We have begun our third week of ministry in Thailand.  Below are several entries that have been written while we had little access to the internet.  Again, Thank you for your continue prayer for the team.

June 19, 2007- Tuesday

[Author: Marc Edwards]

            Today was our first day of ministry in Syrian.  Yesterday was spent in traveling by bus.  It took about six hours to get to Syrian.  The only interesting thing that occurred on the trip was that we had to change buses.  Since we were the first group of foreigners to reserve a bus as a group, the company decided to give us a better bus than we first started out with.  Usually people travel to Syrian over night so there is no need for air condition in the bus.  However, we had to travel during the day in order to get to Syrian on schedule. 

            For our ministry, the team visited three schools.  The schedule originally had only two schools, but yesterday during our bus trip, another school called requesting us to visit them.  The students would be staying after school to see us. The schools we visited consisted of two high schools and one university. At each school, there was about 500 to 600 students. With the first two schools, we were there for about two hours at each school. The first hour we presented our program that consisted of two songs, two skits, and two testimonies.  The second hour we broke the kids up into four different workshops aerobics, cooking, computers, and English.  At the final school, we only presented our program. 

June 17, 2007 – Sunday

[Author: Marc Edwards]

            Today the team participated in the Sunday morning worship service at Rom Phrakhun Baptist Center.  We sang some songs in Thai with their small congregation.  Laura Lee gave her testimony and I gave a short sermon on Matthew 14:22-27 about how Jesus is always near us in the storms of our life even though we may not always see Him.  I have been reading a Max Lucado book during the trip and was moved by what he written.  After one final meal at the Rom Phrakhun Baptist Center we headed to the airport to fly back to Bangkok.  Even though, our flight did not leave until 6:30 p.m. Thailand time, Pastor Reuel had to drop us off early in order to make the bus his wife and him were taking to Bangkok.  We arrived in Bangkok around 8:30 and had to do laundry in order to prepare for our trip to Syrian tomorrow.  Some us went to ICS while others went to the Ford’s and Weber’s houses.  Needless to say, it is late and we need to be up early to catch the vans which will take us to the bus stop for our trip to Syrian.

June 16, 2007 - Saturday

[Author: Rebekah Drum]

            Today was our fun day this week – to start with, we got to sleep in!  Then we headed to the beach for the day.  We went to a new beach, which Pastor Reuel and was nice because it had a lot of shade (for George and Dave), and plenty of sand so we could “safely” play in the waves.  Safety is pretty relative J.  Marc got his chest pretty scratched up after being thrown to the shore by a wave, and everyone was at least a little sunburnt.  Being the team member who thinks the least, I got the worst injury of the trip so far.  A few of us went to explore some sweet looking rocks.  This was all fun and games until I slipped, broke my toe, and had to go back to shore.

June 15, 2007 - Friday

[Author: Hannah Niday]

            Today was a very exciting day for our team!  We started off the day with elephant rides.  There were two to three on each elephant and we sat on bench-like seats that were strapped on.  There were an elephant with a baby that was only three days old!  We all rode in a line through the jungle for about an hour.  Afterward we bought bananas and fed the elephants.  It was a really fun experience for all of us!

            Our n0065t stop was the tsunami memorial.  We drove through villages that were destroyed by the tsunami.  When driving through, we saw a large boaty that was moved about one mile when the tsunami hit and it ran into its owners house.  It was very humbling to be standing on a beach that was “ground zero” of the tsunami’s destruction.  The memorial had pictures and names of some people who were killed.  Some names had flowers on them and some didn’t, but all were highly respected in the manner that it was presented.  I think I can speak for everybody when I say that it was an unforgettable experience being able to step foot on ground that was destroyed three years ago. 

June 13, 2007 - Wednesday

[Author: Laura Lee]

            Wednesday was our second day at the elementary school.  We started with our songs, special claps, and “The Mask” skit.  Shane explained the meaning of the skit, and Pastor Reuel translated.  After the assembly, we split into our different grades.  Leanne and Laura had first grade, Erin and Hannah had second, Andy and Sam had third, Diane and Stacy had fourth, Amy and Bekah had fifth, and Marc and Shane had sixth. 

            In first grade, Leanne and I reviewed greetings, colors, shapes, and body parts.  The kids enjoyed being quizzed and rewarded.  For lunch, our team went to a church member’s house.  We were served chicken and rice and fresh fruit.  The best thing about eating at their house was that the backyard had a fruit orchard.  Some of the new fruits included mangosteen, long kong, and lychees. 

            When we returned to the school the kids were ready for more action.  We started with a few more songs – the kids loved “Head and Shoulders,” and “The Chicken Dance.”  Our first game consisted of four relay teams racing to fill their bottle with water.  You could see the joy on the children’s faces as they took turns filling their cup and running to the bottles, dumping their cups, and running back.  In our second game the kids second game the kids raced to dribble the ball in and out of the obstacles (us!).  we took a break from the hot, Thailand sun and sang more songs.  For the last game, we did a water balloon toss.  We left for the church after handing out snacks and saying our goodbyes. 

            Close to the church, there is an open market.  We all went and walked around before dinner.  Some vendors sold junk, some sold clothes and jewelry, some snacks and food, and others sold meat.  There were many vendors but all sold a variation of one of the four items.  The most interesting would be the food.  The meat row had stands of fresh fish, live snails, and pig faces (yes – the skin off the face of a pig – I guess it is a delicacy ?!?). 

            I don’t remember dinner, but I’m sure it was amazing.  Our group had a quick meeting after dinner.  For the rest of the night we played games.

June 12, 2007 - Tuesday

[Author: Andy Vitaliti]

            Today, the team went to the first ESL school of the trip.  Upon arrival, all of the kids lined up and sat down on the patio.  Pastor Reuel and his wife Phebe began by leading the kids in a number of songs.  The team then performed our program, which consisted of a mime (“The Heart,”) as well as some of our team’s testimonies and songs.  We performed “Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes,” “The Lord’s Army,” and “Your Love is Deep.”  These songs all had motions, so the kids, who only knew a little English, could participate in them.

            After our program was finished, the kids then sp up into their respective grades.  Sam, Drew (the missionary kid), and I were in charge of third grade.  Jemima, a helper of the church, came with us as well to translate for us.  We began our class by teaching the kids different colors.  At this point, the kids didn’t really get into it.  We were off to a slow start.  However, this changed as we began to use songs to teach different parts of the body.  Sam and I then taught the kids the game “Four Corners.”  Every corner had a different number, either 1, 2, 3, or 4.  All of the kids ran to different corners while a person counted to ten.  After he/she was done counting, that person would say “1”, “2”, “3”, or “4.”  Whoever was in that particular corner was out.  The game continued till only one or two kids were left in.  These kids would then get candy as a prize.  The kids really enjoyed this game.  While Sam counted, I ran to various corners with several of the kids who were attached to me.  This game continued almost till the end of the teaching period, which lasted two hours.  After that period was done, the kids all left to have lunch, while the team went to a member of the church’s house for lunch.  This lady also had an orchard in her back yard.  After lunch, which consisted of noodles, the team went out into the orchard to pick fresh fruit.  The fruit that we got was called mangosteen, a white juicy fruit that had a pinkish shell.  Pastor Reuel said that the native Thai call this fruit the Queen.  After the team had had their fill of the fruit, we all changed and went back to the school for the afternoon.  Dave Ford and Phebe led the kids in song, and then the kids and the team played kickball.  It was a little difficult because the kids had never been taught to play.  Also, there were many kids, so not everyone got to participate.  After the game ended, the team gave the kids their snacks and then left for home.  On the way, Pastor Reuel stopped at the naval base to pick up some delicious homemade doughnuts.  Those doughnuts didn’t last too long since they were so good.  After we got back to the church where we were staying, the whole team went to the beach until dinner.  We then went back to the church, ate, and ended the night playing cards. 

June 11, 2007 - Monday 

[Author: Erin Pasma]

            June 11 found the MIS Thailand team in  Bang Niang, Thailand, near Phuket.  This area was hard hit by the December 26, 2004 tsunami.  Pastor Reuel Lumilang and his ministry, Rom Phrakhun Baptist Center, work with the people who live in this area.  Pastor told us that “Rom Phrakhun,” roughly translated, means “under the umbrella of God’s grace.”  He told us that it is through God’s grace that the tsunami provided the window of opportunity he and his team were seeking in order to serve the people of southern Thailand. 

            Monday was the day we arrived in Bang Niang.  We settled ourselves in the rooms provided by Rom Phrakhun, and toured the area a little bit.  After this, Pastor Reuel and his intern, Brother Adoo, took us to the future site of the church his team is raising money to build. (Side note : please pray that their ministry can raise sufficient funds for this!  They are very close, but have not yet raised enough to cover all expenses.)  While here, we were allowed to “invest” in the beginnings of this church project, as they gave us each a mango tree to plant on the periphery of the property.

“In ten years,” Pastor said, “you can come back here and see the trees you planted.  You can show your children your tree.”  We each planted a tree or two, watered them, and surveyed the results.  The trees are small right now – but, as Pastor said, someday they will be larger, and the church can hopefully enjoy the shade, as well as the literal and figurative fruits of our labor.  (Pun fully intended J ).  We were then shown an exotic little beach hidden in a national preserve.  Half of the team – the female half, primarily – came away saying that they needed to bring their significant others or family to see this country, as words cannot do the beauty of the area justice.  We returned to a wonderful Thai supper, provided by Mae Khiat, the center’s cook and a parishioner of Pastor Reuel’s congregation, and relaxed with a few games for the rest of the evening.