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.
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