By Sharon Filbeck

   The entire team that God put together was made up of LTC faculty and Alumni.   What a privilege to see our alumni from different places working together in ministry.  What we didn't know was this was the very first time they had had a women's retreat where the women taught the women.   It almost didn't happen.

 In January I was able to participate in the LTC’s Church Leadership Development program in partnership with the Mennonite Brethren Center located beside Thailand border.  Over the years. Out of our conversations with the MB leadership was birthed a plan to host a Women’s Retreat for the women from across the border.   (The church on that side is under persecution, so Christians cross over for special events)   However, months went by and we did not hear back from the MB leadership.  We had almost decided it wasn’t going to happen.  But, in May they emailed me and announced everything was in place for the retreat to happen the first of June.  I was still in the States.  It was summer in Thailand and everyone was scattered doing summer ministry projects.   Also, the dates coincided with the first week of school at LTC.    It was going to be a challenge to get things pulled together. 

      The theme for the retreat was being Women of Christ. We focused on lessons and activities on becoming women who: seek to please God, to delight in God and to hunger for God, and to find satisfaction and healing in Christ.  We talked about our most important relationships, meeting the needs of our families, examining how faith expressed in love works to bring hope, knowing your value, and releasing hurts to God to be renewed in Christ.

      LTC Alumni, Dada was a wonder to behold. She seamlessly took turns leading different parts of the program. She facilitated with small groups,  ran the power points for the worship teams, helped explain instruction for activities, and bonded with the ladies at every step of the way. Her presence was a blessing to everyone! We could not have had such a retreat without her!
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    Pray for us as we plan for next year’s retreat.  Pray for the women who attended.  Pray for God’s fruit in their lives and the love of Christ would shine forth in their homes and communities.

By Sharon Filbeck
You know how wonderful it is to be caught by surprise. Here, red-tape and waiting becomes the rhythm of the life. Every now and again, the mundane becomes something unexpected.  In that moment, you could never guess how much you needed the mundane to be transformed into something fresh. Those moments that stand out and say to your soul, “God is here” if you are looking for him.  We experienced an adventure of unexpected moments recently.

Every year, and sometimes more frequently than once a year, we compile paper work and information required for visas. The rules and requirements frequently change.  I don’t know what we would do without kind government officials, our wonderful secretary Fan, and Able Sairattanyu the Chairman of the Youth Development Foundation (YDF) of Chiang Mai.  Generally, I look at the requirements each year and say “how high” when asked to jump, because jump we will and with pleasure. It's way easier on my blood pressure.

Two days before presenting our combined four inches of paper work, David went to stand in line at 5 a.m. to get a queue number for immigration. Yes, you have to stand in a line to get a number to stand in line later. This year, 5 a.m. wasn’t early enough. He came home without a number.

It occurred to me that I had never worried about our visas. In 29 years of ministry overseas, I had with child-like assurance expected that eventually all would work out. 

I asked God if my attitude all these years was taking him for granted?  Was it a sign of a faithful heart or a heart asleep? I pondered this before the Lord. 

I truly believe we all have areas where our faith is strong, and we have tender areas that Satan attacks.  Those areas are different for different people.  What may cause anxiety for one person, may not cause anxiety for another.  The same is true with frustration and patience. When you live cross-culturally for any significant amount of time, you realize others may need a kind response while dealing with the challenges of life.  Only Christ knows the battle within another person. Although I had not responded to visa challenges with anxiety all these years, there were other aspects of cross-cultural living that could bring discomfort and unease. Just as I am aware that those discomforts do not produce the same effect in others.
Reflecting on this, I simply asked God to be present to me throughout the day and particularly in the visa situation.  I asked for simple affirmations. I asked to see God afresh. Nothing else was on the table.  No manipulative requests, no crystal ball prayers, only to simply see God’s hand.

We set off at midnight to claim a spot in the queue to get a queue number, and arrived close to one o’clock in the morning.  There were a few stools with water bottles holding spots and a few guardians of said water bottles asleep on the ledge near the stools.  We took our place behind them and relaxed with some snacks, determined to make the most of the adventure. By dawns arrival, the lines began to fill out and down the parking lot. The eldest grandmother in our midst warned off patrons that parking was prohibited in the queue area. A motley crew of students arrived doing their best imitation of the musical “Grease” with tricked-out cars, cigarettes, and obligatory fashionistas. Only one line-jumper tried to switch lines at the last minute, and found himself the focus of loud complaint among the patient crowd.

At seven o’clock the queue numbers were given out, and one by one recorded in a ledger. There were only a handful of people in front of our line, and we were advised to return by eight-thirty. We opted to get breakfast around the corner and returned straight away. We didn’t want to chance missing our appointed queue while stuck in traffic.

We settled in to wait as the morning progressed slowly. We were seen around 11 o’clock.  A few typos were caught, although official didn’t anticipate them being a problem with her supervisor.  She had just stamped David’s visa when her superior returned with his paper work.  A different government agency had miss-spelled the name of the chairman of YDF of Chiang Mai in its confirmation letter for the foundation. The letter would not be accepted. As I kept up with the dialogue between the official and her supervisor, my heart quickened its pace and I began to think of possible scenarios: quick trips to the border, unexpected travel costs and fees, and possible consequences to our long term schedules.

The Immigration officer was wonderful.  She quickly offered us the option, “Get the other office to write a letter saying they are in the process of fixing the mistake.” As well as reprint a few pages with minor corrections.

We would have to get it all turned in before four o’clock or they would cancel David’s newly stamped visa.  All the paperwork we had prepared would not be accepted for either of us until the other government office wrote the letter.  Our one-year visa renewal might be lost and we would have to start over.

Sounds like an easy fix, right? Only one letter, how difficult could that be?

Rarely, if ever, do those kinds of things get done in one day let alone in a few hours.  It was noon.  The day before Thai Mother’s Day.  All offices would be closed the next day.  We had four hours at most to get the letter, from the other side of town through rush hour traffic. I asked God, “What’s the game plan Lord, what’s up?... Ok, Lord, it’s all yours”.

My phone had died already, and Dave’s was plugged into a back-up battery (Thank you Rich Kemper!). Quick phone calls were made, the immigration officer explained to our secretary Fan what was needed.  Our chairman was contacted.  Dave’s sister, our co-worker, Carmen helped drive Fan to the other agency on the other side of town to get them to write the letter. Fan’s sister watched her baby. Our Chairman came out to immigration to authenticate the letter, and to vouch for us.
ALL of this was the backdrop.  Imagine a flurry behind the scenes to get the visa needs accomplished, and many people globally praying for our visas in real time. I was sitting still in a crowded office while all the players around me scrambled and blurred. There was nothing else to “do” but wait.

Time seemed to stand still.

A young woman enters. She sits beside me in the last row of chairs in the waiting area.

I open my laptop and briefly think of working, but decide I am too preoccupied. I open Solitaire and then close it.  On a whim I distract myself with Mahjong. The young woman curiously looks at my laptop and exclaims in English, “Oh, you are playing Mahjong!”.  I smile and answer in the affirmative. I return to my game and continue to play.  Again she looks over and beams, “That’s Chinese!”.  I smile and said to her, “Yes, it is”. Again, I return to playing but opt for a more difficult level.  She turns to me and says, “I’m Chinese!” and nods vigorously for emphasis. 

I turned my lap top off, and decided to give her my full attention.  Someone willing to interrupt you three times and enthusiastically beams at you deserves your full attention.

It reminded me of being stuck in an airport and having one of those enjoyable conversations with a complete stranger. We covered the usual questions, the ‘warm ups’ to getting to know each other. I found out she was an exchange student learning Thai, where she had visited, her favorites experiences, her least favorites etc.  She was delightful.

The conversation turned to my occupation, education, where I worked, my family, children and grandchildren.  Very quickly God entered the conversation. We talked about the differences between East and West cultures in raising families, how the approaches may be different but that every parent cares for what is best for their children. I gave her the roots of grace in how I raised my children with the equipping of their potential, and the release to pursue what God had called them to do.  I gave her the example of my mother who released me to follow where God led me rather than keeping me close, and how we look forward to the times together.

We talked about faith, and her “no faith”.  Her experience with Thai teachers who did not believe that she had “no faith”.  They told her she had to believe in something.  The request for information by her Thai teachers puzzled her, and she was surprised by the many beliefs represented in Thailand.  We briefly touched on the different beliefs she had become acquainted with, and then we talked about evolution and atheism.  We discussed intelligent design, irreducible complexity, how a human being is too complex to have evolved, and how such “evolution” would lead to death of an organism not a “new” type of organism.

I shared with her about my professors in the anthropology department who looked to evolution as their God. I told her that when I see the world and all its complexity, I see the hand of God. I could not believe that it was just chance or the product of evolution when I considered DNA, and how only what is in the DNA develops. I simply shared with her of my faith in Christ.
It was not pushy.  I just put it out there with the things I had considered about faith and God, and the vast universe that God has created. I paused and let her ponder. She kept turning towards me as she thought.  So I made a simple out loud prayer of sorts. I told her I hoped that she would seek the truth.  I told her I hoped that she would get to know God herself, and that she may see his hand in her life.  My sentences were simple, and gently expressed.  Her countenance displayed deep thought.  After a bit more of a pause, I told her I was thankful that she had a great experience in Thailand and I wished her a safe journey, and that I prayed that God would bless her. 

Just as I said the last phrase, David placed his hand on my shoulder. All the paper work had arrived. Our two-and-a-half-hour conversation felt like only a few minutes had passed.

My attention was drawn elsewhere as I bid her farewell.  The blur became more focused and time began to run again as all the players once again joined the activity.

Visas were granted. Feathers smoothed, and gratitude expressed. Reassurances made to everyone. The Immigration official was very kind all in all. An hour and a half later the correct one-year visa was stamped in my passport, then a multiple entry permission granted, and a 90-day report made.

In the midst of those last two necessary items, the young woman came up to me smiling and reminded me not to leave my lunch bag and water.  She came up twice more to say goodbye as we were finishing up. 
I saw God move afresh in the smile of a stranger. A seed of truth planted. I pray that it would be watered and guarded as God grows her awareness of him in her life.  May God’s Word bear fruit in her life!

Oh, and we got our visas too after 15 hours at immigration!

If everything had gone smoothly, I would never have had the chance to have such a wonderful conversation with the unknown young woman.  In that unexpected moment, God was seen afresh. There, my assurance that all would work out was affirmed. There, the pleasure of being in the presence of God was celebrated. There, truth was spoken and seeds planted. Everything else was just the backdrop for the real purpose of the day, and I left light-hearted.

Grace and Peace!
Sharon

Part of that uncertainty involves how to obtain visas for missionaries and for international students. Although it is still not clear how the visa situation will eventually work out, God has allowed our international students to continue renewing their temporary visas to come to LTC.  The first trimester of the 2014-2015 academic year began September 7.  In the week leading up to the first day we were not sure if any of our international students would be granted visas.  There was a minor hiccup on the paperwork for one student. But in the end all received visas for 90 days.  This is less than requested, but enough time to complete the first trimester.  The information given us was that an official of the foundation asking for the visas must present in person to the Thai consulate to guarantee the students.  So we will reapply in January and someone from the foundation will get to take a trip to a neighboring country.

In spite of the uncertainty God has blessed us with one of our larger groups of first year students in recent years.  Thirteen new students from two countries representing 5 different language groups registered for classes.   Total enrollment for this trimester is 30 students. (Of the thirty, 13 are from a neighboring country and represent 2 languages groups in that country.)  Our male student dorm is full!   

Thank you for praying for us and LTC.  God is faithful and continues to bless our efforts to train, equip, and send leaders out who will impact SE Asia for Christ.  Please continue to pray for our students and staff. Pray especially for our 13 first year students as they grow and mature into Christian leaders in church and community.

David Filbeck is currently in the US through January 10, 2015.  He and Sharon are available for speaking and presenting the needs of Lanna Theological Center.  Contact him at dsfilbeck@yahoo.com or 903-806-6639 to schedule a visit.

Carmen Filbeck will be in the US for November and December.  Contact Carmen at CLfilbeck@gmail.com to schedule a visit.

On a recent trip to a restricted access country I met with 10 graduates of Lanna Theological Center.  These young men and women were sent to LTC to be trained and equipped  to be church planters among their people. They live in a country that opposes the church and persecutes those who serve the Lord.  

        During the trip I listened to their testimony  of faith in service in difficult circumstances.  Sirisuk (not his real name) a 2003 graduate of LTC,  told of how the evangelistic team is involved in helping young women who come from the countryside to the big city looking for work.   Most end up working in one of the many factories located in the city making clothes or shoes for export.  They work long hours for little pay.  Often the wages do not cover all the expenses and many fall into debt within a few months.  The men of the city knowing this will wait outside the factory gates or at the bus station looking for a young woman who is in financial distress and take advantage of the situation. At some point the woman will become pregnant and the man will give her some money to either have an abortion or send her back to the village to raise the child on her own. 

Once a young Khmu girl came to the city to work.  She arrived at the bus station but could not find the person who was to pick her up.  Men on  motor scooters surrounded her and began to grab her and take her away.
        
 Sirisuk just happened to be passing by and saw what what going on.  He approached the young girl and ask her in Khmu if she needed help.  “OH, you are Khmu!. Yes, I don't know what to do, my friends did not come pick me up”  she cried.   Sirisuk took her home where he and his wife ministered to her, helped her find a job and a safe place to live. She eventually came to know Christ and returned to her village.

Sirisuk concluded his story with these words  “So you see, we do not just rescue the soul,  we also must rescue the body.  We have to rescue both body and soul”.

Sharon, Kara, and I arrived in Chiang Mai May 25.  A week later I was in the classroom.  This is the first semester of the new school year at Lanna Theological Center.  I am teaching two classes:  Expository Preaching and Holy Spirit.

I have four students in the Holy Spirit class. As we were going around the room introducing ourselves to each other one young man said his name was Santisuk (Peace) and he was from Surin Province.  We do  not normally get students from this far off province.  In fact we have had, to my memory, only 3 students from this part of Thailand.  In addition I noticed there was something vaguely familiar about his face. Over the next few class meetings I asked more questions about how he came to LTC.  Eventually I figured out that Santisuk was the nephew of one of my first students when Sharon and I first came to Chiang Mai in 1987. Santisuk's uncle, Mr. Boonlert Somniyam, graduated from LTC (Then it was called the Institute for Biblical Studies) and served many years on staff at LTC before leaving us to do a church plant.  Not only that but Santisuk's mother (Boonlert's sister) attended LTC and got her Mrs. degree.  And guess who performed the wedding?  That's right.  I did back in 1993.  You know you've been around a while when you start teaching the children of your former students.  

David and his Holy Spirit class with students. Santisuk is to David's right.

As you know many of the graduates of LTC serve in places where Christians are not welcome.  They come to LTC to be trained and equipped and then sent back into Harms' Way in their country.  This evening, June 9th, Sharon and I bumped into three of our graduates who serve under difficult circumstances.  They had come across the border for some meetings here and we saw them at the local food market.  

I had last seen them a year ago this month when I made a short trip to their country.  I asked them how the work was going. They were very excited to report that a church had been planted in a new village with 16 families.  But with the new church has come newer and stronger persecution of the believers.  All 16 families have received notice from the local government officials that they can no longer live in their homes or in their village unless they renounce Christ. The have been driven out of their homes.

This is not an uncommon event for this country. However we had hoped that these types of events would lessen.  They have not.  I asked what the families would do or where they would go.  The church leaders said they did not know, and that they are going back to their country in the morning to help and encourage these 16 families.

PLEASE KEEP THESE FAMILIES AND THE CHURCH LEADERS IN YOUR PRAYERS.  The Christians in the country are strong and most remain faithful even in the face of harsh persecution.  Pray these 16 families stay faithful, pray God provides them with a new place to live, and new jobs.  Pray for the leaders, our graduates, who serve the churches in this country.  Pray God gives them the strength to carry on and the wisdom to counsel.

Because of the sensitive nature of this event we will not be posting pictures or giving any details as to the location of this church and the church leaders.  God knows.  You pray.

Impacting SE Asia for Christ,

David & Sharon Filbeck

LTC invited alumni, Pastor Boonserm, to speak at our mid-term revival last term.   Boonserm graduated from LTC in 2003 and along with an LTC professor, planted a church in a nearby suburb of Chiang Mai.   

I wanted to share Boonserm's story with you because it is a great example of what LTC alumni are doing through out the region.   And... it is a great testimony of God's power to transcend differences.  

Boonserm is a H’Mong working among Northern Thais.  This is an unusual occurrence here as minority groups are often considered inferior to the urban Thais.   Yet, Boonserm does not let that stop him. He is passionate about sharing his faith.   Since Boonserm became lead pastor over 100 people have been baptized as a result of evangelistic outreach trips supported by the church.  

The church isn't large; averaging about 40 in attendance, but  is completely self supporting.  From the very beginning the members of the church did not ask for any funding from missionaries or Churches in America.   The members acquired the land and built their church building with their own funds!   All salaries and church activities are supported through the offerings of the members!       

 When the church first opened, it was named The Light of San Sai Church.   Not a bad name.   But, a few months ago I heard they had changed their name.   So, I asked  Boonserm about it and here is his response....

  “One of my goals as a minister to encourage the members to evangelize their family, friends, and neighbors.   People would ask the members what group they represent.   When they said “Light of San Sai Church”  it didn’t mean anything to people.   We soon realized that we needed a name that  addressed people’s felt needs.   We needed something that would start a conversation about spiritual things.  


All Thai people understand the concept of heaven, believing it to be a place of peace and tranquility.    And  Everyone is searching for that!    So, after much discussion, we chose the name  “Gate to Heaven Church”    We  tell people that we have the “key” to the Gate to Heaven, and they can have one too.   

Since we changed the name, the members have been really energized to share their faith with others.    When we mention the name of the church, people always start asking questions.  It has been a really great witnessing tool”  

Isn’t it amazing how God can use something as simple as a name change to get His Message heard?  

Recently Boonserm met a Muslim family who had fled the violence in the south of Thailand.   Through a series of events,Boonserm was able to witness to this family and they became believers.  The mother has prayed that one of her children would go into Christian service.   Last month, on her birthday, her son said  "My gift to you is to become a preacher".     

Boonserm took him to pick up the application forms for enrolling at LTC!   

This is just an example of what LTC alumni are doing in Thailand and other creative access places in Asia!  

Would you help LTC prepare Preachers like Boonserm?   LTC is in need of additional Partners to cover the general fund and to provide student scholarships.      You can help by going to our Paypal button and sending your donation.   

Joy to the World, It’s not just for Christmas.
 
The hymn “Joy to the World” is one of the most beloved songs we sing at Christmas time.  It celebrates the joy brought to us through the birth of the Christ child in Bethlehem.  It has been translated into hundreds of languages around the world.  It is also a song that has been exclusively attached to Christmas.  Think about it, how many times have you sung or heard someone singing “Joy to the World” in July?  (And I’m not talking about the Three Dog Night song).  As great a Christmas song as it is, I believe that “Joy to the World” is not just for Christmas.


Did you know that “Joy to the World” was not written with Christmas in mind?   When Isaac Watts wrote his paraphrase of Psalm 98   “Joy to the World” in 1719 he was looking forward to Christ’s second coming at the end of the age.  Psalm 98 is a great missions anthem as we see God’s great gift found in a manger is not limited to one people or nation.  Christ was born for all people and all nations.

 Psalm 98 celebrates the joy found in salvation found in God’s right hand and holy arm (vs1).  Verse 2 is especially meaningful because this salvation has been “made known to the nations”. And in the succeeding verses the author invites not just Israel, but the whole earth, to “Shout for joy” and “burst into jubilant song”.   


This past Christmas some of the students from Lanna Theological Center encountered a trial that could have destroyed their joy.  As you may know some of our students come from a country that opposes the Church.  Over Christmas break some of our students went home to their country.  They helped organize a Christmas celebration in the house churches they serve.  Normally the authorities turn a blind eye to Christmas celebrations. This year was different.  The authorities in one village decided they needed to “interview” one of the elders and one of our students regarding their Christmas activities.  It was a tense time as we waited news of the outcome from our friends in that country.  

As we waited for news, I reflected back on my Christmas.   The drive though Bethlehem put on by the church.  The chili supper with our cell group.  Visiting family in Illinois and Mississippi.  And not once did I worry about being called in for questioning by authorities. As I prayed for my friend, I wondered if he was feeling any joy during his Christmas.  I wondered if he was able to sing “Joy to the World”.  Then I remembered that Psalm 98 is also a message of Hope.  It looks to the second coming of Christ when sin and sorrow cease and thorns no longer infest the ground.  It is this future hope that allows all Christians to sing “Joy to the World” even in the midst of trials.   

The great themes of salvation to all nations and the future hope of Christ’s second coming is the real message of “Joy to the World”.  Lanna Theological Center is committed to declaring that salvation and that hope to the nations of South East Asia.  The next time you sing “Joy to the World”  pray for Lanna Theological Center. Pray for her students. Pray for those who need to hear the great message of this hym.  Because “Joy to the World” is not just for Christmas.

Oh, by the way our friend?  He was “interviewed”.  And then released without any repercussions.  Joy to the World.

Serving Christ

David &Sharon Filbeck