“I want to do something that requires complete dependence on God, something that can only be done by His power, so that I can’t take any credit for it,” Ricardo told me as we weighed the pros and cons of becoming AFM missionaries. We have had many opportunities to remember those words—sometimes when praying for the impossible, and sometimes when praising God for what He alone could have accomplished.

Our team is approaching the end of our formal culture study. While we will continue studying and meeting together to plan how best to introduce Jesus and His truth in our Thai context, we are feeling a deep sense of need for God’s guidance in this next phase. It is exciting to see how aspects of ministry such as Sabbath worship and Bible studies have become more contextualized and relevant for Thai Buddhists, but it is also sobering to realize that every step we take has a long-lasting impact on the budding work here.

For the past several months, our team has had a scheduled hour of prayer every Monday through Friday. In our first meeting of the New Year, we spent time reading through the book of Acts and seeking biblical principles for building God’s kingdom. As you read the stories from our Central Thai team on pages 6, 8, 10 and 24, you will catch a glimpse of how God is at work answering our prayers in dramatic ways. We pray that as you read, you will be inspired to join us in praying for a self-sustaining movement for Christ in Khon Kaen that will spread throughout this country!

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