King Over the Flood

As the children were singing one of their favorite songs, we could not help but remember what is happening to Thailand.

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father you are King over the flood
I will be still and know You are God

The unusually long and heavy rainy season is taking its toll upon Thailand. So far, 60 out of 77 provinces are being affected and over 300 people have died because of the floodings.  As of now, in spite of occassional rainshowers, Mae Sai has not been affected yet. Please pray for Thailand.

Once again, we want to thank you for your love and untiring prayers. Also for your financial help to God's ministry here in Mae Sai. We are sharing to you our update and prayer concerns. Through you, we are experiencing God's provisions for all our needs.

Children Ministry
When MaEng and Nuch left, we found ourselves doing all the house works, errands and looking after for the children We have to stop doing other things (for the mean time) and focus on the 11 children that God has put under our care. Our own children step on the plate and help with the work. After more than a month, we gradually adjusted to the situation.

The school term is over and several Christian organizations are holding  English camps. Since last year our children are being invited to one or two of these camps. Apparently, their presence helps the teachers to encourage other children to learn speak English.

The children are having music lessons. The older girls are plearning to play the violin and the older boys are learning to play the guitar. Tina is taking piano lessons. They enjoy doing it because they love music.

Moreover, the kids are doing well at the school. One of them was sent to Mae Chan as the school  representative in a competition.  The school is recommending the children to acquire Thai citizenship. Please continue to pray for this concern.

Teaching Ministry
Narlin will resume volunteer teaching at Wat Poweehan Municipal School in November while Joey occasionally is being invited to teach the Bible in seminars and Christian gatherings. 

Wat Poweehan School needs more volunteer English teachers and we are praying that more Christians can come and fill the needs. In relation to this, we are still dreaming of establishing a language learning center that can also be used as theology resource center.  We need your prayer for more resources and people to partner with

Evangelism and Church Involvement
At present, we considered Grace Church to be our home church. We attend worship service there and the children are members of its Sunday school. We are involve in some of its activities. On other Sundays, we are worshipping at the Thai church in our neighborhood. The Thai Pastor gives us opportunity to get involved in its ministry like preaching and teaching the choir.

Furthermore, we started an international worship with other Filipino missionaries. We are holding our worship service once a month. As of this time,  missionaries from other  countries have joined us. We envisioned this fellowship to be a channel of evangelism for those who speak and interested to learn English. Please pray that this fellowship will be used by God to reach out for our target people.

Ministry Vehicle Update
Once again, we thank you for helping us to pray for the ministry vehicle. Narlin is calling  it a miracle truck because we could not have it otherwise. Our sincere gratitude for those who contibrute.  We will install a song taew (canopy with two rows of seat) on its flatbed as soon as we have the opportunity. Please continue to pray for we still need to pay the balance to our loan to Grace Church amounting to 30,000 baht (approx U$ 1,000).

More Prayer Requests
Narlin will go home in 15 days to get her mother to stay with us. Her mom wants to spend time with us and her granchildren. Pray for traveling mercy and provisions.

Pray for our own children's education. Home schooling is really difficult and they do struggles.  Pray for inspiration and provisions.

Pray for everybody's health here. The weather is changing from hot to cold season but the rain is still falling. Everybody at times or anotherare having colds and fever. 

Join us in prayer of thanksgiving for people like you whom God uses to provide for His workers and their ministries. Our sincere thanks.

You are beautiful

This is the another story written by my sister, Nori.  She had spent time with the children and they told her their stories. This is her reflections and it  is posted as it is.

Dina has complete parents and she is very proud of that. She also has 1 big brother, one younger brother, one big sister, 2 younger sisters, one of which is still baby. Her big brother (most likely in her early teens) is now being trained in the military. Dina and her younger brother escaped the possibility of being recruited for military training that is why both of them ended in children homes. Dina is here in Mae Sai while her Sam Soon is in “My Father’s House” in Tachilek.

If you will ask Dina, “when are you going home?” “My father comes to get me when in Christmas time. So, I just wait for him until he comes back.” Her eyes glistens as she says that. She has full hope that she is coming home very soon. All she has to do is wait for Christmastime. Her stay with the Dela Pazes is just temporary, it is not going to be forever. In fact she proudly says that her father is a saya and her mom is a sayarma (both of them are school teachers in Wa, Burma).

This is the reality of it all. These Dek-deks are here in the care of the Dela Pazes simply to escape the military training that is required of every child that turns 8 years old. This is why parents do everything in order to take their children out of their place–to help them escape their distressing predicament. Maybe, their parents have this hope in their hearts that one day, everything will be fine and they can get their children from their adoptive homes or shelter and they can be reunited to have a better life as a family.

Some of these parents cross the border and work as truck drivers and they bring their children and just drop them off at the gates of a shelter where they believe their children will be taken cared of. others work for some businesses and then bring their children to the (Day Care) and then leave them there for good. It seems heartless but actually, they count it as a better option. What they see within themselves are their limitations and things that they cannot do. They have dreams for their children–they do not want them to end up like their parents. They have high hopes or for some others– they have grown tired of handling much responsibilities but with limited capabilities…

i suddenly realized how much these Dek-dek’s parents are suffering and overcoming all sorts of sorrows in being separated from their kids just to see them enjoy a hopefully much better life than what they can offer. Most of us would think that being together and being there for your children are wonderful things to do–seeing them grow and watching them turn into a beautiful gal or handsome guy are most fulfilling. But for these parents , it is harder and much more complicated.

Dina is an exotic beauty. She is tall and slim. I can see a possible beauty queen or a fashion model, z teacher like her parents, a doctor, a nurse, or even a business woman. I know her parents can see other possibilities for her too. That’s why they can sacrifice being separated from her. It looks like they are giving her up but actually they wanted for her to gain more and to be exposed to a brighter and bigger world.

I believe God has a better dream for her. She needs to recognize that dream. She needs to start learning about the Great God who had made her and had given her big dreams and chances of fulfilling those dreams. Being here in this house where she is being nurtured in the Word of God, in prayer life, church work, and hosting missionaries in their home, contribute to Dina’s life and preparation for the future. How long will she be here? How much more sacrifices can her parents afford? No one knows… but for sure, she has a family and a home to call her own…

Let us pray for Dina and let us share in making all God’s implanted dream for her come true.

I love you forever

Nori, my younger sister had spent three summers with us. Helping us with the mission works that we could no longer handle during summer. She had spent many hours with the children and she had written her reflections. I just posted as it is. I should have posted this long time ago here but really couldn’t find the time to do so. This is the first installment of several stories.

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I was reading Grace Cho’s God’s Favorite Face and except for Chai, all the other Dek-dek are chattering as they compare their noses, eyebrows, lips, hair… the noise was so deafening that i had to sssshhh! them. Yex Chai was in a very pensive mood… actually, she was sort of melancholic. In a matter of split second, i tried to analyze what was happening to this girl.

Possibility 1. Separation Anxiety. Lola Linda, Auntie Selma, Tita Dadai, and Eb-Eb has left the other day and they have gone back to the Philippines. The AVSTM big brothers had left the day after. The kids have been counting days and we are also going home with Ross.

For some days, the house was full… 28 people plus one dog… Narlin and Joey slept on the living room for two weeks or so. They planned to buy a tent and set it up in the yard, but after the earthquake, the tent available in town were all sold in one day.

Summer is a busy time for missions. A lot of groups come in to spend time with the Dek-dek. The house is practically full. There was too much commotion and each meal is like a feast. MaEng is always busy in the kitchen plus take note of the cleaning, washing, marketing, groceries, etc. and the planning that goes behind each menu. The washing machine is running everyday.

But summer is almost over. Rainy days start to set in. Schools in Thailand will open on the third week of May. The busy-ness will soon end. The visitors are going home group by group.

Possibility 2. Yex Chai is missing her mommy, this is how the Dek-dek explained it. The other day, while waiting for the music to be downloaded for their interpretive dance lesson with Kuya Ross, I read Robert Munsch’s “I love you forever”. It is a story about a mother and her son. Featured in there are the most important yet crucial stages in the life of the child and the way the mother would carry the baby (as a real baby, a toddler, a child, a teenager, an adult, etc) and the song she always sang for him. I tried to put a tune to the song. It does not sound so right, and it is not at all original. I have taken a chorus of some song, but i cannot even remember which one is it.

The lyrics of the song goes like this, “I love you forever, I like you for always… As long as I’m living, my baby you’ll be.” Since the song was repeated several times, the children were able to memorize it all at once. They sang it while preparing the table for lunch, while washing the dishes, during their silent moment as they take their nap, as soon as they woke up, and practically every lull moment.Yex Chai proudly told me that she has memorized it and that she can sing it.

Most likely, the children are correct in their diagnosis. Or, it is also possible that all of them started thinking about their parents and their home. Some of them literally felt so homesick afterward. But maybe, Yex Chai felt it more. I suddenly reckon that someone hugged me from behind and asked me, “can I call you mommy?” and i just replied with another question, “Why? do you want to call me mommy like Ycoi?” “Yes!” Others said, “we want to call you mommy too.” But I never heard anyone call me mommy yet…

I stopped reading the story, and i signaled Yex Chai to come closer… She was in tears and was almost sobbing. I felt her forehead, “no fever Yex Chai, but what seems to be the problem”. As she tried to control her sob, I immediately hugged her close… and let her sit on my lap… and as i held her, i cradled her a bit… kept her there… and continued reading the book. Then the Dek-Dek started talking again relentlessly.

That night, after the devotional time, and as we close in prayer, the Dek-dek remembered to pray for Yex Chai and for their own parents back home. All these times that i was with them and that we are having our prayer time, i only hear them pray for Tatay and Nanay (Joey and Narlin). While they were away, i even hear the Dek-Dek prayed for them in their supposedly silent individual prayer before they sleep. But I hope this night as they felt that nagging loneliness may it help them see that their real parents need their prayers too…parents whose hearts miss the little one whom they will love forever, they will like for all time, and whom they will call “baby” for as long as they live.

Responsibility of the Sending Body to its Missionaries

I found this article written by someone named Dr. Isaac T. Saoshiro and this was presented at the Global Congress on Church Ministry and Missions some time October 2001. This article is about the Sending Body’s responsibility to their missionary. Organizations who wants to send missionaries should read this article. I will present his main points and will give my comments. The article is divided into four responsibilities of sending body to their missionaries namely: (1) Its responsibility to the missionaries in the field; (2)Responsibility to the missionaries during furlough; (3) responsibility to missionary kids and parents; and (4) Responsibility to the supporting churches.

Responsibility to the missionaries in the field

First, the Sending Body (SB) needs to give clear guidance to the missionaries regarding their duties to the home office, expectations in the field, their relationship with other bodies, and their goals. SB should give the missionaries a clear job description.

Second, the SB should have regular correspondence. It is essential for the SB to communicate regularly with the missionaries. Missionaries are required to submit regular ministry reports as well as financial reports. Because of the internet, this correspondence can be done in the most convenient way. SB can know the situation of the missionaries on the field in real time and there is no way to prevent them from extending assistance. Urgent prayer requests can also be communicated in no time at all.

Third, the SB has the responsibility to visit the field. Email communication can limit the understanding of the real situation of the missionaries. The SB should be responsible to visit the field and get a first-hand information and listen to the missionaries about their difficulties, problems, victories and future plans.

Fourth, the SB should provide pastoral care to missionaries. SB should assigned a person most likely an experienced Pastor who can provide spiritual counseling and prayers. The person does not necessarily need to report what transpired in this pastoral sessions. This will help the missionaries to have a healthy outlet concerning their struggles. Moreover, the SB needs to give pastoral care for missionaries by sending movies, audio, missions magazines and books as a way to encourage them spiritually.

Finally, SB should provide physical and psychological care to the missionaries. They must provide a good health care system for missionaries such as periodical health check. SB should provide professional counseling, medical insurance, and health care information through medical books and magazines.

Responsibility to missionaries during furlough

First, SB must provide housing for missionaries during furlough. Usually, when missionaries left their country, they sold everything they possessed. Missionaries do not have a house and have to live with their family and relatives. The SB should provide a rented house, a guest house or a mission house ideally near the airport where the missionaries could stay while they are on furlough.

Second, the SB has the responsibility to receive and send off missionaries. When missionaries come back from their mission fields, they experience an enormous culture shock. They face many adjustments and challenges in the seemingly new lifestyles. Cities do change a lot and missionaries who have gone for a long time may get lost in the city. The SB should extend all the assistance that the missionaries might need when they return to their own country.

Thirdly, the SB should plan for the missionaries deputation schedule. The SB should arranged for the missionaries schedule to speak in churches, conferences and other requesting organizations. Arrange the time and location wisely so that the missionaries do not have to make unnecessary travel. They could arrange also that part of the furlough could be spent on studies related to the missionaries ministries. It is good for the SB to arrange for their missionaries to have rest and retreats.

Responsibility to missionary kids

Schooling for the missionary kids is not an easy matter. This is the greatest concerns of the parents. There are very few schools in the mission fields that can provide good education. International schools are expensive and the SB should do everything they can to extend assistance. Some SB provides tuition fees for the missionary kids until they finish high school and partial scholarship when the kids are in college.

The SB should also take special care for the missionary kids who are returning home from the mission fields for education or work. Their family and relatives may take a big role in this area, however, the SB must provide any assistance needed in the areas such as missionary kids’ residence, job hunting and introduce fellowship groups that would encourage MK to adjust to the culture smoothly.

Responsibility to supporting churches

The SB needs to communicate with supporters and supporting churches effectively by newsletters. The SB should have regular and proper financial reports to the supporters. It also needs to organize mission services and missions’ day of prayer to educate the church about the missions and the missionary they are supporting. SB should be active in raising funds for mission works and continually raise supporters’ interest for mission.

In our situation, we are not send by any sending body (in the real sense of the word). Although, we have been approached by few sending bodies about the possibilities of working with them, we really did not make any steps to be part of any sending body. We have been in the mission field for almost six years and the Lord never failed to provide for our needs. We are totally dependent on God and we are enjoying our independence. Apparently, the SB has huge responsibility to the missionary they are sending, otherwise missionary should reciprocate that responsibility. Any SB should not claim any missionaries as their own if they are not committed to do their responsibilities.

Pitfalls Facing MIssionaries

Our friend keeps on moving to a new place and she got tired of moving her things around so she put all her books and book shelfs in our house. Of course, I don't mind it at all. But everyday I would browse the shelfs and look for something to read.

I found a photocopy bound compilations of missionary articles. I believe it is a good idea to share some articles here that I think would be very useful to missionaries and theologians.

This article is entitled "Pitfalls Facing Missionaries and Christian Workers" written by Dr. Ken Seino. In his article he presents several pitfalls that missionaries tend to fall. I give my comments in each.

Pitfalls of Pride

He says that missionaries are famous because it is being announced in the denomination or by deputation. They become famous because they are being prayed for by many people in many churches. In my opinion, this is only true if you are a missionary who comes from a big denominations with big churches. He warns that the missionary should not be proud because they are not famous because of their personality but for the kind of job they are doing.

He claims that sometimes the missionaries are given opportunity to serve in large meetings and conventions or interviewed by Christian newspapers. He says, that in certain cases, missionaries are "stars" among fine Christians. And this would cause the missionary to be haughty and arrogant. I could only hope that what he says is always true.

Pitfalls of Hypocrisy

Missionaries have the opportunity to work with wonderful leaders and thus they may belong to a ministry that are able to lead a great numbers of soul to the Lord and construct new church buildings. However, sometimes this accomplishment eclipse one of the most important goals of missions and that is for the believers to experience spiritual growth and that includes the missionaries own growth. Numbers do not necessarily means success.

Pitfall of Martyrdom

Missionaries tend to project themselves as living in a very difficult situation. They present themselves as miserable people who missed everything in their home country. The are tempted to create a story that tells the people back home that they are facing bigger hardships than ordinary Christians. Of course, all of these are true but missionaries have also blessings that ordinary Christians

Pitfalls of Money

The temptation of money is common to missionary. The missionary should be accountable and make a record of incoming and outgoing expenses. Missionaries should be a good steward of the Lord's money. This is most true if a missionary is being supported through a mission organization. Nonetheless, independent missionary should keep everything in orderly record. The ever present of spending the money to something not needed should be avoided.

Pitfalls of Dishonesty

Missionary should never lie for profit. Many missionaries fall into the trap of getting support from different missions organizations and keeping it a secret to them. Missionaries should be transparent. Just be honest about the sources of your support to the people or other missions group that want to help you and your ministry. Simple honesty will go a long way.

The over-simplification or slight exaggeration should be avoided at all times. An intentional misinformation may make for a good challenging story that may motivate people to support missionary works but it is still dishonest and the Lord of the harvest will not be pleased.

Vehicle Project

We are sincerely grateful for your love and prayers. This week, heavy rains fall continuously and the need for a vehicle hit us more than ever. The older children walk to school with their raincoats and umbrellas and the younger children ride with me on the motorcycle.

Few more friends have been touched by the Lord and generously contributed to our vehicle project. I realized that they don't want their names and the amount they contributed to appear in this email. So what l give you here is the summary info. We need to raise 270,000 Baht to buy a good second hand truck. To date, friends have rallied behind us and contributed 163,700 Baht. THIS IS NOTHING SHORT OF A MIRACLE (PTL!). We still have a long way to go, but we're almost there.

All things are possible with God. He can do anything he wanted in an instant but I believe he is giving us the privilege of being part of the Kingdom work through giving. Your contribution will be a big part of God's mission here in Mae Sai.