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)

more pictures of popphra!

We got a few more pictures uploaded; sorry they are so small. The internet just can't handle anything bigger. Enjoy!

Stephen and Kelli with John, a Christian English teacher at the Thai school. We taught some of his classes, had lunch with him every day, and were invited to his house for dinner one evening. We ask that you pray for him as he is in such a dark place and a very young Christian.

These are all out of order, but this was one of the older kids at Thoo Mweh Khee singing a special song to us as we left. They called us up to the stage, presented us with Karen bags, and said their goodbyes. We were able to thank them and pray for them. It was such an honor to be so warmly treated after just two weeks.

Kelli teaching her third grade class.

Stephen with his fifth grade class.

We were just minutes drive from the Thai-Burma border. The pastor we worked with had connections along the border and was able to get through the checkpoints easily. This is us just along the border (which is formed by the river); we are standing in Thailand and Burma is directly behind us.

This is link to see where we are along the border. We've spend some weekends in Mae Sod (or Mae Sot) to the north and spent the last two weeks in Popphra (or Phop Phra). About an hour south.

http://maps.google.co.th/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Mae+Sod,+Mae+Sot,+Tak,+Thailand&daddr=phop+phra,+thailand&geocode=&hl=en&mra=ls&sll=16.613822,98.674393&sspn=0.316488,0.422974&ie=UTF8&ll=16.599346,98.690186&spn=0.316512,0.422974&t=h&z=11

This is the group of volunteers that were at Popphra (plus the English teacher, John). It was a hard week, but we really feel like God had us there and we were forced to depend on Him.

Thanks for your prayers! Please continue to pray as we are heading out to Noh Bo in an hour.

a couple pictures from popphra (pope-rah)

We've just finished two weeks of teaching at Thoo Mweh Khee Migrant School and a Thai school in Popphra, Thailand. We really loved our classes at the migrant school and everyone was so kind. The Thai school was a much harder environment. There was a very strong Buddhist presence that was difficult. We did meet two Christian teachers that we got to know and were able to encourage. We've included just a couple pictures of us teaching. We'll try to get a better internet connection soon so we can get you more...

Kelli with her "third grade" class, ages 9 to 14.

Stephen teaching English words for family to his "fifth grade" class, ages 13 to 19.

As of tomorrow we will be heading to Noh Bo, where we were originally headed. It is now a safe area for us to be in, so we'll be there for the rest of our time in Thailand. We are really looking forward to this and think it will be a better fit for our gifts. We'll have much more time with the kids personally.

Please keep up your prayers--for energy, selflessness, and love for the kids. We've been praying for a supernatural ability to remember names and learn Karen, too.

quick update.

We wanted to send a quick email to let everyone know that plans have changed. The area we were headed to--Noh Bo--recently underwent some "political changes" so that it was no longer safe for us to be there, nor was it safe for them if foreigners were there. We are now safely working in a migrant school just outside of Popphra (just further south along the border, where political changes aren't taking place...) The situation is similar and we have been working with Karen, but we are still not positive this is where we should be. We really just beg for your prayers--that we would have wisdom, direction, and peace about where we are to be and what we are to be doing. Please also pray for Noh Bo--for safety and God using evil for good. And really just pray for changes in Burma; that's the deeper cry.

Thank you for your prayers; please keep them up. We need them.

half way there...oh,oh, livin on a prayer

We have arrived to Thailand, and we are in Mae Sot for a couple of days getting acclamated to the culture and time difference before driving to Noh Bo Academy and the village where we will be focusing the heart of our ministry.

God has already been doing amazing things and caring for Kelli and I. God blessed us even in a delayed flight. We were going to get into Bangkok at midnight and were nervous about that, but had a peace about the tickets when we bought them. Our plane leaving Los Angeles had mechanical problems and we then had to wait for a another plane to get there. Our new itinerary had us overnight in Toyko, and American Airlines was good to get us two rooms, dinner, and breakfast. This may look like a frustrating couple of days, but being in Tokyo was a great chace to rest in the middle of the trip and allowed us to arrive in Bangkok at 3 in the afternoon.

We are very excited to see what God has in store for us over the next couple of months. We desperately need your prayers and are so blessed that we have so many family and friends that are so diligent and faithful to pray for us.

Some guidance for your prayers...

As we traveled through Tokyo and Bangkok both of us felt a burden for the people there. Tokyo seemed to be dark in an absence of light, where Bangkok seemed to be dark with an active presence of evil. Please be praying for the local church in these areas as they are up against lots of challenges because of Satan's strongholds. Please pray strength, growth, wisdom, protection, and miracles over them.

As for us, pray we would be running with the full armor of God. Pray for us as we fight the darkness that is here. Pray for our health as we adjust to new foods and water. And please lift us up as we adjust to doing ministry together. Pray that our relationship is a way to glorify God more in this trip rather than a window for Satan to come between us. We need to walk in patience, love, grace, and understanding for each other as well as the people we are ministering to.

Please begin to pray for the people at Noh Bo that we will be serving. Pray for open hearts, good conversation, and miracles with the language barriers (either we get Karen, they get English, or something else we can't dream up ourselves).

Thanks for you prayers and support. We are so, so thankful.
We'll get pictures up soon. We know those are more fun to look at.

what if His people prayed?

I heard a song today that challenged this question, and it stuck with me as Stephen and I continued to pack and pull things together to leave in the next few days. What if His people prayed? I thought of the love God has given me for Burma and the ways it has changed so much of my life, yet I may commit an hour to prayer for Burma on a good week. When I look at scripture, prayer and conversation with God encompasses every story and situation, from Adam speaking with God in the garden to Jesus’ last words of prayer to the Father from the cross. Further, I have seen the power of prayer in my own life as the single constant connection to Christ. And yet, how much do I pray? How much do we pray as the Church? Surely it isn’t enough.

As Stephen and I go this summer, we are so thankful for those supporting us through prayer. Thank you, from the very deepest part of us. We long to be effective for the glory of Christ, for hope, and for eternal things—and this is only possible through prayer. Thank you for joining with us faithfully. Thank you for being the body of Christ to us, allowing us the privilege to be His hands and His feet.

We are leaving in just hours--early Tuesday morning, June 9. We’ll be gone for ten weeks, returning to Little Rock on August 19. For those joining with us in prayer, here are some specific requests. Please pray for…

- courage and boldness to walk in whatever Christ has for us

- open hearts of everyone we encounter along the way.

- wisdom and discernment in our decisions as we seek His will

- for energy and patience with one another

- general health and safety

- the unknowns of returning without established plans, jobs, etc.

We'll continue with updates whenever we have the chance. Hopefully pictures will join soon!

tickets to the border

God has opened the doors to a wonderful opportunity this summer, and Stephen and I will be headed to the Thai-Burma border for 10 weeks! We both graduated from college on May 9, and we have been in prayer over our next steps. We feel that this trip is what God has for us over the summer.

We will be working with the organization Partners World, who has placed us in Noh Bo village. We will be able to teach at Noh Bo Academy, as well as lead bible studies, play with the children, and build relationships among the villagers as we live there day in and day out. We will be leaving the States on June 9 and returning August 18.

We are so excited to be able to serve together after dating for over two years long distance. We are thankful to be able to serve the Lord with the same vision. We have already seen God provide and bless this trip as friends and family have supported us financially and spritually so that we are able to go. We are very close to raising all of our funds for the summer, nearly $7000. Thank you to those of you have generously given toward this ministry.

This blog will be a great way for us to keep in touch with family and friends during our trip, letting you know what we are up to, what to pray for, and the ways we can see God working and providing. We want to give him the glory anyway we can. Another way to keep in touch is through our email at servant.to.burma@gmail.com.

a wonderful Christmas!

We had a great opportunity this Christmas to organize and deliver Christmas gifts to all of the kids and teenagers! Stephen and I started considering the idea earlier this fall, and with the help of our church family and donations from friends, we were able to pull it off. To assign, wrap, and tag gifts for 75 kids is quite an undertaking, but we managed to pull it all together the week before Christmas. We drove up to Tennessee late on Christmas day with my brother-in-law and nephew. We also met up with a couple from our church who also came along to help deliver the presents.
We visited houses all day on the 26th and had a bible study time that afternoon, before driving back that evening. It was a whirlwind trip, but a rare privilege. We were able to bring so much joy to so many kids with the help and support of some dear friends. I've included a couple of pictures that try to capture the wonderful day!

Singing songs before bible study that afternoon

a visit.

I was able to go back for a visit this past weekend, and God was so good! It was such a wonderful time. They are having ESL classes every Saturday, so I was able to go back and see everyone there and slip right back into teaching, which was wonderful. Stephen and I then went to visit Victoria, the leader of the Nashville community, to talk with her and begin work on my internship with Partners this fall.
We also had such a wonderful privilege of taking some donated toys to a widow and her three little girls. They had just moved into a new apartment and didn't have any toys, so we brought them a laundry basket full of books and stuffed animals. It was such a blessing to give and was easily the highlight of the day. The girls pulled out each toy with oohs and ahhs, just loving it. Stephen and I just soaked it in.
We then had a game night for the teenagers that went wonderfully! We easily became comfortable again, and being in school all day has improved their English so much, so we had a lot of fun.
It is such a privilege to live close enough to go back for visits! I think of friends who were overseas for the summer and aren't able to keep up those relationships. It has been such a blessing. As I speak, one of the American girls at the apartment complex that I met this summer is on her way to visit me in Arkansas and bring three of the Karen teenagers with her! We've got a week of fun ahead of us...
God has been so good. He not only blessed us in this summer with the Karen, but has enabled us to continue those relationships, with Stephen leading a bible study with them every week and helping out at ESL and my trips back for visits as often as I can. God is so good.

a long time coming.

God is so good.
I really can't start this any other way. Despite the lack of updates, Stephen and I finished out the summer with the Karen and spent as much time with them as possible. It was such a blessing to see how much they had warmed up to us, so that they began to ask for help and in emergencies. Leaving was much harder than I even imagined, but we have the blessing now of living in the same country still, which is rare for summer missions opportunities. We go back to visit once or twice a month to see everyone and keep up with the relationships we've established.
My work with the Karen this summer has also opened up doors for me in school: I am doing an internship with Partners World this fall, a nongovernmental missions organization on the Thai-Burma border. They are wanting to bring their ministry to America, as well, so I am helping organize ministry to the Karen people across America (over 20,000!). I am mapping where they are in America and connecting them to Americans who can help them get settled. Next semester I will also be doing an independent study and final paper on the Karen, including some primary source interviews from the community in Smyrna.
God has been so good, and there is very little else to say. He has blessed us beyond measure.

$20.

I took Maw Taw to the bank yesterday because he needed to cash some checks he received. Shortly after we got back, Maw Taw came and held out a twenty dollar bill to me. I asked what it was for, and Thomas translated that it was for the oil to go to the bank. I then explained that the bank that was a mile away costs less than $1 to drive to, and he really didn't need to pay me. There was more Karen between them, and then Thomas insisted that I must take it, because it is Karen culture. He said, "Sometimes we do not have and we must only say 'ta blut doh ma' (thank you), but if we have we give."
And now I sit with a twenty dollar bill that has given me a personal example of Luke 21:1-4. I am also reminded of 2 Corinthians 8:2, which reminded me of the Karen when I came across it earlier this summer. It reads, "Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity."

thoroughly exhausted.

Rachel finished up her last day with the Karen, and I'm sure I've exhausted her! We started this morning with two hours of teaching English to the little boys, and then spent four hours with teenagers and adults--playing Uno, Memory, and Scrabble to practice English. We then went out to play for a few hours and then took a man to the pharmacy who needed a ride and translator. We made it home late tonight.
Sadly, I don't have pictures from today. It's so hard to steadily take pictures while were busy all day! Even so, I hope Rachel had a great time and thanks for keeping up with her trip!

a long day.

Here's the update on the past couple days, for those of you following Rachel's trip! We played for awhile in the afternoon yesterday, but didn't get very many pictures because we were busy organizing games. We also went swimming with the kids last night and couldn't get many pictures, but they loved it.
Today was very long and busy. We taught English to three little boys this morning for nearly two hours, then taught an adult English class for the following two hours. We then went outside to play for four hours. We painted with the kids, played Go Fish, and then soccer. And after a break for dinner, we went back to learn Karen tonight. Stephen and I had our first lesson tonight with Kaw Hser, and Rachel came along to learn the three Karen alphabets.

This is the one picture from playing games yesterday afternoon.

The craziness of painting today.

Rachel and April