Webers in Thailand

Pictures from the Past Few Weeks

2011-10-28T00:47:00.001+07:00

This post is mostly pictures. Enjoy!

We travelled through St. Louis on our way to a missions conference in Peoria, IL and got to see and get on top of The Gateway Arch.

Our hostess in Illionois is from Mexico. She and her family prepared us a very delicious authentic traditionally prepared Mexican meal. Now, that was a mouthful. No pun intended. Hahaha!

We were able to attend the NAMC (North American Missions Congress) in Indianapolis for one evening. Darlene sang a song on the opening night.

We got to see Ed's late youth pastor's wife for a couple hours in Hartford, MI. We thank the Lord for even just a short time to spend with Ms Cindy.

What a fun time we had at Calvary Baptist Church in Grand Rapids, MI. It was great to get reconnected with the church folks and our friends there. On Wednesday, they had a Thai missions banquet. Darlene cooked three dishes. Thai food was a hit! We actually ran out of food. We also did a 50-minute presentation for the kids - showing the kids at CBC how we teach the kids in Kabinburi. The adults enjoyed the kids' lesson as well.

From NC, to VA, to MO, to IL, to IN, to MI, back to VA, and to NC again. But we were thankful for a few hours on Topsail Beach in NC which was 30 minutes from two of our supporting churches. The boys were able to enjoy playing in the sand and getting wet and cold.

We are back in Virginia for more missions conference. It's been very busy and tiring the last several weeks but we are so thankful for opportunities to see friends, visit supporting churches, and share about what God has done in Kabinburi this past term.

Our family went on a picnic on the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Mabry's Mill, Virginia. We are enjoying the fall season.

We have a couple more missions conference left in the fall. Eight missions conference total from September-November. Thank you for praying for us.

Reporting Opportunities

2011-09-05T02:10:00.004+07:00

Less than two weeks after we were finished with the training seminars at the ABWE home office in July we were at Sheets Memorial Baptist Church in Lexington, NC for their missions conference. What a great a blessing the church was to us. It was also great to fellowship with our missionary friends whom we haven't seen in several years.

The church showered us with so much while we were with them for a whole week. They took us bowling with the teens, shopping at Concord Mills mall, golfing, ladies luncheon, a trip to Lazy 5 Ranch, a picnic at a park, and INCREDIBLY delicious spread of food every evening for dinner. It was an encouragement to see a huge turn out every night for missionary presentations and preaching. Thank you, SMBC for spoiling us!

We got to teach at the Children's Missions Conference one night.

Picnic at the park after the trip to Lazy 5 Ranch

Sheets Memorial Baptist Church bus that took us everywhere

We also were able to report to Daniels Memorial Baptist Church on August 17th and met up with their missions committee to talk about our mission board change and the Vision for Kabinburi for future ministry expansions. We are so thankful to DMBC and Pastor Jack Thomas for their continued support and prayers for us.

July Update

2011-08-02T08:54:00.001+07:00

We had 10 days to get over jet lag before we had to travel to Pennsylvania for candidate seminar and trainings. We were able to fellowship with some of our friends in our home church. The boys got their wish - they were able to celebrate 4th of July in America for the very first time.

We spent all of July with ABWE (Association of Baptists for World Evangelism) for Candidate Seminar, the annual Missionary Enrichment conference, and a couple other intensive trainings. Talking about information overload! But it was all good! Our spirits are refreshed and our hearts are encouraged and more excited about what God has for the future in Kabinburi.

ABWE Class of 2011 - 56 candidates!

Five-day EMC, Essential Missions Components (Church Planting Course)

Greater things have yet to come that God is going to accomplish in Kabinburi. Please watch this video below to see what God has laid in our hearts as ministry expansions of our church planting efforts in our town so you can be praying for us, our church pastoral staff, and ABWE as we draw up the ministry plans.

June 2011 Update and Big Announcement

2011-07-02T02:55:00.020+07:00

Major Change
But Same Ministry Focus

How can we express in such short detail how God renewed our passion for the Thai people after last year’s discouragement that almost got us packing our belongings? Our ministry team, Ed, Darlene, and Jenni Starkey, experienced God do a miracle in each of our hearts separately to bring us to unity and burden us to do the following future ministries. These will consist of a four-part expansion, being: Church Planting, Community Youth Center, Christian School, and Children’s Home. Church planting will continue to be our main focus. These ministries will assist in that endeavor. Baptist Mid-Missions along with the leadership of our sending church in agreement together both recognize this to be God’s leading for us. Since these expansion ministries function outside the normal ambit of BMM missionaries, we are required to seek assistance from another agency. Through the guidance and leadership of our home church, we feel led to partner with ABWE in order to bring this to pass. We are confident that ABWE will be a great assistance to us and be able to help provide the human resources necessary to start and maintain those ministries. To see and hear details from Ed, please watch the video presentation of our ministry proposal (below). Furlough will be a time for us to share with many of you our renewed passion for the Thai people, raise funds for the projects, and recruit future workers who will work hand-in-hand with us in this endeavor God put in our hearts .

Furlough
We arrived in our home church in Roanoke, VA on Friday, the 24th. The first three weeks of July will be spent in Pennsylvania for the ABWE Candidate Seminar, trainings, and Missionary Enrichment conference. We will be back in Thailand sometime in March 2012. If you would like to have us in your church for reporting or encouragement towards missions, please email us.

Please pray for:
1. Pray for Tooktik, our disciple, who is attending the PABWE Bible Institute full time this year.
2. Pray for our furlough - safe travels and productive time of sharing our passion with brothers and sisters in Christ.
3. Pray for our co-worker, Jenni Starkey, and our ministry helps while we're on furlough.
4. Pray for continued growth of Christians in Kabinburi.

Thank you for your faithful prayers and giving. You have been a blessing to us. Please join us on Facebook or visit our blog for updates.

Darlene's last English class in Kabinburi before we left for furlough. This past Saturday and Sunday, Jenni Starkey and Tooktik has 67 and 45 students! Praise the Lord that the students continue to come.

Our two oldest boys, Josiah and Boaz, are at camp this week. All three boys are having a great time getting reconnected with their American friends.

May 2011 Update

2011-05-19T16:07:00.000+07:00

Family Camp 2011 Update

On May 3rd-6th we were able to attend the annual Romphrakhun Fellowship of Baptist Churches family camp in Pattaya city. We had leftover funds from the English Camp in April so we were able to take five of our teens and one young lady from our church. All of them but one are believers. The theme was "The Living Word." The camp was a great blessing to these young people as they were challenged to daily walk in God's word and had opportunities to fellowship with other Thai Christians.

One special blessing for us and a praise is that, all of the five believers from Kabinburi very eagerly desired to follow Christ in water baptism. The morning of May 6th, we gathered on Jomtien Beach on the Gulf of Thailand and watched these young Thai believers publicly proclaim Christ. Each of them has a story behind how God has brought them to our Student Center. One started coming when she was only 7 years old. Two are a result of our co-worker, Jenni Starkey's van rides to Bangkok from language studies. Two had heard the gospel when they were very young but have only received Christ as their Savior this past year. Our God is great and He continues to work in the hearts of the people we minister to. We are so thankful to be able to watch God's love and power unfold in people's lives here in Kabinburi. We know many of you are praying. Thank you very much. This is a time of rejoicing!

Visit our Facebook page to see more Family Camp 2011 pictures.

Prayer Items:
1. Praise the Lord for 5 salvations in April and 5 baptisms in May.
2. Pray for continued growth of the young believers in our church plant.
3. Pray for our furlough preparation.
4. Pray for those who committed to help on the weekends while we're gone on furlough.
5. Pray for Tooktik, the young lady in white shirt (top most picture), who have given her life to God to go to Bible Institute full-time to prepare for ministry.

Preschool and kindergarten class.

4th-6th grade class presentation.

The biggest group was the teen group.

Ptr Mark Zahn from NM preached in the evening sessions with Dr. Somchai translating.

Campers came from different churches all over Thailand.

April 2011 Update

2011-04-25T15:09:00.006+07:00

Evangelistic English Camp

On April 4th-8th, we took twenty kids and teens from our Student Center up northeast Thailand for a summer evangelistic English camp hosted twice a year by ABWE veteran missionaries, Don and Gail Craft. There were about sixty kids from four churches. The week was packed with fun activities including preaching, games, singing, and sports. What a blessing the week was not only to us but especially to the Christian teens from Kabinburi. They were able to build friendships with other Christian teens from the other churches. Passion for God and for His Word was ignited. Praise the Lord, five girls from Kabinburi asked Jesus to be their Savior. All of these girls have been coming to our Center for several months except for one who has been coming for a couple years.

The Lord also provided funds to purchase Bibles for eleven of our students who didn't have Bibles yet. Ed taught a lesson in one of the evening sessions about the importance of quiet time. That night and the days after, they kids spent time in the Word and in prayer.

Please pray for the next camp which is a Christian Family Camp by Romphrakhun Fellowship of Baptist Churches on May 2nd-5th. We have several teens and one adult who expressed desire to go. We thank God for His provision through giving by His people for these kids to be able to attend camp. It is really a blessing to see them grow in the Lord. Thank you for your prayers.

To see more photos of this camp, please visit our Facebook ministry page.

English game time after the morning session.

Meal time was a great time of fellowship.

Parlor games and sports in the afternoon.

Ed preaching and sharing his testimony at the last evening session.

The five Kabinburi girls who got saved at camp.

L-R: Joy, Nic, Joy, Taengmo, New

March 2011 Newsletter

2011-03-21T21:55:00.003+07:00

Here is our newly sent out newsletter. Just click on the photo to enlarge it. It will take you to a page that has nothing but this photo. Click on the photo one more time to enlarge it to a legible size. If you would like to print the newsletter, just "right-click" on the enlarged/legible photo and then select "save as..." to save to your computer. You can then print it off your computer. Please don't hesitate to share this with your prayer group, Sunday School class, or cell group in the church. Thank you!

If you missed our November-December 2010 Newsletter, here's the link to it:

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2010 NEWSLETTER

"Everlasting Light Medley" by the Student Center Kids & Teens

2010-12-24T16:03:00.016+07:00

"Everlasting Light Medley" sung by Kids and Teens of Kabinburi Baptist Church in Kabinburi, Prachinburi, Thailand on December 19, 2010 during a Christmas Music Service.

Soloists at our Christmas Candlelight Service

2010-12-20T20:49:00.002+07:00

Here are videos of the three soloists at our Christmas service yesterday, December 19th.

Quick October and November Updates

2010-12-02T14:01:00.002+07:00

Is it really December already? Where did the time go? November has come and gone and we had not posted anything. Sorry about that, friends.

Here were October and November highlights:

1. We had our very first Overnight Youth Camp on October 15th-16th. Twenty one kids signed up but only sixteen were able to go. Some had to go away for a sports event. For some others, something came up. We did have a great time. It takes only 20 minutes to get to the camp site but it took us about two hours! We had non-stop heavy rain for two days by that time and the rivers were rising, flooding Kabinburi and Nadii towns. We couldn't find our way into the camping resort. Finally, someone had to meet us and lead the way through a different route. It rained through the night still. Ed and the guys heard loud knocking on their door at about 5 o'clock in the morning. They had to move to another room as the water was starting to get into their room. Our camp program was scheduled to end at 12 noon on the second day but at 10 o'clock in the morning, we were told to immediately pack and leave for fear that the only way out of the camp site left will be flooded as well. We did have a great time in spite. Please check out the pictures to see what fun we've had.
Overnight Youth Camp Pictures

2. The flooding this year was the worst in 20+ years in Kabinburi history, we were told. Fifteen provinces in Thailand were affected. It included the Cambodian side of the border this time. We are thankful that we are on higher ground, by a major road. Only about 100 meters behind our building, the flood waters began.

3. Someone gave us a piece of land for future ministry use in Kabinburi. The land size is close to three acres (7 rai in Thailand measurement). For now, it looks like a jungle but we are in awe of what God is going to do here!

4. Numbers on Saturdays and Sundays are fewer in November than the previous months but we are still going between 30-45. Still a high number considering it's just the three of us here (Ed, Darlene, and Jenni). We thank God for strength and joy in serving. We are blessed to have these young people in our lives.

5. We have been preparing and practicing songs for our Christmas Service on December 19th. Please pray that many family members and friends of kids in our Student Center will come for that. We will also have a piano recital by Darlene's four students and lots of singing of praise songs and Christmas carols.

November-December 2010 Newsletter

2010-11-20T12:01:00.000+07:00

Here is our November-December newsletter. Just click on the photo to enlarge it. It will take you to a page that has nothing but this photo. Click on the photo one more time to enlarge it to a legible size. If you would like to print the newsletter, just "right-click" on the enlarged/legible photo and then select "save as..." to save to your computer. You can then print it off your computer. Please don't hesitate to share this with your prayer group, Sunday School class, or cell group in the church. Thank you!

More Harvest!

2010-10-11T10:53:00.010+07:00

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers. God gave us another harvest. Five teens asked Jesus into their hearts on the first Sunday of August. That day, we had Pastor Soonthon, his wife Nut, and daughter Lydia come share about their salvation testimony and God's calling to be missionaries in Cambodia. It was a blessing to hear from this sweet family and to see their heart and passion for people.

This is the second time that Pastor Soonthon had been a part of the "harvest" for Kabinburi. The first time was our middle son's birth father. Click on these two links to read about Kreuk's spiritual birth and his physical death.

Mrs. Nut taught Sunday School to the elementary aged kids.

Pastor Soonthon and family rendered a special song. They also have a son, Daniel, who was not able to be with them that day.

Pastor Soonthon spoke and shared their burden and plan on leaving for Cambodia soon as the very first missionaries through TABWE (Thailand Association of Baptists for World Evangelism).

These are the four teen girls that got saved. The one on the far left has been coming with her sister for about two years now.

Palm started coming in March. He was brought by Top (another teen boy) who was brought by Teh five years ago. "♪♫♪♫♪Each one can reach one. ♪♫♪♫♪"

Teen group that Sunday

Tooktik

2010-09-09T23:08:00.003+07:00

In the midst of our sadness with Papé's passing, we saw God’s sovereignty and mighty hand in the minute details as we were processing the paper work for Papé to get out of Thailand and back to Senegal.

God, in His mercy and grace, chose to uplift our spirits with good news. One evening, a lady named Tooktik, came and told us that she recently had asked Jesus to come into her life and turned from Buddhism. "You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy." (Psalm 30:11).

O, the very first one who got saved in our church plant in Kabinburi (she got saved back in 2004), brought Tooktik to our Student Center. Tooktik had been coming off and on since November 2009 for English classes. Many times she would stop by just to chat and ask questions about God, the Bible, and Christianity. This past Easter Sunday, Ed had another very good witnessing opportunity and really challenged Tooktik regarding salvation. She wasn’t ready then, she told us. She needed to think about it more and wanted to talk to her grandma about it. You see, it was her grandma who raised her.

For about a month now, she has been doing discipleship Bible classes with Ed in the evenings, three to four times a week, in our kitchen while Darlene looks on and helps some. She is really hungry for the Word. It is such a joy to watch her face become serious as she listens intently and writes down notes during the studies. Please pray for her growth and that God will continue to become first place in her heart now. Please pray for boldness to share her faith with her family and friends at work.

Many months ago we were so discouraged because no adults were getting saved. The adults that we have had here that got saved and were discipled before we took our first furlough were not walking with the Lord. One of them has decided to turn her life around. Another one is still resisting the Holy Spirit’s prompting in her heart and continues to reject God’s Word. We keep learning that our duty to God is not how much these people are walking in the Spirit, but how faithful we are to what God has called us to do in this town.

The Least Expected Ministry Opportunity

2010-09-01T15:47:00.011+07:00

We keep learning everyday that everything is a ministry opportunity especially when you are in a place where there are only a handful Christians.

Little did we know that through Papé's death, God would give us ministry opportunities (literally) beyond our borders.

The Kabinburi Football team owner is a Muslim so Papé's family's wish of having the body prayed over within 24 hours of death was granted. He was also gracious enough to invite Ed to pray also seeing that Papé was a dear friend and he lived with us. Ed took that opportunity to share the gospel through his prayer.

The Senegal Muslim Association in Thailand came in behalf of the Senegal Ambassador's office met with us, came to see the body at the hospital morgue, and processed the paper work to get Papé home to Dakar.
One of the hardest things we ever had to do on the mission field was to pack the things of a friend who passed away. It was an awful feeling.
Ed faithfully took videos of several people that we posted on youtube for Papé's family in Senegal to watch and understand the circumstances around his death. They barely spoke English. The people we took videos of spoke in French and in Wolof, their native language. We thank God for internet and technology that allowed us to get reconnected with the family and showed them how much we cared.
We had a simple memorial service at our Church/Student Center. All of the Kabinburi Football team, including the coach and the team owner came. Several people in Kabinburi who knew Papé also came. What an opportunity for us to share the gospel to these people that otherwise we may not have a chance to.
Darlene sang a song in Thai.
Jenni sang a song in English.
Our friends and fellow missionaries in Thailand, Rick and Tammy Salmon, came to support us.
Some of our church young people also came and helped serve food.
The Lord's ways are perfect and beyond our human comprehension. We thank God for Papé's friendship and the fun memories we have of his short time with us.

Papé

2010-07-06T09:06:00.013+07:00

Monday, July 5th
10:20 AM
"We'll have some more of that barbeque chicken this week or next week, Papé," I said as we were driving away.

"OK! I love that chicken! That was the best chicken I've had. I'll come by and see you, guys, tonight after training," he replied. Then he turned to Jayjay and held his palm side up, "Give me five, man!"

5:30 PM
We got a call from someone that Papé was at Kabinburi Hospital. He passed out during soccer training and so his buddies took him to the hospital. He was unconscious. They were going to call us when they know more.

6:00 PM
Jenni Starkey called us. Papé is gone. He was only 27.

Papé with Ed and our friend, Ron Powell
Picture taken a few hours before he died

Papé is our African friend from Senegal. It's a long story but his friend/cousin, Chris, was staying with us at that time. He came to stay with us from the latter part of February until about a couple months ago. Papé and Chris are professional football (soccer) players and were wanting to try out for a Thai team. Chris is a Christian. Papé believed in Allah. He was one of the nicest non-Christian guys we've ever met - very polite, helpful around the house, and great with our boys. Our youngest one was very fond of him.

Ed had a chance one night to witness to him about Christ and the love of God for a good hour. It wasn't hard for us to be good friends with him right away. He and Jenni became very good friends as well. We tried our best to show the love of Christ through our friendship. We hope he saw the difference in us.Papé is missed around here already. Jayjay is too young to understand. Someday when he grows up, I will show him pictures and will tell him about his "uncle" Papé. We all really wish he knew the Lord. That's what makes us really, really sad.
(UPDATE) Tuesday, July 6th 11PM. We learned this afternoon that when Papé's father heard of the news that he went into shock, passed out, and is now in comma. Please pray for the family! They need the Lord! An uncle is supposed to be flying to Bangkok either today or tomorrow. Not sure.

(UPDATE) Tuesday, July 6th 9:30AM Chris and missionary friends were able to talk to a family member in Senegal this morning. He is trying to get the earliest flight he could get to come. Two missionary friends, Ed, Chris, and Jenni are finding out what they can do with the body while we wait for the father or uncle's arrival.

Creepy Crawlers in Our Neigborhood

2010-06-26T14:20:00.006+07:00

Big cities are nice, especially Bangkok. You can find pretty much anything - from food to furniture, to appliances - if you have the money. Ha! But... the experiences to get living out in the country is priceless. You get: dust instead of smog; red mud instead of black muck during rainy season; motorbike jam instead of car jam; loud karaoke shops instead of horns; trees to climb instead of buildings. Well, you get the picture. Even though we long for occasional trips to the big city, we love it here in Kabinburi. We get to have creepy crawling visitors occasionally. Not counting the usual humongus geckos/lizards and house spiders. Recently, we found a snake hanging on a tree just a few feet from our back door. See if you can spot the snake.That was out back. Just a few days later, Ed and our neighbors found a snake out front, crawling inside the water drainage pipe between their end and our end. Ed and our friend, Pape, worked so hard to capture and kill that snake - using a pvc pipe and a hoe.
Now... if you have a weak stomach, please don't look at the next photo. Ed found a couple of our neighbor guys one day using a blow torch to "grill" their dinner - field rats that they caught in the rice fields. Many Thais like to eat them. We haven't had them and don't plan to try them. Our son, Jojo is telling us just now that the smaller ones that they didn't "grill" were released back into the field to grow a little bigger. I have no other words except for "GROSS!"

Rocket Festival

2010-06-25T15:12:00.007+07:00

Every year in May, several villages in our town hold a rocket festival. Big boys (men) build their rockets out of pvc pipes and home-made gun powder. They entern a contest on whose rocket will stay up in the air the longest. We took our student center kids to see some rockets one Sunday afternoon. Ed does rocketry as a hobby and hope to one day enter a contest too.
We seriously thought those people were going to stand back and AWAY from the rocket as they light that thing up. We were wrong!
See how close those people are to the rocket??? I had my zoom lens on for this shot! The sound alone was deafening.

Family Camp 2010

2010-06-25T14:22:00.007+07:00

Every year we take a group from our church plant in Kabinburi to the family camp on Jomtien Beach, Pattaya organized by the Romphrakhun Fellowship of Baptist Churches held annually on the last week of April or first week of May. We had the biggest group from Kabinburi so far, 21 of us in all. Our co-worker, Jenni Starkey's van broke down as we were entering Pattaya City. During camp we had to pack all of those 21 people in our 11-passenger van to travel between our hotel and the camp site. Imagine the looks we got from people every time we got in and out of that van!

Every year we have been involved at camp in some way - giving lectures or helping in music. We were not asked to do anything this year so we volunteered to help in one of the children's classes. Ha! You know, sometimes when you volunteer, you end up being asked to do the whole thing. We taught the 4th-6th grade class and it was a BLAST! Jenni Starkey taught the Bible lessons; Ed led the games; Darlene did music, memory verses, and crafts. We were thankful for Pastor Ang and Orn, and Mae Sanit for their help. We had five sessions in three days: three hours in the mornings and two hours in the evenings. It was a fun fully-packed camp and the kids had fun. Boy, we wore them out! And yeah, we wore ourselves out too!

Songkraan 2010

2010-06-25T12:49:00.006+07:00

Every year in April, everybody in Thailand looks forward to the Thai New Year which they call, Songkraan. It's also a Water Fight Festival that lasts for three days. It's a national holiday so you can imagine the excitement and fun everyone has during those days. It's the biggest water fight in the world, after all! People load up big water containers on their truck bed and go around the town to splash everyone they see. Some just stay on the side of the road and wait for the trucks and motorbikes to come by.

April is the hottest month of the year. Thais pay homage to their lord Buddha to ask him to send the rain.

The older folks, usually 70 years old and above are seated in a row so the "younger" ones can bless them by pouring water on the shoulders and hands. We love this part of Thai culture -showing respect and bestowing honor to the older ones.

The Angels Rejoiced on Easter Sunday

2010-06-25T12:08:00.006+07:00

Three days prior to Easter Sunday we had our "Summer Fun" for the Student Center kids. We had singing, memory verses, games, movie, popcorn, crafts, and swimming at a public pool. The kids, as usual, had a blast. Our friend, Ron Powell, from California came to help us out during those days.

One of the crafts we did was coloring eggs for the Easter egg hunt. After our worship service, we went to a nearby park for lunch and egg hunt. Both big and little kids had tons of fun with that. Ron brought some plastic eggs from the States so stuffed those with Thai coins and candies. The Thai kids have never had anything like this before so it was a pleasant surprise for them. Sorry we don't have anymore pictures of the "Summer Fun." I (Darlene) thought I saved all the photos but couldn't find them anywhere on my computer or any other disks.

Jenni Starkey did a series of lessons about the life of Christ which led to the resurrection. After Sunday School, two girls came up to me and said they were ready to ask Jesus into their hearts. I sat down with them and explained God's plan of salvation just to remind them of what they had been learning on Sundays. They were so ready. I wish you could have seen their eyes and their excitement. The angels rejoiced that Easter Sunday when Jin and Faa asked Jesus to live in their hearts. What a great day for a spiritual birthday!

Christmas 2009 Ministry Pictures

2010-04-11T15:56:00.007+07:00

This year, to celebrate Christmas at our church plant, instead of our usual Christmas service, we decided to have a sit-down buffet dinner and invited parents and adults that we've known through the years. We also invited Ed's relatives and our "white" friends who are all unsaved.

Before the meal, the Student Center kids recited a Christmas poem and sang Christmas songs. Ed also shared about the true meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate it.

Also, every year we give gifts to the kids. This year, our co-worker, Jenni Starkey, provided for the gifts. The children really enjoyed their gift bags.

The day after Christmas, Jenni hosted a party for kids our her street. They decorated the cookies that our intern, Liz Stevens baked. The kids had a blast. Also, Darlene told the Christmas story to the kids. It was the first time for all of those kids to hear it!

We thank God for opportunities of planting seeds in the hearts of these Thais through special events like Christmas.

October 2009 Ministry Pictures

2010-04-09T10:13:00.006+07:00

Here are October 2009 ministry photos in a slide show taken during Teen Camp, evangelistic LIFE (Learning Intensive Free English) Camp, and the Pastors and Workers retreat. Two of the kids, Neng and Om, that went to LIFE camp with us got saved!

Mr. Kreuk Hongchuta

2010-04-08T18:31:00.016+07:00

Yesterday was a sad day and a day of rejoicing as well. Our middle son's birth father passed away. Praise the Lord that he asked Jesus to be His Savior on his physical birthday a year and a half ago. We are sad because we are going to miss him. We rejoice because he is not going to suffer anymore from the side effects of his stroke and brain aneurysm. His body is made whole in the presence of our Heavenly Father.

L-R: Dtim, Bea, Boom-Boom, Kreuk. This is our middle son's birth family.
This picture was taken in August 2008, the day Kreuk got saved.

We are sad and disappointed that we didn't make it to Kreuk's cremation today, less than 24 hours since his passing. Today, our co-worker Jenni Starkey drove with Dtim, Bea, and our Boom-Boom ten hours to be with the family up in the northeast part of Thailand. They cremated the body very quickly because Kreuk's dying wish was to not have his body laid at the temple for three days and three nights for Buddhist ceremonies because he said he was a Christian and was going to heaven to be with God. That's declaration of faith right there! We think it's amazing that he still had the sense to make that desire known to his all-Buddhist family.

Kreuk had another stroke and brain swelling in October. He had brain surgery days after that stroke. He never really truly recovered 100% but just two months later was able to walk with a walker and eventually walk on his own very slowly without assistance. The last couple of months he was able to climb up and down the steps with some help. Even though he was sometimes incoherent, he did remember many details and people in his life. He remembered the very first day he met us. He also remembered the day he got saved! Kreuk was fifty years old. We will miss him but we are so thankful that He is now enjoying a new body and worshiping the true and living God in Heaven. "Til we see you again, P' Kreuk!"

Mid-September Already?

2009-09-14T20:57:00.003+07:00

During our field trip to MV Doulos when it was docked in Bangkok.

Is it really mid-September already? August has come and gone and we have not done any blog posts. July and August were busy months. At the time of our last posting, all five of us were suffering from flu, at the same time! We weren’t sure what kind of flu we had so we closed shop, locked our doors, and kept everybody out. We were isolated for two weeks. Neighbors were afraid to come near us. Although it wasn’t fun to be sick, it was a good time of rest for us.

Thankfully, we got well enough to start a new home-school year as scheduled. The boys adjusted to the schedule and routine quickly and very well. The two older boys wake up in the mornings on their own, eat breakfast, and do their chores. We’re blessed. Although things are going smooth for home-schooling, it’s been a challenge to keep the youngest boy out of trouble and away from his older brothers. Thank God for Ed helping me a lot with him.

Thank you for your continued prayers. Sometimes, we feel like all we do is deal with everyday mundane stuff but we know and trust that God is working – working in the hearts of the people we minister to or have conversations with, and working in OUR hearts, first and foremost, so we can be a light to those around us. Thank you for being part of what God is doing here through your prayers and support.

Team FBC from Visalia, CA

2009-07-17T20:44:00.006+07:00

This past weekend, a team from Faith Baptist Church in Visalia, California came to minister in Kabinburi. FBC is the sending church of our ABWE missionary friends, Rick & Lisa Caynor. Here are pictures of their time with us.

The team arrived on Friday afternoon and did odd jobs

for us like: putting down rocks on the driveway...

... and cleaning our whole house/ministry building.

Saturday ministry day started with a game.

Telling the story of Samson with a Biblical moral application.

Learning a praise song.

Teen English class.

On Sunday afternoon, we all drove down to Cha-Am (three hours south of Bangkok) to help the Caynors prepare their building for moving in. On the team's last day there, Kelli (a team member) got baptized in the Gulf of Thailand. Kelli really desired to be baptized by Rick as the Caynors were instrumental in her spiritual growth. Ed and Pastor Aang assisted in the baptism.

Another English Camp, Another Opportunity

2009-07-09T12:01:00.008+07:00

On June 29th, we were given another opportunity to get our faces and names known in the community when we helped out in an English camp at a public school about half an hour from us. Sixty kids from five different elementary schools participated in a government funded/issued English camp. All the teachers pretty much let us "go for it" for the entire day, allowing us to change whatever we wanted to in their pre-set program and schedule. How gracious, they are! They were so excited and honored to have native English speakers come and teach the children. Our co-worker, Jenni Starkey, was able to take the day off school to help us out.

Seventh and Eight-graders who were not part of the camp played and babysat our three boys for the whole day. The boys enjoyed interacting with Thai kids - playing with toys and computer games, or just chatting with them.

Building Walls

2009-06-29T17:01:00.002+07:00

Building walls... literally! From Monday through Thursday of last week, Ed and four other guys were in the town of Cha-Am (about two hours south of Bangkok). Rick and Lisa Caynor, ABWE missionary friends, are starting a new church planting ministry there next month and needed help constructing walls in their new home/Student Center. It was hard work and very time consuming drilling through concrete posts, matching two-by-fours and boards to a crooked structure but the men had a good time working together and getting to know each other a little better.

These men built literal walls so the Caynors can tear down the walls of religion in order that they may point people to Christ in that town.

English Camp

2009-06-24T21:09:00.006+07:00

Last week we had an opportunity to help in the English camp at Kabinburi Witthaya School, a public high school about a mile from our house/church.

Whoah! Kids! Lots of them!

2009-06-17T21:02:00.004+07:00

the kids waiting to play a game

The past weekend was a little overwhelming for Jenni and Darlene. There were 43 kids on Saturday, and 40 on Sunday. It is tough trying to teach all the elementary kids in one class, with them being in different levels. Not to mention having three or four rowdy boys in there. Thankfully, two of them didn't show up on Sunday so it was a little less crazy.

It is a good problem to have, though. We can't divide the kids into two classes yet. Jenni is still in language school so she doesn't have time to prepare for two lessons per weekend. Teaching Sundays is all she could handle for now. So, Darlene and Jenni are team teaching the whole elementary group. Please pray for us. Please pray for wisdom on how to effectively teach them.

Blessed

2009-06-13T17:22:00.011+07:00

Ed and I had a discussion about this a couple days ago. We were in the kitchen waiting for the dinner rolls to come out of the oven when the mailman came. We received a letter from a supporting church stating that they're going to drop their support. We had three churches lower support but this was the first one to drop. We got to talking about finances – pinching (most of us are), but we are still doing good. Some missionary friends are struggling more and have lost more supporting churches. We said, “God’s been good to us.” Wait a minute! What about the ones that are struggling, God’s not good to them? This led to a longer discussion. Ed said, “Man shall not live by bread alone… but these rolls are really good I could live off them.” Hahaha!

We did our devotions that night on Psalm 1. The “blessed man” is very clearly feasting on God’s Word on a daily basis, day and night. He delights in it. Four things about him in verse 3:

- He is steadfast (even in the midst of trials).

- He is fruitful (not stuck in a rut kind of living).

- He is refreshing (he does not wither).

- He prospers. The word “prospers” is not material blessing or success measured by man. Success in church planting in Thailand can not be measured by comparing success in church planting in South America. “Prosper” means spiritual fruitfulness as we abide in God’s Word (Gal. 2:22-23).

Perfect example is Job. Everything and everyone in his life was stripped away from him but he was still a blessed man. All he had left was God. That was enough for him. The blessings that he received at the later time of his life were, I would say, God’s reward to him for delighting in His Creator. When God gives us blessings, they are not merely for our own enjoyment… they are given to us so we can GLORIFY God by meeting other people’s needs, whether they are material, emotional, or spiritual needs. That's what we are here in Thailand for! -ddw

The Holmes' 25th Wedding Anniversary

2009-06-03T14:05:00.008+07:00

We fondly call them Uncle Charlie and Auntie Lourdes. Our children call them "Lolo and Lola," which means grandpa and grandma in Filipino. They are diamonds... Very rare... Amazing... Beautiful people! I could write a whole book about them.

On May 19th, they celebrated their silver wedding anniversary in Bangkok. They have been involved in so many people's lives and ministries that to be invited to a small celebration gathering was an honor. Small, meaning less than 15o. They wanted to renew their vows in the presence of loved ones who were at their wedding 25 years ago, as well as to encourage us younger couples. The big surprise was on us 30+ couples. After the Holmes proclaimed their love for each other, they wanted all of us who were there with our spouses to do the same. Talking about on the spot PDA (public display of affection) in a Thai culture! It was a blessing!

Uncle Charlie and Auntie Lourdes hold a special place in our hearts. They were our match-makers. They are God's gift to us, to Filipinos, to the Thais, to Americans, to anyone they have encountered. Happy 25th Anniversary, Uncle and Auntie! We love you! -ddw

our attempt in trying to get serious

probably half of the married couples

in this picture were match made by the Holmes

Another Baptism!

2009-05-31T20:09:00.013+07:00

On May 4th through 7th we took six people with us to the annual family camp hosted by the Fellowship of Romphrakhun Baptist Churches. It was another time of spiritual refreshment and fellowship. On the last day, four from our church plant were baptized on Jomtien beach. It was our second baptism since we started this ministry six years ago. It was also an extra special time since one of the believers that was baptized was Bea, the very first one who got saved, who also happens to be our adopted son's biological sister. Their birth mother, Dtim was also baptized. She had been looking forward to this time and so showed her excitement by lifting her hands up in the air in jubilation as soon as she emerged from the water.

Ed teaching the English-speaking class at camp Prayer before getting into the water An ABWE missionary friend, Rick Caynor, assisted Ed

Summer Fun for Student Center Kids

2009-05-30T20:29:00.012+07:00

We planned for a week of music camp this year during the kids' summer break, but the kids' schools didn't end on the same week. There was only one week that we could do it but the "teachers" who were going to help in our camp were not available. It just didn't work out.

We didn't want to do an English Day Camp... again, for five years in a row. So we decided to do a "Summer Fun" on March 31st through April 3rd. Four days of a different activity for each day.

Day 1, we watched movies on the big screen (our Student Center wall) with matching popcorn and soda pop. I think some of the kids came just for the popcorn! Something cool happened... right when the kids were arriving, an elephant came by so the kids got a chance to feed it!
Day 2, we took 35 kids on a 50-minute train ride to the provincial city, Prachinburi, and ate lunch there. The ride going was nice. On our way back, we were sardines in a can!

Day 3, swim day! Most kids were in the water for three hours, taking breaks only to eat or get a drink! Everybody got a good tan that day.

Day 4, our last day, we took all 35 kids to a town a little over an hour away to go bowling. We ate lunch at a pizza place. Three kids never had pizza before! Most kids had never been bowling.

The week was a blast! The kids were good and well behaved. The teens helped us a lot in keeping eye on the smaller kids during our trips. Three adults with 35 kids must had been a sight for many. You should have seen the people's faces - priceless! The whole week was also a great time for us adults to bond with the students. The students were also able to bond with each other. Praise the Lord for fun and safety!

Diggin'

2009-05-29T16:01:00.006+07:00

I read this on facebook the other day: "Time flies like the wind. Fruit flies like bananas!" Funny!

Time flies like the wind, indeed. Seems like I updated this blog only a week ago, but it's been two and a half months! I need to do a better job keeping you all updated.

For the whole month of February, Ed and I spent digging our front yard. It's a long story. The gist... We've had problems with our driveway flooding because all our neighbors' front yards are higher than ours so when it rains all the water comes to our side. Ed and I (with co-worker Jenni helping out on the weekends), removed the top layer of the soil and made canals to let the water flow onto the street instead of on to our driveway/carport. When it was all done, we covered the whole thing with rocks to keep it neat and pretty. Talk about BACK BREAKING WORK! I have more appreciation for construction workers. Below are pictures of the finished product with an addition - a flower garden for me and a bench to sit on for quiet times and hang out times with my boys or anybody! -ddw

Boom and Jayjay "helping"

Jayjay trying out Daddy's ditch voila! a view of our house/student center from across the street

Catching Up - part 5

2009-03-10T11:32:00.004+07:00

Promise, this is going to be the last one for the "Catching Up" series. Wow! Were we behind or what!

The second half of our trip to the Philippines was spent in Kabankalan on the island of Negros were Darlene grew up. We attended her high school class 20th year reunion. They are a tightly knit group of "big kids;" and what a bunch of silly people! Most of them are Christians and many are in full-time ministry, including seven pastors and two missionaries (both in Thailand). Darlene had opportunities to encourage some friends who are not walking with the Lord.

While in Kabankalan City, Ed had two preaching opportunities in two churches. Darlene sang solos both of those times as well. We praise the Lord for using us during our vacation.

Fellowship Baptist College, High School Class 1989

some of them sang a special song at

Kabankalan Fellowship Baptist Church on Jan. 4th

Catching Up - part 4

2009-03-09T15:40:00.005+07:00

From Davao we took a five-hour bus ride to Malaybalay, Bukidnon where Darlene's parents are. Papa and Mama Taquiso enjoyed the noise the three boys made in their house for a couple of weeks. It was fun for Darlene to see many aunts, uncles, and cousins during our family get-together.

While there Ed preached one Sunday morning service at Papa's church, Faithway Baptist Church. Also, on Christmas eve, Darlene did a mini-concert of eight songs, while Jojo sang three songs. It was a joy for us to watch Jojo willingly play the piano and sing songs in front of a congregation.

Jojo playing a Christmas song during a Children's Christmas programmother and song music team already!
Christmas Eve mini-concert, Faithway Baptist Church

Catching Up - part 3

2009-03-09T15:12:00.006+07:00

In mid-December, our family flew to the Philippines to spend Christmas with Darlene's folks and attend her high school class reunion. It was our very first time to spend Christmas in the Philippines since we got married in 1997; also our first time back as a family since May 2003.

Our first stop was in the island of Mindanao. We spent three days in Davao with some friends who came to visit us in Kabinburi twice already. We were treated to Filipino feasts, a trip to the Garden of Eden, and an overnight stay at Paradise Island Resort. Ed jokingly said that he used to think the Garden of Eden was in the Middle East and Paradise was in heaven; they are both in Davao!

Paradise Island Resort

with friends at the Garden of Eden

Of course, it wasn't all play for us. Ed was able to share the true meaning of Christmas with Panabo Christian Academy high school students. Although it is a Chrisian school, the student body is a mixture of believers, Muslims, Catholics, and other religions. Ed also preached a Wednesday evening service at Panabo Faith Fundamental Baptist Church while Darlene ministered through singing.

Panabo Christian Academy Faith Fundamental Baptist Church, Panabo, Davao

Catching Up - part 2

2009-02-10T20:35:00.005+07:00

Not quite sure how many parts this "Catching Up" blog is going to be...

On December 5th, we hosted a two-church youth meeting. Several teens from Nakhon Nayok Baptist Church (an hour away) came to join our teens. We had a total of 20 young people. Four young men from Bangjak Baptist Church in Bangkok lead in the event. There was singing, a really silly skit, games, sharing of God's Word, and of course, eating. Most of the teens from Nakhon Nayok were non-believers and it was their first time to hear anything about God. Praise the Lord for seeds planted that evening!

singing time at the Youth meeting

game time

December 5th also happens to be King Bhumiphon's birthday and so it is Father's Day in Thailand. On Sunday, December 7th, we had our first Father's Day celebration in our church plant. Our friend, Rick Caynor, shared his testimony and about how God is our loving and caring heavenly Father. The kids and teens performed skits, several songs, and Bible verses in English, and sang a song of encouragement to four dads and other adults who came to the event. Three of those dads had never been to our church before. We were so delighted that they stayed for the lunch fellowship and chatted with us. We continue to plant seeds in this hard soil.

Rick Caynor preaching. Ed translating.

Kids giving gifts to their dads

Kids and Teens singing

Catching Up - part 1

2009-02-10T14:17:00.007+07:00

We feel like our lives have been nothing but running and flying in the past few months. The last blog post was on November 2nd, and this is the second week of February! Wow! We will try to get caught up with what has been going on in the Weber family. There's so much to tell but since a picture is worth a thousand words, we'll post several.

In November we celebrated our 11th year anniversary. Missionary friends of ours kept all three of our boys so we could go away for a couple days. One day was spent malling. We've almost forgotten how fun window shopping is without three little boys tagging along! Another day was spent touring the old capital of Thailand, Ayutthaya. We went to see the Bangpa-in Palace. It's so nice, and quiet, and beautiful there! We were also able to see the old ruins in the same city. We both agree that that was the most fun time we've ever had together. We praise the Lord for each other and the team we are for the ministry here.

Bangpa-in Palace

Ayutthaya ruins

We celebrated Thanksgiving day in Bangkok with fellow missionaries at the home of Ricky and Tammy Salmon. As any other thanksgiving feast, food was wonderful and oh... desserts were even better! Both the adults and the children enjoyed the fellowship - something we get to do only once or twice a year with this group of people. Before the meal, each one was given the opportunity to share what he/she was thankful to the Lord for in the past year. We all had so much to be thankful for. God is good and faithful!

Thanksgiving 2008 at the Salmon residence

The ladies at the thanksgiving gathering Baptist Mid-Missions ladies: (L-R) Darlene, Jenni Starkey, Hannah Scott, Maam Beckman

Spiritual Refreshment

2008-11-02T15:02:00.008+07:00

What a busy month we had in October! It seemed like all we did was wash clothes, pack the suit case, wash again, pack again! Ah... camp season!

During the week of October 21-24, we attended the annual Romphrakhun Baptist Pastors and Workers Retreat. Not much physical retreat as the schedule was full, but the messages from God's Word through Pastor Ashok Andrews from India were beyong refreshing! "A Radical Look at the Most Important Relationships in our Lives" was the theme. We thank the Lord for the reminders to refocus on the important things as we serve God in this idolatrous land and be a light to the people around us on a daily basis. We also enjoyed our time of fellowship with our Thai, Filipino, and American coworkers through informal chats and prayer times. We have known most of these people for more than ten years. Some people Darlene knew since she was just a kid growing up in the Philippines!

The whole group of attendees. Darlene with Pearl and Joy Inion singing a special music at the retreat.
Pastor Roberto Gequillana, the very first filipino (PABWE) missionary to Thailand, praying for the Thai Pastors and their spouses.

L.I.F.E. Camp and Teen Camp

2008-10-21T11:21:00.004+07:00

We spent the week of October 13-17 at two camps. Jenni Starkey and Darlene took the kids to LIFE Camp (Learning Intensive Free English). It is an evangelistic camp held every year by Romphrakhun Baptist Churches. This year, there were about 600 campers and about half of that number are non-believers. There were 97 professions of faith that week that we know of!

Ed took nine of our church teens to Teen Camp. All of our teens participated in different contests - group singing, solos, preaching, and playing a musical instrument. We rejoice greatly in the Lord for three girls from our church that came to know Christ as their Savior during this camp. Praise the Lord!!! One of them is Ed's cousin, Am. The very first one in his family that got saved. Another girl, BaiTong, has been coming to our Student Center for 3 years now and made some sort of profession before. This time... she really is sure! The third girl, May, started coming to our English classes when the Shenandoah Baptist Team 2008 came in June. She had been asking questions about Christianity for close to two months now.Thank you again for being part of the ministry in Kabinburi through your prayers. Please keep praying for the Christian growth of everyone here.

The Cows Really Do Come Home... In Thailand

2008-10-01T21:25:00.004+07:00

I was standing outside in front of our house. I noticed a couple of the cow herders heading towards the house. Two small cows went toward our storefront glass windows and stopped. The front door was open and before I knew it they headed in to the house. I called Darlene on the cell phone and said, "Honey, come downstairs quick and shoo the cows out of the house." The first thing she did was grab the camera and the proof is in the video. In Thailand the cows really do come home, at least IN TO our home. -EMW

A New Brother in Christ!

2008-09-29T01:29:00.012+07:00

Oh, wow! How do I start this post? This one is a month overdue. I'm warning you now... this is going to be a long one, so you may want to come back later if you don't have time now.

For many of you, readers, this is already old news. For others it's new news and it's great news!

In mid-August we took a trip up northeast of Thailand for a short R&R in a city about two hours from where we are. It was fun! We took our boys to a zoo. We also spent a total of 11 hours straight at a mall called "The Mall." That's mind boggling until you know that that mall has SO many restaurants, lots of little shops (and yes, most of them are cheap and bargainable, if there's such a word), a big food court, big arcade that's both for adults and kids, and a waterpark. Yes, you read that right, a water park in a mall!

But those were not the main highlights of our trip. We travelled eight more hours further north to attend a fellow missionaries' church building dedication. And since our second's son's biological family lives not far from there, we decided to pay them a visit and meet Boaz's biological grandparents for the very first time. It was a joy to watch them see Boaz for the very first time.

We invited the biological parents to attend the dedication service, and to our delight, Dtim (mother), Kreuk (father), and Bea (sister) came. During the service, we were praying that God would speak to the heart of Kreuk. Many of you know that Dtim and Bea got saved in 2005, and wow! What a story was Dtim's conversion alone!

After the lunch fellowship, Ed asked a couple Thai Pastors to come talk to Kreuk and see where he was spiritually. You see, we have been praying for the whole family since we first moved to Kabinburi in 2003. Shortly after Dtim became a Christian, Kreuk took down their idols in their house. When we asked him what he was doing, he said, "I don't think these have any benefit. I think believing in God will be better."

Three years to the date of him taking the idols down, Kreuk was sitting there with two Thai pastors and Ed, hearing God's plan of salvation being laid out in front of him. At the end, he didn't even hesitate. He was ready! We had been witnessing to him through our lives and through little bits of "good news" here and there. And folks, you have been praying with us. God has been working all along! And oh... it was Kreuk's birthday too. The best birthday gift he's ever received!

You know what the best part of this whole thing is? That day Kreuk got saved, Ed & Darlene Weber and Jenni Starkey were just watching God work and use others! TO GOD BE THE GLORY GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE!

What's it like to have water 24/7: Conclusion to our water situation story

2008-07-30T17:06:00.009+07:00

Promise, folks! This is going to be the last blog about our water story. We've gone from "OK, I can deal with this" to "this is just insane!" for more than a year that having water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week is a big deal for us. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. A team of fourteen from our home church in Virginia was coming and God worked out amazingly in the heart of "Uncle" next door. Sometimes as missionaries we are stretched beyond what we think we could do. Ed learned some simple plumbing early on in our ministry here. He worked on our 1,000-liter tank for a few days and finally got pipes hooked up to the water pump. Poor guy, first time we turned the water on, there were leaks in just about every connection. He finally got it done a few hours before we had to leave for Bangkok to pick up the team. Isn't God wonderful! Perfect timing! Imagine what we would have to do with so many people in our house and no running water!

A few have asked, "what's it like now that you have running water?"

1. We don't have to revolve our lives around 4:00PM to store water.

2. We don't have to use disposables almost every meal.

3. We don't have to yell at our children for using more than a scoop of water to wash their hands.

4. We don't have to pour water ourselves while washing dishes.

5. We don't have to do laundry at the laundromat (if we did laundry at home, there wouldn't be enough water to live for the day).

6. No more bucket showers!!!

7. Darlene's plants are not dying anymore, they're green and flowers are blooming!

8. Kids in our student center get to wash their hands after using the bathroom. Now, THAT's a big deal!

So, folks... every time you use water, please thank God for the convenience of having running water in your house! This experience made us appreciate what many people just take for granted!

The big question now is... what are we going to do with all these tubs we collected to store water in???

His Way Is Perfect: God's answer to our water situation

2008-06-14T22:56:00.008+07:00

If you haven't read the previous post about our water situation, you may want to scroll down a little bit ("Testimony is More Important Than Our Comfort") and read it first so you can understand and fully appreciate this blog post. Thanks!

It's funny sometimes how God allows us to pine and whine, and lets us realize on our own how bad our attitude is, and then answers our prayer. Well... the day after we wrote the previous blog, God answered our prayers. Long story short...

Our next door neighbors who had a special line piped straight into their house (... from the water tower. We'll spare you the details on how they got a special pipe) moved out on Sunday. Two weeks before they moved out they asked us if we were interested in getting their pipe but that we would have to ask "Uncle," the guy in charge of the water. So we prayed for "Uncle" and asked a few more people to pray as he is known to be a difficult person. The day we were going to talk to him, Darlene, went over to talk to Uncle's wife to ask for our water bill (they forgot to give us our bill - God's working!). While "Auntie" was complaining to Darlene about complaining neighbors, "Uncle" came out and asked if we were interested in getting the neighbor's pipe but that we would have to ask them. Darlene could barely contain her excitement! If you know Darlene well, that's pretty hard for her to do. We didn't even have to ask him!!!

So... thank you all for your prayers. WE HAVE WATER! It's still not 24 hours but it's from 6AM-6PM, instead of just 2 hours in the afternoon. Today we bought a thousand-liter tank and a pump so we can have water 24 hours! God is good!

God's ways are higher than our ways. We asked for city water but God didn't answer that. Instead, He gave us a better relationship with "Uncle & Auntie." They have been more kind and nicer to us since we gave them Darlene's Filipino spring rolls, sometimes other foods too. When we first moved in to this building five years ago, it was nothing more than a hi and a hello with them. Now, we can talk about their teenage children, about their health and about their day to day life. Maybe someday, they'll be open enough to allow us to share Christ's love with them not just in actions but in words from God's Word. Aren't we serving a GREAT GOD!

Testimony is more important than our comfort: Our Water Situation Story

2008-06-07T23:47:00.005+07:00

Many of you have been asking about our water situation. It hasn’t gotten any better… yet. We would like to take this time to help you better understand how we came to this status with our water.

When we first moved into our building, our neighbor, a young Chinese man, was in charge of the water. We do not have public water but a well that is shared. The person in charge of the water makes sure that the water is pumped up into a tall water tank which maintains good water pressure. When that man was in charge of the water, we had water 24 hours a day with constant pressure.

He had to move so another neighbor, an older man volunteered to take charge of the water. Granted, the person in charge does get a small salary for doing so. But this man raised the price of water immediately and regulates that water.

When they constructed the new road in front of our house, this man had city water piped to his building from across the street. The city water official told him that if everyone wanted city water on our side of the street he should notify us and let us know so he would bring a main line across. He told no one. Now, he has public water and everyone else is at his mercy. We pay more for our God-given rain water than others pay for city water and he only turns the water on at 4pm for about an hour. Neighbors have complained to him not only about minimal water, (some days he leaves the house or leaves town and forgets to turn the water on) but also about the high price of water that we only get an hour a day. People who have public water pay less for water 24 hours a day than we pay for rain water one hour a day. He doesn’t understand why people are complaining. There are businesses on our side of the street that depend on water, i.e. a beauty shop and a restaurant. So, you can see the frustration our neighborhood is dealing with.

The Thai government has been notified about our water need and said they will get city water to us… someday. Please pray that the Thai government would get moving soon.

Some of you have asked, “How do you survive?” Well, for one, we thank God for the water we do have. We have four 30-gallon tubs that we keep full when the water comes on at 4 pm. Our whole lives revolve around 4 pm pretty much. If we are not home that day, we aren’t able to fill up our water tubs and our water filter. Hopefully, we haven’t run out of drinking water by then. We can always purchase bottled water if we have to. Since we got back from furlough in April 2007, we have scooper showers and pouring “faucet” for washing dishes. It was hard for the first several months not to complain to the guy in charge of the water, but we learned that our testimony is more important than our comfort. We have learned to adjust. We manage. God is good.

How many can you fit in an 11-passenger van?

2008-06-02T00:53:00.010+07:00

For the past few months our numbers were down. Many of the kids in our student center were gone for their summer break. Now schools are back in session, and so are kids in our center. The past two weeks brought a lot more kids. Some are old, some are new. We had about 40 kids today. We praise the Lord! So... how many can you fit in an 11-passenger van? Well... one time, we were able to fit 17 Filipinos (mostly adults). Ed was able to fit between 22 and 25 kids before.

The number of kids in Jenni's route has increased so she and Ed traded vehicles on the weekends. See if you can count the number of kids in this picture. That's how many kids she had in the van today! I won't be surprised if there will be more kids next week. "Oy!" As Thais would say.

Going Bananas!

2008-05-30T22:51:00.006+07:00

Ed was on the road every single day this week. Monday, he took our family to Prachinburi city (45 minutes away) for our big grocery shopping day. Tuesday night he travelled to Bangkok to meet the Beckmans who were arriving from their one-year furlough in the States. Wednesday, he travelled back to Kabinburi. Thursday, he was up very early in the morning to take a friend for her visa run at the Cambodian border. Friday, he was up at 5:30 AM going back to Bangkok again to accompany our co-worker, Jenni Starkey, to her meeting with her visa/work permit lawyer. And tomorrow is Saturday, he'll be on the road again to pick up kids who attend our English classes on Saturdays and Sundays. He is tired but he is more than willing to serve others. I'd go bananas if I were him.

Anyway... here's a photo of a truck full of bananas stuck in Bangkok traffic. I wonder if the truck driver is going bananas?!

I'm not cooking tonight!

2008-05-28T22:55:00.008+07:00

It had been an unusually rainy May in Thailand. Down pour after down pour. Rivers are rising and rice fields are soaked in water. We normally don't get this much rain until after June begins. But this week, hardly any rain. Today was VERY hot and humid! I would guess, it was probably 97 degrees. I was just sweating all day long. Sometimes we measure hot and humidity by how many showers we take a day or how long we stayed in our air-conditioned bedroom. Ed took a total of four showers.

Jenni Starkey and Lesa Morgan were coming over for dinner. I had chicken thawed out but at 5:30 PM I changed my mind. I said, "I ain't cooking dinner tonight! It's just too hot to stand in front of the stove." So, I asked Ed to go and order pad thai at the market - the best tasting in town, we think! Boy, was it yummmmy! We all ate and were filled. And I didn't have to cook dinner! -ddw

Trying this out

2008-05-28T00:03:00.010+07:00

Sawatdii, world wide web! I am trying this blog thing to see if it would work out for us. Our website has not been working for about a week now. Yes, everyone can still view it... no problem, but it's not letting me make ANY changes at all. I could just easily leave it and forget about it but we're paying for a domain name and a month ago we paid to keep the domain name for another two years. So, we'll see.
For the mean time... here's a photo I took moments before I signed up for this blog account. Jayjay fell asleep on the couch and Jojo is giving him a kiss. What a joy it is to watch an older sibling show love and gentleness to the younger one!