August Update 2021

 

 

Greetings everyone in the name of Jesus!

We pray all is well with our family and friends in America and you are all staying safe. Here in Thailand, everything here is about the same.  We are all still in a semi-lockdown and new infections are over 20,000 a day, over 800,000 have been infected, and 210,000 still being cared for. All the hospitals and field hospitals are full at the present time. This is a lot for this small country.  Even in our province there has been as many as 300 in one day.  So for the most part and we are staying in as much as possible.  Only going out for necessary business.  Please keep us in prayer for our protection and that things will get better soon.

All of the churches we minister in are still running online. We truly miss seeing our spiritual families and being able to fellowship together. Hopefully this gets over with and we can get back to ministering in person. Amen?

I thank God for the internet because we can at least continue our discipleship training and teaching. At least once a week, teaching the word of God and encouraging our disciples.  

Church on the Rock Buriram is not being idle and using this time to build a building on the new land so that when the lockdown is over they will have a new place to worship. The first building is going up by Faith! This is an ongoing project until the completion of the new facilities.  Please keep this little church in your prayers that God will give provision for the vision. And of course if anyone feels led to give some help with this project just let me know.  The more provision that comes in the more they can do.

Keep Annie in prayer next month.  We have several doctor appointments during the month of September.  On the 7th, we have our normal blood work checkup, then around the 16th a mammogram, ex-ray and ultrasound, then on the 21st we see the radiation doctor for the results. We are believing for a great report and no problems whatsoever. Once free always free! Amen?

Okay, well this update is short for now because we are in lockdown. So, keep praying and we continually pray for all of you as well. Thank you for all your prayers and support which helps us so much during this time.

We love y’all!

Ralph and Annie

PS
 
If anyone would like to give a one time offering or support us on a monthly basis on line, click on the Donate Button at www.ralphdryden.com , or give via PayPal directly to us at PayPal.Me/RalphDDryden or give via mail:

Contributions by check can be sent to:

Church on the Rock
P O Box 1228
Nederland, TX 77627

July Update 2021

 

25 Years ago!

Greetings everyone in the Name of Jesus!

 

This month, Annie and I are celebrating a big milestone in our Christian life and ministry. On July 9, 1989, 32 years ago Annie and I both were baptized in the Holy Spirit at the same time during a foundation class at our church. We had a upper room experience at the end of the class where the Holy Spirit of God came upon us like tongues of fire all at once. That moment changed everything in our lives forever! We were delivered of many things at that time and the major thing for me was after 20 years of alcoholism, I was totally set free! From that day forward until even today we fell in love with Jesus and wanted to serve Him any way we could. We started immediately in lay ministry at our church. We became greeters, ushers, intercessors, small group leaders, leaders of small group leaders, licensed ministers with jail and prison ministry within our church. In October 1993, we sold everything we had and quit our good jobs and we became pastors at Cotr Palestine, Texas. We gave up all we had and became pastors of this small church where we learned our first lessons in full time ministry. We went from almost nothing to a good size church for a small town in east Texas in three years. During the 3rd year, we went on a mission trip to Vietnam and Thailand, where God began to speak to us about moving to Thailand to be missionaries.

On October 15, 1996, after much prayer and fasting, many prophesies and confirmations, we left to be missionaries in NE Thailand. We knew only one person here in Thailand when we came and we began our life as a missionary helping as many churches and local pastors as we could. This coming October we will have been in Thailand for 25 years now. We have done everything and went through many trials and tribulations, sickness and sorrow, hurts and pain but it has all been worth it and we are still here until God let’s us retire. We are still full of love and fire to serve God but our bodies are getting older everyday, so we know that some day in the future we will have to be a day to return to live close to our children and maybe we can do some lay ministry in a local church. But until that day we will continue on here making disciples and edifying the local churches where we minister. That too has become a big challenge with COVID but we are here Lord use us as long as you can. So praise God today for 32 years of being filed with the Spirit of God, and almost 25 years of ministry here in Thailand. We will be here till you lead us somewhere else. So we celebrate and give praise and glory to God for all that He has done!

Khon Kaen, Thailand

Lock down food!

This update is mostly a prayer request for us and for Thailand.  Just as we thought things were getting better in our last update, another wave of COVID broke loose in Bangkok and now has spread to all over Thailand.  Today another record of infections of over 10,000 people and over 100 deaths for Thailand.  Our province is better than some places but infections are increasing every day.  Right now, all of the hospitals and field hospitals are full. So, much prayer is needed for all of us.  Bangkok area is in total lockdown and we are in a partial lockdown here.  Annie and I have pretty much quarantined ourselves except for going out to shop for essential items.  Please pray for our protection from all of this and it will pass quickly so we can get back to visiting the churches.  Amen?

Another problem is the vaccine situation.  It’s getting to the point where you have to be vaccinated to travel around here in Thailand.  The problem is the two vaccines (Sinovac and Astrasenca) that Thailand is using are almost worthless against all variants and have many bad side effects.  Some of the other embassies are helping their citizens here to get a good vaccine but of course the American embassy is not interested in helping us Americans here in Thailand.  The private hospitals are trying to purchase the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines but there is a long waiting line and supposedly will not be available until October or later.  Pray for Annie and I to have favor and be able to get a good vaccine soon.

As far as the churches here, almost all are back to online church, including COTR Buriram.  They are taking advantage of this time to start the move and build a temporary building on the new land.  The old church building has been disassembled and will be used for the new one.  Hopefully, they will be able to get the new temporary building finished before the lockdown is over.  Amen? Once again, if anyone feels led to give to this project, please let me know.

I thank God that I have been able to continue to minister with online teaching during the time but it is not the same as going out and preaching.  Especially for Annie as well. Pray this COVID situation will be over soon and we can get moving again. Amen?

Okay thanks for all of your prayers and support!  We pray for all of you continually for God to bless you all and meet all of your needs as well.

We love y’all!

Ralph and Annie

PS
 
If anyone would like to give a one time offering or support us on a monthly basis on line, click on the Donate Button at www.ralphdryden.com , or give via PayPal directly to us at PayPal.Me/RalphDDryden or give via mail:

Contributions by check can be sent to:

Church on the Rock
P O Box 1228
Nederland, TX 77627

June Update 2021

 

 

                      Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus!

Thanks to everyone for your prayers for Thailand and the COVID-19 situation here. There is still a new wave going on in some places but in our area and Buriram area is getting much better and we are praying that by July we will be able to visit the churches again. Please agree with us in this area as well.

In the meantime I am still teaching and disciplining online.  It is working out well for now, but Annie and I are both ready to get out and minister in person again. We miss all the members and are ready to see them all again. amen?

We had a pastor friend, who we have not seen in a long time, come by to visit us and we were able to minister and pray with her about some important decisions coming up soon in her life.  We enjoyed the visit and the ministry time.

Please continue to pray for Buriram COTR and Saints on the rock foundation and the vision of building the new church building and nursery building.  We are trusting in God for provision ($33,000 usd) to finish everything and we are taking things step at a time while waiting with the resources we have from the church members. Hopefully in July they are going to start taking parts from the present building to construct a small building for a temporary church on the new land which will later be used as a kitchen.  Praying that we will be able to start having services in the temporary building within a month or so.  Please agree with prayer for this next step towards the vision. If anyone feels led to help with the financial part of the vision just let me know and I will instruct you on how to give.

Please continue to pray for our health as well.  Thanks for all your prayers last month and I am doing much better now. We get our blood work done every three months and so far all is well with me and pray for Annie’s sugar and calcium levels to go down by September.  They were a little bit high this month. Thanks in advance for all your prayers.  

Please continue to pray for our health, provision and protection from the COVID situation here.  The Better vaccines won’t be available until October.

Thanks to everyone for your support and prayers as we pray for all of you as well.

We love y’all!

Ralph and Annie

PS
 
If anyone would like to give a one time offering or support us on a monthly basis on line, click on the Donate Button at www.ralphdryden.com , or give via PayPal directly to us at PayPal.Me/RalphDDryden or give via mail:

Contributions by check can be sent to:

Church on the Rock
P O Box 1228
Nederland, TX 77627
 
If paying by check please make it out to
K E Resources - memo line: Dryden Support

http://www.ralphdryden.com
facebook.com/rddryden

May Update 2021

 

                 Greetings everyone in the Name of Jesus!

Well, here in Thailand we are presently going through a third outbreak of COVID.  This time it is worse than the other two all together.  So we are back into lockdown mode again and have been now for a month.  All our our churches are back to online services again but thank God I am still able to teach and disciple via face chat.  Praise God!  Please pray this will pass soon and we can get back to a normal routine of ministry again.  

Also please pray for Annie and I for protection from the virus. In Thailand there are no home treatments allowed and if infected you are locked up in a hospital or field hospital until you are completely healed.  That would not be good at all for us, amen?  They are starting to give out vaccines to everyone but not to excited about that either.  The free government vaccines are the Chinese vaccine and do not want that one for sure.  The private hospitals are now saying they will have the Moderna vaccine available for a cost, so I am praying if we have to get vaccinated we will be able to choose one of the better ones. I know some would say don’t get vaccinated but we want to be able to travel freely by next year.  So pray for all of this to work without any complications and to make the right decisions. Thanks in advance.

Church on the Rock Buriram and Saints on the Rock Foundation is moving on with the vision. Just this month they were able to do the land fill on the new land.  

Now we will be moving on to the next phase and that will be building a church building and a nursery.  It will probably take around 35,000 USD to build everything and everyone here is believing and trusting in God to provide.  If anyone feels like they would like to share in this vision to help financially just let me know and I will give you instructions on how to give.  At least keep this project in your prayers and believe with us!

Please pray for my health, I am having colon problems again and presently going to the doctor trying to find out what’s going on.  First of all, pray God will just heal me and that will be it!  Amen?  Secondly, Pray for wisdom for the doctors to diagnose and treatment to get rid of this problem.  Tired of it and ready to get back to normal.  Amen?

Okay, hopefully by next month, we will be able to give a good report for Thailand and ministry, God willing. In the mean time we will keep on keeping on.  Amen?

We love you all!

Ralph and Annie

PS
 
If anyone would like to give a one time offering or support us on a monthly basis on line, click on the Donate Button at www.ralphdryden.com , or give via PayPal directly to us at PayPal.Me/RalphDDryden or give via mail:

Contributions by check can be sent to:

Church on the Rock
P O Box 1228
Nederland, TX 77627
 
If paying by check please make it out to
K E Resources - memo line: Dryden Support

APRIL UPDATE 2021

 

                 Greetings Everyone in the Name of Jesus!

We pray that you all are doing well and God is blessing you in all that you do!  

Annie and I are doing okay and continuing to keep on keeping on during this time.  We are trying to sit out the Thai Buddhist New Year Holiday that is going on this week.  The roads are probably the most dangerous in the world during this week, so we always make it a habit to stay home.  This year we have an added danger, along with the dangers of traveling or getting out during this time a new wave of COVID is going all around.  This round seems to be worse than the first wave.

So, Annie and I are staying in during this week and see how it is going after this week is over.  We pray that it will clear up quickly because we are scheduled to preach be at COTR  Buriram April 25 and at a church gathering in Chiang Yuen On the 2nd of May.  We were just getting started back in a normal schedule of ministry so please pray with us it will pass quickly.

We had a great time ministering at Lamp of Khon Kaen Church on Easter.  I had the privilege of preaching a message on the Resurrection and after the service was asked to do a water baptism for 9 new believers.  Praise God, it was a blessed time and we truly enjoyed it.

After church we were able to encourage one of the local pastors who has just opened a new coffee shop here in Khon Kaen.  They are doing a great job and everything was delicious.  We pray God will bless them abundantly with this new project. Amen?

Annie had her 6 month checkup with the radiation doctor and all is good.  She won’t have to do another mammogram until September.  So thanks for all your prayers.  Keep us both in prayer for good health as we are in that stage of life, we need a lot of prayer.  Pray for me too, as my left knee has degenerated and slipped to being bone on bone, so I need a miracle from God to heal it without having a replacement surgery.  

A great big thanks to everyone who supports us and prays for us! You are truly appreciated and we lift you up in prayer everyday asking God to Bless, protect and fulfill all your needs as well!  

We love y’all!  

Ralph and Annie

PS
 
If anyone would like to send an offering or support us on a monthly basis, here is the information:

Contributions can be sent to:

Church on the Rock
P O Box 1228
Nederland, TX 77627

Checks can be made out directly to me Ralph Dryden or
If a tax exempt is needed the checks can be made out to
K E Resources - memo line: Dryden Support