asking for big things.

You said ask and you will receive whatever you need
You said pray and I'll hear from heaven, and I'll heal your land
You said your glory will fill the earth like water the seas
You said lift up your eyes, the harvest is here, the kingdom is near
You said

Ask and I'll give the nations to you
Oh, Lord, that's the cry of my heart
Distant shores and the islands will see
Your light as it rises on us

This song, "You Said," was written on our hearts all summer. We have asked for so many big things for the Karen, for Burma, and even for ourselves as we look ahead to the unknowns of our future. We also had so many people praying big things for us from home, and we are so thankful that.
We were able to share this song with the students and invite them to join us in asking for big things from a big God who loves us. We want to invite you to do the same as we return. Please keep praying for Burma, for the Karen people, and for the students at Noh Bo. We ask you'd be praying big things for us, too, as we return to a very stressful two months before our wedding and countless decisions and unknowns.
Thank you for the prayers you have offered up for us already! We pray God will bless you for your faithfulness.

saying goodbyes.

We made it home this week and wanted to catch you up on our last few weeks with the students. We miss them already and are so thankful for our time there. We hope these pictures give you an idea of the blessings God had for us at Noh Bo.

Noh Bo loves holidays! We got another day off school for the "Ribbon-Tying Ceremony". This is traditional Karen holiday where they tie strings on each others wrists and bless one another. The whole community showed up and filled the place.

This is Stephen in his traditional Karen attire having a string tied on his wrist.

Kelli is waiting with the girls to have a string tied on her wrist.

Hsar Khee Lar, Kelli, and Eh Dee Na are "having style" in the dormitory during a girls night.

Bingo was really popular all summer. It was a great way to include lots of students of all ages and English levels. It also helped us to pick up our Karen numbers, through fifty at least.

One of the highlights of the summer was discovering Christ Stone Records in the little village of Noh Bo. Christ (pronounced Chris) is the music teacher at Noh Bo and also has his own recording studio. Stephen was able to spend some afternoons and Saturdays working with him. It was great for them to get to teach one another, as well as for Stephen to get to see God use his degree.

These are a couple more pictures of Kelli spending time at the girls' dormitory. They are making necklaces and friendship bracelets in the bottom photo.

Near the end of our stay eight computers and internet were donated to Noh Bo. This will be a great opportunity for the kids, so we tried to help them get started. Here Stephen is teaching them about the internet, trying to show them the good websites that can help them and warn them about being careful.

Still more Bingo...

All of the students really love music and many are learning guitar. We found that most of the guitars were missing strings or parts and pretty far out of tune. The last day we were there, Stephen worked hard to put new strings on eight guitars and fix a few broken ones. He also got them all into tune and left a tuner for them to share.

On our last day, the students gave us an incredible farewell ceremony. They prayed for us, sang us a song, and gave us these handmade yarn leis. It was so sad to leave, but we felt so loved.

This is both of us after the ceremony with the Special 2 (grade 12) students. The headmaster, Candlepaw, is also in the front, third from the left.

This is Stephen with Toehla. He was a great help to us all summer and has a great heart. He gave a speech in English (a huge accomplishment!) at our farewell ceremony and wrote the song that the students sang.

After leaving Noh Bo, we went back to Mae Sot for a few days of rest. One morning we took a 4-hour cooking class to learn how to make ethnic foods in the area, including some Karen dishes. We really enjoyed the class and are excited to be able to cook some local foods for our Karen friends in America. Overall, our time at Noh Bo was incredible, and our time of rest was much needed. God has been good to us.

give thanks.

Thankfully, we've been able to update this with very little stress! We've found faster internet and were able to upload pictures and write stories quite easily. After a few stressful attempts at this, we are really thankful. Enjoy this with us :)

thanksgiving in july!

July 24 was Thanksgiving Day (or Blessings Day) at Noh Bo Academy. Twelve years ago, the Thai government came to the school and said they needed the land so the school would have to close. The teachers and students fasted and prayed for the school for three days. The Thai government came back and said they didn't need the land anymore, and Noh Bo could continue to meet. Every year, they have competitions and celebrate the anniversary.

The kids are divided into four teams: red, blue, green, and yellow. There are competitions between the teams in football, caneball, volleyball (girls and boys), singing, and reciting. The singing is one girl and one boy from each team who sing a student-written song about the situation twelve years ago. As a team they also sing the school song in Karen and English. For recitations, one boy and one girl from each team recite the 22 school rules by memory (yikes).

We got put on teams, too. Kelli was on red, which made it to the football final (a very big deal). This was the group of cheering girls all sporting our team spirit.

If you can see, the girl in the back row on the far right is Hsar Khee Lar, our Karen teacher. She is so sweet to us and teaches us patiently every day during her free time.

There was a big ceremony on Friday to hear the singing, recitations, and other special events. It was fun, but an incredibly long four hours of not really knowing what was going on. Knowing our numbers and alphabet in Karen didn't get us too far...

We did get to participate a bit. This picture is Stephen getting to hand out prizes at the end. We also were asked to "sing a special song" with the band. This was fine, except that they sing FAST. They start fast and then they get faster. So, we sang "You Said" at incredible speed, and gave them a bout of laughter in the middle.

This is Stephen and I in a coffee shop in Mae Sot. We've come back this weekend to regroup and make tests for the kids...we have to give exams this next week and give them marks for July.

Thanks for the continued prayers. We're headed back to Noh Bo tomorrow for two more wonderful weeks, and then we've got a few days of rest before tackling the America and whatever God has for us. Please keep up the prayers; we're dependent on them.

oh, my.

We really can't capture their athletic ability in pictures, but we have to at least include a few. This is caneball (or takraw or kball), which is a mix of soccer and volleyball. You use your feet and head similar to soccer, but you play over a net with the three-hit pattern of volleyball. It's absolutely incredible to watch them.
This was the tournament for Thanksgiving Day competitions. As you see the pictures, just keep in mind they all landed on their feet and kept playing like it was completely natural to move like that.

Can you see his foot in this one? It's directly above his head.

welcome to the hut.

This is our lovely home at Noh Bo! We both live in a volunteers hut on the school campus. There are also two boys dorms and one girls dorm that are similar to ours. For the volunteers, the boys rooms are to the left (so Stephen and one other guy live there). The kitchen and common area are in the middle, and then the girls rooms are to the right (where Kelli lives with one other female volunteer). It's absolutely lovely, made of bamboo and teak wood with a roof made of leaves. It sounds incredible when it rains.

After a days of prodding the kids, they come to visit us now in the evenings. This was one night of painting and games. This particular picture is taken in the common area, where we have meals and such.

Poh Reh is one of the grade 12 students.

Quite a few of the kids are learning guitar and have liked learning English songs from Stephen. This is a view of them playing on the front porch.

Toela has been a big help with translating for us. He has a very kind heart and seems to be very genuinely seeking the Lord.

beautiful kids.

We are currently in Mae Sot for a weekend of rest and nourishment. The last two weeks in Noh Bo have been great; the students are so smart. We teach during the days. We do Bible together on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings; Kelli teaches sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades. Stephen teaches two fifth grades and social studies to the eleventh and twelfth graders.

In the afternoons, the kids love to play sports. We try to play along, but stick out pretty badly! Stephen played football for an hour and touched the ball twice. We have fared better at volleyball, but definitely have our share of screwups. They figured out we can tell they are talkig about us when they say our names, so they've switched to "thramu" (teacher) and "gulawah" (white person).

We are heading back today for at least another two weeks. We have absolutely no internet in the area, so we are sorry updates are few and far between! Even internet in Mae Sot has been frustrating. Even so, please continue to pray and lift us up. We know this is where God has us, but he is stretching us and showing us our dependence on Him.

Kelli trying jack fruit that the kids brought us.

Here we are on the porch to the volunteer hut, where the kids come to hang out with us in the evenings. The boys brought us mango and durian to try this night. The mango was delicious.

This is the view from the volunteer hut we live in. There is lots of fog in the mornings during rainy season, but you can see the large football field of mud and the girls dormitory across the way.

The boys are faithful to play football for hours each day, no matter the weather. Here they are sliding in the mud while we watch from our clean, dry porch.

Thank you for your faithfulness to pray. Here are some specifics to help:

- energy and patience in the daily stresses of teaching, sports, and relationships

- that our conversations and impact would be eternal

- Kelli's new, two-week-old neice, Emma; she's been in and out of the hospital with unknown health issues. this is especially scary from such a distance, so please be praying

- stress with what awaits us in August as we return to a very stressful two months of finding jobs, a place to settle, and plan a wedding...we are confident this is where God called us to be, but it has left us in a place of utter dependence.

Ta blut doh ma!

(Thank you very much)