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We are very thankful for your prayers and we praise God that our whole team was able to return safely! Esther made it onto U.S. soil and was not even asked a single question during immigration. Caleb also passed the health checkpoint in Korea after leaving Chiang Rai with a fever! 

It’s been around 24 hours since we got back from Thailand and I can probably say on behalf of our team that our hearts ache after being separated from the Thai people.

But just because we are not there does not mean that God’s work is not being done.

Help us pray for Peter and Lillian, the missionaries who hosted us, that they will have energy, wisdom, and health to continue their ministry at Bethel Bible Institute. We are so thankful for their kindness and the joy that they brought to our team!

Pray for the Jian Hua students who we had a chance to interact with. For some students, our friendships with them might be the only glimpse of Christianity that they will have a chance to experience. Pray against this being their only opportunity; pray that these students would have more Christian influences placed in their lives so that they might know Jesus one day. Pray for the principals and the teachers that we befriended, that they too might accept Christ into their hearts.

Pray for the Canaan Center kids. Words cannot describe how grateful we are to them for their hospitality and how encouraged we are by their faith in God. The Canaan Center leaders and students truly have servant's hearts. Pray for the students, that they will continually look to God for guidance and that they will have the courage to share their faith with their peers. Pray that God will provide the Canaan Center with the funds to renovate so that they may house even more students, allowing them to continue their good work!

Lastly, pray for the Kingdom of Thailand. A predominantly Buddhist country, but interestingly enough, 0.7% Christian (I read this on the Thai Airways in-flight magazine). After observing the 20% Christian demographic at Jian Hua, the Bethel Bible Institute students, the Canaan Center, and the village churches, it is clear to me that God is moving in Northern Thailand. God is raising a generation of leaders to save the lost. Pray for the gospel to spread like wildfire throughout the rest of Thailand. Pray that His name will be made known, that tongues will confess that Jesus is truly the King of Kings.

I’d also like to share a few important things that God has reminded me of during this trip:

1. God’s love transcends all obstacles, including language barriers.
2. God perfects us in our weakness…ALL of our weaknesses.
3. And it is by GRACE in which we have been saved, not by our good works or by ourselves.

Thank you to all of our readers for your prayerful support! May all the glory and honor go to God!

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” -Matthew 24:14

(Also check out the 10/40 movement!!)

Rochelle L.

A Taste of Thailand

Some delicious street vendor pad thai

Fresh chicken noodles in our first village visit

Tender chicken and cow blood curry noodles at school

Satisfying cravings to start of our first day of teaching

10 Baht ice cream! Mocca chip flavor

Pig trotter noodles anyone?

Taiwanese jajangmyun

Softest taro buns you'll ever have

More ice cream!

More organic veggies from the village

Huge fried chickens

More noodles

Pad seeew

More pad thai

BBQ chicken wings!

The famous sausage alley

The Feels

For my teaching group, today’s class included a lesson on “Feelings”. I’m sure many of us on the team have experienced a range of feelings today:

HAPPY for opportunities to interact with the students and for times to be SILLY; no longer being SHY or NERVOUS.
SURPRISED in how God has been orchestrating our time here in Thailand.
EXCITED for how God has been working in the lives of some of the students.
SAD because today was the last day of classes and the last chance to see many of our students.

Our time here in Thailand has really gone by quickly. We’ve had so much fun interacting with our students in and out of the classroom, and yet I think we all want more time to spend with them.

God has definitely been working during our stay. A couple days ago, a Thai teacher asked if we’d be willing to host a Christian program for students who chose not to go the Buddhist temple. [Ha, we didn’t have to ask to share the gospel!] Our program took place today with over 50 students in attendance. We taught a few songs; presented the gospel through the Evangecube; and had a question and answer time, which included sharing when and why we chose to become Christians. Many of the students in attendance were Christians, but there were also Buddhists and Muslims. Pray that seeds sown would take root and grow.

I hope our witness has emboldened the students who are Christians. Knowing that we are Christians, some would ask us to say grace for lunch, which would include their non-believing friends at the table. May God use to them to personally share more of their faith.

Today also included opportunities for spiritual conversations. Many on our team were encouraged by Sam, who just became a Christian a month ago. He chose to follow Jesus after he experienced God’s answer to prayer. Pray for his growth and for God to provide good friends. He’s only been in Chiang Rai two months and is all by himself here, as his family is three hours away in Chiang Mai. Pray for God to continue working in Aem, who wouldn’t want to disappoint her parents by becoming a Christian. Pray for Ize, who says he hasn’t experienced love and yet is unwilling to accept the love from our Savior.

Tomorrow, we’ll be exploring a bit of Thailand and spending time with our friends at the Canaan Student Center. Let’s hope the rain lets up in the afternoon, so some of the team can get in some bball time!

It’s getting late, so I’m feeling a little SLEEPY.

Signing off, Doris

Fighting the Good Fight, FIGHT ON!

As our days here in Thailand is coming to an end, I can't help but feel a little worn out. It's been a few emotionally straining days for me. 

Yesterday I had an encounter with a guy that felt like a direct spiritual battle with satan. The guy was curious about who we were and because he only spoke Chinese, I was asked to speak to him. The progression of the conversation escalated very quickly and I felt like I had to defend everything that I believed in. For every truth I spoke about God, he had a rebuttal for he knew a lot about other religions including Christianity and he used that to argue against everything I told him about God and his love. Originally, I didn't want to talk to him for very long but I felt the spirit telling me to stay and continue to talk to him so I did. Throughout the duration of the conversation, I felt darkness and my spirit gradually weakening. But I knew I wasn't alone. When I felt like I needed physical protection saw my teammates who were by me and praying for me. I knew the spirit was with me because there was no way I could've said everything I did with the limited mandarin that I knew. The conversation eventually got to the point where I had no more to say so I asked to pray for him but right when I asked him, he sprinted away. I was left feeling vulnerable, naked, and defeated. I felt like my faith was shaken to the core and my heart broken. I burst into uncontrollable tears and cried sorrowfully in fear. In that moment, my team and a few Christian students who were standing nearby gathered around me. Together they prayed for me and God's power surrounded all of us and the darkness went away. I am still in a daze and have many unanswered questions but I trust that God had a reason and that he was in control and protecting me. 

In addition, for those who do not know, I found out that my green card is expired the day we were gonna leave for Thailand (I really thought that I wouldn't be able to come). But I found out that if I applied for renewal online, the renewal receipt and my expired green card will be okay for me to return to the country. However when I got to Thailand my mom told me that she called the consulate office to double check and they said that I need to go to a US consulate office in Thailand to get a returning visa. That was very disheartening because it meant a lot of trouble for everyone especially because the closest consulate office was 4 hours away (Chiang Mai) from where we are (Chiang Rai). Either way John helped me book an appointment for the consulate office and I was suppose to ride the bus to Chiang Mai this past Tuesday. But on Saturday, my mom emailed me and told me that using the receipt will be okay. Thinking that it was God's answers to my prayers, I was very happy because I don't need to worry about that anymore. I doubled checked with my mom to make sure it was certain before I cancelled the appointment. But today, I was told again that I do need the returning visa...according to a consulate officer back home and he is positive (they were all positive but all gave my mom a different answer...). After reading the email, I just felt so defeated and overwhelmed again. Tomorrow is a Thai holiday which means that the consulate will not be open and they are closed on the weekends and we are leaving Sunday...I don't know what to do and I don't know what to feel...

But through all of this I am reminded of Paul as he said he had been "very thoroughly initiated into the human lot with it's ups and downs" (Philippians 4:12). He was hard-pressed, persecuted, and struck down. But God in his mercies did not chose to remove the dilemmas Paul was facing. God chose instead to make himself known to Paul because of them, in ways which would strengthen his faith. Paul begged God to remove his dilemma but it was not in Paul's way or Paul's time. It was in God's way and God's time. 

I don't know why I was chosen to talk to that guy and it currently seems impossible to resolve my green card situation. I just wanted to give up. But God promises that none of us will ever be tempted beyond our power to endure. God promises his unfailing presence. Spritual warfare is so real here and satan's hold on this country is so strong  but our God is stronger. Even in our mistakes and weakness, he is sovereign. So while I do not know what is going to happen, I will not let satan destroy my spirit and faith. I will continue to be steadfast and pray and believe that God has everything in control. 

But please pray for me, for my situation, and also for my teammates. May we finish strong and continue to fight against satan who is trying to discourage and break us apart. May we make the most of our few remaining days especially with all the different programs and activities we have planned. 

Thank you for all your prayers! 

In love,

Esther 

Near, Far, Wherever You Are

First off, Happy Birthday to mamma Choi back at home. I miss you and I'm sorry I won't be home to celebrate with you. I hope that you're feeling better and I hope you have a great day! Take care and may God bless you. Love you.

Second, yesterday I must say was one of the funniest bike rides I've had. I had the opportunity to bike the one and only John Chow back to our resort. We almost crashed a couple times cause we couldn't stop laughing but like the Titanic, it was a pretty magical ride (before it went down). All thanks to God for keeping us safe.

But all jokes and funny things aside, there is much to be thankful for on this trip. This is my fifth year and I can definitely see God moving here in Thailand. Today Clement and I had an opportunity to eat with some of the students after teaching class and when we sat down, one of the students asked us to pray for their meal. Both of us were a little bit surprised at first but Clement went ahead and prayed for their meal. It's amazing to see that the students know that we are Christians and because of that, opportunities are opened up to share about why we our here as well as share our own testimonies of how God has moved in our lives.

I am also thankful for this team. From the moment we got to Thailand, I was very encouraged to see the courage and boldness of the new team members going out to meet the new students despite not speaking the language. And even though our schedules aren't always set in stone for each day, everyone has been very flexible and has been able to adjust to what has come our way.

Lastly, you can pray for our team in a few ways:

1. We only have a couple days left so pray that we take every opportunity we have to share God's love with the students. May we have sense of urgency and continue to go out with boldness.

2. Pray for Thursday as we will be holding an assembly for some of the Christians at the school as all the other students go out to the Buddhist temple. May we use this time to encourage the students to be bold about their faith so that they can be lights upon this campus even after we leave.

3. Lastly, pray that our team doesn't forget all that God has taught us and shown us on this trip. It's very easy sometimes to forget once we get back home because we can get caught up in our busy lives whether it be school or work. Pray that we may always have a missions mindset because the missions field isn't just here in Thailand. Whether we are near at home or far away, wherever we are the harvest is plenty but the workers are few.

In Him,

KK (Caleb)

No Sign of a Drought Here!

Hi all! 

Today marks the start of our second week of teaching at Jianghua Vocational High School. We could not be more blessed with the outpour of love from the school! Rain poured non-stop and all day long. In the morning we would typically ride our bikes to get to the school but God is so good to us and right as we were leaving, we saw a van coming up to our driveway that the school sent to pick us up. Once we arrived at the school, we were all excited to start a new week with new teaching plans and plans to share the gospel with our peoon (Thai for friend) we made last week. Shortly after adding a few students on Facebook during lunchtime I was surprised to catch them staring at a photo from my baptism. They were really curious to know what was happening and asked me to explain it to them, so I told them that I was a Christian and despite the language barrier I tried my best to explain what baptism is. Even though I did not get a chance to share the gospel with them I felt very blessed by this moment because they knew that I was a Christian and why we are here in Thailand. They responded in a very respectful and understanding tone, which uplifted my spirits because I did not know how my friends, who were either Catholic or Buddhist, would react to me being different from them. I hope to share the gospel with them soon because they are very dear to my heart! Besides that, our day was pretty calm and filled with a lot of relaxation from our long weekend. I am so amazed how God's timing works and I am very thankful that God has given us a day to rejuvenate. Please continue to keep us in your prayers!!!! 

-Noel 

Village Setting

This past weekend we visited the Akah village therefore we didn't have a chance to post on the blog ...so here's a recap of Saturday and Sunday!

Our trip to the mountains took around 3 hours and a few doses of Dramamine. The Akah kids were at first very shy but it's crazy how God's love can transcend language barriers! That night we helped the Canaan Center kids with their children's program. Our team had a blast teaching them the songs "Making Melodies," "Deep Deep" and "Jesus is a Friend." Unfortunately and/or luckily, on the way back from dropping off the village kids in the pick-up truck, we ran over a large snake!

The team stayed overnight at the village's church with the Canaan Center kids on floor mats. We didn't get a chance to shower but we did get to use the infamous squatty toilets! Despite how uncomfortable it was, by God's grace we had a decent amount of sleep (enough to function and to play with the kids the next day)!

And side note: every meal we had this past weekend was delicious!

On Sunday we performed "Hosanna," body worship to "Unchanging," and a mime to "Lamb of God." Our team learned and practiced the body worship and mime only four or five times the day before we performed! Cindy also presented her testimony to the adult village congregation.

As for the kids program, Caleb shared the gospel using the Evangecube and Kristy led a Popsicle airplane craft. Lastly, the kids had a great time whacking away at our piñata! After church, Lillian helped many of the Akah adults with acupuncture. All in all it was a very joyous Lord's Day!

We drove back to Chiang Rai in time for dinner at Tesco and then immediately headed to the Canaan Center to visit! The kids prepared a performance which included different dances, instrumental, and singing numbers. And I have to say, these kids are so talented!!! Our team also performed the body worship to "Unchanging" and had a Q&A session with the kids (not our idea haha)! Some questions even included why some of our team members were so tall and why some of us are still single. It was a very encouraging time getting to share our testimonies in how our team dealt with hardships and how God perfects us in our weaknesses.

We have a week left here in Thailand and we cannot wait to see what God will do. Thank you so much for your prayers thus far! May all the glory go to God!

-Rochelle