Video 1: Ladies: sign-language
Video 2: “Original” Thai song
Video 3: Chula University Graduation

Francis

It’s about 2:13AM Monday morning and the team is about half way packed with our luggage’s and some are catching some much needed sleep. I must say that these past two weeks have been one of the greatest for me thus far, and I’m sure it has been the same for everyone on the team. Saturday was like the whip cream before Sunday’s cherry topping; our worship workshop was a huge stretch for me as God continued to work in that area of my life. Before even coming to this trip, hearing that Ps. Kaui wanted a worship leader to be on Team Thailand 09 was an honor..and for me, Pat and Matt to be the representatives was an even BIGGER honor.

I have nothing but thanksgiving and praise to our God for all of the things He has done in my life in the area of worship and this was just the beginning of what God wants to still do in my life. Being able to lead worship in a foreign country is a pleasure when you realize that God chose you out of hundreds and thousands of people; and for me, I realized that a few years ago even before becoming a worship leader. In everything that we do, we need to grasp onto the fact that God has chosen us in our respective ministries and destinies.

God’s presence has been so strong over the past couple of weeks, especially with having worship times incorporated into our morning devotions. Just being in God’s presence and being filled with His holy spirit brought us to another level of unity and trust. We definitely needed all that we could considering this was a team from three church campuses and for some of us, we’ve never even met or seen before. But when God puts the team together, it must be perfect. The worship workshop was just a way for us to impart the worship DNA that is Grace Bible Church Hawaii into a new church that just celebrated its 1st year anniversary; and to be a part of that was special. It was a great way to just be refreshed and even do things at Grace Bangkok Church that we hardly do back at GBC. Just having the freedom to, as Ps. Kaui would say, “just go for it” was a blessing to the entire team as much as it ministered to Grace Bangkok. It brought an even bigger sense that God’s presence is so real and we all need it.

I believe that God has given me a preview of what He wants to do at Grace Bangkok Church, in the nation of Thailand as a whole and especially in my personal life. The dreams of teaching and bringing worship to places that do not have the luxury nor the freedom is starting to turn into reality. I may not be the best singer, musician, and/or worship leader, BUT, I believe God has a plan and destiny for my life to bring songs of praise and worship to His people.

Stretching MY faith,
Francis

we are on day 11 and just finished coming home from a hard days work. the team was completely blessed by pastor kaui and jeanne with world-class thai massages. i even heard a few snores, slaps and even a “ahhhh ahhh ahhh”!

but lets back it up – the team traveled to campus today to wrap up our english classes. we have taught classes for 4 days straight. we didn’t realize how poor our english was until we had to teach it to students – we got a lot of “da’s” and “da kine’s” to get rid off. but we are all truly blessed by each student that we’ve met. the innocence in their eyes, hearts and speech makes you realize that we, as westerners, are so blinded by our own desires and comfort-zone…let me explain.

for those who know me, know that living without certain amenities is a hard thing for me to do. i discovered the concept of squatty-potty (actually had someone do “show and tell” for me), toilets with no toilet paper and using a hose or bucket of water as a form of wiping and flushing. heat wave is something i heard about but never experienced until walking a mile or so to campus in pants in the blazing sun because we got lost (the portable fan did not do me justice). smells are something i’m sensitive to already, but whiffing durian and other strange smells is something my nose will need to recover from when i get back. i tend to enjoy my comfort of living and lifestyle, but didn’t realize how bad it was until i go here.

however, in my own effort to stretch my faith i worked on letting everything wash over me. working with what i had was a concept i prepared for each day as i packed my backpack. and i believe that the Lord wanted me to go through this. i met such sweet students; who’s names consist of no more than one syllable. their way of living overwhelms the very selfishness in my heart. if they can do so much with so little, why do i have so much yet am still without.

as the days are ending and vivid images of me returning to work haunt my dreams, i’m realizing that the Lord is always in control! i’m humbled to have met such truly heart-warming individuals in thailand. they have taught me more than just how to say a few phrases (hong nam yoo tee nai ka – where’s the bathroom), or how to operate a toilet in thailand, or that as a woman i should not sit/stand near a monk, or that phad thai comes with shrimp and is spicy so i need to request it without, they have taught me about ME.

pond and pae, tan and tan, joy and naam, aon and yoh, or and wan have taught me there’s more to being princess than my amenities but that a princess will/can work with whatever is there. just a note: let’s not get too crazy on this, i’m moving and growing in slow paces and i’m not ready to give up my crown just yet. so as this lesson settles into my soul, i know that this trip has sparked something in me and my prayer is that it will not finish until it’s complete.

a hui hou…until next time. from the hawaiian princess making it in thailand…

ho’olu

But before we get to that, a recap of some good kine events from this morning. After much hula practice last night, we had a chance to sleep in.  Some of us woke up early and did some reflection on how God loves this nation.  Say it with me: “God loves Thailand!” Awesome!  Feeling better already, right?

Pat and Matt left early today to meet a couple guys for lunch while the rest of the team had devotional and prayer time.  The Pat/Matt team connected so well with “Gap” and “Beam” that they are having lunch with them again tomorrow (thumbs up!).  Many of the other team members followed suit and had lunch or snacks with their contacts and all in all, it was a solid day of fellowship.  Kalae and I ate with some Engineering Freshmen (Ohm and Charn) and had an adventure trying to find a table that wasn’t directly under the birds….if you know what I mean =).  We hope to see them at the luau on Friday.  Please pray for the deepening of these friendships and that a lasting influence that lingers within their hearts and minds when we come home.  And please pray that the luau invitations stir interest among our new friends so that they come.

The English class was chaos…in a good way of course.  Tons of interaction between the students, Hawaii team and Pastor Kaui and Jeanne.  This is the first week of the class being opened to the entire Science Faculty (14 departments) so we have definitely made it fun and exciting for the students through calisthenics (warm up kine), games and small group discussions.  Most students are studying so diligently for midterm exams next week that they seem so stressed.  We are trying to convince that studying is overrated (just kidding) and that they should take a quick break, practice English, have fun, eat food and be merry =) Please pray that the students that we are connecting with truly enjoy this time and keep coming back for more!  (Da bugga is free das why =P )

Like our motto for this missions trip has been, we are stretching our faith.  I know that God is at work because with Him, we have seen so many great things happen here that can only be explained by the power and grace of God.  Thank you Lord!

I have been encouraged daily by these passages: “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.” (John 15:16).  Please pray that we do not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up!! (Galatians 6:10).  Kap kun kap (spelling? it means thank you).  Yes, thank you all for your prayers.  Aloha from Thailand.  Shoots!

Check out vlog #6! Click here and ENJOY!

Landon Castellano (a.k.a. Landon #2)

After lunch with the students we began inviting students to our English classes.  We asked God to lead us to the students He would like for us to invite to our English classes.  PJ, a leader from our Bangkok church and I partnered up to invite students.  The students here are very eager to practice their English with native speakers of the language.  They seem curious to find out what we are doing on their school campus because we are “farang” (foreigners) to them.  While some of them are shy at first, they seem fascinated to find out more about Hawaii and our culture once we are introduced.  One group of friends we invited  began to grow and grow as we were inviting them to come to our classes.  There must have been almost 20 students gathered around to hear us tell about the classes we were offering.  They seem very happy and grateful to have the opportunity to practice their English with us.  Another student got so excited about the classes that she wanted to tell her friends and kept bringing friends to us to ‘sign up’ for the class.  She ended up coming to the classes with her friends and we will hopefully see her everyday in classes and at our Hawaiian Luau Party on Friday!  Thank you for all your prayers for us…God is opening up so many doors of opportunity for us as a result!

Finally, our English class was wonderful and fun!  We played a game to practice English and get to know one another by asking questions and sharing about ourselves.  We were very blessed to see some of the students we had invited come out to our class.  One 1st year student who was able to come out to our class spoke English quite well and plays baseball for the school team.  He also studied at Washington State University on an exchange program.  Pray we will connect with Him again.  His name is “Trang.”  Please also pray for a few students and faculty members who will help us to invite many more students to our English classes even after we leave!    Please especially pray for “Wan,” “Sugar” (Tan), and Professor Rujikorn who is a Physics teacher at the school, that they will become connected to the church in Bangkok and ‘keys’ to the leadership even after the Hawaii Team leaves.   Mahalo!

Stacey Nagamine

Today was our first full day on the campus, and we hit the ground running. Although most of the team was a little fatigued from the weekend activities, everyone pushed through in faith. We divided the team into groups of three, and scattered the campus to meet new students. A lot of the students were studying for next weeks final exams, so that created an excellent environment for us because they were all in one big area. Instead of intruding on their study time, we offered to help them, mostly with English and Math.  Landon “the genius engineer” was even able to help a girl named Tune with her calculus (I guess Kamehameha did teach him well!). Stacey was relentless, and she was able to get a ton of students to sign up for future English classes (You go aunty!).  All in all, everyone did a great job.

After a few hours of meeting students, we then proceeded to our first English class.  Pastor Kaui and Jeanne usually teach twice a week, but they added two more days for a total of four to maximize our time here. A total of 13 students showed up to learn English for free. Landon and Gidget did a great job in facilitating the entire session. We started off with some calisthenics to get the blood running, and followed that up with a game of human bingo. We had a lot of laughs, and got great feedback from the students.

The team was blessed with a home cooked meal by Aunty Jeanne for dinner. We had kalua pig with cabbage and rotisserie chicken…FTW! After eating the food here for a week, this meal was refreshing and much needed (no offense Thai food). Pastor Kaui made everyone eat durian for dessert, and Pat went to town with that fruit.  Hours later, the room still reeks of that horrible stench!

Tomorrows activities look more or less the same. Please continue to pray for the Chula students and our English classes. We have six more days, and we definitely want to go out with a bang in Bangkok!

Mahalo for your continued support!

Kalae

PS. Say “NO” to durian!

Here’s another video for you folks.  This time, Gidget, Hoolu, and Charity (newly named: Prophety, = Charity + Prophet) update our past weekend filled with shopping, service, leaders meeting and the start of our english classes.  Please continue to have us in your prayers this week as we lead up to our Friday Night Hawaiian Lu’au.  We’re praying for more connections and our relationships to be made in hopes to plug them into Grace Bangkok Church.  Pastor Kaui and Jeanne have been great hosts and inspiring to all of us; please offer up a quick prayer for them for being so faithful in God’s will over their lives and everything that they have done for us during this missions trip.

Click here for VLOG #5

Matt Melendez here for you on the blog, straight from Bangkok Thailand. Just wanted to tell you all thank you so much for your prayers because God definitely moved in a mighty way today! His presence and spirit ignited a blazing inferno at Grace Bangkok Church as our team lead worship and Kalae spoke the word. Many of the Church’s leaders got encouragement as our team prophesied over them at our leaders summit. Also, God  touched a young man named Cho at the night service as we saw him give his life to Christ! Praise God! What an awesome way to finish up our first week in Bangkok.

So, service this morning was awesome. It was definitely a blessing to be able to celebrate Grace Bangkok’s first year as a Church! Francis kicked it off with an awesome worship. Then Pat and Francis performed a beautiful duet of “Amazing Grace” (Pat you can sing!). Then the ladies (Ho’olu, Gidget, Stacey, and Charity) performed an awesome Hula (HAWAIIAN!!!). Kalae’s message hit home as he talked about being filled with God, and how God can take our small gifts and talents and turn them into miracles.

Next, we hosted Grace Bangkok’s leaders summit and it was great to see all their lives touched! I believe that they were all blessed and encouraged to move forward in their personal walk with Jesus and to also reach out to the lost.

Finally, Charity, Stacey and myself went to join a Thai speaking evening service in a town called Ramkamhaeng, Bangkok. This was such an awesome time. God totally moved at this service of about 11 people including us 3. We Started it off with worship which lead to me giving a short message about how God is the potter and how we are the clay in His hands, and how we only find our purpose and destiny in his hands. I then shared my testimony with them  and ended my message with two questions which lead into an open discussion. It was at this time where God really moved and opened a door for a first time visitor Cho to hear the Gospel and accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour! Praise the Lord!! This was a total act of God, a total miracle and a total blessing to be apart of!

Our God is BIG and HE is totally doing something amazing here in Thailand. We’re all just really blessed to be apart of it all. Please continue to keep us in prayer as we hit the campus tomorrow! Pray for miracles to happen and for us to make connections and build relationships with the students of Chulalongkorn University! Aloha everyone take care and God bless!

Also, check out our 3rd vlog! Click here for the link and ENJOY!!!

Matt-

After lunch, our team began to prepare for Sundays’ activities. We have a full day ahead of us tomorrow with our entire team taking part in some area of the service (message, worship, special song and dance, etc.) and so we had to focus. This is all for the glory of God, and we pray that we’ll be a blessing to the church of GBC Bangkok. I’m amazed at how God presence is always with us, especially in the times of preparation and practicing. It was just humbling to see that in one room, we were all scattered throughout the room each ‘stretching our faith’ in preparing our parts for tomorrows services. Lastly, we were able to travel to Bangkok Inter Place to have dinner with the Tai family and some of the leaders of their church. It was a great time of fellowship and delicious food.

Continue to keep us in your prayers, especaily for the church that is here, that we may stand along side the Tai family and their leaders – to help build upon what God has placed here in Bangkok, but also this entire nation of Thailand.

Stretching my faith

Charity Mangayam