Evangelistic Outreach Galore!

It's evangelistic outreach galore, which started today, and will last all the way til 26th December!

Do keep all of us in prayers as we spread the joy of God's love to the Shan people.

24th morning:
Suan Luang Village with the children
- Do remember the BC team that is coming up. They will be running the programme for the morning, teaching songs, games and sharing their testimonies.
- Pray that the children will be able to come.

24th evening:
Shan Church
- The parents of the children from Suan Luang village, plus the other villagers from Suan Luang village has been invited to come for the Christmas programme in the Shan Church.
- Do pray that the adults will come not just for the free gifts and presents, that God will open their hearts to hearing His Word as well.
- Pray for Sam as he shares God's Word with the adults, that God will annoint his lips and help him speak forth His truth.

25th morning:
Parmueat School
- We'll be visiting a public school this morning.
- Thank God for this opportunity.
- Pray for the hundreds of students in the school (from Primary 1 to Secondary 3).

25th evening:
Nam Jam Village
- This evening's programme will be with the children and their parents from another Shan village - Nam Jam village.
- Continue to pray for strength and wisdom as we enter in the 2nd day of evangelistic outreach.
- Do remember these unreached people as well.

26th morning:
Nam Jam School
- BC mission team will be heading down to Nam Jam School (where Sam and I teach english) to teach english to the P1-P3 students.
- Pray for wisdom and good interaction, especially since most of the BC team members can't speak Thai.

26th evening:
Christmas Celebration with Shan youths
- Pray that God will be in our midst as we celebrate with songs and games and also a time of thanksgiving to God for sending Jesus Christ to this world for all of us.

Do keep the team in your prayers as well, as they fly up from Singapore, and then take a 3 hour bus ride around the mountainous terrains from Chiangmai to Maesai. Pray that they will have a fruitful time here, as God opens their eyes to a new environment of mission that is different from what they have experienced before (for those who have been on mission trips prior to this), and that God will make use of this period here to expose them to mission work (for those 1st timers).

Chiangmai

Saturday was spent in Chiangmai to spread the joy of Christmas to a group of children there.

Thank God for journey mercy to and fro. 3 hours travelling round the curvy mountains was definitely not the easiest thing to do, but I thank God for protecting all of us.

Thank God that the programme ran well, that the children had a fun time with us.

Thank God for guiding the lips of Care, who shared the story of the birth of Christ with the children. (She was exceptionally nervous the night before, practicing over and over again.)

We pray that one day, these children will really come to know the true meaning of Christmas.

That's us teaching the children to sing some Thai Christmas carols.

The children dancing and posing to "Jingle Bells".

Learning the memory verse through games.

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:11

Care sharing with the children the story on the birth of Jesus Christ.
Craft time had the children colouring, cutting, pasting, to make a paper bag which we filled with sweets and a tract about Christmas.
After everything ended, we were given a great treat (the children included)!

Chicken rice! Seriously delicious.

Brother & Sister in Christ

I thank God for these 2 people that He put in my life during my time in Thailand.

For p'Kul. She's like an elder sister to me (though we're just a year apart). She looks out for me, and during my first weeks here, she made it a point to call me to chat, just to make sure I was ok alone. She never fails to chirp me up with her little quirky antics. It's encouraging to see how much she trusts in our Heavenly Father. I'm glad she's here for the whole of December. :)

For Motu. He's an irritating kid brother that you wish you didn't have, yet at the same time, without him, it feels like something is missing. This brother is one sensitive and caring dude who never fails to step out to help when help is needed. It's a joy to see him interact with the children, leading them in songs and teaching Bible stories, and you can feel the love of God strong within him. I'm glad to have known him.

We stopped by a resort for lunch on our way to Chiangmai. While waiting for lunch to arrive, we climbed up the bamboo bridge (which look extremely fragile) to explore the compound.
Upon arrival in Chiangmai, I had the opportunity to visit the OMF Mekong office, to see the faces of the missionaries serving in the Mekong Region amongst the many people groups in this area.

Off to Chiangmai!

I'll be going off to Chiangmai tomorrow morning at 9:00am!
Aunty Chalor, p'Sam, p'Kul, Motu, Care and myself will be travelling by car down to Chiangmai and staying one night on Friday.

We're going there to hold a simple Christmas celebration with children over at Chiangmai on Saturday morning. We'll be teaching them simple Christmas songs, sharing with them the story of the birth of Jesus and bringing some joy to them through games and crafts.

Do keep us in your prayers.
- For God to guide us, that He will go before us and open the way for us.
- For journey mercy, as the road trip from Maesai to Chiangmai is about 4+ hours. Pray that God will give Sam the strength and focus as he drives for long hours.
- For the time spent with the children over there, that we'll be a blessing to them.
- For the children that God will open their hearts to His Word and the joy of having Jesus Christ in their lives.

I'll be back soon for updates on Chiangmai so keep coming! =)

Baan Zhong

Friday, we went to Baan Zhong to celebrate an early Christmas with the children over there.

It's a village further down from where we are. There are about 150 Shan families staying in Baan Zhong.

Upon arrival, we were treated to a super yummilicious meal of khaaw soy.

The traditional khaaw soy that we ate is kway teow in a slightly spicy soup broth with minced meat and pieces of pig's blood. *YUMMY*

A close up of my khaaw soy.
We sang some Christmas songs with the children, played some simple games with them.
The girls cheering after winning the game.
Aunty Chalor telling the children the story of Christmas.
A group shot of the children at Baan Zhong. ;)

There are still many unreached Shan people in this village.
We thank God for opening up this opportunity for us to share with them His Word to the children there. It was great joy to see the children listening intently and enjoying every single moment of the 2 hours spent singing songs, colouring, playing games.

Please pray for the Shan people in Baan Zhong, that God's Word will reach them.

Do continue pray that God will bring forth workers in this ministry to work amongst these people who have yet to learn of the great love of our Father.

December is here...

Which means Christmas is coming really soon! :)

A time of celebration, spreading joy and blessings to others and a time to remember God's greatest gift for all of us - Jesus Christ.

A peek at the weekend that passed...

Bible Study with the youths

Do continue to pray for the Shan youths. For those who have accepted Christ, pray that they will be eager to learn from God's Word, and to grow strong in their faith. Also pray for those who have yet to accept, that God will open their hearts to Him.

Pray specifically for Chompuu and Yupin, 2 of the youths that Sam is currently discipling. Pray that as they are being trained up as youth leaders, that they will understand what it means to be a servant of God, and that God will use them mightily in His work amongst their own people.

A heart of thanks.

Time is flying by really fast. December's here and I've been here almost 2 months.

Just thought I'd share 2 thanksgiving. =)

My 60day tourist visa will be expiring on 8 Dec. I knew how I should go about renewing the visa in order to stay for another 30days (by going into Myanmar and coming back), but the thought of having to go into Thachilek alone worries me. I definitely had to go into Thachilek once next week, and was still thinking which would be a good day, and wondering if there would be anyone who could possibly go with me. So I prayed.

Yesterday when we had our meeting at Sam's place for the Christmas events, it was confirmed that we would be going into Myanmar, to visit a Shan village and to spend some time with the children there, teaching them songs and craft. And guess the date? 8 December!!! Not one day less, not one day more! Exactly on the day I have to leave Thailand!

Amazing how God plans for everything. Now I don't have to worry no knowing what to do, coz I'll be with 4 others! Praise God! =)

Do pray for us as we enter Myanmar on 8 December to visit the Shan village. Pray for God's presence to go before us and for protection during our journey there. Pray also that we'll be a blessing to the children there, and that God will open up opportunities for a potential ministry in that area.

For those who have not been updated, p'Sam fell off the motorcycle today while on the way back from the village. He had gone to the Shan village to take pictures for the Shan calendar.

He got a deep cut on his left cheek and had 20 stitches for the cut. All praise to God for preserving p'Sam's life and letting him suffer a cut, even though he fell off the bike! There is not other major injury (fractures, dislocation, internal bleeding etc.). A huge THANK YOU to those who knew about it and prayed for him. He's now back home resting.

The left side of his face is now swollen and he is currently unable to chew, therefore can only take liquids. Do pray for speedy recovery, as well as health as he recovers. The cold weather makes the wound more painful, so do pray also for strength and endurance. Pray also that God will instill in him a strong spiritual mind, to battle any distracting and discouraging thoughts that satan might put in his mind.

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given
Jesus Christ His Son