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!

Letting Go and Letting God

There are times on the mission field where we just have to let go and allow the seed that has been planted to be watered in another season. This last week was one of those times. 

There was a lot of excitement when the main mother who Bethany Home has been supporting for the last year decided she wanted to be a part of the Discipleship Training School, and a lot of excitement when she stood up and introduced herself to a group of 25 students and staff, saying that she was there because she wanted to learn about God and receive healing/revival in her spirit. She wanted so desperately to learn about the God who had been reaching into her life for the last year. This was going to be 4 months of rest for her to receive healing and learn about God before going back out into the real world again, a place of refuge and restoration.

Before she came to join the DTS, she was supposed to come earlier and many things happened that stopped her from coming - but she triumphed these things and we were excited. Then the first 2 days of lectures happened, and on the second day she was already feeling emotional and like something was stirring up. God was beginning to work. However, her baby started to feel feverish. Then, that afternoon, word reached her from her community that she shouldn’t be there with us and wasting time - she should be trying to make money - even though she already had her physical needs cared for during the DTS (housing, food, milk and nappies for her baby). She agreed with this advice, and while taking her motorbike out to borrow money from a friend, she was stuck in a rainstorm and had a minor accident which hurt her leg, but deeply discouraged her soul. She decided she couldn’t do the DTS anymore. There was too much going against her.

Every visit with her, every prayer time within our team, every individual prayer time with God, revealed that a large part of her still wanted to do DTS but there was something holding her back. This was a matter of salvation, and something didn’t want her to receive all that God had to give her. We needed to pray and allow God to work. So we prayed.

And prayed. And prayed. 

She couldn’t give us an answer as to whether she was going to continue with DTS or not, because she wanted to but there were so many lies and fears that were holding her back.

And we are still praying. This time, we won’t go to her house to encourage her to fight for what she wants. If she doesn’t turn up to lectures on Monday (16th), we will let her go. Of course, the Bethany Home ministry will still reach out to her and stand beside her (as long as she stays here in Ubon, which isn’t certain), but she would have missed the opportunity to receive what God wanted her to receive in these 4 months, and we will be grieving that for her…because God will be grieving that for her.

So, please pray for me, for us, as we give her the freedom to make the decision, even if it’s a decision where she turns herself further away from God. Please continue to pray for her too, that God would reveal himself to her and that she will come back and receive all that He wants for her.

Coming back

We were very blessed as we came back to Thailand. Blessed to have people help take care of our house, make sure it's clean when we come back, and even place a "welcome home" cake in the fridge. Eliyah has also enjoyed coming back, remembering all his favourite things here and catching up with his friends! Here are a few pics from the first few days back…

Life has been busy since coming back as we went straight to the village to see Noom's family, rushed back to Bangkok for my visa, and are now back in Ubon again preparing for the Discipleship Training School which starts at the beginning of next month. Please pray that I'll be able to make the most of my "home" time and rest from all the travel and settle back into life here. Eliyah has also been unwell, possibly with pink eye or a cold due to allergies to the change in weather, and Noom is seeking God's heart for him for this remaining year, so prayers for all of us in this time are greatly appreciated!!

Blessings,

Karis

Back on track (almost!)

Dear friends,

Sorry we haven't been blogging. As most of you know we've been on a 3-month furlough and will be travelling back to Thailand this week. We're aiming to start up the blogging again by the middle of the month! We'll also send out a newsletter towards the end of the month to all those on our contact list.

Thank you so much for following the work in Thailand and God bless,
Noom, Karis and Eliyah

My New Years Resolution - took me 23 days to start!

I'm not someone to believe in New Year's resolutions, mainly because the 1st January is just another day. It's never too early or too late to make a change in your life. That said, 1st January is, like any other day, a perfect day to ask God "what do you have in store for me, and is there something you want to speak to me in order to prepare me for this?"

This year my team was encouraged to pray and ask God for a word or verse for the year, so I did. The word I got was to be still. The verse I got was to give thanks. Funnily, these two things are the things that I struggle with the most! So I made my New Year's resolution: Be still in thankfulness. Today, as I came back from our team meeting, and since I have some time alone while Eliyah sleeps (Noom is away for a few days in a neighbouring country), I decided that yeah - maybe I should start doing what I said I would. I wasn't feeling extremely thankful, but WOW, once I began writing things down I realised I have the WORLD to be thankful for! In other words…I couldn't stop writing things I'm thankful for.

Here's a selection, although I think most of them are more like confessions from your everyday missionary!!…

Thank you for giving. Thank you for this season. Thank you that you are good and this never changes no matter how I'm feeling. Thank you that the love I search for can be found in you. Thank you for busy work and teams. Thank you for family and friends. Thank you that although I feel like I have lost so much since leaving Australia, I've found it here, in you. Thank you for your grace and mercy. Thank you for being in control, even when I wish I was. Thank you for last-minute provisions, and your continued provision even at times when I can't see it. Thank you for being like the air, that although there are times when I feel you're not there, You are indeed there and it's You that's keeping me alive. Thank you that there is an oasis in every desert. Thank you for organisation that keeps me sane in busy times and restful times that leave me longing for those busy times to come back! Thank you for needing me to be a Mary and not a Martha. Thank you for the problems that rise up in our car, house, team and personal lives - because they remind me that I HAVE a car, house, team, and that I am sharing my life with others - and these were all answers to prayers. Thank you for your promises that never fail to show themselves as true as pure gold refined seven times over. Thank you for letting me be me. Thank you for the gifts of love and joy and faith. Thank you for your Son which has made possible all of these things that I am thankful for!

So that's my list for today. Those are my confessions for today! May God receive the glory and may we all learn together how we can be thankful for the things He is doing for us every moment of every day.

May we once again be like little children who get excited and thankful about something as small as the water moving with the wind.

Pray for Thailand

Here is a link to the latest news as of this morning regarding the shutdown in Bangkok. Please continue praying for Thailand and for God's will to be done. I am travelling to Bangkok tomorrow for a meeting, but will be avoiding the protest sites.

Inner Healing week and the upcoming weeks

Thank you all so much for your prayers over the last week as we participated in the inner healing program for all the YWAM Ubon staff. It was a very overwhelming but blessed time where we learnt a lot about ourselves, God's love and mercy, and our team members. God opened up and revealed many areas of our lives that we needed healing in which we are open to share face-to-face (or typing-to-typing, haha!) with friends who are interested in knowing more. These next few weeks as we prepare to go on furlough we'll be processing more and focusing on starting new habits which will hopefully put God first in EVERY area in our lives!

There are a few pics posted on our Facebook page from the last week.

Please keep us in your prayers for the rest of this month as we do many things in preparation for furlough. I, Karis, will be travelling to Bangkok (in the same time frame as it is said to be shutting down due to protests) for 1 day to meet with someone who is interested in helping out Bethany Home while we're away on furlough. I will also be sorting out work for our new mother and helping her to get settled in to her work before we leave. Noom will be travelling to Sisaket for a couple of days to finish recording the songs that he's been doing for a friend's project to create Bible songs in the Isaan language. He will also be travelling to a neighbourhood country for a few days at the end of the month to bring supplies to poor schoolchildren. Along with this, we both have meetings in the next week to make preparations for the work this year.

Thankfully, most of the time only one of us is busy at a time and the other is free to look after our boy.

Please pray for protection for our family in the next few weeks and praise God for His blessings and continued provision in everything we're taking a part in!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all our family and friends out there! We were so busy around Christmas Day that we didn't even write a blog, but we hope that you all had a blessed Christmas and remember that Jesus is the reason for the season! We could celebrate Christmas and giving all year round :-)

We are sensing that this year is holding lots of heavenly kisses for us as we have received words like "Be Still in Thankfulness" and "Come Back to Basics" and "First Love (Jesus)". Please pray for us as we figure out what these mean, and make sure that you also seek God for a special word or encouragement for this year. At the same time, a new year is just another regular day, so it's never too early or too late for a fresh start!

Please also pray for us next week as we participate in a week of inner healing with our YWAM team. We are praying for God to touch us and our team deep within and heal any emotional scars that we have from our pasts or the first few years in missions so that we can continue to be as effective as possible! The inner healing week starts on 6th Jan.

Thank you and may God bless you all as you settle in to 2014,
Noom, Karis and Eliyah