Father's Day! On December 5th, Thailand celebrated Fathers Day which is the King's Birthday. It is a day to not only honor the King of Thailand, but also all the fathers. I was blessed to honor an amazing man whom I call พ่อ (dad). Since the day Natalie and I have moved into our community, พ่อ was our protector, loved us, and took good care of us. The little girls in our community also danced to honor all of the fathers & King.
Christmas in Thailand is an amazing opportunity to share that the true meaning of Christmas is the birth of Jesus, not Santa Claus and presents. That being said, my ministry team and I planned a fun Christmas celebration party in my community on December 20.
The children who live in our community and join our VBS program every Saturday were the most special of all, they performed a skit on the birth of Jesus Christ! Although we had a couple mishaps, the kids did such a wonderful job and it was so fun. We then had a time of singing Christmas carols and some classic Christmas songs like Jingle Bells and Wish You A Merry Christmas.
Then Tum gave an amazing brief gospel sermon that captured our attention and those who live in Sere Saht. We ended the celebration playing many fun games, giving out prizes & gifts, and decorating/eating Christmas sugar cookies and cupcakes! The Lord did great things and I know a seed was planted.
During this holiday season, I have been feeling a bit homesick and really missing family and friends, but I was so thankful for the family God gave me in Bangkok! I was able to spend some quality time in my community a couple days leading up to Christmas and then I spent Christmas day with a German family who works with my organization and other staff/interns with Servant Partners. We ate a variety of great food: American, Mexican, German, and of course Thai, it was the most diverse meal I have ever eaten celebrating the birth of our Savior and it was delicious!
The year of 2014 had come and gone, it has definitely been bittersweet celebrating Christmas with my community, knowing that next year I will not be with them. I am very thankful for the family that God gave me in Sere Saht and blessed beyond imaginable.
2015: A year of changes and new chapters…
To begin the New Years, I had an amazing opportunity to travel up to Northern Thailand with three awesome friends. We drove 26 hours to the mountainous province of Maehongson (แม่ฮ่องสอน), which borders Northern Thailand and Burma (Myanmar). We spent less then two days camping, riding bamboo boats, attempting the slid down a large hill with bamboo bark, laughing, eating good food and drinking really good tea and coffee home grown in the mountains. The name of the province Maehongson (แม่ฮ่องสอน) means “The City of Three Mists.” So were able to enjoy the mists of the Mountains and amazing COLD weather! It actually felt like late fall/early winter for the first time ever in Thailand! I loved every second of it!!
After our brief camping trip, we got back into our friends car and drove 13 hours to his home province called Kamphaeng Phet (กำแพงเพชร). We got to his home less then 20 minutes before Midnight on New Years Eve and celebrated the downtown praying for Sprite’s grandfather (who is not a Christian). The next day we enjoyed making homemade Panaeng Curry with Sprite’s grandmother and aunt, playing games, and went to see a four-hour long special Thai play at a temple. The play was very interesting, the best way to describe it is a Thai version of Shakespeare with lots of different stories and drama. We had a great time celebrating the beginning of 2015 with Sprites Family. I grated coconuts the thai authentic way and learned how to make Panaeng Curry! Yumm!! :) The most memorable moments of our road trip were all the times we had car trouble; literally praying that God would help us either revive the car, make it up some super steep mountains, help us find LPG gas stations, and nitrogen air for our flat tire. In addition, Sprite was the only person able to drive, so we had some pretty awesome moments being his co-pilot: singing, talking, and making many obnoxious sounds to keep him awake! It was quite an adventure with good friends and a very long but BEAUTIFUL drive!
New Ministry Opportunity:
Now I am back in Bangkok preparing for a new routine. Starting next week, I will be teaching at Silom Santisuk English School, which is a new branch of an English School my ministry leaders Todd and Karen are opening. It is another amazing opportunity to reach the Thai people by teaching with Christian curriculum and building relationships. I am excited to help Todd and Karen on this new venture.
Ministry updates:
Community
I will be continuing to pour into my community daily. I am praying for a new vision of what God wants to do in these last months of living and serving Sere Saht incarnationally. Relationships have continued to grow stronger and I am so excited for what God is going to do in these next couple months.
VBS/English for Life
We are currently on a break from VBS and English for Life on Saturdays in our community but will reconvene in two weeks. We are excited for all of the new students God has been bringing us.
Rahab
During the months of November and October, we took a break from teaching English in the Red Light District of Patpong at Rahab. But starting in the next two or three weeks, Natalie, Todd, Karen, Paul and I will resume teaching English every Friday morning. I am excited to see these amazing woman who are striving to leave prostitution and create a new life for themselves and their families. And they are always full of laughter and sweetness.
Please Pray!
- Pray for this new season of teaching and juggling community relationships
- Pray for what God wants to do in these last six months of living in Bangkok and the Sere Saht community
- Pray for a newborn baby boy who is in the ICU unable to breathe and is very sick
- Pray for the spiritual warfare that is going on in our community
- Pray for Ba Yong and her increasing love towards Jesus but confusion of worshipping God and buddhism spirits'
- Pray that God leads me into this time of future decisions
- Continued prayer for my relationship with God
- Continued prayer for team dynamics and transitions
- Pray for my family and continued health
- Pray for the new Santisuk English School
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. ~Romans 15:13