We have a lot of fun studying with the students from China.
11.12.08
"What Do You Guys Really Need?"
Everybody is always asking about our real needs. "What do you guys really need?" It is such a kind question that we get asked all the time. Usually I have very few good answers for this question probably because God is so kind to us. Hmm, mainly we need prayers. Yes always prayers! A nice package with marshmallows or tortillas and salsa? Nice, but I guess not really a need. What else? It is kinda hard to say. We live in a place where lunch costs about fifty cents and many of our Thai friends live on wages of about $15 a day. We have so much really.
There are needs though. Real needs that we pray for all the time and needs that we come before the Father asking for His providential grace. I am saying this because I have a request, and I don't want to just throw it out without emphasizing that this is a legitimate need for our family at this time.
We need help? Some of you are saying, "Yeah, I have always known Brent needs help big time." That is not what I am talking about. How do we need help? Let me tell you about our kids' school.
You would love the kids' school. Ben and Kate really feel blessed to be a part of the Family Learning Center. Here they spend their days learning alongside kids from Thailand, Taiwan, Holland, Malaysia, Switzerland. Oh yeah, and America. This creates unlimited learning opportunities and quite a diverse learning environment. Think learning math or science while the kid next to you is talking out loud to herself in Chinese, then she tells you something in Thai. Hmmmm.
Julie also teaches at the FLC daily. In truth, she does this in order to be a part of providing a strong education for our own kids, yet she reaps great rewards in the process. Like what? Julie's efforts as a teacher and coordinator for programs at the elementary means that she is a critical part of ministries to orphans; a ministry to young women at-risk; a ministry to people with AIDS; a ministry to those in prison; a ministry to addicts; ministries to hill tribe people groups; and ministries reaching out with the Good news of Christ to Thailand, Burma, Laos and China. How does Julie do all this (she is amazing I will agree)? By teaching at the Family Learning Center, Julie is a part of helping provide a great education for the kids of parents who work in all these ministries located in this northern region of Thailand.
The cool thing is that you and/or friends you know could be a part of this too. Right now our school really needs more teachers for elementary, middle, and high school. Isn't it cool that you don't have to take the years to become fluent in the Thai language, and yet you could immediately come and be an asset to all of these ministries and all these kids. Yes, I am challenging you to consider coming to teach!
I realize most of you can't do this! You have callings that God has designated for you. Really I am asking something different from you. Could you ask, "Do I know someone who could teach at the Family Learning Center for a one or two year commitment?" Or could you go one step further and make a commitment to recruit someone to come to FLC and teach. Think about it, if a tenth of you who read this blog committed to recruit until you got us a teacher, we would be set for years.
Right now we have older volunteers who are retired school teachers along with young volunteers who have come before they start down their career path. Really, we love having passionate qualified teachers of any age. Please go to the FLC website and check out the school and the opportunities at the school: http://www.flcschool.com/ Also, be sure to check out the videos. You might recognize someone you know!
One more thing. The school is transitioning from the Family Learning Center and becoming the Chiang Rai International Christian School. This is an exciting time because this transition is helping us grow and provide higher quality education for our students of missionaries as well as students from the Thai community. The transition to becoming an international school must follow the process laid out by the Thai Government Department of Education. Believe me, there are many steps in this process. One of the first critical steps is to purchase land and build a permanent place for the school. As a small school, FLC has been able to meet the needs of the students through renting properties. For example, we are presently renting a small motel which basically meets the needs for the school, but it is tight.
The really good news is that we are right in the middle of finding a location of our own for the school. Recently, affordable land has been located and the process of raising funds for the Chaing Rai International Christian School Project is underway. This project will require input and sponsorship by people and organizations who want to see a great school for these missionary, international, and Thai kids. We who are a critical part of building the school will be looking for people interested in helping fund this project.
Please pray that we will have the teachers and the resources for this project, and please consider being a part.
We love all of you who love us so well!
Peace of Jesus,
Brent and Julie
There are needs though. Real needs that we pray for all the time and needs that we come before the Father asking for His providential grace. I am saying this because I have a request, and I don't want to just throw it out without emphasizing that this is a legitimate need for our family at this time.
We need help? Some of you are saying, "Yeah, I have always known Brent needs help big time." That is not what I am talking about. How do we need help? Let me tell you about our kids' school.
You would love the kids' school. Ben and Kate really feel blessed to be a part of the Family Learning Center. Here they spend their days learning alongside kids from Thailand, Taiwan, Holland, Malaysia, Switzerland. Oh yeah, and America. This creates unlimited learning opportunities and quite a diverse learning environment. Think learning math or science while the kid next to you is talking out loud to herself in Chinese, then she tells you something in Thai. Hmmmm.
Julie also teaches at the FLC daily. In truth, she does this in order to be a part of providing a strong education for our own kids, yet she reaps great rewards in the process. Like what? Julie's efforts as a teacher and coordinator for programs at the elementary means that she is a critical part of ministries to orphans; a ministry to young women at-risk; a ministry to people with AIDS; a ministry to those in prison; a ministry to addicts; ministries to hill tribe people groups; and ministries reaching out with the Good news of Christ to Thailand, Burma, Laos and China. How does Julie do all this (she is amazing I will agree)? By teaching at the Family Learning Center, Julie is a part of helping provide a great education for the kids of parents who work in all these ministries located in this northern region of Thailand.
The cool thing is that you and/or friends you know could be a part of this too. Right now our school really needs more teachers for elementary, middle, and high school. Isn't it cool that you don't have to take the years to become fluent in the Thai language, and yet you could immediately come and be an asset to all of these ministries and all these kids. Yes, I am challenging you to consider coming to teach!
I realize most of you can't do this! You have callings that God has designated for you. Really I am asking something different from you. Could you ask, "Do I know someone who could teach at the Family Learning Center for a one or two year commitment?" Or could you go one step further and make a commitment to recruit someone to come to FLC and teach. Think about it, if a tenth of you who read this blog committed to recruit until you got us a teacher, we would be set for years.
Right now we have older volunteers who are retired school teachers along with young volunteers who have come before they start down their career path. Really, we love having passionate qualified teachers of any age. Please go to the FLC website and check out the school and the opportunities at the school: http://www.flcschool.com/ Also, be sure to check out the videos. You might recognize someone you know!
One more thing. The school is transitioning from the Family Learning Center and becoming the Chiang Rai International Christian School. This is an exciting time because this transition is helping us grow and provide higher quality education for our students of missionaries as well as students from the Thai community. The transition to becoming an international school must follow the process laid out by the Thai Government Department of Education. Believe me, there are many steps in this process. One of the first critical steps is to purchase land and build a permanent place for the school. As a small school, FLC has been able to meet the needs of the students through renting properties. For example, we are presently renting a small motel which basically meets the needs for the school, but it is tight.
The really good news is that we are right in the middle of finding a location of our own for the school. Recently, affordable land has been located and the process of raising funds for the Chaing Rai International Christian School Project is underway. This project will require input and sponsorship by people and organizations who want to see a great school for these missionary, international, and Thai kids. We who are a critical part of building the school will be looking for people interested in helping fund this project.
Please pray that we will have the teachers and the resources for this project, and please consider being a part.
We love all of you who love us so well!
Peace of Jesus,
Brent and Julie
18.11.08
Welcome to My Classroom
You'd love my class of Chinese students. Right now there is about 12 of 'em. They are students from the Yunnan province in Southern China. These students study here in an exchange program, some studying Thai some studying English. All of them have English names that some English teacher has given them along the way. Names like Sabrina (sounds kinda Russian to me) and Eva and Lane. I do try to learn their Chinese names. This leaves me humbled under the weight of Long Qi Ping. When Q, X and Z are some of the letters most often used to transliterate a names into English, we have suddenly gone to a whole new level. They forgive my bumbling tongue, and we go on.
Last week we studied Romeo and Juliet. Okay, it is a dumbed down version so that we all can follow along a little easier. First we read the drama, thanks to Oxford's English learner books. I take the major part of Romeo because they need to hear my accent and because the persona of Romeo fits me so well (as I am sure you have already discerned). They take the minor parts, oh and the most vocal girl usually takes the part of Juliet. This reading of the play provides me with an outlet I need for my untapped dramatic abilities. The students generally catch on to the spirit of the drama about half way through. Thus, we usually end up with a roaring fight between Tybalt and Romeo and a sobering death scene as Juliet plunges the knife into her belly. All the while we are pickin' up techniques of English usage and English vocabulary.
The lesson ends with my explanation of the story. I love this part. We discuss how the great dilemma of the story is the family feuding which keeps our lovers from each other. Unfortunately it takes the death of the young lovers to bring peace between the families. I don't know if Shakespeare would agree with my conclusions, but I make it quite clear to these students that this death of our lovers reveals how peace follows the death of the "innocent." At this point the conversation flows into a discussion about a family or, if you will, a people at odds with their maker. As I explain the story of Jesus, the students recognize that the death of this innocent one, Jesus brings peace to our conflict with God.
I am amazed at how our human stories so often point to "The Story." Even a sappy love story like Romeo and Juliet provides fodder for a blazing discussion about the necessity of the death of Christ for the sins of humanity. With these students I have seen Jesus' uncanny ability to reveal the truth of His story. Our discussions become quite interesting as the Holy Spirit is present and convicting hearts of the truth in the story of Jesus. I'd love for you to be there with me and see the looks on their faces. Hearts penetrated by the beautiful story of Christ's death. Jaws set. Eyes wide. It can get rather intense. This group has yet to make a commitment to His story, but the Holy Spirit sees to it that the seed is planted deep. Intense? yes, and this is absolutely the nature of Christ's story! Only two options are available to any of us..."Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."
Next up, Hamlet. Ohhhh, we are all in trouble! Truly, there is something "rotten in Denmark." Pray that God will have us "Broken to Pieces."
Last week we studied Romeo and Juliet. Okay, it is a dumbed down version so that we all can follow along a little easier. First we read the drama, thanks to Oxford's English learner books. I take the major part of Romeo because they need to hear my accent and because the persona of Romeo fits me so well (as I am sure you have already discerned). They take the minor parts, oh and the most vocal girl usually takes the part of Juliet. This reading of the play provides me with an outlet I need for my untapped dramatic abilities. The students generally catch on to the spirit of the drama about half way through. Thus, we usually end up with a roaring fight between Tybalt and Romeo and a sobering death scene as Juliet plunges the knife into her belly. All the while we are pickin' up techniques of English usage and English vocabulary.
The lesson ends with my explanation of the story. I love this part. We discuss how the great dilemma of the story is the family feuding which keeps our lovers from each other. Unfortunately it takes the death of the young lovers to bring peace between the families. I don't know if Shakespeare would agree with my conclusions, but I make it quite clear to these students that this death of our lovers reveals how peace follows the death of the "innocent." At this point the conversation flows into a discussion about a family or, if you will, a people at odds with their maker. As I explain the story of Jesus, the students recognize that the death of this innocent one, Jesus brings peace to our conflict with God.
I am amazed at how our human stories so often point to "The Story." Even a sappy love story like Romeo and Juliet provides fodder for a blazing discussion about the necessity of the death of Christ for the sins of humanity. With these students I have seen Jesus' uncanny ability to reveal the truth of His story. Our discussions become quite interesting as the Holy Spirit is present and convicting hearts of the truth in the story of Jesus. I'd love for you to be there with me and see the looks on their faces. Hearts penetrated by the beautiful story of Christ's death. Jaws set. Eyes wide. It can get rather intense. This group has yet to make a commitment to His story, but the Holy Spirit sees to it that the seed is planted deep. Intense? yes, and this is absolutely the nature of Christ's story! Only two options are available to any of us..."Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."
Next up, Hamlet. Ohhhh, we are all in trouble! Truly, there is something "rotten in Denmark." Pray that God will have us "Broken to Pieces."
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