living for God. We have also been trying to followup on Phon but we have yet to catch him at home once he has gotten off from work. So please pray that we will be able to catch him at home and will be able to talk to him about his spiritual life.

The Lord has opened up some new opportunities for us also. Over the past couple of months we have been witnessing to and have invited a Thai man named Paul to come to church. About 3 weeks ago he started telling us some about his life and during our conversation I asked him if he would give me around an hour a week to study the Bible with me and he agreed. Today was the second time that we have studied together and the Lord is working in his life. Today he basically said that he has a desire to be back in fellowship with God but many things have happened in his life. Please pray for him that he will seek the Lord and will allow the Lord to work in his life, and that the Lord will lead me in knowing what we should study together. Also I have started twice a week teaching through a Bible College curriculum with Abhisit and his wife at the church in Lampang. Pray for us as we are doing this and for this couple because they have already surrendered their lives to serve the Lord fulltime and the Lord is using them there in Lampang. Plus we are continuing to teach English and I am continuing to teach Sunday School every week and I am also preaching along with these things.

Also please pray as we are preparing for our 3rd annual English Camp that will be here in Chiang Mai from April 2-6 and over 35+ people has already registered and we are praying that we will have 100 campers and will see a number of them saved and decide to follow the Lord. Plus most of the Thai Independent Baptist Churches will be having church camp together from April 14-17 and we have invited the families of our English students to come, as it will be a great time for them to meet other Thai Christians from around the country and it will be a great time for them to take time to listen to the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. Please pray along with us for these camps that God will work and we will see people saved and surrender their lives to serve the Lord. Also pray for the political system of Thailand because their have been street protests for several months and even though they have decreased in number the differences do not seem to have been settled yet.

For the Millions of Untold Souls in Thailand,

Brian, Evelyn, Ruth, and Rachel McClain