As our ime in Chachoengsao comes to an end...

Okay team,

I might have chosen the lazy way out this time, but I think it will update you none the less. We have to do a monthly reflection for TREK leadership (which our team has been lacking in doing for quite some time), and as I finally handed one in today for the month of March I thought I would post the ten questions and answers here for your enjoyment.

March 31, 2010

1. Give a brief description of one interaction you had with someone who doesn’t know Jesus. Over the past couple months I have been going frequently to a woman who has a little coffee stand by the side of a gas station. Louise first took me there for a mentor meeting and the team usually stops in to get coffee when we get the chance. Often times, though, in the morning I will go to the market to get breakfast and order coffees to bring back home. It takes quite a while because she is the only one manning the shop. She does not yet know Jesus, but knows who we are (the Church in Chachoengsao), as Louise goes there often and always tells her a bit about us. While I wait for coffee I read my Bible at her stand and tell her about what I am doing that day: teaching English, having Bible study, worship practice etc. People come and are so surprised to see a foreign person there so they always ask her about me, and she tells them about the church and the TREK volunteers. For the last few weeks her daughter has been out of school (she is about 10 years old) and sits at the stand with her mother. I have been slowly building a friendship with her daughter and teaching her bits of English. I am praying that my coming there will lead to the continued softening of her heart to the Gospel.
2. Name three activities you spent the most time doing this month. This past month I have spent a lot of time reading and journaling. I did not journal often before starting trek and have found that I keep journaling more by the week. I have been reading Authority in Prayer, and The Purpose Driven Life along with a few other books, and as I read I journal new ideas or scriptures that relate to what I’m reading. I feel like I am learning so much this way! I have also spent a lot of time in relationship with the team. Whether in a group setting or one-on-one the way we live and do ministry in Chachoengsao has allowed for a lot of time for us to build together and pour into each other as a team. I have been finding that we all like to just be in each other’s presence even if we are not discussing things or doing ministry together. As a team we’ve also been spending a lot of time around the church and our hut. This includes just doing personal Bible study, hanging out watching movies at night, cleaning the church, planting or watering the garden, or playing and swimming with the hoard of neighbourhood kids that are always around.
3. What have you learned about the culture or people in the last month? Thailand is known for it’s friendly and kind people, but until recently I didn’t think that that was the usual case. People are not usually rude to us, but I did not often feel welcomed by people outside of the church. I am beginning to realize that one of the best ways into a Thai person’s heart is simply visiting them often. I think, especially in the location we are in right now, that people are often so stunned by the fact that we are foreigners, that they are unsure of how to act around us, especially because they haven’t been around many foreigners where we are, and may be used to foreigners who come to the country with a different purpose than ours. Their lack of confidence in how to act often gets interpreted as unfriendliness or dislike by individuals such as myself. I have learned however, that if you make an effort to see them often—whether that is to always buy from their store, or always walk by their house and chat—then they are surprisingly quick to count you among their close friends. An important part of this is always having a cheerful demeanor and a kind greeting. This has also come with a realization that I can’t make friends with everyone I see, or make everyone like me. I have discovered that it is a better use of my time to try to get relationships with at least a few people in each location to become a comfortable friendship for both of us, rather than to try to extract a friendly response from everyone I see.
4. What is one thing that you have learned about yourself this past month? I’m not sure if this is something I have learned about myself or a way in which I have grown and God has spoken to me… but I’m going to share it anyways. When I started TREK training I thought that there was very little chance that I would end up a long-term missionary. I thought that I could not bear to be away from home/family for years on end and that I would be more useful for God’s kingdom in North America, working amongst friends in a place where I am comfortable. Recently, however, I think my feelings and priorities have changed. It started when I read in Purpose Driven that it was not good for me as a Christian to hold tightly to the comforts of this world. “God has put eternity into the hearts of men” (Ecc. 3:11), and if I am too attached to the things of this world, then my focus is off of God’s kingdom. Hebrews 11: 13-16 says:

“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city”.

We are strangers on this earth just as I am a stranger in this country. North America is full of comforts that I cling to, comforts of wealth and freedom and privacy that easily distract me from God’s calling on my life and the advancement of His kingdom. Then I began thinking often on what my main priorities in life were. The Bible says that at the top of the list should be to become more Christ-like and to serve in the body of Christ. I know that I can do these things anywhere in the world, and a cross-cultural setting might in fact help to remind me of the temporary nature of my life here on earth. One of the largest things blocking me from considering a life of overseas missions was the distance that it would put between myself and my family. I have been so blessed to have a family that loves the Lord and has mentored me in living as a Christian, and I have always had a close relationship with all of my family members. Being away has taught me that I will never love or appreciate them less, and we can still encourage and uplift each other even though we are not in the same country. Furthermore, I have realized that I will have all of eternity to praise God in the presence of my family in heaven. What I do on earth will in some ways determine how I live in heaven, and I should not let my selfish desire to be in the loving presence of my family stand in the way of God’s plan to use me to share his love with people that have not yet heard. How much more will my joy be in heaven if standing amongst the family and friends that I have already, are larger numbers of family and friends of many cultures that would not know the love of Jesus if God’s children had not been faithful in completing the work that He had for them on earth, myself included. All of this to say, my heart is open to God’s calling on my life, whether it be in North America or any other country.

5. What is one thing that you have learned about God this past month? This past month I have learned about how God provides for us. One of my teammates asked me the other day what things I was afraid of. I told him that I was afraid of being left alone without family or fellowship, that I was afraid of feeling distant from God, and that I was afraid of being in need—whether that was in need of clothing or shelter, or in need of encouragement and love and affection. He then challenged me with the fact that my fears state that I don’t believe that God will provide for me. I have been mulling that over and praying through it for a while and as I have prayed for God to meet my needs and release my from these fears, I have seen his faithfulness in provision. Just as I was feeling low on encouragement and high on confusion, another teammate followed a prompting to pray for me and journal about it, and the scriptures and words he came up with spoke directly to my discouragement and confusion. Later, I was feeling out of fellowship with one team member and prayed that God would reconcile us with one another. Not an hour later an opportunity came up for a discussion that put things on the path towards fixing that.

6. What have you found the most lifegiving in the past month? I have found relationship and fellowship most lifegiving this past month. Often it is hard being honest with other people and admitting your faults and struggles to them, but I have found that their words and challenges in response to my struggles have spurred me to closer relationship with God and better awareness of what he is doing in my life. Having other people around to share your burdens and joy is such a treat!

7. What drained you the most? What drained me the most this month was probably having children from the mubaan around our hut constantly and having little privacy. I sometimes find it hard to have patience with the kids and take the time to show them love when they are always running about.

8. Did you achieve your goals for serving the missionaries and your team from last month? I didn’t have goals from last month for serving the missionaries and my team this month, but I feel like this month I have improved on how I have served them, compared to last month.

9. List goals that you have for serving the missionaries and your team for the next month. Next month I would like to serve my team by keeping an eye out for ways to make their adjustment to a new church and living space easier. I would like to serve the missionaries and church members by lifting a bit of the workload and burden that running the church presents and to do so with joy and a light heart.

10. What is one thing you would like to learn this month? I would like to learn more about the spiritual gifts God has given me, as well as the passions and talents that I have. I would like to learn what they are and how I can improve on them.

Please pray that I will will see my goals for the month realized. Pray also that I would hold onto a humble and teachable spirit so that I can continue to learn each day. I am yet $980 away from my total cost for TREK and would love prayer that that money can be accounted for.

Thank you so much for your love guys!

Carmen Ricard

Home sweet home. Boys on the left and girls on the right. It rained this morning and we only got wet a little bit.

One evening I took a picture of a sunset from the Gazebo. That building in the back is a massive Buddhist temple and the field in front is rice.

This is the gazebo on the canal right beside the church. We sit in here and read and have meetings almost everyday.

News from Chachoengsao

Good February to you all!!

When I last left you it was just after Christmas, and many noteworthy things have happened since then, including a location change for my team near the end of January! Here she goes more or less chronologically.

DMI

About the second week of January a man named Reg Toews came to Thailand on behalf of Disciple Making International in Abbotsford. Disciple Making International, or DMI, is an organization dedicated to evangelism worldwide. Reg came and taught a seminar to the members of the three churches on how to share the gospel with their friends in a clear way. Following the seminar came ten days of intense evangelism! We spent the first few days in Ang Sila, where we had been living for more than two months by that time, and had the opportunity of personally sitting down with friends we had made in the community and sharing our testimonies and the message of the gospel with them through the use of a translator.

One testimony from that time that really encouraged me involved my teammate Thomas. Thomas had become friends with a young man in the community named Gaan and often went down to the market on the pier to help Gaan self fish. He had wanted to share the gospel with Gaan but was nervous to do so, because he was worried that if Gaan took offense or thought differently of Thomas because of it then their friendship would end. It is particularly difficult to make friends in this country because the communication barrier is so large. In the end, Thomas decided to share with him, because in not doing so he could only guarantee their friendship for this lifetime. Thomas met with Gaan and a couple of older Christian men from the church, and the Holy Spirit moved in Gaan. He recognized his need for a saviour and accepted Christ. It’s with joy that I can say that in sharing, Thomas guaranteed their friendship for eternity, and last week was able to stand beside Gaan as he was baptized. Eternal life with Jesus is a pretty sweet gift to give to a friend!

Many amazing things happened during DMI as we moved to all the different church locations. It was a pleasure for me to watch Thai people share with their friends and family and to be able to speak about my own life as a testimony of God’s love and power and to see Him use it to move the hearts of Thai people to want to receive Christ.

Chachoengsao

After DMI my team moved to the Beth L church plant about an hour and a half away from Ang Sila and about an hour’s drive from Bangkok, in the city of Chachoengsao, The scene here is quite different from that of Ang Sila. Beth L church is situated in a country neighborhood in the middle of many rice fields and large factories,and directly adjacent to a canal. The four of us live on church property in a grass and bamboo hut that was erected about three days before we arrived. There is a wall separating the girls from the boys, and we use the church bathrooms and water pumped from their new well to shower. It is a ways to the closest market, but we often make the trip for food in the mornings or late afternoon. For me it felt like home immediately, as it reminded me of my months at WilderNess camp this past summer. We are the first TREK team to live in Chachoengsao and the only foreigners in the neighborhood, but we have felt so welcomed by everyone. There is a large Burmese population in the area who live and work at factories nearby, so consequently the congregation at Beth L is made up of Thai and Burmese believers. Last weeks sermon was in three languages!

Our ministry in this area is mainly sharing Jesus’ love in new areas by running kids clubs at various neighborhoods and factories in the surrounding area. We travel to the locations in a big group and Burmese and Thai leaders from the church make connections with parents while we teach bible stories and songs in English to the kids. Our team has been most affected by the factories and the people and condition of life there. There are mostly Burmese people working in the factories and they work for very little money and live in shanty-towns on factory property. They don’t often leave and few have their own means of transportation. We have all been given a special heart for the children and people there and visiting is often the highlight of our week. Pray that the Holy Spirit reveals himself to more people in these places and that they can receive deliverance through Jesus.

Recently the four of us have also been working on the church property. Just a few weeks ago the building was only a gazebo with no walls, and now it is a full building with windows and a shaded patio in the back. It has been painted and worked on by visiting teams, missionaries and many men in the community. Our team has spent some hard days digging holes in the dry clay ground and bringing in bags of soil to make visions of a shaded garden area a reality. We now have a bunch of young trees and flower plants and even grass on the property.

Life in the country is very pleasant; we work on the grounds, swim in the canal with the neighborhood kids and enjoy building stronger relationships with the Christians in the community. Please pray for a continued deepening in relationship with God of the church members. Last weekend there were baptisms here (and at the other two churches as well!), so praise God for his goodness! Praise him also that there is a spirit of encouragement and accountability within the church, and pray that it will continue.

Me and Team

Living in very close quarters with one another has been a new experience for our team. It has been a pleasant opportunity to work on team dynamics and get to know one another even better. Conflicts have been happening less frequently and we are getting better at extending grace to one another. Please pray that this will continue and that we would daily humble ourselves and love others first. Please pray for us also in decision-making, that we would recognize bad patterns of doing this and seek to right them.

Over the last few weeks I have been massively enjoying my personal devotions and quiet times! As a team we are working through the book A Purpose Driven Life, and each day I am learning new things about God’s character and things about me that he would like to change, to make me more like Him. It seems that every time I pick up my Bible or a book certain things jump off the page and scream at me, and I can’t learn, read and journal fast enough! I have never experienced such a time of learning that was just between God and myself and didn’t involve pastors and teachers. Praise God for his spirit of teaching and his patience in helping me “prune” the garden that is my character. Please pray that I would continue to have a teachable heart and would apply all that I am learning to my thoughts and actions every day. This part of my life has been so wicked!

Thanks

Thank you so much to those of you that take the time to read my entries and send me encouragement. Your words always lift my spirits and your prayers are powerfully affecting what happens here. If you would like to contribute to me financially I am getting very close to my needed amount, but am still about $1200 dollars away and would appreciate your financial blessings.

Praise God for you and your love and support for me!

Carmen Ricard

PS: I will post pictures of my sweet grass hut just as soon as I am able, as I know you are all dying to see it!

Update from AngSila

Hey Team!

I hope all of you in Prince George are enjoying the snow and chilly weather! Believe it or not, I miss winter and all that goes with it! Weather in Thailand is as hot as ever and just to prove it we went to the beach on December 25^th. I trust you all had a joy and rest filled Christmas Holiday!

The Christmas Season in Thailand is a busy one and somewhat of a harvest time for God’s Kingdom. In light of that we have participated in a few outreach efforts in these past weeks.

On December 12 AngSila Church held a Christmas celebration outreach that literally closed the street in front of the building. This is the big event of the year for church and community members; there were door prizes, guest performers, testimonies, music and food for all. Our team was in charge of organizing the children’s performance of the nativity story. We had costumes made for the wisemen, shepherds, angel, and Mary and Joseph by a woman in the community and the children looked amazing. Couple that with Sara’s brilliant beards that she made out of yarn and face masks for the shepherds, the headbands and tails I made for the sheep and horse, and the star attached to a fishing rod that we used to lead the children across the stage and you have the unique and ridiculous show that was our Christmas production.

In the days leading up to the production our team was busy learning a traditional Thai drum dance that we performed for everyone. There was a team of around 12 boys from the community who played Thai drums that they learned to play from a university student in the community named Golf (pronounced Gop) who is studying traditional Thai music. Through all our work with Golf we have had many opportunities to minister to him. Golf believes that there is a God but he is not yet ready to give up his Buddhist beliefs and follow Him, so please pray that he will see the value in doing this and will experience God’s love in such a way that he can’t ignore it.

Since we have been here we have been doing a weekly kids club outreach in a neighborhood near the church that we call Soi 3 Ministry. We bring mats and set up our show on the side of the street and go around and advertise to the children. We teach English and Bible stories and many children, parents, and grandparents come. For Christmas we had an extra special celebration. We made sugar cookies and brought them for the kids to ice and decorate, and we set up a screen and showed an outreach film called MyHope Thailand. The pastor of AngSila church came with us and gave a short message. We were able to get shoeboxes from Operation Christmas Child in AngSila this year and all the children at Soi 3 received one. Because Thailand is a Buddhist country Christmas is not recognized as a holiday so for most of these children and families it was the first time they had heard the story of Jesus’ birth and celebrated the event.

The week before Christmas there was a focused three-day outreach all across Thailand. The outreach was called MyHope Thailand, and it involved Christian families or individuals opening their homes to their non-believing friends, having them over for dinner, sharing their personal testimonies of Christ and showing the MyHope video. In our community we were involved with the outreach by supporting the Thai people in preparation and prayer. Because we can’t speak the language and the presence of a foreigner at the event would only distract, our role was to set up the projector and movie in advance, help with other preparations and pray for the Christians doing the outreach. One evening we spent the night interceding in prayer for a couple (P Go and p Oi) from the church. We felt that it was an evening of significant spiritual battle because as we prayed and P Go and Oi shared, just outside their home and the church where we were praying they were setting up for a large Buddhist ceremony and on a big screen they were showing a movie on the life of Buddha, the soundtrack of which could be heard for many blocks. The man who organized the ceremony is quite vocal against the church in AngSila. He runs a sort of radio in AngSila, which is him sitting in a building down the street speaking anything he wants into a microphone that is broadcasted all over the town. Often he speaks about us as we walk by and speaks out against Christianity as a “foreigner religion”. Please pray against the influence of this man on the people in the community. Another evening MyHope was held at the boys ALH home and the boys invited all their friends from school. We spent the afternoon before the event playing basketball with the boys and helping/learning to cook Thai food for their dinner. It was a fun afternoon. As a result of the outreach 9 people accepted Christ in AngSila. Often people here have no problem accepting Christ, but find it more difficult to commit to coming to church and making changes in their lives; please pray that this will not be a difficult thing for the new believers.

That’s about all I have by the way of an update for now. Please pray that my team will continue learning to love one another and live as a community that reflects Christ. Please pray for me specifically against missing the support of my family and friends at home. Thanks Guys!

Carmen

My address:

Carmen Ricard c/o Karen Sanchez

PO Box 25

Bang Saen, Chonburi

Thailand 20130

*I can be reached at this address throughout the whole time I am in Thailand as the missionaries meet together once a week here and can pick up mail for me and bring it back no matter what city I am in.