2010-2011 Academic Prize-Giving

Last week was the annual Academic Prize-Winning Ceremony at the boys' school. Ethan came home with the Design Technology award and Head of Year award for his year. Dustin earned the English award for his year and won a special Music Performance Award for the entire Secondary. They worked hard this year and I'm proud of them!

We are closing in on the end of the school year. It is a tradition of our Regent's school that the last week of school is dedicated to Round Square activities. They offer some amazing trips and activities. Dustin and Nathan chose to travel to India and trek the Himalayas with a group of students and teachers for a week. Ethan will be doing three days dedicated to Gibbon monkeys in Northern Thailand. It will include a 'flight of the gibbon' tour of a Thailand rainforest. Regent's has also included the Rayong bakery as one of their options this year so I will be busy hosting 25 students and teachers at the bakery Monday-Wednesday.

Please pray for Dustin and Nathan's safety, physical endurance for both of them-especially for Nathan's knees to hold up and for them to not be too cold at night. They are having to haul all their supplies in via backpack and it's a hard balance between taking enough warm clothing, bedding and not having too much weight in your pack.

I just received a note from the two of them, I'm copying and pasting them from my email. My boys are all so different and it is never more evident than in their correspondance! I'm also posting a picture of the region they will be trekking.



First from Nathan

Hey there,
wanted to let you know that we have arrived in India safe and sound.
Nobody had any Visa or Passport issues or problems. The plane ride was
good, very little turbalance. We are all pretty tired after a 7 hour
bus ride immediatly following the landing into Delhi. Tomorrow we have
a 9 hour bus ride on a mountain road/pass. If you thought the driving
was bad in Thailand you have not experienced India... Its nuts. These
people are crazy LOL.

The plane ride was good, i sat beside Kyle and PK. It was rather
chilled, Dustin managed to step in a different passanger's throw-up
but it is Dustin and he is sadly the only person i can think of to do
that...

We are all tired, because we landed in Delhi approx. 23:00 and started
driving to The Doon School at approx. 01:15. We arrived at the hotel
at approx. 8:00 the next morning.

India is pretty good so far, we have not experienced much of it yet.
However, (as expected) the smell from the people and the local
enviroment is rather strong and at times putrid. I have found a way to
battle this... My secret is to chew spicy cinnamon gum which overloads
my senses and keeps the majority of the smelly smells out.

Anywho, I probably wont be able to reply. Stay safe, and pass on my
best wishes to dad. We will see you guys when we arrive back in
Thailand. And i am sure we will have plenty of stories to tell.

Take care, lots of love
-Nathan

PS: People are waiting for this computer, i apologize for the many
typos it contains.

And then from Dustin:

We made it to India and things are great. Won't be able to contact you probably until we meet face to face. Love ya. Dustin

Pool Fun

This free photo slideshow made with Smilebox

Sunday afternoon we had some nice family time in the pool. I look at these pictures and I see MEN!! I'm so introspective at the moment for some reason...

Saturday afternoon, Mark and I were again discussing how we should record the 'Lasts' of moments rather than the 'Firsts'. We noticed that Ethan no longer crawls into bed with us in the early mornings to snuggle. That has only stopped in the last 3 months or so. Yes he is huge and it was strange to have another grown-up in bed with us but we cherished those times. Have we now experienced our 'Last' time of having a child come and snuggle up with us in bed? Ethan held on to it longer than Dustin and Nathan and for that we are thankful!! Wonder when the 'Last' wrestling match might happen in the pool?

I love the pictures of Buff in the slideshow, it really examplifies her relationship with Ethan. She is so protective over him. When they are wrestling she barks and watches to make sure Ethan isn't getting too beat up by Dustin. Ethan loves his dog, it's really a great relationship for him.

We're winding down the school year here. Dustin and Nathan only have 2 more IGCSE exams, they've managed to acquire their Advanced Diving Certification during the dead, study, weeks away from school when they can study on their own schedule. They are now certified to go 30 METERS deep, I am perfectly happy with 18 meters. They are loving diving and exploring ship wrecks. Last week they dove the H2 MS KUT and really loved it. Proud of them! and releasing them more and more to the Lord-I'm sure not going down there that deep in the dark to try to watch over them!!!

Abundant Life Home

I just copied and pasted a anniversary letter from my friends Ricky and Karen Sanchez that run the Abundant Life Home here in Thailand. An orphanage for children with AIDS, such a great project. It's been exciting because I've been able to get Esso hooked up with the project and last month they did a milk drive and toy drive for ALH. In the Fall, Esso will be helping fund and build the playground at their new home. This is a most worthy project if you are interested in partnering with them here in Thailand! Now, from Karen-
Dear Friends and Supporters, Anniversaries are a time to reflect and celebrate, and we have been in 'party' mode for the last while here! A few weeks ago we celebrated five years since we first opened our doors at The Abundant Life Home Orphanage. I can still remember how the stars looked that night that we welcomed five young boys into our first home! We rented a tiny townhouse with two bedrooms and wooden, rickety stairs. Every time the boys would run up the stairs, the neighbors would pound on the wall and shout for us to quiet down!

On the bottom floor, late one night, the five boys helped Ganiga and I lead Taay in a prayer of salvation. Apilak, 3 months old, slept in the middle of our circle on a small mat, as we held hands and prayed together. One of the boys earnestly added, "You know, Taay, you won't be able to steal or anything like that anymore now that you will be a Christian. Christians don't steal."

I see God has been faithful to all of us at A.L.H. We give thanks often that all of our children are healthy and that we have access to so many faithful prayer warriors back home. Two months ago, one of our boys named Gaew, age 11 (picture attached), got very sick very quickly. All of a sudden the doctor was saying that we might lose him! It was time for a quick email request for urgent prayer, and we knew that many of you mobilized into prayer for little Gaew. Today Gaew is back to his normal, healthy, break-dancing self! God still heals today.

Last month, a beautiful hotel on the beach, gave our entire orphanage 2 free nights stay and food! The kids swam and ate to their hearts content, and we decided this was God's way of celebrating our five year anniversary with us! Thank you to the Thai Garden Hotel!

God continues to use the people in the Abundant Life Home to spread the good news of salvation! A couple of months ago with the team from South Abbotsford Church; the team and our children from A.L.H. put on a great performance of skits and break dancing at a local prison. My friend JoRonda, had invited us to join her in her prison 'baking ministry' there. Our staff and children shared their testimonies, and we were able to lead 23 young women to Christ at the prison that night!

Just last week, a 45 year old woman, 'Att' showed up for church at Ang Sila Church. She and her husband are HIV+ and are from Ang Sila, but can not live in the fishing village anymore due to prejudice against them from the villagers. She saw Ganiga at the hospital picking up HIV medication one day, and Ganiga was able to share the love of Christ with her. During prayer time at church, 'Att' whispered to me that she really wanted Jesus to live within her. She walked to the front and prayed to receive Christ. Later she shared how she felt a warmth and peace flood her soul after she confessed her sins to God.

In July we will complete building the first four homes for the children! In the future we plan to have a grand opening and want to invite all of you to come on down and celebrate with us! We'll keep you posted on a date! Acts 2: 19-21 "And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below; blood, and fire and vapor or smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Thank you for your continued prayers and support! With Full Hearts, Karen, and Ricky and Sierra, Tass, McKenna and Aree
MB Mission Donate Online at www.mbmission.org/video

Watch this for more information about Abundant Life Home
http://vimeo.com/22335166 use the password voices2011

2011 Prom

How did this happen? My boys have grown up and are going to the PROM!! Let me just tell you, "This is painful!" and I just can't get used to the idea of them wanting to escort a girl to the prom. But that is where we are at!

This past Saturday was my boys' first prom and first official date. It could have been more painful, if they were in the states they would be driving a date!! I really like that we have a built in chaperon in Songkran, our driver! Logistics make the whole idea of dating a little different here. The driver took the boys and picked up the girls to take them to a nearby hotel where the prom was being held from 6:30-10:00, we were thankful that both girls' parents picked them up at the end of the event.

Nathan escorted Jasmine from Australia to this year's prom and Dustin asked Valerie from Holland to be his date. In fact Valerie and her family will be moving at this end of this school year to Qatar, her Dad works for Shell. Jasmine's family just moved here in January and her Dad works for GM.

Please pray for me as I adjust to this new stage of raising boys but especially pray that Nathan and Dustin will be young men after God's own heart. That they wouldn't be conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of their mind. Pray that I will trust the Lord to do a good work in their hearts. I'm praying they will fall helplessly in love with the Lord before they fall helplessly in love with a girl!!! Pray that God will help me be a better Mom, that the Lord would give us wisdom generously and that God can somehow use me in their lives despite myself!!! Pray that I can just enjoy this new stage with my boys.

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Thai Teacher Appreciation Brunch

Today I invited all of the Thai teachers I work with at the neighborhood school for a brunch at our home. The new school year for Thai schools began two weeks ago after their long Songkran holiday. These are the teachers I've been working with the last two years, reading once a week to the students in their classrooms.

Nok helped me host them to a brunch with Thai and Farang food. During the brunch they asked if I would be willing to teach an adult, English speaking, class to all the teachers once a week. We are about to leave for the states in a month but I will consider it in August when we return. Dustin and Nathan have to accumulate 150 hours of CAS hours for their IB program that they begin in August. CAS which is Community Action Service hours. Nathan expressed some interest in teaching the English classes himself which would go towards the CAS requirement. God continues to open doors at this nearby school.

They presented me with a basket of 'things'. One of the items said-Essence of Chicken, it was a green liquid with a putrid smell. Another bottle said-Bird nest with sugar? It was a white gelatin. I passed on the basket to Nok, she said they are items for good health. She tried to explain that they actually use portions of a bird nest and liquefy it? It was just a little strange but that's all relative. The staff all looked at my pimento cheese sandwiches as if they were a bit strange too!!!

Not Guilty Anymore

I can't get this out of my brain, now if I could really grasp the mercy of the Lord. We are righteous if we are in Christ Jesus.