MIRACLE ON THE MOUNTAINS

This story is incredible!

A Karen tribe man and his wife went to work in the fields as usual. The wife had a precious bundle on her back - their baby secured in the folds of a cloth wrapped around her. This is how the mother works for the survival of her family, while also attending to the little one.

Until recently, the young couple lived in fear of the spirit world. They spent their meagre resources in appeasing the insatiable appetites of the demons. Every sickness and misfortune was attributed to the angry spirits and required the  counsel of the community witchdoctor. Whatever the family owned was used as offering. Poverty was guaranteed. It is no wonder why so many are lured into giving their kids to “employment brokers”, who fuel the sinister activities of sexploitation, drug dealing etc.

Poverty is much more than just lacking physical resources.

Yingwhit, our River Team member from the H'Mong tribe, lives cross-culturally amongst the Karens. He stands out in the village: He is joyful. He sleeps his nights peacefully. He is generous and very hardworking. He genuinely cares for others. He volunteers to help villagers in their fields. His consistent, unconditional and fearless love for others is beginning to have a ripple effect... 

The young couple became curious to know the source of Yingwhit’s happiness. What they discovered was The Way to an eternal relationship with the One True God! The young couple made the life-changing decision to change their allegiance from demons to the living God. They have been set FREE - just like Yingwhit is free!

.... So, after a long day at the field, the little family returned to their bamboo hut. They became increasingly worried, because the baby was too weak to suck at the mother’s breast and repelled any offer of fluids. By the morning, the child was completely listless and unresponsive. Were they going to lose their precious child.... The man ran over to  Yingwhit's hut pleading for help. As Yingwhit entered the family's hut, he heard God say to him, “Take the child into your arms”. He gently eased the ailing baby from the mother's arms and held it close to his chest. Something completely unexpected happened! The baby stirred, its face became animated and Yingwhit handed the child back its mother. The child began to suck normally! 

We are incredibly glad to report that the baby is well and everyone is amazed by the healing power of the One True God!

NOOM'S STORY

Noom and his “family” were one of the first in Hangdong, which our team befriended some 8 years ago. Noom’s mum and dad had died of AIDS and he now lived with his brother and grandma.  This little “family” struggled to survive in the seemingly uncaring urban community.

Num wearing silver shirt with a friend

Our team began to empower Noom's family to improve their situation. Noom was enabled to concentrate on his studies, because our team connected with his school, made weekly visits to his home, picked him up for Kid’s Club and so on.  In those days, our base was a crammed shophouse building. Later on we moved to the much more spacious property, which became know as The River. Noom, by this time already in his teens, came with his  friends to hang out and practice music.

At times, the scream-style "singing" and ear-breaking loudness of the “music” was pretty challenging to listen, but we knew that these boys were with us for a reason. They were hugely excited about opportunities to perform at the combined Community & The River events. Then there were the camps, where they met ” purpose-living” young people. Noom loved it, but felt like an outsider.

As a teenager, the pressures of home, the gripping sadness in his heart, and the influence of his peers led him to seek comfort in places, which proved to be more like traps. He became addicted to drugs and before long was also selling them to support the habit. Grandma and brother were aware of the situation, but unable to help.  

One day, at his lowest point, Noom suddenly remembered something he had heard so many times at the Kid’s Club: 'Pray to God'. In desperation, he cried out, “God, help me!” Immediately, something unexplainable happened: Although he was physically alone, he felt the presence of God! It felt like FREEDOM! He was instantly set free from the bondage of drugs!  On 19th of August 2012, Noom came to The River and made a public confession of his new-found faith in God! 

Today, Noom is an enthusiastic musician in The River Worship band! He is also now a full-time member of The River Team and loves working with kids and youth.

Cassie, our volunteer and Noom today singing, "Greatest day in history..."

In October, as part of  The River Team, Noom made his first-ever trip to Bangkok!  At a large International Network Event, Noom served as one of the volunteers.

At praise and worship times he joined others right at the front to experience first-hand the joy of  truly "belonging" to the ever-growing number of young people, who have found their purpose in living for God!

The young generation of Thailand long to know the FREEDOM and HOPE Noom has already found!

We trust that you have been encouraged by Noom's story!

THE RIVER and the LIVING WATERS

The River hosted a seminar, presented by Living Waters. Experienced senior facilitators from USA, Canada and Thailand shared their personal testimonies of discovering keys to healing and restoration. The candid and humble testimonies emphasised their life-long commitment to the journey into wholeness.

Most of The River Team participated in the 3-day program covering topics such as: how sexual and relational brokenness occurs; why this brokenness can lead to addictions, abuse and gender confusion; and most importantly, powerful keys to finding healing and wholeness. Small groups, led by experienced facilitators, provided a forum for personal encounter and ministry.

The purpose of the seminar was not only personal healing, but also the empowerment to help others find restoration!
What an exciting thing to realise that as God heals me, I can become a life-changer for someone else!

The communities are full of children, teens and adults, who need to know that there is a WAY OUT from the bondages of brokenness and a WAY IN to wholeness! The River Team is committed to helping communities discover the truth that God is more than able to -
                   "use old rubble of past lives to build anew". (Isaiah 58)

Thailand has hope and a future! God's call is being heard by His people! Thank you for your partnership!

HANGDONG MOTHER'S DAY 2012

On the 12th of August each year, the people of Thailand celebrate the birthday of Her Majesty The Queen Regent Sirikit. 

On the day before, The River Team went to encourage the medical staff and their patients at Hangdong Hospital.

A loving touch of a child of God

 You are loved

On The Queen's Birthday, Sunday the 12th of August, nearly one hundred mothers and their children from Hangdong community joined in the celebrations of The River. Each person was welcomed with flowers and ushered into a beautifully decorated room filled with an atmosphere of contagious joy and freedom!  

The River Kids Club members demonstrated their skills in singing and speaking English.  It was touching to hear the children sing:

"I'll love you forever, 

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living

my mommy you'll be."

As the youth band presented songs about a mother’s love, a gracefully dressed 79 year old woman grasped the hand of one  River Team member and whispered, “ I have no children of my own, but TODAY I have found a daughter in you!” She then continued, “This is so beautiful!” The old woman held onto the team member’s hand throughout the entire program. 

Mariaana Klar shared about her mum, Ulla, who came to Thailand in 1955 to join the work of Verner and Hanna Raassina, mission pioneers since 1946. Following the tragic loss of Hanna and her 4 children, Ulla married Verner and received his 2 surviving sons as a “wedding gift”. Together, Verner and Ulla served God in Thailand for some 40 years. Wide-eyed, the audience listened to the story about a wife, a mother and a grandmother, who knew her God and profoundly impacted her daughter's direction and choices in life. 

At the finale of the program, each mother received a pretty face towel gift and hugs from the kids and youth. The old lady received hers from the “new daughter” she had found that day!

The lunch was prepared by the The River Team men. "Khanom jeen," i.e. a special noodles and curry dish, was heartily received. The kids then jumped into The River swimming pool and the grown ups went into their chosen activities.

On offer was make-up, nail painting, massage, learning relaxation techniques to promote healthy sleeping patterns, cooking bananas Indonesian-style, and making steamed bakery goods easily prepared at home with limited equipment. Every woman took home their own cakes in beautiful packaging.

Relationships with the people of the local communities are becoming stronger. An increasing number of people are discovering that they are not alone - that there is true healing and wholeness in God and in being connected to His Family!

Thank you for partnering with us in changing lives for eternity!

THE POWER OF TOUCH

It is truly exciting to report that the Thai members of The River Team are now running running SHINE! They are expressing their own creativity in making the sessions different and interesting for the local teen girls coming from broken homes of the local communities.  

At SHINE the girls are on a journey of discovering true love and acceptance for the first time in their lives. They begin to understand that their individual lives are unique and created by God for a purpose. 

The practical hands-on activities allow the girls to not only learn important truths, but to also express their emotions. For example, when the girls are encouraged to do one another’s hair, emotions become involved.  One girl, who reluctantly conceded to allowing her hair to be touched, burst into tears at the realisation that she was valuable enough for someone else to want to brush it!  

SHINE girls discover their VALUE, WORTH and TRUE IDENTITY.  This continues to be enforced throughout the sessions and through the new friendships formed with others who have found the same truths!

Thank you for your valued partnership in changing lives!

SCHOOLS ARE A KEY TO REACHING THE YOUNG GENERATION!

One of The River Team's weekly activities in the community is to support the English Department of the local Government. This is accomplished by teaching English at local public schools, by running English camps during school breaks as well as by holding teacher training seminars for the entire district. With our current capacity, we are able to cover eight schools, but the demand is for much more! We need more native English speakers to volunteer!

The partnerships with the Education Department and with the local schools is far-reaching. About 140 kids are now regularly involved in our The River Kid's Club and The River Youth. On weekly basis, the kids and teens have an opportunity to engage in fun activities, as well as meaningful moments of learning about God. The River Team visits their homes and helps the families and their communities to identify the needs of the most vulnerable and to discover ways to find viable and sustainable solutions to break the cycle of poverty and abuse.

Recently, the Education Department publicly commended The River Team for its outstanding work in helping to raise the standard of the local schools by bringing transformation to the lives of the students.

Thank you for partnering with us and please consider volunteering with us!

Teen Girls Discover Their Value and Purpose!

The River Team met Nong Earn for the first time when she was about seven years old. Nong Earn lived in a dilapidated lean-to hut with her great grandparents. Due to unfortunate happenings, including deaths in the family, Nong Earn became the sole carer of her great grandparents. Her great grandma’s Parkinsons disease was progressing fast and great grandpa was very old and nearly deaf. Nong Earn helped them in  everything from preparing food to assisting them in their personal hygiene and toilet matters. The local government school was aware of the child’s unkempt appearance and frequent absences. There, however, was no structure in place to address Nong Earn’s problem.

Having established itself in the local communities, The River Team began to visit Nong Earn’s home on a regular basis. Initially the visits were about building a relationship with the family and to help identify their felt needs.

The River Team empowered the local community leaders to help this family. It was established that the priority was on providing secure shelter, adequate nutrition, care for the old couple and importantly, to attend to all the needs of the growing child. It was clear that she needed to remain with the only family she knew.

Right next to the lean-to hut, a little house with the necessary facilities for sleeping, eating and bathing was built. The local leaders and community people and of course The River Team, presented the new home to Nong Earn’s family. The River Team has continued to visit them and help them live as a family. Both great grandparents have discovered peace in God. Nong Earn became a regular at The River Kids Club, then the youth program and is now one of our Shine Girls! 

Earn’s great grandma has already passed away and her great grandpa is very old and almost completely deaf. But Nong Earn will never be alone - she is now part of The River Family!

Through Shine, she is discovering her value and purpose in God and is being equipped to impart this life-changing TRUTH to her peers in the local communities.

Thank you for your partnership in changing lives!

The River Partners 2012 and Life @ The River Concert

The River Partners Conference 2012 brought together well over one hundred leaders from most of our target areas! The time spent together empowered and strengthened us all greatly!

The momentum of praise has continued to increase! Our River Worship Team excelled in their untiring exuberance and sensitivity to God's leading. Everyone was involved! 

The spirit of celebration became explosive as we pressed deeper in understanding the free gift of Father's grace and righteousness, imputed to us through the “once and for all” sacrifice of His Son! 

We are unconditionally loved by our Heavenly Father, carriers of His life-giving, liberating and victorious presence -  empowered by His Spirit to do our part in SETTING LIVES FREE! 

The powerful, scripture-based ministry from Australia was much appreciated! Our own key River leaders did their invaluable part in facilitating excellent afternoon sessions on topics relating to Effectively Loving and Empowering Communities. 

In the evenings the proverbial “roof was blown off”! A huge stage was erected next to Hangdong Road, right inside the border of The River Centre! The music from our first    
    Life @ The River Concert 
was presented by three bands; our own River Band, a local youth band with "Kriangkrai" as its lead singer and by a more widely known band, which plays both christian and secular music.The music was heard and witnessed far into the city. With such a large crowd gathering, the police provided crowd control. This confirmed to us that we are making a real difference in Hangdong! 


"Kriangkrai" is fruit from our work in Hangdong Communities! His band practices at The River every week.

There is absolutely nothing that comes even close to the privilege of living for God’s glory! 

TOGETHER we will do our part in opening the way for others!

The River Kids Club Summer Camp 2012

Last week the River Kids Club had its annual 3-day Summer Camp at The River! The camp was all about FUN, FUN, FUN, while at the same time targeting team building, working together and building character. The timing of the camp was right after the Thai New Year, so everyone was in a party mode!  

At the beginning of the camp, each child was placed in a team. Each team had its own crew of leaders, who were actively involved in all the assigned activities. Some of the games resulted in everyone getting seriously dirty, so a thorough clean-up afterwards was an absolute necessity!

After sticky and hot outdoors, it was really nice to retreat into an air-conditioned meeting room. The kids did glass painting, watched a movie and enjoyed some free time. This was followed by each team cooking together and then preparing for the special performances at the evening's "gala event".

After enjoying the special dinner, the individual teams got on stage to show their creative abilities. There were still more games and then it was time to go to bed. Sleep was far from many kids' minds; it was far too exciting to be on a camp! Tomorrow held a promise of so much more fun and excitement!

On the morning of Day 2, the happy campers and their leaders woke up early, did some exercises and ate their rice breakfast. Everyone packed themselves into cars headed for an adventure at the Huay Tung Tao Lake. At the destination, the campers played games and then held an art contest. Everyone had a go at drawing the beautiful scenery they saw and the results were very good in deed!

Lunch was sticky rice and chicken, followed by watermelon. This would be akin to KFC and a soft serve in the west!  

Back at The River, the swimming pool was soon filled with delighted, squealing kids! 

In the evening the kids and youth joined for a combined Thai-style BBQ and lots of fun games.

On the following morning, the regular Kids Club program allowed the kids to do the things they have learnt to love and expect. These include singing, games and activities, which all carry a message of being valued and loved. As a special treat, the kids got to dress their leaders in funny outfits and paint their faces to match!

More swimming pool activities and then final meal together and back home to share all the amazing camp stories with family and friends!

These kids are precious! They come from broken homes, and without the love of God being extended to them, would not have a future to look forward to. Thank you for partnering with us in transforming young lives for God's glory!

The River Women's Conference 2012

In March, our women's leaders gathered together for the annual River Women’s Conference, this time, at The River Convention and Training Centre! Although the main meeting hall was occupied by  another event, our team creatively transformed the Kid’s Club facility into nice venue for the women. Delegates came from most of our target communities. 

The atmosphere was relaxed and unlike previous years, everyone sat on the floor! Each woman was given a team colour, which automatically placed her in group. This created a sense of belonging and resulted in lots of friendly competition! 

On a fun note, the women went “sarong swimming”. For many, this was the first time in a swimming pool, so wearing a sarong was the way to go! 

The teaching was on relevant topics, such as Team Work, Sexuality, Relationships and Character Formation. 

Exploring the topic on Team Work started from identifying The River Missions Statement. The formation of our character, our strengths and weaknesses, which impact our performance as a team member. 

The critical issue of gender identity was introduced through clear and balanced presentation on sexuality. This also included testimonies. For most of the delegates, this was the first time they heard teaching on this topic.

The women were then challenged about the the power of the tongue. The teaching included great object lessons and examples on the damage caused by carelessly spoken words, which destroy relationships and even our own lives.

To flourish means “to be fully alive!!!” The women explored what “fruit” looks like. Each one received a small pot plant, representing their individual lives. They asked God to grow, water, and prune, so that they will become more like Him.

For the time of communion, the room was lit with lots of candles. One lady expressed her impressions as follows, ‘it so struck me that the way they had done it really created the atmosphere for the Holy Spirit to move.  They had “laid the table” for us to come and eat and meet and commune with God.’ Many women just wept in the presence of God.

There were women, who made the decision to receive Salvation and wanted to be baptised as a public confession of their faith. Many were filled with His power!

The River Women’s Conference 2012 was a great success, which will be evidenced by the fruit the women will bear in the days to come!

The Girls of The River Rescue House

The school year has just finished for kids in Thailand! We are so proud of the way our River Rescue House Kids are improving! Nat  (photo: right) is in the Government High School and Fon (photo: middle) and Ganya (photo: left) in a small Christian Elementary School. It is wonderful to see these girls becoming more confident!. Fon and Ganya in particular are beginning to shine in their English classes!  Fon scored the second highest mark in her class and shows great promise in her ability to catch up with the “lost” time.  Ganya, who was deemed as mentally impaired, is performing far beyond expectations! She is coming out of her shell and is improving daily. Her new glasses are helping significantly and have given her a new confidence in the classroom.  It's fantastic to see these girls blossoming and beginning to do so well at school!  Ganya, Fon and Nat have a future, which is filled with amazing opportunities!


Thank you for your part in giving these children a future!

The Multi-Purpose River Centre

The River Training and Convention Centre is operating in an increasingly productive way! Apart from our already active program, we also have opportunities to host international training! 

On the second week of March a large number of delegates from the surrounding countries  gathered for training  funded by Fida International. This was a forum where delegates received training from experts on community development with focus on its global impact. The delegates also had opportunities to exchange ideas and experiences. Some of the issues explored were relating to environment and human trafficking. The River accommodation facility was booked to capacity and The River Team demonstrated its experience, gained over the past 4 years, in hosting and catering!  Representatives from creative access countries were amongst the delegates, some outside their countries for the very first time! On leaving, all expressed their appreciation for having an opportunity to experience the sights and sounds of another country and to participate in the excellent training! One after another, the participants said that what impacted them the most was “ the HEART of The River Team!” What touched the visitors was the passionate love of these young men and women for their God and how each one so willingly lays down his/her life for the people in the communities!  

This is a “privileged” life - living out the High Calling as ambassadors of the Most High Calling! The world that desperately needs to know Healing love!