Home-back in Aus!

OK, so we made it home today safe and sound, and while some of us slept a bit others of us went to work! But we made it back. Dave, Howard, Mel, Roy, Di and Kim are also (or should be) back home now, leaving just Steve and Chee in Malaysia. More updates/feedback to come when we're a bit more awake. I'll try and get a few other team members to put their contributions up also so you don't always have to hear from me. (so if you're one of those team members feel free to email me something to put here!)

Once again thanks heaps for all your prayers and support and concern and encouragment while away. It was certainly really appreciated by everyone and we were able to see God move in even the small things. Thanks again!

rounding up

Ok guys, We made it to singapore airport and i have 3mins to update this blog. Kids min stuff ended up going really well. And I managed to break both Sherida and Leonie's heart (but they'll get over it!) The medical side of things was a bit slacker over the last week or so but it meant we could focus a bit more on developing relationships with the kids for that side of the ministry.
We still have to try and get Dave and Howard on the same flight back as us, so that's the next job. Anyway thanks heaps for your prayers and i'll update more when i get home.
Chris :)

Now the work is done, it's time to have some fun!

The team finished up the kids ministy and medical stuff today. Just doing the final meetings with the local tonight. The translators that were accompanying the team are both coming down south to Phuket with the team for a team debrief which should be good. Thanks for all prayers. It's going to be an early morning tomorrow and flight connections are going to be tight. Thanks for all prayers. Sherida and Leonie say Hi to all.

Ok so its the first time that we've been able to access the internet while away in Thailand. We are in a little internet cafe about 20 metres from the northern Thai/Burmese border. Some of the team members are currently in Burma(I think)...
We are all being pushed to the max with language challenges, learning new skills on the run and not always getting enough sleep. Although we'd expected to be able to use internet earlier, plans have always change or time run short. Plans changing and our schedule being a moving target has been something that everyone on team has had to learn to deal with, as it has happened a few times and sometimes at short notice. We are all much more flexible now...
Anyway, we're off to Phuket Sunday morning for a relax and debrief before flying home Wednesday morning.

One Team Member Coming Home

Today (Mon) Chris dropped Peter off at the airport as Peter had to return home to Australia for work. Pray for Steve, Roy and Chris as they take up the leadership roles Peter was undertaking.
Apart from tiredness, the team is doing well but Mel is not feeling 100%.
The kids ministry is going freat. They were able to run kids church yesterday with only 30 minutes warning. They've got 2 different drama's they're doing too.
The medicine is going well also.
Thanks again for your interest. Keep the prayers and words of encouragement coming as you never know what impact it can have on people serving overseas!

Some long days ahead

The team is doing OK with a few flat days in between but overall doing very well. The team is going out to a different village tomorrow and staying overnight so they are expecting some long days ahead burning the candle at both ends of the day, so prayer against tiredness would be really appreciated.
The kids ministry is going well and so is the medicine with the team having just the right amount of medicine on hand.
Chris gave his testimony the other night and Chee and Howard were giving theirs tonight as well as a native Aka (Thai) woman.
The drama they've been doing has also been going really well with the Thai people really enjoying it.
Thanks for your prayers, support and encouragement. They are all greatly appreciated.

Luxury

The team have now moved from Chang Rai to Mae Chan and they are quite happy to no longer have to use a squat toiler but have a flushable one. At the time I spoke to them, they were currently in Banana Village eating oranges! They are learning lots of languages (they have been in 3 tribes each of which have their own language) plus Thai as well. Sleeping is OK as they have improved their sleeping arrangements from bamboo floors (apparently not all that comfortable), onto concrete floors. They are getting to bed around 9:30pm-10pm each night and geting up when the roosters crow around 6:15am!
The team still really values their prayers. They are getting a real spiritual workout. Overall it is all going well but a few of the team have colds but nothing worse thankfully. Keep praying for the individuals on the team as well as some of them are feeling a bit burdened with lots of things on their minds.
Thanks for your prayers!
(Mike)

Tiredness

The following was sent through from Chris yesterday (5th Jan):
"The team is getting a bit tired. We left Paya Pai 2 days ago and went to Semiko yesterday. We caught up with a previous translators sister and did medical work there. Today's our day off and we're in transit at the moment from there to a village we haven't been to before. Feel free to send messages back. The prayer ministry is doing well and some days has its work cut out for it."

They do have limited internet access over there depending on where they are and can check this blog site so feel free to post any comments so they can read them when they get a chance and can pass them onto the rest of the team.

Keep up your prayers for the team as it's not easy of there.

Chang Rai

The latest news from Thailand... the group arrived with no problems into Bangkok. They got the medication through customs without any problems although they wanted to check every one of the 17? boxes of medication they had. They picked up Mel in Singapore and after arriving in Bangkok, set off for a 10 hour bus ride up north to Chang Rai. 13 hours later they arrived at their hotel at 1am and had a rest day the following day after more than 24 hours of non-stop travelling! The team all managed to get 8 hrs sleep which was great considering the travelling required.
Since being in Chang Rai, they have visited one of the villages where they had 'Yudanese' converts, another 'Aka' (excuse my spelling) village where there were only 4 or 5 Christian familes and they felt a need to have an outreach time at mid-day after their clinic. Surprisingly a few witch doctors were challenged and questioning things. (An awkward time for the witch doctors considering their role and status in their society.) Another Thai interprettor (Joe) who has been with them on previous trips has now joined them. He relates well to all people, especially the young ones.
If you've heard any more, please feel free to add any comments or email me so I can post it on this site. The team want to thank you all for your prayers so far and those still to come.