CHRISTMAS 2008 REPORT

Shalom All,

Greeting in the Lord’s Name!

Firstly, before I begin, I would like to wish all Chinese people a “Happy Chinese New Year!”, or “Gong Xi Fa Cai!” in Mandarin! In the Chinese tradition, we gather together for the customary Family Reunion Dinner on the eve of Chinese NewYear! During the festivities, married couples will give the “red packet"containing a small sum of money (also known as “angpow”) to children and unmarried adults. There is a brief story about Chinese New Year culture that you may not have hear, you can browse the internet at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Yearfor more information.

Secondly, I would like to give thanks to the Lord as the Lord has opened the door for my future mission service. Last Sunday, we went to Jaisamarn Full Gospel Bang-Pa In church service where I used to preach regularly once a month for a term. It was a big surprise, the Elders and pastor of the church asked my wife and I to become their mission representative for overseas mission. The church plans to sponsor us for our missions. Praise the Lord for everything! Although the church is only able to contribute a small portion of the support required, more importantly, they are committed to cover us in prayer! During the past 1 year and 5 months in the mission field, I have been mostly supported by individual contributions from Christians and Non-Christians who had been touched by the Holy Spirit and believe in my calling. I would like to give thanks to all supporters and I pray that you will continue to uphold this ministry.

Thirdly, I am currently doing a lot of personal counseling with Christian brothers and sisters from Malaysia, Thailand and elsewhere around the world. Many people have come to me with their problems, seeking advice and prayer. The Lord has used me throughout the discussion and many are being blessed by the Lord as their great testimonies are being shared with others. Praise the Lord once again!

Fourthly, in addition, I am also taking the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) course online so that it will allow me to obtain longer visas in Vietnam, China and other countries. There are a few ways to get longer visas while doing Christian mission, either you are a nurse, a doctor or a teacher of English language. Therefore I will fall into the category of teacher. It is not easy to get a teaching job in China however, as they generally prefer Europeans over Asians, thus need to pray forexception to be granted! The probability to secure such a job is slim, however with faith I request your prayer to intercede on this.

Fifthly, God willing, we plan to depart from Thailand by middle of February 2009 once I have completed my TESOL course. We will travel to northern Cambodia to train the pastors there as we were invited to do so by a pastor from Sa Kaew, Thailand. After that we will proceed on to Baray, a place I went to in October 2008. As such, I will have only limited access to internet for the one month period there, thus you will need to check out my blog for updates and new contact numbers. We will be on our mission move to Vietnam for 3 - 4 months and then China for a year plus.

Following the Mission to Cambodia, we will continue our mission in Vietnam for the next 3 to 4 months, followed by at least one year in China.

We would like to update you with our Report for December 2008.

On December 6^th, 2008, at the Lumpini Park, I chose to speak on the theme "Jesus washes His Disciples' Feet taken from John 13 v 1 – 16. As the Lord Jesus moved me to do so, I began to wash each co-worker's and each member's feet. By doing so, we were filled with tremendous joy of the Lord. One member also humbled himself to wash my feet in turn. Yes, Jesus asked us to humble ourselves in serving Him, as well as one another before God, whoever will do so, God will bless us in His work - John 13 v 17.

On the December 19^th, 2008, I went to Lumpini Park again, as we were having Christmas celebration there. Many people turned up for the Christmas celebration there, as well as to hear the Gospel from two speakers- one by a former senator, Dr. Kamjorn and another by a close brother-in-Christ, Pastor Pawpon. Christmas gifts were distributed to everyone present.

On the December 20^th, 2008, Pastor Pawpon, my wife and I went to Sa Kaew that is near the Cambodia border. We also celebrated Christmas at this village. There was a drama performance on the birth of our Jesus Christ as well as a beautiful dance performance by the children, youth to adults. The next day, we attended a church service where there were exchanges of Christmas gifts. We also gave chocolate to the children.

Dear readers and friends, if you happen to live in India, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, United Kingdom or United States, and would like to support us in our ministry work, may we request you to send us your contribution by following the instruction explained at the below or you can browse at the website : http://faithwithyou.blog.com/2822017.

A sowing today will bring us a plentiful harvest for the Lord in the years to come...... and such is the beauty and wonder of the HARVEST!

God Bless!

Blessing,
Pastor Steve Peter H S Kok