Dear beloved partners and friends,
We are so thankful to God for allowing us to continue to serve Him with you, our faithful partners and friends from the USA. We are also thankful to Rev. Russell Board and National Director Dr. Wallapa Wisawasukmongchol. We are now over 19 years on the field, and we are honored to be able to see the mighty move of God in bringing peoples’ lives from darkness to a marvelous light. By His grace and power, the number of churches increased to 81 from 75 in 2018, with about 5,000 members from 4,500 by the end of December 2019.
The discipleship program, through Thailand Theological Seminary (TTS) and Mekong Bible Training Center (MBTC), includes the IPHC/ACA Annual Conferences and a variety of training being conducted by individual churches in equipping the saints. This program is bearing much fruit in expanding the kingdom of God in Thailand and to the neighboring countries. There were seven graduates at MBTC in Mae Sai on February 1, 2020, for the two-year program. We are expecting a total of 230 students at TTS to graduate (diploma, bachelor's, master's, and dcotroal deegrees in ministry) in November this year. The MBTC building construction is progressing, and the main TTS building construction in Petchabun is about to begin. Thank you, IPHC WMM, partners, and friends, for your continued prayers and unwavering support!
Graduation at MBTC led by Pastor Chi Chang with our team (Albert, Russell Board, Steve Willis, Jim Cox, and Doug & Jill Nelson)
Albert and Revs. Drs. Wallpa Wisawasukmongchol and Edgar Banaga with the doctoral students at TTS
Praise the Lord! The 18th anniversary celebration of Pantamit Don Muang Church (the first IPHC church in Thailand) on January 19, 2020, was awesome. We had over 120 people in attendance in the presence of God and enjoyed the worship celebration in the morning. We had a great lunch together and followed with a joyful time of fellowship in the afternoon. We thank God for continually blessing our children's, youth, men's, and women's ministries. We also thank Him for sending us faithful leaders and workers to help us fulfill the ministry that the Lord has entrusted to us to do as the pastor of the church and as missionaries together with Jiep. We thank God for blessing the year 2019, and we believe the best is yet to come this year.
We had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas at our church in Don Muang on December 22, 2019, Khon Suey Church with the Akha Tribe in Chiang Rai on December 31st, and at Dr. Wallapa’s house with ACA pastors and leaders on January 10, 2020. We were overwhelmed with joy to see the glory of God manifested in our midst. Hallelujah! He is indeed the only reason for this great event.
ACA Christmas Celebration
Enjoying time with our young people during the Christmas celebration
Our team with the Akha at the Khon Suey Church Christmas celebration
Our team of 20 from Bangkok was honored to perform two dances and four songs with a crowd of over 1,000 people as an audience, including the governor, vice governor, and director of the Department of Social Development and Welfare during the “Tamarind Festival” celebration in the Petchabun province on January 26. It was such a great performance that the governor and other government officials came to the stage after and showed a high appreciation for our presence and full cooperation with the government program in community development. We thank God for having a harmonious relationship with the Thai government, which helps us expand the kingdom of God in Thailand legally and effectively.
Great time with the governor of Petchabun
Children's presentation during our church anniversary
May the Lord richly and abundantly bless you all.
Your Co-laborers in Christ,
Brother Albert and Sister Jiep Gonzales
