Last Day

It's so sad to me to think it's almost time to head back home.  It feels like I've been here forever but at the same time it passed so quickly.  As we've been winding down our last week here we spent half the day on Friday helping Zoe staff organize and pack up their supplies in preparation for their big move next week.  We then joined them again in the evening for a lovely time of worship together. 

Saturday was our last day at Zoe and we spent the morning teaching the rescued kids various crafts.  I was on tie dye t-shirt duty again.  We had about 23 kids in our class ranging from about 6 - 12 years old.  We had such a great time making the shirts and I was so impressed with how creative the kids were with their designs!  After we finished all the t-shirts we had brought for them, they all ran upstairs and grabbed more of their own shirts to dye!

The Zoe family then blessed us with a big bar-b-que and we had great last meal together.  The afternoon was filled with both laughter and tears as we played games and then said our goodbyes.  I will miss these people tremendously!  They are such an example of both great faith and giant hearts as they served selflessly and loved unconditionally.

The rest of our last evening was spent at the night bazaar as we finished collecting all the gifts we wanted to bring home and share with loved ones.  This will be my last entry on this journey and it has been an honor to have participated in such an adventure.  I pray I don't forget the many lessons I've learned and the joy I've felt serving the Lord overseas.

Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, "Amen!"  Praise the LORD. ~ Psalm 106:48

Outreach, Conversational English and Street Witnessing

Each day I wonder if it could be any better than the day before and so far I am filled with awe as every encounter brings new meaning to this trip. We started the day with our third and last visit to a public school to present our program one last time and just like every time before, it was a wonderful experience to be able to share Jesus with kids in school who may never have heard His name.
 It was a great morning as we all spent time with the kids after the program was over, working on the craft they would be able to take home as a reminder of God's love for them.  I'm kinda getting used to being sweaty and dirty all the time since we end up sitting on the floor with the kids to help them and it's hot and humid here!  I just want to know why only us Americans are sweaty all the time...why don't the Thai people ever seem to be hot?? Guess they are just used to it =)

After lunch we headed back over to Zoe to spend a couple of hours with the Bible school students, working on conversational English with them.  It's so cute to see some of them giggle when they try and speak English.  Some are really getting good at it while others are too shy to even whisper a word.  We wrote a bunch of get-to-know-you questions on a beach ball and in groups of about 8 people we tossed it around and had them answer a question that their left thumb landed on when they caught it.  We then played a few silly games with them and laughed much - I love these students!

And as if the day wasn't already full of great things we had the opportunity to do, we were able to go out with the students after dinner to do street witnessing!  Wow! What an amazing time!  They paired two of us up with one student.  I went with Susan and Sing which was great because Susan has been my roommate on this trip and Sing was in my conversational English group - both wonderful women to be around!

We headed over to the Chiang Mai University where the street outside the school is full of coffee shops, stores and street vendors.  In our group of 3 we started down the street with a handful of tracts in Thai and started passing them out to everyone who came across our path.  There were a lot of people on the street and many opportunities to share.  I'll just mention one in particular - we came across 4 students sitting at a table doing homework.  Sing approached them first, said something I didn't understand, handed them all tracts and then told me to go ahead and share.  She said they understood a little English and she would translate the rest.  We talked for quite some time - at least 10 min maybe a little more - about Heaven, Hell and Jesus and the Gospel. What an experience! And at the end they allowed me to pray for them...words cannot describe!

We had a several more encounters like that, handed out many tracts and the hour and half we spent on the street seemed to pass way too quickly. The others from our group also handed out tracks and many Thai people heard about Jesus for the first time that night. Praise God!

...for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" ~ Romans 10:13-15

Mango trees, tie dye and worship!

Today we had the privilege of visiting the new ZOE home.  For years now they have been renting a house where the children stay but God has blessed them with the ability to purchase land in Thailand - about 20 acres - and He has also provided all the money required to build a new facility which has the capacity to hold about 200 kids.  I wish I had time to explain all the incredible details of this building and all the thought that went into it but it would fill a page.  They are hoping to move in within the next week or so as the final touches are completed. 

The property itself is beautiful with gorgeous views all around.  The landscaping has yet to be completed and is comprised mostly of sticky red clay and with the rain that came the day we visited, it all stuck heavily to our shoes. 

We were given the honor of planting a mango tree on the property and we pray that it will bear much fruit in the years to come.



After having my favorite Thai meal for lunch at the current Zoe home (kaow soi and mango sticky rice yum!) we set up for our elective classes for the bible school students.  I was able to help out with the tie dye class - even though I have no idea how to make tie dye shirts.  We had about 6 students in our class and had a blast trying to make t-shirts that looked half way decent - some of them came out pretty good!  We then had some time left over and were able to play games with them...so much fun!!

We had a couple of hours to get back to the hotel, shower, eat dinner and then participate in their Wed night prayer session which was to last about an hour.  When we arrived, all the Zoe kids and bible school students were in the big room sitting on mats.  The lights were then turned down low and worship music was playing louding on the stereo.  At first I thought it seemed a bit chaotic and wasn't sure how this was all going to work, but let me tell you, I have never experienced a more spirit filled prayer time in my life.  Everyone was praying out loud, laying hands on one another and just as you bow your head and begin to pray, you feel 4 tiny hands on your back and hear the prayers of little kids in Thai. 

There simply are not words to describe this - I can only say that I am not worthy to have received such a blessing.  I thought an hour would seem to take forever because really, how often do we spend an entire hour praying with one another.  But the time flew by and I felt like I could have done that all night long.  It was an incredible experience I will never be able to fully explain to anyone who wasn't there.  I am so thankful...

And as if the day was not already amazing, we later went for a foot and neck massage around 9pm.  We had a wonderful relaxing massage that lasted 1.5 hrs for $20 - how amazing is that?!  I stayed up late to try and get caught up on my blog knowing that I really should be sleeping for tomorrow would bring yet another day filled with work, play and Jesus.

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. ~ Mark 10:13-16

Public School Outreach and other fun things

Monday and Tuesday were the best days yet! During these two days we were allowed to go into public schools and present our entire program including the gospel and an invitation to accept Jesus...not even in the US can we do such a thing!  I can't even describe the emotions we were all overcome with. From the time we entered the schools we were treated like celebrities...all the kids were so excited to see foreigners come and speak at their school.  

We were able to play with them, sing our songs to them and preach to them.  They all sat at the edge of their seats during most of the program and we all just prayed that the Lord would plant seeds that day.  For many of those kids and even teachers, this was the first time they heard the good news of Jesus Christ!

The joy we all felt during these 2 days was off the charts! What an amazing God we serve that we can come to Thailand and preach the gospel in public schools!  Let's pray that God will once again open the same doors in the US. 

One of the sweetest times I've had so far on this trip was on the van ride over to the first school.  Those of us that were in that van spent time praying out loud for the kids and we sang songs in worship to God and it truly touched my heart to be in such close fellowship with these women.  I had written some time earlier this year that I felt like the odd man out because I didn't know most of the people going on this trip, but somehow God has made it feel like we've all been close friends for a long time and we have been united as one body of Christ on this journey.

In between the visits to these two schools, we were allowed to have a little fun too.  We spent some time on Monday night shopping at the night bazaar, haggling our way through the many Thai trinkets and souvenirs.  Tuesday morning we had a great time at a local elephant camp as we watched the mahouts show off the skills of the elephants followed by a 30 min ride on these beautiful creatures...needless to say we laughed much during that ride! 

And finally, last night we were treated to cultural Thai dinner show where the entertainment was great but the food, well... not so much (at least in my opinion!).  We still have 5 days left in this country and many more adventures to come as we continue to seek the Lord and his plan here in this land.


"Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession." ~ Psalm 2:8

The Village

Ok, so I didn't quite get this posted Monday evening like I thought I would but better late than never!  Saturday morning we began the day at Zoe around 9am where we participated in their worship service.  We all sang a bunch of songs for one another and we heard words of  encouragement from a few of the Zoe kids.  We were able to spend time with them and help them with the craft project.  We were then handed a sack lunch and then hit the road.

The drive to the village was long as expected and so windy that many people were feeling queasy by the time we arrived.  We took a short walk around the village which was not a rural as we thought it would be and it was very beautiful there.  After dinner we had a gathering in the local church and the villagers were invited.  We sang songs and a couple people gave their testimony.  The local pastor also said a few words but sadly, I was so tired after the long day, that I'm pretty sure I fell asleep during most of what he said (it was all in the local Karin language so I couldn't understand it anyway!).

Our night was an interesting one - we all slept together in a big room on the floor in mosquito nets.  All I can say is that the ground was hard, the air was hot and there was an incident with both a gigantic spider and a cat with a mouse.  Good times! Really makes me appreciate the hard beds in the hotel so much more =)

The next morning was really amazing...the majority of the people in this village are professing Christians.  I'll admit that I thought we were going to an unreached people but instead we were building up the body of Christ where many people don't visit.  They start their Sunday morning at 6am with a prayer meeting until 7am.  They then split up the women and men and then speak words of encouragement to one another for about an hour.  After breakfast they all come back together for church which then lasted up until around noon.  They dedicate 6 hours to the Lord every Sunday - we were feeling a bit convicted when we sometimes complain about a long-winded pastor who went 15 min over time...seems so silly now.  It was simply beautiful to see people around the world worshipping the the Lord in their own language.

While most of our team was in big church, a small group of us did the Sunday school class for the kids.  It's so funny how you can prepare for hours for something and then end up doing something completely different.  We had a huge challenge with kids because they were much younger than we were expecting and the translator we had only spoke Thai - most of the kids only spoke the local language of Karin.  So we had to really think on our toes, change our plans a bit and kind of make things up as we went.  The amazing thing however, is that we know that they got at least one concept out of our teaching because they answered a question correctly - that God loves them! Later that afternoon, our trip to the village hotel was short and we were all thankful for showers and beds!!!  We had a lovely dinner and then off to sleep we went, thinking about all that we had done that weekend and what was yet to come.

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:  "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." ~ Revelation 7:9-10

Work Day

It's a quarter to 7pm and I'm exhausted! We had such a full day today I don't even know where to begin!  This morning we woke up bright and early, about 5am and after breakfast we attended a 2 hour orientation to ZOE.

 I've known ZOE for a little over 2 years now and have heard many of the stories about what they are doing here in Thailand, but I have to say, after listening to Carol Hart talk about how God has blessed their ministry and how He has changed the lives of so many kids here in Thailand, I was practically in tears.  What a testimony!  Soon after, we loaded up into vans and headed to the current ZOE house (they are moving to their new property in about a week!).

Our job for today was to assemble 1500 goodies bags (yes, 1500! that's not a typo!) that we will be handing out to the kids we will be ministering to over the next week.  Each bag was filled with 6 food items, tied and put into giant rice bags in groups of 60.  It took 24 people 2 hours to do this and we were tired and sweaty when we were done :)

We then spent some time rehearsing our outreach program and fine tuning any last minute details, just in time for all the ZOE kids to come home from school.  There were around 150 kids ranging in age from about 4 to 20 waiting in the big room to greet us and man, what a greeting we got!  When we walked in it was all cheers, applause and hugs from every one of them!

I've never felt such a warm welcome in my life!  Once eveyone settled down, we each introduced ourselves to the group and lead them in a couple of kids worship songs - so much fun! The next hour or so was spent in a get-to-know-you game and we had fun trying to communicate with one another as we learned a little bit about each other.


And so now, we're back at the hotel and most are showering the days work off of themselves and heading out to dinner. Tomorrow we drive to a hill tribe village about 5 hours away where we will spend the weekend doing outreach.

There will be no internet access until we return to the city on Monday so I'll have to do this old school for a couple of days and keep a handwritten journal, which of course I'll type and upload on Monday evening =)

Please pray for our outreach this weekend - that God will use us to reach the unreached.

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you." ~ James 1:27

We've arrived!

I sort of figured my first entry in this blog after we got here would be about silly things like how long it took to get here (long) or how the weather is (hot and humid) or what our accommodations are like (much nicer than expected).  But instead, as I sit here in the hotel room in Chiang Mai, my thoughts are filled with the book I just read – The Road of Lost Innocence by Somaly Mam.

This is a heart breaking autobiography of a Cambodian girl sold into prostitution.  I cannot describe the atrocities that have been committed against her and other girls she encounters – some as young as 6 years old – and my mind swims with the thoughts of how deep is the depravity of a lost world.  On the second flight over here I was sitting next to an older, single, retired man from the US who flies to Thailand twice a year for vacation and I couldn’t help but wonder what his real motives were.  I don’t mean to be judgmental; I’m just being honest here.

Our journey so far has been uneventful and even fun at times and I have to remind myself often that I’m not here on vacation.  I guess it was a good thing to read the book I did on the way over to remind me of why we’re really here. I’m overwhelmed by the enormity of the problem of human trafficking and if I think about it too much it becomes paralyzing.  I have to remember that I alone cannot save the world and yet that does not excuse me from doing nothing.

We do serve a God however, who is able through all His mighty power that is at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.  And so as we begin our journey in Chiang Mai, not sure of how the next 10 days will go, I know that our team goes in the power of the Lord and it’s by His spirit that we will accomplish anything.

So, on a lighter note, here are a couple of pics of some of our team and hotel.