Beckman – August 2010

Dear Praying Friends,

We are coming down the home stretch of summer . . . well, actually you are. For us September will bring of the same hot weather and rain. We hope you have been able to enjoy every minute of your summer.

We enjoyed our three plus weeks in America immensely. We were able to relax a little bit, spend time with family, go to BMM’s Annual Conference and witness Nate’s oldest niece’s wedding ceremony. All good times.

Being in America caused some time of reflection in a couple of different ways also. First was with Madison, Nate’s niece. There was a day, it seems many years ago, that Nate enjoyed something like “favorite uncle” status. Madison and I used to have a very close bond. Time and distance have changed that a little bit. The love is still there, but as I witnessed her giving her vows to her new husband I was reminded of the cost of being a missionary. The second instance came after we were able to visit with the pastor of our sending church in Ohio. Our pastor, Bradley Quick, is fighting a serious battle with cancer. It was very special to be able to spend an hour with him. Then, after we arrived back in Thailand we received word that the doctors are giving Pastor Quick two months or less to live. Apart from a special act of God, that visit we had with Pastor Quick will be our last this side of Heaven.

In the times like what I have just described the question does come up in my heart whether this is all worth it. The answer is, “Of course.” If
we focus on just this life, this life will likely be pretty disappointing. Relationships change all the time, even with special nieces. And even though we do not spend a lot of time talking about it, we all have a date with the destiny that we do not like: The day when we will leave this earth. Apart from Christ’s glorious rapturing us up in the clouds we will have our day. The point seems to be to use this life in doing something that has eternal value. The life lived giving glory to God is absolutely worth it, and I am not just talking about foreign missions.

The ministry here goes on. We are trying to prepare ourselves for the upcoming return of our coworkers to America for six months. Hey, if you know anyone who has a joyful spirit, is a team player, and PLAYS THE PIANO, please send him or her over to hang around us in Thailand for the
next six months. Hannah Scott is our piano player, and her shoes will not be filled while she is gone. Maam plays the guitar a little bit, so we will try to make do as best we can, unless of course you know somebody who can help us out.

Our attendance at church has been down a little bit lately. The tough part of it is that no one has intentionally stopped coming, but jobs and school classes require them to be away. The neat thing is that our teen and adult classes have seen some increase during the week. Last week a sister church had a women’s retreat and we had two unsaved ladies attend with our church ladies. They both said they enjoyed the retreat. Please pray for people to come to Christ through these ministries.

One ministry that has increased in opportunities to present Christ is our prison ministry. Previously, we were used in teaching English classes, and at the end of our English classes we teach the bible. Over the past year we have seen a few solid decisions for Christ through this ministry. However, upon our return we were informed of a new opportunity in the prison. We are being given opportunities to teach three and four hour seminars on subjects such as “Morals That Guide Our Lives,” “How To Be A Leader,” “Developing Your Character,” and “Getting Along With Your Coworkers.” Not only are the opportunities new, but so are the students. Last week I taught the lesson on morals to a group of 60 men. Next week
it will be to 150 men on the subject of developing your character. We have the freedom to share Christ in the sessions, and I am developing my lessons around the Gospel. Very exciting! Today I was able to follow up with about 15 of the 60 men from last week and seven of them indicated
that they would like to study the bible with us more. Pray for these sessions. Pray for the preparation and delivery of the lessons. We are not given a lot of advanced notice as to what and when we will have these opportunities, but when they are given we will accept.

A few other requests for which we ask for prayer are these: Pray for upcoming camps in October. We will have one English camp and one youth camp. Pray for good attendance in both, and for decisions for Christ to be made. Pray for Maam as she starts home schooling both Hudson and
Ryann. Pray for the Hudson and Ryann too.:) Pray for us to be faithful in following up on people who have not been able to attend church in a while. Pray for the spiritual growth of our people. We love them dearly and want to see them grow in the Lord. We provide opportunities during
the week for anyone who wants to, to study the bible more. Some are involved, others are not. This is normal in every church, but it is more noticeable in our tiny church. And the truth of the matter is our church will experience growth as its people pick up the ball and run with it. We need to be winning and training, and then see our people do winning and training. Please continue to pray for us in these things.

Finally, we praise the Lord for His continued goodness to us in taking care of our physical needs. Even as the dollar drops, increases in support and new support have come, and our financial support level remains strong. Praise the Lord with us.

Thanks For Your Friendship,

Nate, Maam, Ryann and Hudson Beckman
Baptist Mid-Missions, Thailand

Beckman – January 2009

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year! How were your Holidays? Please write and tell us of some of your special events. We would love to hear about them. We are currently taking a one week break from the action. We arrived at a very small beach motel about five hours south of Bangkok on Monday. We were hoping for some relaxation and some sun, but the temperatures have been unusually cold this year. It has been dropping down to the low 60′s every evening here, and not rising to 80 degrees during the day. So here we are at our beach vacation wearing long sleeves . . . no kidding. We will happily settle for the relaxation.

Well, we moved into our new house and church on January 2. The construction portion of the work on the building is about 2/3 done, but since our lease on our apartment expired on January 4 we had no choice but to move in. The first week in our house we had no windows on the back side of the building . . . lots of mosquitoes. Once the windows were installed, we were able to get out of town for a few days.

We have updated the pictures of the progress of the building on our website. Check it out at: www.beckmansinthailand.com and click on”building pictures” on the left hand column.

Our Holidays were quite different than in years past. We spent just about every waking moment cleaning and painting our house and church. On Christmas Day, Nate was asked by a friend to go to a small elementary
school and explain the true meaning of Christmas. It was a great opportunity to plant seed in a new field. He left the house at 6 AM and arrived back home at 2:30 PM. We let the kids open their presents at about 3:30 PM, and then Nate slept for the rest of the day. The following day we were back at painting the building. New Years Day was spent painting and cleaning the building as we moved in on January 2.

Although our Holidays were not filled with all kinds of activities, it was a good time to do the work on the building. Bangkok emptied out around New Years, so there was no traffic when we moved. Also this year
our winter time has been unusually cool, which has been great for when we were working. Praise the Lord for those blessings.

We still have our minds set on opening the doors for ministry in February. Please pray to that end with us. We are so thankful that God has brought in some of the funds needed for the construction. There is
still significant work to be done, and we will continue to move forward as God provides the funds. We will likely open the doors for ministry before the work is finished, so February is reasonable.

While we do the work of getting ready to open our church for ministry, we do have some other ministry opportunities for which we ask for prayer. Every Tuesday evening, during the month of February, Nate will be
teaching at a Bible institute at one of our sister churches. Also every Wednesday from now until the beginning of April, Nate and Maam will have the opportunity to go inside two prisons and teach English and Bible to the Thai prisoners. This is the ministry of another missionary, and we are helping him out for a couple of months as he takes a short furlough. Pray for these opportunities, that God’s Word will go forth with power,
and that we would see some fruit from our labors.

Maam and the kids are doing great. As a personal testimony, I (Nate) am so thankful for Maam’s help during the construction process. I have no idea how things would have gone had Maam not been there to help every
step of the way. Her low key personality and her ability to stay calm when things were not done so well were a great testimony to all observers. Those qualities also encouraged me to do the same, as some of
you know that I can be somewhat excitable.

We will close for now. Thank you for all you do for us, and for your continued prayers.

Blessings,

Nate, Maam, Ryann and Hudson Beckman
BMM Missionaries in Thailand

Nate and Maam Beckman – June 2007

Dear Praying Friends,

Greetings from Ohio. We arrived home on May 5, and the last month has gone by very quickly. Sorry that we have not communicated earlier, but we have been without a computer up until just two days ago. We have wanted to keep you all updated on everything that is going on, but without a computer it is sort of impossible to tell you all we do not have a computer, if you know what I mean.

We praise the Lord for all that He has done and is doing in our lives, especially for the opportunity to serve both Nate’s mom and dad during this time. Mom is fading gradually day by day. Maam and I are helping to take care of Mom, so that my dad can do his best at keeping up with his own job requirements. It has been our honor to be able to serve in this way.

As far as her condition goes, Mom is very weak and can no longer stand or walk on her own, so we help her get around, help in feeding her meals as
well as whatever else she needs to do. The intense treatments that she had and the heavy medications that she currently takes have affected her ability to speak and her memory. She does very little talking now, but there are many times that we can tell she would like to say something. She cannot really get it out anymore.

We do appreciate your prayers on Mom’s behalf, and ask you to keep it up. Please pray that God will continue to mold Maam and me, so that we can
be the encouragement to my parents that they need. Please continue to pray for Dad also. We have been here for a month, while he has been taking care of her at this level for close to a year now. Dad is extremely tired in every way. Pray that God will watch over and protect him. It is amazing how God gives His Amazing Grace just at the time we need it most. It has definitely been God’s grace that has sustained Dad during this time.

Originally we planned to leave Thailand at the end of July; so when the call came to hurry home to be with Mom and Dad, we had to really get into gear packing up our house, tying up loose ends, paying bills ahead for a year, and turning the ministry back over to our coworkers, Ed and Darlene
Weber. It was one of those situations where when we sat down in our seats on the plane we said to one another, “Hope we didn’t forget anything.”

It was a blast filling in for the Webers in Kabinburi while they were on furlough. God did a lot of great things during that time, and it was not easy saying goodbye to people we love. Please continue to earnestly pray for the new believers in Kabinburi. Pray for their growth and that God will continue to do His work in that needy area.

Please also pray for the Webers. They are dealing with some overload. After we left, our short termer, Amanda Simmers, also went home. Also another Thai girl who worked with us in the ministry decided to leave. The ministry went from having four teachers to having two teachers, Ed and Darlene. Darlene is also pregnant with their third child, due in September/October. I know they would appreciate your prayers.

Thank you for all you do for us. Please continue to pray for Maam and me. We need it. Pray for strength . . . physical, emotional and spiritual. We will continue to do our best to keep you informed on what is going on.

Yours In Christ,

Nate and Maam Beckman
Baptist Mid-Missions, Thailand