Sunday, January 10, 2010
Day 5 Kap Choeng
Today is another early start for us, waking up for the 6.00am devotion, still suffering from the lethargy of yesterday. We were taken to Kap Choeng church, an outreach church of Ajn Perm. The service went on for four hours, and for us whoa re Aussies, we were finding it hard to keep going towards the end.
The Children Ministry was excellent. The children seems attentive but not as excite as the ones in Osmach Village 2' kids. Had lunch with the church before shooting back to Surin.
Tomorrow we'll be travelling to another church pastored by Ajn Oh. We'll be joining their Sunday service.
Morning devotion before we set out to Kap Choeng Village Church Christmas Celebration. We take turn to lead devotion each morning, at different times in the morning depending on our schedule for the day. The last 2 began at 6.00 am. We also meet every evening for debriefing over the day's activites.
One of the many presentations during the service which lasted for 4 hours, these children were guests from another village church. They are here waiting for their turn to quote Bible verses from memory. Some of these can quote more than 30 verses at one go!
Getting balloons ready for deco and play.
Doing our gig...and getting better at it.
The MMII Bunch packing gifts for the children. It's good to know we've made their day, even if it is only for one day.
The Children Ministry was excellent. The children seems attentive but not as excite as the ones in Osmach Village 2' kids. Had lunch with the church before shooting back to Surin.
Tomorrow we'll be travelling to another church pastored by Ajn Oh. We'll be joining their Sunday service.
Morning devotion before we set out to Kap Choeng Village Church Christmas Celebration. We take turn to lead devotion each morning, at different times in the morning depending on our schedule for the day. The last 2 began at 6.00 am. We also meet every evening for debriefing over the day's activites.
One of the many presentations during the service which lasted for 4 hours, these children were guests from another village church. They are here waiting for their turn to quote Bible verses from memory. Some of these can quote more than 30 verses at one go!
Getting balloons ready for deco and play.
Doing our gig...and getting better at it.
The MMII Bunch packing gifts for the children. It's good to know we've made their day, even if it is only for one day.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Day 4 Osmach, Cambodia
Hi all!
Well, today was the busiest day thus far - we ministered to two villages in Osmach, Cambodia which is located just beyond the Thailand/Cambodia border.
After an early rise, we managed a fairly quick pathway through all the passport and visa points to where we were supposed to go. The first village we visited consisted of mainly Khmer people. There were many children who enjoyed the presentation we provided which included a song and a skit. The gift giving was ordered chaos! It was touching to see the delight on the children's faces when they received, but also sad to see their disappointment when we ran out of gifts towards the end.
The second village was smaller in size, but certainly not enthusiasm. The people here are more of a Vietnamese origin. We were all buoyed by the enthusiasm and cooperation of all, especially the adults who chanted towards the climax of our lost sheep skit, and called for an encore of our dramatised version of 'Give Me a Home Among the Gum Trees'.
At the 1st village - Osmach, Cambodia
'Look at our nervous smiles!'
Kids waiting patiently
Children galore!
Queuing up
"Look at our new Aussie hats!"
The shepherd with his sheep
Well, today was the busiest day thus far - we ministered to two villages in Osmach, Cambodia which is located just beyond the Thailand/Cambodia border.
After an early rise, we managed a fairly quick pathway through all the passport and visa points to where we were supposed to go. The first village we visited consisted of mainly Khmer people. There were many children who enjoyed the presentation we provided which included a song and a skit. The gift giving was ordered chaos! It was touching to see the delight on the children's faces when they received, but also sad to see their disappointment when we ran out of gifts towards the end.
The second village was smaller in size, but certainly not enthusiasm. The people here are more of a Vietnamese origin. We were all buoyed by the enthusiasm and cooperation of all, especially the adults who chanted towards the climax of our lost sheep skit, and called for an encore of our dramatised version of 'Give Me a Home Among the Gum Trees'.
At the 1st village - Osmach, Cambodia
'Look at our nervous smiles!'
Kids waiting patiently
Children galore!
Queuing up
"Look at our new Aussie hats!"
The shepherd with his sheep
Friday, January 8, 2010
Day 3 Surin
Hi guys. This will be a quick post as it is getting late and we are a little tired. We went to the Silk Village in the morning and the boys watched Danni and Lee shop for silk scarves. We were pretty amazed at the dedication and patience of the silk weavers and realised there was no way Chris was ever going to be a weaver of the silk as he has no concentration or dedication.
We have been eating good, spicy food and enjoying the laughs and conversation taking place with our hosts Julia, Mark and Neil.
We shopped for milk, slippers, toys and shampoo for the Cambodian visit tomorrow. The pictures will speak for themselves...
Girls doing what girls do best!
Us shopping for tomorrow
Us packing boxes for tomorrow
Our sheep ears for the lost sheep skit
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Surin - Thong Tarin Hotel
Well we're now at Surin after much travelling! Last night we went to the night bazaar next to Lumpini Park and despite the humidity, we managed to snatch up some bargains and watched Lee exercise her amazing bargaining skills. We also shared our first meal in Bangkok and didn't get sick - yay!
We woke up at 4:30am today (except for Jack who gets up at 3am for fun) to catch our Air Asia flight to Ubon before a 3 hour bus ride to Surin. Here are some updates from us all:
- Lee is only surviving because she has the love of her life with her - her iPhone! She is also hoping to lose weight seeing as we've been eating a lot of soup noodles
- Chris is giggling like a schoolgirl; we think the heat is getting to him...
- Dylan loves tom yum - he says it's yum. He's a man of few words.
- Tham Fuan is excited about sharing a room with Chris tonight but hopes that he doesn't snore
- Jack is sulking because there is no gym or sauna at this hotel - yes, he is a bit of a princess...
- Danni (me) is loving the food (the tastiness and cheapness!) and reeeally looking forward to the buffet breakfast tomorrow!
We met Mark, Julia & their son Neil today and will be meeting with them tonight to talk about our plans for the next few days - time to get down to work now! See below for some pics from last night and today:
Dinner @ Bangkok
From Ubon to Surin
On the plane from KL to BKK
Chris' new T-shirt
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
KL (Malaysia) Airport
Hi Boys and Girls...
We are currently in the ever lovely Starbucks stuck at the airport waiting for our transfer flight to BKK... just another 3 hours to go!!! Yeah!!!
All is well as can be:
- Tham Fuan has not eaten so has not thrown up yet! (YEAH!!) However, the true Asian that he is... has taken all the food off the plane to devour later!
- Dylan (apparently) rocks! He watched 1.5 movies because GI Joe is just tooooo long and boring and he's getting old
- Jack is still asking about international phone codes... AGAIN.... and playing with his new toy (a Samsung 10.2 mega pixel camera)
- Danni just discovered Green Tea Frapps at Starbucks and is currently in love
- Chris... welll..... he just likes to sit and correct my spelling and is hoping to grow a nice long mullet by the end of the trip
- me... Lee has gone through 2 movies, 2 TV shows and 4 games of Tetris and has had an hour sleep.... no point wasting free movie time.
Coffee can only do so much but we're ploughing through!
Will update you further once we've landed in BKK.
MMII
ps. here are some pics for your viewing pleasure...
@ Melbourne Airport
Away we go!!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Prayer Requests
What we would like our Prayer Partners to pray for us individually:
• Jack: Pray that I truly understand and be receptive to what God has plan for me on a mission of His choosing and making in this time of my life.
• Tham Fuan: I will be encouraged through my observation of how Christians live in other parts of the world.
• Dylan: Can people please pray that I walk close with God during the 10 days and be open to any experiences that may take me out of my comfort zone.
• Chris: Pray that I am spiritually, emotionally, physically and mentally prepared for service and that I am completely focussed.
• Lee: Pray that this trip will really open my eyes to see how God works in practical ways. Also for emotional strength as I easily tear up when I see injustice and poverty (sometimes I cry watching World Vision ads!)
• Danni: Pray that I will be sensitive to how God wants me to serve over there and also sensitive to the people I will be ministering to. Also pray that I will walk away from this experience forever changed, not just touched for a few weeks after our return.
What we would like our Prayer Partners to pray for those whom we will be ministering to in Thailand/Cambodia:
• Jack: For the people that I will be coming in contact with to encounter, experience and receive the grace, the love and the spirit of our Lord Jesus and will be able to welcome Him into their hearts and that of their families and friends.
• Tham Fuan: God will use me to be his tool of blessing to the churches I minister in.
• Dylan: Pray our group makes an impact (however small or large) on those people that we come into contact with and that the work / ministering that we do is lasting.
• Chris: Pray that I encounter those whom God has set out for me to assist – as if I am a piece of a jigsaw, and those whom I am to assist are a ‘perfect fit’. I believe that God puts people in our paths for a reason.
• Lee: Pray that we will be an encouragement to Mark and his family and also that the children will be open and understand our intro & skit despite the language barrier... That God will work through the simplest of things!
• Danni: The people we meet and serve along the way will be blessed by our presence, even though we might not be able to see the fruits of our labour while on the trip. Pray that the seeds that are planted by our team will continue to grow long after we've left.
• Jack: Pray that I truly understand and be receptive to what God has plan for me on a mission of His choosing and making in this time of my life.
• Tham Fuan: I will be encouraged through my observation of how Christians live in other parts of the world.
• Dylan: Can people please pray that I walk close with God during the 10 days and be open to any experiences that may take me out of my comfort zone.
• Chris: Pray that I am spiritually, emotionally, physically and mentally prepared for service and that I am completely focussed.
• Lee: Pray that this trip will really open my eyes to see how God works in practical ways. Also for emotional strength as I easily tear up when I see injustice and poverty (sometimes I cry watching World Vision ads!)
• Danni: Pray that I will be sensitive to how God wants me to serve over there and also sensitive to the people I will be ministering to. Also pray that I will walk away from this experience forever changed, not just touched for a few weeks after our return.
What we would like our Prayer Partners to pray for those whom we will be ministering to in Thailand/Cambodia:
• Jack: For the people that I will be coming in contact with to encounter, experience and receive the grace, the love and the spirit of our Lord Jesus and will be able to welcome Him into their hearts and that of their families and friends.
• Tham Fuan: God will use me to be his tool of blessing to the churches I minister in.
• Dylan: Pray our group makes an impact (however small or large) on those people that we come into contact with and that the work / ministering that we do is lasting.
• Chris: Pray that I encounter those whom God has set out for me to assist – as if I am a piece of a jigsaw, and those whom I am to assist are a ‘perfect fit’. I believe that God puts people in our paths for a reason.
• Lee: Pray that we will be an encouragement to Mark and his family and also that the children will be open and understand our intro & skit despite the language barrier... That God will work through the simplest of things!
• Danni: The people we meet and serve along the way will be blessed by our presence, even though we might not be able to see the fruits of our labour while on the trip. Pray that the seeds that are planted by our team will continue to grow long after we've left.
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