54 Reasons

Eng, doing what he loves best!
He'll soon need to give up the management of our
friends' restaurant. They'll arrive in two weeks!

Fa-see-pa, happy to see us. The doctor
said her eye condition (she sees dimly) had
nothing to do with her having HIV.

Beautiful, any which way you look at it.

54 reasons as to why Eng is a blessing. His name
means "blessing" in Chinese.

Pictures Alone in 2014

Eli turned 18 on January 19th

Maddie Moore surprised Eli with cheesecake
and gifts to open for each of his 8 periods in school.

Eli was thrilled at being remembered and fussed on

At Central Festival celebrating Eli's birthday

Eng turned 54 on January 22nd. Called up to
dance with the professionals. =)

Pastor Aury Reitz and her group of professionals
performed at GIS on January 22nd, 2014. They're from the
Underground Church in North Hollywood, California

Chris and Joy's Wedding
January 11, 2014

Eli was ring bearer with
Juniper Stewart as flower girl.

Sick This Week

For the first time in years, I am not well. I blame myself for depriving my body of sleep and not being wise with the use of my time. I know I spent too much time working. This is something I definitely need to work on in 2014.

Thank you for your prayers. It will help me stay focus on what matters. Bless you!

And the Winner is...

With Evan and Eric at a guest house in Toronto, we
tried our best to capture all our faces as we did our
Christmas greetings by Skype. Thank you, Lord,
for technology. =)  And, Eric played for us on his
new Epiphone guitar that he received for free. The
provision was mentioned in the December 24th posting.

        As in previous years, last week, we got together as a family to pray for the happenings of the year before. It roughly takes about two hours to thank Papa God for everything He’d done for us. Typically, we do the whole process in two days. As always, the fun part was recollecting what happened in any given month. We laughed at our funny moments, smiled at accomplishments, or grimaced at hard memories, but we always ended up thanking the Lord for what He’d allowed to happen to us. We also praised Him for getting us through all kinds of happenings last year. Then, we went through the more serious part of our tradition which was to pick the winner of the “person-who-changed-the-most-in-the-last-year” award. The reward of 1,000 Baht wasn’t very much (about $30.00) but each of us wanted to win it because of how hard it was to get it. I’d never won it and it’s not for lack of trying. Someone in the family was always far more deserving.

Here are the sheets that I hope to pay attention to
as the Lord uses my family to help me be a better person.

       We’d tweaked it through the years but the best way we’d done it was to write three positive and affirming character traits that each person possessed. Then, on the bottom of that list, we wrote down what we prayed the person would be better at, in the new year. Our gauge for who to vote for as winner was the last part. Basically, if we’d heard the answer from any of the previous years’ responses, then it’s a sure indication that the person didn’t change much in the last year. And, of course, we had prayed to vote and choose wisely.

         Ethan, our youngest son, now 12 years old, won for 2013. It’s the very first time for him. He earned it. He changed a LOT and became more and more responsible. We are very proud of him. Now, if only I’d get a turn. Maybe next year I’ll finally win? =)

Welcoming the New Year – 2014

“Forget the former things;

    do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!

Isaiah 43:18-19

Between the holidays, we were able to
              go camping at Doi Inthanon. The falls above
           was a find during one of my walks.

Today, we spent some time praying and thanking God for the first six months of 2013. Only Eli and Ethan were here to pray with us (Eng and I). This year, Evan and Eric didn’t come back to Chiang Mai to celebrate the holidays with us as they intend to be here when Eli graduates in May. We gravely missed them! Tomorrow, we hope to finish praying through the remaining six months. Earlier in the day, Eng also shared about the verses above. As we talked, we pondered on what the “new thing” may be for all of us. We speculated awhile and then prayed that the Lord would prepare our hearts for what He has in store for us. We also prayed about the possibility that we may live back in Canada in two years when our term is over. We don’t really know what our future holds. We can only trust that the Lord will lead and guide us as He’d always done.

               Up until April this year, I was happily teaching ESL classes. Then, the Lord prompted me to apply for the Student and Family Life Ministries Coordinator position at school. I even protested because I didn’t think I could do it! In the end, the Lord’s will prevailed and I got the job. There really is no point in arguing with Him! However, the Lord didn’t abandon me. Instead, He helped me and provided what I needed to do the job well. Looking back at the semester, I can honestly say I enjoyed doing the new work more than my old ESL job! Papa God obviously knew what He was doing! =)

The temperature at Doi Inthanon
               went down to as low as 2 degrees
             at night. I succumbed and made
              a heater with tea light candles, two
         clay pots, and a bread pan.
            It worked! Thanks to FB!!!

Even Eng started managing our friend’s restaurant while they were away for eight months. He hadn’t done restaurant management in the past but just like to me, the Lord proved faithful and reliable in helping him do his financial management work and the management of the restaurant. He had now done both jobs concurrently for the last six months and with the Lord’s grace, he is managing well. Best of all, I know Eng would also say he is enjoying the restaurant management even more than his management job.

Which leads me to the point I’d like to make: the Lord desires to bless us with new experiences. The newness of the experiences is difficult as we gauge for the first time, the adjustments we need to make. BUT, the Lord is, and will always be there to help, encourage, and provide for us. Most of all, as we begin to take on new roles, we actually discover the joy found in doing them. If we don’t ever step out to obey God in the new tasks He gives us, how else will we discover the enjoyment of doing those tasks? It’s a remarkable process!

As 2014 starts, we’ll do well to allow God to lead and guide us and have us just follow Him. No matter how scary the journey looks, the ride will be worth it. Our Lord knows us best and He’s always right. May we completely trust Him with our lives. I know no one will regret it.

Our family picture without Evan and Eric.
             Ethan's at left, Eli, on right

Christmas 2013

     Evan and Eric weren't here for Christmas as they chose instead to save their trip so they could attend Eli's graduation in May. Currently, because there was an ice storm in Toronto which affected the power to 300,000 homes, we haven't heard from them. Please pray that their Christmas celebrations will be meaningful anyway, and full of Papa God's loving orchestrations and presence. The Lord is able to bless them more than us and we trust in His unfailing love for them.

     Already on Sunday, Eric posted the following: "Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart." I had been wanting a guitar for a while to replace my really old classical guitar, but was wondering how I would pay for one. Today, I received one completely free and not just any guitar, an EPIPHONE. God is indescribably good. Early Christmas! https://www.facebook.com/eric.j.yeong?fref=ts
     When we finally connect with them, there would certainly be more stories of God's goodness.
     Thank you, Lord, for your grand plan and amazing love in sending Jesus. In doing so, we found a way to be saved and learned how to love. We praise you and bless you! Happy birthday! =)
   

12 year old Ethan, Eng, Linda, and 17 year old Eli

      From our home to yours, we wish you all a blessed Christmas and a New Year with eyes opened to the goodness and love of Papa God. May Jesus be the source of all our hope, joy, strength, and peace. And may we constantly seek the Holy Spirit's guide and help throughout the year.

God's Love

This is the banner used as backdrop for the stage. I've
been told that some Thais who attended the CITP event
heard of the Christmas story for the first time in their lives.

 For this week, I thought to post the video that I helped get recorded for "Christmas in the Park" last Saturday. "Christmas in the Park" is the school's annual community Christmas celebration. It is held outside, on the grounds of the school, hence the name. The Thai neighbors in the area where the school is in, had always been invited. This year, together with the students and families of those who studied at our school, there were about 1200 people who attended. The place was packed with people who came as early as 5:45 p.m. even though we advertised that the gate only opened at 6:15 p.m. Apart from using that event to share our faith to the Thai people, it had been used to provide a venue where we could hang out as believers, sing Christmas carols, eat baked goods and drink hot chocolate, and fellowship with one another. There really aren't very many places in Chiang Mai where we could do all that. There are less than 1% Christians (although the numbers are increasing) in Thailand

Branson Reagan and Mary Brannon perfectly played 

Joseph and Mary during the program. To make it
interactive, they played their roles even before the program
and asked guests if they knew of a place for them to stay.

 so typically, Christmas is just another day. There would hardly be any decorations indicative of the day, it would be a regular working day, and no Christmas carols are sung. So, "Christmas in the Park" or CITP had been the answer to counter the loneliness of sometimes being the only odd ones in the neighborhood wanting to celebrate Christmas. During the event, it actually rained twice - quite heavily. Although a handful left, most of the people stayed and took shelter under the mats they were sitting on, or their plastic chairs which they upturned over their heads! When the rain abated, the mats were turned upside down so that the dry parts were the ones sat on. Later, I found out from friends that we were all praying that the rain would stop so that no one would get electrocuted! We all survived without anyone getting fried and enjoyed the evening tremendously. Apparently, the unusual heavy rain was due to a passing storm in a neighboring country. Based on the downpour almost the whole afternoon of the next day, we were actually blessed that it only rained twice for short periods. Thank you, Lord, for answered prayers!

This year's theme was "Love Came Down" so a 2+ minutes video was made of people answering the question of how God's love impacted or changed their lives. The video was shown during the event, specifically, after the birth of Jesus was re-enacted by actors while singers sang what was happening. It was particularly heart-warming when "Angels We Have Heard on High" was sung while angel actors in unison lifted their hands in worship. That is exactly what we should all do. If you wish to view the video, please click on this Youtube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WqEpxVplHI&feature=youtu.be

God's love transformed me and filled my life with joy. What about you? How has His love changed you?