Every day is an opportunity for us to give thanks for the grace we have been given, but recently the students at the “It Is Finished” Bible Institute and Seminary have shared their stories of thankfulness with each other. During the last term, the Bible students and members of Promise Lutheran Church witnessed a miracle when a student fell from the top of a 30-foot water tower. At first the doctors feared the worst, but as students and leaders gathered to pray, two days later the student came home with only a scratch on his face and a broken arm. Later the student shared his experience of going home and meeting family members who greeted him in awe, “You have very good luck!” “No,” he answered. “I don’t have good luck. My God saved my life.” We rejoice with this student and give God the glory for the life of a servant He is not finished with yet. [slideshow=59]

Many times it is the visible miracles that we rejoice in, but as another student reflected, it is the work inside our hearts that we ought to give thanks for as well. “Before I came to study in Chiang Mai, I didn’t know God. If I hadn’t come here, I would be in prison by now. My friends that I used to hang out with before are all in jail now. I thank God that He brought me here, that He brought me to know Him, and that He protects me every day.”

Thankfulness is not limited to our own lives, but students also expressed thanks for the work of God in the lives of their family members, many of whom are not yet Christian. One student shared, “Before I believed in God, I was hopeless in myself that I could do anything to help my family because they are very poor. I have been sad many times and have sometimes cried, but now I know the answer for my family – God. The Lord says, ‘Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you’.”

We at the Thailand Mission must also give thanks for God’s goodness and blessing. From the freedom to worship and share the good news of Christ freely in this country to God’s provision of faithful missionaries and national church leaders, we praise Him for the fruit – seen and unseen – of His work among the Thailand mission. It is our hope that you are encouraged to hear the thankfulness of those who delight in His works, and that you join with us in praising our great and powerful God. May He open our eyes to see His works in our midst