Four Years in Thailand

The other day I began thinking through all the accomplishments of the past four years. It's been an amazing time in Thailand and we've been so blessed that God brought our family to this part of the world. In response, we've been able to bless many as well.

Here's a list of some of our work during the past four years:

Medical:
• Medical care for villagers without access to a doctor
• Hospital visits with those infected with HIV virus
• Home medical visits with those infected with HIV/AIDS including those dying.
• Visits with the sick to bring needed food supplies
• Tended to physical wounds of many local missionaries from various accidents.
• Spent nights in the hospital with missionaries needed medical care.
• Provided nursing care in our home to a missionary for 5 weeks while she was recovering from a major motorcycle accident.

Church:
• Helped build a church in a remote Akha hilltribe village
• Helped a local Karen hilltribe church by bringing teams to provide supplies and labor to build a needed classroom building.
• Early and active members of Baan Athitaan Baptist Church which has developed into one of the fastest growing churches in Chiang Rai.
• Facilitated an 18 month partnership between The Family Learning Center and Baan Athitaan church.
• Helped Baan Athitaan renovate their current facilities through the FLC partnership.
• Preached sermons at various churches to spread Christ's message.
• Encouraged pastors in the leadership of the church.
• Started and led a men's group for local missionaries.
• Started and led a Beth Moore bible study group for women.

FLC - School for missionary children
• Established the accounting system
• Established the first full year budget
• Established a billing system
• Helped with the hiring of long-term Thai staff members
• Oversaw the volunteer program development including application process and handbook.
• Helped establish a volunteer house for the volunteer staff to live in.
• Developed the Parent Handbook and Directory.
• Oversaw the development of the student application process.
• Established the school website and email system
• Helped raise the staff salaries to rates comparable to other schools in the area
• Led the development of policies and procedures for long term growth and continuity
• Oversaw the development of the Christian Education Foundation of Thailand to provide visa support and school ownership.
• A founding member of the Christian Education Foundation of Thailand.
• Oversaw the development of work visa procedures, so that local missionaries can be covered long-term for their work in Thailand.
• Developed the process for non-immigrant visas through the foundation.
• Developed and maintained a relationship between the school and a Thai Consulate in the USA for our visa requests.
• Facilitated the development of the Chiang Rai Christian International School board to support the establishment of an international school in Chiang Rai.
• Researched other international schools in Thailand to find areas of strengths and weakness to avoid obstacles for Chiang Rai International Christian School.
• Facilitated a partnership with Baan Athitaan church that gave the FLC a wonderful facility to use and helped the church with renovation.
• Facilitated discussion and vision casting for international school.
• Brought 100’s of books into the library and developed a relationship with St. Mary’s Episcopal church in USA to supply books.
• Principal of the Family Learning Center for one year.
• Director of Development for Family Learning Center for two years.
• On leadership team at FLC while a number of Thai children became Christians.

Tsunami Relief:
• Helped organize the relief effort from FLC
• Collected and distributed relief funds from various USA organizations
• Worked in a devastated village to help rebuild homes
• Helped get a water pump operational for a village.
• Helped in the collection and distribution of funds to provide bedding, kitchen supplies, and fans for village families
• Worked with another organization to help them begin selling crafts on ebay to help affected families
• Created a award winning website for the consolidation of information for families seeking news of their loved ones
• Helped several individuals connect with hospitals and missing persons services and provided basic translation.

Youth With A Mission:
• Organized the 2006 YWAM Northern Regional conference
• Founding member of the YWAM Chiang Rai Base Leadership Team
• Helped transition the FLC from YWAM to covering under the Christian Education Foundation of Thailand
• Set up the ywamthailand.org domain with email accounts for exploratory use.

Teams:
• Hosted a team from Simpsonville First Baptist Church (SFBC) which built two cabins for mothers and children with HIV/AIDS
• Hosted a team from SFBC which painted the lower floor of Baan Athitaan Church / FLC School project
• Hosted a team from SFBC which gave funds and labor to build a classroom building for the Karen hilltribe church in Pongprabaht.
• Worked with SFBC teams to provide children’s Bible programs at Karen hilltribe church and CPS dormitory and Baan Athitaan Church.
• Hosted a team from YWAM Montana which helped in construction at the hilltribe church and maintenance at YWAM Chiang Rai.
• Hosted a team from YWAM Montana which did maintenance at Baan Athitaan Church.
• Hosted a team from YWAM Honolulu which built a fence at the YWAM Chiang Rai base
• Hosted a team from YWAM Newcastle which painted the fence surrounding Baan Athitaan Church
• Hosted the Cannon’s who taught at FLC.
• Hosted Carol Kay who has helped develop the FLC library book collection.
• Built bridges between SFBC, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, and St. Dunstans Episcopal Church and various Chiang Rai Ministries.
• Hosted a team from an international school in Melbourne which prepared a facility in Mai Sae for ministry.
• Hosted several Montreat College students for ministry work at FLC and CPS Dormitory.

Technical:
• Helped establish internet service at several Chiang Rai ministries.
• Established websites and email service for several Chiang Rai ministries.
• Rebuilt and repaired computers for ministries and missionaries.
• Provided wireless internet service for FLC volunteers and other missionaries
• Taught classes to missionaries on using internet technologies to promote their ministry work.
• Taught classes on computer security.
• Established computer network with server at FLC
• Established data bank of documents and resources at FLC

Hospitality:
• Hosted many missionaries in our home for various periods of time.
• Took FLC volunteers under our wing for meals and encouragement
• Hosted many dinners for missionaries to encourage.
• Cooked breakfasts for various DTS teams and volunteer groups.
• Cooked special meals for 80 the Family Learning Center
• Had single missionaries and couples over for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals.
• Cooked a lunch for 40 at the YWAM Chiang Rai base.
• Cooked a wedding rehearsal dinner for 50.
• Helped new mission families find homes and get settled in.
• Created a checklist of the steps needed to get drivers license and buy vehicles in Thailand for new families.

Community:
• Organized a triathlon in Chiang Rai to promote fitness
• Encouraged many in the community to lose weight and focus on health.
• Developed and ran a community website for news and information.
• Helped encourage and promote new businesses in Chiang Rai.
• Found part-time and full-time employment for many villagers from the Karen Hilltribe.
• Built bridges between the missions and expat communities.
• Helped a family from Taiwan whose father worked in Thailand reunite and begin studies at FLC (the children and Mom have become Christians!)

Family and Personal:
• William’s lost 116 lbs and Cindy’s lost 34 lbs by being focused on gaining health.
• Followed God’s call in coming to Thailand.
• Persevered through difficulties to complete God’s call.
• Spent incredible time with the family building closer relationships and tighter bonds.
• Refocused our lives on serving others rather than self.
• Learned that its not all about efficiency but about relationship and loving others.
• Gained strength in standing for what is right and God’s best in situations.
• Learned how precious health is and that God is gracious in helping us through our challenges.
• Learned how much God loves and cares for us individually.
• Gained a clearer understanding and appreciation of our gifts and skills.
• Special times with Cindy’s parents and relatives in visits to Thailand.

While this is an incredible list, it’s incomplete. I’ve realized while writing this list that God has blessed us with tremendous accomplishments during our time here. What an amazing feeling to be able to reflect on the past four years and see so much fruit from our work in Thailand. We appreciate the opportunities we’ve had to serve God in Thailand and look forward to the opportunities He gives us to minister in the USA. We look forward to being with family and friends in the states again and thank God in advance for bringing us home safely and providing for our needs.

The Family Learning Center

WANTED: Individuals interested in a grand adventure and serving Christ in Northern Thailand. K-12 school is looking for teachers in all grade levels to teach in various subjects.

The Family Learning Center was formed to “serve the servant” in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Our school was established to support the many ministries and outreaches in the North of Thailand, by serving the children of those called here to serve. We began as a ministry formed under YWAM (Youth With A Mission), and have recently moved under the Christian Education Foundation of Thailand (CEFT).

We are a K-12th grade school, and instruction is English-based. We have students from around the world including America, Australia, Thailand, Holland, Taiwan. Our teachers come from around the globe as well!

In order to “serve the servant” well, we are looking for others with mission to “serve the servant” though education. Would you consider volunteering to serve in Chiang Rai? We are looking for people to help in several areas, including teachers (all levels and subjects) and administrative staff. Whether you want to come for a semester, a year, or long-term, the Family Learning Center has a place for you to serve!

Please e-mail me at william@thaihaynes.com to start talking about the possibilities!

Pongprabaht Church Update #2

We are SO thrilled to see the progress at the Pongprabaht Karin Church. We have a DTS team from YWAM Montana working there this week, so we'll post more photos at the end of the week.

When we arrived this morning, it was wonderful to see that bright blue roof already installed! Walls are going up on the downstairs rooms and the flooring is complete on the second story. The villagers were excited to show me the progress that had been made. Here's a slideshow of photos we have taken this week:



The old building was wooden and the Simpsonville team used planks from that building to help create the forms for the concrete on the new building. The team this week will be helping renovate the old building into an open air "sala", or roofed seating area.

The church leaders asked me to preach and I did the sermon on following God's vision. I'm excited for the YWAM Team getting to spend time working with this church. The team is sleeping out in the village and they've been assigned to houses of villagers in the church. Tonight is their first evening in the village, so it will be fun to hear the stories.

Pongprabaht Church Progress

Cindy and I rode out to the Pongprabaht Church today to see the progress that's been made on the church building. Simpsonville First Baptist Church came and helped with the initial construction. In the last month, the second floor supports, flooring, and the roof supports have been added. Some of the walls downstairs have been done as well. I'm thinking within the next couple of months, the building will be ready to use!

Vacation Bible School

We had a VBS yesterday in a nearby Karin Hilltribe Village. It went great and there were about 40 kids there. Andy Clark, from Simpsonville First Baptist Church, did a great job presenting the plan of salvation using the evangicube and about 10 children accepted Christ as their savior!

Here's a slideshow:

Or you can click here for the web album of pictures.

The crafts were very popular and each children was thrilled with the gifts that they got to take home. We will see frisbees and yoyo's for years in that Karin Hilltribe village.

Simpsonville First Baptist Outreach 2008

Here's a slideshow of some pictures from the team's time here in Chiang Rai. They have been such a blessing to many, particularly the members of Phomprabaht Church where they have been working.

I thought I'd share a slideshow of their time here so far.



Or you can click here for the webalbum.

Simpsonville First Baptist Church Team

The Simpsonville First Baptist Church team has arrived and is hard at work helping a local Karin Church build a new building for Sunday School and outreach. We're thrilled to have them here with us and the building is coming along quickly.

Introduction to Primary Health Care School

Cindy will be developing a IPHC school with the base staff here in Chiang Rai. In February of 2009, YWAM Montana will run this school in Chiang Rai. Cindy will be taking the course then. Cindy will then need to staff the school the following year before she can help start the school in Chiang Rai during 2011.

Yes, that means we're planning to be here for quite awhile longer! Here's some background information on the course taken from the YWAM Montana website:

This school is an entry-level course designed to help those with or without prior knowledge of health care. You can have an impact on nations, communities, and individuals by learning to be equipped as primary health care workers. Students benefit from the expert instruction of practicing professionals including physicians, nurses, physician assistants, dental hygienists, social workers, and health educators.

Lecture Phase :

The three (3) month lecture phase includes:

• Fundamentals of anatomy and physiology
• Basic knowledge and function of the human body helping students to understand the disease process.
• Strategies in primary health care
• Topics include immunization, the most common diseases in developing nations, malnutrition, dehydration in children, and assessment and care of sick children. (Millions of children die each year from diarrhea and dehydration.)

Practical clinical skills:

• Basic physical assessment
• wound care
• bandaging
• sterile technique
• medication administration
• vital signs
• emergency childbirth
• first aid and managing medical emergencies.

Cindy's excited about the possibilities to impact the remote areas of Northern Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia. William is working with the Chiang Rai base where the course will be held. They're quite excited about working together in this important mission.

The YWAM Chiang Rai Base

Last October, I was asked to be part of a leadership team for developing a YWAM Chiang Rai Base and accepted. Over the past months, we've worked together to develop a mission, vision, and the values for this missions base.

We have been blessed by having Ron Brewster working with us in Chiang Rai. Ron is the director of the YWAM base in Lakeside, Montana and has come alongside our Chiang Rai base to help us establish long-term leadership structure and systems needed to accomplish our mission.

We are currently in the midst of our third consecutive yearly DTS with sixteen students on campus. Rob and Cy Wiebe have joined our staff, coming to us from YWAM Chile where they helped run the School of Biblical Studies (SBS). They plan to begin the first Chiang Rai SBS in the summer of 2009 and are working hard on their language studies.

Eight Thai Christians are currently attending the Discipleship Training School and we are excited to be helping train the local Christians. Our vision is to partner with these local Christians to reach the unreached of Southeast Asia. As part of our goal of reaching the unreached, the base is coordinating a worldwide YWAM Frontier Missions conference which will be held in April 2008. Attendees from around the world and representing many nations will be coming to Chiang Rai to receive encouragement and teaching to assist them in “going to the ends of the earth” and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.

There are talks underway regarding additional schools which we believe would be a natural fit for YWAM Chiang Rai. The first of these is The School of Frontier Missions (SOFM) and the second is Introduction to Primary Health Care (IPHC). Please be in prayer with us as we consider the many opportunities we have to serve this area of Southeast Asia.

We’re also opening a snack bar in the administration building to serve students, staff, and the Christian community of Chiang Rai. During the six months that DTS is in session, we often have wonderful speakers on location and Wednesday night has been reserved as an evening of open invitation to the local Christian community to be encouraged in their missions work. We’re excited about the opportunity for extending the relationships between the Base and local Missions community.

Two of the base staff, Jesse and Uab Ford head up a discipleship ministry and smoothie shop across from the Mai Fae Luang University. How amazing to see university students seeking answers to life’s questions and finding the answer in Christ. We are honored to work with this ministry as an integral component of the base outreach. Please keep this ministry in your prayers.

Weekend Retreat

Our family had the treat this weekend of visiting Huai Khum Resort, which is owned by a family whose children attend the FLC. We had a wonderful and active weekend of swimming, walks, and some great time with our friends Charley and Grace. At 7:20 am this morning, the local Lahu hilltribe church began ringing the gong to announce the church service. It was beautiful to hear the worship in the Lahu language.

Chiang Rai YWAM Base

I have been on the leadership team of the Chiang Rai YWAM Base since last October. It's been funny, as I used to come home pleased with how meetings went but hestitant to believe that everything would work out.

Over the past month, a lot more clarity has developed about the direction of the base, upcoming projects, and my work there. The hesitancy is disappearing quickly. Yesterday, we had a meeting with Cindy about the possibility of starting a IPHC (Introduction to Primary HealthCare) school at the base. Cindy and Ute Ylauan would co-lead the school.

I'm really getting excited! We're all pulling the same direction and there are some incredible things that will happen with this base! Please keep us and this process in your prayers.

Saturday morning

Well, it's Saturday morning here in Chiang Rai... The fireworks have been going off since 5:30 am this morning. Fireworks? Yes, fireworks! Apparently, it's the lunar new year and the Buddhist temple up the road is doing amplified chants and fireworks at 5:30 am to celebrate the day!

I'm thinking the fireworks are really marking Paul's first 1/2 marathon and Tim's race today as well. Congrats guys! I look forward to the race reports.

In your honor, I plan to do a special workout today. I'll post about it later!

Finding our way

It's been a really interesting time of learning a lot and "finding our way". God's been teaching a lot of lessons to me about who I am and how He made me. I'm trying to figure out how to use that within the context of being a missionary. It seems a lot of gifts can have a downside too, just depending on the context. For example, you may be a strong leader but then be insensitive to people's feelings as you accomplish a lot for His Kingdom. The challenge is balance, which has never been my strong suit.

Sometimes when I speak or write this stuff, I wonder if it makes any sense to others. Anyway, I'm enjoying the blogging processing and getting it out of my mind and onto digital paper...

The Balance

With our focus on fitness, I've been giving a lot of thought to the "balance" between the physical, mental, and spiritual. I think it's interesting that as my body is getting fit, I'm wanting to spend more time with God and worship Him more.

I also wonder what the categories are that we should keep balanced. Are they physical, mental, and spiritual, or are there others? Perhaps financial, or does that fit under mental (or physical)?

I am finding that as my body gets stronger, my mind is more alert, my prayer time for productive and I'm generally happier and less stressed. Perhaps more able to flow a bit more with life rather than trying to force it.