Hi-lites from Thailand
~ the view from the hotel…amazing
~ the friendly smiles on the faces of every Thai person I met
~ the ladies made sure I had coffee ready to drink at 5:30 every morning
~ some of the most incredible quiet times in my life
~ Sarah threw up 22 times
~ Sabrina passed out twice….or was that 3 times?….not far behind Sarah on the throwing up
~ the Thai woman who was saved!
~ Isaiah 55:10-11…came up again and again
~ smiles, smiles, smiles from the Thais
~ passing out tracts in the village shops/restaurants
~ walking through the jungle
~ out of my comfort zone more times than I can count
~ God held my hand along the way
~ facing my deepest fears
~ Master of the Squatty Potties!
~ Dylan’s knee…Yikes!  Watch out for those mud puddles!
~ watching the youth step up, be flexible, perform, interact with folks with whom they did not share a language
~ trying new foods
~ grilled corn on the cob, grilled sticky rice, and grilled pineapple on the beach
~ jet lag
~LOOONG van rides!
~ winding roads
~ Khao Lak Beach where the Tsunami killed 2,000 people…the village rebuilt…the people were incredible
~ God at work in Khao Lak…5 church groups meet in homes since the Tsunami
~ my Thai Sister-In-Christ…Nong…friendship even through a language barrier!
~ singing the same song in English that our Thai team sang in Thai
~ finding a McDonalds in every country
~ everyone dropping like flies on Wed night
~ God’s provision…Sandy’s dad a missionary Dr in Bangkok
~ spreading the gospel with potentially 10,000 people in one day!
~ filled with pride for ” my kids” as they grew spiritually
~ rambutan, mangosteen, papaya, baby bananas, pineapple
~ listening to the youth’s testimonies
~ feeding the monkeys… what do you do for monkey bites?
~ the children’s smiles…loved being photographed!
~ the Thais immediately reading the tracts handed to them
~ passing out flyers for the revival in the villages…Thais inviting us into their homes
~ the amazing blue and green water
~ the beach
~ the boat that survived the Tsunami….God kept us safe on it!
~ eating breakfast (fried rice) with chopsticks the first morning!
~ the monkey who stole Stu’s bananas
~ living with 29 other people for 11 days! And not one argument!
~ prayers answered after 7 months of continued prayers!  We felt the prayers of our prayer warriors EVERY DAY!
~ lost a day going there…gained a day coming back…very strange!
~ sitting beside or near Stu on the plane for 40 hours of flight…intimidating? Yeah!
~ Chaang…seeing a baby elephant the last day!
~ boba tea in Thailand! Thanks, Libby!
~ flying through 4 countries in 1 day
~ meeting the Thai team and the MK’s! Outstanding!
~30 hour day on the way back…the longest day of my life…literally!
~ home sweet home….I love that American flag!
~ reverse culture shock…the squatty potties were cleaner than Walmart’s bathroom!  Americans pushing their way past us in LAX airport. Stomach’s re-adjusting to the American greasiness.  Living without the other 29 once again. Taking in all that happened in Thailand, processing it, and trying to figure out what to do with it all. New sleep schedules. Does life really go on as usual? More spiritual warfare!

Wow!  I know some of you have been patiently waiting to hear all about Thailand, so thank you.  It has taken me a while to process everything.  Let me first say, it was amazing!  Those of you who have been praying, THANK YOU!  I felt your prayers every minute of every day.  There were some moments where, when being forced to step out of my comfort zone, the pressure was nearly crushing.  Then, within moments, my entire outlook would change and I would be able to stay calm, flexible, and was given reserves I never knew I had.  Those are the moments when there was absolutely no doubt that you were praying and God was answering!  You prayed us through some hard moments.  Let’s just say, I am master of the squatty potty!  Boys, you can imagine all you want, but let me assure you that you have NO IDEA what we girls went through in learning the art of squatty pottying!  And, because we are in mixed company….I’ll leave it at that!

I’ve not been on a mission trip of this type before.  One of my roles was to be a prayer warrior and to guide the students to remember to be in constant prayer.  It was incredible to watch them the first day when I suggested they have a constant prayer chain going throughout our program and they took turns tagging in and out.  After that, they took it and ran with it.  Never did we have a revival or school program going without someone in the group praying being prompted only by the Holy Spirit.  Oh, and incidentally, that first meeting, a Thai woman gave her life to Christ!

I watched my students grow spiritually right before my eyes. They were an entirely different group of students by the time we returned home.  Even parents have commented on this.  It was incredible to see how the first day they needed a little guidance (another role I had as an adult leader in a student mission trip) in things like finding games to play with kids who speak a different language, smiling even when they were tired, politely trying new foods and keeping smiles on their faces while doing it (even when they didn’t like the flavors).  Then, they took ownership of their skits, their ministry, and ran with it.  They have amazed me! God has amazed me!  There were some students who were incredibly sick throughout the trip and they never one time had a bad attitude or refused to sit out.  They stepped up and did their parts in the programs and sat down to recoup until the next turn to perform or interact with people.  They were troupers!  There was not one ugly thing said about another person, not one disagreement or argument…in 11 days of living with 29 other people!  If that isn’t God…

I’ll give you some hi-lites in the next blog, but wanted you to hear my voice first.  This trip has been a life changing experience…thanks, Caryann for that prayer!  Stu has said this from the very beginning, but I’m not sure I completely understood what to expect.  I’ll never be the same after experiencing God so fully.  I won’t settle for less than an awesome friendship with Him and that incredible relationship I’ve developed with Him throughout the preparation of and the carrying out of this mission.
Thank you for your financial support and for your prayer support! Thank you, Lord for sending me!

~Kimmie~
Isaiah 55:9-11

3 hours of sleep…yikes!  Here we go!

Tues, July 15
8am team arrives at DFW
1050 am plane leaves DFW          (KE 32 14:04 hrs flight)

Wed, July 16
2:55 pm plane arrives in Seoul     (5:20 hrs layover)
8:15 pm plane leaves Seoul           (KE 637 6:15 hrs flight)

Thurs, July 17
12:30 am plane arrives in Phuket, Thailand
2:00 am team arrives in Phang Nga

RETURN HOME
Fri, July 25
11:00 pm (Thurs) arrive at airport
1:55 am plane leaves Phuket           (KE 638 6:10 hrs flight)
10:05 am plane arrives in Seoul     (1:10 hrs layover)
11:15 am plane leaves Seoul      (KE 1 2:15 hours flight)
1:30 stop in Tokyo                   (1:25 hrs layover)
2:55 leave Tokyo      (KE 1 10:05 hours flight)
9:00 am plane arrives in LA   (5:54 hours layover)
*customs*
2:54 pm plane leaves LA      (UA 6219 3:11 hours flight)
8:05 pm plane arrives in DFW

XOXO,
Kimmie

~please pray on our spiritual armor for us every day ~Eph. 6:13-18

~we have ‘boot camp’ on Sunday all afternoon…we will practice language, skits, sharing testimonies, songs, learn a little more of the culture, etc.  it will be a busy and fun day.  we will get final packing lists and a trip itinerary.

~Sabrina-having nightmares and not able to sleep; family having a little difficulty right now with each other; she’s afraid of flying

~Jessie- gets sick on airplanes

~Teresa – parents, husband, son all lined out so that she doesn’t worry over them while she’s gone and can focus on the trip

~Hanna-this is her first flight ever

~many of us-anxiety over getting things ready on time, packing, leaving the country (many for the first time)

~easy time going through customs

~as little jet lag as possible and us knowing how to prep for it and deal with it

~culture shock…the families are sending letters to be handed out to the students/leaders at different times in hopes of helping offset culture shock

~flexibility

~Stu-last minute organizing, dealing with anxious parents and questions, etc

~money to do some fun tourisy things

~me-nothing big will happen-no illness, no injuries, etc, but if any medical/injury situations arise I’ll know what to do for it

~the people we will come into contact with: in the airport, on the plane, in Thailand, anywhere in between- that they will be prepared to hear/see God in us and that we will boldly seek out and recognize Divine Appointments

~Our missionaries: Keith Richards and his family-His wife, Tracy is in the States with their oldest son, Caleb as he preps for college; Libby the oldest daughter is helping her dad; I think there is one more girl younger; they will be moving to the States for a while later this summer

~travel-airline pilots get good rest, flight attendants, etc; easy transitions through customs; long layover in Korea and on the way home in LA

FYI…thought you’d get a kick out of this: We leave to come home on July 25 and after stopping in Tokoyo and LA, arrive in DFW on July 25…a mere 30 hours after we started out!  It will be (literally) the longest day of our lives. LOL!

I cannot thank you enough for your prayers!

Please keep these young men in your prayers as they travel from Pattaya to Phang Nga in the upcoming week.  The last I had heard they still didn’t know the details of their travel plans.  I’m hoping they have come up with something by now.  Keep their families in prayer as they worry over these young men who are having a great adventure!

we prayed there would be no big medical needs, no one get really sick, no major injuries: there was a 36 hour window where there were NO medical needs!  Not one bandaid was asked for, not one tylenol tablet, nothing!  Only the daily meds that some folks take on a regular basis.  This is UNHEARD OF in a camp situation….especially where you are in the hot sun all day!

one girl, Gabby, was invited 2 or 3 days before camp to join us…she got saved!

one girl, Alex, was invited one Sunday a few weeks before camp; because of medical bills in the family, there was no way she could come up with even an extra couple of dollars for camp; because of someone’s generosity in our church, she was given a scholarship for camp…she got saved!

one of the young HS students going to Thailand made a commitment to read the Bible daily, starting at the beginning…as of Wed, he’s still following through!

2 students have felt God’s call to step up and become leaders among our youth group and have committed to do so

One family group leader asked for prayers for her JH age students early in the week, so we were praying faithfully for them…3 of them were saved!

one JH student felt God’s call to get more serious about his relationship with Christ and I’ve watched a change in him over the weeks

one student realized she had been gossiping about another and it was wrong, so she apologized to the other student as well as to the ones she had gossiped with

one night students went to each other during worship and prayed together, resolved differences; the youth group was definitely strengthened this night!

a woman who was staying at the hotel wrote a letter to our pastor the week we were at camp expressing how well behaved our students were and how wonderful it was to see them all lined up on the seawall (for quiet time each morning) with their bibles in hand

ummmm….i got to eat fresh seafood!  yumm!!!!

God sure has been faithful!  Once again, Beach Camp was an amazing experience for me to be a part of.  I thank my God for allowing me to be a part of it.  My role was a little different this year than last, but no less exciting.  A wonderful growth opportunity for leaders and students alike.  And the Lord allowed me to learn more about being a prayer warrior.

Teresa K and Amy E (leaders going to Thailand) said they noticed a huge difference in our girls choir after camp…more focus and more ready to prep for Thailand.  I think that Beach Camp went a long way in preparing us all for our mission trip.

In addition:

a couple of students still owed money as of last week and God has provided

my loved ones have contributed above the minimum amount needed, which will offset the additional costs of increased fuel prices, food, tours, etc.  Isn’t God GOOD???

T and J figured out that there was probably some extra money that wasn’t counted that could go into an excess pot for touristy stuff for us to do while we are over there

T was able to save around $500.00 in traveler’s insurance b/c of a discount we received by registering with the IMB

God provided a secretary for Stu this summer…Teresa Y…after his previous secretary moved out of state with her family

Wow!  That’s all I can say right now!  I am completely amazed at how God has provided for this mission trip to Thailand.  I want you to know how He is answering your prayers every day!

Our students raised about $18,000.00 from selling stock to family and friends. This required them to step out of their comfort zones and ask people to support them financially.  They had sheets of paper that had information re: prayers needed and the students’ names on them that they would hand out to anyone who gave them $20.00 donations.  This is something we’ve been doing at our church for a couple of years, so the members get really excited this time of year to support our students.   We will host a “stockholder’s meeting” upon return from Thailand to share what we have done with our supporters.  I’ll let you know when that is once the date is set.

Three weeks ago, we met for the first time with the students and their parents for a Q&A session to learn more details about what we will be doing in Thailand. The group (students and leaders) had raised about 2/3 of the money we need as a minimum amount at that time.
That night I learned the amount of money contributed to my account because of the time I had spent helping with our church garage sale…where, BTW, we were able to pass out 600 (Spanish and English) bibles to the community.  The amount far exceeded my expectations.  In fact, in adding up the amount I made plus 2 other people I talked with and in doing the math of how much money we had made vs the amount of people it was divided among…well, let’s just say that God is MUCH bigger than my math skills.  That night I had a balance of roughly $1400.00 due to pay off my part of the trip.  My friend, Teresa, learned that she had a significant portion of her trip already paid for at that time.  Someone had donated $2000.00 to youth missions to be used however was needed and it fully covered our fuel surcharges.

On Sunday, June 1, our deposit of $1000.00 was due.  As I was on my way to church that evening for a trip prep meeting, my prayer was that the LORD would be faithful, as He had promised and that my $1000.00 would be taken care of.  Would you believe that the amount credited to my account (as of 4 days prior) was $1037.34?  If that isn’t God…

Then, last night, I learned that because of your generosity and your prayers, I have only $197.00 left until my trip is paid for.  There is no doubt in my mind that it will be taken care of, plus more (as the cost of fuel has gone up since the price was set for our trip.)

I cannot thank you enough at this point for your overwhelming support, generosity, and prayers.  I so look forward to this trip and to seeing more ways in which God will choose to reveal Himself!  Please continue praying and know that I am praying for each of you, as well!
I love you all and thank you for your support!  You have been a huge blessing to me!

With Love,
Kimmie

God has been answering prayers like crazy.  He has truly been going before us and preparing the way! It’s been amazing to be a part of.  He’s SO good!

The missionaries we are working with are trying to make sure a gospel message tract (written in Thai) is placed in the hands of every person in the country. This is a huge goal, and I believe that God can do this.
Another goal we have is to share the message with Chinese tourists in the area, as Thailand is a big vacation spot for the Chinese. We will be handing out Chinese bibles to these folks.

Where do you come in? I believe that God calls us all to share the message of His love with others (once we’ve experienced it ourselves). “…you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 There are many ways we can all contribute to this calling. I’m inviting you to join me in sharing this message of love. This is not a journey that we can make on our own or in our own power. In order for this to be successful, it must be bathed in prayer. So, I’m asking you to join us as our prayer warriors as we prepare for this trip, as we travel, while we are there, and as we return home. I’d ask you to specifically lift up the leaders who will be taking the students over as we set the example for our students. There will be culture shock and we will need to handle it gracefully so that we can guide our students through it, too. The leaders are: Theresa, Amy, myself, Stu, Todd, Andrew, Corey, and Adrian.

Please keep in mind God’s preparing of hearts of the Thai, Chinese, and Burmese people who we will come into contact with, so they are ready to hear the gospel or be encouraged if they are already believers.

You may be wondering how we get funding for an expensive trip like this for 32 people. The cost is approx. $1800.00 per person. We have been working hard to raise the money in a variety of ways: the students have been selling “stock” as a way of raising funds; doing odd jobs for people around the church; we hosted a benefit concert to raise funds for buying Chinese Bibles; and we’ve been donating to and working in our church garage sale to raise funds; and we have written letters for support to our family and friends. I believe that God is going to provide the finances for all of us who are going on this trip and I believe that everyone who is a part of this project (in whatever way God leads them) will be blessed beyond measure!

We also very much want to be an encouragement to and supportive of the missionaries, Keith and Tracey Richards, and their 3 children as we are working with them. We want to be extremely helpful and not a hindrance as sometimes mission teams can be. Please be in prayer that all of us would be spending time in God’s word and strengthening our walks with Christ before hand, so that we can be flexible and ready for whatever unfamiliar things will come across our paths.

Kahb khun kah! Thank you! For the part you will play in sharing the gospel message of the love of Jesus Christ to the people in Phang Nga, Thailand!

“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12