Sunday Trip to the Lishu Village

Craft time with some Lishu village kids

Lunch was amazing...like always 

The kids are so cute and we all had a lot of fun playing together

We got to go on a hike with them...

...to their backyard. Nbd. 

Our time at the Lishu village was really encouraging. I think every time we go to an orphanage or we visit villages, I am always reminded how God's love is so great that it can go beyond language barriers and cultural differences. While only 0.7% of the population in Thailand are Christian, God is definitely here and he is doing work. It is so awesome to see and be able apart of. 

Sawasdee kaa!

A lot has happened within these past  few days!
First of all , I would like to give glory to God.
We visited the Lishu village on Sunday. We arrived and met the children. They were from the ages of 3-12. They welcomed us with warm smiles and even sang songs for us! In return, we taught them the song "Making Melodies". Through this song and the silly hand motions, we were able to bond as one. Soon after, we attended the Sunday Service with the adults. It was awesome to be united through worshipping the same God despite the language and cultural barriers.

After service, we went back outside to start the program we had planned for all the Lishu children. Lillian and Peter (the missionaries) did acupuncture for the adults in the village. We first sang "Deep deep" and then we taught them how to make an airplane out of clothespins and popsicle sticks. Through this craft, we were able to start to build personal relationships with the children. We then taught them how to play link tag. It was very heartwarming to see the joy on the kid's faces as they ran around in the game. The last thing we had planned for them was a piñata. Each child got a chance to whack the elephant and every time the elephant came closer to falling apart , there was a huge amount of laughter that would fill the air. After finishing all that we had planned, we continued to play with the children and even took them to see the beautiful plantation of green tea leaves. When we got back, the sky began to turn dark and it began to sprinkle. We decided to leave before it started to rain because it takes an hour to get back and some of us had to sit in the back of the pick up truck (which has no roof). But God is good and throughout the whole ride back, it only rained for a little!

Overall, the trip to the village was very very tiring; but through the interactions with the children, we were able to love them and  share joyful moments with them.

Happy Sunday!

We arrived safely to Chiang Rai yesterday afternoon! Praise God for safe travels. We didn't have a long layover in Bangkok this year so traveling time felt a lot shorter but the team was still pretty beat...After we checked in to our "resort", we had dinner at Mae Sai, which is the area with a lot of street food vendors :) Some delicious pad thai anyone?

We called it a night early after a brief meeting together. Some of us helped put together a piñata filled with yummy candy and toys for the kids we are going to visit today in the mountains. Super excited to be able to worship the Lord with some Lishu villagers today! We have a program prepared for the kids that includes games, crafts, songs and testimony (Cindy's using her Thai skills so we won't have so much translation! PTL!) 

I have to go brush my teeth now...more updates and pictures to come!

OH. The weather is pretty nice :) not super hot because it has been raining a lot but it's really humid. No bloody noses so far so yay!

K bye!

And the Countdown Continues...

Sawasdee kaa! (Hello!)

It’s so unreal that we’re leaving in TWO DAYS! This will be my first time going to Thailand and I am so excited to see how God will use our team to sow His seeds.

Partner with our team as a prayer warrior! After all, 1 John 5:14 affirms the power of prayer, saying that “that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” 

Here are a couple other prayer requests in addition to the ones posted below:

VULNERABILITY - Sometimes we get so caught up in the last minute details and planning and often leave out God. Pray that as we finish up our last minute lesson plans and itinerary, we would understand that God has the ability to change our expectations unexpectedly when we are actually in Thailand. Pray that we would decrease and that God would increase throughout the duration of the trip.

RELATIONSHIPS - Because we will only be in Thailand for 18 days, it is easy to forget that we have a responsibility to pray for Thailand and to keep the kids accountable even after we leave. Pray that we will have a long-term missions mindset, that we would understand our roles as sowers of the seed, but it is He who will grow their hearts.

Thank you for all of your support so far!

"Taste and see that the LORD is good." -Psalm 34:8

I pray that God will use us as waiters to serve this good news to the Thai people.

-Rochelle

T-minus 3 days until departure!

First of all, I want to thank you for all your generosity and support whether through prayers or funds thus far! It has all been very encouraging and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me and my teammates as we head off for Thailand. 

In terms of planning for this trip, our team has been a little behind. Because of the political unrest, there had been uncertainty of whether or not we would still proceed with this trip. It has also been hard for us to plan ahead. However, prayer is powerful and God is the one that is ultimately in control. There has been some positive news about the conditions in Thailand!

This is an update from missionaries that are currently in Northern Thailand, ChiangMai.

From Buzz & Ruthi Curtis in ChiangMai: “1. Ruthi and I are well and safe during these coup days. The Thai Army has done a quick and good job of bringing order and peace back to the streets. Anxiety is not an issue these days as it was over the last half year when the two factious sides could not get to any agreements. The General in charge has swiftly arrested those who had been involved in instigating riots and division and damage over the months, stashes of weapons have been found too. The past government is now out completely and the protesting side which has gone somewhat corrupt also has been banned due to rioting charges. The curfew has been almost lifted and calm is present. Praise God.”

Also, curfews have been lifted in more provinces!

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/thai-military-junta-lifts-curfew-20-provinces-24072421

As of now, we have been planning lesson plans in teaching groups. We have planned games, activities, and lessons that work on pronunciation, spelling, or comprehension. Aside from teaching English, we are also planning to visit some villages on the weekends. 

As you can see, prayer is powerful and God does answer prayers. So I ask that you guys will continue to join me in prayer as we prepare for departure!

Things you can pray for:

-Focus: Pray that we will constantly keep God as the center throughout our trip. 
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV)
I think this verse is the prayer we need. Whether everything is going smoothly or there are hardships, we still need to seek and depend on God because we alone cannot do anything.

-Boldness: Pray that we will all put aside our fears and have faith that God will use us even in the littlest ways. Pray that we will be able to build relationships with the students and to share our own experiences  that will show them how God has been working in our lives.

-Our Team: Pray that we will have unity throughout the trip! There are four first timers (including me) and the rest are returners. Pray that we will build each other up throughout the trip. 

Also, pray for safe travel and good health throughout the trip. We have a lot of layovers and traveling (to villages and the school). Currently, a few of us are sick; so pray that God will bring healing and that we can maintain our health and energy throughout the trip!

Thank you again for all your support ♡♡♡ !

Meet our (whole) team!

Thank you for supporting and praying for us :)

Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

Colossians 3:14

Leaving for Thailand in t-minus 4 days!!

These last three months have been absolutely crazy and so insanely busy, but in that time I’ve managed to finish Spring quarter, finish my second year at UCI, move home (for literally 24 hours), and attend LTC with my fellow AACF brothers and sisters from all over the West Coast! I want to share so so so much about how amazing the last 7 days were at LTC, but I’ll have to save that for another post on my personal blog!
To be completely honest, this year I don’t think I was able to send out as many prayer letters as I would have liked/should have sent out. I probably sent out a total of 50 or so letters, which is on the lower end of numbers I should have had. Spring quarter became ridiculously busy and I was literally buried in so many things to do in terms of school, work, AACF, and church. I didn’t get the chance to ask as many people to partner in being prayerful for my team, BUT with that said, it’s not too late for me to ask you to partner with me in prayer for my trip to Thailand!!
This week at LTC, I was reminded that I need to seek God in prayer before I do anything. Our God is such a BIG God and we can go before him with BIG prayers. I’ve come to be reminded that when we pray BIG prayers, we are saying that “God, you have all control and I have faith that you can and may answer things that are completely crazy and impossible.”
Some things that you can definitely be praying for include:

• PREPARATION: If there’s anything that needs to be prepared, it’s our hearts. Pray that our hearts will be in a place where we will be completely ready to serve God and His people in Thailand. Moreover, we are still in the works of finishing some last minute things with our teaching lesson plans! So prayer that we would finish those plans and be ready to teach English to the students!

• CONFIDENCE: It’s seriously so exciting that I get to return to Thailand this year, but I think that there is nervousness is not knowing how God will allow me to make His name known. Pray that I’ll be confident that the Holy Spirit is alive and moving in me, and that my conversations with the Thai students will lead to opportunities to show Christ’s faithfulness, goodness, and love for them!

• OPPORTUNITY: Pray for opportunities to come up for us to have intentional conversations with students and be able to share why we come to Thailand! Pray that we’ll be equipped with words and life experiences and testimonies of how God has changed our lives and caused us to want to come to Thailand to share of His love.

• TEAM UNITY: I love my team! We are such a unique group this year, especially with a high number of girls and low number of guys hahaha but really, please pray that as we spend the next (almost) three weeks together, we will build each other up, be encouraging towards one another, and be sensitive to each other during the trip. 

• JOY: I don’t know about you, but when things get hard, it’s extremely hard to be joyful, but joy is the exact thing that God has been teaching me this entire year. Pray that on the hard days, the maybe discouraging ones, that I would choose to be joyful because I have been saved by the Gospel, and true joy has been found in salvation! 

Wooooowz, that was a long post, but one that was completely necessary. I hope that you will pray for my team and I as we are leaving for Thailand later this week! I’m extremely thankful that God has allowed me to return to Thailand and has also provided more than enough financial support to send me on this trip! The Lord has been so good and has provided beyond what I really needed! Praise the Lord!!
Lastly, if you would like more details about my trip and a copy of my actual support letter, email me at joycejlam@gmail.com and I would love love love to send you a copy! And last lastly (I don’t know if that makes sense oops), we’re leaving Thursday night from FCBC, so feel free to come love on our team and send us off from FCBC to LAX at 9 pm! :)
Thanks again for reading and for praying! I am thankful for you! ♡ 
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20, NIV)
here am I, send me.

-Joyce