We're re-locating!

Well, blospot, it's been great, and thanks for hosting us all these years. However, we're re-locating! Yay! It's finally time for our own domain name which gives us more space to have a proper blog, advertise our music and books, and who knows what else the future will bring! Please check out our new site here at www.piawongs.com.

Also, we're very excited to announce that Noom's first book, Because You Chose Me, will soon be available! You can click here to go straight to the page about this book. There is also a Because You Chose Me Facebook page that we invite you to "like".

See you at our new site!

What are we up to?

At the moment, the student centre we've been staying and working in doesn't have any children as they are all on school holidays and back with their families in villages with higher elevation. So what have we been up to, and how do we plan to spend these couple of months?

Our days are flexible depending on whether the leaders of the student centre have specific work they need help with. Also, Noom had surgery 5 days ago to remove screws from his shoulder (the screws were inserted after a sporting accident 6 years ago). However, apart from this and when there is no work, the average day since the school holidays began a couple of weeks ago have looked like this:

Mornings:
Noom studies for his university exam which will be in Bangkok in late May. This is a course he started before he became a Christian and he stopped studying in the last few years. However, he has felt led to finish what he started and since this is the last year before his student membership expires (and there is only one exam left to go before he can receive a degree!) he is determined to get this done.
Karis homeschools Eliyah from around 9am to midday.

Afternoons:
While Eliyah and Solomon have their quiet time and nap, Karis has been working on a book that God has led her to write, sharing her experiences in moving to Thailand and adapting to Thai culture. She is also working on translating a biography that Noom has written about his life and how God redeemed him from his past. Keep posted if you would like to read any of these in the future! We aim to have at least one of them available in the Kindle store by the end of the year. For the first time in a long time, both of us have time to spend on songs, books and other creative things that we can use to support ourselves in the future.

April and May:
In early April, we'll be driving to Ubon to spend time with Karis' parents and renew passports, and then to the village to spend time with Noom's mother and move banana trees. In late April we'll be travelling to Bangkok for Noom to attend some lectures at the university before his final exam at the end of May. Then we'll be driving back North to the student centre, and by then the kids will be back at the centre and the school term will be well underway.

For those of our friends in Ubon and Bangkok, we hope to catch up with you!!

Thank you all for your involvement in our life and work here in Thailand.
Blessings,
Noom and Karis

How you can pray for us...

Lately I’ve been finding that with many prayers I pray, the Father directs me straight to the prayer that Jesus taught us in Matthew 6. Praying has never been my strong point, and I’ve always struggled with the fact that when I start to pray things like “God, please provide...”, “Please lead the way”, “Please give us *insert need*”, “Please work in *name*’s life”, “Please stop the *insert struggle/pain*” and etc etc, I struggle with thinking “Wait, what if it’s not best for me to have this *need*?”, “What if it’s not best for us to go to *insert place*”, and “How can I pray for ourselves or this person/people without knowing if what I’m praying for is best for them?”. God has opened my eyes to Matthew 6:9-13 before, but I feel like He is doing it more and more.

I realise more and more that I desire for our children to say “Daddy, Mummy – whatever you do today, I want to go with you. I trust that you will do what is best for me. I will eat what you give me because I know that you care for my health. I will do the things you ask me to do because I know that you desire to see me blessed through doing those things.” Oh, if only our kids would say this daily! We desire for our kids to trust us. We desire for them to trust that we will bless them and give them good things. We desire for them to trust that it’s not in their best interest to eat ice cream instead of a healthy meal, but that there will be times for treats because we desire to bless them. This is only a bit of what our Heavenly Father desires for us! 

“Father, Daddy God…Wherever you are going, I want to go with you. I just want your will to come in my life, in my family and in this place and work. Protect it from all evil, strongholds, and don’t let any distractions come in the way of me doing your will. Because I know that your will is the best for my life.” Ok, so that doesn’t sound exactly like the Lord’s Prayer, BUT it takes little parts of it and relates it to our lives. I don’t think God desires for us to say in a loud and most holy voice: “Oh, Heavenly Father – Hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…(etc)” He desires for us to use the Lord’s Prayer as a model of how to pray, and to relate it to our lives and what we are praying for. He desires for us to have a deep and intimate relationship with Him, to sit on His lap and just chat with Him, NOT be concerned about reciting every single word exactly how Jesus said.

So how can we chat with Him and pray for certain things if we don’t even know if those things are His will for us? That’s why I feel like the Lord’s Prayer is so great. We are under no pressure to figure out what is best for us and others and then make sure we pray for those things. We can give our heavy burdens to Him and take on His burden which is light – and the same as Jesus’ burden: to spend time with our Father, to do our Father’s work, and to allow our Father and the Holy Spirit to work through us. We aren’t required to change people’s hearts, but just to reflect the love of the Father to them and allow the Holy Spirit to work in them. 

But our prayers DO have power. Because when we pray that Father’s Kingdom will come and His will be done (I’ll just focus on the first part of Lord’s prayer for now) we are praying that nothing will come in the way of His will – because all too often, we unconsciously allow things to happen that aren’t in His will and aren’t in ours and others’ best interests. For example, we back out of something because of fear, or we listen to the advice of a well-meaning person whose advice is actually steering us away from the path God wants us to take. Or, we respond with irritation to a family member or friend and through doing so we send them a careless message.

If my oldest son asks me at the beginning of the day: "Mum, please tell me if you see me doing something wrong so I can stop and be safe from the bad consequences of that action" (Similar to us praying to the Father "Let your will be done in my life...keep me from temptation and evil") how much more likely is my son to respond to me when I call out to him. When I call out "Son, please stop doing that! Consider the consequences" he will stop, because he was the one who asked me to remind him. But if he doesn't show that he's willing to change and continues doing what he knows isn't right (or in my plan for him) then I have to let him go and learn by himself. I'd still be there with him, but I'd need to allow him to choose (assuming that what he's doing isn't dangerous to him or someone else's life). However, when we pray the Lord's prayer for our lives and others' lives we are praying against distractions or blockages between us/them and God's will. We are opening our hearts up to His loving discipline, or we're praying for others to open their hearts to His loving discipline. We are trusting that He (not us) knows best and praying that all evil will back off (because let’s face it, this world is full of evil). Our prayers have power, not just in opening up our own hearts to Him, but they have the power to stop evil and distractions/blockages. Once we've accepted what Jesus did on the cross, we can have the same life-changing relationship with the Father that Jesus has with the Father.

So, if you pray for us when you read this or see other updates, please pray the Lord's Prayer over our lives, family, ministry and the area we are living and working in. And don't forget to pray it over your own life too, because you sure are precious to our Heavenly Father!!!!

NEW LIFE!!

It has been a year and a half since we last used our blog and now it's been newly updated - yay! Although our vision is still the same as it has always been (see the different tabs/pages to find out about each vision) all of them are on hold as we seek more training and get back to basics first. 

The last couple of years have been a whirlwind as one month after Solomon was born in early 2015 we moved out of the city we'd been living in since 2009. Many of you know that we moved to Noom's home village and stayed there for almost 2 years. In August 2016 we made the decision to take a "Sabbath" break and shift our focus from ministry to worship and intercession (which has now shifted to "Learning how to walk in Sonship"!). In November 2016 we moved 1000km up North to live and work amongst some wonderful people of the Karen hilltribe. Since moving up North we've learnt so much about community development and have been challenged in many more personal areas regarding our relationship with God. 

In early 2017 we attended a "Fatherheart A School" and God really blew us away as He gave us each a newer, more intimate, and deeper understanding of who He is as our Father. Now, we are simply learning how to live and walk in Sonship. 

Stay tuned as we try and update this blog more regularly with the things that our Father is doing in our lives and His work in the area we are in as we LIVE (in Sonship), LAUGH (enjoy life), LOVE (soak in Father's love) and DREAM (with no limitations).

Village Life

Life has been very busy this year, with a new little addition to our family (Solomon Peace) in March and a move to Noom's village in April (!) so we're very sorry for the lack of blogging. We are currently redoing our blogsite as our ministry focus has completely shifted from city to village. We are also going to Australia for 5 weeks on 16th August to celebrate my (Karis) brother's weddings, do a mini 2-week furlough in my hometown and attend a YWAM conference in Townsville! Once we're back and have a proper routine we'll definitely be updating our blog more often! But until then, here is a video of village life that we put together last month. Please click on the link "Village Life" and it will take you to the video on our Facebook page. We're still updating our Facebook page so check it out for more photos and videos!

Village LifeA short and simple video made up of clips that give you a small taste of our life in the village in the last few months! (All videos taken in June/July)
Posted by The Piawongs with YWAM Thailand on Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Christmas Season

A few days ago, we heard that a new outdoor shopping complex in Ubon had requested for the Christians of Ubon to share the real meaning of Christmas at their walking street market on Christmas Day. We quickly met together as a team to pray about it, since we already had plans for a quiet Christmas Day. After a few minutes, we were convinced that this year is special - this year God wants to give a special Christmas gift to the people of Ubon through doors that haven't been opened before. Within a day a few other groups of churches and different organisations were keen to work together and a draft schedule was made.

This blog is to share that draft schedule so you all know how you can be praying for those involved. We are still open to more churches and groups who would like to be involved!

5:45pm - Opening - U-Park manager
6-6:30pm - Christmas carols - Nittaya Poulsen and YWAM Ubon
6:30-6:45pm - Performance - Ban Mana Church
6:45-7pm - Sharing about Christmas - Ajun Biw, GCC
7-7:15pm - Performance
7:15-7:45pm - Games, songs and lucky draw/prizes - Sufan HOI and YWAM Ubon
7:45-8pm - Christmas carols and close in prayer - Hope Church

Please pray for the different teams involved:

YWAM Ubon team

Ban Mana Church

Ban Mana, GCC, and U Park Manager

Ajun Biw from GCC will be sharing about the real meaning of Christmas

Christmas/New Year Project

Do you want to help an entire group of people in need for Christmas this year?

Do you want to start the New Year off by seeing a community supplied with better water usage through your support?

If your answer is yes, please see below for information on how you can be involved in a special Christmas/New Year project that will share God's love with an entire village.

Christmas/New Year project:

TO BUILD NEW WATER SUPPLY FOR FAMILIES IN NEED IN BAN BPATIA VILLAGE, BUNTHARIK DISTRICT, UBON RATCHATHANI PROVINCE

Amount needed to raise:

110,000-160,000 Thai Baht (approx AUD $4,400-$6,400)

Goal:

1st January 2015

(in order to have a tank and pump installed by the time the dry season arrives in February)

A small percentage of the very group who will be blessed with better water supply

The need

1. Presently, there is not enough water supply for the families in Ban Bpa Tia, especially in the dry season. This leads to water being turned on for only a short time each day. The families who don't get to collect water in that time have no water to use until it is turned on again.
2. The water that is supplied collects rust and dirt as it travels through old pipes.
3. Some families in the outskirts of the village have had their entire water supply cut off in order to provide more water for the majority of the village which will cause major problems for them in the dry season.
4. Drinking water and water for other usage is therefore not enough, as the shortages and fact that the water is turned on only for a small percentage of each day makes it very hard for families to receive the amount of water that they need.

Why do we want to help?

1. To be an example of the love and concern that God has for the people in the village.
2. To give us an opportunity to share the Good News in the village.
3. To help the villagers with a cleaner, life-giving resource that they desperately need in this time.
4. To give us more opportunities to build relationships with the people in the village who we have been trying to build connections with for 6-7 years.
5. To strengthen the ministry we have been building in the village.
6. To be an example of unity and helping eachother in a place where people are forgetting to do so.
7. To help many of the families in the village who are facing problems in water shortage before the dry season comes.




Breakup of the cost to provide water supply - 2 pumps (a, b) that need replacing and a tank and other supplies that need to be installed:

5,000 Baht = Cost of hiring people to pull out the old pump (a) that has been cut off

22,000 Baht = New pump in the case that the old pump (a) cannot be fixed, or less than this to cover the cost of fixing the old pump (a)

30,000 Baht = Water pipes

6,000 Baht = Cost of hiring electricians to install a new pump

35,000 Baht = Water tank

13,000 Baht = Cost of new pump for 6 houses (plus the temple) on the outskirts of the village whose seperate shared water pump (b) is no longer working and cannot be fixed

Total: 110,000 Baht (simple water supply)

However, if we can raise another 50,000 Baht to buy metal and build a stand for the tank to be placed 15-20 metres off the ground, this will cause the water supply to flow to the village faster.

50,000 Baht =  Metal for 15-20 metre stand to hold the water tank

Total: 160,000 Baht (faster water supply)

How to donate:

Australian Bank Account

Name of Bank: Commonwealth Bank

Account Name: Miss Karis H Malone

Account Number: 1012 7576

BSB: 06 2914
Description: Water supply project

Thai Bank Account

Name of Bank: Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited

Account Name: Mr Kwanklar Piahwong

Account Number: 6120208548

Recipient's Address: Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand
Description: Water supply project

Western Union

If sending through Western Union, please contact us at noomandkaris@gmail.com and we can send you the details you need.

Through YWAM Thailand website

 Please follow this link: http://www.ywamthai.org/donate and write in the to description: “Noom and Karis Piawong, YWAM Ubon” and in the specific purpose description: “Water supply project.” Please send us an email at noomandkaris@gmail.com to notify us.

YWAM Thailand Football Cup

Noom and the guys on our YWAM Ubon team (as well as some guys from villages nearby, other Christian organisations and local churches) just got back to Ubon from Khon Kaen where the first ever YWAM Thailand football cup was held. It was a blessed 3 days for them and they ended up coming back with 1st place, which was a bonus! But it's not why they went. A total of 6 teams competed in the cup, from 5 different provinces and YWAM bases around the central and northeast regions of Thailand. In these teams were both Christian and non Christian youth and young adults.

Not only was it an opportunity for youth from the villages and Christians from many places to step out of their comfort zone and play on a team in another province, but it was an opportunity for youth from the villages to experience God's love. The football cup included times of sharing, worship and fellowship. It may have been the first and/or only opportunity some of the youth will have to experience God's love, and it was through one of the things they all love the most: playing soccer.

The next YWAM Thailand football cup will be held in November 2015 in a province in central Thailand. We are already hoping and praying for an atmosphere of God's love to be covering the next football cup, as it really is an excellent chance to reach out to youth-at-risk through soccer and also to fellowship with and support other soccer ministries in YWAM Thailand. Please pray for the young adults on the different teams who have had their first encounters with God's love in the last week and especially for those who, in those few days, expressed the desire to know Him more.

YWAM Ubon team

All 6 teams together on the last day

Ministry update

Dear all,

We wanted to update a bit about where we're at and where each of the ministries are at since we haven't updated for awhile.

Family life
Firstly, we are excited to announce that there is another baby on the way - yes, Eliyah will have a younger sibling sometime in the beginning of March next year! Eli is very excited about becoming a big brother. We will probably be travelling to Bangkok for the delivery of this baby and are aiming to go sometime in October for 1 week to check out our options there.

Discipleship Training School
The DTS that I've been a part of staffing this year only has a couple of weeks left before the students go on their major outreach trip. I've just been helping where I can (as well as being very blessed through listening in on the lectures!) but in the last few weeks I've been slowly stepping back and only involved in it part time now. I've learnt a lot through this experience and been able to get back to basics before heading into this next season! Picture below shows the DTS group in July:

Bethany Home
We are still raising money and planning to open a family centre as the last blog mentioned, but the whole process has been put off due to the house owners needing more time to fix up the place first. It was hard to put it off as we can still see the desperate need for a family centre but have also seen that it's happening in God's timing. The main mother who Bethany Home was supporting is now able to take care of herself and her daughter (which is one of our main goals!) so I've also been gradually stepping back and visiting her once a week instead of every couple of days. She is going well and has recently started selling food in the markets to make a living. We are still there for her when she needs a listening ear or advice, and are still involved in discipling her as she came to know God just 1 month ago! Picture below shows that very moment:

Soccer ministry
With DTS going on we were no longer going to Noom's village for a week every month to do the soccer program he started with the boys there. Now that DTS is almost finished and Noom has had a chance to re-evaluate the vision God has given him, he is really hoping to get that program started up again by the end of the year - whether 1 week a month, or every weekend. However, he is still building relationships with other young men in Ubon city through fortnightly soccer games.

Music ministry
As we've mentioned before, Noom has been involved in an Isaan music project - writing, singing and recording Bible stories in the Isaan language. A few days ago when he travelled to Sisaket to record some more demos, he felt really encouraged by God that this is one of the things he is meant to do. While in Australia he wrote many Isaan worship songs that he's now praying about recording so that they can be a blessing to others. It's an exciting time - more to come in this area! Picture below is of Noom recording in Sisaket a few days ago:

Building relationships in different villages...
...Through chicken-raising! It's very common in Isaan for people to raise fighting roosters, and although sometimes they can be used for gambling, Noom and a few other friends from our YWAM team are dedicated to raising them only for food, self-support, and for helping them to build relationships with others in different villages. After a year of raising chickens, God has already opened many doors in different homes in the Ubon area where Noom and his friends have been visiting and using the chickens to build relationships with the locals. Raising chickens, along with the soccer and music ministry, have all come under our initial vision for reaching the Isaan people through their own culture. Picture below is Eliyah with his friend Isaiah - both playing with baby chickens:

So that's a bit of an update about where our different ministries are up to and where we see them going in the near future. May God alone get the Glory from His work here in Ubon!

Help us with Bethany Home's first Family Centre!!!

After a long time of prayer for a centre for Bethany Home and a couple of weeks seeking God about a specific location, we have decided to take a leap to rent a house in town for Foundation staff accommodation, Bethany Home playgroups, and childcare which will be available to single mothers or poor families where both parents need to work. There are still many things that need to happen in order to make these dreams come true (including full-time staff for childcare) but for now, we are stepping out in faith and preparing the centre. In order to set up and pay the monthly rent and other fees, we are also going to have to see donations and a committed amount of monthly support come in for Bethany Home.

The front needs to be painted and cleaned up a little

This area will be set up for a safe play area for the children

The pillar will need to be rounded or covered with foam in order to pass government standards, but apart from that this room is very spacious and can be used for playgroups

These stairs will be closed off in order to pass government standards and no children able to get upstairs. The upstairs area will be for staff accommodation and office work only.

Bethany Home has been reaching out to single mothers, young mothers and poor families-at-risk in Ubon Ratchathani, North East Thailand for more than one a half years (since the beginning of 2013). We have been reaching out to them by visiting them in their communities, offering emotional and physical support (and sometimes sponsorship or financial support), education and job opportunities, and more!

However, in the last year we have seen more and more the need for a centre to enable us to reach out to these mothers even more. Having a centre will enable us to offer them free childcare, support them through playgroup programs and small groups, and provide cognitive-developmental activities and games for young children in the community in order to give them an opportunity for a greater education. In the future we also hope to have a program that ministers to whole families (especially encouraging the father-child relationship).

We value families and their need to be nurtured with God's love. We value keeping families together. We understand that children have deep emotional needs that should be fulfilled by their parents in order to give them a head start in life. Studies are showing that when children are properly nurtured physically, emotionally and spiritually, they are more likely to develop properly in all aspects of life.

We are now in the process of signing a lease for the place in the pictures above. After that, we'll be able to "move in" and set up. We are raising 100,000 Thai Baht for the rest of 2014 (around $AU 3,500 or $3,300 US). This will cover the rent until the end of the year plus assist us in setting up the centre and make it child-friendly. In order to have the centre pass government standards we need to renovate it a little, including putting in a child-sized toilet bowl, placing a gate in front of the stairs and setting up a safe play area.

We are also raising committed monthly support, because as soon as the centre is set up we will need to see committed monthly support coming in to help us with ongoing costs, program costs, rent and electricity/water bills etc. - starting from the end of this year. We are aiming to raise another 25,000 Thai baht per month ($AU 870 or $800 US) - half of this will go towards rent and bills.

If you agree with this project, please consider giving to help Bethany Home and the Foundation it is under (Eagle's Wings Foundation) to set up and run our first Family Centre!