Genesis & Verna Maraat

Chiang Mai, Thailand

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Pioneering in a New TCM Country

Genesis & Verna arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand on May 28, 2008 to begin the difficult task of acquiring the Thai language. Their children are enrolled in Grace International School while the parents study the language and culture at Cornerstone Language School. On December 8 they were joined in Chiang Mai by TCM missionaries Nathan & Jessica Killion.

Genesis is the Field Representative for TCM in Thailand. The Maraats and Killions will develop a strategy for sharing the love of Christ with the Thai people as they continue in learning the language. The location of their future ministry is currently a matter of prayer and surveying the possibilities.

Newsletter- November 2011

Dear Beloved Partners,

Greetings in Jesus’ name from the land of smile, “Thailand.” Thai people’s smiles are turning into tears and sadness as the country experiences the worst flood in 60 years. The duration of the flood is more than 3 months now. Roads are turning into rivers and 62 out of 77 provinces are affected by the flood, which has claimed over 500 lives. Many factories are closing, so many houses are inundated, and there is shortage of food in the market as shelves in the supermarkets are empty. Life is not what it used to be among the Thai people. The governor in Bangkok officially offered sacrifices to their gods to seek supernatural intervention so Bangkok will be spared from the flood. The 0.5 % Christians of the 67 million Thai people extended help-ing hands alongside the government in helping those flood victims. Christians, pastors and missionaries are praying that something good will come out of this. For many years so many people are praying for spiritual breakthrough in Thailand. Beloved, please pray that through this deluge many Thai Buddhists will earnestly seek the real and living Savior instead of praying to carved idols.

As many of you are aware, August 20th, Verna had a hysterec-tomy. Since she lost a lot of blood, she had to have a blood transfu-sion. Thank God there was no complication in the blood transfusion. She left the hospital after 5 days. We are very much grateful also because the fibroid is benign. God answered so many prayers. We want to express our deepest gratitude to those who sent gifts specifically for Verna’s surgery. Beloved, thank you very, very much for your gifts. Thank you also for praying for Verna’s quick recovery. She is now well and has fully recovered. Praise the Lord!

We started Grace English Center August 29, 2011. God provided a two-storey house with good-sized rooms for classes. Our aim is to teach English to University students. We are hoping that through teaching English we can build relationships to many students, so that we can share the gospel of Christ to Thai Buddhist. We started with 8 students which grew to around 30 by the end of September. They come from 16 provinces in Thailand. The month of October was a semester break so we did not have classes. The students returned the first week of November and we are yet to know how many will enroll again to study English. We con-tinue to pray that God will send students to study English at our Center, and also that God will prepare their hearts to hear the gospel. Genesis had a chance to share the story of Creation and the entrance of sin to one of the leaders of these students who are coming. Many advised us, that in order to reach out to the Buddhists; we need to start by sharing the story of Creation. We also made it clear to the students that we are Christians, willing and committed to help them speak English. Beloved, please pray for Grace English Center that many students will come to know Jesus as Savior through our ministry.

Verna continues to reach out to our Thai neighbors. We have been praying for 3 years now for our neighbors. Just recently, Toi started to open up for Verna. Verna is teaching her English and gave her a magazine, which contains salvation testimonies of Thai individuals. Toi likes it and is reading the maga-zine. A Thai neighbor, Linda, is coming to our house every Thursday for lunch with other Christian ladies. Linda has been exposed to the gospel of Christ several times. We have sown seeds to individuals and we are really praying that God in His own time will give us the harvest.

Andrea is now in 9th grade. She is one of the varsity soccer team players. She plays clarinet in the high school band. We are grateful that she maintains her straight “A” records. Josiah is in 7th grade. He plays guitar in the middle school chapel and saxophone in the middle school band. He is also one of the officers of the school’s student body organization. Verna and I are thankful that Andrea and Josiah are serious in their Christian life. May the Lord bless them, and that one day they will turn out to be a great man and woman of God.

Beloved, we are so thankful to each one of you for partnering with us in our mission endeavor here in the country of Thailand. Thailand is in deep darkness. One of the hardest things in Mission is when missionaries continue to sow and do not see a harvest for a long time. Because of this, missionaries get discouraged— some decide to go home. We do not want this to happen to us. Please pray that by God’s grace we don’t lose heart. Thank you for standing behind us in our 42 months of serving in Thailand.

Yours missionaries in Thailand,
Genesis, Verna, Andrea and Josiah Maraat
Wishing you a joyous Christmas and fruitful 2012. May God find us faithful (1 Cor. 4:2).

 

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