May 2023 Newsletter
"And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us."
1 John 5:14 [1]
To our support team, family and friends,
Hello again from Ethan and I :D We pray that you all are well. This month we'll be sharing a few highlights:
Visa update
The Asian Leaders Learning Community conference
YWAM Trang's media pages - follow us with the links below!
A reflection inspired by Hudson Taylor & the movement of prayer for Bibleless languages
We pray its a blessing for you all to read.
Provision: Long-Term Visa
Yet another miracle of provision for our family happened this month! We have the priviledge of receiving a secure long-term missionary visa that allows for us to fully give ourselves to ministry for the years to come. For us to have this opportunity this quickly is nothing short of a miracle. We're going through the application process and will be soon switching from our education visa soon. We need to pass a Thai Language proficiency test in about a year and a half so your continued prayers for language learning are so appreciated!
Asian Leaders Learning Community Conference
The majority of our team visited the Northeastern region of Thailand about three weeks ago to attend this conference of over 200 leaders from different Asian countries. With the goal of learning and growing in relationship with one another, we came together for worship, teaching and fellowship. We met some amazing people who offered us so much encouragement and advice in our language and culture season - it was really a beautiful week!
YWAM Trang Website, Facebook & Instagram - LIVE
Our media team has done an incredible job creating these ministry accounts where we'll be posting and writing regularly. We would love for you to explore our website, hear more of our vision and stay connected with us on these platforms.
Follow these links:
(and subscribe to our articles)
Built Upon Prayer - The Legacy of Hudson Taylor
After returning home from the conference, Ethan and I both came down with Covid-19 and found ourselves confined indoors for almost two weeks. We soon became wrapped up in the book: The Autobiography of Hudson Taylor: Missionary to China. With our cat curled up beside us and mugs of ginger tea in hand, we read about the narrow path Hudson Taylor walked as he followed the Son of Man into war-torn China where he later pioneered a new missions agency in 1856, the China Inland Mission. He is most well known for sparking a new era in missions: infiltrating the interior of lands previously without any gospel witness. As we read story after story of the ways God provided, shepherded and birthed this new work in China, what gripped our hearts most was that it was simply built upon a foundation of faith-filled prayer.
The profound and presently multiplying impact of Hudson's life among the Chinese is a living testimony that the Lord has done great and mighty things! Through the intercessory prayers of Hudson and his growing team on the field and back at home, increasing numbers of laborers were thrust forward and the gospel was preached in power. As we together pray and work for a similar thing to happen in Thailand, the reminder of the immeasurable power of prayer emboldens us.
"Through intercessory prayers... laborers were thrust forward and the gospel was preached in power."
These stories of the Lord's miraculous works are not reserved for men of old. God is writing new, grand stories as He partners with His bride to bring redemption to the nations. We need only be yielded, empty, obedient and full of faith. Each day, we enter again into the spiritual battle against all our unbelief, ever placing our trust in His grace to sustain and work for His glory.
As God was stirring in our hearts and teaching us through Hudson Taylor's story, the founder of Youth With A Mission, Loren Cunningham, shared the vision and need for translating the Bible into every mother tongue. His starting point? Mobilizing global prayer for every single language! God's timing is always perfect. We felt this so resonated in our hearts and provided an opportunity for us to act - to join in this movement of prayer for the gospel to reach all peoples, all languages! As the Lord leads you, we invite you to also consider joining us individually, with your family, or as a small group by praying for one of the Bibleless languages in Thailand or beyond. Let's continue to stand in His promises and pray boldly for the Word to be preached in every tongue!
Above are some awesome pictures of Hudson Taylor and his fellow workers in the CIM.
Praise
We've fully recovered from Covid-19 and are feeling much better
Long-term missionary visa!!! :D
So thankful for you all, our team, and the work God is doing in our hearts and in this nation.
Petitions
Please pray for these names: Mike, Live, Golf, Tian, Boom, Team, P'Goi, P'Mook, P'Nok and her two children, P'Daranee & family, Kru Sue, Nueng, Bing Bing, Don and Gee, Jay and Chompoo, Pi Kwan.
Language learning endurance
This upcoming week we'll be hosting a Thai DTS team: pray for these students as they are new believers and our team as we host them.
Enjoy this video about YWAM Thailand made by our team. [2]
Thank You
We are so thankful to you all for your partnership. Thank you to the many who continue to faithfully pray on our behalf and that of our team. As we continue to learn in greater depths the power of prayer, our appreciation and thanks only grows towards the way you empower the work of God here through your petitions!
We love and miss you. <3
Ethan and Marie Parks
"That you may know... what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places."
Ephesians 1:18b-20 [3]
Citations
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 John 5:14.
[2] "YWAM Thailand who we are," streamed on May 23, 2023, YouTube video, https://youtu.be/ct6a8Z2boLo
[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ephesians 1:18b-20.