Dear Prayer Ministry Partners,

At the beginning of August this year, I fell at home, and my back started hurting. I also couldn’t lift anything heavy. Fortunately, it gradually healed, so we decided to go to Chiang Mai again, and took the opportunity to visit Myanmar as well. On one hand, we wanted to encourage and support the students and colleagues in Chiang Mai, and on the other hand, we tried to understand the situation in Myanmar.

Those who traveled with us were Ivy and Hudson (leaders of the CCiC-TriValley missions team) and Sarina (Ivan couldn’t join due to other matters). Ivy and Ivan are both board members of GFM.

We arrived in Chiang Mai on October 28, but missed it with Aimee, who had already left for Taiwan. Tracy graduated from CMU last year. In September, I went to China for further study, and now I am studying Chinese at Beijing Normal University. Now the student center in Thailand is run by Dina, who is very mature and will graduate from CMU this year and will continue to pursue a master’s degree. She is of the Lahu ethnic group, and her grandfather was a pastor of the MaeAi Church. Two years ago, they built a church, and in the end they needed 400,000 baht, GFM donated 500,000 baht, the old pastor was surprised, not only completed the construction, but also completed the new toilet, which was more convenient for the camp in the future.

Chiang Mai Grace Student Center is protected by God, last year there were 19 students, 10 of them had outstanding academic performance, 10 had a GPA of 3.8 to 4.0, 6 were 3.0-3.8, and only 3 little boys were below 3.0, thank God for them! This time we prepared gifts for the students, some brought from the United States, and some gave them money to buy the supplies they needed, and everyone was very happy.

11/3 We went to Yangon and thanked God for keeping us safe in and out of Myanmar. No young man dares to walk on the streets at night in Yangon, for fear of being dragged to serve as soldiers.

On 11/5, Pastor Zhu and Pastor Ming took three brothers and sisters to the disaster area, because the 5-6 hours drive was too far from Taifanpo, so we stayed in Yangon.

They visited the disaster-affected areas Tatkon and the villagers in Nay Pyi Taw. A total of 415 households benefited, with each household receiving the following gifts: 15kg of rice; 1.5kg of oil; salt; 1.5kg of soybeans; 1.5kg of onions; 2 cans of fish; MSG; and 5 packs of instant noodles. All are practical daily necessities. Finally, they donated monitors and computers to the health bureau to help them educate the villagers. Special thanks to Pastor Zhu for carefully and efficiently organizing our contributions.

On November 9th, I was supposed to preach the Sunday message at Pastor Chu’s Yangon Chinese Grace Church, speaking on the Acts of the Apostles, which I know best, and encouraging them to evangelize. But I was deeply moved by them!

There were only about thirty or forty people in total, very few young men because they were afraid of being conscripted; the young ones had all gone abroad or were hiding. The meeting place was on the third floor of an apartment, combining two units into one space, which was all the room they had, and there was no parking. However, not long ago they established a Burmese Grace Evangelical Hall, which now has about thirty people attending each Sunday afternoon service.

While I was preaching, I saw everyone was fully focused and eager for God’s word, which moved me deeply. After the service, we had a love feast, then rehearsed for the Christmas special event. Seeing the church united and enthusiastic, not limited by their circumstances, was very inspiring.

Due to the development of the ministry, they are also considering and seeking the possibility of purchasing a church building. Currently, they have found a piece of land measuring 170×100 feet, about a third of an acre, priced at $300,000 USD. For them, this is an astronomical figure beyond reach, but they believe God will guide and provide, accomplishing what seems impossible to humans.

After returning to the U.S., one day during our devotion, we read Haggai 1:3 ‘This house remains desolate, while you yourselves are living in paneled houses.’ Indeed, the Lord’s house is still desolate, and the Lord prompted us to come together to build His house.

Philippine Ministry

GFM continues to support the educational ministry for the Aeta students in the Philippines. Currently, we are supporting 42 high school students and 10 university students. We pray that God will give them wisdom and understanding to study well, leading them to become devoted soldiers of Christ. In the past, 20 students have been baptized. Praise God!

On the evening of November 25, we returned to the U.S., and on the 26th, we attended Pine and Cypress Fellowship’s annual in-person Thanksgiving gathering, followed by a large group photo. Except for three people in the front row, the others are all Pine and Cypress members over 90 years old. Because I use a cane, we were arranged to sit in the front row. See if you can recognize anyone; you will surely find some familiar old faces.

After returning, we are deeply grateful to God for giving us this safe and fulfilling journey, and we feel even more how blessed and abundant our environment is.

Now I am already over 80 years old, but God wants us to continue bearing fruit even in old age, to be full of sap and always green (Psalm 92:14). We are deeply thankful to Him for these opportunities for ministry. We also pray that God will keep us all in good health, so that we can continue to walk in His grace. The peace that God gives, beyond all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Your coworker,
Dr. Aleck Lee