Thinking back to those last days in Thailand

We're officially back in the swing of things at home.  It's taken some time to get over jet lag and integrate into "the norm".  To be quite honest, the hardest struggle has been to not return to normal, but to remain changed.  We all experienced something exceptional in Thailand.  (And I'm not referring to 50 C.) We were able to "be" and not always "do".  We were able to connect even when language wasn't on our side.  We heard people share stories of God's hand in their lives and we shared ours without reservation.  We learned the joy of living in simplicity.  At home we have so much, yet we tend to get wrapped up in many things that mean so little.  So I hope that if you're reading this, you'll ask us about our experience and challenge us to continue changing and growing.

Our last 3 days in Chachoengsao were spent leading teen camp.  This was a great group of young people.  We started out the week discussing Spiritual Gifts.  Everyone filled out at questionnaire and then tallied the results to see what their gifts were (kind of like a career aptitude test you take in school.)  It was fun to watch everyone start to 'tweek' into their strengths and the strengths of their friends.
Our next topic was being part of God's family.  We emphasized how everyone has a biological / earthly family, but we also have a family under God and we are part of His family tree.  Since we were leaving that evening, it was a great ending topic.  Our physical separation from them doesn't  mean we are no longer connected.  It was also the perfect opportunity to share a 'Life in Manitoba' video that Darcy put together (clips of both of our families doing various outdoor activities, mainly in winter.  The Thai people get a real kick out of snow.)  
Some of the other activities for that week included baking apple crisp, manicures for the girls, games for the boys and a swimming party (which, unfortunately, we had to miss since we were heading back home.  Wendy and Darcy lead the camp on their own for Thursday and Friday.)  We also had a ton of fun singing together. A huge highlight was learning "Chewy, Chewy".  A fun Thai song that became a fast favourite for all us westerners.  (I've got a video if anyone wants to see it.)

Teen camp (with a few pre-teens)

Manicures

 

Making apple crisp

Eating apple crisp

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boat taking Camille on her first motorbike ride

Our time in Chachoengsao ended with a prayer of sending and many tears.  We were very blessed to have met so many special people.  Thank you to Sandy, Rebecca, Dave, Louise, Koi, Knot, Benz, Boat, Nan, Ajan Nat and so many others for blessing us with memories we will never forget and hearts that will remained changed.

Dave, Louise, Sandy & Rebecca (Our fearless leaders)

Knot & Koi (thanks for showing us all that Chachoegnsao has to offer)

Nan, Boat & Benz (ministry interns and tireless translators)

Ajan (Pastor) Nat (she tells it like it is!)

Departing from the Bangkok airport

Weekend in Chonburi

After finishing up our kid's camp on Friday, we shared 'Thai fast food' (everyone gets a small bag of sticky rice. Platters of sliced chicken and pork are put on a communal table.  Everyone has a skewer, and you help yourself to meat as you please.) Then we celebrated Good Friday.  (Bethel Church pushed Easter celebrations back a week because the pastors were all away at a retreat during the calendar Easter weekend. Easter is not a recognized holiday in Thailand, so altering the dates works.)  The service consisted of watching portions of The Passion of the Christ.  An incredibly moving and brutally explicit movie.  It's heartbreaking to know what Jesus did for us. The service was very emotional and ended with, Sai (one of the youth girls that we have come to know), giving her life to Christ.  Pretty incredible!

Our Saturday morning started with an early Songthaew (an adapted pick up truck with open air seats in the back) ride to Chonburi (about an hour from Chachaengsao).  Our goal was two-fold.... to visit ALH and to have some down time.

Abundant Life Home is an orphanage for HIV positive kids.  It was founded by Karen and Ricky Sanchez (another couple who came to Thailand in 2000).  It is a beautiful campus consisting of individual homes, a central, open-air gathering space, a huge basketball court and an amazing play structure.  Each home houses a family unit (house mom or dad and up to 6 kids).  These kids are happy.  They are loved, challenged and they are thriving.
Our group was able to spend a few hours helping with some landscaping work.  It was ridiculously hot (I don't think I've ever sweat that much in my life), but we were able to clean up the boulevard outside the campus and plant some new trees.  (Props to Jason, the resident property manager, who does this type of work every day.)

 

 

In the evening we joined the Sila church for their evening worship service and then spent a few hours visiting with Ricky.  It was great to hear about his many Thailand experiences.
Sunday was a day of rest and relaxation.  It was also the hottest day of the year in Thailand.  We spent part of the day by the pool and the remainder of it at a very nice (airconditioned!) mall.  Poor Peyton got very sunburned and now glows in the dark.  (I know the Thai word for 'white foreigner', but I haven't learned the word for 'red foreigner.')
It was a great mini-get away before prepping and leading teen camp.

VBS in Action

This week has been filled with teaching VBS (Vacation Bible School aka Kid's Club).  We run 3 programs per day.  The Dyck family leads the Klong Jao group and the Ens family runs the Bethel group in the morning.  In the afternoon we combine efforts and lead the group at Knott and Koi's house.
The kids we are working with are great.  Klong Jao is a local slum.  One of the families allows us to use their space as our teaching area.  The structure is basic.  A dirt floor, tin roof and make shift walls. People and animals all share.  Your kitchen is your garage is your living room...etc.  (Our girls have become quite enamored with the resident pig. They've named him Ollo.)  We've also become enamored with the kids. They come to VBS each day eager to learn, sing and play. They may have no material possessions, but they have joy and spirit. Their favourite game this week has been Duck, duck goose, however we didn't know the translation for duck, duck goose, so we used animals we knew in Thai.  Gai, gai hmu (pronounced moo) translates to chicken, chicken pig. It's a big hit!  We also pulled out the parachute today which was pretty exciting.
Our lesson each day consists of a 'Big Question' and a 'Big Answer'.  The stories, crafts and activities revolve around these. Here are the questions and answers for the week:
Monday - Who is Jesus?  He is the one true God who created everything.
Tuesday - Why can I trust Jesus?  I can look up to Him. He is my friend.
Wednesday - Why do I need Jesus?  Because of Him all good things happen.
Thursday - How can Jesus help me when I sin? When I do something wrong, he forgives me.
Friday - What does Jesus want me to do?  He wants me to tell others about Him.
Most of these kids have never heard about Jesus and Christianity.  It is all brand new to them. They are primarily Buddhist and so the concept of gods is not new, but having one true God who loves them is.
Our afternoon lesson is a repeat of the morning, just a new group of kids.  Our afternoon group is a very focused, studious group.  They come with their school bags, ready to take home any English or colouring sheets we give them.  We handed out clay at the end of one class and asked them to make their favourite animals.  EVERY child came back with their little sculpture the next day.  (No excuses with this bunch.)  The also love to learn all the English you can throw at them. It's very interesting to learn how the sounds of one language can be SO difficult in another.  R's, th's, sh's, t's are incredibly hard for the Thai people. (I won't even mention how difficult Thai sounds are for English people.)  But we all learn from each other.  It's a gift for everyone involved.
This week has been tiring and absolutely inspiring (and also incredibly sweaty!) 

Klong Jao

Camille feeding 'Ollo'

Making clay animals

Teaching some English
 

Listening to the Bible story of the day

 

Incredibly crafty!



Planning for VBS

The past week has been very eventful in terms of meeting new people, learning the culture and planning VBS (Vacation Bible School) programs that will start on Monday. Our goal is to teach the local kids about Jesus, while mixing in English lessons at the same time. Everyday for the next two weeks we will be doing a program in the morning and the evening. We will be talking about God, singing songs, doing crafts, playing games, and hopefully plant a seed that will grow into something bigger in these kids.

-Camille

Double Church Day

Yesterday we were able to attend 2 of the MB Mission church plants here is Chachoengsao.  In the morning we were in Bethel which is the Thai church and in the evening we attended Light House which is the Burmese church.  Both are wonderful, welcoming places with lots of energy and passion for Christ.  It is also nice to share a meal with everyone after the service. (Customary to both churches every Sunday.) The hospitality these churches show is inspiring!

Songkran - Thai New Year

For the last three days we have gotten to experience a Thai holiday called Songkran, which is the Thai new year. Songkran begun on April 13th in Chachoensgao, and will end tomorrow, but will move on to the next city and end up completely finishing in Bangkok. Traditionally, Songkran begun with people sprinkling water or putting powder on the faces of the elders as a blessing. Now it has turned into something much bigger and more exciting: a giant water fight. Everyone in the city prepares to get drenched during the Thai new year, as people will try to soak you at any opportunity they can get. Many people, including us, will pile into the back of a pickup truck with buckets of water and water guns, and spray people on the streets or in other passing cars. We filled a garbage can with water and had many water guns and containers to throw water at people with. It was one of my highlights of this entire trip so far; everyone had a blast when we would see another truck full of people pull up and have a huge water fight. There were also many laughs at the looks we would get from some people since we are basically the only Caucasian people in Chachoensgao!

 

Some people even put ice in their buckets to make their water freezing!



By the time we were done, everyone was soaked but had a huge smile on our faces. I wish we could have our own Songkran in Winnipeg!

-Camille

Who's who and What's what

Before we jump into our first mission focused blog, a bit of an overview so that our future references will make sense.
A quick lesson of the who's who and the what's what around here...
Dave & Louise have been in Thailand since 2000 with MB Missions. They were our first contacts here and will be co-directing the remainder of our time in Thailand. Dave & Louise have established numerous churches (including Beth-el church for the Thai people and Light House church for the Burmese people) as well as the out-reach ministries that occur at the Hope Centre. 

Sandy, who we will also refer to often, is another missionary in Chachoengsao. She has been in Thailand for 5 years and is another director of ours.  She runs the children and youth programs at Hope Centre as well as children's ministries in some of the local slums.

Koi (pronounced Goi) is the part-time Hope Centre administrator.  She also helps with programs at the Hope Centre.  She and her husband Not have felt called to open their home to a new church plant.  So this is another ministry that Dave and Louise are working on growing.

The ultimate goal of all the missionaries here is to develop relationships with the local people and to teach them about the love of Jesus. We are here to offer support in any way we can.
Today is our 3rd full day in Chachoengsao.  We arrived on Thursday afternoon after finishing up our vacation time in Phuket.  Our first stop was Dave & Louise's house (who actually live in Min Buri, about 30 minutes from the Hope Centre.) We visited, ate supper together and then headed to the Hope Centre.  The Hope Centre recently moved to a new building.  It has an open space with a small kitchen /laundry on the main floor and then offices, sleeping areas and a music room on the 2nd & 3rd floors.  And the biggest blessing...it is air conditioned!!

Wendy, Darcy and family arrived late Thursday night and are slowly working their way through the jet lag.  Thankfully everyone made it safe and sound.
On Friday we met with Dave & Louise to do an introduction and orientation.  We were also told to be ready to jump into action whenever necessary.  For example, we had to prepare a bible story skit for the youth program that night.  We also need to be ready to share testimonies of what God has done in our lives.  This doesn't mean a 20 minute overview of our Christian walk, but rather short stories of how we've experienced God's hand in our lives. Kevin shared a story about forgiveness for the youth that night. Participating in youth was a lot of fun.  The kid's ranged in age from 6-17 (typically only teenagers come, but because of the holiday season here in Thailand, many of the kid's brought younger siblings and cousin's).  We played games, did some baking, sang, shared our skit, listened to Pastor (Aja) Nat tell a bible story and shared supper. It's super entertaining trying to communicate when there is no commonality in language (thank goodness Dave & Louise are fluent in Thai and English.)

Saturday was a full day spent with Sandy and Koi.  They took us to an ancient Thai market in the morning.  Many new foods were tried.  Buying mangoes from the man on the boat was a highlight.  We then did a tour of Wat Sothon, the oldest and largest Buddhist temple in Chachoengsao. It's very interesting to watch the rituals performed and we're slowly learning more about Buddhism.  Across the street from the temple was a wonderful Gelati store, so we couldn't pass that up.

We then headed back to the Hope Centre for a short rest before the children's program in the slums.  Sandy leads this ministry and it's wonderful.  We arrived at an area of what we would describe as shanties built out of metal, wood and some concrete.  Kid's came running out to meet us offering hugs and greeting.  We set out mats on the dirt floor of one of the residences and spend time singing, sharing our skit (once again), telling a bible story, colouring, playing bingo and handing out snacks.  The kids were adorable and very excited.  It's amazing how much joy lives in such poverty.

And that catches you up until the events of today. (Sorry this blog was so long, but there was much to tell.)   Until tomorrow when we'll share about double church services and Songkran festival.