Community Playground Phase 2

We recently purchased, quite cheaply, some very old but sturdy playground equipment.  Some of the boys from our team, along with some wonderful helpers from Australia,  spent countless hours sanding, restoring and re assembling the playground. This process gave some of our trainees the opportunity to learn new skills in sanding, painting and seeing the importance of doing a thorough job in preparation rather than just slapping another coat of paint over the top of the existing 7 layers.  The end result is fantastic.  The boys are very pleased at their accomplishments and have seen the benefits of persistence.   

 

There is of course the other benefit too, the one for which the playground was purchased and for which the boys from our team and the Aussies who assisted, put in all those hours... the children are using the equipment every day!  This new playground, along with the earlier installation of the first phase of our playground development,  will assist us to continue to provide a kid and family friendly safe haven for the community of Hang Dong. 

Healing of a deaf woman.

We recently drove 3 hours  to a remote village, where Yingwhit, our team member, is sowing his life into serving the people of that hilltribe.

After eating chicken and sticky rice and drinking coffee in Yingwhit's tiny coffee shop/bamboo home, we walked up the hill to show some visitors the water tanks supplied by the “miracle water”.  As we walked, a little old lady and her husband  came out of their little hut to asked us to pray. This lady had become profoundly deaf. We had prayed for her many times before on previous visits, but gathered around her again, prayed and asked God to heal her. She then spoke with Yingwhit in her local language for a little while and then Yingwhit blurted out  “She can hear, she can hear!!”

 

What an experience! We had prayed for this woman many times and at every community meeting her husband asks the people there to pray. Why did God choose this day to heal her and not earlier? We don't know, but we do know, this day she walked away healed. We also know that she was healed so that He will be glorified!  Praise God!!

Please continue to pray for our champions who have laid down their own ambitions and comfort to see people groups receive wholeness, healing and eternal life !!

Mother’s Day in Thailand

August the 12th is a very special day in Thailand. It is the Mother’s Day. The

day coincides with the birthday of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, who is regarded as

the “Mother of Thailand”. The whole country has a public holiday, so that mothers

can be with their children on that day.

The River Team commemorated Mother’s Day this year with several celebrations in the local communities:

We visited the local Hangdong hospital, where we sung songs and  distributed gifts of fruit and flowers to all the mothers there. Patients, visiting families and the staff, all loved it and asked us to visit again.  Hospital is not a nice place for any woman to spend the Mother’s Day, but it was our huge privilege to show love to those confined.

We also visited over 300 mums in their homes in Hangdong communities, giving them flowers and inviting them to our evening dinner and celebrations at the River.

The “rainy season” did not stop the mums and their kids from crowding our River meeting hall! The program of singing, children’s presentations, skits and games created an atmosphere of fun & freedom. One of the funniest moments was when the kids with blindfolds on, put makeup on their mums’ faces!

In a special DVD presentation, some of the kids shared their thoughts about their mums. There was not a dry eye in the house. Yua, our Thai team leader then shared about the purpose of an umbrella - It provides shade from the sun and the rain. She went on to parallel this with God’s love and the role of a mother in protecting and nurturing her children.

The evening ended with the kids presenting a beautiful umbrella to their mum. In cases where the mum’s biological child had either died or was far away, our team members stepped in to be the “child” for that important moment of hugging and presenting the gift. Mothers are so precious to God!

People, People, People

 All that we do as The River Team is about serving people.  No matter how old or young.

Communities are transformed as their people are loved and empowered.  The children are not just the "next generation", but vital members of the current generation.  They need to be loved and empowered to succeed in life.  The elderly are not a burden, but carriers of heritage and experience that forms a platform from which the young can excel.

 The sick and lame are not to be discarded but restored to wholeness and helped to regain their dignity.

Where can they find the love that can achieve all this?

The River Team is training and equipping leaders from across Thailand and S.E.Asia to lead in a great transformation of the nations.  A transformation of Love, of Grace and of power.  A transformation of lives and entire communities.  A transformation that brings wholeness and equipping, adding value to the lives of multitudes.