Over 100 baptized in prison

Thailand, Tuesday July 28th 2009

The church plant inside of the Khon Kaens prison continues to grow. More then 100 inmates are now baptized and there is more in the line. Many of these men and women who are in for a long time because of murders, drug offence, theft and act of violence has there lives transformed because of Jesus Christ.

Khon Kaen Prison Church started one year ago and since then many inmates has come to faith. Twice a week SOS- missionaries and local workers visit the prison to have meetings with the disciples inside the institution. The meetings caries great joy, strong prayer, devout worship, bible teaching and intercession. The inmates are often testifying about healings, miracles and answers of prayer.

In the division for men has the new believing inmates started a house church on there own initiative. Recently 22 inmates were devoted to become evangelists, ambassadors and apostles inside the prison to fallow the footsteps of Paul and Timothy. It is wonderful to see these tattooed people with scars that testifies about a hard life praying, crying and worshiping God.

In the division for women new people comes to faith every week. They write there own worship songs in Lao, Thai and the local dialect Isaan. You cannot mistake there love for Jesus when you hear them worshiping with passion and faith in there eyes.

There is so much going on inside the prison, but still the misery is obvious. The youngest inmate is Uri and is 6 months old, he is there together whit his mom, further two more babies are about to come inside the prison by pregnant inmates. Everybody is sleeping together on a carpet and the food is inadequate. There is an obvious hierarchy inside the prison where race, nationality and age is what matters. Thou this the missionaries meets shining faces among the inmates every week.

Mission SOS Asia

Let the school begin!

Thailand, Sunday July 26th 2009

Mission SOS gives all joyfull givers a great thanks for standing with us in the gathering of 6000$ needed to the pioneer bibel school in Thailand. The base leaders of south east Asia, Per and Marielle Gisselsson, are now in phace one of training students from the region to become missionaries for unreached people, all thanks to your contribution.

For You who still wants to give there are more projects to help us with, you will find them here.

Mission SOS Asia

1 Year Anniversary!

Thailand, Friday March 6th 2009

Recently Khon Kaen International Church celebrated its one-year anniversary with a max out sanctuary. The joy knew no limit!

The church was established in February 2008 as a result of Mission SOS South East Asia's evangelization and festival work. The church is situated on campus at Khon Kaen's International University. Khon Kaen International Church now also has a daughter church inside the regional prison. During 2008 the two churches combined baptized close to 100 people.

Many came to be part of the festivity and to share in the joy, including pastors and guests from other churches in Khon Kaen. People danced, sang, and worshipped God! To everyone's surprise candy and balloons began to rain down over the audience in the middle of the service. The theme of the day was God is good! And when Pastor Per Gisselsson stepped up he showed a slideshow depicting events from the past year, all underlining how the goodness of God has carried and sustained the church on a daily basis. It has been an eventful year and everyone expressed gratitude over all the things God had done. There is also a great expectation over the things God has in store for the future.

- It is great to be able to build a church with newly saved Asians on an international university campus, says Nung Tewanurak, one of the pastors at Khon Kaen International Church

Cowboys, line dance and BBQ!

Thailand, Monday February 2nd 2009

During the last few months the missionaries have arranged different theme parties to reach even more people with the gospel. This has turned out to be a concept that works great on the university area where the missions' base is located! This time the themw was "Cowboy", and what a party it was! About 60 young people sat down outside and were given a great show!
The live band played some real country classics and got the crowd cheering and singing along in the chorus. The program was a mix of games, country music and barbeque.

The missionaries gave a Line dance show, which they had practiced during the week

When the base leader, Per Gisselsson, said that "you are wanted"; that God has paid the price for you and the message of Jesus went out it was completely quiet. Everyone was listening, and when the invitation was given one girl and two guys decided to receive Jesus.

In total the missionaries have prayed with 4 people to salvation, and the following week 3 of them have been baptized! The missionaries have really seen how God has been working through these theme parties. In all the conversations and the creative shows you cannot miss the presence of God.

Rebecca Stålnacke
Mission SOS Asia

Missionary in Asia - there is no greater life than this!

Thailand, Monday February 2nd 2009

The work at Mission SOS' base in Asia is filled with miracles and transformed human lives. Every day the missionaries train isciples, winn people and pray for the sick. There is nothing better than to see how Jesus acts and restores peoples' lives. Here are some stories from the missionaries' everyday lives.

One day when I was at the gym a girl came up to me. She was curious of who this european person was, and we started talking. We became good friends and were hanging out a lot the coming weeks. She had a great hunger to hear about Jesus and told me she had seen Jesus in a vision when she was a child, but lost her faith in her teens.
On a Saturday night when we were sitting at a restaurant she decided to receive Jesus. We went out and sat down on the dirty curb and prayed the sinner's prayer, and she poured out her heart for the Lord. The next days she eagerly told me that she started speaking in tongues on the way home on the motorbike. She was baptized that same day.

One month after that her boyfriend also received Jesus. He prayed the sinners' prayer and received the baptism in the Holt Spirit; he was completely amazed over the strange words that were coming out of his mouth! This happened at one of the parties at the mission base. When everyone, late at night, had finished eating he went up on the stage grabbed the mic and announced to all 120 people that he had received Jesus. He thanked the church and everyone who had told him about Jesus. The day after he was baptized and welcomed into the church together with his girlfriend. They are both active in the church now.

Oskar & Rebecca Stålnacke

Healed in the middle of the village

Each Friday some of us missionaries go out to a village we are working in. This Friday we had been looking at the map of the village and felt that we should go to a certain path in the village. When we got there we met an elderly couple and their daughter. We sat down and started talking, and told them about Jesus and that he can heal the sick. It turned out that the man had pain in his knee, and the woman had pain in her body. We asked if we could pray for them, and we could. When we had prayed for Jesus to heal them, the man said that it felt a bit better.

A couple of weeks later when I'm back in the village I meet the man again. I hadn't seen him since the time we prayed for him. He told me that after we prayed for his knee, all pain was completely gone. He had been suffering from this for about a year, and was now totally healed by Jesus.
It is great to be part of all miracles Jesus is doing here in Southeast Asia.

Peter Thorstensson

Healed after traffic accident

A friend to the missionaries called and said that we needed to come and pray for her friend who had just crashed with his motorbike and was laying in his apartment because he could not afford to pay for medical care. So we went there and was met by a guy limping on one leg, he could not support his body weight on the leg because the knee cap was broken from the crash. We sat down and started preaching to him; he wasn't very interested, but when we got to the part about healing he was listening carefully. After that we prayed for him and told him to test if there was any difference, but the knee was still the same. So we prayed once more and I stood up and told him to walk over to me. You could really see the difference, he was using both legs standing normally and then walking over to me. He even tried jumping. Jesus made a miracle and healed him.

One week later I met him again, and I was so happy when I saw him walking over to me. He had recently been to the doctor and it was confirmed that the knee was well again.

Linus Hessel

53 saved during the holidays in Thailand

Thailand, Monday January 5th 2009

Christmas in Thailand is great! In spite of the lack of snow, cold and reindeers the main character of Christmas is still very present! The week before Christmas Mission SOS Asia made a number of Christmas performances in different locations. At each location the gospel was introduced to the listeners, and the reactions came straight away. 53 people in total have decided to receive Jesus as the personal savior of their lives.

Together with Khon Kaen Prison Church two performances were made in the prison; with music, dance, drama, Isaan songs and preaching. In the women's section where Mission SOS have been working for a while and planted a church, the missionaries handed out socks and skin lotion to all the inmates, a very appreciated gift.

In the men's section another performance was made and the missionaries were surprised over the hunger they found among the male inmates. The more the message of Jesus was preached through drama, music and preaching, the more they were listening. When the invitation for salvation was given 39 people immediately responded, and decided to give their lives to Jesus. It was amazing to see these inmates, with tears in their eyes, very sincerely pray the sinners' prayer.

Before Christmas a big Christmas party was held at the base with a big international Christmas buffet and a great Christmas show. The children performed a Christmas play dressed up as Josef, Mary, angels, sheep and donkeys. There were 120 guests in total, one of them was Ked who decided to receive Jesus that night, and a bit later he was baptized in the Holy Spirit and started speaking in tongues. The next day he was baptized in water and later that day he was welcomed as a member in the Khon Kaen Harvest Center church.

Mission SOS Asia

The work grows in Asia

Thailand, Monday December 22nd 2008

Mission SOS work in Khon Kaen, Thailand is growing even stronger. Each week people are coming to the Lord, being baptized and starting a new life with Jesus.

New Bible School in South East Asia!

Thailand, Saturday December 6th 2008

A couple of weeks ago a new chapter of modern missions' history was written in Khon Kaen Thailand. Mission SOS started a Bible school in the prison of Khon Kaen. The Bible school is aimed towards training disciples and has 25 students from the women's section.

Marielle, Field Director of the mission base in Thailand leads the ministry in the prison, here she's teaching the inmates.

The new church, Khon Kaen Prison Church, has taken a new step and started a Bible school. For these newly saved inmates it means a lot to go deeper into the word of God and get solid discipleship training. The Bible school is approved by the management of the prison and the students get the same compensation and rights as if they would have worked.

There are many needs in the prison, and alot of time is dedicated to prayer and intercession.

The purpose of the Bible school is that these students/inmates will be able to start small groups and lead people to the Lord themselves. Many of the inmates are sentenced to long penalties for murder, narcotic crimes, robberies and theft. In spite of having a long time left inside the walls they will now get a thorough teaching on how to be an important part of the Kingdom of God.

Part 4: Buddhism

Thailand, Tuesday November 18th 2008

"Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Phil 2:9-11

In the majority of the Southeast Asian countries Buddhism is the official religion. The Buddhist teaching is visible in the whole society and the Buddhist monks are often treated with huge respect by the people. On the surface Buddhism seems nice with its harmonic and soft approach, but if you just scrape a little of the surface and study how it affects the society and its people a completely different image is shown.

The Buddhist spirit has three specific characteristics that is seen through the entire society.
First of all it's the passive spirit, which makes you tired and uncaring. You get a very loose attitude and don't care about circumstances. Many tourists who visit Asia think of this as harmony or a relaxed environment, but rarely see its downsides. It's very emotional and, you are often controlled by your impulses. You are easily happy, sad, in love and so on. Something that is also significant for the Buddhist spirit is lust. The society is filled with sexual fixation, pornography, infidelity and other perverse things. They worship sexuality and often make images of sexual organs. There are no boundaries what is sound and there is a complete lack of moral.

In Buddhism there are many different branches, but the origin is the same. According to the legend Siddhartha Gautama, later called Buddha who lived about 2500 years ago, was an unsatisfied prince who chose to leave all his luxury to find the truth. For several weeks Gautama was meditating under a bodhi tree, until he achieved enlightenment. After this enlightenment he spread his teaching on the eightfold way and to break out of the eternal circle of rebirth. The Buddhism practiced in Thailand is from the Theravada branch and is mixed with old folk beliefs. The five main rules are to not kill, not lie, nor drink alcohol, not steal and not being unfaithful. But only a few people keep all these five rules, since lies are generally accepted, alcoholism widespread and many men are unfaithful to their wives.

Both the society and family expect all men under the age of 20 to go to a Buddhist monastery for at least 3 months. A person who does not become a monk dishonors his parents, since they won't go to heaven if he doesn't. Before a man becomes a monk there is often a big party to his honor. These parties often end up being drunken parties or in big fights.

No matter if you meet a business man in the city, a student on his motorbike, or a poor woman begging on the street you are always met by a smile and a humble attitude. But it is often a front that they are trying to keep up; it's the outside that counts. A good appearance, fame, an expensive car, the right friends are some of the things that the people are trying to achieve. Even though many people work and study hard they still lack a passion in their lives.

Prayer points...

* Pray that the people will be waken out of the Buddhist sleep and see Jesus.

* Pray that Jesus will move deep in people's lives and that the Spirit of God will rule their lives.

* Pray that where the gospel goes the spirit of lust will be broken.

Part 3: Khon Kaen, in the Heart of Isaan

Thailand, Monday November 3rd 2008

Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed. Acts 19:19-20

Khon Kaen is located in the heart of North Eastern Thailand, a city full of life and motion! On the streets you can meet elephants, monks and students. Khon Kaen is a city of contrasts, the old is mixed with the new and with its 250,000 inhabitants, the political centre of North Eastern Thailand.

Here you can find the biggest university of this part of the country with 20,000 students. It is an international university with students from Thailand, Pakistan, USA, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Singapore, China, Africa and Europe. The next generation of Asian doctors, economists, engineers, scientists, TV producers and artists are being educated. The university is boiling with life around the clock, there are always people on the move. Here, among all the stores, restaurants and student doorms, Mission SOS South East Asia have placed its missions base and the recently planted church Khon Kaen Harvest Center!

The Thai people are very creative and business minded. If you have a fruit you have a fruit stand, if you have a barbeque you have a restaurant and so on. Many students start their own small shop of just a few square foot to get money for the studies. Usually university studies are financed by the family, but studying is not cheap.
Chocking figures shows that 20% of all female students at KKU sell their bodies to finance their studies.

The Khon Kaen area has a historical Laoitian background, and Isaan is the name of the dialect, culture, area and the people. The Isaan area is the poorest area of Thailand, 70% of the people are poor. Poverty is found in all stages of life among the people of Khon Kaen. 10% of all mothers in Khon Kaen are under the age of 20.

A total of 95% of the people of Khon Kaen are Buddhists, but also much influenced by animism and witchcraft. This is something that influences the whole city, temple after temple shows the people's hunger for God, and desperate attempts to find the meaning of life.

Prayer points...

*Pray that the Isaan people will meet Jesus, that they receive Him as their personal savior and Lord.

* Pray for a revival in Khon Kaen, spiritual breakthroughs and transformed human lives.

* Pray that Khon Kaen will be a city sending missionaries out into all of South East Asia.

Part 2: Persecution

Thailand, Monday November 3rd 2008

So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. Acts 5:41

South East Asia is in spite of its beautiful exterior one of the regions in the world where persecution is a part of every day life for the Christians. Christians are being persecuted everywhere the gospel is preached. Persecution can come from a dominating religion, such as Buddhism or Hinduism, or from a regime like the communist regime in Laos, China or Vietnam.

In the book of Acts we read that persecution was a natural part of the first church. In South East Asia this is happening both in the open and secretly. Mission SOS South East Asia have contact with several pastors and churches who are living in this reality. Church leaders disappear without a trace and Christians are being thrown in jail and being tortured daily because of their faith.

Inhuman torturing methods are being used and mercy is rare, which can lead to death. Many are imprisoned for a long time without a trial or any information on why they are held captive. Some nations have openly said that the Christians are their biggest enemy.
In spite of this the church in South East Asia is growing like it never has before. An underground church in one of the countries we are working in baptized 763 people in 2007, in another country an underground church planted two new churches within a year.

We are living in a spiritual war, and for these Christians it is a very physical and painful war. Persecution is more of a sign that the gospel is being preached than anything else.
Stand side by side with your fighting brothers and sisters in South East Asia and strengthen them!

Prayer points...

• Pray for endurance for the Christians who are being persecuted.

• Pray that the persecution will have an opposite effect and make the Christians stronger in their faith and more bold when witnessing.

• Pray for the protection of the blood, and where help of angels and miraculous solutions are natural.

Cultural Party in Khon Kaen

Thailand, Monday November 3rd 2008

Last Saturday we had a great multi cultural party at the Mission SOS base in Thailand. During the past week a large amount of flyers where handed out. Church members and missionaries bombarded their friends through their phones. The creativity was flowing when the dance, drama and songs where practiced at a high pace. Loads of food was being prepared and ordered for the big day.

Part 1: Prostitution in Asia

Thailand, Monday October 13th 2008

"To open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me." Acts 26:18

Already in 17th and 18th century European sailors reported about prostitution in Thailand. Since the Vietnam war during the 60's and 70's Thailand has been a destination for sexual tourism.

More than a million young guys and girls are involved in commercial sexual activities. Millions of Chinese and Vietnamese people have been sent to Thailand to work in prostitution.

Each day at least 450,000 Thai men visit prostitutes. The men thinks it's their right to have cheap sex, and there are enough poor Thai women to make it possible. To go to the neighborhood brothel has been a tradition passed on from father to son.

Studies have shown that the majority of all Thai men have their first sexual experience with a prostitute and 95% of all men over 21 year of age have had sex with a prostitute. On the other hand, the woman is supposed to be a virgin when she gets married and then be faithful to her husband, while the husband is expected to have sex outside the marriage. Many women would rather see that their husbands go to prostitutes than having a mistress, since it is seen as a smaller threat to the marriage.

In Khon Kaen you can see girls sitting in couches in front of bars, which is a cover for brothels. These girls are waiting to be picked up to make a little extra money. Many of the girls are hurting, but cannot see the difference between right and wrong.

Prayer points:

•Pray for a revival among the prostitutes, that Jesus will transform and restore the broken human lives.

•Pray that Christians will have a heart to reach the prostitutes with the gospel.

•Pray that God will do miracles in families and marriages.

New Series about Life in South East Asia

Thailand, Thursday October 9th 2008

Here's a new article series about life in South East Asia. This series, which also is a prayer guide, is made by Mission SOS' missionaries in Sout East Asia, born out of their experiences in the battlefield.

The majority of the people of the world live in Asia, this is also the place where the most unreached people groups a located. The meen age in South East Asia is low, most people are youths or young adults. They are modern, well educated, full of drive and hungry on life, but they have no idea who Jesus is, the message of the risen Christ is news to most people in South East Asia.

South East Asia is boiling with life! In an area as big as northern Europe there are several mega cities like Rangoon (5 million), Jakarta (14.2 million), Saigon (5.5 million), Bangkok (20 million), Kuala Lumpur (5 million), Manila (11.5 million) - just to mention a few...

This article series we will focus current topics and describe situations of life and the South East Asian culture. Each article will end off with three prayer points where you can stand with us in prayer for a break-through. The first article is about prostitution and will be published tomorrow, so keep your eyes open...

Per and Marielle Gisselsson
Field Directors, Mission SOS South East Asia

The New Missionaries have Arrived!

Thailand, Monday September 15th 2008

A couple of days ago the new missionaries arrived to Khon Kaen. They will be thrown straight in to the ongoing revival work. They will preach the gospel in the streets, open places, schools and prisons, baptize new believers in brown rivers, run cell groups in villages and help the university students to be baptized in the Holy Sprit and fire.

Welcome party for the new missionaries.

On Saturday there was a welcome party for the new missionaries. Many members of the church, friends and new disciples had come to welcome them to Thailand. On that party three people decided to receive Jesus as their saviour, and two were baptized in the Holy Spirit as well.

Baptism in Prison - AGAIN!

Thailand, Monday September 8th 2008

Recently Khon Kaen Prison Church had another baptismal feast. In the middle of the shower and bathroom area of the womens prison, seven new believers buried their old lives. Among these just saved inmates was a Vietnamese woman with severe heart problems and a very young girl, both convicted for smuggling narcotics.

A new believer being baptized in the prison.

Prayer in the prison.

Many of the women come from tragic circumstances and have many deep emotional wounds. We never cease to be amazed of how Jesus heals and restore their broken lives.

After the baptism everyone who was baptized was also baptized in the Holy Spirit and started speaking in tongues. There was a lot of tears and a lot of joy among both the inmates and the missionaries.

Marielle Gisselsson
Field Director, Mission SOS Thailand

Spontaneous Baptism

Thailand, Tuesday September 2nd 2008

Four happy, saved and baptized girls in Khon Kaen.

- I feel like the happiest missionary in the world! Three weeks ago, one of our members in the church, brought a Chinese friend, Annie, to service. Annie heard the sermon and wanted to get to know Jesus. She was so hungry for God that she was saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit that Sunday.

Lina together with Annie that has just been saved, baptized in water and the Holy Spirit!

Now, three weeks later, Annie came back to church and had two friends with her, they were also from China. They are here in Khon Kaen for a year to study Thai. The girls did not understand a lot during the service since they only know a little Thai. But afterwards they wanted to hear more about Jesus, and with the help of a friend who speaks Chinese I could explain the gospel to them. They decided to give their lives to Jesus! Annie asked afterwards if I could tell her more about the baptism, which I had mentioned to her earlier.

Annie's friend from China is baptized as well.

When I had taught them of the baptism, all three of them wanted to be baptized. Even a Thai girl who had gotten saved just a few days earlier cut in before one of the Chinese girls to get into the water. When we were praying afterwards they told me that it felt so good on the inside!

Lina Waltherius
Mission SOS Thailand

Wedding in Khon Kaen

Thailand, Tuesday August 19th 2008

August 9th was a historic day for Khon Kaen Harvest Center! The church had its first wedding. Aee and Uie, two members of the church, were united in marriage. The church was filled friends and relatives, church members and family, flowers and candles.

This was the first time for many of the guests to ever come in touch with a Christian church. Many of them were effected by the powerful presence of God through the ceremony.

After the ceremony had taken place the missionaries had made an international buffet of food and wedding cake.

-For many Christians in Thailand marriage has not been that important, the wedding is more a ceremony you have for your parents' sake. That's why we want to set a standard when it comes to covenant, character and purity, Per Gisselsson, Field Director of Mission SOS Thailand, says.

New Church in the Prison!

Thailand, Tuesday July 29th 2008

Last Thursday Khon Kaen Prison Church was officially opened, as a result of the work Mission SOS has been doing at the prison. Missionaries from our base are visiting the womens' department of the prison every week, and have been doing so for the last six months.

Khon Kaen Prison Church

Many inmates has been saved and really had their lives transformed by Jesus. 43 inmates has been baptized and many more have received Jesus, been baptized in the Holy Spirit and started a new life without drugs, crimes and violence. During the opening ceremony another 6 inmates received Jesus into their lives.
- It's amazing to see how Jesus restores these people on the bottom of society, says Marielle Gisselsson who is leading the church in the prison.

Mission SOS Thailand

Newsletter April 2008

Thailand, Saturday May 17th 2008

Khon Kaen Women's Prison

April has been a month full of signs and wonders. Just as in the book of Acts the Kingdom of God is expanding here at the Asian missions base. When the Holy Spirit is working with His power you can be sure life won't be boring.

It is so exciting to be working in the womens prison in Khon Kaen. It's impossible to describe the joy you feel to be able to help these women. Jesus has really transformed their hearts. God has given them the security the world could never give. Their eyes are now shining with joy, you can see the love of God shining through them. Lately they have really grown in their faith! They take initiatives themselves to sing and give their testimonies during our gatherings. One of the older women have written her own love songs to Jesus. To pray for the sick has become a natural part of their lives! The gospel is spreading like fire within the prison walls. The new believers have started sharing their faith with others. Every week they bring new friends to the meetings.

A few weeks ago we prayed with 14 inmates to salvation. The week after that 24 people where baptized in the Holy Spirit and 12 new visitors received Jesus as their Saviour. Last week we baptized 25 of the new disciples. The work is growing so fast that we will probably need to start a church inside the womens prison.

It is not a glamorous life to be prisoner in the Khon Kaen womens prison. The sentences in Thailand are much longer than in Europe. Three of our new believers in the prison have children living there. One of the babies is only a few months old. It is not easy to raise your child in an environment like that. That's why we have made social efforts to help the mothers take care of the children in the best way.

During April the Holy Spirit have become a greater part of our disciples lives. Their relationship with God has been lifted to a higher level. Last week three of our younger disciples visited an elderly lady who had not been able to walk for a month. After the disciples prayed for the lady she felt much better. In faith that Jesus would heal the lady completely the girls returned to her home the next week. Together with two of our missionaries they laid their hands on the lady and commanded her legs to be healed in Jesus name. When we tried her healing we could see that she was completely healed. Thanks to Jesus the elderly lady can now walk without any problem, hallelujah! She was saved during the Signs & Wonders Festival, and now she received a revelation of the power in the name of Jesus. She was also baptized in the Holy Spirit and started speaking in tongues.

Nong Chat

The last two weeks three people have been baptized in the Holy Spirit in the village Nong Chat. Our disciples in the village have grown a lot in their faith. You start noticing now who have made a sincere decision to follow Jesus. During our gatherings we hang out, eat together, speak of what has happened in the week, sing worship songs, share testimonies and read the Bible. As well as teaching our disciples in our house churches we are out preaching the gospel to the villagers.

For the unreached peoples of Southeast Asia...

The missionaries
Mission SOS Thailand

25 Baptized in Thai Prison

Thailand, Friday May 2nd 2008

Every week Mission SOS is working in the women's section of the Khon Kaen prison. Many of the inmates have received Jesus and had their lives transformed. They have been baptized in water and in the Holy Spirit, they constantly read their Bibles, pray for the sick and write their own worship songs.

Most of them have committed serious crimes and are sentenced to a long time in prison. This was the second time in a short while we were baptizing in the prison; this time 25 people where baptized.

More free than ever before

-I feel more free now when I've met Jesus, than before I was arrested, says one of the female inmates, sentenced to a long penalty.

-What God is doing in the prison is amazing, these people have really received a new life. The number of disciples are constantly growing and a church is taking shape inside the prison, says Marielle Gisselsson, who is leading the work at Khon Kaen prison.

Per Gisselsson
Field Director
Mission SOS Thailand

Baptism in Prison and Transvestite Saved!

Thailand, Thursday April 17th 2008

It's hard to describe the powerful works the Holy Spirit is doing here in Khon Kaen! The church is expanding, people are getting saved, filled with the Holy Ghost, healed and baptized in water. We can see how the gospel is transforming people in every area of life. There is nothing that is impossible for our wonderful Jesus!

During the month of March we have focused on discipleship training and building the church, spiritually speaking. It's exciting to see how the church is developing and growing, both in numbers and maturity. Our members are taking more and more responsibility on their own. The last 2 months several of our disciples have started to participate in different church activities. The worship is now mostly led by Thais who sings in both English and Thai. We have also started a drama class for those who are willing to be a part of the dramas preformed during our services. The Khon Kaen Harvest Center is more and more starting to feel like a "real" church! It has become like a second home for our disciples, a place to meet Jesus and to get help with different problems.

The past couple of weeks we truly have seen how our disciples have grown in their Christian faith. It's amazing to see how they are developing into strong men and women of God who stretches towards the likeness of Jesus! Their passion is now to add souls to the kingdom of God. They burn to see their friends and families receive Christ. Several of our disciples have already prayed with some of their relatives and friends to salvation. And one of the younger girls who has only been a Christian for 2 months, prayed for her own sister to be baptized in the holy spirit during a visit in the village her family lives in.

Jesus has transformed many hearts in the City Prison in the women's department. It's wonderful to see how these former criminals now hunger to get closer to God and to live a righteous life. We visit the prison every Thursday and teach the women who are interested in knowing more about the Word of God. We have prayed with 21 persons to both salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Three weeks ago we baptized 18 of these women within the prison walls in a pool. They were so touched by the presence of God when they openly confessed their sins in the pool. Their faces literary were shining with joy when they came up from the water. They were so happy to belong the to Jesus. One of the women was healed from headache during her baptism.

Some of our SOS missionaries together with some of the inmates at the women's ward in the prison.

Many of the men in Thailand are very feminine. The line between what is feminine and masculine is very undefined. According to the Buddhist tradition a man is seen strong when he has as many relationships with women as possible. This effects the Thai culture and leaves the women in constant worrying if their husband is cheating on them. The society has a great need of manly role models. To make our men disciples into real men we have start our Men's Club. We gather once a week to have fellowship, read the Bible and to do something manly together.

Nut, as a lady boy...

One of our disciples has really been transformed by Gods power. His name is Nut. Nut lived as a lady boy, a transvestite for 18 years. He dressed up in women's clothes, used makeup and had long hair. Since his childhood he tried to find his place in society, he was looking for something worth living for, but couldn't find meaning anywhere.

Here's Nut again...

Two months ago he was saved during one of our Signs & Wonders Nights. Finally he found the meaning of life. One day Nut was at home reading the Bible and suddenly he started to cry and he realized that he was living in sin. Then the voice of God spoke to him telling him to repent and turn from his old life and to be the man God created him to be. At first he didn't believe he could handle the big change that meant. But God did a miracle. Today he is a man who loves God and who boldly testifies about the love of God to his friends.

Newsletter February 2008

Thailand, Wednesday March 26th 2008

Life as a missionary at the base in Thailand is just getting better and better each day. After two months of the new year, God has really done many mighty things here in Khon Kaen. February has been both exciting and victorious! We are so proud to belong to such a good and miracle working God! Lately our Sunday Fellowship has been brought to a higher level. The meetings are always packed and every week we pray with at least one person to salvation! After one year of intense missions work we now have, be the power of the Holy Spirit, proclaimed an international church!

More than 70 people where gathered on February 3rd when Khon Kaen Harvest Center - International Church was officially opened. Our visitors were shouting with joy and the applause was so loud when our Field Director Per Gisselsson and our Thai pastor Neung cut the ribbon. The program was packed with a choir, dancing, balloon-drop and wonderful testimonies from some of our disciples. During the meeting three people decided to follow Jesus, one of them a transvestite. We want a church where all people feel welcome! It should be a refuge, where people are set free from problems, sickness and sin.

A week after the opening of the church we had a meeting for those of who wanted to join the church. Now there are 25 Thai members in total in Khon Kaen Harvest Center and we believe God that there will be many more!

To be able to take care of all of our disciples we have started 6 house churches where we train the new believers every week to be strong followers of Jesus and on fire for Him. It's amazing to see how these former Buddhists now are so eager to come closer to God and how their faith is growing!

Our longing is that all generations should get to know Jesus. So, we have started a kids-church in one of our villages. Many of the kids have been brought up in difficult conditions without love and encouragement. Once a week we gather in the village-chief's house and give the kids a creative teaching, play games, sing and pray.We have already prayed with many of the older kids to salvation. It is wonderful to see a small child close their eyes and pray a prayer that they want to belong to Jesus. We are longing to see the whole village filled with kids who love Jesus and are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Jesse is teaching at the women's prison.

Through the grace of God we are now working in the women's prison in Khon Kaen. During the festival week we prayed with more than 100 female prisoners to salvation. Now the management has approved Khon Kaen Harvest Center's inquiry to start the follow-up work at the prison. So far we have had one class where we taught about 20 women that they are free and righteous in Christ. Since the microphone was connected to the speakers in the cafeteria many more heard the message. After asking if anyone wanted prayer 16 women decided to follow Jesus.

In the work we are doing we can clearly see that the devil has a powerful grip on the Thai culture, how the society has a twisted view of the world and lacks moral. During February we have seen God break through in many areas and opened up people's eyes for the gospel. We are so thankful to part of what Gods work in Thailand!

For the unreached peoples of Southeast Asia...

Discipleship Training at Womens Prison

Thailand, Thursday March 13th 2008

During the festival week last November the team prayed with 100 female prisoners to salvation. Now the management has approved Khon Kaen Harvest Centers inquiry to start the follow-up work at the prison.

On Thursday four of the missionaries visited the prison to start the discipleship training. They taught about 20 women that they are free and righteous in Christ. Since the microphone was connected to the speakers in the cafeteria many more heard the message. What the missionaries did not know was that only a few of the people there were saved. After asking if anyone wanted prayer, 16 women eagerly asked if they could receive Jesus in their hearts. God was there with His presence and He touched many hearts.

Linda Nilsson

The Work Continues

Thailand, Thursday January 31st 2008

After a few days of vacation during the Christmas and New Year holiday the missionaries are back at the base again, well-rested and exited about a new year. They are looking forward to everything God is going to do in Asia. Their goal is to train strong disciples, who can win even more people for the kingdom of God! Right now they are working on teaching their disciples about the foundations of faith.

A couple of weeks ago two newly saved girls were baptized. One of them received Jesus at the Sunday Fellowship and was completely transformed. Now she has joined a new house church and is hungry for more of God.

Linda Nilsson
Thailand

Christmas in Khon Kaen

Thailand, Tuesday January 22nd 2008

Despite the shining sun and 90 degrees F, the Mission SOS team in Thailand managed to create a wonderful Christmas atmosphere. Just before Christmas Eve we arranged a Christmas show for the teenagers at the rehab center in Khon Kaen. Through a drama they presented the birth of Jesus, which became a great success.

Drama of the birth of Jesus at a rehab center in Khon Kaen.

Later that night we arranged a Christmas party at the mission base with Christmas carols, gifts and coffee. The Christmas spirit was at its best and this holiday is even more exiting for our newly saved friends who have never celebrated Christmas before!!! One of the disciples who will spend Christmas with the team expressed his joy: "It will be wonderful to celebrate the birth of my Saviour together with my new family!"

Linda Nilsson
Thailand

The November Newsletter from the Base!

Thailand, Thursday December 20th 2007

Hallelujah! Is there a better word to describe what we have experienced these last couple of weeks? No, there is not! And there is no one as wonderful as our Jesus! In November the Signs and Wonders Festival was held here in Khon Kaen, the very first Festival for the Asia base. During the festival, many people experienced Jesus as the life changing God of miracles!

To most people in Khon Kaen, the name Jesus Christ was never heard of - until two weeks ago. After one week of intense preaching in villages, schools, prisons, drug rehabs, markets and street corners, no one could miss to hear the good news about Jesus Christ. The Thai people are normally very shy, but during the festival, this wassn't shown at all. Many people have eagerly responded to the message about Jesus.

During the festival about one hundred people came from USA and Sweden. What a reinforcement and a blessing for us! We could all see how God has given us the same passion and heart for the unreached in this region. During the festival week we had outreach during the days in different places in the province and every night we arranged shows preaching salvation in the central part of Khon Kaen.

Samuel Strandberg, preaching at the women's prison.

One of the days we visited the prison. We had the opportunity to preach to more than 150 female prisoners, and also give each one of them a toothbrush and toothpaste. It was wonderful to tell them about the gospel and the mercy and forgiveness of God and share with them that even though they are locked up in a prison, they can still be free on the inside! These wonderful women were so touched by Jesus and 120 of them said yes to a new life in Jesus. Recently we visited the prison again and we prayed with many of them to the baptism in Holy Spirit. We will now continue to visit them every week, and take care of out new prison-church

The Festival begun with a ceremony where the governor himself cut the ribbon and declared the festival opened. Every evening that followed was filled with a creative program with dances, dramas, fire shows and live music. Every night Johannes Amritzer preached the simple and powerful message about Jesus Christ. Many people responded and were saved, and the there were so many precious people that were healed as well. The festival was located in between two of the largest temple areas. We preached to the whole city about the King of Kings and Lord of Lord - Jesus Christ! Monks, policemen, students, village people and businessmen - all kinds of people have had their lives changed during this Festival. Altogether 1032 people have made the decision to believe in Jesus.

Now, when the international festival teams from Sweden and America have gone home again, we who are still here have started with the follow up work. New believers are being contacted, taught and baptized. Together with the local churches we give everything we have to train them to become strong disciples. This is amazing! This is true Christianity!

Sarah is baptizing a new believer of Jesus Christ!

One of the people that were saved is 20 year old Nok. She comes from China but is now a student in Khon Kaen. The first time we met her she new nothing about who God was. But during one festival night she took the decision to believe in Jesus. The same evening she was baptized in the Holy Spirit. The little insecurity that she had before was totally gone when she experienced the power of God. The tears were streaming down her cheeks and right after she exclaimed: "I can feel it in my stomach!". A few days after the festival she wanted to be baptized. This girl, who had no idea of who God was when we first met her, is now so happy that Jesus is in her heart!

During the festival many pastors from Thailand and other countries have been trained at the Pastor Seminar to go out and build strong churches. Many Christians have come together like never before to work for people's salvation and many have experienced the miracle power of God. This festival has made a powerful impact in the whole region!

We are so thankful for what God has done and we are excited about what He will continue to do the coming months. Because when the big and very important rice harvest is just finished for this year, we have only just begun to work on a harvest that we believe will last for eternity! Keep praying with us for a transformed South East Asia!

For the unreached peoples in Southeast Asia…

Mission SOS Thailand

Outreach in Khon Kaen

Thailand, Tuesday October 30th 2007

The team arranged a show with dance and drama at the night market on the university campus. Jonatan and Andreas were MCs and they charmed the audience by introducing each other in Thai. After them a band with "air" instruments entered the stage and now even more curious students stopped to have a look. The show continued with both dances and drama. The finished up by promoting the weekly Signs & Wonders meeting that the team conducts.

Linda Nilsson
Khon Kaen