The Power of Small Things

The first thing I did when I woke up this morning is to fire up my computer and checked what was the devotional reading. I was amazed on how the Lord has encouraged us today. These words are totally related to what we are doing for the kingdom. So I am sharing it here. May you be encouraged too. 

"Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed nothing shall be impossible unto you."-- Mat_17:20.

THE GRAIN of mustard seed is the smallest of seeds, but Jesus says that it is a fitting emblem of the Kingdom of God, and the unostentatious beginnings of the Christian era. The number and social position of the disciples was insignificant in the extreme. And the first germ of truth sown in the heart of man, woman, or child, is sometimes equally insignificant. It may be just a sentence, a text, a passing remark which results in a mighty harvest (Mar_4:30-32).

What is it that enables this tiny seed to make such a prodigious increase? It lies in its receptive power, as it receives into its nature the mighty forces which slumber in the soil, the effect of sunbeams, moisture, and air. So long as a little aperture is kept open, there is no limit to the fertility and usefulness of the plant. You may be but a child, and your life seem weak and ineffective, but if you will open your heart to God by faith, He will pour in His mighty fullness, and the tiny seed become a great tree of strength and usefulness, grace and beauty.

Let us not despise the day of small things. Faith may be as a grain of mustard seed, but as it is used it will grow. Your effort to do good may seem so insignificant that it would be hardly missed, if it were discontinued, and yet out of it may emanate some mighty work which will bring help and comfort to thousands. How many orphanages, schools, and philanthropic efforts have owed their origin to the most infinitesimal beginnings. One destitute child cared and ministered to for Christ's sake has led to another, until finally thousands of little ones have received a good start in life. What could be more insignificant than the beginnings of the Gospel message in many a heathen country.

Do not be discouraged. Like Gideon, you may be only a cake of barley bread, but by faith you may overturn the tents of Midian. Like the little lad, you may only be able to place five tiny loaves and two small fish in the hands of Jesus, but He will bless them and make them sufficient to feed the multitude. A stone may bring Goliath to the dust; an arrow may pierce through the armour of the mailed warrior. Have faith in God; Reckon on God's faithfulness to you!

PRAYER Lord, increase our faith. Give us a child-like faith to receive what Thou dost offer, and from this moment may a new sense of the presence and power of God, through the Holy Spirit, come to us. AMEN.

 From F.B. Meyer, Daily Walk

Here and there

We made two trips to Chiang Mai within a week. The first one we did hesitantly and the other one was unplanned. Although we like to travel, we could not afford it. With 13 children and one teenager every cents count.
The first trip was necessary. We had been planning to go to Chiang Mai for the renewal of my driver’s license. I know it can be done in Chiang Rai but in order not to complicate things, we always do it in Chiang Mai. However, we still think that going there just to renew my driver’s license was not a strong reason to make the trip.
Then we had a surprised call from Nueng, the Foundation’s secretary. She told us that the Labor officer in Chiang Mai wanted to see us for an interview.  So now we had more than one reasons to make the road trip.
We drove 4 hours to Chiang Mai and went straight to the city hall to see the labor officer. We already met the officer before so I knew it would be a very friendly and pleasant chat. She wanted to know what we are doing in Mae Sai.  After our business at the labor office was over, we checked-in at the cheap hotel beside the bus terminal. It was becoming our favorite place to stay whenever we are in town.


The hotel was fairly good with cable TV. So we took the opportunity to watch some movies and just took the much needed rest and sleep longer.  In the morning, we went to Rajayev Hospital to get the medical certificates. I needed one for the driver’s license and I also got one for the work permit.
The labor office requirement for a yearly medical certificate was the only opportunity I had for physical examination. Usually, I passed the physical exam with flying colors. But in the last two years, my blood pressure was beginning to get dangerously high.  I guess father time was catching up on me. For some reason or perhaps the hospital deliberately did it, I was assigned to the same doctor every year.  So I decided to make him my personal physician. I requested him to give me prescription for my high blood. In fairness to him, he asked me last year if I want treatment  but I declined because I thought I was there only for the medical certificate.  He made an appointment with me to come back for more test at the end of the month.

I renewed my driver’s licenses in the afternoon. Everything here was quick and convenient. This year they required us to watch a one-hour video about traffic rules and safety. It was cumbersome but I think it was good for the local drivers who do not have any idea about driving courtesy. Another productive day was over.
The next day, we took the opportunity to attend the Association of Filipinos in Thailand (AFT)- North Chapter’s celebration of 116th Philippine Independence Day. New officers were elected. We had fun playing games and watched a friendly karaoke-singing competition.  It was good to see old friends we had not seen for a while and meet new ones. Then we came back to Mae Sai expecting not to return to Chiang Mai for at least another two months or so.
If only we knew, we would be back in Chiang Mai after a week. We received another call from Nueng telling us that one of our co-workers (with the Foundation) and his family died in a car accident. We barely knew them; perhaps we uttered a quick “hi” and “hello” every time we see each other when there was a Foundation meeting or activity. Although we had other plans, I will be preaching on the next day and usually I used Saturday to polish my already prepared sermon. Narlin and I felt that we need to go to honor our co-worker and his family who died serving the Lord in the mission field.
It was a very sad day for us who barely knew them more so with people who were closer to them. Apparently, their truck lost control on a wet slippery road, spun wildly until it eventually smashed onto the coming delivery truck.  The truck, as shown on the LCD projector, was a total wrecked.

It reminded us of similar experience we had five years ago. I vividly remember, it was raining we were driving on the mountainous winding road going to Chiang Mai. We were going uphill when I sensed that the back tires lost tractions, so we negotiated the asphalt road very slowly.  Suddenly, we saw a pick-up truck going downhill slipped, lost control and spun fast toward us. We felt helpless, all we could do was put our car as far to the side off the road shoulder, prayed and waited till the pick-up truck smashed on us. But thankfully, the Lord had saved us from that fatal accident; the truck missed us maybe by an inch as we watched it passed us by.
Please pray for the kingdom workers in Thailand. Pray for our safety as we do a lot of traveling for our visa and other errands. Pray for our health too. In the light of the health issues and accidents happening, we are praying that God will protect us more. We really do not have anything like insurance that will take care of our children when something happened to us. But we fully trust that God will take care of us.
By the way, I just celebrated my 50th birthday. Thankful for the life that has given me. Thankful for friends who remember and find way to greet and encouraged me.

Thankful for every blessing

The seemingly long summer vacation was officially over. The long break away from the school rekindled the children’s enthusiasm to go back to school. The girls who are in fifth grade are delighted to find out that they all made it to the top section. The boys on the other hand remains on the same section. The children are growing up in all aspects and the challenges we have in raising them up also go up to a different level. We will not stop our teaching ministry at the school and organisations but we deem it necessary to do less of these this year so that we can give time and focus more to the needs of the children. Once again, words are not enough to express our sincere thanks for your love, support and prayers. The children surely can feel your love for them. We are sharing to you our thanksgiving and prayer concerns.

Dorm for the boys

Two years ago, we felt the need for a separate sleeping quarter for the boys. So we rented another house to meet the need. However, trying to manage two different houses plus the expenses of paying another rent and utilities proved to be costly and impractical. We believe it is more economical and practical to build a boy’s dorm on our backyard. We will draft a plan and will ask our builder friend how much it will cost and will give you update as soon as we can do it. We want to hear from the Lord regarding this. Please pray and share your ideas about this project.

Home away from home

Our house, although old and lacking in amenities, has served as halfway home for guests, kingdom workers and even co-laborer working in Burma. If we have the time we also show them around bringing them to the places that are considered tourist attraction. In our own small way, we are hoping that we may be a blessing to them. We were blessed to have several guests last month. One of them is Amor, a fellow-kingdom worker ministering in Burma. Every 14 days, she will stay 2-3 days in our home so that she could extend her stay in Myanamr. She used to work with YWAM-Philippines and she had been a big help in cooking and taking care of the children. Because of the new Thai immigration rules, she is no longer allowed to enter Thailand moreover her ministry in Burma did not work out as planned. Please pray for Amor as she continues her ministry in the Philippines. Please pray also that our house will be a home for those who are temporarily “homeless.”

Thankful for backpacks

We begin to notice that we are spending a lot of money for the children's bags. The new bags that we bought for them at the start of the school would be broken even before the semester ends. We considered buying them quality backpacks that will last at least a couple of years but we did not have a budget for such bags for 13 children. We thank the Lord for touching people’s hearts to give each child a brand new original Jansport backpacks. We thank the Lord for Nori and for the people whom God used to provide for this particular need.

Pray for Thailand

When we came to Thailand in 2006, the then Prime Minister Thaksin was accused of corruption and was unseated by coup d’etat. But when democracy was restored and an election was held later, it was ironic that majority of the seats was won by Thaksin's party members and even his sister was elected as Prime Minister. After eight years, it seems the situation has not changed. The hostility between the pro and anti government is becoming worse. The military declared martial law again on the 21st of May to “calm the situation” and eventually took over the government 12 hours later “to allow the army to maintain and restore peace in more effective manner.” For those who live outside Bangkok like us, except for the visibility of soldiers guarding offices and patrolling the streets at night, we barely feel the effect of the military junta. But we know that the Thai people are suffering for what is happening to the country they love so much. Please pray for Thailand and that this will be a good opportunity for the Christians to share God’s love to the Thai people.

More prayer requests

• We thank the Lord for your continued prayer and support specifically regarding our visa and educational expenses of our children. Your partnership keeps us going on.

• We thank the Lord for local people who would knock on our door to donate food, clothes and even used bicycle.

• Please continue to pray for Jared and Jillian as they are going through college in the Philippines.

• Please pray for Reuven. He did not pass the ALS exam this year. One of the reasons was that the circumstances did not allow him to study for the test.

• Pray for our English teaching ministry. All of our students’ parents decided to continue their English language learning with us. Pray that this will become an opportunity to share God’s love to the community.

• We are praying for a more intensive church involvement. Although we consider Grace Church as our home church, our involvement is becoming lesser. Also most of the children do not speak Burmese. We are asking the Lord’s guidance to look for a church that God can use us and the children. Having said that, we are praying that God may use us to start a new church in a village where there is no Christian presence yet.

We cannot stop thanking the Lord when we remember you and your partnership in the ministry. PTL!

Skipping Songkran

We skipped playing Songkran this year. The festival is one of the most celebrated and longest holidays in Thailand. Skipping it is like skipping Christmas. We did not mind missing it though. Regardless, we had planned several activities for the kids during the holidays like holding mini English camp and playing water with the people in the community.  But God had better work for us, days before the Songkran,  Angela requested us to hold and lead a Summer English Camp (DVBS) at her place of ministry in Tachilek, Burma.  And it easily became the highlight of our activities this month. We will share more about this here.   We thank you once again for your love and prayers. Your financial support is sincerely appreciated for without it, we know that we could not stay a day longer here in Thailand.

Summer English Camp (DVBS)

We held the Summer English Camp (DVBS) in Tachilek, Burma from 13th to 19th of April. It was a last minute request so we had to prepare all the lessons and materials in few days.  The initial plan was Narlin would go to lead the camp alone but we thought it would be better if all the children will go with her and joined the camp. Joey and Reuven stayed in Mae Sai and bought all the necessary supplies needed and brought it to the other side of the border.   About 140 children and young people attended the camp from different villages in Tachilek. We thought it would also be good if our children would join the activity. It was a great opportunity to share the love of God and at the same time disciple to children to grow in their knowledge and faith in Christ. We are thankful for Angela’s staff and Filipino co-workers who labored together to make the event successful and glorifying to God. Please pray for the children who have heard the good news that they will grow in their faith and knowledge of our Lord Jesus.

Visa...again (sigh)

Just barely two months has past when our visa travails for the year has ended that received a noticed from Rainbow Foundation that we will be renewing our visa this July and we need to start submitting the required documents.  Besides the requirements, we also need to give our yearly donation of 17,000 THB. Part of the donation will cover the salaries of the staff and other operational expenses. Although this is a big amount, we are happy to give because we do appreciate the work that the staff is doing in our behalf preparing all the necessary documents and dealing with the Thai labor and immigration officers.  Please pray that this year’s visa process will not be as complicated like the last time. Pray also for God’s provision.

Teaching Opportunity

We are privileged to partner with friend and fellow kingdom worker who have the same ministry vision. Having said that, we are also grateful that we are also no longer working with people who have different kingdom agenda. The Lord indeed guides his servants who wanted to follow his will.   Last week, we had the opportunity to train leaders among Lahu people from Laos and nearby towns in North Thailand. We taught evangelism and discipleship using Chronological Bible Storying. Please pray that this ministry will continue and that God will provide for discipleship and leadership training for these people.

Family Visit

We are happy to be visited by family again this month. Nori visited us last month and this time, Dadai, who is leading mission teams in Thailand and Cambodia took time out  to spend time with us. Although it was a very short visit, it was a big encouragement for us especially these days when we could not find the time and we do not have the resources to go home. Thank you Dadai. We are thankful to God for your partnership. We want you to know that we sincerely appreciate the time you are spend praying for us and the sacrifices you make to support the children and our ministries. May God bless you always.  

Happy New Year!

The year 2013 seemed to have come and gone so quickly. The Lord has shown us once again how faithful is he to his children. We welcome the year 2014 expecting great things from God. Thank you so much for your love, prayer and support.  You have been our partner for eight years now and we are still looking forward for many more years of fruitful ministry.

We remember coming to Mae Sai with our three very young children on a cold winter morning. It was 5th of January eight years ago. We came with just three luggage and little money, some friends and relatives were afraid we will not stay long in the mission field because they knew how meager our support was then. But God made a way for us, he brought us friends like you who will help us to continue with the ministry he has given to us. (The photo was taken when we arrived in Mae Sai 8 years ago).

We want to share to you the highlights of our activities at the end of of 2013.

Christmas Celebration With ROL Kids

Last year, we celebrated Christmas differently. We were invited by our friend Joanne, a volunteer working at River of Life (ROL) Children's Home in Chiang Rai, to join them in their Christmas celebration. We are thankful for the opportunity of sharing the joy of Christmas with children who could not celebrate Christmas with their respective family (just like our children).

ROL is blessed with a big place and beautiful facilities including a big swimming pool that our children enjoyed in spite of a very cold weather. The kids enjoyed the fellowship of a new friends and the serenity of the place. Thanks to Joanne and the staff. We know that this is not the last time our kids will be together.

New Year Celebration with the Filipino Fellowship

We believe one of the reasons we are not feeling homesick is because of the strong fellowship among Filipino kingdom workers in Mae Sai. In fact, the Filipino community had worked together in several ministries in the past like English camps, organizing seminars & trainings, and recently organizing an English worship for other English speaking kingdom workers.

We are blessed to celebrate the coming of the year 2014 with other Filipinos. We are humbled by the way God has been using us in the region through different ministry platforms. We are looking forward to working together this year for the advancement of the kingdom of God.

January 2014 Activities

This month we will be hosting a YWAM team from Madison, WI for several days. It has become a tradition for the team to come and stay in the house and take care of the children for a weekend. This year, however, we will be working with them in other ministries.

First, the team will work with us in teaching English at the municipal school for a week.This will be an opportunity to share the gospel to the pupils. Second, we will hold an English Camp at the school in a village in Shan State. Geographically, it is in Burma but people there called this place Shan State. It is mainly tea and coffee plantation at the border of Thailand and Burma. It will be a 2-hour travel from Mae Sai. Please pray for God's guidance and protection for this ministry trip and the team members.

Continuing Ministries

Besides taking care of the twelve children. We have other continuing ministries that we do for the community and church. Using the newly built study center, Narlin is teaching ten students on different time every afternoon. She is also requested to teach English at a nearby Music school every weekend. This gives opportunity to know some influential people in the community. Thankfully, we have a volunteer helping us with the teaching.
Joey preaches occassionally at Pantamit Church and teaches at ARLDF . This year, Mae Sai Border Out of School Training (MBOOST) might start the training again in the next two months. Please pray that God will give us the wisdom and energy to be good teachers.

More Prayer Concerns

Thank you so much for your continued support and prayer. The only reason we believe that we are here in Mae Sai is because of your partnership. Please continue to pray for our needs.

Pray for the children's needs. We know that they are growing but lately we noticed how dramatically they are changing physically. We have to buy them new clothes and shoes. They are also changing spiritually. They are learning to read and study the Bible deeper. Please pray that the Lord will use us to provide for their physical and spiritual needs.

Please pray for the needs of our own children. Pray for Jared and Jillian's protection as they are now living on their own. Reuven will have to spend another year here in Thai high school so that he can graduate. We are amazed how God is providing for their school tuition. We are thankful for the people God is using to provide for their needs.

We will go to Chiang Mai immigration office this week for (again)  the extension of our visa. For some reasons, the Immigration Office has not extended our visa for one year at once. Our visa is being extended one month at a time. We know that one of the reasons has something to do with the Foundation that gives us work permit. We are considering to get our work permit with NCWSA next year. Please pray for guidance.

Narlin is invited again this year to share her testimony at Philippine Women Missionary Union (PWMU) Triennial Meeting. This time we want to take the opportunity to go home together as family and to reconnect with our family friends who we do not see for a long time. Please pray for wisdom and provision.

Once again, we thank you for your continued partnership--prayers, love, and support. May God  bless you richly.

Technorati Tags: prayer update,stories,newsletter

Village ministry

A friend called Narlin on the phone and asked if we could drive them to Ban Koknoi to bring a mother to see her daughter. Koknoi is a village on the mountain that we used to go to do ministry. We taught English and brought YWAM team to minister with the children over there.

The story goes like this: Our friend’s friend came into an agreement to have a “symbiotic” relationship with the village school. The school needed more students to get the government support and our friend needed a place for the children. The children had lived there for over three years and consequently the school acquired new buildings and facilities because of the additional students.

For some reason, however, this year the children were moved to another town and are now living in another children’s home in that place. Apparently, our friend’s friend made similar agreement with this village school again. Regardless of the idea behind all of this, I think the move was good for the children.

We are going to Koknoi to see the girl who decided to stay. I think everybody was upset with that decision so her mother will go to convince her to return home or to go with the rest of the children. We were excited to go to Koknoi because we had been there and we have friends in the village. Unfortunately, the trip was cancelled because of the mother got sick. We hope to make the trip some time.

I tell you this story to let you know that in the past years, God had given us opportunities to visit and minister to the hard to reach villages around Chiang Rai. We hope to do more of this in the future. We had been to two villages this year and the village school teachers had invited us to do English camp in the school

This is why we are thankful to God for our giving us the “miracle” truck. We can go places to share God’s love to the villagers.

Prayer Concerns

Please pray for the children in Koknoi and other villages around Chiang Rai that God will use more Christian workers so that they learn about the Word of God and that they will have good education so that they can  have better future.

We thought we could make the trip to Koknoi last Saturday. But as you already know, the truck’s tires are dangerously bald already. We could not make the trip with the bad tires. We borrowed money from the Microfinance Cooperative of Grace Church so we can change the tires. Please pray for God’s provisions. We need THB 25,000 (roughly USD 800) to pay for the loan we made for the tires.

We hope to do more village ministry in the future in partnership with NCWSA. Please pray that God will send people to help us to teach English and share God’s love in Shan State this coming summer.

It’s exam week for Reuven. Thankfully, his exam schedule does not conflict with our scheduled trip to Chiang Mai. Please that he will do well in the test.

We will be traveling to Chiang Mai today (16 July 2013) to appear at the immigration office for our extension of our visa. It has been raining heavily today and the roads to Chiang Mai are winding and slippery. Thankfully we already have the new tires. Please pray for safe travel.

Please pray that our visa will be extended without any problem. The Foundation and I had worked together so that every documentation is properly done.

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Joy and Assurance

Joyful greetings in the name of Christ. Thank you so much for your love and prayers. We are sharing to you some of our stories this month. We want to begin with Andrew and Luke:

I was trying to concentrate on my study but the noise of the two little boys happily laughing and playing wildly had distracted me in a good way. It made me smile. The moment gave me an unexplainable joy and assurance that we made the right decision to take them into our life. Nataset (Andrew) and Flook (Luke)have eventually adjusted and settled in the family, ‬the long hour of crying were finally over. As a matter of fact they are enjoying the love being showered to them by their older brothers and sisters.

We thank you not only for praying for us but also for being part of God’s answers to our prayers.‭ ‬Your support,‭ ‬gifts and contributions have been sustaining us and our ministry.

Roofing Project

In our previous newsletter,‭ ‬we shared to you about the temporary roofing we put up five years ago to prevent the rain from coming in the dirty kitchen and laundry area.‭ ‬The tarp roofing had became old and worn out it was no longer able to serve its purpose.‭ Some of our friends learned about it ande collected funds among themselvesfor the installation of the roof and construction of the bench and sink.
‭We are grateful for God-given friends who are ready to help us in time of need. ‬The construction of the roof and the sink is almost complete. We also thank the Lord for our handyman friend who found time to do the work in spite of his busy schedule.

Lea’s Visa

Narlin and Lea went out to Laos to get non-immigrant visa.‭ We did not bothered to review the supporting documents provided by the Network for Children and Women Association‭ (‬NCWA‭)‬-Mae Sai,‭ ‬and even if we did we could not have noticed it because the documents are written in Thai.‭ ‬The small error caused the Thai Royal Embassy in Lao to deny Lea her visa.‭ ‬However,‭ the immigration ‬officer told them that if they can submit the corrected paper they can issue a non-immigrant volunteer visa right away.

Because of the time and distance, ‬Narlin and Lea decided to settle with a tourist visa for the meantime and come back to Laos after two months with the correct documents.‭ ‬She may have failed to get the visa but it was a learning experience that can be useful when the need to get volunteer visa for people who want to come and work in Mae Sai.

Birthday Celebrations

Month of June,‭ ‬we celebrated three birthdays.‭ Narlin’s birthday was on the 14th, Nataset on the 18th and Joey on the 19th. Jillian celebrated her birthday without us for the first time in the Philippines. It is the eighth year that we celebrate our birthday here in Mae Sai. God is good and faithful. We are hoping to celebrate many more of our birthday here.

More Prayer Concerns

• Pray for strength, wisdom and boldness to share the gospel to the people we encounter every day, moreover, to the people we are teaching and we befriended.
• Please pray for our health specifically to that of the children. The rainy season has started and it seems that dengue breakout could not be prevented because of our proximity to Burma.
• Please continue to pray for all our children’s schooling. The school expenses are taking its toll on our budget. We have 10 children on elementary school and 2 in pre-school with one of our children in high school and two in college in the Philippines. We thank you so much for your prayers and support for this particular need.
• Pray for our partnership with Network for Children and Women Association (NCWA). We are thankful to God that the association is able to provide government recognition to our children’s home. In the future, we are hoping to work with individuals, foundations and organizations for future projects to help improve the life of the people both physically and spiritually.
• Pray for our visa. As we have shared already, the process in extending visa in Thailand takes a lot of time. Our work permit has been extended already. The next step would be to extend our non-immigrant volunteer visa. We need to be physically present at the immigration office and to pay the fees for three people--Narlin, Reuven and Joey
• We are thankful for our miracle truck. I could not believe that the truck has been with us for almost three years. We have been using it everyday to drive the children to the school. We also used it for our outreach activities to the villages. I noticed that the tires are wearing out. We are praying for God’s provision as we might be replacing them before the year is over.

Technorati Tags: Prayer Update,Newsletter

Thank you Lord

I already forget about this blog until I read my own blog posted on Facebook. I still received email thanking me for some materials I posted several years ago when I was still active in blogging. I will post again our latest family and ministry update and I hope I can post more. Thanks for those who still find this blog useful.

Once again, we thank you for faithfully remembering us in your prayers. We thank the Lord for your partnership in God’s ministry here in Mae Sai.  All of us here especially the kids are enjoying the benefits of your love and generosity.

After what seems to be a long hot summer, heavy rain began falling on  the second  week of May. The rain gives us relief from the oppressive heat and refreshes our body and soul. Watching water falls from heaven reminds us of God’s faithfulness to his humble servants.

Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God,
for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful.
He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before- (Joel 2:22)

Our Recent Philippine Trip

We are thankful for the opportunity the Lord had given to us to visit the Philippines twice within six months. We thank our friends who help us financially to make this journey back home possible. We realized this may not happen again. The first time was when we were invited to share our missionary testimony at the 10th Anniversary celebration of Asia Vision Short Term Missions (AVSTM) in December.The second time was at the wedding of my (Joey) younger sister, Bethie last month.

It was also a rare opportunity when all the members Dela Paz family were reunited after many years. They have reunions on Christmas but we could not go home to join them. We are thankful to the Lord for that wonderful time. And again, this may not happen again in a very long time. We are thankful for the AVSTM Team who looked after the children while we were in the Philippines.

2013 School Opening

After a long summer vacation, the kids were again very excited to go to school. This year, the kids have outgrown their school uniforms and besides they are old and faded already,  we bought each kid  three sets of new uniforms (PE, regular, traditional, and scouting for the older children).  These uniforms need three different kinds of shoes.  The kids are very excited with all these new things that they even keep their shoes beside them when they go to sleep.

Reuven is also in his second year in Mae Prasitsat High School English program. The school fees for the program are expensive but again we thank the Lord for his provisions. Jared and Jillian had already enrolled for college at University of Cordilleras in Baguio City.  Their school starts on the third of June.

We are thankful for God’s faithful provisions for the kids' schooling. Thank you for your partnership in providing good education and home for these wonderful kids.

Welcome Lea, Our New Co-Worker  And Natahset, Our New Baby

Our two reliable daughters who provided us with help had left us. Jillian went back to the Philippines for college and Nuch has moved on to look for another work.  Nuch wanted to stay and help with the children but we understand that she still wants to accomplish more with her young life. So we let her go to follow her desire. She is now teaching pre-school in Rayong. We will be missing these girls . They had been a huge help for us for years.

Nevertheless, God has provided us another helper. Lea is part of the AVSTM team that came to minister with us through English camps and looked after the children while we were gone. She decided to stay with us and help us with our ministry. We thank the Lord for bringing to us the right person to be our co-worker. Lea had extensive experience with children and doing house works.

Please pray that Lea can get a work permit and a one-year visa. Pray for financial provisions and supporting documents.

We had another addition to the family. A boy named Natahset. He was born four years ago in Chiang Rai to a single mother. His mother gave him up for adoption and our friend took him. We were actually with this fried when the mother gave the baby.  After  four years, our friend find it difficult to get him to school because most of the time she is staying in Burma. So we are helping her with him. Natahse will be staying for us while he goes to school here in Mae Sai.

Network for Children and Women Association (NCWSA) Office

Three years ago we were invited to attend a meeting of an organization (samakom in Thai) called Network for Children and Women Association. Apparently, its main objective is to prevent human trafficking—to save young women from prostitution and the children from being victims of child trafficking. The organization was started by Khun Abraham (founder of the biggest children shelter in Mae Sai) and Ajan Sunnit (the Pastor of the church we are attending). However, when Khun Abraham had his own Foundation, the leadership was left to Ajan Sunnit. We have been working with the organization ever since we joined it.

All the time we are with the organization, we noticed that it has very little funding and very few activities, however, we are surprised that it is fully recognized by the Thai government. Hence this year, we started organizing English camps under its name. The organization is also able to provide legal covering for our children’s home. We also let them use the small room upstairs as its office. The organization membership is composed of the church pastors and leaders. We are hoping that through this organization, we will be able to provide work permit and visa for future missionaries and volunteers. Below is the photo of our last meeting in our house which we do regularly once a month.

Roofing Project

We do our laundry and charcoal cooking (we do it a lot) outside the house.  So we thought it would be good to put tarpaulin roofing tacked on a bamboo frame. It serves as a shade against a hot sun and cover from the rain. However, we failed to anticipate that the rainy season always start with hail storm and strong winds. The wind blew away the tarpaulin and we had to reattach it on the bamboo frame.

We asked the owner if she would allow us to put a permanent roof. She gave us her permission but she made it clear that she will not be paying for it. Our handyman friend (who did all the works and repairs in the house) made an estimate of the cost of labor and materials. He came up with 28,000 Baht.  This includes the cost of a bench and kitchen sinks. If a permanent roof is installed we plan to do all the cooking and dish washing in this area so that the extra space we will have inside the house will be used as dining area.

We do not want the money intended for the children and ministry to be used in this project so we are hoping that God will provide funds specifically for this project.  We’ll be sending out  update about the development of this project.

More Prayer Requests

• We are thankful for God’s provisions for the kids’ schooling this year. He indeed is faithful.
• We are thankful for God’s healing.  In the last couple of months, the kids were having problem with heat. At least three of them had fever and cough. We also learned that Mae Sai is on the top of the number of kids who are infected with dengue. We thank the Lord for healing and protection.
• Please pray for Narlin as she continues to teach English voluntarily at the school. The English teacher at the school had resigned and therefore she will have more teaching load this semester.
• Please pray for Joey as he will be teaching at ARLDF in the following weeks. Pray for wisdom and strength.
• Please pray for Jared and Jillian for their studies in the Philippines. Pray for provisions for their school fees and the apartment they are renting.
• Please pray for Lea that she can get her visa and work permit as soon as possible.
• Please for boldness, strength and wisdom as we share the Jesus' saving grace to all the people  we encounter everyday.

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