A Year of Milestones for LWMI...

Greetings!

2011 is somewhat of a monumental year for Cathy and I. We will celebrate our 30^th wedding anniversary as well as our 25^th year of ministry in Thailand. This year we will build our 100^th church and receive our 1,000^th child into Abundant Life Children's Home.

This is truly to the glory of God and a bit of a confirmation of I Corinthians 1:27-29, where it says "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise...." Cathy and I started our marriage and ministry by raising a few eyebrows. "Least likely to succeed" seemed to be a phrase used frequently when referring to us. In high school I scored a negative 9 on a scale of 0-100 to succeed as a minister. I was "Off the Charts" from the beginning....only in the wrong direction! Cathy truly took a gamble when she said "I Do!" Well, the rest is history as they say.... I have to pinch myself sometimes to be sure I'm not dreaming. God is good!

Our first and foremost gratitude and appreciation goes to God. He has blessed us with a life and ministry beyond our expectations. He has also given us a family of friends around the world that are very special to us. In the very early days of our ministry Cathy and I prayed a prayer. We asked God to give us relationships ordained by Him....to link us with people by divine connection. Almost 30 years later we look at "Our Family" around the world and stand in awe at the faithfulness of God.

God has given us teachers, leaders and mentors that have spoken into our lives causing us to grow and stay on course. He has also given us wonderful partners.....the "LWMI Family" that faithfully prays and gives financially to make the dream and vision come true. Countless times we have been in extreme, adverse situations with our backs against the wall, only to see God come through, yet knowing it was the prayers of our partners, the LWMI Family that under girded us through the challenging time. Calls, letters and words of encouragement at "God appointed times" have given us strength to overcome time after time after time.

It would be impossible to mention names and give credit to all the people who have become so special to us. Our prayer is that this letter conveys our heart felt gratitude to you. Thanks again for the wonderful opportunity to represent you in foreign missions.

Our Love in Christ,

Charlie and Cathy Milbrodt

PS: We will periodically publish a LWMI Family Tribute to honor and give recognition to the precious people in our lives. This month's tribute is to Mr. & Mrs. Lee Khim Thian of Sitiawan, Malaysia.

LWMI Family Tribute to Mr. and Mrs. Lee Khim Thian

Those of you that have heard me preach have probably heard me share a story or two about Mr. Lee. I lovingly call him my "Chinese Father."

Cathy and I met the Lee's a little over ten years ago when our friends Luis and Vivienne Manuel brought the Lee's to Thailand for a mission's adventure. That very first visit, the Lee's committed to build a church at Lay Key Village. That day the Lee's stepped into a part of their destiny that has impacted our lives and ministry as well as the lives of thousands of people in the Nation of Thailand.

Early on in our relationship I sensed a "father-son" relationship with Mr. Lee. I couldn't explain it in the natural, but I knew God had something special between us. The Lee's have returned to Thailand every year since and a wonderful friendship/relationship has developed. Building churches has always been a goal of LWMI, but it was through the encouragement, direction and participation of the Lee's that brought the "vision" into a "reality."

Mr Lee With Kids The Lee's encouraged us to build our churches according to a blueprint which gave uniformity and quality control to our buildings. Mr. Lee also directed us in the plan to have a pastor's house at each location so the overseeing minister would have a decent place to live. More than just ideas, the Lee's promoted the funding of the church construction project among their friends and associates in Malaysia. To this day, the Lee's and their Malaysian team are the greatest financial contributors to the church building project of LWMI. 78 churches have already been funded through Mr. and Mrs. Lee and their Malaysian friends and associates. The successful completion of our 100^th church this year will be a result of the fruitful relationship of Mr. and Mrs Lee Khim Thian and Living Word Ministries International.

The Lee's have also been very instrumental in helping us initiate and develop the coffee project. Again, the fatherly insight of Mr. Lee is guiding us to truly impact this nation for Jesus Christ. The long term vision and success of LWMI's ministry to the Nation of Thailand will be greatly enhanced through this project.

A Friendship Was Formed....A Dynamic Relationship Was Birthed. LWMI had a vision to plant churches....The Lee's had the wisdom and insight to make it happen. God brought the Lee's and the Milbrodt's together to make the vision become a reality!

God Bless you brother and sister Lee Khim Thian. You are dear friends and tremendous partners. Our life and ministry has been richly blessed through our relationship with you!

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