Pattaya Praise

 

During the worship parade.

Day 1

Pattaya Praise technically started yesterday, but today (Thursday) marks the first full day of the worship festival held in Pattaya, Thailand each year. Starting at 9:00 in the morning and lasting until roughly 11:00 at night. A wide variety of music was offered, but each band made it clear that they were there for one purpose: to worship God. Highlights included a speech from the mayor of Pattaya at around 3:00 in the afternoon, and in the evening there was an exciting change of pace for most Thai’s, when the Ohio Band took the stage with their Southern Gospel Style. All in all, Pattaya Praise offered something for everyone, no matter their language. God was present, and the tourists and residents of Pattaya couldn’t help but be drawn to the music and excitement glowing from the stages.

Day 2

Day two of Pattaya Praise has come to a close. All of the bands from the previous day made an appearance along with a few new acts, and because the rain was only present for a brief moment, the event seemed much more energetic and alive. People from all over the world were present, yet the nights focus remained on the creator. The night’s highlights included an award-winning Christian breakdancing team, a hard rock worship band, and a congo line running 100+ people long. No doubt, the night will be locked into the memories of believers and non-believers for years to come.

Day 3

Day three of Pattaya Praise has come and gone, but not without leaving a lasting impression on the city. The day started with the Worship Parade, which started at Central Mall and made it way all the way to the stage at the Pier. Dozens of Christians, dressed in white and armed with drums and voices, marched and sang their way through the hundreds of tourists and locals, proclaiming the truth. Shortly after the parade finished the worship started, and as each band took the stage, more and more people wandered into the Pattaya Praise area. Prostitutes, drug addicts, families, tourists and native Thais all heard the gospel in a new exciting way, and by the end of the night there was definite fruit. People asked for prayer, took free Bibles, and wanted to know more. All in all, Pattaya Praise accomplished exactly what it intended, to worship God and be a living example to others on how to do so.

For heaps of photographs check out This Link and This Link.

 

 

Poor Hands Rich Hearts Project

Bring the Kingdom has been at a minor standstill lately as I was devoting my time to setting up the Poor Hands Rich Hearts project. It is an attempt to create a small, mobile, Christian community, that’s sole purpose is to love those who are not easily loved by society.

Here is a link to the website.

Also we are going to be selling some t-shirts to help pay for our trips, but before that we need money to print the t-shirts. If you would like to pre-buy a shirt, or sponsor a part of the printing, please let me know. Here are the current shirt designs. Also, every time you buy a shirt, we also give a free shirt to a homeless person.

Please pray that we would be able to raise enough money to print the shirts, and in turn raise enough money for the trips, and in turn touch many lives for Jesus.

Thai Song

“Emitting Hope & Freedom”

Thai song is a fair trade business dedicated to empowering Thai women to overcome poverty, improve their community and better their environment by providing dignified employment. We seek to bring economic freedom and hope for women living in poverty in the slums of Bangkok. Our women handcraft high-quality, eco-friendly products out of recycled plastic collected in their neighborhood.

Thai Song is a business for people, rather than profit… A business built on love that pursues empowerment. Instead of just offering employment, we offer a chance to be part of a community seeking a brighter future. We are a business that is involved in the lived of the women of the community expressing genuine care, experiencing real relationship, and believing in their ability to impact their own situation.

The Women of Thai Song

Lek – at 49 is still a fighter. She has deidicated herself to the care of her 28 year old mentally handicapped son. Lek has never given up despite the many trials she’s faced and she’s vowed to never give up as long as she still has life.

Mai – is no stranger to hardship. At 42 years old she works relentlessly to sustain the lives of four family members. She is the only caretaker of both her 17 year old mentally handicapped daughter and her 1 year old grandson who was born from rape.

Tae – at 28 years is full of hope despite a painful past. After abandonment from her own family, Tae passed through numerous orphanages where she experienced mistreatment and hardship. She now dedicates her life to ensuring a bright future for the next generation.

Plastic Bag Project

To order a bag, or check out more about Thai Song click HERE.

Leatha Project

Malawi is a country in the southern part of Africa where The Leatha Orphanage is located. Pastor Thomas Tambula, along with the help of women in their village, care for 31 full time orphans. Not only is Thomas caring for these orphans, but he is consistently traveling throughout villages, sharing the gospel and planting churches.

The Leatha Orphanage was established in 2006, and Thomas’ ministry has been supported financially by Mark and Leatha Arant since 2003. Along with The Salt Company’s yearly donation, this is the orphanage’s only source of financial support.

The Leatha Project was established in order to meet the needs of the orphanage that The Salt Company supports. We want this to be more than a yearly donation. We want Salt Company students to be able to take part in the work God is doing in Malawi. The Leatha Project is a way for students to provide financially and prayerfully as the body of Christ.

Since the Leatha Project began in the fall of 2009, students have come together with generous hearts and have raised over $10,000 for this ministry.This past summer, The Leatha Project Team, made up of 5 college students, traveled to Malawi to get a first-hand look at The Leatha Orphanage. This team spent 4 weeks in Malawi, learning about the culture, how the orphanage works, and how The Leatha Project can move forward in assisting this orphanage in achieving self-sustainability.

Check their blog Here. (Tons of Pics)

James 1:27 — Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Prayer: 31 kids can get expensive, even in Malawi. We need to pray that this group’s faith in God’s provision would continue to last, and that they would be able to see the money and volunteers come in to properly raise all of these children. Also pray for the safety of the kids, as Malawi is found in Central Africa, which is not recognized as one of the safest places on our planet. Finally pray for the leaders and volunteers. They have their hands full, but they know that they are living up to God’s plan for them. Pray for constant endurance and satisfaction in God’s work at the orphanage.

Action: These guys are not just talking about action, but doing it. They believe that God is faithful to provide. Pray your socks off, and see if you think God is leading you to give. I know someone involved, so if you are interested in supporting the 31 orphans shoot me an email at xmilanojx@gmail.com, and I will help you get in contact with the right people.

The Shelter

Location: Across the street from the airport, Bangkok, Thailand

History: Well. It all started way back when man decided to get drunk, and then smoke a little of this and shoot a little of that. Since then mankind has seen hundreds lose themselves to the powers of addiction, specifically to various drugs and alcohols. Fifteen years ago, Swiss fellow named Rolf realized this problem and decided it was time for a change. After spending a couple of years working for a rehab program in Germany, Rolf packed his things and abandoned his native continent, finding a new home in Thailand. Thirteen years, one wedding, and numerous changed lives later, Rolf is still going strong as the leader of The Shelter.

Mission: The Shelter is a rehabilitation program based around Christian community and the well being of ones soul, not just body. They welcome lost men into their program, encouraging them to stay for 12 to 15 weeks. The men live in a shared bedroom, work together, eat together, and play together. No cell phones, handling of money, or independent trips away from The Shelter are allowed. They also participate in daily worship, church on Sundays, and “Family Night” on Friday evening. They also do not hold the men. This means that the men who come in are there completely by their own will, and may leave if they choose. The fact that anyone at all chooses to stay at The Shelter speaks heaps for the love that the organization sheds on these men, as most addicts require a more prison-like system to get through the more difficult urges to use.

Some of the dudes at The Shelter in the "Family Room"

Situation: They currently have 8 men involved in the program, along with one in their post-program living, and 4 staff members. They have enough housing for their current members, but also have a long waiting list, so they are hoping to expand their housing soon. They also need a larger car, preferably a van, for transport of the whole group. Although they have four staff, there is still a need for volunteers, as looking after 8 men who haven’t looked after them

selves can get challenging at times. Finally, they are in need of regular supporters. Rolf is confident in God’s ability to provide, and says He always has, but Rolf also says that having people who pledged to monthly support would really help, as they never know where the money will come from until it happens.
Please pray for God’s provision in all of these areas, as well as His continual presence in the work that The Shelter do

es. There is no doubt that lives have been changed, and we want to thank God for that and pray that it continues to go strong in the years to come.

 

Rice Seeds

Location: Small village in the middle of a field not too far from Ratchaburi, Thailand.

Leader(s): Noiy and Bronwin Prommathat, the sole long term staff of YWAM Ratchaburi.

Background: Located only a short distance from the Thailand – Myanmar boarder, Ratchaburi is the home of some 30,000 Thais, as well as a small population of Mons, the original people of Myanmar. The Burmese people, currently the powerful majority in Myanmar, have made a habit of discriminating against the Mons, especially in the hiring process. The Mons face similar discrimination in Thailand, but instead of being left jobless in poor Myanmar, they are just given the jobs that are considered the worst of the worst in Thailand.

Mons also are not allowed to ever get citizenship in Thailand, making it impossible to go about everyday life without facing trouble from the Thai government or police. Mons often tell tales of police stopping them and demanding money in order to be able to carry on. One Mon woman I talked to explained how she couldn’t get a proper license for her motorbike due to her background, and how the police will stop her just to repeatedly take her 100 Baht payment for freedom.

Mon children also face discrimination, even through the education system. The majority drop out after sixth grade, largely due to the fact that the Thai education system refuses to give a certificate to Mons after completion of high school. They figure they have learned enough by sixth grade to get by in the working world, so they join the rest of their families laboring to make enough money to get by.

Mission: Noiy and Bronwin have spent countless hours with the Mon villagers, and they understand the troubles they face. The see that dropping out of school is not a sign of negligence or laziness from the Mons, but actually just a means to make it. At the same time, they know that completely high school isn’t just about the certificate of completion. Although the certificate is important, they want to see this children at least complete school with a higher level of education as well as more developed life skills. Noiy and Bronwin have set up the child sponsorship program, Rice Seeds’ goal is to see the students continue past grade six, and not be a financial burden to their families. The supply the students with enough money to cover their transportation, meals, and school supplies.

Each week Noiy also goes and teaches a Bible lesson to the students, and they are required to attend the lesson each week in order to receive their sponsorship money.

Current Situation: There are 18 students total as part of the sponsorship program, and it costs $30 a month per student. That means that about a dollar a day provides their food, transportation, and school supplies. The trouble is that only four people have pledged to $30 a month for the sponsorship program. Noiy and Bronwin have a strong desire to see these children succeed, so they take the deficit of the sponsorship program out of their own budget each month, even though neither of them have income since they are full time missionaries.

Noiy and Bronwin have already seen three students choose to continue on through high school and hope that more will follow.

Prayer: The obvious prayer request is that more people would be led to sponsor these outcast children. This is very important as it would take a huge financial burden off of Noiy and Bronwin, as well as the families of this Mon village. Another request is that the schooling would turn into a future generation of Mons who are financially stable in a way that their parents had no opportunity to be. The final prayer request is that Noiy and Bronwin’s hospitality, along with the weekly Bible lessons, would be an open outpouring of God’s love to these people. God loves them, so we pray the through Noiy and Bronwin they would start to tangibly feel that love.

If anyone is interested in getting involved in sponsorship, email me at xmilanojx@gmail.com

Hope Cards (Repost)

Today Honor and I had the privilege to join Niti on a visit to a ministry known to the globe as Hope Cards. As we took the taxi into Bangkok I had no idea where we were headed or what it would look like, but as we got closer it became more and more evident that the work they were doing was quite necessary. We continued turn after turn into one of Bangkok’s slums, built over a swamp of sewage and trash, until eventually the taxi rolled to a stop and we hopped out. After Niti made a quick phone call we headed into a very neat and tidy building that stuck out like a pearl. Along every wall we saw countless hand made cards, and each table showcased even more works in progress.

After a short interview with Natia, the coordinator, this is what I understand about Hope Cards. They see a number of women in the communities surrounding searching for jobs, to no avail. Therefor they decided to make the jobs. These women have been given the opportunity to make cards of every kind, from “Happy Birthday” to “Get well soon, for customers around the globe. One of the major benefits, besides having an income, is that the women get to take the materials and work from home. They just return the completed cards to the headquarters, and receive their pay. Since 1999, Hope Cards has been hand making super-gnarly cards that are brightening a day somewhere around the world, and changing a life right here in Bangkok.

Although they aren’t necessarily my specific style, I picked up a few Hope Cards myself, because my mother eats this stuff up. If she ever stepped foot in this shop she would come out with only the clothes on her back and bags of hope cards.

Prayer Requests:

1. Pray for continual card customers from all over the globe, as to help keep the ministry going strong.
2. Pray for this not to be just a business opportunity for these women, but also a chance to realize the love of God.
3. Pray for the development of new designs. They have over 200, but the customer base wants more, which isn’t bad news at all.

AND IF YOU WANNA BUY ‘EM»           http://www.hopecards.net/

Ruth Center (Repost)

Strange as it may seem, the elderly are one of the most forgotten people groups in Thailand, as well as other places around the world. More than one million elderly people reside in Bangkok alone, without most people raising an arm. When a spouse dies, what used to be just enough is suddenly gone, leaving many of the elderly working extremely hard just to get by. The Ruth Center focuses on how to help these people on both a physical level and a spiritual level.

From another angle, when a rescue worker has to choose an order to save three trapped people, they would start with the one who’s situation is nearest its climax. They want to get the most endangered out as soon as possible, and then deal with the rest. As morbid as it may sound at first glance, that is a strategy behind the Ruth Center. Although they may have been on earth longer than most, these peoples souls are eternal just like the rest. With this in mind, it is important to start focussing on how to bring the elderly to Christ sooner, rather than later.

To reach their peak performance, the Ruth Center sneaks in one last bit of strategy that often goes overlooked. During their time of helping the elderly, they make possible a way for the younger generations to learn important skills. A prime example of this: Jeremy, a Ruth Center worker, brings along Nat, a young boy he mentors, to many of the job sites. He not only wants to help the elderly, but he wants to give Nat knowledge and example that he cant learn on his own.

Basically, and unprofessionally, the Ruth Center rocks. They are reaching between generations to show God’s love.

Their prayer requests are as follows:

• Pray for God to keep transforming the lives of the elderly in Bangkok.
• Pray for more people to come and help Ruth Center reach out to the elderly of Bangkok.

King’s Kids Thailand (Repost)

Yesterday Honor and I had the opportunity to visit a ministry called King’s Kids here in Bangkok. Essentially it is a program to help poor children who’s parents have no interest in teaching them about life.

We went to their neighborhood to pick them up, played with them for a bit, sat and listened as they got talked to in Thai, and then helped distribute milk and vitamins to them. Apparently the way the program works is by giving the kids and incentive to attend, study, and apply what they learn. If the kids ace all of those categories at the end of a three month period they get to go on a field trip to a zoo or amusement park. That is pretty sweet.

I didn’t get to hear very many of the stories, but the ones I did hear were quite heavy. One of the boys currently lives with his mother and step-father, and because he isn’t the son of that marriage, they chain him to a wall while the younger children play. His parents let him leave for King’s Kids because it takes them off of their hands.

Another one of the boys, at age nine, tried to kill himself to get away from his messed up home life. He was unsuccessful, and shortly after his attempt, he met Ek. Ek is the man who runs King’s Kids, and through a little love he convinces the young boy his life was worth living.

These are just two of the multiple hope stories coming from King’s Kids. Here is what they say about themselves.

“King’s Kids Thailand was started in 1999 by people who had a heart to minister to Thai children, youth, and families by helping them to grow deeper in relationship with God; and to see them bring joy to His heart. Through our programs and activities we have seen any lives changed. Some individuals have become leaders of ministries in churches.

We blieve God’s desire is for all young people to discover their destiny and fulsill their potential in Him – to have a hope and a future. God’s heart’s desire is to release young people of all nations to go to the ends of the earth to make a difference.

King’s Kids has 4 main goals in reaching out to the youth of Thailand:

• Mobilize them through camps and outreaches, giving them opportunities to share and live their faith
• Disciple them through discipleship programs
• Share the love of God with youth that have never experienced that love.
• Care for them

Please pray for:

• The staff members – That God will fill them with wisdom, and strong sense of unity
• Ministry planning for King’s Kids, for the PCYM school and for the ongoing camps that King’s Kids runs.
• Inspiration for new and exciting ways to minister to the youth of Thailand”