Happy Thanksgiving!
May the Lord shower His glory and love over all of you during this beautiful season of celebration and thankfulness.
I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. — Psalm 7:17
Although you my friends may be experiencing colder weather and even snow, Bangkok is still hot! I have really come to realize that when Thai's say we are going into cold season, well that just means the weather gets into the high 70s during the evenings....I still sweat!! I feel as though these months are flying by with the holidays just around the corner, so here is an update on what happened in November.
Loi Krathong (ลอยกระทง)
On November 7th, I had the opportunity to celebrate the Loi Krathong holiday in Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand). The holiday consists of floating boats and/or floating lanterns that represent their sins being taken away. My friend Carrie and I were able to light off a lantern and pray for God to move in Thailand. There were hundreds of lanterns in the sky and also a huge parade. I felt like I was in the Disney movie Tangled! :)
Saying Goodbye
Living on the mission field includes many transitions and changes. Leaders, teammates and friends are constantly in and out of our lives. This month, we had to say goodbye to two fellow interns and dear friends. They will be greatly missed but I know God has a plan for their new season ahead.
Intern Retreat to Khao Yai (เขาใหญ่)
It was that time of year again where we (interns) take a short break from our communities to discuss how God is moving in our lives personally and spiritually. Khao Yai is a National Park in Thailand that has a beautiful waterfall. We were able to sit next to the waterfall for hours to sit in solitude with the Lord and hear His voice speak. It was an amazing time!
Happy Birthday Mark!
We had a surprise birthday celebration for Mark and his 16th amazing year of life! We made fried chicken and french fries for all of the kids. We made an oreo chocolate pudding cake for his birthday and then topped it off with a homemade bonfire with s'mores!! We first introduced Mark to s'mores when we went on the Youth Leadership camp last month, since then he wouldn't stop talking about how yummy they are! We had a blast!
Happy Birthday & Graduation to Tum!
We had the opportunity to celebrate our amazing Thai ministry partner, who graduated from seminary this past Sunday as well as turn 26! Not only is he the first to go to seminary out of the Santisuk church, he also won the award for most excellent work! We are so PROUD of him!
VBS
This past Saturday, Natalie took our youth to a special film making project with our foundation, so I had to teach 25 kids all by myself! I had this whole lesson planned to read the story of Lazarus in Thai but the kids were just not listening. After threatening them many times that I will kick them out of class, I ended up changing my lesson. I used some of the kids and did a skit and lesson on the prodigal son....ALL in Thai! It went GREAT! Not only did the kids listen and really love the story and skit, but they also really got the main points I was trying to teach them! Praise the Lord!
English for Life
Teaching English is continuing to go very well. We have had many new students join the class these last 3 weeks that Natalie and I have to split the class into two sections, beginners and intermediate. So far it has been a good split and allows the students to be challenged in whatever level they are personally in.
Learning Thai
My Thai lessons are continuing to go well. My teacher Kru Mam and I have become very close friends. Most of the time our lessons are filled with lots of laughter, sometimes for no reason at all and other times because I said a wrong tone which in most cases made the word really weird or bad! It is a continuously hilarious process.
Prayer Requests
- As Christmas is coming, please pray for discernment and ideas for a Christmas celebration in our community
- Pray for God to continue stirring the hearts of our community to know more about him and pray more
- Pray for Todd, Karen, and Noy's travels back to the Bangkok in December
- Pray for our children's hearts to hear and be open to God's love and truth
- We are in a planning stage for having weekly bible studies with adults in our community, please pray for discernment and guidance on how God wants to lead and speak
- Please pray for Natalie, Tum, and my ministry team dynamics
- Please pray for God's continued grace and help in my own personal walk with Him, I am in a season of personal growth and it is amazing but also difficult at times
I am so THANKFUL for YOU all! Thank you for your love, support, prayers, and encouragement! No words can express how much you have helped me during this season in Bangkok! ~ Sarah (ซาร่าห์)