Last Full Day at By Grace School

It was a beautiful morning for our last full day at By Grace School.

We started out our day in God's Word with our team devotion time. Shelby led this one and, as always, God met us and spoke to our hearts as we studied His Word and prayed together.

This was our last Activity Day for this trip. In Museekee, we had about 40 children. At BGS, we planned for 140 children!

We started out with praising the Lord in song complete with all the motions!

The kids loved playing "soccer" with an American football during Game Time!

And had a great time creating a craft with Traci and getting into God's Word with Veena!

Before the day was through, we said "Thank You" to Gaw Po, our primary translator for the past two weeks and to Paul and Lois, of course, for hosting us!

Our trip would not be complete without visiting the pigs at BGS! They are so cute! :) Plans are under way for adding more pigs soon!

We also saw the garden where the students are learning to grow beans, fruit trees, eggplant and much more!

Before heading back to our guesthouse, we took time for our team photo with our FBA team shirts on!

Tomorrow, we will be involved in Kids church and "Big" church before heading to the airport for our mid afternoon flight...the first leg of our long trip back to ATL. 

THANK YOU for joining us on this journey and for your "partnership in the gospel" (Phil 1:5) in Thailand. We look forward to sharing more with you face to face soon!

English Language Day at By Grace School

After two days of travel from Museekee to Maecharim, we arrived at By Grace School for our much anticipated English Langauge Day! 

By Grace School is the only Chistian school in this district of Northern Thailand and as such, is a strong lighthouse for the gospel! One attraction is having native English speakers come to help the students learn and practice their English. 

Our team taught students in Grades 1 - 6 using topics of interest to help them learn new English words. We also taught the Bible story from Mark Chapter 4 and our main theme verse, "Even the wind and the waves obey Him." (Mark 4:41b)

Pat and Traci used the "Hokey Pokey" song to teach "directions" to the children. The children had a great time! We did too" :))

Veena and Lusa taught about "people groups" and where they came from around the world.

Paul and Eddie used math to teach numbers in English.

Shelby taught English words used in cooking. She used a homemade chocolate pie recipe!

Tony and Connie used architecture to teach words like "roof" and "door."

And Dede used music to teach English words in praise songs complete with all the motions!

Of course we couldn't have done any of this without the help of Paul and Lois and the teachers at By Grace School!

To close out English Day, all of the students gathered for a special program and we shared our "Emotions" skit. The Lord is using this powerful drama to show how the "sweet aroma of the knowledge of Christ" (2 Cor 2:14) can and does transform hearts and lives!

We praise the Lord for the opportunity to be a part of what He is doing at By Grace School. And we are not finished yet! More updates coming soon!

Please keep praying! Thank you!!!

A Vision for the World

The first thing you notice when you arrive at the project where we served this week in Museekee is a large mural on the first building you come to.

We learned that the "flame" is the light of the gospel that Karen Belivers take with them wherever they go. The "birds" represent the children who call this place home. Some of the "birds" will bring the light to their own community and people while others will fly away, taking the light to the ends of the earth. 

The Lord gave this vision to Tete, the founder and leader of this ministry that began some 30+ years ago. We are thankful to have been a small part of helping encourage and strengthen the faith of these young people in these days.

Final Night in Museekee

While it always hard to say "so long," the Lord gave us a sweet time Sunday night sharing with the children and youth in Museekee. 

The children sang several songs in their native Karen dialect and we were able to share our "Emotions" skit based on 2 Corinthians 2:14 for the first time.

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place." (2 Cor 2:14). The kids loved this skit and we trust the Lord will use it in their lives. 

Lusa shared her testimony and invited these young people to accept Christ's free gift of salvation to which several responded. Paul Jenks made sure they understood Gods plan of salvation and then led us all in a time of prayer. The Lord knows who came to Him tonight in sincere faith and our prayers will certainly continue for these precious young people in the days ahead!

Following this, we were the recipients of a special program that included a special Karen tribal dance and we were invited to join in!

Before the night was through, the children sang a farewell song followed by lots of hugs and some tears as well. "Until next time" was a common theme. 

Now, Museekee is no longer just a place on the map (if you can even find it there). :)) It has names and faces that we will not soon forget. Thank you, Lord, for giving us this special time in Museekee. Until next time! 

An Amazing Sunday in Museekee

Sunday morning services started at 9:00 AM (OK, more like 9:30) :) Veena shared her testimony and Connie provided a final session for the ladies. The men were also invited so, it was a mixed group who gathered early to spend time in God's Word together. 

After a short break the regular church service started. We were so blessed to worship together with our Karen brothers and sisters! They had two special choirs who sang. There were so many in attendance for this service, we met in the pavilion next to the church!

Eddie shared his testimony and Tony provided the final session of his Life Principles training as the Sunday "sermon." 

While most were very encouraged by the teaching, there were some who were distracted by other things... :))

After the service, our team was blessed by the warm "Thank You's" by the pastor and members of this church. We shared with them that we are "richer" now having been blessed with this opportunity to be in Museekee for these days!

These precious Believers will be in our hearts as we leave here tomorrow. 

Thank you for your prayers as we continue the ministry God has for us here in Thailaind! 

 

We Will Trust in Him!

Our day with the children in Museekee was a HUGE blessing! We are thankful to have had this opportunity to share how we should all have Faith Over Fear based on the story in Mark 4 where Jesus calmed the wind and the waves.

We sang praises to the Lord, played games, made a craft and taught God's Word to 30 children under age 13 today and had a great time! The older teens attended the Life Principles sessions that went on at the same time. 

At the end of the day, we had fallen in love with these precious children and are so thankful to have had this time with them! Please continue praying with us as we have Sunday together before we head back to Chaing Mai on Monday. 

Thank you for your prayers!!

Preparing for our first Activity Day

Faith over Fear is our theme and Mark 4:41b, "Even the wind and the waves obey Him," is our key verse for our Activity Day here in Museekee. We hung the banner and began getting ready for our craft, Bible teaching and game time. 

We are excited to see how the Lord will work through our mini-VBS tomorrow for about 70 children from Museekee. Thank you for praying with and for us!