Driving in the rain and visa

Two days of drizzle that started with strong winds and heavy downpour seemed to be a fitting conclusion to the three weeks of English camps under a scorching heat of the sun.  The rain was cool and refreshing and we were hoping it would last a few more days. Unfortunately, it did not.  The oppressive sun returned with vengeance after two days.

Incidentally, we had been receiving email messages from the Foundation reminding us that it was about time for us to renew our one-year visa. The office was asking us to come to the office to sign the documents and prepare the fees for the visa processing. So we were fortunate that the English camps were finally over and to take the five-hour drive to Chiang Mai in the rain. I really enjoyed driving leisurely in the rain.

In Chiang Mai, we went straight to the Foundation office. I needed to get the medical certificate that included blood testing. Every foreigner working in Thailand need to have their blood tested to prove that they do not have sexually transmitted diseases. This did not make any sense to me but I had to comply. Blood was drawn and we waited for two hours to get the result.  As expectedly, I did not have any diseases except that my blood pressure is a little bit high than normal.

I also took the opportunity  to spend the time out with Narlin and my natural children. We watched a movie and ate at McDonalds away from the “noisy” children. Having the time alone for ourselves were really precious. We drove back to Mae Sai in the evening. Unfortunately, the rain had stopped and the heat and humidity were back.

We thank the Lord for the safe travel. We also thank the him for his provision for our visa. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Technorati Tags: English camp,missions update,prayer

Summer Heat: A Prayer Update

It is funny how we can easily forget things though they do happen to us repeatedly. We forgot how cold winter was and how hot summer is here in Mae Sai. Apparently, we are experiencing one of the hottest summers in Thailand. This reminds us that God of God's provision and protection to all who trust in Him.

"They are like trees planted in Eden, putting down roots near the rivers--Never a worry through the hottest summers, never droppin a leaf, serene and calm through droughts, bearing fresh fruit every season." (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

The oppressive summer heat does not slow us down in doing ministry to the children and young people of both Thailand and Myanmar. We praise the Lord for His wisdom and strength.  Here are our activities and prayer concerns for this month.

English Camps (Vacation Bible School)

By God's grace and provisions, we held two camps in Mae Sai and  another one is going on in Tachilek, Myanmar. We had camps in two places in Mae Sai. One in Pantamit Church and Emmanuel Namchan Church. The church leaders expressed concern that the children in the community might not come to the English camp. We thought it was a good idea to let our children come to encourage the people in the church and the community.

We thank the Lord for providing us people to help us. A team from Asia Vision Short Term Missions (AVSTM) is working with us to make this camp a blessing to the churches and the communities. Please continue to pray for the ongoing camp in Tachilek. Pray for health, strength and protection for the team and to all who are participating in it.

Teachers and participants of the English camp in Pantamit Church

Teachers and participants of the English camp in Namchan

Not counting our children, there are more or less 25 children and young people attended and heard the gospel story. The camps has ended but our relationship with these people will continue because we will be teaching English (using the Bible) to these churches and communities thrice a week. Please pray for us that we can minister to these people.

Music  and Piano Lessons

We are thankful to AVSTM for including a piano teacher on the team. To those who had an opporunity to visit us know that the children are musically inclined, so we are tyring our best to help them develop their talents in singing and in playing musical instrument. Jared has been teaching them guitar lessons and Jillian is teaching them to read notes.  Inae (a seminary music and piano teacher) taught them basic skills, inspiration and encouragement to learn more about music. On the 25th of April we held the recital in our frontyard and we invited very few friends. It was an amazing night.

We thank the Lord for Teacher Inae for patiently teaching all the children. We thank the Lord for providing 3 keyboards (2 are borrowed) so that they have something to practice on.  Even though Teacher Inae left almost a week ago, they are

Please continue to pray for the children as they prepare for another school year. The school will open on May 10. Pray for provisions for new uniforms, shoes and bags. Pray also that their Thai ID will be awarded to them soon.

Praise and thanksgiving

God has blessed us with couple of surprises this month and we want to share it with you. First, the school expressed their appreciation to Narlin's teaching English voluntarily at the municipal school. The principal has invited us to join them in a dinner together with school officers and staff. After dinner, the Principal told Narlin that he would give her a present as his token of appreciation. The Vice-Mayor of Mae Sai who was dining at the nearby table presented the gift to her.

Secondly, we received a call from Bangkok informing us that Jared, Jillian and Reuven had passed the Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Test conducted by the Department of Education in February. Jared and Jillian passed the secondary level making them legible to proceed to college and Reuven to high school. It is a big blessing from God. The Department of Education will have an awarding ceremony for those who passed the test. My children will receive the certificate at the Philippine Embassy in Bangkok on May 16. This will be the closest experience of graduation my children ever had. We will certainly attend to meet the other participants and parents who have become our friends too.

Jared is in Laos and then he will go to Cambodia for a mission trip and then will eventually go back to the Philippines for college. Please include him in your prayers. Jillian will stay with us and we will explore the possibility of going to college here in Thailand. We will pursue our plan to have Reuven enrolled to a local high school.

Thank you for praying and encouraging us when we were going through a time of uncertainty with regards to our children's education. We can testify once again to God's faithfulness to prvide for the needs of his lowly servants.


Prayer Requests
Our God is the God who hears and answers our prayers. Thank you for remembering to include us in your personal prayer time and in your church's prayer meeting.  This month we have some urgent prayer requests:

• Pray for the provision for our annual house rent. The support we received this month is not enough to pay for our expenses, so we had to borrow from the church's microfinance ministry to cover for the house rent. Please pray for this need.
• The processing for the renewal of our one-year visa starts next week. We have to pay the Foundation for the legal covering, the Immigration Office for the visa fees and the Ministry of Labor for the Work Permit. We are expecting for God's provision this month for all these expenses. Please remember us in your prayers.
• Pray for the children. Their school needs and their Thai ID.
• Pray for our ministries as we are discerning that God is leading us to help Namchan and Pantamit churches to reach out to their communities through teaching English.
• Please pray as work together with teams which are coming in different times this year.

We feel truly privilege to know that you are praying with for us.  We could not put in words how thankful we are for your partnership. We pray that God will continually bless you in many ways.

Whoever welcome these little ones

On our early days here, we didn't plan to focus on children ministry. But God had other plans for us. He was the one who lead  us into this and we are grateful for the privilege. We are here to serve our God and Saviour Jesus Christ. We were encouraged to know that the Lord says that every good thing we do for these children, we do it for Him.

"He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them. “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” [Mark 9:36-37)

Once again, we want to thank all our friends and partners who believe in us and what we are doing.Here are the few highlights of what happened this month and  will happened next month with its accompanying prayer concerns.

Teaching teachers

Narlin had finished teaching conversational English at Tesaban 1 Watpoweehan  School. They will have their final test on Friday. We are thankful to the Lord for this rare opportunity to teach the teachers and develop friendship with them in the process. It was indeed a wonderful experience.We will be spending the last day of the class in a buffet (eat all you can) restaurant as the school is treating us. Thank you so much for your prayers. If you or anybody you know wants to minister here through teaching English, you are welcome to join us.

Sam Rong Gets Better

After an emotional struggle to prevent Sam Rong from being taken to the remote place in Burma, we are happy to announce that he is responding well with medication. He is now playing with the other children and has been a laughing a lot. He is even helping in some household chores. We are expecting that the medication will be totally stopped and he will be totally healed until June. Our God is the Lord who heals.It seems that Sam Rong will be staying with us for good. It's wonderful to think that after several changes in the number of the children we adopted, we are back with 12 of them. Thank you so much for your prayers for these children.

Tina, Ayung and Mike Graduate

We watched our kids went up the stage to receive their certificates. From afar because parents were not allowed to get near the stage and take photos. We couldn't believe that we were sitting among the proud parents of the graduating kinder pupils of the municipal school. It was a wonderful experience.

 

Three pupils were selected to deliver the graduation speech in three languages--Chinese, English and Thai in that order. Tina spoke almost perfect English. After the speech, the head teacher of the kindergarten, announced that Narlin is teaching English at the school and we have an orphanage where Tina came from. Thank you for your prayers and support for the children education.

Learning and Ministry Resource Center

We had been driving around Mae Sai looking for an appropriate and affordable house for teaching and discipleship. It proved to be an impossible task. We were about to give up the search (we had been looking for three months.) Until a friend told us in passing that an OMF rented house will become available in September.It is God's answered to our prayers. We talked with the tenant and she told us that she will pass the house to us and we might be able to use it for accomodating teams this April even though the contract will expire until September. Praise the Lord!

Tentative Activities this Summer

Please help us in prayer for the summer activities with the help of team coming from the Philippines. Please help us in prayer for the summer activities with the help of team coming from the Philippines.

• Easter Sunrise Service for International Community
• English camp in Mae Sai Pantamit Tribal Church.
• English (DVBS) and music camps in Tachilek, Myanmar
• English camp and music clinic in Emmanuel Church in Ban Chong.
• Teach in Song Kran Bible Camp in Mae Sai Grace Church
• Music Theory Class in Mae Sai and Tachilek.
• English, Music, Piano and Guitar lessons in our house for our kids for a month.
• Opening of Learning and Ministry Resource Center.

More Prayer Concerns

Thank you for your untiring prayers. Listed below are our praises, thanksgiving and concerns.

• We praise and thank the Lord for Displaced Orphans International (DOI) Foundation for the facilitation of receiving support in our behalf in the US (tax exempt). They are a big blessing to us.
• We are thankful for God's answering our prayers with regards to Nanay Linda's (Narlin's mom) healing. She is in the Philippines now. She has problem with blood circulation in her feet extremeties that the doctor thought that amputation is the only option. However, after getting second opinion it is good to know that other treatment is probable.
• Pray for Jared as he will go home in May to go to college. He will go home with my sister Dadai. Pray that his transition to the life in the Philippines and his adjustments to college will go smoothly. Pray also for Jillian and Reuven's studies.
• Pray for provision as the time for paying our house's one-year rent has come. Moreover, the extension of our one-year work permit and visa is also fast approaching. God

Our God is an awesome God and we thank Him for giving us awesome friends like you. We sincerely appreciate your love and prayers. Until next update.

A quick trip to Mae Salong

The school closed last week. This makes us happy and not happy at the same time. We were happy because the children did well at the school. They passed the exams and did all their requirements. We did not need to worry about additional school works for them during vacation. Not so glad because unlike many of us, the school closing does not offer us any respite. It means the children will be with us 24/7 and when they are together, with their full energy accumulated together it will be a total chaos. So we are bracing ourselves for another crazy summer.

We are member of a Network that addresses the problem of exploitation of women and children in Northern Thailand. The organization is trying to stop child and human trafficking. We were invited to attend their meetings two years ago and since then they considered us one of their own. Although we could not understand what they the discussions are all about, they like us to be there every time they have a meeting. The Network has been very helpful to us in providing needed documents for the children.

Last Monday, they told us we had a meeting in Mae Salong. It is one of the beautiful places in Northern Thailand. Actually, the meeting was in Thod Thai, just a few meters from the boundary of Mae Salong. The mountains are stunningly beautiful. Even with the presence of thick haze, the view is still beautiful. After the meeting, we had our lunch in one of those eating places. THe menu were all Chinese. By the way, Mae Salong is one of the towns where Chinese is the first language and Thai is the second. Except for Tai Yai and Akha people who are also living there.

We were having our delicious lunch, when the vice-mayor (he was introduced to us as the second leader of the town) came. Surprisingly, he is also a Christian. After introductions and small pleasantries, he announced that the lunch was on him. The lunch was awesome especially when it was free.

Pastor Sunnit (the leader and he is considered by everybody considered as the founder of the Network) brought us to Khun Sa's army camp. He was considered to be the "opium king" and the leader of the Shan United Army and Mong Tai army. He was considered a local folk hero in this place. His interesting story can be read here.

The trip back to Mae Sai took two hours. The road is long, mountainous and winding. I didn't want to drive too fast.

Great Christians We Should Know: Antony of Egypt (356 AD)

Antony was born on the southern borders of Egypt 230 A.D. and lived to the age of 105. When he was 18 yeas old his parents died and, upon hearing hearing in the church the words of Jesus, "If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell all that thou hast" (Matt. 19:31), he obeyed the command literally. Renouncing the world, he went live as a hermit in a lonely place in an empty tomb. There he faced many temptations and wrestled with et forces of evil. When he was 35 he retired to a more desolate spot on a mountain and spent twenty years there "without seeing the face of man."

Gradually, however, as his fame grew, disciples gathered around him and he moved to a less isolated place near the Red Sea, where he spent the rest of his life. He gained a reputation also through healing many sick people who came to him. On two occasions he went in to Alexandria, once to encourage the Christians under persecution. and once to preach against the Arians.

Though Anthony was not the first Christian hermit, he exercised such a tremendous influence that he is usually regarded as the founder of that great factor in the history of the Christian Church, the monastic movement. Not everyone is called to a life of enunciation like Antony; it is a matter of vocation. But his example reminds us that each one of us should consider whether it is his or her vocation: "Is God calling me to a life of celibacy, poverty and devotion?"

There is, certainly a need and room for this kind of vocation among the members of our own church. Let us pray that those whom God does call to this way of life may have the grace to hear and obey his voice, whatever the cost.

Source: Great Christians Commemorated by the Indian Church by R.W. Bryan

Rain and hail

Narlin and I were on the truck. While driving I looked at the side mirrors and noticed that the sky behind us was very dark while the horizon in front of us was still relatively bright. Then the wind started to blow, gently at first and eventually became violently strong. The road that were usually clean were instantly covered with leaves and tree branches. It was scary. People were running on the road and the shops were closing.

We noticed the changes in the weather a week ago. Before last week, it was usually cold most of the day except when you were out under the sun at noon time. The temperature drastically changed to hot and humid. This is also the time of the year when the mountains caught fire because the farmers are burning the rice fields.

The smoke from the mountain combined with the dust from the on-going building constructions around are forming thick dark haze that hang on the sky. It has been there for almost a month. So we were actually for the rain to fall but not the hail. The rain and consewuently the hail fell down quickly. Inside the truck, the dropping ice hit the roof and windshield sounded deafeningly loud. We were afraid that the ice would dent the car and break the windshield. But fortunately, the ice balls were not big enough to do any damage and it stopped as quickly it had started.

The rain was good but not long enough to wash away the haze. Nonetheless, it is washed away some of haze and it is good for us. We are praying for more rain to come sooner so that we can enjoy fresh and clean air onec again.

Lord we are praying for more rain. As you reminds us from your word in Zechariah 10:1 that we should "ask the LORD for rain in the springtime; it is the LORD who sends the thunderstorms. He gives showers of rain to all people, and plants of the field to everyone." Thank you Lord rain. Sometimes we take it for granted but we believe you send rain to remind us that you're the one who gives life and sustains it. Thank you for your love.

Real Faith (James 2:14-26)

Introduction
Everybody who comes to Thailand will notice the presence of  fake products. Thailand is one of the  countries in the world that  allows fake products. It never stop to amaze me how imitations look like the real deal. There are fakes of everything. Fake Ipad, Iphone, shirts, shoes. There are even fake watches and pens. Sometimes, I even think there are fake churches and even fake Christians.

This is what James talks about in this passage. He argues about the case of true faith against fake faith. There are a lot of people who think they are have real faith, they think that they are Christians. We may not be aware of it, but we may our faith may not be real.

In the verses, James discusses the difference between having real faith and having false faith in Christ. The Bible tells us what it means to have real faith. Let’s go ahead now and focus in on the book of James. Let’s look at five facts about faith:

Real Faith is Works It is Not Just About Talking (2:14)
What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?” James 2:14 (NKJV) Real faith is all about works while fake faith is all about talk.

In this verse, it does not say that a person has faith. The verse talks about claiming he has faith. A person who says he has faith can talk about faith very impressively. In other words, he may know to use the right words, the right sentences. He may know the Bible and perhaps discussed about Christian doctrines. But it does not prove that he has faith.

In our situation here in Thailand, where Christians are a minority, we tend to easily call people Christians. If they talk about Christianity, and claim to be Christian or sound like a believer we right away call them Christian.

However, we know better than that, for the Bible says that:

"Not everyone who says to Me, ’Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 7:21 (NKJV)

Not everyone who has fish on their truck is a believer. Not every who wears a Christian T-shirt knows Christ as their savior. Not everyone who sings Christian song is a Christian. Not everyone who profess Christ does not mean he possess Christ.

As the saying goes, "talk is cheap." If we say we have accepted Christ as our savior but there are no changes in our lives. There are no evidences that Christ lives in us. We need to be seriously concerned. Real faith is not just something we talk about. It is not about what we say. It is something you live. It involves your life not just your lifestyle.

Real Faith Acts It Is Not Just About Feeling (2:15-16)
Real faith is more than emotions. Many Christians confuse emotional high with the work of the Holy Spirit. Although, we believe that when the Holy Spirit is working we all get excited. But being emotionally hight does not necessarily mean that the Holy Spirit is working.

We can go to the church, sing loudly, shout amen, pray at the top of our voices but it may not mean that it is the work of God. The Bible tells us that real faith is more than the way we feel. James gives us the practical advice:

"If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?” James 2:15-16 (NKJV)

We are part of this church. God put us here for a purpose. I think one of the reasons is that there are many people in this church and around us that have needs. Many of us feel about the situation that our brother and sister in Christ are in, but if we do nothing, what good does it do? Real faith takes the initiative and does anything within our capacity to help. A real believer has a faith that is practical. It gets involved with people. When we become part of God's family, we have family responsibilities. Real believers care about real people.

First John chapter three verse seventeen tells us:

“If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.”
1 John 3:17 (MSG)

Real faith gives. Real faith is generous. Real faith can be counted on in a crisis. Real faith is not just talking the talk – it’s walking the walk. Faith is more than feeling sorry for someone – it’s doing something about it.

Real Faith Shows It is Not Just About Thinking (2:18)
For some people faith is something to think about. A matter to be studied, debated and discussed about. James understand this when he says:

“But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” James 2:18 (NKJV)

To understand this verse, we need to imagine two people get together. The one says, "I have faith." The other says, "I have faith too." Then they argue who has the real faith. Then the other says, "show me your faith." I bet he could not show it. The other guy says, "I show you my faith, you can see it through the works I do."

Underline the words "show me." James is saying, you cannot show your faith without works. Faith without works is fake. It is only through works that we can show faith. Real faith is to be seen in our actions. The evidence of faith is works. We can prove our faith to anybody by those who has affected by the things I do for Christ.

If you think you have real faith. If you claim to be a real Christian, people will see it. Real faith is visible. James says that – “I will show you I have faith – by what I do!”

“Faith without works is dead.” James 2:17 (BBE)

Faith in Christ - changes things. If you have faith – it is active – it does something. Faith is not just a though process – it causes action. But that’s not all:

Real Faith Commits Not Just About Believing (James 2:19)
Look at what James chapter two verse nineteen tells us:

“You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble!” James 2:19 (NKJV)

Believing in God does not make us a Christian. There are many people who believe in God and some of them can even quote the some verses. They can even recite the Lord's Prayer by memory. They can even talk about doctrine. Sounds good. But James says even the devil can do th same. He believes.

Real faith involves committing yourself completely to Christ. We are Christian because we believe and trust in Jesus. It is more than head knowledge. It's heart knowledge. We understand that Jesus came and died for my sins, that's head knowledge. But we trust that Jesus came and died for sin, that's heart knowledge. We commit our lives to Jesus.

Many people today will tell us that they believe in Jesus. But if they don't go to the church to worship with other believers, if they don't help other people, don't follow the teachings of the Bible in their daily lives, if they don't practice Christian living. Perhaps we can say that their faith is not real.

Conclusion
Real faith is what we do. Faith is not passive – it’s active. Faith is not just a comment – it’s a commitment. James gives a powerful example of faith in action. Our faith is not determined by what we do – it is demonstrated by what we do. The challenge for us this morning is let us examine ourselves and test our faith. Second Corinthians chapter thirteen and verse five in the Message Bible says:

“Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it.” 2 Corinthians 13:5 (MSG)

Ask yourself, Do i have real faith? In the light of the passage we read, ask the question. Am I really a Christian? Do I this kind of faith that the Bible talks about? Is my life different from other unbelievers? Is my life showing evidence that Christ is in my life?

Sam Rong: The boy who misses his brother

Sam Rong is Tilek's brother. When we first saw him in the English camp (people are now calling it DVBS) three years ago, he really looked like Tilek. We learned that Tilek and Sam Rong have another brother in another orphanage in Kengtung. Their parents died of a motorcycle accident in Chiang Rai three years ago. For some reasons, the three of them ended up seperated living in different orphanages in Mae Sai, Tachilek and Kengtung.

The owner of the orphanage (we'll just call her Sayarma) in Tachilek brought Sam Rong to Mae Sai because he was sick. She claimed that the doctor had seen him twice and he was treated for a common flu. However, he was not getting better at all. She told us that he was crying all the time and wanted to see his mother and brothers. Maybe, she thought, that his sickness was nothing but emotional and seeing his brother would make him feel better. So we met him to bring him home to see his brother. However, when we saw him, our hearts melted. His sickness did not look like a flu at all. He was very sick. He was literally skins and bones.

We brought him right away to our friend doctor. When he saw Sam Rong, he advised us to bring him to the hospital without delay, we could not afford to wait. It was a matter of life and death. At the hospital, he was diagnosed with chronic and severe case of TB. After several tests and x-ray, he was immediately confined in the isolation room. He stayed there for two weeks. We visited him every day and we lcame to know more about him and his family background. His parents were on their second or third marriages when he, Tilek and their brother were born. They have many step and half brothers/sisters. The brother and sister who visited him at the hospital were not related at all. The family background was so confusing that we think it was better not to talk about it anymore.

Anyway, after two weeks at the hospital he was released by the doctor but his medication continues. He seems to be recovering well until last week he was turning yellow. The medications was causing complications to his liver. He might have had hepatitis before and the medicines he was taking made his liver so weak. The doctor didn't know for sure.

Yesterday, Syarma came and told us that she would take Sam Rong to the village in the jungle (her word). She frankly told us that she did not have the capacity to take care of Sam Rong anymore. Whether she meant it financially or emotionally, we did not know for sure. But she had decided to do it without asking for our opinion. She knew we were strongly opposed to her plan. Bringing Sam Rong to the village was just like signing his death warrant. We do not want to ba part of it. We already helped him and we intend to help him all the way.

Sam Rong is now staying with us, in our home. We know his disease is contagious and we need to be extra careful so that the other children will not be infected. We will take care of him until he will be completely healed and he can decide if he wants to stay or go back to Tachilek. Please help us in prayer for Sam Rong's fast recovery and complete healing.