Christian Mission to the Orient

P.O. Box 2363, Joplin, Mo 64803

January  2016 Report
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Lay Leaders from Laos attend the December CLD session
 
2015 ended with a flurry o f activities.   In this issue read  exciting updates about:  the Church Leadership Development course David & Sharon Filbeck taught in December; the January 2016 Community of Blessing Medical team.; and the next exciting step LTC is taking to gain an extra level of recognition from the Thai Education Ministry.

"If I had known this is what God wanted in our families...." (CLD Update)
Lay Leaders from across the river singing before starting morning class on Biblical Leadership. 
December 5-11, 2015 David & Sharon Filbeck and LTC professor Mr. Subin Chiengnoon taught the third intensive week of courses for the Church Leadership Development program.  This program is designed to train lay leaders in the Asian Church.  We currently are training 25 lay leaders for the Mennonite Brethren churches in Laos. 

David teaching Biblical Leadership.


  This week the two courses were Biblical Leadership (David & Sharon) and Church Administration (Subin Chiengnoon). 
Sharon Filbeck and Mrs. Kannoi share a moment of encouragement. 
 





We were greatly encouraged to hear reports on how these church leaders are applying the lessons from the Marriage and Family course we taught in the August, 2015 session.   Sharon was able to connect with Mrs. Kannoi, one of the women lay leaders. Mrs. Kannoi is a widow who has demonstrated faithful service over the years, even after her husband passed away. She is a midwife who helps abandoned women deliver babies, she takes in  sick or abandoned children in the community and nurses them out of her own funds. She became excited telling how she had used the material about God's design for family and marriage.   Since last August she taught it in cell group settings in member's homes. She told of  how troubled marriages had been strengthened.   In one family the husband decided to accept Christ as his savior. He said "If I had known this is what God wanted in our families, if I had understood God's love that starts in our home, I would have accepted Christ earlier!"  He accepted Christ as his Savior, and was baptized.  Kannoi said their family life has changed completely!
2016 Begins with Community of Blessing Medical Outreach

A happy customer with her new eye glasses.
January 1-8  volunteers from the United States, Australia, and Thailand arrived for the  January 2016 Community of Blessing Medical team. This trip we visited 3 villages in   Nan Province. Two villages were from the Lua language group, the group David and Deloris Filbeck came to serve in 1960. The third village was a Northern Thai community.  LTC graduate Mr. Prawanwit coordinated with local officials.


Dr. Ken listens to a patient's concerns.
 Mr. Prawanwit is an elected official in the area and has become a leader in the communities and churches.  On one of the days of the clinic he was in meetings with the governor of the province.

It was a busy three days of clinic, with 290 patients served in medical, 87 served in dental, and 209 served in the vision clinic.
January 2016 COB Team.









 
Go to www.cmothailand.net/cob for more information and to submit an application for our next COB trips  scheduled for August 2016 and January 2017.  We are taking volunteer applications for both trips.

You can also see a video of the trip Here.
 
LTC to register with Ministry of Education
A few years ago th
Carmen Filbeck with LTC graduates.
e Ministry of Education added a new category of school that could register with the ministry.  This category covers schools that concentrate on a single subject for example:  Language (English, Chinese, Thai) or a trade skill (cooking, electricity, auto repair). Interestingly the MOE included certain types of schools for  religious education.  We have been slowly working towards meeting the qualifications for registering in this category.  This has included our building a new classroom building and revamping our curriculum.  One of the curricular changes was to be under four years.  We made the change to a tri-mester system so that the full four year program can now be completed in just under three years.

  We are now in the process of putting together all the paperwork.  We will be hiring a former staff person who holds a teaching license to be the license holder of the school (required by Thai law) under the supervision of the Youth Development Foundation of Chiang Mai (the owner of the school).

This will be a benefit to LTC in several area s.  It will make it easier to open our program to students from other SE Asian Countries.   Students will also receive a diploma that carries a level of recognition that will assist our graduates in continuing education elsewhere or getting jobs to support themselves.

We hope to have this completed by the end of 2016. God has already provided some contacts withing the local Ministry of Education who are responsible for this type registration.  Continue to keep this in your prayers as we work with local government officials. 
Campus Development Up-date. 
                                                               
The new
Final layers of soil pigmentation added for color.
  classroom building is on schedule to be completed sometime the end of February or first of March.  (This does not include landscaping).  We are very excited to see the progress being made.  We are thankful that God has provided all the funding needed to complete the building, buy the furnishings, and put in the landscaping.  Thank you for being the instrument of God's
 providence.  We will have the
grand opening and dedication
Front entry.
service sometime in mid-June, 2016 when we hope David and Deloris Filbeck will be able to return to Chiang Mai for a short visit.  We will be letting you know soon when that will take place.  YOU ARE INVITED TO THE DEDICATION.


Check out the bamboo light fixtures.

                                                          
 
We are grateful for your continued support in helping prepare Christian leaders in Southeast Asia.  You may click here for a Print version of this newsletter.   

 

Sincerely,

 
The CMO Team 
           
Carmen Filbeck
Ken & Kathy Filbeck
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David & Sharon Filbeck