As part of our project, we have a weekly party. There are several purposes for meeting in this way. One of the reasons is that we would like our readers to get to know the local congregation in order to feel that they belong after we are gone. It is also a good time for our readers to practice their English in a different setting. In addition, the relaxed atmosphere helps to build relationships.
This week's party was a celebration of Valen"thais" Day. Ten of our readers joined about 35 area Christians and 26 high schoolers from Ft. Worth, Texas in an evening of music and games.

It was interesting and encouraging to see the interaction between the American high school students and the Chinese College Students who are attending Payap University.

We felt fortunate that the Thai Christians invited us and our readers to join them in the Valentine Party that has become a tradition for them. They made provisions for a catered meal, prizes and games and we supplemented the party with a game, conversation hearts and materials to make Valentine's Cards. Our readers seemed to enjoy the festivities.

Future Looks Bright

Worship services at the Payap Christian Zone are uplifting and an indication of the future of this congregation. We usually hear the lesson through an interpreter. The song service is almost all in Thai written phonetically on the power point for the english speakers. We do our best to sing along. It is amazing how uplifting the singing can be even though we often don't know exactly what we are saying.

This morning was expecially encouraging. Communion services are conducted with the members encircling the communion table. Today the young man who presided at the table, Branson, was the son of our host. He is in his early teens and this was the first time he had performed this service. As a mother, I know how special these "firsts" are in your heart. He spoke in English first and then also in Thai, so he had double duty. He seemed very comforable being with the group and leading our thoughts. Great job!

Immediately following the communion, our speaker, James, went to the podium and announced this was his first time to give a sermon. The congregation is just beginning a study of the parables and he spoke on forgiveness from Mathew 18, The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. He spoke in English and there was a young Thai man (Berm) who translated for him. His lesson was very meaningful and well done.

As I observed these 3 men leading the service I was grateful for the leadership that is being developed at this place. It speaks well of what the future holds for the congregation.

Weekend Service Project

Last Sunday, Feb. 6, we went with the Payap church along with 26 high school students from Ft. Worth, Texas to a home for Handicapped children. When we arrived, we found about 100 children in wheelchairs and using walkers and crutches. Many of them had deformities in their bodies, but their spirits were joyous. They ran or rolled out to meet us as quickly as they could. They greeted us with hugs and smiles.
We sang songs with them, had a skit about Jesus calming the waters, played games and helped each one make a pinwheel to remind them of how Jesus has control over the storm. Even though they did not speak the same language, love was communicated in the name of Jesus Christ. At the end, the Thai speakers lead groups of children in prayer.

THE ENCOURAGERS BECOME THE ENCOURAGED

Words cannot express the feelings I have when I look at this picture. I would like to try to share with you what this meeting means to me:

As we were traveling to the mountain village to teach English, Robert (our host) told us we would stop at the home of one of the elders of the church. He explained that this man was very ill and had only a short time left on this earth.

We traveled in a truck to the village with 6 of us riding in the back of the truck and 5 in the front. When we arrived at the home, we were each met with a warm hug. This was a surprise because Thai people are not big on hugging. They "wai", which I find is a very warm greeting. (Wai is putting your hands in front of you as if in prayer and tipping the head. The higher the hands are held the more respect you have for the person. If the hands are near the nose they receive much respect.) The woman who met us treated us with great respect, but also there was a feeling of closeness and appreciation for our presence.

As we entered the house, Robert told us that this house is also the church building for this village. One room had a podium, song books, etc for that purpose. It was a large house by Tai standards, but probably not so big by our standards. Even so, there was a special place for the worship of the church. Robert also explained that this couple had three boys and 1 girl-all grown. The boys are all preachers and the girl is married to a preacher. Every one faithful to the Lord. We also learned that this man had once chosen to be a Buddhist monk, but instead dedicated his life to serving the Lord God.

When we saw this gentleman, he was covered to the neck with a blanket and was wearing gloves since the mornig was chilly for Nebraskans, cold for Thais, and the house has no heat. There was a tank of oxygen by his bed and he had difficulty talking because he was quite weak. Robert interpreted for us as the man talked. As we entered, he asked that God bless us and bless the work that we are doing.

We sang 5-6 songs-some that he requested, some his wife requested and some we chose. Many of them were about the promise we have for a special place in God's presence when this life is over. After the singing we were led in prayer by Bon (who prayed in Thai) and then Tom (one of our team members who prayed in English).

Before we left, Robert asked if he wanted to tell us anything. (This is the part that is difficult for me to report because I was so overwhelmed with the way that this 'uneducated' man spoke and my words do not do his justice.) His words were full of grace and wisdom. His speaking made me think of the fishermen that Jesus asked to "follow me". He talked about the foreigners and Thai who had come together in that place because of the love that God has for all of us. He told us that we must continue to teach the world about the good news that is so important for everyone to know. He encouraged us to remain faithful until death to the one who had suffered so much for us.

I have summed up what he said in my own words and they are very inadequate compared to his. His love and his wife's love for us-people they had never met before-were so very evident. Their faith in Christ Jesus was so strong. I will remember this couple as an example of Godly people the rest of my live. I would never have expected to find such eloquence and encouragement in a small village in the mountains of Thailand, but I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to meet this very special brother and sister.

Sheila

A Day in a Mountain Village

On the first day of February we went to the village of BawGaew to teach English lessons for the school there. One the teachers there is a member of the church. She asked Robert Reagan, the director of the Christian Zone and our host, to provide some activities for an English Day Camp. Our main goal was to help the students become excited about learning English. Robert told us that sometimes in the villages far from the city it is difficult for the students to see a good reason to learn English. This turned out to be a great week for us to take a day off from our normal schedual since many of our readers are Chinese students at Payap University and they were taking the week off to prepare for a celebration of the Chinese New Year.

Sheila prepared a lesson on shapes and colors. After they had learned (or for some of them reviewed) the vocabulary they played a game with the words . The students are drawing a set of letters out of Sheila's cup so they can race to spell their new vocabulary.

Michele had a lesson on the parts of the body. The lesson opened with the song, Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes. After increasing the vocabulary a bit the students played Simon Says but no one got "out".

Helen played a game with scrabble tiles. The students practiced making English words with random tiles.

Tom's lesson was on animals and foods. After vocabulary and spelling practice with flash cards, they sang Old McDonald, and Tom learned the sounds that animals make in Thailand. These can be quite different from what we are familiar with in America, for example here a dog says, "hong."

We had a very good day. It was good for us to see more of Thailand and by the end of the day we could see that the students were very excited about English. By helping that teacher provide this experience for her students we were witnessing to the loving kindness of our God to the administrators and students of that school as well as the students' families.

WINTER WONDERLAND, PARTY 3

Thailand is warm everyday. Most Thai's have never seen snow, except on TV. The 3rd LST Party began with a slide show of snow in Nebraska, and there was plenty of it to see as they also were hearing the song, "Frosty the Snowman". Students were amazed as they saw the piles of snow and the children playing in the snow.

After explaining that winter is a good time to spend time playing indoor games, the LST team introduced them to some new games. The Apples to Apples vocabulary brought many to laughter. Rummy Cube was quickly learned and winners soon emerged. All of those attending also made paper snowflakes while Michelle shared about the snow in Nebraska. There were very talented cutters.

We are now looking forward to another week of readers. This may be a slow week however as many of the Chinese readers are highly involved in the Chinese New year which is February 2. Many of the readers will be performing during the celebration. As these readers were asked about their favorite holiday as they read about the Passover in Luke, most all of them said, the "Chinese Festival", which is their name for the Chinese New Year. This is the most important holiday in China we are told. When they are at home, they receive gifts and have parties at this time.

WHO IS HERE?

It is Sunday. This is the place to be and the house is about full. Five congregations met together to worship. There were over 100 here and they all take off their shoes before entering the building. This is the custom in Thailand. When one enters a home or many public buildings they take off their shoes. Most go barefoot inside. As for us, we like to have a pair of slippers handy to wear inside. One asked us if we were 'pretty attached to our slippers'. I guess that "yes" is the answer. As we think about it, floors do stay much cleaner when outside shoes are not worn inside.

The LST team enjoyed the worship with so many Thai Christians. As usual the songs were shown on a screen in Thai and in phonetic Thai so that we could sing along with them in their language (or somewhat their language). We recognize most of the melodies as they sing most of the same songs that we do in the States, but it is amazing that we simply cannot remember the words to familiar songs when everyone else is singing a different language.

One of the Thai Christians here is kind enough to translate the lessons for the team so that we can gain from the good lessons that are taught. What a blessing that is!