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

Who Is Your Best Friend?

The Kid's Camp ended yesterday. It was a blast!

We thank God for the 100+ kids (almost 120) that turned up for the 3 days!
Thank God for protecting everyone over the 3 days and providing good weather!
The kids had lots of fun with games, worship, Bible stories, quizzes, yummy lunches and coconut ice-cream!

Theme of the camp - Pheurn Rak (Friends Love)

The Kids arriving and registering themselves to get grouped up.

The kids praying in the morning before the start of the camp.

Bible Story time for the kids aged 7 -11 Bible Story time for the youths - us acting it out in a skit.
They were taught the story of Abraham & Lot over the 3 days - the friendship they shared, Abraham praying for Lot and the city of Sodom. Art & Craft time where the kids made bookmarks, pinwheels and a group effort of a friendship hand.

And of course, their favourite - GAME TIME!

And the new friends I made! The Fong sisters: Lydia & Lois, Bible College students from Bethel Bible College: John, Da & p' Charlie, Payao Bible College student & intern Care & Motu respectively, and p' Kul!

We thank God for His watching over us through this camp, and we pray that the Word of God will dwell in the hearts of these children who came for the camp. It is our prayer that one day, they will come to realise that Jesus is their best friend and come to acknowledge Him as their own personal Lord & Saviour.

Kid's Camp: 20-22 October

Hi all,

We're all planning for the Shan Kid's Camp (day camp) that will happen from 20-22 October.
The theme for the camp is Friend.

It's going to be held at the Suan Luang village and we have invited the kids from the Suan Luang, Nam Jam and the new village.

Some things that you can pray for as we approach the last few days towards the camp.

1) Committee members planning for the camp - that we will prepare our individual parts, and for unity amongst us.
2) Finances. Thank God for providing the finances that we have at hand. Pray that we will use them wisely.
3) The 4 leaders who will be leading the 4 groups during the camp. Pray that they will be a good example to the kids.
4) Attendance. We are expecting about 100+ kids. Pray that their parents will allow them to come, and that they will invite their friends to the camp as well.
5) Safety. Pray that God will keep everyone safe during the 3 days.
6) Weather. Pray that God will grant good weather. It's the end of the wet season, but it's been raining on some days still.
7) Logistics. A van has been arranged to pick up the kids from the villages to Suan Luang. Pray that the van will be ready and that the kids will arrive safely back and forth.
8) Unity. As the kids come from different villages and different tribes (there are some Ahka amongst the Shan kids), that they will come together in unity.
9) Most importantly, pray for God's Word to take root in the hearts of the children. Many are non-believers. Pray that through the Bible stories, they will realise that Jesus is their best friend in their life.

Visit to a New Shan Village

Apart from the Bible Club held on Saturday mornings with the Suan Luang kids and Sunday afternoons with the Nam Jam kids, I had the opportunity to visit a new Shan village futher down from where we live yesterday evening with Sam & Motu.

This village only has 5 families living there. Visits to them are made every Monday. The families staying there are mostly new migrants, so the women are only able to speak Shan.
Over there, Motu teaches the women to read and speak Thai.
I had the opportunity to teach the children simple English.

Sam does Bible Study with the new Christian. (The guy in the middle) He lives in that village and opens his house for the Monday meetings.The guy in the red jacket had expressed interest in Christianity, after he observed how Christians treat women and children with respect. However, when he shared with his family members about it, he was faced with much persecution from them. Thank God after much prayer, he turned up for the meeting yesterday, after skipping last week's.
Sam managed to share the Gospel with him yesterday.

Some things you can pray for them:
1) Pray for the families living in this village.
2) Pray that what had been shared will grow in the interested guy's heart.
3) Also pray for courage to face up to the persecution that he may face from his family members should he accept Christ.
4) We have also invited the children to attend the coming children's camp from 20-22 Oct. Pray that they will come, and that God word will be sown in their hearts.

Morning jogs in the fitness park

On my 2nd day here, Chompu brought me along for their morning jogs at the nearby fitness park. For the past 2 days, I have woken up at 5.30am to prepare for a 6.00am jog. Yup you heard it right! I am no longer waking up at 10.00am! No more late nights for me! I managed to sleep at 10.00pm every night! My liver and kidneys will be very thankful for the rest. =)

Taken on the 2nd morning. It's the 6am sky from the porch of my house.

The street that I live on. Basically the area I live in is like rows after rows of terrace houses.

Chompu comes over to cycle me there, since I can't cycle on my own. I'll post a picture of her when we've taken one! =)

The entrance to the park.The jogging track.

The beautiful green field in the middle of the park, plus a very beautiful morning background of hills and mountains.

Pray for me as I build my friendship with Chompu. She'll be one of the youths i'll be discipling. Pray that even as now we may not speak the same language, but that will not be a barrier between us. =)