We had a wonderful team that accompanied us to Thailand for our pastors-wives conference which took place the week of September 21-25. Our team consisted of (Ret) Lieut. General Tex Brown and his wife Ann, Pastor Bob and Chris Burrows, Senior Pastor Rob Harrell, and Connie and myself.
The weather was hot and muggy and the conference hall had no AC, but with fans strategically placed throughout the large hall it was quite manageable. Fortunately, our rooms had AC and gave us some restful nights of sleep. We had some rain but nothing could dampen the spirits of the attendees. We held a conference in the same building two years ago. What Connie and I noticed this time was that the pastors and their wives were quite young, averaging maybe 30-35 in age with a few of the more senior men sprinkled throughout the nearly 100 who attended. They were somewhere around 40 rooms that were air conditioned. Every room was taken and the facility was maxed out.
There were 5 or 6 denominations and tribes that were represented. Attendees came from as far away as Laos and Cambodia. One special memory was having the various tribes dress in their tribal attire and lead in several moments of worship before each of us spoke. We had a total of 14 sessions, which we shared fairly equally, along with some good Q and A sessions. This is where you get to know the real issues. We received quite a positive response from our teaching times. The theme of the conference was “Facing the Future without Fear.” I pretty much stayed with the Upper Room Discourse from John 14-16 where Jesus said “Let not your hearts be troubled.” John 14:1. Others on the team taught on marriage and family, discipleship, spiritual warfare and other needs as we learned of them during the week. I gave the closing session on finishing strong, looking at several passages from Paul’s life in Acts 20:24, II Tim. 4:6-8, and Peter’s closing statements in II Peter 1:3-11.
There were a number of couples who responded that their lives would never be the same as a result of the conference. One couple even responded that the week saved their marriage which was on the verge of collapse. We all came back tired and yet fulfilled, believing that we served the purpose for which we went. You might also be interested to know that the entire conference was videotaped and the videos will be shown throughout Thailand and beyond.
“For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place.” I Thessalonians 1:8
That is our prayer!
Thank you for standing with us and praying for us. You will receive our final letter (snail mail) for the year sometime around the first of December. We will fill you in on next years’ conferences and plans at that time. O to hear Him say, ‘well done.’
Pastor Steve, for the SSI Team and Board