I lost count how many countries this is and had to go to the route page and look! I wonder if it’ll feel like that on the actual race. Not knowing what day it is, what month we’re in, feeling like we’ve been there forever…Lord help us all! lol!
Ok but this is country eight!
About Thailand:
-Thailand is the only southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power.
-Population: 66,720,153
-Religion: Buddhist 94%, Muslism 4%, Other 2%.
-Official language: Thai
-Capital: Bangkok
-Slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming
Praises:
-The Church in Thailand is growing. Many missionaries there think that the country is ready for its greatest breakthrough in church growth ever.
-Increased understanding and sensitivity to the Buddhist worldview and culture have helped missionaries be more effective in reaching through to the people. Too often our westernized version of Christianity turns people in other countries off to the Truth so this is a blessing that missionaries there are able to reach out to them in their culture!
-The Thailand Evangelism and Church Growth committee has plans to reach Thailand’s 80,000 villages with the gospel.
Prayers:
-The lack of church growth for the last several centuries. Despite dedicated missions workers the number of Thai Christians is only a miniscule number, about 1% of the population.
– The widespread sex trade, some estimate that 10% of all tourist money is spent on the sex industry. Nearly 2 million people have been forced into this awful trade. Pray for the girls who have been sold into this, those who profit from it, and the people who come to the country for this purpose. The government opposes this trade but does very little to stop it. Pray that this evil trade will be brought to an end.
-Needy groups of people. Children in crisis: Over one million are estimated to be child laborers. There are thousands of homeless children living on the streets. HIV/AID victims: Thailand has the highest number of sufferers in Asia, estimates are around 700,000, but the real number could easily be double this. Refugees: Thailand is a refuge for many people from surrounding countries and many are involved in harsh manual labor. They need people to reach out to them with compassion and hope. Maybe we can be those people!
– I was searching in recent news for happenings in Thailand and saw this article about a 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar/Northern Thailand just a few days ago. Pray for the people that were affected by this.
