Scott and Tan - FBC Missions

09/21/202409/21/2024

Scott and Tan September 2024

I had been planning for some time to write a newsletter. But, as you probably know me well, by now I could always find just one more thing to do before getting started on it, so it gets delayed and delayed. No I have to send you at least a short update as life has just turned upside down.

Many of you may have seen or heard by now, possibly through International Ministries, that Northern parts of Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand and Eastern Burma all got hit by the tail of a typhoon last week which has caused heavy flooding in all four countries. Vietnam is reporting over 240 dead, over half of that number from a landslide that took out one village. Accurate information on Burma and Laos is not so easy to get, but we are seeing reports of severe damage in Burma with at least 160 dead and counting. Even the capital of Burma, NayPyiTaw, was flooded badly.

Our home province of Chiang Rai was also severely damaged. The flood came into the city and damaged most of the downtown. Almost all the communities near the river were hit hard. Upstream, in the hills, many villages near the river have seen complete destruction. Our home, near the river, was also flooded. But thanking the Lord that it is just a lot of mud that we have to deal with and no significant damage. We got most everything up in time before we rushed out at 10 pm on Wednesday night – just as the water rushed in. At least a dozen other missionary families were flooded out. Some lost absolutely everything.

The flood of the century, I would say. In the nearly 40 years I have been here, I have never seen this level of flooding.

International Ministries has put out an appeal, if you would like to donate. Some of the local ministries I am related to here will be managing those relief funds.

The Thai people have been amazing. Volunteers from the entire country have poured in. It is a time of working together and helping each other.

We are monitoring the news from our neighboring countries, trying to find ways we can help as we know that the needs there will be greater than ours.

Blessings,

Scott and Tan

09/17/2024

Thailand Flooding September 2024

International Ministries has sent an initial grant of $20,000 in One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) emergency relief to partners that will provide humanitarian relief to the victims of the severe flooding devastating northern Thailand.

Catastrophic flooding has struck Chiang Rai province in northern Thailand, affecting more than 10,000 homes, according to news reports from the Bangkok Post. Some are calling it the worst flooding in 80 years, with the Kok River overflowing to submerge the entire business district of Chiang Rai city. Across Thailand, 48 provinces remain under flash flood warnings through September 18^th, with the potential for further devastation.

International Ministries (IM) is deeply concerned for the safety and well-being of its global servants, partners in the region, and the communities they serve. The Williams and Coats families, IM global servants stationed in Chiang Rai, have been forced to flee their homes due to rising floodwaters.

IM Area Director for Southeast Asia and Japan Rev. Kyle Witmer describes the dire situation: “Our partners among the hill tribe peoples here have seen some devastating realities as rivers have overrun their banks on numerous occasions. Please prayerfully consider how God might use you to respond with love and care for those affected. Pray that in the midst of this difficult time, people will see the difference that a relationship with Jesus Christ makes in the lives of God’s children.”

With ongoing flood warnings, immediate needs for displaced families include food, clean water, and shelter, while longer-term efforts will focus on restoration and rebuilding. Kyle and Katrina Williams, IM global servants in Chiang Rai, have been providing updates on the situation as it unfolds. They are urgently asking for prayer and support. “Our community is overwhelmed. Many families are now living like refugees, uncertain of when they’ll be able to return to their homes and begin the daunting task of clean-up,” shared Kyle Williams.

IM calls for urgent prayer and support for all affected by the floods, especially for the families of its global servants and local partners. Financial gifts can be made in two ways:

To support community relief efforts, donations can be made through your American Baptist church, through giving online, or by sending checks directly to International Ministries. Please designate your contributions “OGHS–Thailand Floods” in the memo line of your check.
To support the IM global servants who have experienced personal losses, donations can be made online or by sending checks directly to International Ministries, designating your contributions “Global Servant Emergency Care” in the memo line of your check.

Checks sent directly to International Ministries should be made payable to “International Ministries” and mailed to:

International Ministries
Attn: Gifts Processing
1003 W 9th Avenue, Ste A
King of Prussia, PA 19406

All funds will directly assist those in need as they navigate this unprecedented disaster. Your prayers and financial support will make a significant difference in helping those affected by the devastating floods in Chiang Rai and across the country.

03/05/202303/05/2023

Scott and Tan February 2023

It looked like the year was going to be just a lot more of 2022 and things started rather slow and dull. It was probably just me that was kind of slow and dull. I had been sick since the week before Christmas and was frustrated because even 2 weeks into the year, I was still feeling yucky.

The Thailand Karen Baptist Convention’s relief effort we have been helping as they provide food and relief to the Internally Displaced People (IDP)in Karen and Kayah States of Burma was still going on with no end in sight and the IDP numbers were reaching 500,000 in Karen State alone. Some of these people have been displaced again and again as they have no place safe to stay and the Burmese military continues to shell and bomb them. If we are getting ‘relief fatigue’ , I can only imagine how the IDPs feeling. We hear that the trauma has been unbearable for a lot of people -hearing the planes everyday never knowing which one will drop bombs on them.

Then suddenly a number of developments have taken place in the first two months of this year that have kind of kept us on our feet. The top leadership of one of MMF – TKBC’s funding partners came for a visit and wanted to see the border. During the trip they proposed that MMF play a significant role in the management of their Burma program. They have staff in Burma and resources to apply, but can’t manage it since the country is falling apart. They want to continue with the relief work, but they also want to see progress in the area of peaceful change. What a challenge! How do you bring about peaceful transformation when the country is embroiled in a civil war? So we appreciate your prayers on hearing God’s will for us on this one.

And then, as is typical for Burma, when things are really bad, something strange happens that doesn’t seem to make sense. In the midst of a country that has descended into chaos, the Burmese military government just opened the Northern land border between Burma and Thailand last week. I got a message from a friend who lives on the border today saying that I, as a foreigner, can go to Kengtung on a border pass again now! Our friends there, whom we haven’t seen in 3 years, are able to cross over to see us and we plan to see several of them in the next few weeks. We will decide about going up Kengtung to see them on that side later. So on one side of the country, the continued fighting and struggle causes millions to suffer and be displaced while on the other side, the Eastern side, life is normal, business is booming and the border is open for us to travel back and forth like nothing is happening. The military wants to bring in investment and show that life is normal. But as soon as we begin to believe them, something happens – like a bomb goes off in the streets or the bus station, or another church leader gets arrested and we realise life is not normal.

So we pray for wisdom to know how to move ahead and support our friends in Burma.

Thank you for your prayers and support. We also remember to pray for you.

With Grateful hearts,

Scott And Tan

10/31/202203/05/2023

Scott and Tan October 2022

Dear Faithful Friends and Praying Supporters,

I am humbled when I read that so many of you have been praying for our family. Thank you. I am absolutely convinced that it has made all the difference. We seek to be Christ’s ambassadors and may sometimes play a small part in some amazing events and developments that only God could have brought about. Let me tell you about one:

Ten years ago last month, I had a revelation. [ One Pentecostal national missionary friend of mine was astounded. Probably, not by the revelation as much as that God gave it to a Baptist. Well, the Lord must have wanted to shake things up a bit if He gave a Baptist a word of revelation. ] I was doing my devotions early one morning and came across the phrase, “And they will know that the Lord is in that city” The reading was about Jerusalem, but it really struck me as relevant for the present. I felt prompted to ask God, what city are you talking about, Lord? I heard an almost audible “Chiang Rai” . This city. The nation of Thailand will know, maybe, even the world will know that the Lord is in this place. I was so excited and wanted to tell the world of my great revelation. But when I asked God what to do next, I felt the very strong reply: “just pray and ready yourself”. I was a little disappointed. I wanted to organize something; a big prayer meeting, make an announcement, tell the world. But immediately afterward, I got dengue, and by the time I had recovered from that our family had a crisis that took the wind out of our sails. But as I reflected and prayed, I realised, that God was serious. “ Just pray and get ready” So for 10 years, I have been serving God in the ways I think God has called me. And I have been praying. We have continued to enable, mentor, and encourage local national ministries, particularly with a focus on Eastern Shan State(Burma), as that was another very clear calling in 2013. So that has been where we have focused our encouragement and energy until Covid and the military coup has kept us away from Burma, though we are still working there – from a distance, from here in Chiang Rai.

The First Church, established in 1914 is downtown. Tan and I were married here in 1991.

Chiang Rai, our home base, has had a small but established core of Christians for a century. The early missionaries did leave some landmarks in the city: a school, a church, and a hospital, to name three. Slowly and steadily, the Christian Faith has taken root and grown, particularly among the ethnic minority people, who have had a growing presence here.

One week ago, this Pentecostal friend I mentioned above, called me. He has been gripped with a desire to organize a massive worship service of as many believers as the local soccer stadium