Loy Krathong

Loy Krathong is a festival celebrated annually throughout Thailand. It is held on the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. It's very much a Buddhist festival where a raft decorated with elaborately-folded banana leaves, flowers, candles, incense sticks etc. is released into the river/water channel. Many Thais believe that floating a krathong will create good luck, and they do it to honor and thank the Goddess of Water.

This year, Loy Krathong was held on 24 November, and Maesai was full of festivities as well.

Da (my weekend housemate) and I went up to the border to join in the fun as well.

Floats being paraded along the main roads of Maesai.

Traditional Shan Lion Dance

That's Da & me! We climbed up to the Maesai customs house, where it directly overlooks Myanmar as well as Thailand.

Do remember the Thais in your prayers, many of whom have not heard about the wonderful love of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"You shall have no other god before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them..." Exodus 20:3-5

Thanksgiving

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day and I was really honoured to be invited to join the Fongs and their American missionary friends for a Thanksgiving lunch at Uncle Harry & Aunty Pattie's house.

It was a great treat with lots of 'aahaan farang' (western food) like turkey, pasta, salad etc.. as well as a couple of Thai dishes.

That's 3 turkeys worth of turkey meat!!!

Everyone getting a plateful of goodness!And the best must be the desserts! There was pumpkin pie with ice-cream, brownies, shortcake with strawberries & fresh cream! Oh the thought of them makes me hungry.

*Dessert pictures are with Lydia, coz I was too busy eating all the yummy dessert to remember any phototaking, so I'll post them up when I get them!*

It was a good break from the plenty of Thai food I had been eating (though I still love Thai food very much).

That's a picture of Nelly, Uncle Harry & Aunty Pattie's youngest (4th) child. She's 2 years old and is the cutest kid I've seen here. With her perfectly blonde hair and blue eyes, she's as "ang moh" as she can be. Yet, this little girl here speaks Thai more fluently than English! When you speak to her in English, she answers in Thai. Even her family members speak to her in Thai! According to her mom, Nelly thinks she's "Thai".

Now everybody say "awwwwwww.....!"

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Teaching...

Yesterday was the first time I taught at Nam Jam School alone.

Really want to thank God for bringing me through the 3 hours of lessons with the 3 classes. =)
I was initially worried that I wouldn't be able to handle them. Prayed and asked God for wisdom and courage to teach in a language that I had barely mastered.
Everything went well. The children could understand what I was trying to explain, and I could more or less understand what they asked.

"A picture paints a thousand words"
Decided that since I wasn't able to hold long conversations with the children (lest I start becoming confused by the endless chatter from everyone), I shall draw to keep them entertained. So entertain them I did, by drawing cartoon animals on their worksheets. It kept everyone (including myself) laughing for a good half of the class.

Thank God for this 'practice'.
At least now I know I am able to handle the class next week when p'Sam is not in Maesai.

Also want to thank God that He sent Lois and I down to p'Sam's place at the right time on Monday night, to be able to find out that he had disclocated his left shoulder.

We had just finished dinner and decided to bring the pork bones to the dog that lives in p'Sam's house, as we usually do. Just approaching his place, we saw the song tiaw leaving his house and were wondering what had happened. Then we saw Motu, and he explained with gestures that p'Sam had dislocated his shoulder and is going to the hospital. We then went back home to inform the rest. Uncle Charles went to the hospital to make sure everything was ok, while we stayed to pray for p'Sam.

Thank God the dislocation has been fixed and he's back home resting.

Do keep p'Sam in your prayers, as he will be travelling around with p'Kul this weekend to Central Thailand and then to Chiangmai next week. Pray for protection as they travel, and also recovery of his arm so it will not pose as a great discomfort during the long bus journey.

Do also pray that I'll be able to prepare the lessons well, and to go with a heart prepared to be a blessing to the children, no matter how small it may be.

Nam Jam School

Here are the 3 classes that Sam & I teach at Nam Jam School.

It's a lot of joy teaching these children.

Their innocence and enthusiasm for English lessons is seen in every student.

Despite the fact that children of this age tend to be more restless and noisy, they never fail to bring a smile with the little things they do.

Primary 1

That's Sam teaching, with the children giving full attention.

This class has 32 students.

The children copying the words learnt into their books.

I drew pictures beside the words to emphasize the meaning of the words.

Them working hard at drawing the best picture they can draw.

They are rewarded with stars at the end of each assignment, and they are really happy when they get 3 stars!

Primary 2

This class has 27 students.
Both the P1 & P2 classes LOVE colouring and join-the-dot activities.

They literally jump for joy and shout in their loudest voices "YAY!!!!!" when Sam takes out a stack of such activities for them to do.

On Tuesday, there was no time for them to do any colouring so nothing was given out and the children kept asking if I had any for them to do. So I told them to ask Sam, and they all went "AWWWWWWW......."

The P2 children filling in a crossword puzzle on words associated with our body.Those who have completed their assignment just happily posed for my camera. =)

Primary 3

The smallest class with 19 students.

This is the most interesting class among the 3.

They are super competitive and they absolutely LOVE competitions. They'll always be divided into 2 teams and worsheets will be given out to them for them to complete. The team that completes it the fastest without any mistakes will get like 50 points, & the team with the most points at the end of the lesson is the winner of the day.

Team 2 eagerly discussing the answers to the assignment.

Team 1 frantically flipping through every single English book they have to look for answers.

Team 2: Pointing out the right answers and letting their team mates in on the correct answer.

Team 2 gathering all their worksheets for Sam to check before confirming their win. 'Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."' Matthew 19:14

Doy Wow

During my 2nd week here, Chompuu kindly offered to bring me to Doy Wow.

Doy Wow is a little hill up right at the border of Thailand & Burma.
We decided to do a little exercise by climbing all the way up. It's around 180 big steps.

The scorpion statue with many more tiny scorpions surrounding it. It overlooks Burma and was built not long after the Burmese army fired some shells over to Thailand.

View from the top: Maesai, Thailand.View from the top: Thachilek, Myanmar.

Thailand and Myanmar separated by just the river running.

Prayer Meeting

We had our first Prayer Meeting at one of the Shan youth's house today.

Apaporn gladly opened her house for prayer meeting.

This will be a weekly affair - every Wednesday 7pm @ Suan Luang village.

I really thank God for this time that we can just come together for a time of praise, and read His Word. It's also a great time for the youths to share their thanksgiving and prayer requests, as well as to learn to pray for one another.

There were 9 youths who came today - Chompuu, Pao, Pee, Laa, Apaporn, Bua, Yupin, Somchai & Seagame. Together with p'Sam, Motu and myself, we spent time praying for each other. We also prayed for wisdom for the upcoming Christmas events, as well as for God's direction and provision, to bring forth a suitable person to work amongst the Shan in this ministry.

Do pray together with us, that through our weekly prayer meetings, the youths will not just learn about prayer, but also learn to pray.

"19 I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.

20 I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.

21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:

22 Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.

23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

24 I say to myself, "The Lord is my protion; therefore I will wait for Him." "

Lamentations 3:19-24

Just a random picture I took one morning while bringing out the trash.

A beautifully spun web at the gate of my house.

Shan Church

Every Sunday morning, I go to the Shan church, and help out with the Sunday School for the little ones.

This is the Shan church where the worshippers come.

There's usually about 7 people in this church.And this is the sala where the children have Sunday school.

The girl is Da, the intern from Bethel who stays with me on weekends.

I really thank God for His amazing grace, and His provision for such a lovely girl for company on weekends.

I remember when I first met her, we could not converse at all. There were lots of awkward silences and puzzled looks, but 4 weeks on, we are able to have a simple conversation, find out more about each other's family and how she decided to go to Bible College. It's really amazing how God provides when we have the faith in Him. This was taken during my first Sunday here. Sunday school starts at 10am, but usually around 9.30, the children would start arriving, and we'll all help to clear the sala (which is also covered with leaves and mud over the week), and lay the mats to sit on.After worship (together with the youths), we'll have memory verse time. The kids will learn a verse from the Bible, related to the Bible story that is being told that day. The kids remembering the verse.Yesterday, the verse was taken from Luke 10:27.

"Love the Lord your God with all your hear and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and Love your neighbour as yourself."

The kids had to rearrange the jumbled verse written on paper, and recite it upon completion.Bible story time! Da told the story of the good Samaritan.Then it's craft time where the kids will do a craft, also related to the story told.

Yesterday, the kids had to colour a house. They had to draw their neighbour and paste him/her in one of the windows. The other window was Jesus. They always love craft time.

December's here

Which means Christmas is just round the corner! ;)

My favourite day of the year! A time of celebration, joy, fun, and thankfulness for God in Jesus Christ. :)

A peek at the weekend that just passed.

Church - Bible study session with the youths. We did a study on the 7 churches in the book of Revelation.

The children after sunday school with their craft. A sheep made of toilet paper and toilet rolls! An incredibly creative idea Motu thought of.

I'll be heading into Myanmar on Saturday to visit a Shan village over there, as well as to renew my tourist visa. Will be going together with aunty Chalor, p'Sam, p'Kul and Motu.

Do pray for safety as we travel up there.

Also, do pray for our time spent with the children there, that we will have an inteactive time sharing God's Word with them and be a blessing to them. :)

December's here!

Which means Christmas is coming soon, and I'm OH-SO excited! :)
Loads of celebration, joy, fun, and thankfulness for our Lord Jesus Christ!


Just a few snapshots of the weekend that passed.
Saturday: Bible Club at Suang Luang
Shan Church on Sunday
Children with their craft - A sheep made of toilet paper and toilet roll!
Incredibly creative idea by Motu.

Bible Study session with the youths.

I will be going into Burma on Saturday to visit a Shan village over there, with Aunty Chalor, p'Sam, p'Kul and Motu. Do pray for safety as we travel up there, and that we will be a blessing to the children over there as we teach and interact with them. :)

a new term has started

Sawatdii Kha!

The weather's beginning to get cold. The afternoons are nice with the sun shining down, accompanied by the cool winds. It's a great feeling indeed. The nights can get quite chilly though.

School started for the children here on 1 November, so I'm also starting English lessons in school and at the villages. I'm really excited to what's ahead! =)

Here's how my "schedule" looks like:
Monday: Rest
Tues & Thurs morning: Nam Jam School
Tues & Thurs late afternoon: English at the Nam Jam village
Wednesday afternoon: English lessons at Suan Luang
Friday: Rest
Saturday morning: Bible Club at Suan Luang followed by English lessons.
Sunday morning: Church
Sunday afternoon: Bible Club at Nam Jam

I went with Sam to Nam Jam for my "first day of school", and the kids are so excited to see p'Sam. I'll be helping out for the first 2 weeks, then we'll see how it goes and I'll probably teach the kids proper in the later part of November.

My Thai is improving. I'm able to have simple simple conversations with the youths here. But I definitely has much much more room for learning & improvement. I really thank God for helping me through all this. Khorpkhoon Pra Zao! =)

Remember the Shan guy from the new Shan village (aka Kaew village, because the Christian living there is called Kaew) who indicated interest in knowing more about God? He came to church on Sunday! Praise God for that. Do continue to keep him in your prayers.

Do also pray for my walk and spiritual growth with God. That I may continue to grow strong in His Word.

"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what i desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:10-11