Northmen Thailand Trip 2006
December 21, 2006
Greetings,
Our trip to northern Thailand is now history. The fourth annual Northmen Thailand went well. Five of the boys from the hostel were immersed as the meeting concluded. During our visit at the hostel (two weeks) four young girls were also immersed. Our theme this year was “Greater Faith” and all the speakers dealt with related topics. I preached four times. Dennis Moss and Sam the radio man also preached. Don Kibbler led the communion meditation and all in all we shared a good fellowship in Christ Jesus our Lord.
On returning to the hostel Sunday morning we shared in the usual Thanksgiving service with Zeke Goff leading the communion meditation and Norm Miller sharing the word. The chapel was beautifully decorated for the occasion and many villagers (men & women) shared with the Northmen. After this meeting we gathered for a great feast in thanksgiving. It included the usual stir fry (about four kinds of veggie and meat mixes to put on your rice) with the rice being served on banana leaves, the plates of the day. There was also fried chicken and a multitude of fruits. That evening we assembled again and I spoke.
Our basic purpose in going is to share in this annual meeting but there are always other projects. This year nine of us labored for about 8 days on the new boys dorm at the hostel. This project had been started earlier. When we arrived the basic structure was up and the roof was on. The second floor was in and our main project was framing and sheeting the entire structure. With Ahtapa hiring the “Thai” man to do some of the high work we almost finished that task. I and a couple of the men spent several days getting about half of the electrical work done also. Monies for this project were from some major donations while Ahtapa and Leah visited the states this summer. A good portion of the funds were donated by Northmen Ministries. These monies will come from the sale of a large part of the Northmen property in Ogemaw County. This building (approximately 60’ x 30’) will be the boys dorm (bottom floor) and class room area (top floor). It is a pole type structure with teakwood poles and bamboo sheeting inside and out. Lots of windows and ample doors make if very airy and exit ready for safety. The bottom floor is cement and the top floor is teak. Oh, that is not ship board type teak. It is rough sawn teak from the forest of northern Thailand. That and mahogany are about the only materials available besides bamboo. The roof is a pressed composite material that seems to be used everywhere and lasts a good long time. Windows and door are of the same teak material. The windows do not have glass but will have shutters with a teak frame and bamboo sheeting. No building in the village is completely closed in or sealed like our buildings are for heat.
Our labor was a joy with Lisu and Thai men working together with us most of the time. The Lisu men basically had no tools but were very quick to pick up on what was being done and how to use tools. One showed me how to measure a board. Just like Noah did. Elbow to finger tip. This modern stuff is a bore. It keeps us from using our mind and being resource- ful. You ought to see some of the stuff they come up with to make do. And you builders really need to look into bamboo scaffolding. It is far stronger and more rigid than any American stuff I have been on. Of course the decking on it is not much, just a single 2x4 for instance. After all, all you need is something under you, not terra firma.
Sharing with me on the trip were; Sam Haney, Baltimore, MD; Dennis Moss and Chris Sinlee, Semmes, AL; Don Kibbler, St. Joe, IL; Zeke Goff, Peru, IN; Tony Beaverson, Moberly, MO; Norman Miller, Prescott, MI; and Nick Papi, Indian River, MI. We all had a great fellowship in our venture. Tony spent a great deal of his time and effort preparing an information video for the mission to use in promotion. He took some tremendous pictures and CDs are available. Each of us came home rejoicing in the work being done and in the strength and beauty of the youth of the hostel. God is preparing these kids for good things.
Our days were full, up at 4:30, off to devotions with the groups of kids. Some of us sharing in each of the three groups meeting by age. This first meeting is devotional but also directed toward learning another language. For instance in the Sam’s class (Sam is Ahtapa’s younger brother) they were reading the Bible a chapter day. Each student reads a verse as they go around the class until the chapter is done. Then Sam discusses the content with them. Of course they were reading in Thai, a language which originally would have been foreign to most of them. The second session is given over to direct language study. I noticed classes in Chinese, Thai and English. Here there is direct training as to vocabulary and some sounding out. Emphasis is not on grammar but on being able to speak to the person using the other language.
They are being taught to share the word of Jesus with anyone they might meet in their neighborhood or country for that matter. At 7:30 the kids (all 50) left for school (five different schools) and we set to work on the building. We quit about 4:00 as the kids returned home and everyone got ready for the evening meal. Of course everyone has chores and there is home work. All shared in a meeting Wednesday night. Everyone in bed by 9:00 most nights.
On Thursday morning we were given a break as we went for the annual elephant ride. I spent some time with Ahtapa so I did not participate in that this year but I did get a foot massage. Thursday afternoon saw us visiting a snake farm and the resulting show, always interesting. One of Ahtapa’s favorite things is cobra soup. It is shared occasionally as snakes are caught. The Lisu people consider it to have medicinal value. We were all just as glad the boys didn’t find one around the compound while we were there. The show was enough!
Saturday we stopped at about 2:00 and made preparation to go out to a small village to see how the Kids for Christ program works in evangelizing. What a blessing. The girls (all the older ones) got the village kids involved in their singing, dancing and puppet show as well as games and verse quoting. It was obviously a great time for those kids. While this was going on I noticed the ladies coming with pots of rice and such. I knew we were in for supper and longer. Supper was served to about 50 people with us being honored guests. We ate in the home (a 20X20 bamboo hut with dirt floor) and all the rest ate outside. After supper we sang and then I preached. Ahtapa suggested I deliver a message with a Bible overview since about two-thirds of the people there were not Christians. I closed by offering Lisu Bibles to any who wanted them. The girls danced and sang for some time and I believe we left for home before 9:00. (For your information as to Lisu culture eight people live in that bamboo hut).
On the Lord’s Day we shared in a morning meeting with Tony preaching. In the evening the men got to go to the street market in Changmai. This offered the older girls some good exper-ience in serving as guides and interpreters. Norm Miller and I stayed to visit with Joseph Lija and wife Christine. They are friends from previous visits and very much interested in what is happening at the hostel as they used to work there and perhaps will again soon. Joseph and Christine have been attending Lanna Bible College and will finish soon. We discussed many things as to village outreach, a school at the hostel and providing small business ventures for the Lisu villages. You will hear more of these things in the future.
We worked on the building Monday and Tuesday morning and spent most of Tuesday afternoon getting ready to leave and saying good-by. Monday night the kids shared some music and dances with us and then said good-by. It’s always a hard time for everyone. Several kids helped take us to the airport and we shared our evening meal there. Don Kibbler was “bid daddy” and provided for all. Ahtapa says the kids were very silent going home saying we “had taken a part of their hearts with us.”
I will be glad to share with anyone personally or in group as to the work and its future. Our next big project will be the purchase of some more property for the school. Hopefully we can begin the first class of the school next fall. It will take a lot of planning, income and prayer but it can be done. The savings would be tremendous and what could be done for the kids will be even more important. Present cost of schooling is high due to the cost of maintaining three small trucks for transporting, uniforms, tuition and such. We have learned that the Accelerated Christian Education program out of Texas could be put in place at a nominal cost. Initial cost for each student is about $120 with six months of English training so the various course books can be used by all. After this initial cost about $.24 (twenty four cents) would continue the education through high school. Educators will be needed for administration and Ahtapa and Sam both have Master’s Degrees. Ahtapa is hoping retirees can be found to help as class directors. Each would come on a three month session basis. The students primarily teach themselves at their own pace. It is a system working very well in Ghana, Africa where Jeff Hostetter ministers. Please call or write us for a date to share the exciting things going on with the Asian Gospel Outreach Mission. We will gladly fit your schedule and share pictures of what is happening. You will love meeting these kids.
Thank you so much for the gifts of love you sent with us. A complete breakdown of the use of those funds is enclosed with this letter. Such funds are always used in helping individuals with needs, doing up small projects needed at the home or just as gifts to those laboring in the mission. This year much of the gifting was used to help with tools for building. Those tools were all left to be used in further projects.