Video Diary - Deb

We had technical difficulties uploading this video while we were away but I decided to try again coz I think it is worthwhile watching (albeit a bit long - sorry!!).

*half an hour later* Hmm, still some technical difficulties, it seems - the picture seems to go at double speed, while the audio goes at normal speed, so you only get half of what I said! We'll see if we can fix it up. In the meantime, enjoy "episode one"!

On our last night in Bangkok...

At our farewell dinner with our new Thai and Filipino friends, I asked Eden and Bessy, "When we get home, what would you like us to tell our congregation?" Their responses were very encouraging...

Bessy: Tell them to come! And stay! We need you!!

Eden: When we have short-termers come, we feel refreshed, like a glass of iced water. We feel encouraged. We've been here a long time, and it helps bring us back to our calling.

Please don't doubt that our presence in Bangkok for a short-time is a valuable contribution to the work God is doing there!!

Quote from Kob (a.k.a. Hope)

"Our country, from north to south, east to west, is covered by Satan. So I'm sad."

- Kob (a.k.a. Hope), converted as a result of the work of the International Teams missionaries here, and now studying at Bangkok Bible Seminary & working at Sampat Chiwit Church

 Ok, after over 10 attempts at putting up a couple of vids for you and the net failing us, here's a very quick recap of the past few days in pictures.

After our most hectic day teaching at Wijit school, we were asked to be a part of the 'children's day' celebrations there on the Friday.  Children's day is celebrated throughout Thailand, though we were uncertain as to its origins.  We were asked to be involved in games and handing out treats to the kids.  An indication of how much they appreciated our teaching was a dance performed for us by students.  We're pictured here with the performers.

Annette being mobbed by kids at Children's day.

Matt & Ollie with a few of our night students, most of whom were non-Christians.  This was probably our best opportunity for good conversations with people.

Yesterday we had a sight seeing tour or the King's palace.  It was a mindblowing experience, but also very sad looking at the way in which so many people are enslaved in the idolatry of Buddhism.  

Deb with her sparkly new hair at Chatachuk markets - some of the biggest markets in the world!

Ollie preaching with Chatchai translating at the morning service.  Ollie did a fantastic job, preaching with boldness and sensitivity.

Us with Chatchai and his family.  We've loved spending time with these incredible servants of the Lord and it'll be very sad to say goodbye to them.

Quick update and apology

Sorry for the slackness in updating over the last couple of days.  We've got another vid but we're having net problems so will have to wait till the morning to upload.  Today was a great day getting to know this amazing city better with a trip to the King's Palace and Chatachuk markets.  We're pretty wrecked now, and have a full day in the morning so heading for bed.

Thanks - Steve

More from Matt

Hi guys, just a bit of an update on things here in Bangkok. Yes, we've been in the schools and it's been a pretty tough slog. Air pollution and the language barrier have made it somewhat difficult to communicate simple things like shoes and socks to school kids. We banded together and got through today and we feel much better for it. 

I have really been blessed by these past few days. The trip Steve and I took up to the northern outskirts of Bangkok to Peun's (pronounced Pern) church was really amazing. It was great to take a ride through the city and into a small part of what could almost be described as country side to an amazing little church lead by a pastor with a big vision for planting churches in Bangkok. Peun has 2 sister churches planted and would like to plant another 8 in the next 10 years. He has a real love for God and a longing for his fellow Thai people to come to Christ. Peun had an American missionary working for him named Chris. This guy was pretty awesome. He packed up his stuff at the age of 26 and he and his pregnant wife and 1 1/2 year old daughter moved to Thailand to work in the church. It opened my eyes to how obedient some people are to God's calling. It was great to talk to him and get another westerner's opinion on mission work, particularly long term mission work, in Thailand.

I taught English at the English centre tonight and found it a lot easier to deal with than going into the schools. Whilst some of the guys there knew less English, they were a little more eager to learn and a little more responsive than the kids. The fact that I had a class of 4 also made it a tad bit easier. My lessons went well topped off by the fact that I was able to talk very openly and tell these 4 people about the love of God and about salvation through Christ. I was able to talk and give a small part of my testimony and tell them that Jesus loves them and they have no reason to be afraid of him because he loves them. 2 of these people were Buddhist's and one girl was a Muslim. I talked them through the Gospel and invited them to come back tomorrow so we could talk more and then come to the church service on Sunday. All this came about because of a picture with yellow writing on it. The picture was of mountains and the yellow writing was a prayer. When one of the ladies asked me what a prayer was, I figured I had nothing to lose. Please pray for Kan, Poy, O and Tanya. Tanya is a Christian and was really helpful in translating. I know you don't know them, but please pray for them and I know God is in control of the rest. Also please pray for all of us that we get more opportunities to talk openly about Jesus. We have found it a little frustrating not being able to talk more to the kids, but we understand that our job going into the schools is not really to evangelise, but to help strengthen the relationships that the long term missionaries in the area have already built.

This trip has opened my eyes to so many aspects of my life. It has made me assess my place in the world and what I hold important in my life. It has made me think a lot more about mission work and it's importance. It's humbled me and strengthened me at the same time. I am so blessed to be able to do this.

It's a bit sad to think that we only have three more days to go over here. We have a great day in the schools tomorrow and then Saturday we are going to work with Chatchai in the local area again and then maybe go to the King's Palace for a look. Sunday is the 2 church services and we fly home Monday. Whilst it will be sad to go it will be great to get home because I am missing my girls dearly. Talking to them on the phone the other day was amazing. I look forward to blogging again in the next couple of days. Please continue to pray for us in these last few days. Your prayers have been a blessing and we all thank you.

God Bless

Matt

School Work

Ok, so it's funny on many levels, but here's an idea of some of what we've been up to!

English Day Camp #2 - Wijit School

We've had an exhausting but rewarding day today. It was our first day at Wijit School - a government school in a Muslim neighbourhood. We were met in our lobby by Somsak (the teacher who had come to church on Sunday), and we walked with him about 1km to the school through an extremely poor neighbourhood, made up of tiny ramshackle dwellings built over fairly pungent, stagnant water. It was pretty confronting.

The school seemed significantly poorer than Chamchan School, which we visited yesterday - there seemed to be only a fairly small concrete quadrangle for the kids to play in, and it was not terribly clean. We were given breakfast when we arrived - which we hadn't been expecting, so most of us had already eaten! But we still managed to make a pretty good effort with the Pad See Yu (flat rice noodles) that was served up.

We had the high school students in the morning - about 250 of them. We began all together in the hall, where Somsak led the kids in a song to the tune of "When the Saints Go Marching In", which convinced us all that we were very welcome there! The lyrics went like this (and the kids sang with gusto!):_

Oh English camp

Oh English camp

Oh English camp make us happy

We all enjoy to be together

Oh English camp make us happy!

We then taught them Colin Buchanan's "10, 9, 8, God is Great!", which they really got into. They seemed highly amused by Matt and Steve's dancing style!

After this, we all split up and each took one group to our assigned teaching "stations" to drill the kids on different topics, like colours, numbers, clothing, transport, animals, etc. I scored big - I got a room to myself, with air conditioning! I felt very sorry for the guys, who were out in the warm, muggy quadrangle competing with each other's noise. By lunch time we were throat-sore and tired, and were pleased to retreat to the air-conditioned teacher's dining room for a delicious lunch. Steve and I then nipped off to a nearby supermarket for Red Bull and throat lozenges to help us through the afternoon.

We basically did the same routine in the afternoon, but this time with primary aged kids. It was a bit of a struggle - it's incredibly exhausting coping with the unfamiliar climate, language, setting, culture, and constantly projecting your voice to engage with hundreds of school kids with apparently boundless energy! But we made it. The day ended with us all trooping back into the hall, where we were thanked and presented with beautiful presents. It's amazing to see how much they appreciate what we were doing today. The Director (Principal) of the school made a speech to open the English Day Camp at the beginning of the day, in which she spoke about Thai people needing to learn English because it's now the language of the world.

We were a bit frustrated at not being able to share more of the gospel, but as several of the IT missionaries and Thai Christians have told us, evangelism requires long-term relationship here - trust must be built before people will listen to the good news. Bessie told us that it's fine to teach Christian songs - but don't write the lyrics on the board because the Buddhist monks might come by and see it and get angry. And the fact that we were in a Muslim neighbourhood (literally in the shadow of a large mosque) made it more sensitive as well. But we were assured that our presence here does help with the ministry of the long-term missionaries, by helping them make new contacts and enabling them to offer something that is really valued (i.e. practicing English with native English speakers) to the schools and local people in general.

Matt, Ollie, Annette and Amy are at the church teaching ESL classes tonight. There will probably be some of the same people there who have turned up for the past 2 nights.

Tomorrow, we'll be back at Wijit School for a Children's Day celebration. This is a big event in Thailand - it's actually on Saturday, but the schools celebrate it on Friday. I haven't yet been able to figure out the history or significance of it, but it seems that all over the country, all sorts of treats and fun things are organised for kids. So we'll be manning an English stand at the Wijit school Children's Day, asking the kids questions in English and giving them a lolly or a clip-on koala if they get it right.

Update from Ollie

Thanks so much to those of you who have been praying for all of us sick people.  The last bit of this bug is finally dying - horray!  It’s been a long few days being so sick and pretty exhausting for Annette too trying to take care of her sick husband (what an amazing wife!).

I was pretty bummed to get so sick because I felt really excited to be here and get stuck into things, but God’s plans always aren’t always the same as mine hey.  It’s just been another of those lessons God teaches me that it’s not about ‘our’ or ‘my’ plans, but about his.  As my plans are ruined God is developing a real thirst in my heart for Jesus.

It’s been somewhat frustrating trying to communicate with people, let alone communicate the gospel.  But that’s not the only reason we’re here.  Because of the huge language and cultural barrier in short term missions, International Teams teach, in their training, that this trip about growing in Christ-likeness.  This is really liberating and gives greater overall value, I believe, to short term missions.  Part of growing more like Jesus is sharing the wonderful news of the gospel, but it’s also growing in other aspects of godly character.  At the moment, for me, that’s meant: seeking to grow in my own prayer life, patience and perseverance when I’m feeling physically and emotionally worn, humility in not being able to contribute much and feeling a little useless while being sick, and humility as I make mistakes accompanied with repentance as I learn how to love my wife, mission team and those in Bangkok better.  Praise God for his lavish grace!

Last of all, thanks again for all your wonderful support, prayers and letters.  It’s such a blessing to be in partnership with you from the other side of the world.  We’re excited to see how many people have been checking out the blog and getting excited about God’s mission for this lost world.

With love in Christ,

Ollie (& Annette).

These prayer houses are everywhere - this one is in the lobby of the apartments we are staying in.

Awesome way to get to the school, and a bit dangerous on Bangkok roads. 

Deb was loving the opportunity to teach kids.

Receiving gifts from the school principle after the english classes.

Day 5 Update

Yesterday saw 5 of us still recovering from the stomach bug which meant Matt and I headed off with Pastor Chatchai and his mate Ken to visit a Church on the outskirts of the North of Bangkok.  It was an interesting taxi ride, but despite getting lost we ended up visiting a lady who was converted through Chatchai before checking out the Church run by Pastor Peun and his staff.  It was great to hear of his vision for Church planting in the area and the effectiveness of the Gospel amongst university students in particular.  With him was a guy named Chris - an american missionary who has been here for 2 years with his wife and daughter.  Chatting with him was great for understanding what it's like to be a longer term missionary over here.  The guy has guts, and obedience, and it was really inspiring to hang with him.  We checked out a local university with him and some of the students before heading back via a trip to visit a sick man in hospital.  

Last night was the beginning of our english night classes.  We only had 7 students in total but of them 6 were non-Christians.  This is a great opportunity and we're really really excited to be able to hang out with them over the next 3 nights - they seem quite open to hearing about Jesus from us so please be praying!  After our evening debrief, we then collapsed into our beds, ready for a 6:30 start the next morning.

'Mail Call' every morning is a highlight.  Our mentors have arranged for a number of letters to be written to us by friends - many of them surprises.  It's awesome starting the day knowing that you're not in this alone - we have heaps of support from back home.  Thanks guys, each one of them has been a great blessing!  

Matt hanging out with students on campus.  Behind him in the red shirt is Chris, the american missionary.

This shows the influence of the west - a portrait of the founder of the university.  Check out the attire & pipe!

Deb teaching the 'V' sound to students at the learning centre.

Day 5 Video Diary: Team

Health Update

Hi guys,

Thank you SO much to those who have been praying. Amy, Steve and I are feeling much better and are hoping that with a good rest overnight we will be back to good health in the morning. Ollie has started to be on the mend, but is still sick. We are expecting him to recover further tomorrow. Praise God for the recovery we have made so far and pray for Ollie in particular that he would get some good rest tonight.

Much love,

Kel x

God is good!

Well, thankfully we've been able to have a very restful day today and look after our sick team members. Chatchai came to visit this morning, and suggested that we call Janet, a lady we had met at church yesterday, who is a pharmacist. We called and she told me about some antibacterial medication that I could buy over the counter at a chemist, and about a nearby chemist that Chatchai could take us to.

So we were able to get a few days worth of medication (medicine is much cheaper over here!!), and Chatchai assured us it was fine to just rest up today. We had planned to take a trip to the King's Palace and a market, as a cultural experience, which he seemed very keen to take us on - but he assured us that he was more worried about our health.

Eden also came to visit, and she came with me and Matt to a nearby eatery where we had some really yummy crispy pork and crispy skin duck with vegetables and rice - about $2 all up, with a Pepsi included!! We're loving the food here - although it sounds as though Kel's going to be significantly less adventurous from now on, possibly sticking to stuff from the 7-11 across the road. :o)

Day 3 Video Diary: Amy & Kelly

Sorry guys, this one was meant to go up last night but there were some net issues.  And yeah, it's Amy & Kel, not Ollie, just before getting hit with the gastro bug.

Post from Matt!

Hi guys, well we have settled in somewhat to our very unfamiliar surroundings. We have eaten foods that our mum's would never have allowed and ridden busses that would not even get a look in to passing rego in Australia. We have met with some of the most amazing and welcoming people, particularly Pastor Chatchai and his family. We have attended two church services, both very different, but conducted with all praises to Jesus. It amazes me how truly thankful the people are here for the love of Jesus. Their lives all revolve around their salvation, and their work and lifestyle demonstrate a true understanding of their salvation from sin.

We have had some great experiences already. The food has been interesting to say the least. The street stalls are full of interesting looking meats and vegetables. We even saw a stall last night that was selling frogs to eat. I wanted to try it, but could hear my wife's voice in my head saying, 'Don't put that anywhere near your mouth Matthew!' So we kept walking. Unfortunately some of the exotic food has taken its toll on a couple of our team, with some dodgy dinner giving pretty bad gastro to Steve, Amy, Kel and Ollie. Please be praying for these guys recoveries and also pray that we have no more health issues.

Personally I have been taught a great deal from these people. Pastor Chatchai and his whole church are so committed to God's work that it is refreshing, and while their church service went for 2 1/2 hours, the praise and worship, and prayer times made the service really special. The church building is really tiny and with an extra 7 Australian's added to the service it was a packed house. Yet while these people may have little in the way of material possessions they are so willing to give. They are generous with their money, their time and will put off things or stay up longer that they really want, just to spend time with us. This has really made me stop and look at the way I live my life. I really pray that what I'm witnessing will stay with me when I get home and I pray that God will change me to serve in the same way.

I'm also seeing a nation of lost souls. Talking to Pastor Chatchai's son Pure this morning, I asked what is done with the food that is left as offerings at all the shrines around the streets. He said that some people will come back later and eat the food or they will just let it rot. They leave things like bottles of soft drink with a straw in it as an offering to their god and this is to bring them blessings. This is a nation of lost souls. So many of them have never even heard of Jesus and from the testimony of Pastor Chatchai's wife Sofia, simply hearing about a God that loves them personally and that they are saved by grace alone has the power to change lives instantly. Can I ask everyone to stop and pray right now as you read this, pray for this country of Thailand, that they can come out of the darkness, that they will see that there is a God that loves each one of them and that we can only enter heaven through a relationship with Jesus. Please do this as this is a country where drugs, prostitution and idolatry run rife and the name of Jesus is unheard of by so many people. At least in Australia everyone has at least heard the name of Jesus and can make up their mind whether they want to know more. These people don't even have that.

I feel truly blessed to be over here doing this. To the people at home that helped me with financial support I thank you so much. To everyone that is continually praying for us, thank you also, it means a great deal to all of us here. We are all really enjoying our time here (apart from the sickness) and are learning so much. Thank you again and I'll write again soon

God Bless

Matt

Prayer Request

Four of our team have gone down with bad diarrhoea and vomiting overnight (Steve, Ollie, Kelly & Amy). So far I think Annette & Matt are OK, and I'm fine. We were scheduled to do some sight-seeing in Bangkok today, visit the king's palace and a market - so as far as ministry, it's probably the best day for half of us to be bed-ridden! But it's still pretty frustrating, and miserable for the sick ones.

Please pray that they'll get well quickly. These things often pass within 24 hours - but we were all tending to feel tired already, and a day of sickness won't help!!

Sampat Chiwit Church Sunday Service

We attended the Sunday service at Sampat Chiwit Church this morning. Some elements of the service were quite familiar (singing, praying, communion, sermon), but others were quite foreign to us (bilingual singing, everyone praying at the same time, everyone holding hands in little groups while praying, the sermon being translated into Thai). For most of the songs they had both Thai and English lyrics on the screen, so we sang in English while the locals sang in Thai. For a couple there was only Thai - but it was transliterated, so we were able to sing it in Thai. We had no idea what we were singing, but it was still lovely to be able to sing with our Thai brothers and sisters! The service went for about 2 1/2 hours, but it didn't feel nearly that long!!

Annette gave her testimony, which was really well received. We performed "Mighty to Save" as an item, which also went down really well. We hope to practice with the local music team during the week so that they can lead the congregation in that song next week. Steve preached, with Chatchai doing most of the interpreting, and a couple of the young guys chiming in from the sidelines when there was something he didn't know how to translate. Kelly was asked to join Eden for the kids' program, and when they got upstairs, Eden surprised her by saying to Kelly, "You teach them!". They ended up playing some games, and Kelly read them a Bible story and talked to them about it.

There was also an Iranian family visiting, which added to the cultural experience. They were sitting behind Steve and me so we spoke to them a fair bit. They are living in London, and in Bangkok for a holiday. They met Chatchai a few days ago and decided to come to church today. What really blew me away was that we had been talking about how lost and dark Bangkok (and the whole of Thailand) is - but when this Iranian guy was asked to come up the front and tell us what he would like prayer for, he asked for prayer that his country would become as free as Thailand!! Iran is a very tough place for Christians to live.

After the service we ate lunch together, during which some members of the Filipino church that we had been invited to attend this afternoon asked if one of us could give a testimony, and perform Mighty to Save again.

We met with one of the teachers from Wijit School, where we'll be spending Thursday and Friday, and talked about our plans for those days. Eden teaches at JamJan School, so we talked about plans for that school as well.

We had thought that we would be running the women's and youth groups this afternoon, but we found out after church that they've been cancelled this week because of the New Year holiday - so we'll be doing the activities we had planned next week.

So we're now back at our apartments for a short rest, before heading out to the Filipino church. We're not sure where the church is, what we'll be asked to do up front there, or when we're likely to get home! But I think we're all getting accustomed to that kind of uncertainty. :o)

Could you please pray for Chatchai and Sofia's daughter, Praise? She was hospitalised last night, apparently vomiting blood. Chatchai and Sofia don't seem too concerned - apparently it has happened before. But it would be good if you could pray for her.

Day 2 Diary Room: Ollie

Well, the adventure has truly begun! We had a restful day yesterday, taking a walk around the area we are staying, hanging out on the roof of our apartment building and getting a little insight into the culture and people we are serving over here in Bangkok. We tried out some local cuisine, braving some side street food stalls for lunch and dinner, and were pleasantly surprised! By 10pm we were ready for bed! Amy, Debbie and I got up just before midnight. We went to the rooftop where we have a 360 degree view of the whole city of Bangkok. At midnight, the fireworks were one of the most incredible sights I have ever seen! They were lighting up the sky in every direction, we didn't know where to look! It was a wonderful way to welcome in the New Year.

Today we met with Pastor Chatchai, his wife Sophia and their children Pure and Praise. We caught a bus to their church (Sampat Chiwit Church). We were surprised to see that it was like a shopfront that was being used as a church. Chatchai, Sophia and a church worker, Hope, shared their testimonies. Sophia's testimony in particular struck me to the core! She grew up as a devout Bhuddist and only heard about Jesus when she was 25. She said that it was sweetness to her soul t hear that there was a God who loved her, but was saddened that no one had told her about Jesus for 25 years. It really struck me that there is such a great need for people to hear about Jesus. How can they be saved if they have never heard?

After sharing a meal together we went witnessing with Pastor Chatchai, Sophia, Pure and Hope. They regularly walk around the streets and local communities, meeting people and handing out Gospel tracts. Today we also invited people to the English Lessons for next week, which will be run in the church. Steve took this photo above as we came across the poorest people we have met so far. Going into this slum was a unique experience. I cant really describe the way I felt when we were talking to these people who were so incredibly poor, and were being kicked out of these tattered homes that they had to make way for a new high rise, walking over planks of wood and sheets of metal that were once people's homes.

Seeing whole families on the one scooter is quite common in Bangkok. I was talking to the girl sitting in front of her mum. I had learned to say, "Sawadee be mai ka" meaning Happy New Year. I'm not sure if she was happy or just laughing at my attempt to speak Thai! It is amazing to see how friendly the Thai people have generally been.

At the end of our witnessing we visited this lady who is a friend of Chatchai's. Her son had gone to the church's English classes and used to go to their church, but has since back slid. Please pray for her and her family that God would reveal himself to them and that they would be saved.

In this photo you see Chatchai, Sophia, Ollie and Deb handing out tracts on the street. After 1 1/2 hours of this, only 5 people had refused to take a tract from me. I was surprised with how open these people were to us. It was a stark difference to Australians, whom many would not give you the time of day. It was easy to be bold in this situation, and challenged me to think how bold i am back home. There are people who need to know that Jesus loves them. We need to be passionate about doing God's work.

We walked past a house where there was music and people dancing. I 'might have' done a little dance jig thing as i walked past, and all the people ran out and starting dancing with us in the street! After a few attempted conversations and lots of photos, we moved on.

After going back to the church, Sophia showed us how to cook a traditional Pad Thai. It was absolutely delicious! It may be on the menu for future fundraisers... I am amazed with the way that God is working in me already, and look forward to the rest of the opportunities we will have this mission. Thank you for your love and prayers, we really appreciate them!

Much love and Happy New Year,

X Kel