"New Songs of Praise": September-October 2025 Newsletter
- Erik Gonzalez
- Nov 1
- 6 min read
Updated: Nov 2
กินเจ "Gin Je" (Vegetarian Festival)
“Look, the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts, will lop the boughs with terrifying power; the tallest trees will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low.” — Isaiah 10:33 (NRSV)
A young boy.
A sea of people dressed in ceremonial white attire—symbols of purity—filled the streets of Trang. It was chaos. Hundreds were shouting, dancing, and pounding drums. Yet in that moment, through the thick haze of smoke and the rattling sounds of firecrackers, a young boy’s eyes found mine, and everything seemed to stop.
He was shaking from fear.
He was about to partake in an ancient ritual—one in which he would “host a god” to endure the pain of sharp blades piercing through his cheeks in order to “please” unseen powers. This is the Gin Je festival, Thailand’s yearly call to worship demonic spirits, held for nine days as thousands gather in the open streets in devotion to this dark holiday.
This is the reality of the unreached.
They are not merely lost, but bound—serving powers they do not understand. For most Thai people, they have never met a Christian or heard the Gospel message. God's offer of freedom through repentance and unmerited grace has never reached their ears. Even among those who hear, few truly believe, for thousands of years of Buddhist tradition lie deep at the roots of the Thai belief system, resisting the Gospel with apathetic tenacity.
But it will not always be so.
Isaiah’s promise reminds us: the lofty will be brought low. The proud will be humbled. For genuine faith is an otherworldly spectacle that cannot be ignored—the transformed life of a believer stands as undeniable evidence that the Kingdom of God has both arrived and is coming. So when we come face to face with a nonbeliever, they are being confronted with the very Kingdom of God.
Pray for us as we preach the Gospel—that we would do so not only in word and deed, but in power, in authority, and in personal knowledge of Jesus Christ. And please, pray for Thailand—that her people would humble themselves under the mighty hand of God.
One day, the shedding of blood, the dancing for spirits, and the drumming for darkness will fall silent. And from these lands will rise new songs to God—for the Son who was pierced for their transgressions and shed His blood for their sins.
Blessings,
— The Gonzalez Family
(If you’d like to learn more about the Gin Je festival, its origins and traditions, you can read this article. Discretion is advised.)
Prayer Requests
🙏 Thank you for praying for us! <3
DTS & DTS Students – Pray that this DTS season will be a successful one for all the students.
Discipling Thai Relationships – Ask the Lord for wisdom and discernment as we invest deeper in our local friendships.
Family & Friends Back Home – Pray for encouragement, provision, and continued connection with those who support and love us.
Our Marriage – Pray that our relationship with each other and with God would deepen in intimacy, strength, and joy.
Personal Spiritual Growth – Pray for continued growth in humility, maturity, discipline, and Christlikeness.
Erik’s Leadership Roles – Ask for wisdom and good stewardship as Erik is now a Base Elder, leads the communications ministry, and trains for future DTS leadership.
Spiritual Awakening in Thailand – Pray that many would turn to Jesus. Lift up the city of Trang, specifically, for Gospel transformation.
Parenting Hudson – Pray for grace, wisdom, and patience as we raise Hudson in a way that honors God.
Missional Communities & Local Favor – Pray for deeper relationships, Gospel opportunities, and favor in our neighborhood.
Team Unity – Ask God to strengthen our team with humility, love, and shared vision.
Spiritual Warfare – Pray against strongholds such as apathy, miscommunication, sexual perversion, and loneliness. Pray for protection and breakthrough.
Future OTM Teams – Pray that their hearts would be awakened to God's global purpose and that they would step into His calling with boldness.
Life/Ministry Updates
Raising Support for 2-Month Outreach ($1700 left)
Disclaimer: For security purposes, please do not repost this information.
This November, our family (with Hudson!) will travel with our team to an unreached nation for the two months of the Outreach phase. On outreach, we’ll lead on the ground—intercession, evangelism, and acts of compassion, totaling at least 50 hours of service per week. For security reasons, we can’t share the location, but we can say: we’re going where the name of Jesus is rarely heard.
We're past halfway with our goal and need your help to cross the finish line! If you'd like to give, click HERE. Thank you for your generosity!
Commitment to Stay Seven More Years
Friendly reminder! Makayla and I are committing to Thailand for 7 more years! (We will serve 10 years in all.)
DTS Update
Staffing the DTS has been incredible thus far! Jampacked schedules, from lecture, evangelism, intercession, outreach-prep, and more, it has been a busy season! There have certainly been difficult moments, but overall, it has been an enormous blessing to watch the students grow in their knowledge of God and see their lives transformed by these truths. There are 4 weeks of the DTS left, at which point the outreach phase will begin.
Hosting "Titus Project" Team
While the DTS is underway, the Base staff is hosting a team from Montana. This secondary school, also called Titus Project, is on its outreach, visiting us for two months. While here, they are primarily serving the local Thai church leadership by teaching them how to inductively study the bible. They're doing a phenomenal job, and we're excited for all that God is doing through them!
Upgrades to Ministry Truck
The Ministry truck has been outfitted with benches and a canopy to transport the team around. :)
Birthdays!
Hudson is turning 2 years old on November 2nd, and Erik has now entered the decade of his 30s! (November 1st) It's amazing to think that this is the age Jesus began his ministry on earth thousands of years ago. It's an honor to take the commands of our King and go make disciples of ALL nations (panta ta ethne) and to do so with our family!
Ramsey & Rachel Gomez
If you've known me for some time, you're well aware of how beloved Ramsey and Rachel are to me. I'm proud to say that they're heading to Japan to be long-term missionaries. Japan is considered the most unreached nation in the world and is a very tough place to minister. However, we believe God is moving through this young couple to bring about great fruit in Japan. We're exceptionally happy for them and are excited for how God will move in their lives, and maybe even align our paths to work together.
If you love missions and are interested in hearing how the Gospel is advancing in other places, please sign up for their newsletters and pray for them! Click HERE to read more about them.
Special Message for Our Friends and Family
Hello friends and family!
We pray our message finds you well in the Lord. We pray for you often and are so grateful you're in our lives. We just wanted to say a special thank you to those who support us either financially or through prayer (or both). We are very blessed to be serving in Thailand and are amazed at how God provides and looks after us month after month. And he uses your giving and prayers to accomplish his promise of "supplying every need of [ours] according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
It's incredibly rare to find willing hearts to give, especially to unreached missions, where we know that statistically, less than a penny of every dollar given to the church goes towards unreached missions.
So praise God for your lives and hearts to invest in the Kingdom of God in Thailand and beyond. While you may never in this life meet the Thais whose lives have been impacted by the Gospel, you will surely meet them one day in Heaven. We will see the great interwoven web that our Lord has spun, joining one life to another through the Gospel.
-The Gonzalez Family
Email: erik@ywamtrang.org
WhatsApp: Erik +66 098 226 6648
WhatsApp: Makayla +66 092 251 8509
Monthly Financial Update
Recurring support: $2342.55
Monthly costs: $2,300
Have any questions?
We'd love to hear from you. Comment below or reply directly to this email.
Comments