Our girls are making some great friends here in Thailand. I think the kids here would adopt our kids in a heart beat. They love them! It is so much fun to watch how the interact and how much the kids here light up when they see our girls show up. The come and grab their hands and run off and play. They want to sit with them and eat with them. It is such a beautiful thing. Here are some pictures from tonight as we had a special youth service.
You may remember from two years ago the story I posted about a boy with no known language. The picture above is of him on my shoulders when I was in Mae Sot in 2014. He came to the orphanage from a remote area of Burma and nobody knew what language he spoke. He didn’t understand Burmese or Thai and it was difficult to find a way to communicate with him. As Paul Harvey would say, here is the rest of the story.
Today he is speaking and thriving in his new environment. The children at the school love him and he is really doing great. It was wonderful to see him again. Here is a video of him playing catch with a football with our group. I know the Lord has great plans for him. We now know that his name is Paulus. I love to get to watch kids like this grow over time and see their stories unfold.
The first day at our project is in the books. Kim and the girls, and the team from First Baptist, Lexington had a great time and they were able to pour into the over 200 children there. It is such a joy to be able to watch your children being used in ministry. Our girls were able to connect with the children really well. A group of students had signs for each person in the team. They waved the signs as the team arrived in the bus.
I spent about 8 hours last night throwing up. Something I ate definitely didn’t like me. However, through the prayers of others, I was able to start keeping food down and was able to travel with the team to Burma (Myanmar). Prayer does matter, and I appreciate having each of you as prayer warriors for us.
We went across the river to Burma (Myanmar) today to visit a potential new ministry location. It was a great experience for our girls. It was a great opportunity to share with them a different culture and way of life. There are so many opportunities for us to serve others. We are truly blessed as a family.
I love going to church in a foreign country. I especially enjoy singing praises to the Lord. It is overwhelming to know that our Lord doesn’t need a translator! Here is a video of the congregation singing “Have You Any Room For Jesus” in Burmese.
What a great way to spend Father’s Day, with my family in Thailand! We are in Mae Sot, Thailand and have been able to spend the day at church with the children at our orphanage. Now we are at a soccer game between our soccer team and a Chinese church.
We are officially on our way! Flight #1 of 17. I am sitting on the plane in Dallas as I write this. We are looking forward to what the Lord will do on this extended trip. Thank you for the prayers and I appreciate your prayers.
2016 has started off very well. Thank you for your support. My Bradford Pear tree in the front yard is already blooming and it looks like spring is already upon us. As spring begins to break, the sprint is about to begin.
In one week from now I will be traveling to Florida and we will be presenting in 8 churches in 5 states. As soon as we finish the last church, we will head to Asia for nearly 7 weeks to help lead teams. Then, come back a week to repack and take a team to Nicaragua.
My daughter was asking why we visit so many churches. I told her it is because we need to raise support for places like Vietnam, Thailand and North Korea to help sustain our feeding programs and orphanages. Otherwise we cannot buy the food that we need to feed the kids.
She looked at me and said, “I have $30 in my room if you need it.” Wow! The heart of a child. It blows me away, and humbles me all the time.
Thank you for supporting our family. It is an honor to walk with you in this endeavor the Lord has placed before us.
It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord provides for our every need. This week I had a Pastor’s Fellowship that I attended. I knew someone in the town and sent them an email about staying with them. However, I never heard back from them. Unfortunately, all I had was an email address and not a phone number. I drove to the fellowship on Monday and figured if I didn’t hear anything by the time we concluded Monday night, I would venture into nearby towns to look for a hotel room. I wasn’t quite sure how it would all work out, but I knew I needed to go.
Well, after the meeting was over a pastor that I have been on a trip with in the past came up to me and asked if I had any place to stay. The only person that knew about my lack of a place to stay was my wife, who was 3 hours away. I said it was a funny story, but no I did not have a place to stay yet. He then proceeded to tell me to follow him and he would buy me dinner and get me a hotel room. It is amazing that God had put that on his heart without him even knowing. What a tremendous blessing.
It is in times like this that really illustrate how the Lord uses the body to serve others and work together. I’m grateful for each of you.
Jones Family - MANNA Missionaries 