The sick healed and a new baby

Nok has been with us both Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings faithfully the past four years.   Nok is often sick, she has epilepsy, sometimes is weak, and often has head aches, but comes to church most of the time anyway.  She lives on the other side of the village, in the area where the Moken sea gypsies and other poor people live.  Two weeks ago on Sunday morning when I went to pick her up, her sister said she is too sick.  I entered the home, she was lying on the floor in the front room, eyes open but unresponsive.  I prayed for her.  I sent Ohn to the house to check further on the situation and see if she needed to be taken to the hosptital.  It was arranged for me to take her, along with her, mother, sister, and neice, to the hospital right after church.  We carried her into and out of the truck.  She did not respond to verbal commands but could wiggle her toes when her feet were stimulated.  More prayer.  Cindy and I visited her again on Monday.  Some improvement, some response but no speech. Many were praying for her, here and in the U.S.   Thursday I went to visit her again but she had been discharged Wednesday.  Sunday morning I picked up her for church, again in sound mind and body.

Dang has been a Christian for about four years, but hasn't attended church regularly.  She is about 60 and usually works as a caregiver for the elderly in their home.  She finished her last job when the person died, and she started coming to church again.  About a month ago, she came with a newborn baby boy named Sak Daa that had been abandoned by his mother.   We are helping some financially so she can buy milk and diapers.  We don't know if this will be permanent.

International Commission

Pray for Operation Andrew happening now in the eight churches and  pray that Magnolia Avenue Baptist church and other churches across the USA will recruit a large number  of participants for this outreach to Thailand March 21 - April 2.  We have made hotel reservations for 30 counting Jeff and Jodie and Cindy and me, so we need 26 volunteers.  Make that 24, Duke and Sunshine, a couple who visited us about 4 months ago when Jeff and Jodie were here, are moving to Thailand in March and will be with us for the outreach.

The hotel is the Khao Lak Orchid Beach Resort.    The ideal team consists of a preacher and 2-3 lay people, we can assign to each of the eight churches.  In previous projects, men, women and young people from all walks of life, ages 13-85, have been used effectively.  

 The two basic areas of project work are visitation and evangelistic services.  Every participant spends two or three hours each morning and each afternoon in scheduled visitations.  They witness in homes,  schools, and wherever the host church desires.  Many other evangelistic opportunities come outside the scheduled visitation.        In addition to providing interpreters to bridge any language barriers, International Commission asks each person to write their personal testimony.  This is translated and copies are printed in the host language.  Each volunteer will have 200 copies in Thai and 50 in Burmese.  Each witnessing brochure provides that participant's personal testimony, the plan of salvation, steps for a new believer, and a decision card that is in the language of those to whom we take the gospel.      Each church holds some other evangelistic services.  Interpreters make it possible for team members to testify and for the visiting evangelist to preach.  The local pastor participates in the invitation and counseling in order to bond the respondents to the local church.  If you are interested in participating complete this application form. A brochure with more information is now available.

U Turn for Christ and Calvary Chapel Romoland

 Pastor Gerry Brown and four other pastors will be visiting us in Phuket February 29 - March 1, they will teach a seminar on the Beattitudes in Ban Nam Khem (Phang Nga) March 2, and will teach in northern Thailand with Pastor Eric, visit Bangkok and another South Asian country.  Pastor Gerry is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Romoland and oversees U Turn for Christ and the Calvary Chapel work in Thailand and Myanmar.

All future donation checks for our missionary support should be made payable to  U Turn for Christ   Mailing address:  20170 Patterson Ave, Perris CA 92570   Reference “Support for Dana & Cindy Bratton” in the memo U Turn is a ministry of Calvary Chapel Phone: (951)943-7097 or donate through   PayPal     Our church here is not self supporting.  If at any time you would lke to help us pay our one staff member and building expenses you can send support to Grace Across Asia c/o Thrift N Gift, 4516 Missouri Flat Road, Placerville, CA 95667  That is the non profit organization set up by James Garwood and Joe Cochran to support the Calvary Chapel churches in Thailand.  Please indicate the gift is for Calvary Chapel at the Bridge.

Gideon Bibles

Children's Day was Saturday, three weeks ago, my church staff member and I distributed 230 Gideon New Testaments to kids that day at the local government office near the Phuket checkpoint. Gideon Bible distribution is going well at several nearby resorts, 160 Bibles at 2 resorts and I will offer them at 4 more resorts in the next week or two.  I am giving pocket Newt Testaments to the hotel staff also.  It was funny one staff member tried to collect the pocket Testament from another staff to put on the shelf, He said, "I'm staff and I wanto to keep this."  A housekeeping manager at the Holiday Inn, said, "wow, I've never seen a Bible in Thai before, thank you so much!"  We ordered 3,000 church brochures to distribute at the airport, where I serve two afternoons a week as a Tourist Police volunteer, and for distribution at the local resorts. 

Chaplaincy at Bangkok Phuket Hospital

On January 26 I was asked to join the palliative committee where I was interviewed and will now serve on that committee and the bioethics committee.  I am on call for the hospital for death and dying, other crisis situation and by patient or staff request.  Interesting the differences between here and the U.S.A.  They don'th have hospice.  Here there are no morutuaries, the deceased goes from the hospital morgue to the nearest Buddhist temple for cremation, this includes foreigners who die here, and only their ashes are taken back to their home country unless special arrangements are made to ship the body. 

Other news

We had a great seminar with Pastor Trip on inductive Bible study at House of the Lord Church, wonderful to fellowship with Pastor Eric who was his translator and with Joe Nelson.   Som, who attends our church on Wednesday and House of the Lord on Sunday said he really benefited from the seminar, that it really helped him to know how to study the Bible.  Joe Nelson and family are moving to Ban Nam Khem to fill the vacancy left by Pastor Phichai who resigned. 

Our son and his family are going to be with us, February 27 - March 8.  We are installing another AC and water heater next door.  We have a young lady from Germany coming to volunteer then for two weeks and then International Commission comes with a team, hopefully of 30,  hope you are among those coming, for a week to assist CC at the Bridge, CC Ban Nam Khem Thai and Burmese, and five other churches, March 22 - April 1.  

 I have been working on writing templates to be used for Thai people who contact Global Media Outreach through our different evangelistic websites, I first wrote them in English then translated them, and now Wanta is checking and correcting my Thai.  Many days I have three or four Thais accepting Christ online and others with questions, prayer requests or making a recommitment. 

Cindy hosted a family from Singapore at one of the schools she teaches in.  Phillip came to repair and upgrade their computers but brought his family with questions on teaching methods including teaching through singing.  Cindy has created a number of songs to teach with, such as her preposition song.   

The two Saturday Kid's Clubs are down in numbers.  We had no club on Christmas day, New Years and Kid's Day, and attendance has been slow in picking back up.  There is also some resistance to the gospel on the part of the parents.  We teach English one hour and Bible for 30 minutes.

Sharon Biddell, co leader and founder of the SHE Thailand Foundation,  brought seven young people from the USA who are in their missions training school to learn my take on missions Wednesday morning.  

Our other truck should be finished this week. 

We are in Joshua on Wednesday nights, and now in John on Sunday mornings.  On the radio we are in Acts for God's Word for Today and easy English stories from the Bangkok Post for Learning English Together.   Bible study notes and PowerPoints can be viewed and downloaded from www.wdbydana.com/sermon.html 

I am behind on weed cutting and hoping for a team to come help.  The riding mower is back in operation.

To follow my Twitter news page see the Dana Bratton Daily and if you missing our pictures please see Cindy's Facebook photo album..  

 Praise and Prayer Requests

Praise the Lord, February marks our fourth year anniversary as a church in Phuket.  Cindy and I moved to Phuket from Bangkok four years ago. 

Pray for me and my two translators Ohn and Sana, and for those who hear as I  preach and teach at church and on the radio.

Pray for the expansion of hosptial ministry at Bangkok Phuket Hospital.

Please continue to pray for Bibles to supply other Se-Ed bookstores in Thailand and that they will be receptive to the distribution.

Pray for Cindy as she teaches in the two schools in Thai Muang, Phang Nga and for the Kid's Club at the Thanon school Saturday afternoons.  Praise the Lord, the English reading ability is improving substantially with a number of her students. Also pray for her as she leads worship Wednesday and Sunday and prepares meals.

Please continue to pray for healing for Taa Thon long term member of our church - age 90 homebound for now. 

Pray for more Global Media Outreach online missionaries for Thailand, speakers of both English and Thai, see www.missionaryfromhome.com  Also pray for the 22 members of my Global Media community I oversee that God will use them mightily in their follow up counseling. 

Pray for those God is preparing to come help us in March with International Commission and pray for our son Nathan and his family (Denise, Colin, and Kadence)  who are coming to visit us the end of this month.

Thanks for your partnership with us, we greatly appreciate your support through prayer and financial giving.  God bless you,   Dana and Cindy Bratton

Donation checks for our missionary support should be made payable to U Turn for Christ   Mailing address:  20170 Patterson Ave, Perris CA 92570   Reference “Support for Dana & Cindy Bratton” in the memo  

 U Turn is a ministry of Calvary Chapel Phone: (951)943-7097 or donate through   PayPal

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