Slum Cooking Fun!

Today reminded me of one of the days of our past mission trip. We got the privilege to visit 2 different schools. One of the ones was a small Burmese school for grades 1-5. They have a population of around 70 students with 4 teachers. Each classroom has 2 grade levels with teachers alternating lessons and work for each grade.

The second school was a Thai school with a population of 300 children, grades 1-9 with 18 teachers. Here we were able to spend more time with them and actually we did some English lessons for a 4th grade and a 9th grade class. Amazingly they were so hungry to learn English. Yet it is so difficult to get an English teacher because they do not have the funding to hire one. They readily welcome volunteers and stop all things so that their kids can interact and hear English from foreigners like us. The coolest part was that through the English lessons we got to share who we were and our purpose and that we were Christians looking to help children’s organizations in Thailand.

Next we got to meet P’Noi’s family. He is married to Bronwyn and has two children, Daniel and Naomi who are 3 and 1 yr 9 months respectively. We got to share and get to know them as a couple and talk about family and ministry together. It was a wonderful bonding experience. Praise God for their heart for the Ratchaburi community.

P’Noi heard that one of the things that we did in the past for Khaodee was cook for them so he asked if we would do that for the 20 Burmese slum children. Without hesitation we said sure. So we went to the local market and did some shopping and came back with some long green beans, pork and eggs. As we were prepping the food, all the children and some of the adults came out and joined to watch us. We took a small propane tank and frying pan cooked up a storm. (Yes you just light a fire to the spout of the tank and that becomes your stove…scary?…yes…hot?...extremely…) For about an hour we cooked nonstop and served these kids and even had enough to feed many of the adults. The kids were not shy about eating, they came and had full bowls and cleaned them up with room for seconds.

The full mouths and huge smiles on these children’s faces were enough to make me want to do this every day. Food brings community together and it was evident today. After the meal, we passed our chips, candy, and drinks to all the children who were out playing and laughing around us. And many of adults had big smiles on their faces seeing their loved ones really happy and well fed. Honestly I know this meal was one of the rare times when meat was in abundance and bellies were at capacity. How many days of the week do we indulge in these blessings and not think twice about it… (I am the first to raise my hand)

Brian

Ratchaburi Sits in the Old Gumtree

Whoa…today was only our 2nd day here but I feel like we’ve done a whole weeks worth of work already. We started our morning grabbing breakfast at a local thai restaurant. The funny thing about these place is that there are no signs or menus anywhere. So apparently these types of places are supposed to serve whatever you want. And they’ll tell you if they can’t make it.

After some grub, we went off to the airport to meet with Pastor Danny who started Elijah Foundation. Elijah Foundation had already been working with Khaodee, so we had a meeting to discuss what all of our roles would be in helping Khaodee. More of these details will be out soon.

Now we were off to Ratchaburi, which is southwest of Bangkok. It was about a 2 hour drive. We arrived at YWAM Ratchaburi where we were met by P’ Noi, who runs the ministries there. We were able to talk to him for about 30 minutes while he shared His amazing ministry here.

He and his wife run YWAM Ratchaburi with no staff, no salary, and very limited support. His has 4 main areas of ministry that he does here in Ratchaburi. The children, the youth, prison ministry, and a ministry to unite all the churches in Ratchaburi. I will go into much greater depth later. 2 things struck me about P’ Noi. The first was the his faith. As P’ Noi shared story after story, it became evident that it was his faith in God that brought him through so many obstacles in his ministry. The 2nd things that struck me was his love for Jesus and the people of Ratchaburi.

After our chart, P’ Noi took us to the slums of Rachaburi to see the children and families that He worked with. So, this community that he took us too was made up of Burmese families who over the years had migrated over to Thailand to work. Because they are not Thai, they have no Thai citizenship and are extremely disadvantaged. The kind of jobs these families can get are limited. Where they can live is limited. They cannot even move freely throughout Thailand. They are confined to Ratchaburi. All these things creates a situation of poverty that I was about to experience firstand.

We pulled up next to an area with a small lake and a lot of trees. P’ Noi explained that this is where he started a small church for the Burmese people here in Ratchaburi. I thought to myself…this doesn’t look so bad. You can even baptize here in the lake. From there he took us down a small winding path. As I walked down this path, I saw small children on old broken down bicycles. And at the end of the path was a small community of shacks. Each house was made of wood and metal. Each shack was probably the size of maybe small office. There were no beds, no bathrooms, no showers. I was shocked at their living conditions. Yet, as P’ Noi walked down and visited each family, it was evident he had spent much time loving these people.






Children would run up to us and just hold on hands. I had never met them before but they just wanted someone to hold their hand and be there for them. P’ Noi took us to a small room where he started a library for the children. Inside were a few books and some broken toys.


P’ Noi explained that he had started the Rice Seeds ministry for the children in this community. The children would all almost expected to forgo school somewhere around the age of 10-12 to start working and helping out the family. But the Rice Seeds ministry was started to raise support to send these children to school. To give them better opportunities in life and break this cycle of poverty. These children were the very definition of being “at-risk.”

Continue to pray for Bo and myself. I’m still trying to take in and process all that we have seen today. What do we do with this? What does it mean? What I do know is that God continues to humble me and shows me how little I think I know. My heart aches for these children. What would Jesus do?

CJ

Hangover 2....minus the hangover

Today we were greeted at the airport by Gai and Honda. It’s so great to see familiar faces in a foreign city. What made it even more special is that one of the old Khaodee kids named Nittaya, who now lives in Bangkok, took a day off to spend with us as well. She decided to leave Khaodee after high school to help provide for her family by working and living on her own in Bangkok. She plans to go to school but right now is working 12 hour days, 7 days a week. So it was a real treat to be with her and we decided to make the most of it.

First we took her out to have pizza to celebrate her 20th birthday. Yes, our first official meal in Thailand is Italian! Pizza, chicken wings, and spaghetti for everyone!

Then we took some of the generous donations of soccer cleats that Sports Basement donated to Khaodee and sent them by bus to them so that we wouldn’t have to carry them with us while we’re travelling. Unfortunately that is where probably the saddest part of the day was, since I left my little handheld video camera in the backseat of the taxi. It’s not the monetary aspect but more of the fact that I was going to use that camera to record footage and interviews of all the people and places we were going to visit on this trip. But thankfully we have other video recording device options and that no footage was lost. So God is good and I will definitely be more careful with my belongings the rest of the trip...

Next we went to the mall and sang karaoke and got to watch X-Men: First Class. It was so funny because karaoke was in small makeshift booths inside an arcade zone. Each one was side by side so you can see the other people next to you. Definitely not your typical karaoke room.

Clifton and I love shaved ice so we got to try out Ice Monster! Flavored ice covered in different toppings.

We concluded the night just sitting down and talking with Nittaya at a small outdoor noodle place. We purposely wanted to make the day fun for her, but the time we got to spend to hear her story and fellowship with her was the icing on the cake for us. Most of the time she is alone in this huge city but we wanted to assure her that God is still watching over her and that we will be loving and praying for her.

Brian

Sawatdee...er..I mean Ni Hao....from Taipei...

Hey everyone!

First off, wanted to thank you guys for reading and checking out our blog. The purpose of this blog is to let you guys follow along all that God is doing within re:ACTS Ministries. These first series of blog entries will be following along Bo and my trip to Thailand/Cambodia.

On this trip we will be headed to 2 different cities in Thailand and to the border of Cambodia/Thailand to visit various orphanges and children's home. We are praying for God to lead us to the places He would like re:ACTS to become involed in. We are right now in the Tapei airport waiting for our connecting flight to Bangkok. Praise God for a really smooth flight and no yacking. After 13 hours on the plane, we're pretty happy to be off the plane, even if it's just for a bit.

From Bangkok, we'll be heading to Pattaya and Ratachaburi. After that we will head to the border for a few days...and finally go back to Khaodee Childrens home to revisit with the kids!

Hopefully we will be updating daily and with pictures for you guys to follow along with whats happening with us. Here's a few things you all can pray for us for:

Safe travel and good health
For our families back home holding the fort down
That God will use us for His will, purpose, and Glory
That we will be filled and led by the Holy Spirit throughout these next 2 weeks.
That we don't get eaten alive by mosquitos!

Thanks yall!

CJ