History In 1997 a young man who had gone away to work in Bangkok 10 years before, came home having become a Christian in Bangkok. He got involved in the church in Sivilai and invited the elders to visit his village, which is about 10 miles from Sivilai. Within a short time several people had become Christians and in September 1997 the first 19 received baptism. Surin Pattanasriragit, an elder in the Sivilai church, is a gifted evangelist and teacher. He has taken on responsibility for Ba Faek, alongside Pastor Pytoon - the pastor in Sivilai. There are now over 40 baptized believers. Pytoon and Surin are concentrating on building up leaders in Ba Faek. Mr. Seri has potential for leadership and has recently attended presbytery meetings in an effort to begin to understand the institution of the church and her structures. The church in Sivilai will continue to act as "parent" to Ba Faek, with the session overseeing the congregation. Sivilai will continue to help with finances and keeping accounts etc.. for the time being. The congregation meet together for Bible study and prayer every Friday and for worship on Sunday morning, followed by lunch and fellowship. Pytoon or Surin travel out from Sivilai for these meetings. Travel is by motorbike and is quite treacherous in the rainy season. Once a month they hire trucks to collect the Ba Faek congregation and bring them to Sivilai for communion. |
Worship Initially the believers met in the home of one of the members in Ba Faek, but in February, having outgrown the house, they built a temporary church. The land was donated by one member and the bamboo and wood by others. All the members of this small community are very poor and so donations of materials, land and time are all given sacrificially. Sadly this building is already in need of replacement as the termites have eaten away the pillars, making it unsafe. The fellowship in Ba Faek is extraordinary in its depth of care for its members and those around them. Having no history as a 'Christian' people they profoundly demonstrate the power of the Gospel to transform lives.
|
