Sunday 16th December - our fundraising water pipes have connected to the top of the board, the bucket was filled & water flowed through the system of pipes & out the tap at the side! (thank you to the creative efforts of Dan & Julie Pollard for this wonderful visual display of the aim of the upcoming Thailand trip!)
And for those who got to The Hobbit at The Lido - wasn't it great!
God has been faithful & allowed us to raise the $15,000 needed for the costs of the pipes & other building supplies for the trip! Thank you to each & everyone who's contributed in the numerous ways along this journey!
Each member of the team has to pay the remainder of the flight tickets by this week - 20th December. The fund-raising above does not cover our individual costs. As an example of costs - return flights will be around $1,500 per person. If God has laid it on your heart to financially support a particular team member towards their individual costs, I would encourage you to act upon it!
Monday, 17 December 2012
Sunday, 18 November 2012
The Village Location
A Google map picture of the village we're partnering with - Krey Mo Kee ( a yellow pin marks the site - the label comes up twice - sorry) It is close to the border with Myanmar. We fly into Bangkok, stay overnight & then fly to Chiang Mai. Orientation in Chiang Mai will occur before we go by (bumpy) road to Krey Mo Kee.
Tuesday, 6 November 2012
Kids' Church Watering Cans
Kids' Church are getting behind Project Thailand!
The children at Explorers were given a watering can on Sunday 4th Nov. A member from the Thailand Team went to talk to Kids' Church about the project. The children were encouraged to think about the importance of water in their daily lives. They were encouraged to contribute to the fundraising through doing some chores at home. They also wrote down a list of things to pray for, which they will use in the weeks to come.
They then had fun playing a water game involving communion cups and relaying water from one bucket to another!
Saturday, 3 November 2012
Thaitanic Banquet was a Great Night!
74 people dined & danced the night away in the Jubilee Hall on Saturday 3rd Nov and had a great time!
Everyone looked fantastic in their outfits - will hope to post some photos - tuxedos, beautiful gowns, a few people came prepared with life jackets & hard hats too!
Guests were serenaded by live music. The kitchen by Jubilee Hall was a hive of activity & churned out a 5 course meal. Which was followed by dancing.
Thank you to everyone who came & joined us for a fantastic night!
Everyone looked fantastic in their outfits - will hope to post some photos - tuxedos, beautiful gowns, a few people came prepared with life jackets & hard hats too!
Guests were serenaded by live music. The kitchen by Jubilee Hall was a hive of activity & churned out a 5 course meal. Which was followed by dancing.
Thank you to everyone who came & joined us for a fantastic night!
Friday, 2 November 2012
Tent Posts, Pieces of Paper, and Preparing for a Mission Trip
The team going to Thailand met up for a team building session with Bright Hope on Sunday 28th Nov.
We had a talk about what it means to go on a short term mission trip. We learnt about this being a step in a life-long process of being involved with God's plans for the world. We were introduced to how to give a testimony. We also did some team exercises: simple but actually quite challenging to carry out : utilising tent poles with the aim of lowering the poles to the ground with everyone's fingers keeping in contact with the pole, and shuffling the team from one end of a line to the other - stepping only on the blank piece of paper in front or around the person whose back we're facing - confused? Yes! It was quite a challenge!
Through this we learnt important concepts - team work, identifying the leader, listening to others, following instructions, feeding back to each other, and prayer - nothing is too small or too big to God!
Another thing impressed upon us is that the Mt Albert Baptist Church community - through us - is going to be a living example of Christ to the villagers we will be living amongst. By MABC having an input into the community, we are showing that we care about these people. This in itself is a witness of God's love. We won't be able to speak the language of the local villagers, so
communication will be difficult. But through the physical work we do,
and the benefit it brings to the village, we will show God's love in
action. Through this concrete witness, the local Christians will be supported and empowered to share the word of God.
What an awesome opportunity this is! Praise God!
Sunday, 7 October 2012
Team Thailand Meets with Bright Hope
Exciting times ahead!
Watch out for the Thai-tanic Banquet - coming to MABC on Saturday 3rd Nov! Tickets on sale 14th Oct & earlier online at The Table!
Team Thailand had an informative meeting with Kevin Honare & Mark Stokes, staff from Bright Hope, on Sunday 7th Oct. It was great to have an understanding of the situation of the villagers we will be partnering with. They are of the Karen Hill Tribe, who would have originally migrated from Myanmar. Access to school & health is poor - for instance- within the village area, there is schooling & sanitation BUT only accessible for people who have been associated with the Thai army. Hence not available to the majority of the villagers. There is a small group of Christian families already established in this village - praise the Lord!The villagers will probably be speaking a dialect of Myanmar - so no English, and probably no Thai either.
It was exciting to see how our involvement fits into the big picture. ITDP's work with the villages starts with installing water & sanitation into a village. Then the next plans will be establishing a nursery, followed by a school, then potentially micro- enterprises such as coffee growing or buffalo herding, which will lift the villages out of poverty. The first step is the water & sanitation, and it is estimated that it takes 6 years to turn villages around & out of poverty once the water & sanitation are addressed! My non-economics mind doesn't understand it, but it obviously works! But my health background understands that water & sanitation are the basic building blocks to a healthier and hence more productive lifestyle!
A bit about the logistics of what we're embarking on. ITDP would have scouted out the source of water for the village. Materials will be transported in (hopefully by a truck and not on our backs). We will be putting a water tank together to act as the reservoir, and installing pipes from the water source to the tank, and through the village, with taps to access the water. Additional pipes & taps can be installed later by the villagers themselves. Distances of piping can vary - between 2-4km for previous villages! The water system will cost approximately USD$6-7000. The remaining amount will be used to install sanitation - Asian-style toilets which will be flushed with ladles of water. We will work with a couple of staff from ITDP, and each household from the village is also expected to provide a person to assist in the work. Given we won't be able to communicate by spoken language, we will need to be innovative with sign language! There will be a children's programme each afternoon whilst we are there. We will be housed with the villagers. ITDP will provide the meals & water for us whilst we are there. Incidentally there was some mention of a frog farm nearby & the frogs were used for food!!! (Kermit lovers - we will confirm that once we know for sure!)
Praise items
- that God has provided us with an opportunity to improve the lives of this village.
- there are already some Christians in the village.
- that we can provide encouragement to our Christian brother & sisters in this village by our work there.
Pray
-that the villagers who are yet to know Jesus will develop a thirst for living waters.
-that the fund-raising will be successful in meeting its target.
-that as a team, we will learn to work well together as we prepare for the trip.
Watch out for the Thai-tanic Banquet - coming to MABC on Saturday 3rd Nov! Tickets on sale 14th Oct & earlier online at The Table!
Team Thailand had an informative meeting with Kevin Honare & Mark Stokes, staff from Bright Hope, on Sunday 7th Oct. It was great to have an understanding of the situation of the villagers we will be partnering with. They are of the Karen Hill Tribe, who would have originally migrated from Myanmar. Access to school & health is poor - for instance- within the village area, there is schooling & sanitation BUT only accessible for people who have been associated with the Thai army. Hence not available to the majority of the villagers. There is a small group of Christian families already established in this village - praise the Lord!The villagers will probably be speaking a dialect of Myanmar - so no English, and probably no Thai either.
It was exciting to see how our involvement fits into the big picture. ITDP's work with the villages starts with installing water & sanitation into a village. Then the next plans will be establishing a nursery, followed by a school, then potentially micro- enterprises such as coffee growing or buffalo herding, which will lift the villages out of poverty. The first step is the water & sanitation, and it is estimated that it takes 6 years to turn villages around & out of poverty once the water & sanitation are addressed! My non-economics mind doesn't understand it, but it obviously works! But my health background understands that water & sanitation are the basic building blocks to a healthier and hence more productive lifestyle!
A bit about the logistics of what we're embarking on. ITDP would have scouted out the source of water for the village. Materials will be transported in (hopefully by a truck and not on our backs). We will be putting a water tank together to act as the reservoir, and installing pipes from the water source to the tank, and through the village, with taps to access the water. Additional pipes & taps can be installed later by the villagers themselves. Distances of piping can vary - between 2-4km for previous villages! The water system will cost approximately USD$6-7000. The remaining amount will be used to install sanitation - Asian-style toilets which will be flushed with ladles of water. We will work with a couple of staff from ITDP, and each household from the village is also expected to provide a person to assist in the work. Given we won't be able to communicate by spoken language, we will need to be innovative with sign language! There will be a children's programme each afternoon whilst we are there. We will be housed with the villagers. ITDP will provide the meals & water for us whilst we are there. Incidentally there was some mention of a frog farm nearby & the frogs were used for food!!! (Kermit lovers - we will confirm that once we know for sure!)
Praise items
- that God has provided us with an opportunity to improve the lives of this village.
- there are already some Christians in the village.
- that we can provide encouragement to our Christian brother & sisters in this village by our work there.
Pray
-that the villagers who are yet to know Jesus will develop a thirst for living waters.
-that the fund-raising will be successful in meeting its target.
-that as a team, we will learn to work well together as we prepare for the trip.
Sunday, 16 September 2012
Thailand Team has had their first meeting
The Thailand Team has been confirmed & we had our fist meeting on Sunday 16th Sept. Very exciting!
There are 10 of us - we'll be introduced to the church next week on 23rd Sept.
Team Members are:
Brendon Harkness
Craig Mountfort
Emily Fountain
Fen Moy
Gabby Iseli
Isaac Lovatt
Jennifer Koelet
Mark Turnbull
Sam Johnson-Chung
Zara Brown
The dates are down for 3rd - 17th February 2013.The trip will be to instal a water supply system and sanitation into a village close to where Jonathan, David & Michael had visited last year. A children's programme will also be run, and a basic medical clinic.
We would love our church family to start praying with us as we prepare for the trip. For some of us, it's a first trip overseas! Please pray that the logistical preparations will go smoothly, such as passport applications, health checks, information gathering, and, the big one - fund-raising. Our target amount is $15,000 - this is for the supplies of installing the water & sanitation systems. Each team member will have to fund their flights and personal expenses.
We reflected on what Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well - "whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14. Please pray that God will start working in the hearts of the villagers, so that they will be receptive to the Gospel and be open to receiving Jesus's life-giving water.
There are 10 of us - we'll be introduced to the church next week on 23rd Sept.
Team Members are:
Brendon Harkness
Craig Mountfort
Emily Fountain
Fen Moy
Gabby Iseli
Isaac Lovatt
Jennifer Koelet
Mark Turnbull
Sam Johnson-Chung
Zara Brown
The dates are down for 3rd - 17th February 2013.The trip will be to instal a water supply system and sanitation into a village close to where Jonathan, David & Michael had visited last year. A children's programme will also be run, and a basic medical clinic.
We would love our church family to start praying with us as we prepare for the trip. For some of us, it's a first trip overseas! Please pray that the logistical preparations will go smoothly, such as passport applications, health checks, information gathering, and, the big one - fund-raising. Our target amount is $15,000 - this is for the supplies of installing the water & sanitation systems. Each team member will have to fund their flights and personal expenses.
We reflected on what Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well - "whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14. Please pray that God will start working in the hearts of the villagers, so that they will be receptive to the Gospel and be open to receiving Jesus's life-giving water.
Saturday, 31 March 2012
So, where are we at?
Really awesome to see things coming together. Recently we launched our five year plan. Check out the details at http://www.mabc.org.nz/project-thailand/
One of our cluster partner churches just returned from Thailand too. Read their story at http://www.cbcthailand.blogspot.co.nz/ Really gripping experiences.
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