An Update from Katie – June 2010

SawatdeeJaa!

I can’t tell you how grateful I am for all the prayers that have been lifted up for me and the crew here over this past month! This time has been really rough, but full of good times, new friends and major break throughs as well!

I was in the hospital for 3 nights, and Dylan and his mom, P’ Piyarat, were there for over a week. Thankfully the team was able to come and help P’ Piyarat so she could get some rest, and I was able to make some interesting connections, and new friends while there. I went to visit one gal in her village just a couple days ago!

Last week we did an English Camp in the neighboring village of Baan Kham Sa-at. They gave us free rein to share the Gospel during our group time, which was an amazing thing! I found out afterwards that there were 3 main teachers from 3 different school represented there, and that somehow all three had come to be pretty open to Christians, and wanted their schools to have a chance to hear the Gospel! At least one even mentioned that his school wouldn’t be participating in the Buddhist festival that was about to happen. Usually schools would spend a few days getting ready for these holidays, and wouldn’t have time for real classes, but in stead he said that if the students wanted to celebrate they could do it with their families, but that his school wouldn’t be taking part in it. I was dumbfounded when I heard this, because one thing Isaan people truly love is a party!  God is moving!

Since the team left things have been pretty quiet, but not without seeing miracles on a daily basis! Mom and Dad have been feeling challenged to get out there and spread the Gospel, so they started on Tuesday, and 6 FAMILIES ACCEPTED CHIRST!!!! And that was just day one! They’ve been going out once or twice a day, depending on how the first outing goes, and have been able to lead someone to the Lord almost daily! Today they said that God gave them all sick people to pray for, which they were really excited about, because they said that if these people experienced God’s healing they would believe and would always have that physical reminder o God’s work in their lives. Over lunch Dad walked across the street, and a half hour later came back with this guy to pray for. This man was only about 30-40 but he had no feeling in his hands up to his elbows, or his knees down to his feet. I was so blessed as I listened to my Dad open up the bible and tell this guy about Jesus, and how He had the power to cast out evil spirits, and heal every illness. The guy was blown away, and I sat there feeling a little silly for spending 3 days in the hospital. In the end we were able to pray for the guy. He had already been to the doctor, and was given pills, that so far hadn’t been helping him. So Mom told him to pray over the pills before he took them and ask God to help the pills do their job. Before he left he said that if god heals him he will follow Him. God is moving!

I’ve been really worn out with translating for 12 folks, and being sick for so long. So I’m taking a break for a few days to go visit a dear friend from the Tamar Center who has recently moved to Chayaphoon, where she has started a prevention center for girls and women at risk. Should be good!

I really can’t thank you enough for all the prayers and e-mails of encouragement I’ve received during this time. God is working in huge ways, and it’s just like the enemy to want to put a stop to it, so please keep the prayers coming!
Much thanks and love,

Katie

Dreams are like seeds planted in the fertile ground of our hearts. Opportunities and education are the water that feeds these dream seeds. Hope is what blossoms when we realize what has been planted inside us and the potential each of us has. Hope leads to more growth – a leaping after that which was breathed into us from the womb of our mother’s belly: God’s amazing dream He purposed us to live.

To put it simply we are planting hope. Through every English class, every hug, every conversation over a meal, in playing games, and in special outings; we are planting hope for children and families who don’t have any.

Yesterday we started our summer English program in the city with the Thai – American Language Center. I have a class of all new students. My purpose as their teacher for this short moment is so evident in my mind. In every word that I say I want to instill hope and encouragement that they might just see a glimpse of the amazing calling in their own lives.

We’re planting hope in a land that seems very dry, land that many believed nothing would grow – We know that dreams are about to spring up out of the ground. That laughter and joy of children with hope will fill the silent air.

We are planting hope.

At the end of sixth grade, Bas still was unable to do these things and his parents considered having him drop out, or enter the monkhood at a local temple. The question we always ask ourselves here is what is the future of these children? Children like Bas who cannot read and write their own language, who are neglected by family, and have little hope for a better future. So where’s Bas now?

We encouraged Bas and his family to keep him in school, even if they were ashamed of his academic struggles. A week ago, Bas finished the seventh grade. In the new high school he was assigned a tutor that spent time with him one-on-one to bring him up to speed in Thai. He brings his English homework over to ask for help. And we see hope in his eyes that we never saw before. He has a new found confidence.

Why? To tell the truth we haven’t done a whole lot with Bas. Over the past two years we have simply encouraged him. He has been encouraged to dream when everyone else gave up on him. We encouraged him to stay in school because without it, the opportunities in the future are slim.

This is what we are all about. We want to simply encourage families and especially children to dream of a better future. Hope is possible for these kids. Prostitution, drug addiction, and an early marriage is not the only path for the youth. There is so much more for these young lives.

Actually now Bas is holding his own classes at the center we started in the village. We have been unable to lead classes officially due to legal matters, but Bas does math, Thai, and English reviews with his friends on the weekends. I am so stoked to see the change in his life. There are new dreams in his eyes. And they started only with a bit of encouragement.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you! I’m a little behind … or perhaps way early!? Whichever the case I hope that you have had a wonderful time with family, friends, reflecting on Jesus, the greatest gift that has been given to us, as well as enjoying delicious food!

I’ve been so amazed and challenged by God during the past few months. Amazed by His patience with me, and challenged to lean into Him all the more! The ministry I’m with, We Love Isaan, is in a time of waiting. God led us into this about as soon as I arrived. It has been so good, humbling and frustrating all at the same time. What I had expected from this time was that we’d be seeking God, and asking Him to show us what to do next, but He has made it obvious since then, that this time is for seeking Him with no agenda. I feel like I can relate to the Israelites when they built the golden calf, because it can be really hard to sit still and feel like you don’t have any fruit to show for your faith in Christ. I’ve realized that idols don’t always look like cows, but  just busyness or “good ministry ideas” can easily become an idol, and I don’t want to be a hinderance to what God is doing here!

I get the question “What are you doing?” from just about everyone I talk to. I used to answer that I’m just getting to know my neighbors and playing with kids,  but I feel now as if God has given me a little kick to the tush as if to ask “Just??”.  How do I have any right to share the good news with them if I don’t take the time first to get to know them? This has been a little tricky since I’m still learning the dialect, and during the first few months most of the kids in the village were scared of me because I’m white, and the rest of the village didn’t really know what to think of me since I wasn’t teaching English, so they weren’t really sure why I had come.
My Thai mom started selling snacks at the school in our village, and I would go with her to help. Food is really the way to folks hearts! One little girl named Ploy, used to be so scared of me, but on the first day I helped mom, Ploy commented that she was amazed to see that I was just a normal person!  It was a strangely wonderful compliment! A couple high school students have been coming to me for help with their English homework, and the younger students have been asking to learn an English word a day. It started with 3 kids, and the group keeps growing!  My favorite time of the day has become the afternoons as soon as the kids get out from school. I love these kids!

In November I had my first Alaskan visitor, my friend Holly!  I had a border run to make so we went to Laos for a week and were able to visit with some dear friends there, and were also surprised to get Lao make-overs!  Isaan, the dialect I’m learning right now, is actually a lot closer to Lao, than it is to Thai, so it was a great chance for me to practice, since I couldn’t rely on speaking Thai to get by. Straight after that trip my Thai mom and I went down to Pattaya, for “Pattaya Praise” Which was an awesome week of prayer and intercession, as well a sweet time of praising God for what He’s doing in that city! Pattaya is known as being the red light city of Thailand, but God is doing HUGE things there! It was such a blessing to be a part of it! Around Christmas time we were able to take 3 of the kids from the village to a Christmas Party  at a children’s home in Phetchabun. It was a 7 hour drive, and I rode in the back of the truck with the kids, and was so blessed to see mountains for the first time through their eyes!  I think that was truly the highlight of the trip!

I’m leaving tomorrow for Chiang Mai, in the North of Thailand. I’m going to visit a ministry run by a wonderful missionary family, the Morse’s, who are partnered with my church back home. I’ll be there for 2 weeks, teaching English, and whatever else they throw at me. After that, YWAM, the organization I’m under, is having it’s 50th anniversary, and the founder of YWAM, Lauren Cunningham, is coming to Chiang Mai to hold on conference. I have friends coming from as far as China for this conference. So I think it should be a really sweet time of seeking God together, as well as hearing what He’s doing in other parts of the world!

A couple things you can be praying for:
*Continued favor here in the village, and more opportunities for friendship to open up.
*Traveling safety as I head to the North for 3 weeks. As well as for my Thai mom, who is helping her daughter-in-law, P’ Lek, take care of the grandkids while her husband is away with the Army.

Enough about me. How are you?? If there’s some way I can be lifting you up in prayer, please do let me know!

I couldn’t thank you enough for the prayers and encouragement I have received!! Thank you for being such a big part of what God is doing here. And know that you are always welcome to come for a visit, or to stay!
May you be blessed!

Love,

Katie

Over this month we all are doing a bit of traveling so please pray for us. Katie has spent the past week in Laos. This coming week, her and mom will be going to Pattaya Praise, a big prayer and worship event in Pattaya.

In two weeks dad will be going with the local church to the north of Thailand for meetings and conferences.

And this coming week, our family is going to Bangkok to register Dylan’s birth with the U.S. embassy and to apply for Piyarat’s visa for our trip to the states. Please pray for favor for us at the embassy and that we wouldn’t have any difficulties. Please also pray for traveling safety for all of us and most of all that God would continue to speak to us, encourage us, and push us forward into more of Him in all that we do and in all these places where He is taking us.

Thanks for watching! We love hearing from you!

Casey for all of us in Si Saket!

Mom’s Heart & Vision – YWAM Si Saket Video Update #3 from Casey Wright on Vimeo.

Piyarat asks mom to share her heart for her village and her ministry among the families and youth in the area.

INSTEAD, I want to share with you a 20 minute documentary that my good friend from YWAM Denver has done. I won’t give much of an intro because it’s not needed.

If you want to contact Anthony after watching this, you can email him at antwonlee@gmail.com. Please take the time some evening this week to watch this rather than something else!

Against All Hope from Art and Justice League on Vimeo.

Against All Hope is a short documentary about Karen refugees and internally displaced people in Burma.

Duration:20:58

Flim by: Youth With A Mission Denver & Art and Justice League
Directed & Produced by: Anthony Lee
Camera Operator& Sound: Ben Drake
Camera Operator & Interviewer: Maria Martinez
Director of Photography: Kara Orendorf
Sound & Assistant Editor: Matt Raj
Executive Producer & Camera Operator: Jonah Pyhala
Assistant Camera Crew: Ted Davis, Brent Manke
Music by: Andrea Ball, Neah Lee, Moby
Photos by KHRG (Karen Human Right Group)

Links:

http://www.khrg.org/

http://www.globalrefuge.org/

http://www.myspace.com/ballandrea

http://www.neahleemusic.com/

Hope you all are just in awe of His goodness today (and tomorrow, and forever really)…

Casey & The YWAM Si Saket FAMILY

Visiting Si Saket? – YWAM Si Saket Video Update #2 from Casey Wright on Vimeo.

Just a short video to say hi, to show off one of the many beautiful places in Si Saket, and to invite everyone out for a visit! Let us know when you’re coming!

Casey

YWAM Si Saket Video Update #1 from Casey Wright on Vimeo.

Dad, Katie, and Mom

Sawadiikha!

It has now been over a month since I landed back in Thailand. As I was preparing to come back I was trying to get things done “early” the day before I thought I was flying out. So I checked my itinerary and realized my ticket had been changed and I was leaving that day! Thankfully, I had just received my Thai Visa the day before.  After traveling for 23 hours I made it to Chiang Mai, Thailand. Though, I wasn’t able to get ahold of my contacts there and let them know I was arriving early, so I called the Campus Ministry in Chiang Rai that I had worked with, and found out that they were having 5 Baptisms that afternoon! I quickly gathered my stuff and after a 3 hour bus ride made it to Chiang Rai in time for the Baptisms. It was such sweet welcome home!

My last month in the USA was spent studying TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) with YWAM Montana. It was a crazy sweet course of about 6 weeks worth of training packed into 4 weeks. I honestly wanted to quit the course on day 4, but by the grace of God I made it through and was so completely blessed by my fellow teachers, students, and staff!

After jumping around from place to place as if I had been strapped to a pogo stick for the past 6 months, I finally made it to my new home in “The Isaan”!  Life here in the Northeast part of Thailand is so different from life in the North! I’m trying to simply get used to the new volume of the people here. I keep thinking folks are yelling at each other, but they’re usually just having a friendly conversation! It’s pretty weird.

My hair is pretty short at the moment and this morning on the way to church I was mistaken for a boy. I just laughed it off, but as I heard this woman say how she wanted to get a foreign boyfriend, as if you could pick one up at the grocery store, and that she had dumped the last fella because he didn’t have enough money… I got a little mad. Not at her, but just the whole cycle of people using one another! Whether it be for money, lust or whatever. It makes me seriously angry! I couldn’t really say much after that because I was just fuming inside. It breaks my heart for the women here that think they might find prince charming with a big fat wallet that will save them from poverty. It breaks for the men that think they can buy love. My heart breaks for the parents and grandparents that even considers sending their children away not knowing what they’re really sending them to  just because they can’t afford to take care of them and think they will be more profitable to them  working in the city, and my heart breaks for the children that have to live with those consequences! Nothing in this world can satisfy like the love and hope that God gives! Absolutely nothing! Without Him all of this hopelessness would just be some endless cycle, but through Him I pray that there would be a change! That people would know the truth that sets them free.

That they are not forgotten! They are not hopeless! They are not a mistake! The creator of the universe knows their name! And that they are Loved! Deeply.

What the son sets free will be free indeed! (John 8:36) I long so deeply for Thailand, and the World to know the only truth that can set them free!

I long for Christians to be set free! It’s too frighteningly easy to just sit in a cage of lies we have believed, when all along the door is wide open!  I let fear and lies hold me back for far too long thinking I was stupid or had nothing good to say. I hated grammar in school and since I was home-schooled I hid the book so I wouldn’t have to do it. I never wanted to do a TESOL course at the fear of looking stupid or foolish that I don’t even understand how my own language works. But I was so blessed to be able to renounce those lies that had held me captive. Seriously though, if I can do it, anyone can do it!

If it is true that God uses the foolishness of this world to shame the wise, and that in our weaknesses He shows His strength. Then I pray that I will be a truly weak and foolish Christian that is seeing God at work all around me!  (I think I accidentally stole this quote Shawn Claiborne -” Irresistible Revolution” but I could be wrong.)

If you have made it to the end of this I am truly thankful! Thankful for your love and prayers, words or encouragement, and with the diverse and global family God has blessed me with. Thank you for being a great part of it!

Love,

Katie