Annual Christmas Concert

   
I was informed every year H2O does this big blowout with food, sharing the good news and opening their home to the town of Umphang as well as those who live in the refugee camps.  I had no idea how big this event was and how many people would be involved. It was quite an experience waking up and seeing people camping out on the grounds with tents and get up early to work and prepare for the event.

I mean there were people everywhere!! Every floor in the house and church was full of people. My job was to help out decorating the stage and flowers as well putting together a drama for the event. Everyone was busy and put their hands, skills and minds together to create an event that would be unforgettable, 27 acts and end with everyone getting up to dance to Feliz Navidad J

The next day I woke up to the girls giggling and doing something on my porch. When I opened my door I saw a decoration of flowers all over my porch!! It was sooo sweet! The girls and I definitely bonded and enjoyed our last hours together before they went back to the camp with practicing each other’s language and painting our nails J

When I think about the event and how many people joined in from different cultures and personalities…(Europe, Burma, Thailand, S. Korea, China, Singapore, and America) I think of how incredible God is. We are all so different and this is not a bad thing but at times makes it hard to work together. As we keep Christ in the center not just for Christmas but in our everyday life…giving thanks and celebrating the life we have in him… we can truly come together unified and make great things happen for the glory of God. Thank you Jesus!

PS. Pictures soon to follow :)

First Thanksgiving at H2O...and possibly Umphang

This woman is a great blessing to H2O!

Making Sweeeet Potaters(first time making syrup)

Paw Paw crushing the chillies (I think)... the cook here at H2O

Each a  Pocahontas :)

The cutest little Pilgrim!

Round and round you go!

Game: Pin the feather on the Turkey

Game:  Mayflower trying to find the land

Little hands write what they are thankful for...most said food.

The Pastor/Director Gum San talks highly and respectfully about America. He said because of your country we are able to know God. He has read a little bit of our history and knows about our Thanksgiving holiday. The couple asked us if we would have a Thanksgiving here and cook American food. Joy and I thought how on earth are we going to do that?? There are no turkeys, no ovens, and everything in the supermarket we can barely read not to mention we really don’t know everything that is available here yet. This place is VERY remote and 4 hours up the mountain, only one way up and one way down. We thought it was a far-fetched idea but we said yes and would try our best. The more we met other farang’s in town the more we would gather information on "how to do with what you have" as well as "how to get what you think you can’t". We were on a mission but things started coming together. The other farang’s admitted they have been here for years and have never celebrated Thanksgiving or it just wasn’t part of their culture (England and New Zealand). So we invited all like a real Thanksgiving and had everyone bring something. Joy and I came up with 2 American dishes we can cook here...Macaroni and Cheese and Sweet Potatoes, thanks to our friend who purchased ingredients in the next town (4 hours away).Steamed Burmese style Chicken was the main dish and it was delicious! The pictures can tell you the rest of the story.... cooking allllll day, games, laughs and a cake to end the evening. We gave thanks to God with prayer and songs, shared the Thanksgiving story with the kids and enjoyed the sweet fellowship of friends and our new H2O family. It was a lovely Thanksgiving celebration in Umphang!!!

Traveling and Transitioning



Lovely Smile!BKK

They have one too..lo!

 Bus to Mae Sot

Streets of BKK

Breakfast (Excellent!)

Our 1st day in Umphang they
invited us to their house
 for breakfast

A 14 hour plane ride to Korea and then another 6 hours to Bangkok was something I was dreading but to my surprise it was not as difficult as it sounded. Our long layover afforded us a whole day tour in Korea, which ended up being very nice. We arrived in Bangkok extremely tired and our stay in BKK was extended due to the roads being closed because of the flooding. While we were waiting for the right time to leave it was an opportune time for us to get to know the culture and people of Thailand. Afterwards we took a 10 hour bus to Mae Sot and then a 4 hour car ride to Umphang The rest of the traveling was actually nicer than expected. The bus drove around the storm so I was able to see the lightening and floods from the window. The car ride was absolutely beautiful! Around and around and around the mountainJ we went and past the refugee camps on the border of Burma. When we arrived to the orphanage we were greeted by the sweetest looking faces I have ever seen. It was definitely love at first sight. We have been here for 2 days and have been busy settling in but it still feels like a dream. We thank God for getting us here safely and know that he has great things in store for this season. Will update more soon.xoxoxo! 

Refugee Camps

Breathtaking !!

FUNdraiser was Successful!

This was the flyer for the fundraiser that I just had. You would think the story behind it would be the obvious...needing funds for Thailand but it was actually a test of obedience. This was my first summer here in Kingston and I don't know a lot of people but the Lord kept putting it on my heart to hold a fundraiser. It was something I did not want to do for many reasons. To name a couple, I have no experience with raising funds nor did I feel like I had any resources to work with. The Lord simply gave me the parable of feeding the 5,000. They did not have much in the beginning but as they gave it to Jesus and he blessed it, he also multiplied it. So I started this new event with that in mind, I don't have many resources/experience to offer but I know you can multiply it. With that said although this fundraiser was about raising funds I knew that before it started it didn't matter how much money would be raised..to me it was already a success because I was doing what he asked me to do. I give thanks for the MANY people at my job, new/old friends in Kingston and family who joined together to make it above and beyond what I thought it could ever be. With God all things are possible and one more time I am in awe of not what I have done but what he has done through me and many others. Thank you Hope For Change International, Mariner's Harbor and ALL the others who contributed.