All who came to celebrate with us...

God has been very Merciful to the Lighthouse.  We’re up and running.  The building was completed March 2010 and paid in full.  We had a Great Summer of outreach March-May 2011.  Payap University is back in session as of June 2011.  Just some brief highlights…

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Thank God for the church camp, I received blessings from the messages of Pastor Heng. He taught about the purpose of building the church which begins from God and end by God. God created man which will bring to salvation and eternal life. I was happy to join the camp for I met the members of the church and studied Bible together in the mist of mountains, beautiful nature and water fall. We also encouraged each other to grow up in Christ, to know God and to get ready to witness for the good news to many people. We have to be ready to share the gospel to those who don’t know God. And we have to get ready to serve God with all our lives.
Even thought it was difficult to do the camp, all these things taught us to get it better next time. To feel the nature is to know that God is the creator. I spent some time to analyze and study carefully about God’s words to apply in daily life, to serve God, to encourage the members in the church to grow up in Christ, to have more understanding about God and to walk with God.
Even though there were not many members of the church attended the camp, God knew who will be blessed in the camp.

Nalinee Thalue

Citizen of the kingdom of the heaven Camp 

Thank God for the Citizen of the kingdom of the heaven Camp. I had a good time in resting in the mist of the nature and fresh air. Most importantly, my spiritual life was fulfilled with God’s words. I learned about God’s plan in Ephesians and I felt God’s love, also I knew how to live in order to honor God.
            Thank God for Pastor Heng for preparing good lessons, it was a good teaching. Some words were interesting, for example; to humble which means we have a right but we don’t use it. Jesus is the best example of being humble. And another word is to angry, he said, the anger happens because someone cannot do what we expect for, he added; no one can make you get angry, but you yourself. The next things I learned are walk in light, walk in love and walk in Lord’s will. To know God plan is to read Bible for master plan is all in the Bible.
            Thank God for God’s words through Pastor Heng and through his life. He shared his life for us, this is very clear for giving testimony to show that Jesus is alive.
 

Saranya Tongkan’s Reflection on Lighthouse Church Camp “Citizens of Heaven”

        I thank God for His mercy to remind in this camp of such a privilege to be the citizen of His kingdom. This camp helps me go through in more detial of the book of Ephesians. It is not just the citizenship that I come realize but also the blessings and the predestination that God has chosen me before the foundation of the world. It affects my life to carefully walk on this earth as it is not my home. The message gives me hope of going home and this hope brings me joy, peace and gratefulness. I come to learn that there is so much more I have to learn, not just to gain knowledge but to understand by heart and to live it up, and I am so sure that even the whole is not enough. I am also grateful for Thailand has been blessed with beautiful mountains, tress and flowers. As we wnet there I could the glory of God through all His creations.
They reflect His marvalous, wonderful and gorgeous character, and I learn that God’s wisdom is indescribable. Once again I thank God this incredible camp with very good, delicious food, a good place and even fresh air. Amen.

Pakorn Boonmee’s Testmony

Thank God that I could join the camp because the Bible School started on Oct 13th. I skipped the class. God is working all the time; this is what I said to myself. I prayed that all the members in the church will join the camp, but some of them could not come. Thanks God that I could see God is working. God saved us all the way to the Queen garden. I was fulfilled with God’s words. I was happy that I was able to translate on that day. God’s words were powerful. I have learned that we, Christians, are the body of Christ. Sometimes, I do whatever I want to do, but if I have considered about the body of Christ I have to do whatever God wants me to do. Thank God that his words could change my attitude. Thank God that he gives me the flesh air on the mountain for free. And thank God for food that we had a lot of food to eat. Also, thank God for his preparation. At first, we prepared that program for the members who are teenagers, but the program had to be changed. There were Apple’s mother & a friend of Apples’ mother to join our camp, therefore the program must be changed. I saw they are happy and enjoyed the camp. We also enjoyed visiting the Queen garden. It was a good program, so we could take a rest. Once again, thank God for his words, I realized about body of Christ and I have to stay close to God more.

Tuesday, 12 October, 2010 7:58 AM

After a long absence in updating, we are working on the final touches of the Lighthouse Building. Workmen are putting on the final coat of paint and finishing up the grounds. We’ve commissioned a carpenter to work on the pulpit and Holy Communion table. By God’s Grace, enough funds will be available to finish the rest of the furnishings, appliances and nitty gritty like tables and chairs and the like.

Saturday, 27 February, 2010 8:35 PM

Painting in Progress. Toilet fixtures installed. Lights and fans installed yesterday. Purchased doors today for installation. Public water and electricity installed 2 weeks ago. God Willing, the building will be handed over to us on 11 March 2011.

Thursday, 28 January, 2010 10:59 AM

Wall plastering 95% done. Electrical wires being installed. Outside ceiling under the eaves being installed. Need to get actual measurements of the land because we can’t locate the boundary markers. Applying to have public water for our building.

Friday, 15 January, 2010 9:42 PM

Wall plastering continues. Office and storeroom done. Parsonage walls done. Selecting of tiles and flooring done.

Thursday, 14 January, 2010 2:59 PM

Wall plastering of the main hall is almost done. In the process of choosing floor tiles, wall tiles. Finalizing layout of kitchen cabinet space, counter top, sink, stove and fridge.
Details.

Tuesday, 12 January, 2010 9:50 PM

Electrical conduits have been installed. Wall plastering started yesterday. Lintel around the roof is being installed. Thank God we were able to bore a well 18 metres deep and hit clean water. Praise the Lord! The walls are 95% up. The Plastering will be done in about a week.

Tuesday, 22 December, 2009 4:01 PM

The roof is done. The walls are up 70%. The door frames are onsite awaiting installation. The window sills are awaiting the aluminum window panes. Some minor shifting of the walls are needed to make the walls flush against the pillar. Work will begin in the next couple days to bore a well for our water needs.

Saturday, 12 December, 2009 11:39 PM

The roof tiles were being installed together with the insulation. Things are moving rapidly except for the possibility that the lack of funds will cause work stoppage. Thank God that we haven’t had to stop though it threatens to do so because we only have half of the 4th payment. God is in Control.

Wednesday, 9 December, 2009 11:31 PM

The builders were finishing the roof frame in preparation for the roof tiles to be installed Friday. We met with K. Jaran of Habitat who commended the builders for their attention to detail. In his estimate, we’re about 55% done. This is quite fast considering we started building in earnest on 4 November. Praise the Lord!

Friday, 4 December, 2009 8:56 PM

Finished the pillars, pouring the concrete floor and putting steel beams across for the roof. Just purchased the Green roof tiles and insulation for the roof. Things are really moving right along. It was exactly 4 November when work started in full on the worksite.

Wednesday, 25 November, 2009 9:02 AM

Day 21 of Construction: Finished pouring concrete for the toilets.

On Monday, A combined group of Thai-Singaporean unskilled labourers added to the workforce to remove the debris and banana trees, fill earth and sand to cover the toilet plumbing. On Tuesday, a pastor, elder and a deacon tied steel bars under the hot sun for the men and women’s toilet.

Tuesday, 17 November, 2009 8:41 AM

Cynthia, our first on-site volunteer started work yesterday tying steel bars in preparation for the ground beams. This is the first time we could see the actual shape and interior of the future church building/student centre.

Sunday, 15 November, 2009 4:45 PM

To date, we have finish laying the foundation. F our foreman has put i a very wide base larger than required. So we are on solid ground. Second payment of 250k bt was made on Thursday, 12 November. They are laying the steel bars for the ground beams and the base of the building this week.

Monday, 2 November, 2009 11:06 PM

Praise the Lord! We collected the approval from the municipality today. Nothing shady. Came from the Head directly. We can now proceed without worrying about the police trying to arrest the foreign workers. Digging has already begun but was interrupted due to problems with the backhoe on Saturday.

Friday, 30 October, 2009 7:48 PM

Our Contractor received a call from the municipality that the written approval will be given on Monday. Our Contractor has committed before the Lord not to do anything that would look or smell like corruption. He and the team have been busy preparing the steel bars for the pouring of concrete.

Sunday, 11 October, 2009 11:29 PM

The skies looked threatening the whole afternoon. We were at the airport early to pick up Rev. & Mrs. Philip Heng to be rushed home and then to the site. We reached our site at 5:50pm and were ready to start on time…a rare feat. But that was not to be.

We started 10 minutes late because someone drove into a ditch nearby. We tried to help but didn’t have the necessary equipment. Besides it was getting dark soon and we needed to start the service. There were about 29 people present including for 4 of the 6 current members, close friends and well-wishers. It was a moving experience. Gade lead the service. Nathaniel translated into English and Apple translated for Rev. Heng.

The electricity had been installed only earlier that evening. All in all, many things had to come together and God had to arrange all that. After the service. All the men tried to get the truck out of the ditch. We almost lost our general contractor as he was under the truck when it slid off the jack. There were shrieks all around as those of us near the truck rushed to lift the it. Thankfully he slid out from under the truck suffering only a bruise around the chest area. The x-ray discovered no fractured ribs. What a reminder that our lives are in the Lord’s Hands.

We all adjourned for dinner at the Lemon Tree. Finally managed to get a tow-truck operator with a ;jack to come out. We managed to get the truck back onto the road by 10:15 pm. Praise the Lord.

Saturday, 10 October, 2009 11:58 PM

The perimeter for the church building/student centre has been marked out. However, our 1st setback is our blueprint has not been approved. While initially we were told that 2 meters from the road was okay. Now they require 3 meters distance from the road because we tried to register as a building for public use. When asked about the submission a month ago, they said that they did not sign the cover so there was actually “no submission.” If we start the submission process again, it could take up to 45 days. Meanwhile, if construction begins without approval, then we would be violating the law. Pray with us through this current hiccup.

Thursday, 8 October, 2009 9:51 PM

Some concrete pipes had been put in the drain and covered with soil so the trucks can deliver materials. The electricity point has been setup but still waiting for the municipality to connect the electricity. F had to make minor changes to the blueprint submitted for approval. So he’s been running around. Took Kao Fang over to meet F. He’s going help guard the site at night. Kao Fang is already a war veteran with combat experience in the South. Pray that nobody comes to steal stuff and nobody gets hurt.

Tuesday, 6 October, 2009 12:25 PM
We made our first payment 250k bt to our contractor yesterday. F our contractor is setting up the worksite in preparation to start building work on 12 October, the day after ground breaking.

We had a good visit with Pastor Zhou Zhen Chang who gave good advice on building and prices on materials. We also took the opportunity to inform them of ground breaking.

Saturday, 3 October, 2009 10:20 PM
Yesterday was prayer meeting with a twist. Our General Contractor F Kitpichai joined us for prayer and he brought along the contract for our perusal. One thing he’s admitted is that he’s not very computer savvy. Anyway, we’ve decided to redo the contract as a calculation error would have put him 250,000 bt in the red.

We’ll meet on Monday to sign the contract. One current point of difference is the warranty period for the building.

While Gade was still in Bangkok, the stretch of the 2nd ring road outside Payap University became the focus of our search.  As we searched, we remembered P’Dim’s property which was offered to us to build a student centre 2 years ago when the church was still in its infancy.  There were no baptized members at the time.  Habitat for Humanity was willing to foot the building costs and we would repay them slowly over time.

On 15 May 2009, Gade returned to Chiangmai and we looked at P’Dim’s land in JaReunSook Village [257 wa] 300m from Road to Doi Saket after the 3 corner market.  Another piece 1 km in from this piece [350wa].  Pimuk 3 [102 wa] just in sight of the Paradon International house and the Payap Law Faculty.  Another piece adjacent from Payap [290wa] and the original house we wanted behind Payap Net [70wa]  *1 wa = 4sqm.

Sunday, 17 May 2009 was our day of decision.  Which piece of land should we choose?  We narrowed it down to P’Dim’s land in JaReunSook village, the 350wa piece and the house behind Payap Net.  We drove out as a church to see the places again and we came back for a church meeting.  After prayer and deliberating the strengths and weaknesses of each plot, we chose the 257wa plot belonging to P’Dim in JaReunSook Village.

Monday, 18 May 2009.  We met P’Dim at her house.  She immediately gave us the title deeds to the land.  To anyone who knows about purchasing land, that is rarely done.  We hadn’t even paid her yet.

Tuesday, 19 May 2009.  Talked to my colleague Aj. Udom, Law Professor who gave us good advice on not transferring the land right away but signing an Sales agreement with the intent to transfer the property once the foundation had been set up.  He also suggested that we go to the land office to check how much tax we would have to pay.  That was truly a godsend as we would find out soon.

We met 2 architects who gave us some idea of the costs to build.  The 1st was Eld Anuporn of 1st Church, Chiangmai.  He said based on our rough sketch, it would probably cost 6 million bt. [10,000bt / sqm] The silence was deafening as our enthusiasm suddenly left us.

Thursday, 21 May 2009.  Going to the Land Office, we found out that if we transferred the land after 10 July 2009, the tax would only be 24,500bt.  However, if we decided to transfer there and then, the tax payable would be 83,500bt.  Truly God had good timing.  If we had taken the land 2 years earlier, the tax would have been even higher.

What were we going to do?  Had we “bitten off more than we could chew?”  What was the realistic amount that we could afford with our current members?

How could this be?  We had prayed for 1.8 million baht.  The Lord had given us more than we asked for, could it be that we were to offer more money.  Even though the world was heading into its worst recession since the 1920′s.  What gave this seller the gall to raise prices as the economy in Thailand worsened.  Perhaps greed and a quick profit, hoping that we were desperate.

We had prayed specifically for 1.8 million bt.  No more, no less.  So we told him that if they were interested in selling to let us know by 31 March 2009.  Failing which we would consider other locations.  Everyone was now too busy with exams to do anything.

We continued to pray.  31 March 2009 went by without incident.  So began our search again.  Meanwhile we were preparing to go to Parn’s village.  Black Songkran.  We celebrated Easter and our Lord’s Resurrection.  A Fabulous Time at Parn’s Village. We drove to Bangkok for the 7th Evangelism Congress 3-8 May 2009.  Out of the blue, the agent calls to say that the owner now wants to sell.

What should we do?

On 22 Sep 2008 at 2:30pm, we officially signaled our intent to purchase with an offer of 1.8 million baht.  We offered a 100,000 bt deposit and asked for six months to raise the money.  The owner counter-offered just one month.  However, the agent said that the current tenant’s rental agreement would expire 22 Feb 2009.  He said that he when we had raised the money, we could just give him a call…

On 23 Sep 2008, we had 200,000 bt.  We began praying as a church, as a ministry and we began telling others of our intentions.  Meanwhile P’Gade and P’Nat were married on 1 Nov 2008.

By 3 Dec 2008, we had 357,191 bt.

At 16 Dec 2008, we were at 376,000 bt.

On 20 Dec 2008, we stood at 400,000 bt.  Slowly but could we make the 1 million mark by New Year’s Day?  Anyway, we were so busy with the Galilean team going to Parn and Jack’s Village.  You can check out the pictures here.

29 Jan 2009, the tally was 887,641 bt.  Not even a million.

By 03 Feb 2009, we were now at 980,441.99 bt [S$ 42,432.54 ]  Deadline was 22 Feb 2009.  This was getting close.  We had called the church together to fast and pray.  Could God work on our behalf?  After all, this was a brand new, tiny church of 6 baptized members and mainly students…

17 Feb 2009, we reached 2,397,040 bt.  Wow!  Praise the Lord!  How did that happen?  Five days before the deadline.  God had answered our prayers.  Or so we thought…

This is the 6th year that the Philip Heng family has celebrated Chinese New Year in Chiangmai. Thank God for the opportunity to be a witness for the Lord Jesus and testify to God’s Goodness to the family. Here is the the link to the recorded broadcast.