Who Will Go?

Throughout the world, God continues to stir the hearts of men and women to share his Good News.  Those who hear His question, “Whom shall I send? And Who will go for us?"  And answer with a resounding, “Here I am. Send me!”  Isaiah 6:8

Joseph and Abumisheu (Abu) are one such couple: passionate to share Jesus with their people group and train them as disciples in the Word. Not just believers - but disciples, followers of Jesus. March found us travelling from India to Northern Thailand to reconnect and spend a week in fellowship and ministry.  It was our first trip back since 2019, due to travel restrictions and extra costs during and post-Covid.

We were the first missionaries of any nationality to visit Joseph's home village.  What a joy to worship with believers from the Akha people group. 

The Akha people live in China, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar (formerly Burma). One of the six tribes recognized by the Thai government as a hill tribe or mountain people group, they originated in Yunnan province of Southwest China several centuries ago.

The differences between us are impossible to ignore. Our ethnicity, language, physical appearance, dress, and food are completely different. Yet even when everything is different - the Spirit of God joins our hearts. 

There is one body and one Spirit ... one Lord, one faith ... one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:4-6 ESV

Just across the border in Myanmar is a Children’s Home where up to 20 village children live so they can attend the state school. The pastor and his wife who run this home take care of all the children’s needs, and teach them about Jesus and the Bible. During school breaks they return to their villages to spend time with their families.  

A few of the children came across the border to
 share lunch at KFC – a huge treat for them. 
Never underestimate the thrill of choosing your own soda flavor.

Did I mention the coffee?

The village of  Doi Chang is nestled in the hills of  Chiang Rai district, perfect coffee growing country. Many Akha families have coffee farms, where the parents grow and harvest the beans, while the younger generation open coffee shops onsite or in towns and cities throughout Thailand.  Eco Lodges built on the coffee farms are popular with tourists during high season.  

Abu introduced us to many of her friends and their delicious brews - yes, it was a highly caffeinated week!  

We spent a few days on the gulf of Thailand enjoying the ocean and returned to India ready for the next season of ministry.

May you embrace all that God has for you during this season of life whatever it looks like, lean into Him, commit your ways to him, trust His plan.  

The Journey Continues ~ Gary and Pat

Akha food is fresh and delicious with a lot of
homegrown organic vegetables in richly flavored broths.

Faithful God

One of my favorite songs is "Goodness of  God".  The words of the chorus resonate with my heart and bring me to tears: 

All my life You have been faithful

All my life You have been so, so good

With every breath that I am able

I will sing of the goodness of God.

In October, I celebrated a milestone birthday.  Looking back over 60 years of this amazing life God has blessed me with, I am overwhelmed with His great faithfulness. 

There have been challenges, heartache, disappointments and loss of loved ones. There have been victories, joys, precious relationships, and great adventures with God.  Each of you reading this is part of my great adventure.  However our lives have connected, whenever and wherever our paths crossed, thank you for being part of my life.

INDIA 2023

The journey continues as we prepare for our first overseas mission trip in three years - India 2023!  Gary and I will be travelling to India on January 23, 2023 for four months of ministry.  Airplane tickets have been purchased - which makes it official.

It's a blessing to stay in contact with our ministry partners and see the fruit of their labors for the Lord during our three years in the states.

God's Word is being preached, people are giving their hearts to Jesus and being baptized in water, children are being tutored in school work, and taught about Jesus; the love of Jesus is shown through food distributions, eye clinics, and in towns and villages. 

During this season of Thanksgiving and throughout the year, Gary and I want you to know how grateful we are for you. Your love, prayers, support, every encouraging word - are precious to us. 

May you experience the faithfulness of God in every area of your life. The Journey Continues ~ Pat

Here are just a few photos from our partners in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Thailand,  Myanmar and  India. 

Are you shopping online this year? You can support Greater Works at no extra cost to you - by shopping at Smile.Amazon.com and choosing Greater Works Unlimited as your charity.  Amazon donates a portion of their profits!  

The easiest way to get started is: a) log into your Amazon account as usual. b) click this link and follow it through to support Greater Works Unlimited.  This setting will be part of your account until you change it.

Our Epic Four Month Adventure - Summarized

It's been just over a month since we returned from our Epic Mission Adventure - it took over a week to adjust to the 15 hour time difference and sleep through the night!  I mean who really wants to eat dinner at 3 a.m.?

So much transpired during our four month adventure in Southeast Asia and India - that we were given two Wednesday evening services to share with our home church, Meadows Fellowship, here in Las Vegas.

The videos of our presentations have been uploaded to our YouTube Channel.  We invite you to experience our adventure through photos and our narrative.

Click here to go directly to Part 1 on YouTube

Click here to go directly to Part 2 on YouTube

Wherever you are on your life adventure, our prayer is that  you follow the heart of God wherever it takes you.

The Journey Continues - Pat

What an Amazing Journey!

Where in the World - Myanmar & Sri Lanka

The calendar pages are turning, and we are already halfway through our mission trip.  What a great adventure it has been so far.

Myanmar had a few unexpected challenges and changes in our plans - yet fruitful times of fellowship and ministry as we embraced God's plans in spite of our personal disappointment.  We shared some of the adventure in this report: 48 Hours in a Myanmar Village.

A short trip to the city of Chiang Rai in Northern Thailand turned into one of the most fun and heartwarming trips.  Check out the detailed report on our blog "The Road to Chiang Rai".

Sri Lanka is one of our favorite countries - with a strong eye clinic work, and fruitful ministry partnerships.  We're working on a couple reports of our time there.

Take a moment and watch our most recent video update.  We have so much we want to share, the first version of this video was five minutes long!  Somehow we edited it down to two minutes.

Enjoy this brief update on our travels.

Video not showing up? Click this Link

The journey continues - watch for reports on both Sri Lanka and Cambodia.  Then we're off to India.

May your Journey with God bring you closer to His heart.  ~ Pat

Bus Ride

Myanmar Village Church

Waiting Patiently - Sri Lanka Eye Clinic

Sweet Hour of Prayer - Myanmar

“… if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”   2 Chronicles‬ ‭7:14‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬

In a nation where the population is overwhelmingly Buddhist; the city of Kalaymyo, Myanmar is almost evenly Christian and Buddhist. 

The concept of a prayer garden transfers easily from one religion to another as they co-existing in this friendly bustling city.

These beautiful individual chapels are available at no charge, providing Christian worshipers with solitude for prayer in a culture where personal space is non-existent. 

A morning spent in prayer and fellowship bonded our hearts in a deeper way, providing a tangible illustration that we are “many parts, yet one body”.

Part of our heart will always remain in Myanmar: "until next time".

Prayerful worship in any language: Sweet Hour of Prayer

            

The Journey Continues ~ Pat

(NOTE: Since we are travelling, with sketchy Internet, blogs are not always posted in real time or in chronological order.)

Myanmar - Until Next Time

[DISCLAIMER: Due to our travel schedule, and sketchy internet service, blogs are not necessarily posted in chronological order.]

Fighting back a myriad of emotions, I gaze out the window as our plane backs away from the gate at Myanmar's Yangon International Airport.

Our time here has been rich and full. Brimming with new experiences,  new places and faces,  some disappointments and changed plans. Prayer, fellowship, good food and sharing God's Word. Mostly perfect weather with less rain than predicted at the end of rainy season. Scenic vistas that defy description.  New friends transformed into family.

The frequent query: "When will you return to us?" echoes in hearts.  Our sincere  answer: "When the Lord wills".

This is our current assignment our current norm.  Warm hellos, rich fellowship. Subdued yet hopeful departures with the refrain "Until next time" ringing in our ears, echoing in our hearts.

Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport  welcomes us and serves as a spring board to our next destination: Sri Lanka.

The Journey Continues ~ Pat

48 Hours in a Myanmar Village

We travelled for six hours on winding roads that carried us higher and higher into the lofty mountains of Western Myanmar. Breathtaking vistas were revealed at every turn. Our excitement grew stronger every minute. This trip has been in the planning for over a year and the time has finally come.

For the last two hours our hosts’ cell phone rang every 15 minutes.  The caller from the village always asked the same question, “How far are you?”  The villagers’ excitement stems from the fact that Pat and I will be the first foreigners to stay in their village.  The first foreigners most of them have ever met.

Pulling up to the village gate, we are met by the entire population of 234 people, dressed in their finest traditional clothes, carrying banners, gifts or a musical instrument. As soon as we get out of the van the music begins and the dancing starts.

After the festivities, we are guided to our lodging - the upstairs church quarters. In the room are two plastic chairs, a table and two wardrobes. Inside the wardrobes are woven floor mats, pillows and blankets to cushion our sleep on the universal bed - the floor.  The table overflows with all the provisions we might need for our stay, including bottled water and special snacks.  Our hearts overflow with their warm and loving welcome.

Village life is simple, with few cares beyond the basics of life. The biggest concern is for water during the dry season, and having enough food.  In this farming community, the villagers generally grow and eat a starchy corn (maize) and small black beans, along with any vegetables they can grow during the rainy season. They prepared special food for us:  rice was the main staple at every meal along with soup, a vegetable and either chicken or pork and of course tea or coffee. It was humbling to have the village families contribute from their food supply so we would have a bountiful table.

Our hosts are Anna and Khai Pi. We have worked with them for the past few years since we met Anna in Malaysia. She was our interpreter when we were living in Malaysia and working with the Burmese refugees.  One of the investments they have made in the village is to begin a coffee plantation.  Many of you donated last year to help purchase and plant the coffee trees. They expect the first harvest of coffee cherries (which contain the coffee beans) in 3 to 5 years.

It was a joy to walk through the village and see the newly built preschool building, provided in part by World Vision.  Anna and Khai Pi have been conducting preschool for 20 children in their house.  The village also has a government school Grades One to Seven.   We toured the classes, talked and prayed with the Headmistress.

On Sunday we preached at both the morning and evening church services.  Monday afternoon we held an eye clinic. It was during the eye clinic that we were informed we could no longer be in the village. There are still conflicts happening in the area and the local authority did not want to be responsible for our safety and demanded that we leave. We were able to see 30 people and gave out 15 pairs of reading glasses before hastily being relocated to a government approved guest house one hour away.

Although Pat and I, along with Anna, Khai Pi and all the villagers, were deeply disappointed that we could not remain in the village,  we accomplished a lot in those 48 hours. Our hearts are longing to return when the Lord makes it possible.

Stay tuned for more updates as our schedule and internet access allows.  Blessings - Gary

Getting Around Myanmar

Depending where we are and what we are doing, getting around is always an important consideration.

Motorcycles and scooters are prevalent in Myanmar - so we might jump on with a friend to head across town to lunch.

Within the city of Kalaymyo, tri-shaws are common and practical.  Basically it's motorcycle with a custom-built side car.  One passenger faces forward, the other faces backward.  Packages can be stored under the seat and the roof works to shield you from either sun or rain.    (For those of you concerned about safety - they don't go very fast, and their three wheels make them quite stable.) (For you grandparents who immediately notice the little guy photo-bombing us - he is the son of Anna & Khai Pi - our friends and ministry partners.)

You can hire a vehicle - our driver Mr. Dal safely navigated the windy mountain roads.

And when it's not too hot or too wet - we prefer to use the original mode of transportation and walk.

Wherever your travels take you today, and however you get around - know that we appreciate you!

Blessings ~ Pat

Where in the World - Thailand

Welcome to Chiang Mai Thailand.    It's the largest city in Northern Thailand - 2 hours by plane from the capital city of Bangkok.   We've been here for about two weeks now. Settling in and adjusting to the 15 hour time difference. We found an English speaking church and are reconnecting with missionary friends.  We are also enjoying Thai street food.

Myanmar is our next stop - we will be conducting a Bible camp in a remote mountain village with Anna and Khai Pi and their adorable son.  They have asked us to teach on the Kingdom of God.  There will be an eye clinic, Sunday services, and nightly fellowship - can't wait for the last night when they roast a pig!

Then we fly directly to Sri Lanka for 10 days of eye clinics and revival meetings.  It's going to be a busy and fruitful month.

Your love and prayers and generous support is so vital, and so encouraging to us.

The Journey continues ~ Pat

Here's a brief video update - hot off the press!
Video not showing? click this link.

Thai Street Food

Thai Street