Photo of the Moment
Letter from Graduate’s Parents
We pray that you will be encouraged by this letter from the parents of our youngest graduate, Joshua Chong, who has enrolled in a local university at the early age of 16! (shown below at his graduation from Victory Life Christian School at last year’s Victory Nite)
PS: Don’t forget to share the good news!
Mission Trip Journal
SUNDAY 13/11:
We finally arrived! Uncle Terry and Aunty Linda came to fetch us at the airport in two trucks and a van. It was late and we didn’t do much. After reaching the house, which was owned by a man named Kitichai who generously lent it to us for our stay, we unpacked and sat for debrief. Uncle Terry once again told us to be prepared to leave with our hearts stolen away. Not knowing what that meant, many of us didn’t pay heed to it. Little did we know how true that statement was. After the debrief, we went to sleep.
MONDAY 14/11:
Today, Karlo, Jeremy, Ecclesiastes and Mrs Lim made our breakfast. Once we ate our fill, we headed down to LTC. For those who don’t know what that is, LTC, which means Lahu Training Centre, is basically a Bible college. To get there, we took a truck. Instead of sitting in a stuffy air conditioned area with all of us squishing each other, we road at the back of the truck with the cool winter wind and a whole lot of fresh air. It was a wonderful experience, one that many of us had never done before. When we got to LTC, the first thing we saw was their soccer field. It was big! The boys were all excited to play with the other LTC students but we had other things to do first. Mrs Boey shared about the Holy Spirit, Karlo shared his testimony and Mr Raj shared with the LTC students on the beatitudes after a short but wonderful worship session. When done, we broke up into small groups to share and interact with the other students. We found it quite hard as the language barrier posed a huge challenge for both us and the students. Mrs Valluvan, Mrs Lim, Mrs Rajan and some of us students helped out with cooking lunch for the whole school. The menu: chicken curry. It was wonderful! Finally we got to play with the students. The guys played with the guys from LTC, and the girls played with the girls in LTC. After playing, the boys from our school went with the students of LTC to learn how to cut banana trees and the girls climbed the hill to pick tea leaves and mustard seeds. One thing we learned from this was how patient the LTC students were with us. Even when we kept making mistakes, they just laughed it off and showed us the right way. When we got back, Nabi, our translator braided the girls’ hair. By then it was dinner time and we headed to church where we had a scrumptious thanksgiving dinner. After that, we took trucks to Uncle Terry’s church where we had a wonderful church service. Our students played a song, and Mrs Kwang shared her testimony. We finally ended the day with a debrief.
TUESDAY 15/11:
Morning came and Elisha, Ting Yi, Mrs Valluvan and Vino helped set the table and make breakfast. When we were all ready, we headed to LTC once more. It was our last day to be with the LTC students so we were all quite upset. Today Mrs Lim shared, and Mr Raj continued the sharing of the beatitudes. Then, Mrs Rajan came up to teach the students basic English. It was a fun and interactive way of teaching, where our students demonstrated how to use phrases such as, “good morning, how are you and how old are you,” and the LTC students practiced with each other. For lunch, apart from rice, meat and vegetables, we had one extra dish – fried worms. For those who have never eaten them, fried worms are crunchy and salty, a wonderful add-on to a simple dish. After lunch, we tried out the traditional costume of the Lahu people. The design was one of bright colours set on a black background. For added design, there were silver bells on it that jingled, making a soft delicate sound as you walk about. We had a time of photo taking while the students crowded around us looking. Though we didn’t want to leave the LTC compound at all, we went to see the Myanmar-Thailand border and then went for a picnic on a beautiful forest area. When we came back to LTC, it was already dark. We had a campfire complete with games, dancing, singing, a time of sharing of testimony by Timothy, prayer and food. It was here that we finally had to say goodbye to all of the students. We were touched by the simple way they lived their lives and how much on fire they were for God.
WEDNESDAY 16/11:
After eating a scrumptious breakfast made by Ramona, Samantha, Eunice and Mrs Rajan, we brought our luggage down and onto the truck. We were on our way to Mae Sai. First, we stopped at the Golden Triangle where we shopped and ate lunch. After that, we went to our hotel to unpack and unwind. When that was done, Elisha, Ramona, Ting Yi, Eunice, Samantha, Mrs Lim, Mrs Boey, Aunty Linda and Vino went to an orphanage, while Karlo, Jeremy, Ecclesiastes, Mrs Valluvan, Mrs Rajan, and Mr Raj went to DTS, Discipleship Training School. The orphanage was made up of 7 girls, the couple who ran it and their two sons. At the orphanage, Mrs Lim narrated the story of the prodigal son and shared her life story with the girls. We hugged each of them and gave the gifts we had made or gotten for them. Many of the girls were touched and cried. It was a touching experience and we stayed longer than we intended to. At DTS, Mr Raj shared his life story, and many were touched as well. The students made friends with our students and left a lasting impression on them. The one thing that stood out in both the orphanage and DTS was the degree of sincerity in their worship. Afterwards, we had a steamboat dinner and headed back to the hotel.
THURSDAY 17/11:
On the last day of our mission trip, we ate the breakfast buffet provided by the hotel, did some last minute shopping, and then headed to the airport. None of us wanted to leave, and we were all sad. True to his word, Uncle Terry was spot on when he said we would have our hearts stolen. However, each of us knew we were touched by this experience, and through it we became more certain that there really was a true God, Jesus Christ.
When asked to comment on the trip, Karlo said, “Life is short. We need to use our short life to glorify God.” What he said was what each of us students felt. None of us wanted to leave, and each of us would love to go back there, not only to help the people in Thailand, but also to learn from them.
Mission Trip Testimony
Dear all,
I am glad to submit my testimony of the recent mission trip to the Lahu tribe in Chiang Rai:
At the airport before departure, we were encouraged by a testimony from one of our student’s parents. She had a desire to buy two notebook computers to give away to the ministry among the Lahu villages, but hesitated because of the daily news of devastating floods in Thailand. However, she sensed the Lord’s prompting to buy them regardless of the news. She obeyed the Lord and on the following day, she received a six-fold blessing! Praise the Lord! This testimony encouraged us greatly to know that the Lord will equip us and He will see us through this mission. We departed full of confidence and thanksgiving to our Lord!
We arrived at Chiang Rai around 11pm. Terry with his wife, Linda, and Kitichai and his wife, who speaks Chinese, were at the airport to welcome us. They drove us to a big bungalow dedicated to accommodate visiting missionaries. Terry gave us a heads-up that we may be ‘messed up’ and leave our hearts with the Lahu people when we leave. And he was right, as some of the staff and students are planning to return one day!
Terry (a farmer from Idaho with a degree in agriculture) and Linda (a teacher) were missionaries to Africa for more than 13 years before settling in Lahu for 10 years now. They are in their sixties and are great model servants of the Lord! They have no children of their own but have six adopted children in Chiang Rai and some more in South Africa.
The LTC is a Bible school with 44 students (ages 17- 36) and is situated up in the mountains, about 10 minutes of rough terrain from where we stayed. The Lahu at LTC were exuberant in their worship, and when they sang, “Hide me now, under Your wings, … King over the flood, I will be still and know You are God”, the presence of God was so tangible amongst the people. Their singing brought tears to many of us. Before preaching on spiritual giftings, I inquired of the Lord on what to say. Instantly, I sensed that He wanted me to tell them that He calls them His friends. He knows that they fear Him and love Him and He sees them like He saw Gideon, each of them a mighty man of valour. He will empower them to do great things. Amen! Later, I found out from Linda that those words are so apt as the Lahu have low self-esteem and are looked down upon by most Thais. God is good all the time!
Just before preaching, I realized I forgot to bring my notes to the training centre as I left them in the washroom where we stayed. Praise the Lord, His peace was with me to totally depend on Him to speak through me on spiritual giftings. I know it was effortless on my part! To God be the glory! After preaching, the Lord directed me to ask who speaks in tongues. Only a handful raised their hands and I then proceeded to ask who would like to speak in tongues and saw more that 90% of the students raise their hands and came forward for the altar call. We prayed and laid hands on them and they began to speak in tongues. To God be the glory!
The next morning as I communed with the Lord, He wanted me to share the fact that He came from Nazareth, a place where people doubted if anything good could come from there, and that He was known as a mere carpenter. It was awesome to hear His voice and know how much He loves the Lahu and desires for them to do greater works! I felt led to share Luke 11:11-14. My sharing that morning was once again light and easy. Praise the Lord!
The Lord gave us the best weather – cool and sunny. We were well fed and enjoyed Lahu tea and bamboo maggots! The breakfasts prepared by our students and staff were seasoned with sacrifice of sleep, and tender loving care. It was also a good experience of community life for us when we, together with LTC students, were invited to a village dinner provided by a family celebrating the harvest! There was abundance of good spicy food and many happy people!
We visited a couple who rent a bungalow to house orphan girls. This couple graduated from LTC. All the girls are believers and they can sing very well! Our students were generous with their love and gifts and Mrs Lim shared an interactive story of the prodigal’s son and her own testimony. Even though we don’t speak their language, we parted with many warm hugs, teary eyes, smiles and more hugs.
I am blessed to see VLCS students giving generously their time and resources, never complaining of the rough terrain or traveling in trucks, staying alert in extending help and fellowship. I saw mutual respect and honour, and was especially glad to see their willingness to love others, their spontaneity in sharing their testimonies, having fun in teaching English and leading in games. Thank you VLCS students and I believe all of you will do greater works in the days to come, being a people prepared for the Lord!
Blessings,
Mrs Boey