Welcome to wdbydana.com the website of Dana and Cindy bratton, missionaries to Thailand. We  moved to Thailand in August 2006 to volunteer at the Step Ahead MED center in Khao Lak, where we taught English and shared the Gospel, as well as helped people to recover from the Tsunami.  We currently live in Thachatchai on the island of Phuket.  Where Dana pastors Calvary Chapel at the bridge, an international Phuket Church, and Cindy teaches English. Thachatchai is a small village on the north end of Phuket island  that was hard hit by the tsunami.  About two and a half years ago, Calvary Chapel Ban Khem started a church plant there. There are many new homes built by Habitat and the Mercy Ships.  The mission church has a core of about 20 people.  Mercy Ships raised funding to build a large community center that set vacant for a year. It is a huge two level building with two auditoriums, class rooms.  We have a church service on Sunday and Bible study on Wednesday, plus Kids Club on Saturday. 

Very few people in our village speak any English at all.  Cindy teaches English at two schools in Thai Muang in Phang Nga province, four days a week.  Thachatchai is very poor many are fishermen, they harvest jelly fish, shrimp, and squid and dry the squid on a large wire screens on the street. Some people work at the Marriot Resort which is just a few miles from us, some work in downtown Phuket about an hour away or in other neighboring villages. Also there is a very large police station and border patrol in our village, and one public school. There are a few small shops in our village and some people have motorcycle carts selling food, ice cream, soda, or snacks.

I pioneered the Caleb Community, the senior adult ministry at Magnolia Avenue Baptist.  The Lord led us to be a part of several churches - Gavilan Hills Community Church, a church plant, children's ministry at Harvest Christian Fellowship, children's ministry at Faith Bible Church, Sunnymead Baptist Temple where I was ordained,  and Magnolia Avenue Baptist.   The Lord led me to pursue a seminary degree at Golden Gate and TESOL studies at BIOLA.  Then in Khao Lak Thailand we affiliated with Calvary Chapel Ban Nam Khem, then in Bangkok with Calvary Baptist where we taught the new believers and English learners class, and now pastoring Calvary Chapel at the bridge.  The Lord has blessed during these 25 years, I have a wonderful wife, three great children, two daughter in laws, one son in law, and two grandsons.  and two granddaughters. I have done ministry in Mexico, Nairobi Kenya, Campos brazil, New York, and New Orleans.  I went on study trip with Talbot to Greece and Rome.   We had intense study and application in a YWAM Crossroads Discipleship Training School in Perth Australia.  This is the abundant life.  A YWAM motto sums it up, Cindy and I do what we do "to know God and to make Him known".   My heart is for evangelism.

Currency data courtesy coinmill.com
Time now in Thailand

I was reflecting on 25 years of ministry.  I surrendered to the gospel ministry in 1983, the same year our youngest son was born.  I led a home Bible study, taught Sunday school, drove the church van and started a children's church, and began studying for a bachelors degree in religion in those early years at the First Baptist Church of Woodcrest..  Then the Lord led to full time ministry in 1989 when I became the director of Child Evangelism Fellowship of Greater Riverside and subsequently became a hospital chaplain.

 But there is no large Christian outreach in the South. I am not sure why but it seems that the South has been neglected largely by mission agencies. I think it is because up until the tsunami this region was very resistant to the Gospel. Many of the churches in Phuket and the neighboring province of Phang Nga did not exist prior to the tsunami. Thai Buddhists are very happy and peaceful, outwardly open to the Gospel but inwardly most want to remain Buddhists, it is such a major part of their culture and history. In February of 2008 we moved to Phuket after studying Thai for six months in Bangkok. I am now the pastor of Calvary Chapel at the bridge. Sunday morning I preach in English and a translator, translates it into Thai, we are studying through the book of Romans.  Monday is our day off, Cindy and I go into Phuket Town about an hour drive and go shopping, eat some American food like Sizzler, and maybe see a movie. Tuesday is my study day. I study and pray and prepare detailed notes of the Bible study and sermon, plus Power Point presentations for Sunday. The detailed notes really help my translator to be prepared. I write out all the scripture text in both Thai and English, using copy and paste from a computer Bible software program. Cindy also makes Power Point presentations of our worship music in Thai and English. Most mornings I pick up trash in the street and cut down weeds to help our neighborhood look better.  . 

Prayer concerns:  Pray for open homes to host Bible studies outside of our village.  Pray that more people in our community will respond to the Gospel.  Pray for our radio program on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings. Pray for our Thai language study.   Pray for our financial support. both for our church and personally.     We need the Lord's wisdom in leading and overseeing this ministry.   Pray that many more Thais will come to know the Savior.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16

เพราะ​ว่าพระ​เจ้าทรงรักโลก​จน​ได้​ทรงประทาน พระบุตรองค์​เดียวของพระอง ค์ที่บังเกิดมา ​เพืทุกคนที่​เชื่อ​ใน​พระบุตร​นั้น​จะ​ไม่​พินาศ​ ​แต่มีชีวิตนิรันดร์