When we did not think it was possible, He amazed us by bringing about an abundant return – and we were able to raise MORE THAN what we had hoped for, MORE THAN what was requested.

We thank you all and bless you all for the bigness of your heart!

“But my God shall supply all your need, according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19.

Fred Thomas, from the Inland Vineyard Christian Fellowship in California, who visited NLV in November,
is seen below helping with the distribution.

These children are from the hill tribes (Hmong or Karen people amongst others) and come from the mountainous areas in Northern Thailand. Faith Garden was set up for these kids to have a place to stay while in the city, to keep them from mixing with potentially bad company. At the same time, they worship the Lord every night, play with each other, study with one another and most importantly, they still have a sense of family and bonding while they are away from their home. This is what we experience every time we visited and stayed with them.

On this same trip, a visit was made to the Thai-Burma Refugee Camp to see where many of these kids came from. From the account we received, it was an eye-opening experience. The camp is vast, accommodating some 160,000 people, and a sense of claustrophobia can grip you, arising from seeing that many people confined in a small strip of land. You will also be affected by their shared hope of one day being able to return home and immensely touched by their strength in making the arduous journey to this camp from Burma. The camp has been around for so many years, that some of the teenagers you meet will have been born and raised in the camp, and have never set foot out of it. But they are grateful, because at least they are safe. In this way, the news headlines that one often quickly dismisses become real flesh and blood.

If you wish to read more news on the plight of the Burmese people, click here and here. There are many more articles.

During this trip, contact was made with a committed Christian Karen, who having made the journey out from Burma himself, he feels deeply for those Karen people who are still in Burma. We learnt from him recently, that he had been back to his father’s village, earlier this year, to distribute warm clothes, blankets and mosquito nets. In the process, he came across two nearby villages, which together have a population of 600 people.

The area the villagers are in faces a problem with malaria. The villagers cannot afford to meet needs, like mosquito nets, blankets and clothes. They struggle to get food to eat. The area also has the problem of land mines.

The villagers have asked for help. Some of the needs are for: (a) 600 blankets; (b) 600 mosquito nets; and (c) 600 sweaters.

Initially, we were a little bit overwhelmed by their needs, which amount to several thousand dollars. But we have decided to take up this cause, and share about this need to people we know personally. We rest in the assurance of the bigness of our Lord – that He is the ultimate provider of all needs.

We have a report from a visit to our partners in February, that on average, monthly overall expenses for the Faith Garden Hostel in past year was about S$2000. After deducting receipts from the students and the sundry income earned by the couple, the shortfall per month was about S$1,100 per month in the initial months. For the last 4 months, however, the shortfall per month has dropped as the student’s parents were able to increase their contribution, and the foreseeable cash shortfall now stands at about S$600 per month.

Sponsorship
A sponsorship program has been requested by our partners that will support and enable them to continue the good work they are doing with the Karen students. Our partners hope that each sponsor will commit to give an amount equivalent to one month’s cash shortfall needed to run the Faith Garden Hostel, or S$600.

The sponsorship program allows concerned parties to give according to their preference. A sponsor can elect and indicate in the sponsorship form to give S$600 in a lump sum or in installments over a one-year period or less. (For instance, you may decide to give S$50/month for a year, S$300 upfront and S$300 six months later, or the full S$600 upfront.)

A sponsor may also elect to give toward the direct sponsorship of a student. Alternatively, a sponsor may choose to give toward the overall running of the hostel. In both cases, sponsorship monies will all go to our local partners to pay for the maintenance of the hostel/school fees and expenses for the students. In the event you choose to give toward the direct sponsorship of a student, our partners will “match” a specific student to the sponsor, and provide the name and photo of the student to the sponsor. To the extent possible, subject to practical limitations, our partners will facilitate the provision of information regarding the student to the sponsor for the latter to know the student’s general progress and development. In either case, you will receive an acknowledgement of your sponsorship from our partners.

Nong Tao, and the new hostel and high school sponsorship
Nong Tao was first introduced to a member of NLV by Phii Chaay and Phii Tamla and the Karen couple have since become the church’s missionary partners. The Nong Tao hostel takes in children of about age 5 to 12 from the Karen tribe and is located in the highlands in the Mae Wang province, which is about 2 hours drive away from Chiangmai city. Phii Chaay and Phii Tamla now have plans to build and run a new hostel that can house the Nong Tao children who are coming to attend high school in the city. As many of the children are too poor to pay for school fees they wish to secure sponsorships for the payment of their school fees and other related expenses.

Resulting from NLV’s most recent missions to Nong Tao, the church has decided to:
(1) Share with concerned parties about Phii Tamla and Phii Chaay need for funds to defray the construction cost of the new hostel; and
(2) Offer sponsorships for the batch of students “graduating” from Nong Tao and coming to the city to attend high school

The purpose of building a hostel in the city is to continue offering a conducive and spiritual lodging place for the high school students from Nong Tao. The hostel would be manned by Phii Tamla and Phii Chaay, and they will also be responsible to administer and monitor the NLV sponsorships for the high school students and oversee their development in high school. A simple plan which Phii Chaay and Phii Tamla have for the hostel to become sustainable in the long run is to inculcate a desire in the students that on successfully finishing high school and university, they will in turn sponsor kids from the Nong Tao to go through high school. Furthermore, when the new hostel becomes more established we envisage they shall take in full fees paying students from more well to do families. The hostel could also accommodate a church plant since Phii Chaay is currently receiving theological training to be a pastor.

Our missionary partners have raised the funds for the purchase of the hostel land on 19 January 2009. (The site is in San Pa Tong, which is at the peripherals of Chiangmai city.) They will borrow from a relative the amounts needed for the construction of the hostel, or sell family land in Nong Tao as a last resort to raise funds. As noted above, they are seeking for concerned parties who are willing to donate and give toward defraying the cost of construction. The high school term in the city will commence in the beginning of April 2009. Construction will take a month and will have to commence by the end of February. It would provide relief to Phii Chaay and Tamla if support for the construction costs can reach the couple by March.

For 2009, there are 12 kids from Nong Tao going on to high school, 9 of whom require need sponsorships. NLV is committed to finding sponsors for these students for an amount of SGD 500/year/student.

Tamla and Chaay are from the Karen Tribe and Nong Tao is in the Mae Wang province, which is in the hills about 2 hour away from Chiangmai City. In our last visit, we had a lot more activities, like teaching English to the kids, doing items at their nightly worship before bedtime, preaching on Sunday and some ministry to local church members.This time, we were quite focused on exploring Chaay and Tamla’s plans to start a new hostel in Chiang Mai, only 40 minutes from the City. They plan to build a hostel with a capacity to take in some 20 children. The children will come from Nong Tao who have to leave the village to come to the city to attend high school and also from the Myanamar border refugee camp.

In the night we stayed Nong Tao, we experienced the cold spell that was sweeping Northern Thailand. Up in those hills we felt temperatures reaching freezing level. It was quite challenging as the hut we slept in was bamboo with gaps that let the cold air through at the sides. We were somewhat shamed when in the morning we learnt that the kids are able to keep warm with only one blanket.

Some images from our trip this time around.

Tamla on the left. We had spare time on our first day to visit a “Botanic Garden” which is the feature of a resort while waiting for the other team members to arrive from Bangkok.

Warm and sunny still. Little did we anticipate the horror that were to come that night…

Tamla and Chaay showed us the plot of land that they intend to build the new hostel for the kids when they go to high school

Walking the land, and claiming it for God’s use

On the pick up truck, making our way up to Nong Tao

Our sleeping quarters, as in the last trip we made up there. Still as beautiful and simple as ever.

Evening worship in the village church

Bundling up for the night ahead, with as many as 3-4 blankets, and 2-3 clothing layers!

Steaming hot food, one of the most beautiful sights we’ve ever seen – after a night of bonechilling cold.

Horsing around with the kids (as usual)

3 of the children leaving Nong Tao to attend high school in the city later this year

It was chick season in Chiangmai and we saw lots of little chicks wandering around. This hen was particularly protective of its little chicks. We saw her chasing away a dog about three times her size. Talk about plucky!

Exploring the village again with our little tour guide Miyoko, who is the pastor’s son (who pontanged school whilst his dad was out at work)

Sakura in Chiang Mai, as it is the season where the cherry trees burst into full bloom

The air is pristine, the weather is lovely and all around is a great sense of calm and serenity.

Back in Chiangmai City, we met up with Stefan and Tina, and Anucha whom Stefan is teaching English to. (left) Another big bbq/steamboat tuck in.

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