Monday, June 21, 2010

Joy Camp and Arrival in Bangkok.

Hey guys!

Sorry we haven't updated in a few days. We just finished up the Youth Camp and I'm happy to say that we survived! A bit tired, but still okay. :) Thank you for your prayers and thoughts.

The camp turned out well. The numbers were a bit lower than usual--we were expecting 100 or more but only got about 30 students. The lower numbers, however, allowed us to get to know most of the students. We got to know the kids from the Manorom Youth House pretty well, as well as the Nahkon sawan, Phitsanulok, and Lopburi Youth House kids. (I realized that I never really explained what a youth house was; They are basically small Christian youth centers for the youth of the surrounding areas to go and play games, do bible studies, pray, and fellowship with other Christians, as well as bring in non-Christians.) The camp was an evangelical camp, so the students had messages on John 3:16, John 8, John 10, and John 3:1-18, but they also had games and activities time.

We were blessed to be able to lead 2 skits, 3 workshops and 1 booth at a small carnival we did. Our one skit was on Jesus removing our burdens and the other was about finding the only perfect friend.

One thing they really pushed was the idea that no one is perfect, which is why we need Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for all our sins and imperfections.

The biggest highlight was getting to meet so many Thai youths and getting to form relationships with them. We got some of their emails so hopefully we can stay in touch with them and be there for them if they decide to accept Christ and if they have any questions. Praise the Lord for just giving us Joy Camp as an opportunity to outreach to these students. Also a great thanksgiving was that God allowed the team to be able to befriend and “talk” with many of the students, even though our team doesn’t speak much, if any, Thai, and the students speaking little to no English. A lot of signing and use of bilingual staff got us through to them.

The students were extremely sweet and joyful! I’m really going to miss them.

So now we’re in Bangkok (After a 2.30 hour drive from Manorom) and we’re staying at the OMF Missions headquarters in Thailand. We FINALLY have air conditioning in our rooms! J

We met the national team today and tomorrow we will begin preparations for the Missions Conference we will be serving at starting on Wednesday. The missions conference is where all the missionaries from Thailand will be going to a nice resort (! J) to have a retreat and some rejuvenation and fellowship time. We, the short-termers get the opportunity to encourage them by taking care of their children, as they go about their retreat messages and what not.

Sorry about a long post. A lot has happened and this can’t even begin to describe the amazing, blessed time we had this weekend.

Prayer Requests:

  1. Preparation of the hearts of those that will be serving at the Missions Conference; That we will have servant hearts, allowing God to use us how He may.
  2. Being a good influence to the townspeople around the Missions House as the short-termers go explore Bangkok tomorrow; that we may be lights in this city.
  3. Safety for those going around Bangkok tomorrow.
  4. Safety of travel when we, as well as the missionaries, go to the resort.

No comments:

Post a Comment