YWAM Thailand Team 2009

Comin' Home!

2010-02-10T11:19:00.000-08:00

Sawadeekah everyone (hello in Thai)!

Well this is it! I leave to come back home to the states Thursday morning 2/11 at four am. The last part of my mission here has been amazing! We spent our last day in Phuket finishing projects around the ministry. On the last night, we went as a team for the last time to the bars to say goodbye to the girls we had befriended. Although it was very hard saying goodbye to them (especially Pong) we knew it was time for us to leave. We are confident that Jesus had used us to our fullest there. ;o) I knew I had made an impact on Pong's life, but I didn't even realize how much she enjoyed being around us and actually considered us her friends. We both cried and said goodbye. I gave her my email address too. I hope to continue speaking God’s goodness and love into her life.

Later that night we all came back for a debriefing time to go over the night and we found out that instead of going back to Bangkok to do some local ministry work, we were treated to a two-night stay on a beautiful island called Koh Samed. We were very excited to be able to relax after all the work we had accomplished the past two months! The island was absolutely stunning! We felt so blessed to have time to relax and soak in the last few moments of our amazing time here in Thailand.

We are now at the YWAM base in Bangkok. On Thursday, Feb 11, (4pm Wed. Florida time) we will fly back to Colorado to have a week to discuss our time in Thailand, have some amazing teachings from leaders in YWAM, and say goodbye to our teammates, and then I'll fly home Feb. 20!

I was reflecting on my time here in Thailand, thinking how much God has been working in and through my life. At the beginning of this outreach, I prayed for him to show me the things that go unseen in this world, and to show me those things that hurt his heart, and this is exactly what he did! God was always willing to let me experience the heartbreak here, but also showed me the beauty of the people and this country. I know I did everything he wanted me to do here and I didn’t hold back from anything. I’m very excited to be going home, but I will never forget how faithful God was to my team and me here in Thailand and how much he worked through us here.

I hope you guys enjoyed reading what God has been doing here in Thailand and with me these past couple of months. It has been such a blessing having you all encourage and pray for me! Thank you so much for everything :)

Love,
Dana

Winding Down

2010-02-05T08:04:00.000-08:00

Hey guys!

Wow, looking back at this location, the time has flown by! We are leaving this coming Sunday to spend the last few days of outreach in Bangkok; and then we're flying back to snowy Colorado February 11. There we will debrief for a week to help us move back into society and discuss our futures! But enough about that!

The past few weeks have been amazing! As you know, the US Navy came ashore in Patong (the red light district) this past Monday. Although it was difficult for my team and me to handle watching some things that happened at the bars, we had some amazing opportunities with some of the bar-girls! As you also know, I have been building a relationship with a 21-year-old woman named, Pong. Last night I did not go to the bar to meet with her, but my group told me they prayed for her in front of the bar before going in, and as a result she opened up a lot more about her life!

Another awesome opportunity happened with a girl from our team too. She was able to pour her heart into one of the bar-girls life and share with her how God had delivered her from a hard past and how faithful he has been to forgive her. God has opened many other amazing opportunities for my team and me. We feel so blessed to be working with the ministry here!

That’s all I can share for now. Thank you so much for all your support and prayers! It has been amazing to see God work through us, and remain faithful through our difficult times here :)

Please pray for our last few days here in Thailand, especially Phuket. Pray for our health and strength. We are growing weary. It's been rough these past few days pushing through being tired and not feeling a 100 percent! Also, please be praying for more breakthroughs Friday and Saturday night. It will be our last nights in the bars. We’re praying for a flood of women to leave the red light district!

Thank you so much everyone :) I love and miss you all! See you soon :)
Dana

Building Relationships

2010-01-28T14:39:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone :)

We have been in Phuket (Poo-KET) now for about a week and a couple days. I'm in love with this ministry! God has really been revealing his glory and faithfulness to my team and me! During the day, we have the option to do several types of jobs, such as helping with construction work for the ministry, painting, gardening, and hanging out with the beautiful girls as they’re involved with their baking and jewelry making. We also continue prayer-walking in the city of Patong in preparation for the nighttime ministry there. We live each day without set plans, and have discovered that when we allow God to lead our ministry times, they are always so much better!

The night ministry in the bars of the Red Light District is going great. We are continuing to build relationships with different girls. As I mentioned in my last update, I felt called to build a friendship with one particular girl. If you’re wondering how that's going...it's going awesome! Her name is "Pong." She works there because she needs to send money home to her family (much like all the other girls in Patong who work as prostitutes.) She is around 21 years old and attends the local university when she has time. She has been working in Patong for about three weeks and hates it, which is where we come in :) I told her about SHE Ministry and she was very interested in learning more. Our translator invited her to lunch, but declined going to see the ministry...for now :). She did go out with our translator, “Pi Jah,” for ice cream yesterday and they had a great talk! Mark, the head of the ministry here, said that’s a huge step for a girl to hang out with us outside her job! Every time she sees us, she lights up and so do I :) God has really shown me how badly he wants to take away her burdens and how much he loves her. Be praying for her and all the other lovely women of Patong. Pray that their eyes will be opened to the seriousness of what they are doing, and their hearts captured by Jesus' love for them, so they will turn from prostitution.

My team and I are doing great and love what we’re doing, but it can be overwhelming at times and we get tired easily. So please be praying for our strength and endurance these next two weeks as we finish our work here!

Love and miss you all!

See you soon,
Dana :)

Finally...Phuket!

2010-01-21T10:48:00.000-08:00

After twenty-four hours of bus travel, we have arrived at our last location, Phuket, Thailand. It is absolutely beautiful. I love the ministry work we are doing here. :) We will be here for three weeks, working with a local family who helps women and girls working as prostitutes in the bars of the red light district in Patong, a city near Phuket (pronounced Poo-ket). These beautiful women are lost and need God’s love in their lives and I'm ready to share that with them! :) Our team will be going to the bars at night and making friendships with the girls. Some members of my team and I have been down to the bars to prayer-walk and hang out with some of the girls a few times. Every time we have gone to one of the bars, I have made a personal connection with one specific girl. Although she barely speaks English, God has shown me his heart for her in particular. I plan to continue getting to know her and visit with her every time we go there. Please be praying for that friendship to grow!

That is all I have for now. Thank you so much for your support and prayers :)

Miss you all,
Dana

On the Burma Border

2010-01-13T08:35:00.000-08:00

Hello all!

It is day four here in beautiful Towbergerey (I think I spelled that correctly!). The last couple of days have been amazing! The atmosphere here is very different from that of the hill tribes where we were stationed before. Although I loved it there, it was very hard living amongst so many people deep in Buddhism. We are now working with a church and orphanage ministry; living in a beautiful church building with a bathroom that has a toilet! It’s so awesome not using a squatty-potty!

The past couple of days have been quite the adventure. Sunday we had a church service in the morning, with some of the team standing to give their testimonies and perform some dramas. The people here love when we perform for them! Every evening we have church services. It’s awesome because we are able to encourage their new walk with Jesus by telling them what God has done in our lives. I have yet to speak, but I have been scheduled to give a sermon Thursday (1/14/2010). I am nervous about it, but I know the Lord is already speaking to my heart about what I am to share. So far my talk is coming along great, so please be praying a blessing over my words to encourage them! :)

Yesterday our group went to do a kids day in a village. However, since I had the stomach flu, sadly, I had to stay back. The good news is I feel great now and I’m ready to keep going! (Please be praying for our teams’ health here. Many of us keep getting the stomach flu and it’s very painful and uncomfortable to deal with!)

Today, we had planned to have another kid’s day, but much to our surprise everything we planned was completely changed when the pastor asked us to perform some of our dramas and dances for the people. At first, I was discouraged to hear that everything would be changed, but God showed me that this is what happens sometimes on Outreach—we have our plans, but God wants us to do something else. Afterwards, people came for prayer and a woman asked us if we could walk to her neighbor’s house to pray for an old woman who is paralyzed from the waist down—she does not know Jesus and is heavily involved in evil spirits. She looked as if these were her last days on earth. As we crowded into her hut, all of us were given special prayers and a heart for this woman. Although to my knowledge she was not saved or healed, we have full faith that God will meet her where she is. We are going back tomorrow and will continue to pray for her. The fact that she was willing to throw away the charms she was wearing and those in her house, shows how much she longs for the love and hope only Jesus can bring.

Another amazing thing happened at a market by the Burma border. The pastor really felt our team (I was not there) should perform some dramas and speak. Although this is illegal to do in Thailand, they asked the border control officers if it was okay. Much to our surprise, THEY APPROVED IT! Before coming here, we were told we would never get the opportunity to do open air ministry. But Jesus decided other wise! :) Pretty awesome stuff! I heard the team drew quite the crowd!

Thank you so much for all your support, comments and prayers, they really mean the world to me and help to strengthen me when times get tough. If you want to be praying for the team and me, pray for our health, to be physically strengthened, patience with each other, and to be a blessing with our testimonies and sermons we will be giving. Pray that we would speak encouraging words into people’s lives. I sincerely want to see that old woman’s life captured by Jesus, so she will be saved and healed. That’s all I have to write for now, sorry it was so long!

I miss you all,

Love
Dana

Working With Burmese Refugees

2010-01-07T10:01:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

We have left the hill tribes in Chang Mai and are now on to our next ministry location shortly outside of Mae Sot, Thailand! We will be working with Burmese refugees. I’m not sure what the living conditions are like or what exactly we will be doing. But, I have no doubt Jesus will be along for the ride! :) Today we had a free day and we had the amazing privilege of riding elephants--I loved it! It has been a truly amazing experience here in Thailand. :)

I love and miss you all. Thank you for all your support and prayers!

Love,
Dana

Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand

2010-01-05T08:03:00.000-08:00

We’re now in the hill tribes of northern Thailand; in a small village where Jesus doesn’t get talked about and they worship Buddha. It’s very hard living here, although we’re seeing small break-throughs with the children and some adults. We are all living in homes with the local people. Riki, Emily and I are living in the home of a Thai woman named, Aree; she barely speaks English. Her proper name is Pi Lee (Mrs. Lee). She worships in a Buddhist temple. It is very depressing to observe. She is so sweet and loves hanging out with us girls. She is such a mom too--it’s awesome! She braids my hair every morning and cooks breakfast and lunch for us. Although I hate the food, she puts so much care into everything she does for us. Today, we taught English in an elementary school. They love us!

Pray for me. I am far from my comfort zone! We live in shacks. It is very poor. It can be overwhelming. We have lizards and ants everywhere in the house! The showers are freezing and we use a bucket for the shower and a squatty-potty instead of a toilet.

I appreciate everything back home, even a mirror and lights and being able to read road signs! Some days are harder than others are, especially when I have to eat nasty things or find out my bags are infested with bugs!

We only have a few more days left in the village of Chiang Mai. Be praying for a spiritual break through. We taught the kids Jesus Loves Me last night and This Little Light of Mine. I almost cried watching them, especially afterwards when they were still singing it, because they don’t know Jesus very well. But, I can see him beginning to work in them. It gives me so much hope! Be praying that Jesus would give us words of truth to speak to them and that we would obey what he tells us to do! :)

Next week we’re going elephant riding on our day off!

Love to all,
Dana

Landed Safely!

2009-12-26T10:32:00.000-08:00

I’m now in Bangkok at an internet café. I have a little time to write, so I will tell you about my trip so far!

The plane ride was so sweet. I love flying internationally! Noelle and I were so spoiled, we had the best seats and the food was really good... haha :) and there was free TV! It’s so weird that it’s the middle of the night in Florida and 3:30 pm here! I have some intense culture shock! After getting off the plane, we piled into an open-bed truck and went to the YWAM base in Bangkok. It’s considered nice to most Thai homes, but to us it’s very, very poor. It breaks my heart seeing dogs get kicked and yelled at. Dogs are considered gross to the Thai people and they never touch them. The food is not that great to me, but everyone else loves it...im starving! But, I eat it anyways and thank God I don’t have to eat it at home!

We are relaxing so far and enjoying the city. I love the prices and bartering. It’s really fun, even though I’m horrible at it, because it makes me feel guilty! But without my friends, people would take advantage of me! Everyone is very nice and loves trying to speak English. They also love it when you speak their language and acknowledge them. It’s so fun trying to talk to people who don’t speak English. Very challenging! I’m always confused.

Hmmm…what else? Oh, I ran into the corner of a metal door and smacked the whole right side of my face. It knocked me out, and when I came to everyone was freaking out because my wound was really deep. When they cleaned it out I was balling, it hurt so bad! My right eye, cheek, and forehead are all cut up and swollen! I look like I was abused...it's pretty funny, except it really hurts.

I love the weather here! Everyone else hates it, but I love it, 90 degrees and a little windy! Everything is very dirty, but it’s a new adventure everyday!

I feel like a celebrity here. They love American girls, especially blondes. It’s hilarious; they think we’re so beautiful because we look so different. In the stores, they even sell whitening cream to make their skin light...the lighter the better to them. Even though they’re very poor, they dress very nice all the time, and they are all so quiet--I love it! :)

I can’t wait to tell you more, but I don’t know when I’ll be at a computer again!

Chan Raqoon (I love you)
Dana :)

Leaving Soon!

2009-12-21T06:57:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

This Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009, I will be flying out to serve God and experience the Thai culture! The lecture phase has been amazing. I have been growing and learning so much about God's heart for his people and the injustices in the world.

During my time in school, a guest speaker would cover one topic a week. My personal favorites and what I learned were:

Father—heart of God (Talking about how your relationship with your earthly father correlates with your heavenly father).

Relationships (Knowing that before you can truly love someone correctly/fully you have to only want and need Jesus to fulfill your heart's desires).

Spiritual Warfare (God doesn't promise us an easy road in life. He does promise to be with us in our struggles—even when we can't feel his presence. He is there and cares, knowing you have full authority through Jesus against Satan and any attacks he tries to bring into your life)

Fear of the Lord (This always seemed so intimidating to me before! However, reading scripture about it, and being taught the meaning of it, showed me it’s about respect for our Lord and obedience to him. Many people wanted to have more of that fear (respect), but didn't understand how to go about getting it; some ways to start are by listening to what God asks us to do and obeying it, caring what he thinks and no one else. This tested me when I knew God was asking me to do something and not wanting to be judged by it. But when I let go of my pride and did it, I had a lot of people share with me how much it helped them with their faith and growth...you never know how you can effect someone in such a positive way by obeying what God asks you to do!)

During training the teams did outreach preparation two or three times a week. There is a team going to Thailand and a team going to Colombia. My team, which is going to Thailand, learned about the culture and how to respect it. We learned some of the language and the curriculums we will be teaching kids and teenagers. We also learned dances and skits that would minister to the lost, and a lot about sex-trafficking. I am very excited to work with children and woman who have been freed from the sex-trade, but still need food and a job. We will be building friendships, showing them God's love and helping them get back on their feet. We will also be living in the hill tribes helping them with their daily chores and working in the rice patties!

I am very excited to see God move through Thailand now and in the future after we leave.

I hope you have enjoyed reading a little about what God has been teaching me here in Denver, CO and what I will be doing in Thailand! Thank you so much for all your prayers and support, it means the world to me!

Love,
Dana Keith :)