Why did the chicken cross the road? Find the answer to this question, as well as experience some of what we saw in Thailand in this video, courtesy of Charlie.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Pictures!
The team presented at chapel at SDCC last Wednesday, and we made a slideshow and a video. Hopefully I will be able to post the video at some point, but for now, here is a slideshow for your viewing pleasure:
Friday, January 13, 2012
Home Again
We arrived back in San Diego safely on Wednesday evening, tired but happy to be home. Thank you for your prayers and support. Each of us has many stories to tell and many things to process through as we integrate back into American culture
Some last prayer requests:
- For quick recovery, both regarding health and jet lag
- That we would not forget what we have learned as we get further away from the village
- That the Lord would use our work to support the long-term gospel and developmental work going on in the region
- For wisdom regarding the next steps
May all glory be given to His name for the trip, for without His work and grace, our work means nothing. Blessings!
For the team,
Katie
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Hitting a Wall
For the team,
Katie
Stories
We arrived back in Chiang Mai last night, and have spent the day with elephants, tigers, shopping, and reflecting on our time in the village. As we prepare to step on an airplane to head home in almost exactly 24 hours, I asked each of the battle buddy teams to share a story from their time in the village.
"One of our favorite memories was when a couple of the ITDP staff, some of the teachers, and villagers would come to our hut late at night for English lessons. It was cool for them to be able to learn English, and we got to learn some Thai and Karen. More importantly, though, those times provided more opportunities for relationships." - Laura, Nikki, and Christine
"When we were most tired and were heading back to the village after a long day's work, we found our motivation to keep going as we were greeted by the cutest Karen kids you've ever seen. Most of the time, they scared us to death as they jumped out from behind a bush, or shook a tree, pretending to be a scary animal, or simply ran up and grabbed our hands." - Kaitlen and Destiny
"The first day, we just cut wire with a bunch of the women, and we had some of the kids hanging around playing shy. They wouldn't talk to us. When we were done working for the day, we headed back to shower. We heard a voice or two outside of the shower and some laughter and figured that a few of the kids wanted to play. But when we finished, we were shocked to discover that there were not one or two kids outside the bathroom, but 12, all waiting to play." - Katie and Hannah
"If there is one thing I learned on this trip, it's being submissive. I came on this trip with the mindset that we would be coming in and serving the people, but was humbled by the villagers we served with. I soon learned that we knew nothing about building a water tank. But under Ohmotep's leadership, and everyone's hard work and willing hearts, we finished. God is good!" - Sean (and Charlie)
"My experience in Thailand can be summed up in two words: God moving. The best memory I had in Thailand was seeing the smiles on the kids faces. It was great to get to know the Karen people and I can't wait to come back to Thailand." - Chris (and Brian)
Please pray for continued good health for the team as we travel, and that we would enjoy our last day in Chiang Mai. Tonight, we are going to dinner with a show that has traditional Thai dancing, and then shopping the Night Bazaar again. Tomorrow morning, we head to Doi Suthep Temple, a Buddhist temple just outside of Chiang Mai. Thank you for all your prayers and support. They have not gone unanswered. The Lord is faithful, and that has been so evident through our time here. May the gospel go forth and much glory be brought to His name from our time in Thailand. All praise and glory be to Him!
For the team,
Katie
"One of our favorite memories was when a couple of the ITDP staff, some of the teachers, and villagers would come to our hut late at night for English lessons. It was cool for them to be able to learn English, and we got to learn some Thai and Karen. More importantly, though, those times provided more opportunities for relationships." - Laura, Nikki, and Christine
"When we were most tired and were heading back to the village after a long day's work, we found our motivation to keep going as we were greeted by the cutest Karen kids you've ever seen. Most of the time, they scared us to death as they jumped out from behind a bush, or shook a tree, pretending to be a scary animal, or simply ran up and grabbed our hands." - Kaitlen and Destiny
"The first day, we just cut wire with a bunch of the women, and we had some of the kids hanging around playing shy. They wouldn't talk to us. When we were done working for the day, we headed back to shower. We heard a voice or two outside of the shower and some laughter and figured that a few of the kids wanted to play. But when we finished, we were shocked to discover that there were not one or two kids outside the bathroom, but 12, all waiting to play." - Katie and Hannah
"If there is one thing I learned on this trip, it's being submissive. I came on this trip with the mindset that we would be coming in and serving the people, but was humbled by the villagers we served with. I soon learned that we knew nothing about building a water tank. But under Ohmotep's leadership, and everyone's hard work and willing hearts, we finished. God is good!" - Sean (and Charlie)
"My experience in Thailand can be summed up in two words: God moving. The best memory I had in Thailand was seeing the smiles on the kids faces. It was great to get to know the Karen people and I can't wait to come back to Thailand." - Chris (and Brian)
Please pray for continued good health for the team as we travel, and that we would enjoy our last day in Chiang Mai. Tonight, we are going to dinner with a show that has traditional Thai dancing, and then shopping the Night Bazaar again. Tomorrow morning, we head to Doi Suthep Temple, a Buddhist temple just outside of Chiang Mai. Thank you for all your prayers and support. They have not gone unanswered. The Lord is faithful, and that has been so evident through our time here. May the gospel go forth and much glory be brought to His name from our time in Thailand. All praise and glory be to Him!
For the team,
Katie
Friday, January 6, 2012
In the Village
Wow. We've been in the villages for more than a week now, and so much has happened. Thank you for your prayers for safety and health - most of our team is feeling better and so far we have had no more serious injuries than a sprained ankle and blisters. The team from the Well Church in Fresno also arrived safely last Sunday night, and it has been blessing to have even more people to work with. We've been working on four main projects: the water tank for Dae Bur Sae Lo Co, the fifth grade classroom for the school, VBS and some agricultural projects.
The water tank is just about finished. The trenching and pipe burying is all but done, all the layers of the concrete tank have been poured, the filter is mostly completed. The Well Church will finish the work on Monday after we leave for Chiang Mai. Charlie, Sean, Hannah and I (Katie) have been the primary ones on this project, and have really enjoyed the time spent with the villagers and Amutep, the ITDP staff who has been directing the project. To see bare dirt turn into a concrete water tower has been really neat. It's surprisingly hard to leave without seeing the completed tank, but praise God that there is another team here to finish the work!
The work that is being done to construct the fifth grade classroom is slow-going, tedious work, bending and tying rebar, digging holes for columns, pouring cement, but the project is way ahead of schedule. Even though we will not see the completion of this project (or even close to it) there has been a lot of progress made in a week. Kaitlin, Steve, Laura, Brian, Chris, and Destiny have worked closely with this project.
VBS has also been going well. We've been partnering with some ladies from the Well, and looking at some of the Old Testament stories and how God's faithfulness in all circumstances is so very clear. Christine and Heather (from the Well) have been in charge, and all of us girls have rotated in and helped at different times.
The final project is the agricultural work, which Nikki and Christine have worked. They've built a pigpen, prepared fertilizer for the coffee plants, prepared the ground for a garden and done a myriad of other tasks that have needed to be done.
So much else has happened, between church in Mah Ho Jo, an outreach, Children's Day (a Thai holiday)...the list goes on. There is simply not time to share everything. As we prepare to leave in a day and a half, everyone on the team is really struggling. The villagers and the kids have become like family and friends. The Karen are beautiful. In a lot of ways, time slows down here and it feels as if you've always been here. Many of us are more likely to say, "Dtahblu" than we are "Thank you." The Lord has used our time here to grow and strengthen us greatly. He is good, and that has been so evident. Pray that He uses our work to advance His name and His kingdom.
For the team,
Katie
The water tank is just about finished. The trenching and pipe burying is all but done, all the layers of the concrete tank have been poured, the filter is mostly completed. The Well Church will finish the work on Monday after we leave for Chiang Mai. Charlie, Sean, Hannah and I (Katie) have been the primary ones on this project, and have really enjoyed the time spent with the villagers and Amutep, the ITDP staff who has been directing the project. To see bare dirt turn into a concrete water tower has been really neat. It's surprisingly hard to leave without seeing the completed tank, but praise God that there is another team here to finish the work!
The work that is being done to construct the fifth grade classroom is slow-going, tedious work, bending and tying rebar, digging holes for columns, pouring cement, but the project is way ahead of schedule. Even though we will not see the completion of this project (or even close to it) there has been a lot of progress made in a week. Kaitlin, Steve, Laura, Brian, Chris, and Destiny have worked closely with this project.
VBS has also been going well. We've been partnering with some ladies from the Well, and looking at some of the Old Testament stories and how God's faithfulness in all circumstances is so very clear. Christine and Heather (from the Well) have been in charge, and all of us girls have rotated in and helped at different times.
The final project is the agricultural work, which Nikki and Christine have worked. They've built a pigpen, prepared fertilizer for the coffee plants, prepared the ground for a garden and done a myriad of other tasks that have needed to be done.
So much else has happened, between church in Mah Ho Jo, an outreach, Children's Day (a Thai holiday)...the list goes on. There is simply not time to share everything. As we prepare to leave in a day and a half, everyone on the team is really struggling. The villagers and the kids have become like family and friends. The Karen are beautiful. In a lot of ways, time slows down here and it feels as if you've always been here. Many of us are more likely to say, "Dtahblu" than we are "Thank you." The Lord has used our time here to grow and strengthen us greatly. He is good, and that has been so evident. Pray that He uses our work to advance His name and His kingdom.
For the team,
Katie
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