Author: Tom Schumacher

Christmas season was full of activities and outreaches around Sriracha and Chonburi Thailand. The students had plenty of opportunities to express themselves and share their testimonies. Wherever the students may serve in the future being able to share their faith in a very practical way is one of the goals that we have for the students. It is rewarding to see the progress of the students. Many of them come here with many insecurities, yet God's Word is having His way in the lives of the students. The students are becoming bold in their witness for Christ! As for our family we went up to northern Thailand to spend Christmas with Elizabeth's family. The family lives on the Thai-Burma border area and are involved in a local Ahka church and…

Christmas is approaching quickly and we are almost half-way through the school year. So far the year has went along quite smoothly. For two weeks in the month of October I taught on "Patterns Of Living From The Old Testament." The class basically covers the major themes of the Old Testament. Teaching on the Old Testament was a first for me...but I enjoyed the challenge. One of the things I like to do for the students during the year is setting up in home groups where they can lead a group on weekends. This gives them experience of leading a bible study before they leave our school. This year I am giving them mostly teachings from the lives of the leaders from the Old Testament. The students have told me…

This past September we started the year off with 25 students. They come from seven different nations and every type of background. We started the school year off with a work week. I think the students realized this was going to be a different type of school. Actually some of the students really enjoy the work as they are learing things like welding, painting and building cabinets. We have fourteen students back from last year and eleven new students. This years theme for the students is on Integrity. We want the students to know right from the start that Integrity is vital for their success in the ministry and that it is their responsibility to develop a walk of Integrity. It tells us in Proverbs 10:9, "He who walks in…

The scripture tells us to be led by the Spirit. It says, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God are the Sons of God." Being led by the Spirit of God takes time to develop in our life as we learn to yield to the wooing of the Holy Spirit. I am sharing this because this last spring my wife Elizabeth and I planted some ginger with my mother in-law in northern Thailand. In August it was time to harvest some of the ginger. Elizabeth and myself have been looking at ways of raising additional income and this seemed like the obvious route for us at this time. As it turned out it looks like we will break even. I am confident that the Lord will…

Just wanted to say how much fun we had at home. We had the opportunity to stay with my brother Gary and it was wonderful for us as well as Jeremiah as he was able to get to know his older cousins. We also had a wonderful coming home picnic put on by my family, relatives and friends. We were so blessed. Because we flew into Seattle my wife had the opportunity to view some of the most beautiful areas of the USA. The drive to Bismarck and back to Seattle was long but worth it. We also had the opportunity to go to Mpls MN and visit my brother Steve and his wife Patty, they took us around the cities and me and my family went to visit Mall…

It was an exciting day on April 21st as we saw many of our students get their first year diploma and quite a few get their 2 year bible degree. For me it was very gratifying as four of my family members graduated with their two year bible degree. For my wife Elizabeth it was quite gratifying because during the this time she also had the responsibilities of being a mother. But we made it! As for the rest of the students they were really a great bunch. The year went by quite quickly and the students really worked hard and pushed through many personal obstacles. They truly "fought the good fight of faith". The students need to believe God for their tuition and their weekly expenses. The school year…

On the 21st of February my wife and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary. Wow... what a blessing to be a family man. The three years has been by quite fast...but they have been wonderful. I am so grateful for my beautiful wife Elizabeth and our beautiful little boy Jeremiah. "Taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalms 34:8). Honey thank you for the past 3 years and I am expecting many, many great years to come.

At VBCI we have chapel every morning for the students. The students worship and then listen to the Word of God from the other students and guest ministers. After the student ministers I have the opportunity to minister to the students from "A Verse A Day". It so important that we understand that our lives are built one scripture at a time. The idea behind going through the devotional with the students is to get the Word of the pages and into their hearts. It has been a blessing to input into the lives on a daily basis whether it is through the Word of God or just encouraging them to be all that God has called them to be.

Our family had a wonderful Christmas this past December. All of my wife Elizabeth's family was with us and we can say that we were truly blessed. We spent Christmas Eve at the Sriracha International Church, it was such a great evening and my family really enjoyed it. We has Christmas songs, a short service and a big meal. It was an awesome time and great memories for all of us. Thank you all for helping myself and Elizabeth here in Thailand.

This past December finished with a whirlwind of activity. The students did outreaches in the Pattaya Praise which is every year at the end of November. Pattaya is the Las Vegas of Thailand. The students participated in performing live music and local outreach in the shopping areas. Also in the week leading up to Christmas we did an outreach in the city of Bangkok by participating in music in one of the largest malls in Bangkok. I think the students really liked the attention as the locals watched them perform in music and drama. The students also visited the local hospital with gifts for the children. We also went back to Pattaya and cleaned the jail. We have been cleaning the jail over the past three years and it is…