Dear friends,

Seasons greetings from the Golden Triangle! We hope this ministry update finds you well wherever you are!

2020 is a special year, a chaotic year, a challenging year, but still a year to be grateful. As we enter the last month of 2020, let us count our blessings of this year and give thanks to the Lord, for our Lord is a great and awesome God.

In Northern Thailand, the Covid-19 cases are in good control, as the government has a very strict 14-day state quarantine. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have had just over 4,200 confirmed cases and 60 deaths.

As the government is doing the best to control the infection, there are, however, leakages through the land border. The land border is still closed, and no entry is allowed. Unfortunately, there are people illegally entering the country through this land border, therefore, it brings risk to the country. Currently in our neighboring country Myanmar, the Covid cases are surging (1000+ confirmed cases everyday, as of today 108,000 confirmed cases and 2,258 deaths), as the medical system in Myanmar is not very good. As a result, many Thai people would like to come back to Thailand for safety reasons. It puts the city of Maesai (where we are) more risky because we are one of the main border cities.

Just at the end of November, there were 4 illegal entries to the country from Myanmar through Maesai. All 4 were caught and all tested positive. The government is now trying to let Thai people return through the land border, but they must register ahead of time and must go through 14-day state quarantine. As of today, 49 confirmed cases were linked to the Thai returnees from Tachileik, Myanmar.

Praise the Lord, we are doing fine in the Golden Triangle. Thank you for your continuous support. In the last few months, we have had a lot of opportunities to share and report to churches through recording and online video conferencing. Thank you for your partnership with us in different ways.

The following are some updates on the ministries in Golden Triangle as well as CBM Chinese Ministries around the globe.

1. Christian education – Our partner, BBI, continues classes both in-person and online. As we have mentioned in our last updates, challenges for students to study online were unstable and limited internet access, sometimes with no electricity. Praise the Lord, when we send out prayer requests to churches and mention the need, a number of churches were willing to receive these students to their location which has more stable internet and electricity. They even provide them with free meals and accommodation.

2. Pastors and alumni – With all the limitations during the pandemic, we have still been able to visit alumni and pastors in the last few months, especially in the month of November. It was Thanksgiving month for churches in N. Thailand, we joined our brothers and sisters to give thanks to the Lord. This month we are ready to celebrate Christmas together.

3. Drug rehabilitation – We are still teaching at Operations Dawn Discipleship Training Centre. In the recent couple of years, there were a few brothers who have finished their 4 years training at the Discipleship Training Centre and then came to BBI for further study, they are ready to serve the Lord in different ministries.

4. Children in poverty – The student centre we are partnering with is located in Tachileik, Myanmar (Tachileik is currently the hotspot for Covid). Unfortunately, with the border closed, we are not able to visit them, we can only communicate with pictures and online messages. Please pray for God’s protection on the co-workers and children in the centre.

5. Community Lahu Villages – Our partner, Pastor Duodu continues his vision for the Lahu villages. His access to the villages is more difficult because of the pandemic. We would like to praise the Lord as we summarize the outcome since we partnered with him in 2017. 451 people were baptized, 5 multifunctional churches were built, 1 water system was installed, and 30+ villages were reached.

6. Chinese Ministries Team – Praise the Lord, all our members and families are well and healthy. Germany continues with a joint online worship service for the 4 cities. Hong Kong and China still have restrictions. May God give us wisdom to have creative ways to share the good news in the communities.

• Please pray for our physical health. As we write this newsletter, Conrad has been suffering from very bad ear infection for almost 2 weeks. We went to see a doctor 3 times. We are praying that this last antibiotic will help.

• Please pray for BBI students, especially those in Myanmar. May they have the perseverance to continue their studies online and lead them not into any temptation.

• Please pray for our Chinese Ministries Team and our families. Protect us day in and day out, so that we are able to serve our community with strength and courage.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Conrad & Fiona Kwok