Thursday, September 8, 2011
Lots has been going on
This blog has not been updated for a while but a lot has been happening. In August we had a team from the Covenant Chapel and a good time was had by all.
Some good friends of our ministry thought that the Shan kids would like to play basketball. Well, we had never seen them play basketball but since they were willing to provide a basketball court we thought that it would be interesting to see their response.
Here is their response:
Monday, April 11, 2011
Testimony from Elphia
I was here in Maesai in 2007 for my 1st mission trip to Northern Thailand. That time, Samuel Lim, a fellow Singaporean, was the missionary coordinating and sharing the Shan work in Maesai. I remembered him sharing something that striked my heart. He shared about giving his firstfruits to the Lord. He just finished from National Service in Singapore and was seeking the Lord for the will of his life. So he wanted to give his firstfruits, his youth, to the Lord for His work n His purpose. He planned to come for 3 months ST mission and God has other plans for him. In all, he stayed for about 4 years or so. I was challenged and started to ask questions about my faith and my obedience. Here I met a fellow Singaporean, who's so much different from the youth I know back home. Different in his priorities in life, his obedience, his sacrifice, his love for the Lord. What am I doing with my youth, my life? Am I truly seeking Him? Am I contented to serve my Lord within my comfort zone? If the Lord to put a burden on me, will I be obedient to follow?
I started praying and asking God to reveal His plans to me. I started preparing myself spiritually, emotionally and started to reading the Word of God more. I see how the Lord opens the way for me. In 2007 and 2008, God blesses me with 2 promotions at work. Which is a miracle cos it's not common to have a promotion back to back. Financially, I became more secured and started to save more money. I started to get my church n friends to pray for me. And I told my family and my church my plans to serve Him in the mission field for 2 years.
Consent from my mother was what I thought the most difficult and impossible. I was ready to even resign from my job as a teacher in Singapore. My mother was very unwilling to let me go to Northern Thailand all by myself at first. But God softened her heart. She saw my determination and eventually gave me her blessings. I took a 2-years-No-Pay-Leave to come serve as a Volunteer English teacher in Thailand. It's another impossible request made possible only by the hands of God. I wrote in to the ministry to apply for leave stating clearly n truthfully that the purpose of my leave is to serve God in mission in Thailand. It was approved! My principal from school told me that it's rare for the ministry to approve such excerptionally leave reason. So I knew immediately God is paving the way for me.
As I am writing this, I am concluding my service here in Maesai. In my heart, there's many mixed emotions. God has been so good to me these past 20 months. I have learnt so many valuable lessons from Him. Some of the lessons are not so pleasant but each one of them helps me to grow more in Him and my heart fulls n overpours with thanksgiving and gratitude.
I will take home with me every single precious memories, experiences, the smiling faces of the people here. I thank God for His faithfulness, His love, His comfort. Being my best friend and the Father I missed.
Lord Jesus. I love you. And I thank you. I want to follow you for the rest of my life. Thank you for your love and giving me my identity in you. I am a beloved child of God. You are my Lord, my Father, my Saviour. May every living creature on this earth praise and give honour to you and your Name. Amen.
In Christ, elphia
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Youth Camp "End of Age"
Camp Group Picture
Team Alaska flew 26 hours to reach us here in Maesai to bless us with their joy and their love!
The team taught the children English vocabulary and shared the Gospel using the "wordless book" and also taught the children to make friendship bands, hair-ribbons, designed their own Tshirts and played lots of fun games! Hip Hip Hooray! All the children with the Team Alaska and their own designed Tshirts! Colleen and the kids. The Team Alaska were requested to sign on the Tshirts of the children!
Eye Clinic for the Shan
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Mae Fah Luang's here to teach, play n have fun!
Children's Day
We put up 2 performaces and one of them we use a Christian song that we put up during the Christmas celebration. It's about our Lord Jesus Christ, coming to the world in a manger and dying for us. The children sang and danced to the songs. Many parents were there at the clebration too. We were very excited to be able to share the good news of Jesus through the performance. Praise the Lord for such an opportunity to sow His seeds in a public place.
This is a Grade 2 performance. Most of them are kids from our after-school programme in NJ village.
The children singing to the song and Thai teachers helping us to encourage the children to sing Louder! Ken is playing the song.
On the 9th January, we also had a small celebration at our new centre in NJ. I am teaching the song "Jesus Loves All Little Children". Then we have games and gifts exchanges.
We had the kids lined up to give out the gift. Then we saw the long line of children. Some of the children came in halfway. Some of them heard the laughter n the songs n came in to join us for the 1st time. Ken commented that we might not have enough for every kid. What should we do? My 1st immediate response was "give to those who came early for the programme". Then immediately after that, I heard a voice that say, "Jesus can use 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread to feed 5000. He can do that now too." I told Ken about it and by faith, we just gave each child a pack. And not surprising, every child got a pack and we have 2 left over which I walked out to the street and gave them away to 2 children. Jesus taught us an important lesson that day. He is our Jehovah Jireh and we need to trust in Him. Praise the Lord!
Jesus said "Let the littlechildren come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." matthew 19: 14.