With our Debriefing Coming to a Close, We Will Be Home for Christmas!

It has been a wonderful and restful past few days here at Bulstrode. We are staying at the WEC UK headquarters, which is a beautiful mansion in the English countryside.



We went into London which is only a short train-ride away on Saturday, but have spent the rest of the time debriefing, and resting and reflecting on what we have learned on this trip.

While we are anticipating coming home, it has been super awesome being able to have some time to reflect on what has happened. Some people have felt a clear confirmation on their call to ministry on the trip. Some have a definite place and ministry they have in mind. For me personally, I was hoping that God would use this trip to place a specific country or people group on my heart, and while that did not happen, I am totally okay with that, because instead He taught me that I am called to ministry, and even though I don't know the specifics, He will reveal those at the right time. We all learned so much through the different missionaries and ministries we encountered along our journey. Each one like a piece of the a puzzle taught us something to add to our learning experience. Each place and the people in it have a little piece of our hearts and we will never be the same because of it. We have all been changed in different ways, and I know for me I will be forever grateful for this experience.

We will be heading home tomorrow morning (minus Miriam who left for her home, Sri Lanka, today). We are all excited to be coming home and looking forward to spending Christmas with our friends and families!

See you soon and Merry Christmas from England!

-Emily & The Team :)

Monday, December 10 in Amman

Every morning we meet for breakfast and devotions at 9:00 am.  Breakfast is usually a Jordanian pastry (Jordanians love sweets), pita bread, eggs (fried and hard boiled), cheese, olives, nutella, peanut butter and strawberry jam, cereal, juice, tea and coffee.  This morning eleven members of the team went on home visits to members of the congregation.  They are bringing food coupons to the families and visiting with each family.  They will probably have tea with the families and pray with each of them.  Tomorrow the rest of the team will do the same.  I believe our team will experience the heart of this ministry here in Jordan by visiting the refugee homes.  Tonight our women will present the program for the Women's group at the church.   We will be doing a skit based on the parable of the Sower and the Seed with a short Bible study on this passage to follow.  We will spend time worshipping the Lord through song, and then we will try to teach the women to pray aloud in their group (They have not been able to get the women to vocalize their prayers so please pray for us as we attempt to help them break the sound barrier).  We will close with prayer and a time of refreshments and fellowship.  The NWC women will present a 2 hour program for the Girls Group at the church on Tuesday evening.  Again, please pray that we can be light and salt while we are here and that we can bless the resident missionaries and the congregation.  It will be a short time and we will be home and we all want to finish this race well.  Blessings and love to you all!

More shots from Jordan

The Treasury at Petra (sideways, sorry!)

Roman Ruins at the Citadel in Amman (place of Uriah's death)

Part of the team before ministering at the church on Sunday night. 

Some Images from Jordan

Some Bedoin Tents Viewed from the Road

The team floating in the Dead Sea!

Jordan!

We have our computer charged and we have internet! We have been in Jordan for three days. On Day 1 we visited Medaba and viewed the mosaic map of the Holy Land on the floor of St. George's Orthodox church. From there we traveled to Mount Nebo and were able to see the Promised Land from where Moses first saw it. Then we went for a swim in the Dead Sea, although, one could hardly call it a swim as you cannot do anything but float in the Dead Sea. The students tried beauty treatments with the dark muc of the Dead Sea. Better than a spa! We then travelled south to the Edom area of Jordan and Petra! After a wonderful buffet dinner and a much needed night's sleep we went to Petra! The students rode horses into Petra. They walked the last mile in through a deep wadi cut between high walls of stone. We went early in the morning so the site was very quiet. They explored the site for a couple of hours. In one of the tombs they sang Silent Night and our Christian Jordanian guide sang a verse in Arabic. It had great acoustics and was a very moving experience. Some of us rode camels or donkeys on the way out & we learned about Jordanian bartering with the boys selling soveniers near the Treasury entrance to Petra. Then on to Amman. We have been in Amman for two days. The first day we visited the Citadel of Amman which is the site of the murder of Uriah the Hitite ordered by King David. We ate lunch in a falafel shop and visited a Roman theater along with 2 museums. Last night we participated in the local church service. Today we will do home visits to Iraqi refugee homes bringing them food. Many of these families were ordered from their homes by terrorists. They left a middle class or upper middle class existence to flee to Jordan where they are not allowed to work and their children are not allowed to go to school unless the Jordanian government has declared them legal. They are waiting for the UN to call them to place them in other countries. They are in a desperate situation. We hope to bring some hope to them today.

A Baptism and Life in Lat KraBang!

Emily, Katee and Cierra Here! The three of us have been separate from the group staying with Filipino missionaries at the other Santisuk site in Lat KraBang. We have had a great month of teaching university students English at night time. We have done fun things with students like visit them at the university, go to an amusement park with them, the Crocodile farm, and the beach. This past Saturday we got to experience a very exciting thing for Christians here in Thailand. Two students from the school, Cierra's students, got baptized! They had been attending the church and school before we got here, but we were able to be there for their baptism. It was so exciting to be able to be a part of this special moment in their lives. Both of the boys come from Buddhist families and one was involved in a gang before coming to Christ. The way they put it was, "Two bad boys became good boys because of Christians." They have been discipled by Don Don, the Filipino missionary who runs the church at the school. Don Don has been teaching basketball at the local high school, which is how both came to know him. It has been a joy to get to know them and see the transforming work of Christ in their lives, especially knowing that they will go on to shine the light of Christ to those around them in Thailand. Here are photos of their baptism:

We are loving life in Lad Krabang and currently decorating the center for Christmas! We will see you all then! Blessings!

Our Time In Thailand is Swiftly Coming to a Close

We are in our final week of teaching English at Santisuk. We have 3 more days of English classes this week. Last Friday night we had a "potluck" Thanksgiving dinner and a church service. Turkey is very expensive in Thailand (about $10/lb.) so we had duck instead. Some of our team made mashed potatoes. These were enjoyed by our team and the Thai church members as well. We leave for Malaysia this Friday. Leaving will be bittersweet. Our NWC students have gotten very close to their Thai English students. It will be very hard to leave them. We will have rehearsal tomorrow night to prepare a program for the university in Malaysia. Please pray for us as we put this program together. We are all currently well and ready for the next phase of the adventure the Lord has designed for us.

Health Update

We wanted to update you about the health of the team. The health issue that started a few days ago with four from our team was originally thought to be isolated incidents of food poisoning. It has now been diagnosed as a viral intestinal bug. The bug lasts for about 48 hours. We as a team are taking precautions to prevent any more people from getting sick. Dr. Easterling bought some bathroom cleaning supplies so we can regularly disinfect our bathrooms. We will be washing all of our clothes and bed sheets, as well as being more intentional about not sharing clothing, food or drink, going to bed early and getting lots of sleep, drinking a lot of water, and eating regular meals. Jenna, Kristy, and Alicia are all feeling a lot better today after a day or two of rest. Kai is still at the hospital near our guest house and Santisuk English School. Mai Kia was taken there today as well. They are at the hospital not out of severity of the situation but because it is the closest health clinic in the area. We would ask for your continual prayer for our team, especially those who have been sick and are still sick. Please also be in prayer for the three girls at Latkrabang. Please be in prayer for the spiritual well-being of our team. Several on our team feel the sickness is a result of spiritual warfare. Pray that God will continue to protect us against the devil's schemes. Please be in prayer for what God is doing and will continue to do here in Thailand. ~Lauren

Please pray for the team. We have a few of us with what the staff at the local hospital is calling food poisoning. It began with Jenna Anthony on Monday evening. At about 1 AM we took her to the hospital. She was given a shot and some antibiotics and some anti-nausea medication. After Jenna left for the hospital, I got sick (Kai). Then yesterday Alicia Waldo and Kristi Thompson got ill. Jenna seems some better & I am on the mend. The other girls just got sick so it will be a day or so until they feel better. We do need your prayers.

A Taste of Bangkapi, Thailand

 Whitney and I after a successful first day of teaching English! We have 11 students...since we teach from 7-9 in the morning, we've enjoyed taking some of our students out for breakfast and Thai food after class :-)

 A few of us enjoying bubble tea at the market.

 Santisuk School where we are teaching this month!

The JJ Market that a group of us went to this past weekend. There were so many shops and markets...pretty hot under the huge tents but SO worth it.

 I tried some coconut ice cream, served straight out of the coconut shell! yummy.

 One of the many signs of Buddhism that we see here in Bangkok...there are so many shrines and spirit houses with offerings to the idols, mostly located on the streets and in shops. This was outside the JJ Mall that we went to.

I love all of the street vendors everywhere and sampling different kinds of food. One of our favorites is from the "banana man": a crepe-like dessert stuffed with an egg and banana, and sprinkled with condensed milk and sugar. Sounds kind of strange but trust me, it's so delicious!

-Alicia

A Day at the Crocodile Farm and the Ancient City

This tiger is NOT stuffed!!!  He is very much alive!!

Do you floss daily??

Lauren takes the wheel.

Lauren Critzer & John Emison in one of the buildings in the Acient City.

Serene pond in Acient Siam.

Overview of Ancient Siam.

Crocodiles gather for feeding time.

Today was the NWC team's day off.  Some students went with their Thai students to the Crocodile Farm and the Ancient City.  The Crocodile farm they pet a tiger, fed crocodiles, rode an elephant, and watched a crocodile show and an elephant show.  In Ancient Siam they rented bicycles and pedaled around the reproduction open air museum.  It is Thailand Heritage Center.

Teaching in Thailand!

Street side smoothie shop frequented by our team, daily!!!

Mix Berry Smoothie, 35 baht ( a little over $1). Yum!!!

Dinner with Peace Fellowship Church members after Sunday evening English service.  This restaurant could seat all 35 of us immediately!

Mackenzie Wearda teaching one of her two daily English classes.

Phase 10!  The Thai people love games and lively competition!!!

Parents enjoying a friendly game while they wait for their children who are in English classes.  They gather in the Santisuk lobby.

We often will catch coffee at the nearby Starbucks!  As you can see, Christmas has arrived!  It is strange to see Christmas decorations and walk outside to 97 degree heat and 90+ humidity.

It's Christmas time...or at least Christmas marketing time....in the city!

We will complete our first week of teaching English at Santisuk on Monday, November 12!  Most of the students are teaching two 2 hour classes.  Some have this teaching load and are also working a Teacher's Assistants in another class.  The ministry has asked us to spend 8 hours/day in ministry in class and out.  Our team schedules time with their Thai students outside of their class time.  They go out to breakfast, lunch, coffee, or dinner with their Thai students.  Some have scheduled field trips to the local crocodile farm, the Ancient City, the floating market, the open air market, and Tim Serbus will go fishing with one of his English students in a nearby fishing village on Saturday, November 10.  Every Friday night we join Peace Fellowship Church for dinner and their worship service.  It is hard to connect with each other as our teaching schedules start at 7 AM and do not end until 9 PM.  Everyone is coming and going from our Mission house home to Santisuk at odd hours of the day and evening. 

Training in Thailand

We arrived safely in Thailand on Thursday, November 1.  We were taken to our guest house to settle in.  The JJ Jew Mission Guest House is about 4 blocks and one foot bridge from Santisuk English School (hereafter SES).  After settling in we met at SES.  We were taken on a walking tour of Bankapi, the area surrounding SES.  I wish I could communicate the full experience to you all.  Bankok is city that NEVER sleeps.  The traffic is unending, with honking and screeching.  The sidewalks are filled with people, street vendors, animals, and motor bikes.  The sidewalks are very dirty and uneven.  The smells are of spicy Thai food, sulfur from the sewer, cilantro, fresh pineapple, and other exotic fruit.  7 Eleven stores are everywhere!

Friday we met with Steve Cable, the missionary and pastor here at Peace Fellowship Church (PFC) and Santisuk English School (SES).  He explained our teaching responsibilities to us.  At 5:15 p.m. that evening we had a dinner with the members of PFC.  We ate outside.  At 6:15 p.m. we attended the Friday night Thai service.  We will be attending this service every week.  A pastor from Erie, Pennsylvania, gave the message in English and then translated to Thai.  On Saturday, we had 5 hours of training in the SES curriculum.  We also had time to go to the Mall Bankapi.  It is huge! Malls here in Thailand are a combination of stores, restaurants, grocery stores, banks, post offices, cinemas, & food courts.  The Mall Bankapi has a giant waterpark on the 5th floor!

The road to the Mall Bankapi is strewn with small booths where you can buy food, clothing, and various sundry items. 

On Sunday, we met at 10 a.m.with our cell groups.  Each of us was assigned a PFC cell group.  My group met at the Vejithani Hospital.  We met with a woman who was injured in a bus crash about three weeks ago when the SES team had taken a field trip to the Bridge Over the River Kwai.  Please pray for Jane.  She has a vertebrae injury and has regained some feeling and usage of her arms, but her legs are still paralyzed.  We worshiped, read Scripture and prayed together.   Sunday evening was the PFC English service.  Our team participated in the service, singing during the offering.  After church many of us went out to dinner together at a local restaurant.  There were about 35 of us!

Today we received a cultural orientation.  We have our first teacher's meeting at 3 PM today.  Classes start tomorrow.  Please pray for all of us as we begin our teaching responsibilies at SES.