Merry Christmas from the RAC Office!

Merry Christmas from the girls at the RAC Office! Enjoy and God Bless!

Our Christmas

Ahh Christmas, everyone’s favourite time of year, or so they say; not one is ever the same, and they are never lacking in showing God’s love and grace. In four days we will be celebrating our third Christmas here in Chiang Mai, and we await God’s new vision of His care for us.

Moving to a new country is never an entirely pleasant experience, with leaving friends and familiar sights, but even more so when the country you are moving to is predominantly non-Christian and totally unfamiliar with anything you’ve ever experienced before. Thailand fits very well into both categories, as our previous stay in an Asian country had been in the Philippines, a mostly Roman Catholic country; not to mention the fact that most of us spoke the language there!

Least to say, holidays can be a very lonely time without friends or family. Especially considering the fact that we live in a nation that mostly does not know the Lord, and as such, we are deprived of the ‘Christmas Spirit’ that often permeates this time of year. Christmas decorations are not common place, and the lights that are seen are used to adorn spirit houses. TV specials and mall ornamentation are used to appeal to foreigners and made to make Thailand seem more ‘Western’. All of this condenses into an overall feeling of loneliness, isolation, and even alienation, as we are so different from everyone else.

But, God has shown his amazing grace in both of our Christmases here so far. With out first here we were blessed with carollers at our doorstep, not an ordinary happening in a Buddhist country. They were of course, not Thai people, but people who went to our church, but the resulting feeling was no less wonderful. In our Christmas of 2005 we were invited to not one, but two Canadian families, with one get together on Christmas Day, and the other the following. We were very surprised and did not honestly expect any such thing to happen. Two excellent examples of how God has let our Christmas time here be easier and more comfortable.

With this in mind, we are heartened and encouraged that He will bring about yet another surprise this coming Christmas. We also embolden you to remember that Jesus is the reason for the season and that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Blessings to you all, and that He will show you His exceedingly abundant everlasting love that knows no end and endures forever.

Motorcycles in Chiang Mai

Like much of South East Asia, Chiang Mai has a very large abundance of motorcycles. They are everywhere: roads, sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, and schoolyards. In fact, your average parking lot here is typically sectioned to have a fourth or fifth of its area reserved for motorcycles, also known as motorbikes.

Thinking about it, there are a lot of perks to riding a motorcycle. For one thing, to fill up a tank of gas only costs 70 baht, which, in Canadian dollars, converts to just a little over two dollars. Another thing would be the extremely simple process of parking. Wherever a firm level surface and enough room for a kickstand can be found, there lies your parking space.

Unfortunately, along with these come a worrying list of downsides that can be filed underneath the heading 'Cons'. The permit age to ride a motorbike here is sixteen, although that won't stop you from seeing up to three kids, aged ten to twelve, all speeding down the road on the same bike. There is also here, in the Kingdom of Thailand, a law that restricts the riding of motorbikes when not wearing a helmet. This can also be observed being broken daily, as half the motorists can be viewed racing past traffic, sometimes with their helmets in the bike basket, in easy reach for the upcoming traffic check by the authorities.

Furthermore, some motorcyclists are reckless, and can be seen riding on the side or middle of the road, against traffic, and speeding past red lights, or riding ahead while the light is still red. We’ve seen that almost anything can be carried on a motorbike. From bamboo poles, to dogs, to up to four children, a wide variety of various items, a few almost as large as the vehicle itself, can be seen being transported by motorcycle.

All of these facts add up to the fact that accidents are becoming regrettably more frequent. Twice in just the last 2 months we have been greeted by the tragic scene of a motorcyclist lying outstretched on the pavement, bike smashed, bystanders all around. Both incidents were seen on our morning drives to school. Both were caused by one of the first topics mentioned, the habit of driving against traffic on the side or middle of the road.

These accidents are met with much prayer for those involved, and our cries for protection of the lives caught up in all this.

We hope the government will be stricter on the implementation of their law on one way riding only and on helmets so that death and tragedies would be avoided. Until then, we can only do what we can, which is to lead by example (through only Linda rides a motorbike) and, as always, to pray.

The Mon

The Unreached People Group for this week are the Mons.

The Mon have a Mon-Khmer ethnic background, and number about one million. For such a large population, they can only be found in Myanmar and Thailand. In terms of believers, it seems that God has truly stretched his hand out to these people, 0.66% of them know Jesus although they are not being worked with.

Please pray that those few believers would grow strong in The Word and would spread it like a fire. Thank you.

Royal Flora Ratchaphruek

The Thai government has opened up the Royal Flora Ratcha- phruek 2006 not too far from where we live. Since it opened on November 1, it has already received over 1 million visitors. It's a world class horticultural event in honour of the country's highly respected and loved king, Bhumibol Adulyadej. As such, the government spared no expense spending at least 2 billion baht (approx. 52 million US dollars) on 80 hectares of land. Running up until January 31st, 2007, Ratchaphruek has managed to attract visitors from all over Thailand, as well as from countries all over the world. The time span of the event conveniently spans both the 60th Anniversary of the king's Ascension to the Throne, and his 80th birthday this upcoming year.

Today is the king's 79th birthday and the whole week of December 4-10, 2006 has celebrations entirely dedicated to His Majesty. Indeed, the whole floral show is a display of honor to the king from cultural performances from 39 provinces and 10 countries, 22 corporate gardens, Sculptures, Marching Bands, Nightscape Shows, Electric (laser shows) Parade, Lanna Markets, Indoor, and Outdoor Gardens. There are 108 venues to choose from once you get to Ratchaphruek. Some have chosen to go for several days, or stay the whole day from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM.

To ensure that anyone who goes are wowed, satisfied, and comfortable, there are available tram rides, International Food Halls, Kids park, several Picnic Areas, and shopping stalls. Linda and our Malaysian friends had a mere 2.5 hours to spend at Ratchaphruek but they ran out of superlatives long before the 2 hours were even up. The flowers, fruit, vegetables, bushes, grass, gardens, even cacti, that they saw were all arrayed in splendour and beauty. The friends are seen below in front of a colourful profusion of bougainvilleas. We're sorry but we just couldn't do the place justice with our pics. You may want to check their website at www.royalfloraexpo.com Even better, if you can, why don't you come and see it for yourself? You'll love it!

One major downside to the Ratcha- phruek are the enormous tour buses that add to the traffic of Chiang Mai and the one time little road that we travel to school on. All around our used to be quiet neighbourhood, stores and restaurants materialized out of thin air hoping to cash in on the wonder that is Ratchaphruek.

The big question is, what becomes of all this after January 2007?

We hope to visit the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek before it closes next month. It will be fascinating to view such a vast array of God's beauty and nature in one place. Some day, we just hope and pray that it will all be for God's glory, the king of kings.

The Biao-Jiaos

This week's UPG are the Biao-Jiaos.

The Biao-Jiaos are secluded to Guangdong and Guangxi, China. There are no workers there and as such being the case, have no believers among them. There are only about 25,000 of them but each one is important to our Lord.

Please pray for the Biao-Jiaos that workers would begin to work there and that they will know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Thank you.

Doc's Holiday

Last week-end, Grace Int'l. School presented two showings of the play "Doc's Holiday", by Pat Cook. It was a very entertaining Christmas play, eliciting a lot of chuckles and laughter. The cast did a splendid job and when it was all over, most of us left feeling good, having seen a show that blessed and warmed our hearts. Evan, who acted for the first time in his life in a school play did remarkably well. He played 'Charley', the main character 'Doc's' best friend.
Below is his write up on how he felt participating in the play. Except for Jessica Haley, who is in Grade 6, the cast consisted of Grades 9-12 students.

Until now, I, Evan, had not truly realized how much hard work goes into a play. By three weeks before production, we were practicing five days a week, with almost two hours after school Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and eight hour dress rehearsals on Saturday. Needless to say, my lines and the lines of all the other characters have been deeply burned into my memory, as well as how to act and what Not to do.

I also learned the joys of dressing as fast as you can between curtain calls, and stage make-up. Make-up is a scary thing when you're a guy and have never even considered touching 'foundation' or 'eyeliner', but apparently it turns out well when you're up there underneath those lights. Which, may I add, are some of the hottest things on this planet, and you literally are both blinded and scorched by them when you're up on that stage.

All in all, acting in a play was a very satisfying and enjoyable experience. Dressing up and taking the stage has given me new talents, as well as to help strengthen others which I have always had. One such ability was the power of projecting my voice, which was very very useful at the Battle of the Bands. I was also able to strengthen friendships with several of the cast members, and had a lot of fun along the way.

Below is a picture of our cast, with myself in white. Clockwise, from myself are: Peter 'Jake'; Hannah, our 'student director'; Renee, The Director; Bradley, 'Jack'; (above him) Justin, or 'Doc, the Star of the play'; Stephanie, or 'Maxine'; Nuk, 'Charlotte'; Jessica, 'Patty'; Sarah, or 'Sally'; Jeanette Hall, The Producer; Sara, or 'Effie', and Matthias, a.k.a. 'Buzz'.

The Mun

The Unreached People Group for this week are the Mun, or Lantien.

The Mun live in Laos, Vietnam, and Guangxi, China. There are about 260,000 of them, and a very sparse 0.01% of them are believers.

Please pray that as they are not being worked with, workers would move into the countries and reach out to them. Also, thank God that despite the fact that there are currently no workers there, there are believers among them. Please let's pray together for the believers to grow in their faith and for more to join them. Thank you.

The Iu Mien

This week's people group are the Iu Miens.

The Iu Mien can be found in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Guangxi, in China. As you can tell, the 1.5 million of them are very widely spread. Currently, there are workers there.

Please pray for the Iu Miens that they would believe in Jesus and that the believers there would grow in passion and their love for Him.

A Visit to Singapore

From October 28th to November 9th, my father was in Singapore, and we had to do our best without him. Below is an interview I had with my dad, about his trip. Unforunately, there are no pictures, sorry!

Me- So, what was your purpose in visiting Singapore?

Eng- My purpose in visiting Singapore was to attend a financial meeting.

The first three days of my stay in Singapore I did what you call an annual estimate review. There is a group of five of us, and we look at the budget of each country, the sending country and the receiving country. We analyse that everything is consistent with the financial policy of our company.

And then on the second and the third, we had the International Committee Meeting Proper. We discussed various topics such as pension and retiring programs for our people. We also looked at all the Generation Two IFS (International Financial System). The first one is already ten years old, and we are upgrading our financial system to a better one to better meet the needs of our company.

Then we had a break in between where all of us, the financial committee members, attended a Silent Retreat in a Catholic retreat centre in Singapore. All of us felt refreshed from that, and there was a time to hear from God ourselves. One highlight was on a Saturday morning and Sunday morning, we were able to walk over to a conservation park where the only thing we were unable to do was speak. We were able to see and smell and feel the prescence of God all around us.

The next three days it was back to meetings.

Me- What did you enjoy most about your visit?

I had an opportunity to visit with one particular Singaporean family that we (the family) met just before I left Chiang Mai. We exchanged contact info, and I was invited to their house for dinner. I listened to their stories of how God is working in their lives, and how he may be inviting them into possible full time missions work.

I was also able to minister to a young boy of 12 years old that visited us back in March. I was able to spend some time with him, and encourage him. He had lost quite a bit of weight, and his parents were quite concerned about him. I encouraged him to eat and regain his strength.

One evening after having supper at his house we gathered around and prayed that God would make him feel stronger. He had been having an irregular heartbeat and problems with a very low blood pressure; seventy over fourty. The night before he left I called him, and the doctor had just given a good report about how his heart rate had normalized. I account this recovery to our prayers and that God healed him. The doctor could find nothing physically wrong with him.

Me- What’s one thing you like about Singapore that you can’t find in Chiang Mai?

The Botanical Gardena, at which I ran many mornings in. It was like God’s garden, and I was able to enjoy his creation. And eating Indian food too. I was brought to Little India for Indian food two times, and enjoyed eating on banana leaves and things like that.

Music Mania.

The student council at Grace International School came to an agreement one day, that they would change the annual "Battle of the Bands" to "Music Mania". In doing so they would guarantee the involvement of other non-band groups, such as lip-syncing acts and dance routines. Over the next few weeks, groups signed up for this night of entertainment and practiced while the day loomed ever closer. Last Saturday came the night of Music Mania, a chance to score money for some, a moment of terror for others.

I myself was in a band, and sang a rock cover of Justin Timberlake's 'Cry Me a River'. We, however, did not win, though we did score a lot of points for crowd participation. More importantly, I had a really fun time singing (screaming at times), and I hope to enter next year and see how our band does. Below are pictures from the night, with (in descending order) a picture of my friend Megan's band, Chaos Theory; our band, radiomarch; and the school's Jazz Band.

The Lao Phuan: Tai Phuan

The Lao Phuan can be found in Laos, and have a South-western Tai affinity. They are currently being worked with, and 0.01% of them are Christian. As there are 115,000 of them, that means there are about 11 believers among them.

Join us in prayer for those eleven or so believers, that they would be strong in their faith, and that the workers that are currently positioned with them would do God's will to the best of their abilities.

The Phu Tai Laos

The Phu Tai Laos are of the Tai affinity, and are Southwestern Animists. Their everyday lives revolve around a very dark spiritual world that controls their every action.

They can be found in Laos, just like all the other Lao. There are about 150,000 of them, and only 15 are believers (.01%). There are however some workers there.

Pray with us that the 15 who already believe will have the courage and boldness to share about Jesus, that the workers there will have wisdom in how to share, and that the Holy Spirit would sweep through this people. Thank you!

Loy Krathong

As indicated, today's blog entry is about the Thai celebration of Loy Krathong.

Over the weekend we were constantly reminded of this holiday by the incessant noise of fireworks and firecrackers being lit, often times in the middle of the day. Now that the festivities are over, we can look back and better understand why the Thai people do what they do.

This morning as my mother was out for a walk, she found some remnants of the krathong that were still in the pond in front of our house. Mostly made of palm or some sort of leaves, they float until they become waterlogged and sink. They were bedecked with flowers, incense, a candle, or a combination of all three on some of them. She was told that nail clippings, locks of hair, or money were also placed on the krathong. Reasons for why this is done varies. Some say it is to cast off the misfortunes or their ‘bad luck’ down the river. She also asked why money was placed on the krathong, and was told that it was some kind of offering to the goddess. It’s a contradiction of sorts on the krathong, but at least on the paper lanterns (lit by wax, some come with fireworks – looking like a star shooting skyward) they agree that it's to cast off their misfortunes.

Later on in the day, she spoke to Phii Chamngan, a Christian that went out last night to lay a krathong on the Ping River. When asked why he felt it was necessary, he said it was to thank the Goddess of the River for the provision of the water that he uses and also for him to pay his respect and to apologise for polluting it.

Loy Krathong in the complete sense of the holiday, is a day when the Thai people can both enjoy themselves and have fun (lots of food!), while experiencing a deep relief in their apparent forgiveness of sins. Either through the lanterns lit, or the krathongs placed on the river (or water source), they are able to pray, make amends, and to let go of what is unpleasant. It seems that the laying of the krathong is a must for them but not the lighting of fireworks or the lanterns. Unfortunately, even Thai people who already believe in Jesus have a hard time turning their backs on lifelong tradition. Please pray for the Thai people to believe in the one true God (not the Goddess of the River) and for Phii Chamngan and believers like him who still cling to their culture, that they would realize God's calling for them, and what they could better be doing with their lives.

Halloween: Not as Innocent as You Think

In truth, any of us who have ever lived in North America know that Halloween affects our lives and culture deeply. Unfortunately, the number of us who know the origins of this autumn holiday are in short supply. Personally, me and my brothers have never been trick or treating, and I am now very grateful to my parents for keeping me from such activities. And now, to the histories of Halloween.

Halloween. All Hallows' Eve. Satan's Birthday. The Witches' New Year. Many years before Christ was born, the day of October 31st was the holy day that divided Winter and Summer by two fire festivals. It was part of the Celtic Feast of Samhain, and it commemorated the beginning of Winter. According to druidic beliefs, this was the day that the spirit world and the material world became one. Demonic creature that emerged during this time were appeased by animal sacrifices, and offerings to the dead were held. The druids even dressed themselves up as denizens of evil, and involved themselves in demonic activities, hence the dressing up of children for this holiday.

Years later, the early Christian church attempted to redeem this holiday by moving All Saints' Day from May to November 1. Which then made October 31st All Hallow's Eve. Unfortunately, present-day North America has forgotten the alterings of this day, and seems intent on reverting back to the unadulterated version of pagan pasts.

What must not be forgotten is that Halloween is a day filled with demonic oppression. All over the world satanists and witches perform their occultic rituals and sacrifices. Which is why, as my mother is doing, Christians all over the world are praying to the Most High. Pray that children would be safe, that the demonic wishes of those with evil intent would not be carried out. May the Holy Spirit protect us all in this time of dark oppression, and that the shadows will melt away from those who know the Truth.

Fortunately for us, Halloween is not celebrated here in Thailand, and our eyes need not be assaulted by gruesome, disturbing faces at every corner. However, Loy Krathong will be celebrated this weekend, which in itself holds its own in spiritual oppression and trappings. More on this next week,

-Evan

Laos from the Vientiane Municipality

This week's UPG as stated earlier are all from the country of Laos (not too be confused with how they are called too!). The Laos from the Vientiane Municipality are 0.6 million altogether. There are workers there and .20% of them thankfully believe already.

Please pray with us for more to turn to and believe in the Lord Jesus and for courage and boldness for those who already believe to share with those who don't. Thank you and bless you!

The Lowland Laos

This week and the weeks following, the Unreached People Group will be the three types of Lao.

The Lowland Laos can be found in, you guessed it, Laos. there 3.5 million of them, and there are workers there. Below 1% of them are Christian, but this is a vast improvement over many other people groups in the same area.

Please pray for the Lowland Laos, that they would all come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal saviour.

The Cost of a Perfect Smile

Last Wednesday was a day of true celebration for me; it was the day I finally got my braces off. Some of you may recall seeing me, during our visit to Canada over the summer, or just during everyday life in Chiang Mai, with braces. In a thankfully short ordeal just last week I was free, and pleased to hear the news that I had gotten off four months early, only twenty months as opposed to the two years that had been planned. All in all, the monthly visits had cost us about 1,200 baht/month, or 24,000 baht all in all. Along with the braces themselves (20,000 baht), the x-rays (2,000 baht), the teeth impressions (1,600 baht), the consultation (200 baht), and the retainer which I received last Friday (6,000 baht), the entire total came to around 53,800 baht, or about $1,630 Canadian. This is much cheaper than had the orthodontic work been done in Canada, and we are all very thankful for this.

Eric on the other hand received his braces just last Friday, the day when I received my retainer. He had earlier had 4 teeth extracted (500 baht each) to make room due to overcrowding. Much to his relief, his teeth are not as sore as mine were when I had my braces (I stayed up at night over the pain). Just so you know, we both needed braces as our teeth were growing the wrong way and were causing problems with our other teeth.

Our orthodontist is Dr. Warasiri Pitakanonda, or Dr. Dtom (pronounced "Tom", but with a slight 'd' sound to the 't'). She has quite a resume, with a C.A.G.S. in Pedodontics from Boston University, and a M.S. of Orthodontics from the University of Pacific, in San Francisco. We are both very thankful to her, and pray that she gets blessed.

I am enjoying life with a straight smile, and Eric awaits his turn for when he will be able to smile with teeth all aligned neatly in perfect rows.

Below are three pictures, the first with Eric and I, he without braces, and I with, and the second and third with the both of us again, with our places reversed.

The Kinhs (Again)

Since this is one of the largest Unreached People Groups in South-East Asia, we thought it necessary that another week of prayer be dedicated to the Kinhs.

Some things you didn't know about the Kinhs:

-The Kinhs (or ethnic Vietnamese) are among the worst persecuted Christians in the world.

-As of December 2005, there are only 11 workers on the Vietnamese team. That's 11 workers to about 65 million unbelievers!

Please pray again for the Kinhs, that more workers would be sent. Let's pray that the truth would spread through them like a wildfire.

The Acts Church of Chiang Mai

Long ago we made a decision as a family to set aside every second Sunday of the month to immerse ourselves in Christian Thai culture. The result of this action is our monthly visit to the Acts Church of Chiang Mai. The Acts Church is pastored by Pastor Kriengsak, a pastor of 20 years, with 15 of those years at Acts Church. He is also known as Moh Kriengsak, which means Doctor Kriengsak in Thai. He also happens to be our family doctor.

The Acts Church has included, fortunately for us, English translation in their services. Much to Linda’s delight, there are banner wielders at the front of the church during worship (as seen on the right). She also enjoys the freedom of the worship, which involves expressive dancing, the use of tambourines, and a lot of joyous jumping around. It is a lot freer than most services we've attended in any of the 3 countries we've lived in (Canada, Philippines, and Thailand).

Their services are held every Sunday at a Chinese language school, which is open on week-ends only. This being the case, every Saturday night church members must go over and set everything up for the following day's service. Adding to this hassle, one of the electric guitars used for worship was stolen last Saturday so the musical instruments could no longer be left at the school. They all need to be taken to the church early Sunday morning.

After each service, the church provides delicious lunch for visitors and members alike so once again, chairs are moved around, tables are set up, and then lunch is enjoyed together (voluntary donation for the food is asked for during the service). The ‘lunch set up’ is remarkably done very quickly, even much quicker when the service is a tad longer (hunger driven perhaps?).

The church bought land to build their own place but they are still praying for the building funds to come in. What is both a blessing and a prayer request is that the government has begun excavating earth around the Ping River, due to flooding after heavy rains. The good news is that the excavated earth has been donated to the Church, which will need it to build their building. The earth however, requires transporting, which they also need money for. Currently, they’ve already raised over 400,000 baht, and require just less than a 100,000 baht (about $3,000+ Canadian) more for the transportation of the earth alone. Let's join them in praying for the Lord's provision.

Pastor Kriengsak has indicated to Linda that when and if the new church is built, pictures of the king and queen of Thailand (as seen in top left of photo) won’t be up front and center of the sanctuary as is currently set up (since they use the language school). We do agree with him that the royal couple deserves the respect they receive but certainly not the worship and adulation due a deity that some Thai people give them. To any unbelieving Thai who walks in a church with their can't-miss-reverential-big pictures, it is hard to separate the fact that they are respected but not worshipped there. This change would be a welcome one indeed!

The Kinhs

This week’s UPG is the Kinhs. The Kinhs can be found in Vietnam and Cambodia, and have the largest population of any unreached people group so far. There are about 30 million Northern Kinhs, and about 35 million Southern Kinhs, making the total around 65 million.

Unfortunately for such a large population, below 2% of the people are believers. This is a staggeringly low amount even with workers there.

Please pray with us that more would be sent to the Kinhs, and that they would learn to worship Jesus as their one and only saviour.

The Visa Run

We were driven out this Sunday to the Chiang Mai train station to take the (13-hour) overnight train to Bangkok. The train left at 5:40 PM and we spent most of our time playing cards and reading, until an attendant turned our seats into beds, and we dozed off to the sound of the click-clacking of the wheels on the tracks. We were awakened early the next day, shortly after 6 AM, and arrived in Bangkok to take a taxi to a guest home.

We spent a couple of hours there resting then took yet another taxi to the immigration office to get our visas. We spent the least amount of time we've ever spent in that office. Our concerns that our visas may not be renewed due to the political unrest were unwarranted, and we walked out with the ability to live yet another year in Thailand. Our business finally done at noon-ish, we were left with hours upon hours with nothing to do until our flight back, at 8:15 PM. So we did what any family would have done: we went to the mall.

Upon arrival, and after a very filling lunch at McDonald's, we split up; my mother going off to shop on her own, and my dad and the rest of us to search for things to buy. We thought of watching a movie too but nothing was worth seeing. My brothers bought a few computer games, and I searched in vain for a music CD. A new school bag was also purchased for Ethan, and a great deal of walking around the mall was involved getting to and fro each store. Finally, we pondered over chocolate milk shakes what to do for the rest of the day. The decision was made to buy our dinner (which was various meat buns from a nearby bakery) and take an extremely long taxi ride over to the Suvarnabhumi International Airport (or more known as the New Bangkok International Airport), which is now apparently the largest in Asia.

The airport was HUGE, not to mention very high tech, temperature cool, clean, well-lit, and organized. We did not spend very long there though, and we were soon waiting for our terminal to open up. While my dad arranged the plane tickets and we amused ourselves by running up and down the automatic sidewalks, and playing with Eli and Ethan's new remote controlled cars, my mom was busy befriending a Thai lady named Nong Sii, who she later prayed for and convinced to take pictures of us.

Finally, when our plane arrived at 8:45 (late!) and we got on it, it was only a little over an hour flight back to Chiang Mai. Most of us napped through it, and we soon awoke to a familiar airport. On returning home at 10:45 PM, we all breathed long sighs of relief, and thanked God that although completely exhausted, we got our visas and arrived home safely. We won't have to repeat the entire process again until next year.

Below are two pictures taken at the New Bangkok International Airport. The first was taken in front of one of many very nice paintings arrayed along the wide corridors. The second was taken with us standing behind a curiously placed metal screen (its use still unknown).

The Karens

To those among you who are tempted to say this people group's name as 'Karen', as you would a girl's name, I would ask of you to resist your urges. Karen is pronounced 'Ka' as in 'car' and 'ren' as in 'hen'. Actually, you would be more correct if you said 'Car-hen' then 'Karen'.

The Karen are quite well known here in Thailand, as they can be found both here as well as Myanmar (formerly Burma). Another reason is that there are so many of them, about 2.5 million.

Please pray for the Karen because although they are being worked with, they are often looked down upon in Thai society. As this is the case, they often have trouble finding jobs, and are often left with selling 'mountain village' jewellery. Please pray that they will accept Jesus and also gain acceptance with the Thai people.

Saying Goodbye

Last Friday my parents went out with my dad's co-workers to bid Khun Lim a final farewell. But this was to be no somber occasion, and it appeared to be more of a celebration than a grim parting.

All of the office staff and their 'fehn' (boyfriend or girlfriend in Thai) were invited by my parents to a lovely restaurant up in the mountains, which they had not gone to before. The restaurant is called Pa Lad Ta Waan Ron, meaning 'Age of Sunset'. It's located near the waterfalls (where tables are actually set just 2 or 3 meters away) and it provides an extraordinary view of Chiang Mai.

My mother, when telling me what to write in this week's blog, would not stop with the vivid descriptions of what was served there, and how delicious it was, and so on and so forth. She simply could not get over the fact that (as seen in the picture) the drinks were served in tall glasses, with, wait for it, a wedge of lime, and, you'll never believe this, real orchids. They served flowers with their drinks! One such 'exotic culinary dish' was fried crocodile, which could be purchased fried, deep-fried, or quick-fried. Ostrich meat was also served the same way, with various types of sauces for both available.

Various descriptive novelties aside, the sending off was quite a success. My mother also noticed that Thai people (or this group in particular) love to take their pictures, and then get a kick out of looking at them. We thank God for Nong Lim and the time she spent in the office, and we also thank Him for Nong Phung, and for the blessing she is and will be to all of us.

The Khams

This week's Unreached People Group is the Kham.

The Kham are very far spread out, and live in China, in the provinces of Sichuan, Tibet, and Qinghai. There are quite a large number of them, their population reaching about 1.8 million. Unfortunately for such a large amount, only 0.03% of them are Christian, though they are being worked with.

Please pray that though the believers are few, that they would reach out to the other Kham, and that it would not be by the workers that the revival comes, but by the people themselves.

Welcome to the RAC Office,

My father, as overworked as he is, was recently informed by one of his staff members, Nong Lim (shown at left), that she was moving to Bangkok, to help with the family business. This was an enormous shock to him, and was very stressed out and already thinking about the mountain of work that awaited him.

He started to pray for a new employee, and we as his family joined him in praying to the Lord. Sure enough, he has not too long ago received a visit from a girl by the name of Nong Phung who was told by her friends that there might be an opening at the RAC office. Now understand, my father had not put up ads or asked around for a new staff member, but she came to the office of her own accord (surely prompted by the Lord?).

Nong Phung (shown below), or her full name, Koontida Srisomped (you can understand why Thai people use their nicknames) will be 24 on October 30th. She graduated from Payap University, a Christian university, and studied English for her major; she minored in Japanese.

She first and foremostly thanks God for her opportunity to work at the RAC office, and refers to Him as Immanuel, which means God is with us. Phung believes that God led her to study English, and to help others through this second language. She said, "What I hope will happen as I work here is to support others as much as I can. I would like to be a part of God's ministry at the RAC office."

Please pray that Nong Phung would be able to fit into office life at the Mekong Center, and that she would soon grow comfortable to working there. Also pray for Nong Lim, as she will have to work with and help with her parents in Bangkok. Lastly, let's praise God for His speedy answer to our prayers, and for His grace and mercy.

The Inthas

This week's Unreached People Group is the Intha.

The affinity of the Intha is Lolo-Burmese, and they currently live in Myanmar and Thailand. There are 141,000 of them, and of that 141,000, only 0.07% of them are Christian. Not only that, but they have no workers there right now, and have no way of finding the Gospel.

Please pray for the Intha, that workers would be sent, and that hearts would know the truth.

Moving Around

In case you're wondering at home, how we here in Thailand get where we want to go. And, I'm sorry to burst your bubbles, but we don't ride elephants around here. Actually, we use vehicles, just like you do. Though the gas is fortunately a lot cheaper here then it is over there. Lately Eng has become quite keen on the idea of buying an automatic motorcycle. (He isn't comfortable riding Linda's motorcycle which has gears.) He hopes to use the automatic one to get to and from work. Linda is now a long way from when she crashed our helper's motorcycle, bruising her entire leg. Shown left is a photo of Linda on her motorcycle. Behind her, though barely visible, is our car. It is quite old (15 years to be exact), and prone to creaking when going over speedbumps, but it works. People here also bicycle to many places, not simply reserved to their own neighbourhoods, but also to their workplaces and schools. It takes us 10-15 minutes on a bicycle to get to Grace International School where Linda is a Grade 1 Teaching Assistant and where the boys study.

But when those fail, we always have Chiang Mai's public transport system. Usually very inexpensive, it often comes down to a toss-up between taking a songthaew, or taking a tuktuk. A tuktuk (as shown on the left, below) is a motorcycle that has been added on to to allow for passengers. These are usually very fast, smoky, and pleasant if you like the wind in your hair. Songthaews on the other hand, are, if you have been to the Philippines, much like jeepneys, though not as colourful. As you can, hopefully, see from the picture on the bottom right, songthaews are basically pickups, with a roof and seats for passengers in the rear. As I have slowly come to learn from living in Chiang Mai, the red ones are like taxis, and will take you anywhere, while the yellow, white, or blue songthaews follow a route.

A Little R & R

For the information of all of you who are reading this, it wasn't all work and no play for us over the summer. Every now and then we were able to take a break from visiting churches and re-meeting people we hadn't seen in years, and kick back for awhile and do things we'd never done before.

One such new and exciting experience was spent while we were visiting the Lewis's, a family that we go WAY back with. Anyway, they just so happened to have two ATVs in their garage, and me and Eric were blessed with the opportunity to ride said vehicles. To those lesser informed (I myself was one of your number 'till last summer), ATV stands for All Terrain Vehicle. And after a quick how-to lesson from Uncle Robert, we were off; zooming around their very expansive front and back lawns. (picture below)

Another thing we did during our stay was spend time with old friends. Eric, Eli and I had enjoyed two fun-filled years at Henderson Public School only a couple of years before, and we were overjoyed in meeting up with old friends and getting to spend time with them again. Below is a picture of Ethan and Eli with one of Eli's best friends, Kane. This was a real blessing in regard to the fact that we had not planned to see Kane, and were able to meet him at a swimming pool in our old neighbourhood.


Some of our most important times were the ones spent with our brothers and our mother. Once while driving along we came upon a playground, and due to the insistence of both Eli and Ethan, we stopped to play. I, in particular, was struck with nostalgia at the thought of once again playing at the park, and really enjoyed myself. Lastly, but not leastly, is a picture of Eric playing on the slide, below.

The Ges

This week's Unreached People Group is the Ge.

The Ge can be found in China, in the province of Guizhou. There are currently no workers over there. Thankfully, they are not one of the larger people groups, and only have a population of about 100,000. Still, the Lord loves them and are concerned for them.

Please join us in praying for the Ges, that workers would go to them, and that they would no longer live in darkness.

The Gha-Mus

Here it is again, the Unreached People Group of the Week.

This week it's the Gha-Mus. They can be found in China, in the provinces of Guizou, Sichuan and Yunnan. There are roughly 108,000 of them, stretched out quite thinly across China. They are not currently engaged right now, though by God's blessing 30% of them are Christians.

Please commit the Gha-Mu in your prayers, as we also ask God to work in the lives of these people.

And So I Lay My Head To Sleep...

Over the course of our summer, we were blessed with many places to lay our heads to rest. Long hours of traveling and the difficulty of finding a place for five people to sleep often led to many very interesting 'beds'.

The majority of our stay was spent at our grandparents' house, where immediately spaces of sleeping were claimed. My mom and Ethan took the couch pull-out bed, Eli took the jacuzzi, (as shown in the picture above), Eric took the living room couch, and I took refuge in the basement with the luggage, which all in all, was not particularly a bad thing. I had privacy when changing, and a cool place to retreat to when the summer heat got to me.

During our stay with the Pulsifers in Salmon Arm, Eric, Chris, Jordan, Eli and I took up in their trailer in their backyard, where we spent six nights talking and enjoying the cool B.C. weather.

Our most interesting and by far most enjoyable night was spent atop the Pulsifers' roof, staring up at the night sky. With our uncle's permission, Jordan, Chris, Chris Pikk (Chris' friend), Eric, Leslie, Murphy and I excitedly got ready for our night up top. Careful not to disturb the gravel, we clambered up the ladder, which was propped up by the van, and arranged our beddings.

Once up and comfortable, we chatted the night away while attempting to keep warm and watching shooting stars (which we saw a lot of by the way).

We awoke the next morning with the sun in our faces and barely a night's-worth of sleep between the seven of us.

As we finally left Salmon Arm to go to Vancouver International Airport, we spent a night in the house of Linda's cousin. That morning, as we were packing up, Ethan continued his rest on some porch pillows, looking as comfortable as can be. (picture below)

The Sinicized Miaos

Now we return to our regular programming, with the following section known as the UPG of the Week. UPG stands for Unreached People Group, and we will be posting one every week, for your prayer.

This week we ask you to pray for the Sinicized Miaos.
According to Dictionary.com, Sinicized means to make Chinese in character, or to change and modify by Chinese influence. These Miaos have apparently been heavily affected by the Chinese, and in this way have adopted much of their practices and religion.

Of their population of 250 000, 0.10% of them are Christians. Compared to many of the other people groups in their area of China and Guizhou, this is quite high, though it is indeed a minimal amount. There are workers there right now.

Please pray that the Sinicized Miaos would be open to the gospel, and would leave off of their Chinese influences and embrace Jesus as their saviour.

Summer in B.C.

Hey, this is Evan, the eldest son of the Yeongs. I'm here to update you on our little 'vacation' that we so joyfully experienced these past two months.

Mainly, this post is about our time in B.C., in which we were able to spend time with our extended family, the Pulsifers, in the small town of Salmon Arm, a mere 9-hour drive from the Vancouver International Airport. We flew to Vancouver from Toronto, accompanied by our cousin, Jordan. He visited with us to get away from the busy city life, and to visit the Pulsifers, which consist of Tito (uncle) Craig, Tita (auntie) Lib, their eldest and only son Christopher, and their four daughters, Leslie, Lia (Murphy), Lindsay, and Leilani.

Shown below is a picture taken by my Tito Craig, a skilled photographer and journalist. It was taken at one of the many beaches we visited. We remember this beach in particular for its seaweed covered bottom, and its frigid waters. Regardless of these aspects, we managed to have a pretty good time just getting to know our cousins again.

Much of our time was spent in the water, inner tubing, swimming, or just plain relaxing. Jordan and I were also able to meet a few of Chris' friends, and get to walk around Salmon Arm's 'down town', which was very interesting.

One of my most memorable moments about that time would probably have to be sitting by the street on a bench, with Jordan, Chris, and Chris (my cousin's friend). One thing that must be known about Salmon Arm is that it's not known for it's immense asian population. All jokes aside, we literally doubled the asian population while we were there. Carrying on, we were sitting there on the bench, and we were getting the weirdest looks from passing drivers. It's as if they had never seen two asian kids hanging out with two white kids before. Some of their looks were just so ridiculous that we had to laugh at them, it was hilarious.

All in all, we were really able to start anew with the Pulsifers, catch up where we left off, and really enjoy their company. One thing we enjoyed in particular was Tita Lib's cooking, and family games late at night. We all thank God that, since this detour was not scheduled originally, we were able to take a visit down to Salmon Arm. We also pray blessings over the Pulsifers, for letting us live in their house, eat their food, and play with their children.

TimeOut

As we're here in Canada visiting, eating, shopping, praying, sharing, etc., (not in order of priority or frequency!) it's been hectic and difficult to get in front of the computer to post entries. We're going to have to excuse ourselves from posting anymore entries until we get back to Chiang Mai. Please keep praying with us, in general, for more workers to join those already on the field. We'll be back with more unreached people groups and stories about us soon. Blessings!

By the way, 'A Night With the Kims' is a new posting - considered a May 31 posting although we just posted it. The date was May 31, 2006 when we wrote it. We thought we could write entries ahead and post it later but ... it's got a mind of its own. Oh well, please read on.

Horned Miaos

Try to avoid being put off by their name, the Horned Miaos are actually an Unreached People Group that are located in Guizhou, China. They number a very low 65,ooo in population, and are currently being worked with. A current 0.01% of them are Christian. Please pray that this minority will grow, and will spread out even into the rest of China.

Next Blues Brothers?

Evan and Eric, with Young Kim on guitar, are seen here belting out a worship song during the Mekong Reunion. They were warmly received and had lots of fun!

Hmong Daos

The Hmong Daos are from Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and China. There are 232,700 of them with 10% of them believers. Some workers are among them.

One Hmong man who heard Christian radio broadcasts became a Christian at the end of 2004. He started 22 groups of believers, each group having 7- 8 families. He says he likes Jesus and wants everyone else to know how great He is!

A Hmong Christian who was imprisoned for 3 years led another Hmong prisoner to Christ. When the new convert was released, he went home and led 200 families to Christ. 36 songs have been recorded in Hmong. Two Hmong couples living in Asia desire to move to a nearby country to share the gospel with other Hmong. A strong group of believers is needed to support them in this venture.

Let's pray for the thousands of Hmong whose only means of hearing the good news and of being discipled in the Word of God is through radio.

Our Night with the Kims

Opportunities like this do not often come along, but when they do, we try as hard as we can to grab onto them. One such chance came along when Evan, our eldest son, made a new friend at Reunion who just so happened to have a family very, very similar to ours. The boys swiftly befriended their Korean counterparts, and were soon begging to have the family over for dinner. The Kim family also has four boys, with the eldest three, Young, Jeremy and Samuel being of near or equal age to Evan, Eric and Eli, and their youngest, Daniel, being four years older than Ethan. Hyun Joo became a good friend to Linda while Eng got to know Kwang better too.


Clockwise from top left are Young, Evan, Jeremy, Eric, Samuel, Eli, Daniel, & Ethan

Northern Hua Miaos

The Northern Hua Miaos are from Yunnan, China. There are .59 million of them with .17% believers. Currently, some workers are there but they are praying for more to join them. The workers' prayer request is for the radio broadcasts to be effective in reaching out to the Miaos.

Let's pray for the Lord's mercy and grace on this people group, and for the .17% of them who believe, let's pray they'll be empowered to share about their faith.

Feet Washing

During the previous Holy Week, Eng decided to not wash everyone's feet during Maundy Thursday as he's always done. Instead, he washed Linda's feet, and got Linda to wash Evan's feet. Evan washed Eric's feet, Eric washed Eli's - as shown on right, Eli washed Ethan's feet, and then Ethan washed his feet. He encouraged us to serve one another and be an example, the way Jesus was. We were also asked to pray for the person as we were washing their feet.

It was a humbling and touching experience. I, Linda, had a flashback on how I used to wash Evan's feet as a baby and there I was again, washing his much, much bigger (Size 11) feet! Has it really been 15 years already? His response to the washing was to stifle his giggles. He's grown leaps and bounds but he's still our 'giggle head' (our affectionate term for him as an always giggling child).

As usual, 5 year old Ethan's prayer was short, but oh so sweet and Godly. "Dear Lord, please help Papa to glorify you and to love you, amen." Amen, Amen, Amen.

Brothers and Sisters

On March 16, it was a great privilege for us to host a short term missions group from Singapore for supper. Totalling 17 in all, plus us, and Nellie Tham (the worker who took them around), our house was packed! Still, it was a joy to have them and to be able to share what the Lord's done in our lives. It was an encouraging evening for all of us. They came as new friends but left as our brothers and sisters in Christ. The 9 kids in their group later serenaded us with Chinese worship songs which they sang beautifully and angelically.

The best part of the evening was being able to pray together. Notwithstanding our language barrier (since some of them speak only Chinese), we were all blessed nonetheless.

Southern Hua Miaos

The Southern Hua Miaos total 0.6 million in all. They are from Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and China. Most of them are farmers and their main religion is animism and ancestor worship. Roughly .10% of them are believers. Let's pray for the Lord's grace on the Hua Miaos and for favour for those currently working there.

Almost, But Not Quite!

The day hasn't come yet but Evan's certainly looking forward to when he'll surpass his Papa's height!

Who's Who?

'The Happy Kid', 'The Confident Youth', 'I am Batman! Bring it on!!' and 'The Shy Adolescent'

Family Time at Last!

It's been a long time since we've spent time together as a family on our own. This shot was taken during the kids' Spring break when we holed up in a hotel for a couple of nights right in Chiang Mai. No long driving for Eng, who being tired wasn't up to it. We enjoyed the airconditioning and easy access to restaurants, the bowling alley, and other forms of entertainment.

Lakkia Dongs

The Lakkia Dongs are from Guangxi, China. There are 11,000 of them and not even one believe in Jesus. Lets pray for more workers to work with the Dongs. Currently, 2 workers are on the Mekong Dong Team and their target group includes the Northern, Southern, Mulao, (please see previous posts for the other Dong groups) and Lakkia Dongs which total close to 3 million.

"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." [Matthew 9:37]

Will you be one of the new workers?

RAC Retreat

Some time ago, our family and Eng’s co-workers at the Regional Accounting Centre (in between Evan and Eli are Bee, married to Tii, Kung, and Cheng) were able to enjoy a pleasant relaxing weekend up at Rim Doi, one of the local resorts. It was a very fun way to get to know the people who Eng spends time with everyday, and, though I’m somewhat speaking for them, I think they enjoyed it almost as much as we did. There weren’t many things to do up there, and the resort food was expensive, but we didn’t let that get us down. We threw in a whole ton of food into the back of our car with Evan, packed all our family games, and brought our enthusiasm with us! By the end of the week-end, we’ve played a badminton tournament and enjoyed numerous meals and games together.

It was funny too as when we arrived there, we hauled our ‘luggage’ all the way to our cabins, then we found out we could have driven up near the cabins and saved ourselves a whole lot of trouble. But that aside, we were able to settle in and relax, and most of all, get closer to one another.

We were even able to show off our ‘Yeong Improvisation’ skills, by putting up a badminton net using bamboo, rocks, and a trashcan. I’m sure they were VERY impressed.

Mulao Dongs

The Mulao Dongs are from Guangxi, China. There are 160,000 of them with .78% believers. No one works with them. The Dongs are mostly farmers and animistic Buddhism is their main religion. The Bible has not been translated into Dong.

Who will translate the Bible for them so that they can read about our Lord? Let's pray for workers to the Dongs.

Marcus Elliot

“Lord, please don’t give them any peace so that they’ll leave the place” was Eng’s prayer when he found out that our neighbours and their friends went to a temple to spend two weeks meditating. Our family collectively agreed with that prayer even though Linda thought it was a strange request. What a big surprise it was for us when our neighbour's friend Marcus, showed up at the gate days later asking for the key to our neighbour’s house so he could get his things. He said he just didn’t have any peace at the temple and decided to leave it early. He further added that the whole experience convicted him that he needed to go back and be right with Jesus.

Marcus was here as a tourist so we invited him to live with us for the time being, and he accepted. The first night he was here was coincidentally(?) Bible study night for both Eng and Evan. Eng brought Marcus with him to his Bible study, and the Lord worked on him some more. We later heard that Marcus had been weeping and repenting openly, truly aware of how his life had been up to then. Eng then took this opportunity to ask Marcus to go with him to the annual Men’s Retreat, which was the following week. Marcus attended that too, and had a wonderful time. Marcus is at center with Eng and another worker.

During his stay with us, we were greatly encouraged to see how the Lord moved in his life. Not only that, the Lord used him to bless us enormously. When we went away for our anniversary get-away, Marcus stayed with our sons and cooked for them. He also filled our pantry with bought groceries and he gave us the ‘Heavenly Plan Massage’ as described in Heaven’s Gifts (March 27 post).

We pray that Marcus will continue to walk with the Lord, and that he will never forget how the Lord ministered to him while he was here.

6:00 AM

This is the time Eng has to be at work to be part of a Conference Call that all together total 8 countries (Australia, Canada, England, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and the US). Once a month, financial decisions affecting all national offices require this call which often lasts for two straight hours. If Eng has too much work to catch up on the night before the Conference Call, he will sleep at the guest home just beside the office so he can work late and be up early to take part in the call. Once the Conference Call is over, plus several cups of consumed coffee, his regular work day begins...

Southern Dongs

The Southern Dongs are from the Guangxi, Guizhou, and Hunan provinces of China. There are 1.9 million of them with just 950 believers (that's just .05%!). No one works with this group. How will the unbelieving Southern Dongs hear unless someone works with them?

Who will go?

Song Kran

Wouldn’t you like to participate in a 3 day city-wide water splashing event? The whole city practically comes alive when Song Kran (the Thai New Year) comes around and people indulge in this unusual activity. Days leading to it, some people are already beginning to douse the unsuspecting as they walk or travel around town. No one is safe as you can get soaked by a pitcher full of ice cold water even while eating at a restaurant (true story)! Thai people see themselves blessing the people they wet, since it is very hot. Who wouldn’t want to be wet and be relieved of the heat? I have yet to see a Thai person angry for getting wet. They may hate to be wet but they grin, bear it, and laugh along with the person who wet them. Most folks just get even assuming the ‘if-you-can’t-beat-them-just-join-them’ attitude.

Thai people like to have something new as they welcome the New Year. Last week, the whole walkway leading to Central Kad Suan Kaew (a local mall) was packed with shoppers and vendors of all sorts. Since people want to buy, vendors are everywhere including the sidewalks. They sit right on the pavement and use candles to show off their wares. Clothes, footwear, wood carvings, jewellery, accessories, knick knacks, and a whole lot more are sold.

Unfortunately, although a lot of fun, the festivities do have its ugly side. The minor results are eye and ear infections as dirty water (coming from the river or the moat surrounding the old city) is often used. The worse that happens is that alcohol is ingested and together with driving, a lot of fatal accidents occur during this time. Some folks get carried away too as they wet surprised motorcyclists who react tragically. 68 people have already died as pre-celebrations started. The actual Song Kran days are April 13-16. Please commit the country in prayer at this time. Someday, if Easter and Song Kran coincide again, we hope the Thais would be more excited and more responsive about what Jesus did, than on wetting others and getting wet.

We’re not too sure how to post an actual Song Kran picture here as we don’t want our camera wet! Maybe if you imagine a lot of wet people holding an assortment of water guns, pails, hoses, or whatever-would-wet device while wearing silly-grins on their faces, you would come close. Let’s pray for the rest of the Song Kran celebrations to be safe.

Our Newest Teenager

Eric turned 13 last month, on the 20th. We wanted to celebrate his birthday ‘Bar Mitzvah’ style, but he prefers to wait till we get to Canada where most of his relatives live. God willing, we will do this sometime in July when we return.

Some of you may remember Eric wearing a finger thin hair tail when he was younger. Nowadays, Eric prefers to wear his hair long, and just recently, a black ‘Es’ hat everywhere he goes. Eric loves to listen to music, draw, read, play computer games, and believe it or not, jump rope.

Both Eric and Evan wrote poems that placed in their school’s contest. We’ll post those in the future if they’ll let us.