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Jan News letter 
Mike & Ellen Conserva
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Mike & Ellen Conserva are currently serving in Chiang Mai, Thailand. With them serving are their children Karis, Drew, Cana and Seth. Michael is involved in theological education at Chiang Mai Theological Seminary as well as lay-leadership training, evangelism, discipleship and mentoring. Ellen is involved in the English speaking youth group at the Chiang Mai International Church and is still on the Board of Directors at Chiang Mai International School. She also volunteers at the Agape Home in Chiang Mai, an orphanage for Thai children who were born HIV positive.
AGAPE CHILDREN AVAILABLE FOR SPONSORSHIP
Sponsor a child for $25 per month. We'll charge your credit card or transfer the funds from your checking account on the first of each month, or you can send us a monthly check.
 
The Agape Home cares for 72 abandoned HIV-positive children in Chiang Mai,Thailand. Click here for more information about the Agape Home.You will hear from your sponsored child regularly and are encouraged to write to him or her.
http://www.allforyouth.org/thailand.html
They can be contacted at EFCA, 901 E. 78th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55420-1300 or through email at mecons915(at)gmail.com (please note that in order to avoid email being added to spam lists, we've listed the conserva's email addresses above with the spelling of the @ sign; therefore when you email them, replace (at) with @) Their most recent update is included in their newsletter, Conserva Chronicle.
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Link For Archived pages 
| Red Shirt, Yellow Shirt or What kind of Shirt? |
May 2010 |
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Highlighted Prayer Points
> Please pray for Thailand that they could reach a peaceful resolution to the political turmoil.
> Please pray for our new ReachGlobal Asia Division Leadership Team that God would grant us great vision and wisdom as we plan and strategize for future impact.
> Pray for me that God would help me to serve Him well in my new role and that I would continue to grow in grace and dependence upon Him.
> Please pray for the ministry of ReachMyanmar that God would bless our efforts and allow this vision to become a reality.
> Please pray for Drew as he is having to make some very critical decisions in the weeks to follow regarding college.
> Please continue to pray for the adoption process of Bu and that we can get him both a Thai and US passport.
> Please continue to pray for our finances to improve and that God would provide for our needs so that we can minister effectively.
> Please pray that we can find a new house closer to the city that would be adequate for our family. |
Contact Info.
Mike & Ellen Conserva
133/297 Mooban Taweechoke
T. Talad Khwan; A. Doi Saket
Chiang Mai 50220
Thailand
Email: mecons915@gmail.com
Tel. +66-53-868-723 (H)
Tel. +66-84-378-7940 (M)
Skype: m_e_cons |
Please do not post this newsletter in any public forum including the internet.
Thank you. |
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Dear Friends,
Greetings once again from Chiang Mai, Thailand. We have much to share with you in this edition of the Conserva Chronicle. Between the anti-government protest in Bangkok, some significant ministry enhancements and other things we are very excited to be serving the Lord in a place like Asia, where almost half of the people of world live. |
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Red Shirt, Yellow Shirt or What?
I am sure by now many of you have heard or read about the anti-government protests that are taking place in the heart of Thailand's capital, Bangkok. "Thailand's seemingly endless political crises revolves around ex-leader Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted from power in a 2006 coup and is now living in exile to avoid a corruption conviction. The Reds support Thaksin, despite the corruption charges, because of his populist policies that catered to the poor. A rival group, know as the Yellow Shirts, staged protests that led to Thaksin's ouster and then followed up with rallies to remove two Thaksin-allied governments.
The Red Shirts believe Abhisit's (current PM) government is illegitimate because it came to power under military pressure through a parliamentary vote after disputed court rulings ousted the two elected pro-Thaksin governments." (AP Press) The Reds want Abhisit to dissolve Parliament immediately and call new elections. The conflict has been characterized by many as a class struggle that pits the country's vast rural poor against an elite that has traditionally held power.
The Red Shirts recently softened their stance by offering the current administration to dissolve Parliament within 30 days and hold new elections in order to prevent further bloodshed and violence, which has resulted in 26 deaths and over 800 injuries. Unfortunately, the Government has rejected their compromise proposal and it looks like there is no end in sight for Thailand's political crisis. My fear is that there is a very high risk of Crackdown and pushing the nation close to an undeclared civil war.
Please pray for Thailand that they could reach a peaceful resolution to the political turmoil. |
Exciting Ministry News!
I know it has been a few months since our last newsletter, but I have been holding off sending this out because I wanted to announce the expanding of my new role in ReachGlobal Asia. ReachGlobal has been in the process of reorganizing the leadership structure for RG in Asia to be more inline with the RG philosophy in our other fields. Effective immediately, I will be joining the RG Asia Division Leadership Team (ADLT). I will continue to function as the country and city team leader for N. Thailand and Myanmar and my current ministry will not change in anyway, but I will also take on the following expanded role as a member of the ADLT.
- Provide coaching and mentoring to team leaders
- Help recruit new RG staff
- Develop Asia wide ministry strategies
- Open new ministry opportunities in Asia
- Find new indigenous movement partners to work in order to develop, empower and release them
- Mobilize needed resources
- Grow our spiritual dependence on the Father
- Ensure the health of our staff
I am excited about this new role and believe that God has been preparing and equipping me for it throughout the many years that I have lived in Asia. I will be serving on a team with seven other godly, mature and seasoned leaders with proven track records in leading. I look forward with anxious anticipation as this team comes together, grows together and begins working together for effective and intentional change in our region. Please pray for our new ReachGlobal Asia Division Leadership Team that God would grant us great vision and wisdom as we plan and strategize for future impact. |
Self-Sustainable Ministry
Other exciting ministry news is what we are doing through the organization that we started in Myanmar called ReachMyanmar. I have mentioned this is previous newsletters. Down in the Irrawaddy Delta of Myanmar we are working in three different locations and have set up church planting teams in two of these cities; Labutta and Bogale. In order to give our church planting teams a platform for identification, we started our first business in Labutta, which is the largest city in the Delta region. We call it The MSD Internet Shop. The purpose of this shop is to provide an internet service as well as teach computer technology, how to use computers and their applications. All of the profit margin that is created by this business platform is funneled back into the ministry of RM, which helps fund the work of our church planting teams as well as provide some funds for the leadership training and development that we do in other areas of the country. We work in 5 different locations of the country training leaders. We have just moved into a new area called Pyapon and have recently opened up another ministry center. Here we will begin by teaching English and computer technology and eventually apply for a license to begin our second business. Eventually we hope to put together another church planting team. The purpose of all of this is not necessarily to make money, although we are not apposed to that at all, but to help make the ministry of RM self-sustainable whereby it does not have to rely upon foreign funds. We envision, with God's help, opening several more of these shops in order to fund all of our ministry efforts in Myanmar. Please pray for the ministry of ReachMyanmar that God would bless our efforts and allow this vision to become a reality. |
Family Happenings Overall the family is doing well. Another school year at the Chiang Mai International School is winding down and the kids have about 5 weeks left until summer vacation. Oh the joys of parenting. Overall they have had a very good year and everyone has been active in athletics. Please pray that they will finish out the academic year well and remain healthy. Pray especially for Drew as he begins finals in just a couple of weeks and shortly after will participate in the commencement ceremonies and graduate class of 2010.
Drew has faced a real setback in terms of college admission. He was accepted to Purdue University and was banking on an Air Force ROTC scholarship to help pay for it. Unfortunately, due to the competitive nature of the scholarship, he was not selected for it and Purdue is very expensive as an out-of-state school. This has left him in a difficult situation. He is now looking elsewhere to go to college. Please pray for him as he is having to make some very critical decisions in the weeks to follow.
It has been sometime since we have taken a significant amount of time for a home assignment. We are hoping to take at least a six month home assignment in the States in 2011. A lot depends on our situation with Bu, the little Thai boy we are in the process of adopting. He has been with us in a fostering situation since the beginning of October and we are working on getting the US side of the paperwork done. Hopefully by the time we need to travel to America, he will have a passport and permission to be in the US. Please pray that this will go smoothly. If he can't travel with us, we won't be able to have a home assignment until 2012.
We are currently living about 20 minutes outside of the city of Chiang Mai. Gas prices have been going up and we recently calculated that we are spending more money on gas than we are on rent. So, we are looking into moving to a house closer to the city. We are in no rush, so we are able to take our time a bit. Please pray that we can find a more suitable place to call home.
Once again, we are so thankful for the prayer and financial support that you have given us for so long. Many of you have prayed for Ellen and I for over 20 years! We cannot fully express how much this means to us. You are so vital to our ministry here and we depend on you to stand in the gap for us.
May God bless each of you as you have blessed us (and that is a LOT!)
Because of Calvary,
Mike |
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