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Welcome to wdbydana.com the website of Dana and Cindy Bratton, missionaries to Thailand with YWAM 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 and Cindy teaches English. Previously we spent 6 months studying Thai in Bangkok. We are long term missionaries to Thailand. Dana is a licensed and ordained Southern Baptist minister who worked for 17 years as a hospital chaplain. Cindy was a school teacher. She taught home school for our three children, kindergarten, and middle school science. They also were missionaries with Child Evangelism Fellowship for eleven years. Dana enjoys helping Christian ministries with web design too.
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Our beautiful house is for sale. The price
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Currency data courtesy coinmill.com Time now in Thailand
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| Map of provinces and church density | Map of evangelization | Map of Jesus Film Translation | Map of Bible Translation |
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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 25 people, we have one leader/translator named Jum. The church rents a large house where she lives, and has some ministry to children and teens and we have our weekly Friday night Bible study there. Mercy Ships raised funding to build a large community center that set vacant for a year, the church has free use of the building. It is a huge two level building with two auditoriums, class rooms. There are three cell groups in the nearby city of Khlok Kloy and village of Bo Dan. I use the Crosswire Sword Bible program in Thai and English to prepare my messages and pasting the Thai text into my notes and into PowerPoint slides. Very few people in our village speak any English at all. The community 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. There are about 30 churches in province/island of Phuket with a population of 1.6 million. The statistics overall in Thailand are the country in 95% Buddhist, 4% Moslem and less than 1% Christian, however in the South the percentage of Moslems is much higher. Thai Buddhism is mixed with animism, there is a great fear of spirits here. Many homes and businesses have spirit houses where they place food and drink for the spirits to try to appease them. There is a pretty good networking between the churches in Phuket especially for major events such as Christmas and Easter. |
But there is no large Christian outreach in the South. I
am not sure why but is 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 this year 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 Jum my translator, translates it into Thai,
we are studying through the book of Luke. I also have a short lesson for the
children. Monday is my day off, Cindy and I usually borrow a church member’s
car and 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. I
also make 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. Often during the week children from
the neighborhood come to our home, we have Legos for them to play and
cartoons for them to watch. Cindy teaches English every afternoon at
Thachatchai School.
Prayer concerns:
Pray for our Thai language study. Pray for our financial
support. For U.S. taxes, retirement savings, and our annual return flights home,
we need about $800 in additional monthly support.
We need the Lord's wisdom in leading and overseeing this
ministry. Pray that many more Thai will come to know the
Savior. |
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Missions - What compels missionaries to leave home and family and go to the other side of the world? Mark 4:35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let's go over to the other side." To go takes us out of our comfort zone, to the unknown, to the risky. There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, (tsunami?) men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world ; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. "Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory."Luke 21:25-27 (NASB) How do long do we have to tell them before Christ returns? "I have but one candle of life to burn, and I
would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded
with light" -- John Keith Falconer "The gospel is only good news if it gets there
in time" -- Carl F. H. Henry
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"People who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives ... and when the bubble has burst, they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted." -- Nate Saint, missionary martyr " 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. เพราะว่าพระเจ้าทรงรักโลกจนได้ทรงประทาน พระบุตรองค์เดียวของพระอง ค์ที่บังเกิดมา เพื่อทุกคนที่เชื่อในพระบุตรนั้นจะไม่พินาศ แต่มีชีวิตนิรันดร์ What man is he that desires life, and
loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your
lips from speaking lies. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue
it. The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto
their cry.
คือว่าถ้าท่านจะรับด้วยปากของท่านว่า พระเยซูทรงเป็นองค์พระผู้เป็นเจ้า และจะเชื่อในจิตใจของท่านว่าพระเจ้าได ้ทรงชุบพระองค์ให้เป็นขึ้นมาจากความตาย ท่านจะรอด |
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Our son Nathan bought our business, he is now maker of visualized songs for children's ministry and Barney Kinard at www.kidhelper.com distributes our flannel backgrounds now. Offering Folkmanis Puppets, Christian songs for children, games and books. He sells wholesale and retail. Use the songs, and puppetsfor children's church, AWANA, Child Evangelism Fellowship, Sunday School and other ministries for children. See brattonspecialties.com |
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Shop for
Visualized
Song
His visualized songs are in kit form. Familiar songs and familiar tunes attractively visualized to enhance your teaching and honor our Lord. Christian songs for children.
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Write to Nathan for a puppet, or song catalog, or for
more information. You can help support our ministry by buying products here from Amazon. Christian books
Other Christian resources:
Child Evangelism Fellowship
Click here to find about CEF ministries worldwide. Learn how to bring FREE, targeted TRAFFIC to your
Web site with
WebPosition Gold 3 (tm).
E Mail: danabratton@sbcglobal.net
Mail address: Dana and Cindy Bratton |
