In Chiang Mai
Posted on Jun 29 2006 | Tagged as: faith, faith in action, thailand project
Wow! God is so good. I have been blown away by the work that God has done in the lives and hearts of our team and through the power of Holy Spirit in us toward others.
The highlight of the trip has been the relationships that we developed with the young people at Grace Ministries in Krasang. The young people on our team have fully given their hearts to the twenty four girls and six boys at Grace Ministries. The Thai and hill tribes girls and boys are about the same age as our young people so the connection was powerful. We played with them, taught english, did church together, and we had the opportunity over four days to interview and hear the stories of each girl and boy at the ministry. They all have incredibly inspiring stories that give evidence of the power of God to bring hope and purpose out of pain and despair.
Our kids are sold on this ministry. Sunday night we had a meeting and almost every person on our team was moved by the power of God to a new level of faith and commitment to Christ. I don’t have time to tell all of the stories, but I will share one interaction with a 13 year old hill tribes girl who has been saved from poverty and an uncertain future by Christ through Grace Ministries.
This young girl was born into extreme poverty in the Aka hill tribe of Northern Thailand. Her parents are farmers, and do not have enough resources to sustain their family. That is why she is at Grace Ministries. When I spoke with her through an interpreter I could see immediately that she is a leader with a passion for others. She told us that her vision is to become trained as a teacher and to go back to her tribe to develop the next generation toward a better life in Christ. She sees Christ as the source of her motivation. This young girl has a deep burden for people and is very focused on God’s calling on her life to change her village for Christ. This young 13 year old girl blew me away with one statement that demonstrated the depth of her passion. She said,”I can’t afford to spend time on leisure, because I have seen and must respond to the hurts of others.” These are amazing girls.
The last night at Grace Ministries in Krasang our girls and the girls from the home had a slumber party. We truly made lasting and life long relationships during our time.
We are now in Chiang Mai. We spent the last few days visiting the extremely poor and desperate people of the hill tribes. I will go more into that later. I have not written as much as I had hoped, but have found my time being utilized in different ways on this trip compared to the last one.
Please be in prayer for a meeting we will have over the next few days. We will be visioning with Grace Ministries, Remember Nhu and our Westside group regarding how God is leading us to partner in the future. God has given me much clarity on this trip regarding this very important link. I have felt incredible confirmation from our students, parents and staff regarding the value and impact of this mutually beneficial relationship. The next step is to flesh out what God is calling us to be and do. Your prayers are critical. You response the last post was very encouraging. Please continue to respond in prayer.

on 29 Jun 2006 at 7:25 pm 1 Peggy Osborn said …
What an incredible experience each of you are having! How exciting to know that God is orchestrating every move and making life changes because of your faithfulness to serve Him. I will continue to pray for your remaining time there.
Today was my last day in the office and I have such mixed emotions. Even though I am gone from Westside, I would love to attend a session on your trip if it is open to anyone who is interested.
God Bless
Peggy
on 29 Jun 2006 at 11:42 pm 2 Michelle said …
Andy, Marta, and the entire team in Thailand,
Thank you for sharing your experience with us through these emails and I can’t wait to hear more when you come back home. I know the connections and relationships you are building will touch both you and those who live in Thailand for a lifetime and will have eternal value. I am once again humbled to know Friends who so obediantly walk with Christ.
In Prayer,
Michelle
on 30 Jun 2006 at 6:31 am 3 Alan said …
Andy & Team:
It’s awesome to get the updates. We continue to pray for the entire team & are touched by the life-changing stories. Thank you for answering God’s call to this ministry!
on 30 Jun 2006 at 7:55 pm 4 Lisa N. said …
Thank you for sharing with us your experiences of God’s incredible power and faithfulness. I can’t wait to hear more! I want to share the verse that has been speaking volumes to me this last week and hope it will to you as well.
I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength! Eph. 1:15-18 Msg.
I will continue to pray for you all!
on 30 Jun 2006 at 10:06 pm 5 Cara Copeland said …
Andy, Marta & Team:
Way to go, friends! Way to go, God! What an amazing experience for everyone. We look forward to seeing pictures and hearing stories upon your return. Keep strong doing the good work He has called you to and living out a faith that is real! We love you and are praying for you!
on 03 Jul 2006 at 9:12 am 6 Rob Bowling said …
Andy and Team,
Wow, sounds like a great trip happening in Thailand. Were you able to hook up with Frontier Labourers for Christ? Also hope you got to take a look at the “Frontierland Campus”, it would be a great (and free!) hosting spot for future teams.
I’ll be praying for a great wrap-up of all of your discoveries in Thailand and that God will speak His vision to each of your hearts.
Rob Bowling, http://www.digitalmission.us