Loving Memories....

When I met Ron I was a bit taken back. He was so real and said what was on his mind and yet gentle. He would greet everyone personally. When he said God bless you it wasn’t just words to greet you with but it came from his heart. Ron was all heart! I really don’t remember how I started going with him to the shelters...he probably just asked me to go and I said yes. It was in going with Ron to different shelters and working with Raven truck every week that God really birthed in me a heart for the homeless. I was always cold to them with the wrong perception of who they were and how they got be where they are. In serving them and praying for them I was able to hear their stories and my heart softened to them...all a part of God's plan. Shortly after this I met my father after 9 years at the altar on Christmas Day. This was a real shock and at the time he was homeless and drug addicted for over 25 years. He was at church praying that God would reconcile him with his family. I was the first one God brought to him to be reconciled with. I had no idea how to help him but I wanted him to be in good hands…so I approached Ron that evening and asked him to help me. Ron spoke to him very firmly and told him about God being able to help him if he really wanted the help. Ron made some phone calls and brought him down to the Bowery mission. Ron would visit and check up on him. Although my father ended up leaving the mission Ron did everything he could to encourage not just my father but me as well in the process of having him back in my life again. Ron was someone I could depend on. I watched him with people and saw a love that was committed and willing to help anyone who wanted help. In continuing to go to the shelters with Ron I developed some good relationships with some of the women that he knew. He would just bring someone up to me and say pray for her.  I remember Angel being one of them. She was one of the worst cases I had ever seen. I thought many times talking to her what is the point Lord she has been around for a while is she really going to change? One Christmas evening Angel walked into the mission and when she saw Ron she just started weeping. He gave her such a warm and loving embrace while she wept in his arms for a long time…then Ron looked at me and said take her to the next room and pray for her. I was sad that Christmas myself …I thought how am I going to encourage her? I spoke to her about the love of God and I prayed for her...oddly enough I felt better after praying and we had dinner together afterwards. 2 months later Ron called me at the school I was attending, now called Summit International School of Ministry, and told me that Angel was finally ready and agreed to be put in a program and that she was in Teen Challenge getting better. I cried and praised God for the great news and was so thankful that Ron never gave up on God for her. He believed for everyone…he believed there was no one Jesus couldn’t touch, heal, make new and give new life to. This made such an impact in my own faith for God to not just help people but help me. It was in visiting the shelters that I became hungry to have my own sanctuary with God. To know him and his word…to have an intimate walk with him that would change me. Ron supported me every step of the way. He sent me care packages, birthday cards (always more than one…one wasn’t enough to tell me how much he loved me), phone calls and NEVER failed to tell me how special I was and encourage me to follow God all the way. Ron would have done anything for me and was always asking me if I needed money and if I was okay. Afterwards I went to visit Times Square Church and ran into Angel whom I did not recognize at all!!! She walked down the stairs and my mouth dropped! I said Angel is that you? She gave me a big hug and with the biggest smile said “I got filled with the Holy Ghost!!”  We were jumping up and down and praising God together. God bless Angel and watch over her. There is nothing God can’t do when we believe him. The word of God says if you only believe you shall see the glory of God. God I thank you for the faith that Ron had in you and the many people that know you because of how you used his life. I pray that I would give you the same devotion in your purposes for my life and never fail to tell the people around me that they are loved not just by you but by me too. I love you Ron!

A letter from Laurie… (Laurie was a friend of Ron’s that hung out at the mission. He always picked her up and brought her to church….she was too sad to go to the funeral so I asked her to write a letter that I would post….. We miss you Ron!!)

Dear Ron,

I have known Ron for 4 years. Ron helped me a whole lot. When I was on drugs Ron prayed for me and took me to Bible study (Times Square Church New Believers Class). He was my teacher. He helped a lot of homeless people come to church to get with the Lord and stop their mess and get there self together. He also would bring them to the altar and let them cry out to God.  He would pick me up and say “C’mon Miss lady let’s go to church, we got to go, got to go, got to go!!” I will always miss Ron because he was my best friend, the man! God bless him, he is in a better place, in God’s hands. PS. He never failed to take me home and make sure I was safe.

Love,
Laurie

Birthday Bash!

This month I turned 32. I thought to myself what am I going to do? I can get some friends together and go out to eat or just stay in and watch a movie...not very exciting huh? Then I thought about how some kids at H2O never celebrate their birthdays because they dont know when it is.  I thought why not throw a party for them...so the planning began. I bought gifts and candy, planned games,  made enough cakes for all the kids to blow out the candles together and my favorite.... face painting :) Friends joined together helping out one way or another....I was super blessed to have such a great birthday and to be able to bless them in a small way. Thank you to everyone who contributed and donated to help make this happen. The work here may not seem like a lot and at times we have more time on our hands than we would like but Im starting to see more and more that the consistent contributions in someones life everyday can make a big difference. It is not about the quantity(how much I do) but about the quality(do it with all my heart unto the glory of God) When we first came here it took a long time for the kids to warm up to us. Took them 3 months to address us and say our names but now as soon as they see us they say hello with smiles...something I think we taught them :) Little by little we are showing them love and consistency...this is Gods love. It's something we can depend on and rely on. Gods love will never let us down and will endure forever. As I have freely been given so shall I freely give. May my hands and heart be open to Gods leading in what he wants to do for the rest of our time here.

Flexible February....

My 41/2 month puppy “Happy” was so sad that I was not taking him for a walk. He was peaking his head through the pillars watching the world pass him by while he was stuck up on the balcony. That was his view. My view was, I know I haven’t taken you for a walk yet as I normally would have done by now but today is a special day and I have something better planned for you. You see Vinnie, Golden Retriever/his best friend/neighbor was having a b-day party and it didn’t start till 6:30, an hour in a half after his usual walk. I wanted to surprise him and the whole time Happy thought I was punishing him or neglecting him….maybe he thought I forgot about him. It’s so funny as I thought about this situation that I thought how many times I have had the same puppy dog eye face at God. Because of his timing he withheld something or because he had something better in mind he would not let me have what I thought was the best. I also thought how many times I thought God is not thinking about me or has forgotten me….how little faith Happy had in his owner…how little faith I have had in my Maker.

Happie and Vinnie

English Teachers and Friends (These women are so good to us!!)

Can you guess who that is on the poster? Heehee... Teachers never told us they were putting our pictures up there..lol!

Joy Selby(US Volunteer),Peter Willis(President of H20), Me (US Volunteer)

Pretty much healed by the time I thought to take a picture...lol!

and eyes and ears and mouth and nose....head shoulders knees and toes, knees and toes..:)
love these kids!

happie makes me happy:)...not so small anymore!

English Camp was great! Kids had fun and had an intensive course to prepare them for the O-Net test that is a required national test for all schools.

Just to give you an update on what is going on here…I got bit by a dog! Sounds bad and it did hurt but I am okay. It was at the school while I was going to class. This dog has tried to bite me 2 times before and the 3^rd time it succeeded. I went to the hospital immediately to get rabies shots. I am now on my 3^rd one (5 total). Unfortunately this is not the 1^st time the dog has done this at the school with little kids!!! It was a sad decision I had to make to not work there anymore especially because I know the kids love me and I love them..but for now it's the best.

So I was left again with another change…what am I going to do now? Thinking that something good was being taken away from me and leaving me at a place with not knowing what I was going to do. Kinda like happy…he thought he wasn’t going for a walk but something better was going to be given to himJ. Shortly after waiting on the Lord for direction and through prayer I spoke with Esther about not going back to the school. I brought up the kids that don’t go to school at the orphanage because of learning disabilities and sicknesses. I asked her if she would mind if I spent time teaching them what I taught at the school. She was thrilled at this idea and said that this would be better than teaching at the school because these kids need special attention and have less of an advantage. They have a strong desire to learn and feel neglected because all the kids go to school and they don’t. So I will start this week teaching the kids at the orphanage and would love your prayers on this. I am not experienced with teaching children with learning disabilities but I will try my best to get to know each one and the best way to help them learn. I thank you all for your support in this time of transition and also learning. Joy and I are the first long term volunteers at this organization. It has taken all of us time to learn what they need and how we can best help them. We have tried a few things… some with success and others need work J but all in all I think this time is ground breaking and preparing a road for more volunteers and giving H2O experience they need for the future. God Bless You All!!!

I adopted!!......a puppy:)

I was reading Psalm 145…the Lord is gracious and compassionate slow to anger and rich in love…..I was thinking about how in the world did I end up with a dog? I definitely did not think about the responsibilities. Yet it doesn’t change nor can compare to the joy and blessing that this dog is to me in this time. He is a friend and blessing from God without a doubt! I ask the puppy, happyJ, how did I end up with you?  It happened so fast. I think about the first reaction to seeing this poor small puppy that was cold and hungry. I could not help but to pick him up and care for him. Give him a bath and love him. He would fall fast asleep in my arms and he was too vulnerable and cute for me to let him go and try to survive on his own with no mother to feed him milk and no father to protect him. The orphan dog came to the orphanage and was instantly adopted by us all.

As I read God's word I hear this is the call that He has for us all, to be slow to anger, rich in mercy, compassionate and gracious. If I would of thought about all the things that I would have had to do with the dog I would of maybe not gotten involved, although I think it would have been impossible for me to let him go. This happens when we let our worries and fears get in the way of the compassion of God. I think there are times we are not led to do things and other times when the pulling is so strong we cannot help to stretch out our hands to help someone in need.

We recently went for a border crossing to get our visa’s stamped. We have been here over 3 months already! The lady at the Thai end of the border offered us umbrellas because it was sooo hot and we had to cross a bridge. We gladly and gratefully accepted the umbrellas and started to walk. As I started on my way so happy that we had an umbrella, a little boy in a hurry rushed right past me. He was moving pretty fast but there was something that was holding him back from going really fast…it was a huge load on his back bigger than himself. He had to cross the bridge with this load and I’m guessing because of the heat and weight he was just trying to cross as quickly as possible. It was then my heart went out to him and I didn’t know what to do but I was drawn to him. I started walking faster and trying to catch up to him. I was fascinated by this boy and my eyes were stuck on him as I prayed God what do I do? Do I help him? Can I help him…it looked pretty heavy. I can’t even communicate with him. Would I culturally be out of line? Many questions rushing through me but the whole time I’m getting closer and closer and finally I say hello and give him my name.

Doris: “Hi, my name is Doris” J

He started talking in his language

Doris: “Can I help you? This looks heavy.”( I start to lift the load.)

Boy: Firmly in his language he spoke some words and clearly did not want me to touch his load and started walking faster.

I would have given up out of embarrassment but I was drawn to this boy and I knew I was to do something. So I just walked with him and held the umbrella over his head to protect him from the sun. Then he slowed down and before you know it we were walking together and talking but not understanding anything the other was saying. A family we walked by started talking to me about how strong he was and then she asked me if I was Christian? She said she was a believer and had a smirk on her face like she knew I was. By the time we got to the end of the bridge, he left quickly. I thought he did not like me at all and felt maybe I pushed too much to help and maybe I should have left him alone…I followed my heart and left it at that. He might of not wanted my love offering/umbrella but I gave it to him because I clearly could see he needed it.  We were at the border of Burma no more than 10 minutes. Walking back to cross the bridge again guess who met me and walked back with me…..His name is William and he brought 2 more friends to walk with us. It seems that it’s their job to lug heavy things back and forth from one end to the other. I laughed along the walk back with them, shared my snacks with them, got their names as well as practiced my Burmese that I had picked up along the way. I told them that Jesus loved them. They laughed at my English but knew what I was saying in Burmese about the Lord. At the end of the bridge we parted and they in unison thanked me with smiles. It was really sweet!

This is your neighbor. The one who you have compassion on, the one who is in need, the one who hasn’t heard, the one who doesn’t have anyone to talk to, the one who needs prayer, the one who is hard and unfriendly. The one who needs to know someone cares. The one who doesn’t know what true love is, the one that Jesus leads you to and puts in front of your path.

God will put people in your path and we are always given an opportunity to show love, kindness and Jesus to the world and each other. We may not be able to talk to everyone, or carry everyone’s load but if we help the one and are listening the ONE who speaks to us and guides us then we will meet many neighbors throughout our lives that the Lord will show his love to.

Then the king will say to those on his right, "My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created.

When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me,

and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me."

Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, "When did we give you something to eat or drink?

When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear

or visit you while you were sick or in jail?"

The king will answer, "Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me." ~~Matthew 25 :34-40

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 !!