Sampat Chiwit Church Sunday Service

We attended the Sunday service at Sampat Chiwit Church this morning. Some elements of the service were quite familiar (singing, praying, communion, sermon), but others were quite foreign to us (bilingual singing, everyone praying at the same time, everyone holding hands in little groups while praying, the sermon being translated into Thai). For most of the songs they had both Thai and English lyrics on the screen, so we sang in English while the locals sang in Thai. For a couple there was only Thai - but it was transliterated, so we were able to sing it in Thai. We had no idea what we were singing, but it was still lovely to be able to sing with our Thai brothers and sisters! The service went for about 2 1/2 hours, but it didn't feel nearly that long!!

Annette gave her testimony, which was really well received. We performed "Mighty to Save" as an item, which also went down really well. We hope to practice with the local music team during the week so that they can lead the congregation in that song next week. Steve preached, with Chatchai doing most of the interpreting, and a couple of the young guys chiming in from the sidelines when there was something he didn't know how to translate. Kelly was asked to join Eden for the kids' program, and when they got upstairs, Eden surprised her by saying to Kelly, "You teach them!". They ended up playing some games, and Kelly read them a Bible story and talked to them about it.

There was also an Iranian family visiting, which added to the cultural experience. They were sitting behind Steve and me so we spoke to them a fair bit. They are living in London, and in Bangkok for a holiday. They met Chatchai a few days ago and decided to come to church today. What really blew me away was that we had been talking about how lost and dark Bangkok (and the whole of Thailand) is - but when this Iranian guy was asked to come up the front and tell us what he would like prayer for, he asked for prayer that his country would become as free as Thailand!! Iran is a very tough place for Christians to live.

After the service we ate lunch together, during which some members of the Filipino church that we had been invited to attend this afternoon asked if one of us could give a testimony, and perform Mighty to Save again.

We met with one of the teachers from Wijit School, where we'll be spending Thursday and Friday, and talked about our plans for those days. Eden teaches at JamJan School, so we talked about plans for that school as well.

We had thought that we would be running the women's and youth groups this afternoon, but we found out after church that they've been cancelled this week because of the New Year holiday - so we'll be doing the activities we had planned next week.

So we're now back at our apartments for a short rest, before heading out to the Filipino church. We're not sure where the church is, what we'll be asked to do up front there, or when we're likely to get home! But I think we're all getting accustomed to that kind of uncertainty. :o)

Could you please pray for Chatchai and Sofia's daughter, Praise? She was hospitalised last night, apparently vomiting blood. Chatchai and Sofia don't seem too concerned - apparently it has happened before. But it would be good if you could pray for her.