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.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
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
We are leaving in just hours--early Tuesday morning, June 9. We’ll be gone for ten weeks, returning to
- 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!
Monday, May 18, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
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
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
Sunday, October 5, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, September 5, 2008
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.
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.
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