Moving Back to Malaysia

We have decided to move back to Malaysia. It's a difficult decision but most practical and realistic.


That might probably be the next few weeks. So, I will not be able to update my blog as often as I would like. I have many things to do... sorting, packing, farewells, etc.


I will try to blog short post just to update you on my move and other stuffs.


The exact date to return to Malaysia is not confirmed because there are some things to sort out first and not exactly in a hurry, anyway.


To know the reason why we are returning to Malaysia click here and here.

Day 9 - More Sunrise at Doi Inthanon

The best place to watch the sunrise would be at Kew Mae Pan Trail but unfortunately we went to the Doi Inthanon summit instead ...

Day 9 - Sunrise at Doi Inthanon

We woke up 5.30am for the following photos.... at the peak of Doi Inthanon.

Blessed Chinese New Year 2009

Blessed Chinese New Year to

My family

&

Friends,


All Chinese Fellow Bloggers


and


all my Readers

Day 8 - Doi Inthanon

To read Day 1 - Onward to Tak, Thailand,
Day 2 - On The Road Again .... Chiang Mai
Day 3: Palong Village
Day 4: Still in Palong Village
Day 5 - To the Next Village... Lahu at Phrao
Day 6: At Lahu Village, Phrao
Day 7: Gift Exchange, Turkey & Sweaters


The journey going up to Doi Inthanon, from Chiang Mai took about 2-3 hours with pee stops, photo stops and lunch. It was cold even during the day time. I can just imagine what it would be during the night time *shivers*


The road is not too narrow, so the driving up was enjoyable with beautiful mountain scenery here and there. The weather was beautiful. The sky was clear and the sun was shining.

Having lunch half way up to the Summit of Doi Inthanon. If you can observe, everyone is in sweaters but this little boy, Ethaniel is in his t-shirt and shorts. What is wrong with him?

This is a photo to prove that we were there. Everyone have to queue up to
take a photo at this spot.

We walked around at the Summit praying. This was part of the mission we had, to go around Thailand praying against strongholds and this was one of the spot. Mary opened the bible to the book of Isaiah 10 and prophesied it over the land of Thailand.

Praying and putting olive oil all around the shrine

After she finished praying, she saw a vision... A whirlwind was circling this mountain round and round going downwards. After a few rounds, it turned into fire and flew towards all of Thailand. And then God says that now, the harvest is ripe and open to the gospel of Christ!

At about the same time, Ethaniel walked over to me and said that he thinks that he is speaking in tongues. Hmm... I was a little puzzled because I have prayed for him almost a year ago. Just to confirm what he is saying, I asked him to speak and he was very fluent! Wow! Double wow! That was an amazing moment of miracle, breakthrough and evidence of God doing great things in Thailand in the life of this young boy. I was so filled with joy that words could not express my gratitude towards God's faithfulness.

Ethaniel & I enjoying a Mother & Son moment after knowing that he started speaking in tongues... It was a really sweet and memorable moment which I will never forget!


Playful together

We walked the Aang Ka Trail after leaving the Summit. Totally enjoyable and peaceful....

This trail is about 15-20 mins walk and very interestingly green... no flowers at all!

The beautiful green trees everywhere

7 Day - Gift Exchange, Turkey & Sweaters

To read Day 1 - Onward to Tak, Thailand,
Day 2 - On The Road Again .... Chiang Mai
Day 3: Palong Village
Day 4: Still in Palong Village
Day 5 - To the Next Village... Lahu at Phrao
Day 6: At Lahu Village, Phrao


I took a long break and have not finished blogging my trip. This is the continuation...


We stayed overnight at Pastor Tina's lovely home in Chiang Mai. We arrived late last night. The morning was cold... but had to do laundry. We have accumulated so much of dirty clothes... It has been difficult to do washing, being on the move all the time.


There will be a church meeting in her home tonight, Christmas gift exchange and yummy dinner. So, the rest of them went to Big C to purchase a gift THB100 or above for gift exchange. I was really tired and still feeling the effects of flu, decided to take a flu tablet and that knocked me off till about 6pm. But I needed it because the last few days has been tiring and not getting the rest my body needed.

Joel, Ethaniel & Hubby assembling the BBQ set

Mary praying for the food... plus the yummy turkey!

Ethaniel totally loving the turkey... Cleaning up the bones... Smart boy, that is one of the best part of the turkey! So funny to see him eat like this!

Joel really loved the neighbor's dog... So beautiful

We ended the night with a trip to the Warorot Market which is next to the Flower Market. We were going to Doi Inthanon tomorrow, which is the highest peak in Thailand, so we need something warmer. We needed gloves, hat, socks, sweaters and the whole works! There was a great second hand market which we bought some sweaters from as low as THB50 per pc.


Now, let's get some sleep.

Joyce Meyer & Hillsong in Chiang Mai, Thailand - Part 2

To read Joyce Meyer & Hillsong in Chiang Mai, Thailand - Part 1

There was a conference on the 2nd day morning. The hall was fully packed and no registration was allowed. They had to turn away people. Good thing we registered before coming. Phew! The session in the morning from 9.00am to 12pm was with Joyce Meyer. It was too short!


She gave a very simple but powerful message of Thought Pattern & Attitude. I totally enjoyed her preaching and managed to type almost every word of her message onto my laptop, and have read it over and over again since then. It truly ministered to me. I knew that I needed that message and it greatly touched my heart.


I know I sound like I have been in the jungle for years... But I honestly have not heard her message before this. Neither have I seen her live. I was so touched by her practical, down-to-earth and transparent preaching that I visited her website and listened to almost all of her broadcast!!! I was truly blessed!!!! Go and visit her website to watch her on the internet.


Joyce Meyer is so real. As a person. She tells of her day-to-day struggle in almost every area of her life.

The famous Hillsong Australia

Reuben Morgan, Hillsong Australia... good looking, eh? I mean, such a good worship leader...ahem..

The famous, Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer who has been preaching for the last 30 years, I think. She has written 75 books in 8 languages and her TV program is in 37 channels all over the world. What an amazing woman of God! Can you believe that she is 66 years old???? She has a packed schedule to preach all over the world and all across America. She not only look so good and wrinkle-less, from where I am sitting, but energetic! Most people around that age sits at home waiting to "meet God". I told Joel her age he says, I wish my grandparents is that energetic!

Back left: Lydia & Pang, Australian backpackers
Front left: 3 ladies from Lydia's church

I bumped into Lydia & Pang near Lotus Hotel, Chiang Mai. Then, we bumped into two Australian backpackers at the Walking Market and brought them with us to the concert. It was funny because they have never been to a Hillsong concert in Australia and had to come to Thailand to see them live!

I met these Lahu girls at the end of the concert and I was so glad to meet them!

I would definitely go for another Joyce Meyer meeting in the future. Don't miss it if you have one near to where you are!

Joyce Meyer & Hillsong in Chiang Mai, Thailand - Part 1

I went to Joyce Meyer & Hillsong, Festival of Life in Chiang Mai with a friend's church. They rented two 11-seater van which was very comfortable. There were many pee stops and we still managed to reach within a reasonable timing.


The first night, there were to be a concert by Hillsong & local church groups.

A group photo with the gang


The MC for the night



One of the local band.... wearing cowboy hats...


Gsus7 team members which consist of mostly girls... Sorry for the blur photo. That's the best shot of them.

Joyce Meyer didn't preach the first night. There were at least 3 local church bands which led in praise and worship. One of the band was a famous Christian local band named Gsus7. They even have their own recording albums. Good singers and good looking guys/girls. It was mostly in Thai and unfamiliar songs. So, I didn't really enjoy the first night.

Well, what do you know... I managed to snap a photo with Hillsong co-songleader and guitarist

The stadium was packed with mostly Thai and some foreigners, like me

This is my first time attending a live Hillsong concert. I didn't really know what to expect. I am not the very expressive type who jumps with fast and loud beat songs. In fact, I found their music a little too loud for my ears. Then again, what do you expect? Hillsong caters for the young people. Well, I am young... in the heart, anyway. It didn't really help that I was way near the front of the stage. Understanding the consequences of that, I had some cotton in my ears... ;-)


I was really blessed seeing the stadium being so crowded with people praising and worship all together. There were easily 10,000 people, if not more.


The weather was very beautifully cool... where is my blanket? Grrrrggghhh... *shivers*

I Took a Break

I have taken a break from blogging for almost 10 days now. I know, I know, its very unusual for me to be silent for that long.


After the Joyce Meyer & Hillsong concert in Chiang Mai, I felt to stay back instead of returning with the whole group of friends to Bangkok. I had intentions to stay for a few days but it ended up longer than that. I just returned yesterday morning.


It was a very fruitful time and of course very timely since there will be many changes in next coming weeks and months.


Thanks for dropping by while I was away.

Joyce Meyer and Hillsong

I am in Chiang Mai for the Joyce Meyer and Hillsong meeting starting tonight till Saturday night.


Hopefully I can tell you more about it when I get back.

Day 6 - At Lahu Village, Phrao

To read Day 1 - Onward to Tak, Thailand,
Day 2 - On The Road Again .... Chiang Mai
Day 3: Palong Village
Day 4: Still in Palong Village
Day 5 - To the Next Village... Lahu at Phrao



Waking up in the morning is tough... It's nice to stay in the sleeping bag. The weather last night was freezing. The weather in the morning was also freezing.... ggggrrrhhh.... *shivers* Thank God I didn't have to wake up to pee last night. Its pitch dark outside.


We were cooked a hearty breakfast of sticky rice, steam rice, vegetables, salad of raw veges and chili. Such a heavy meal... This seems to be a common thing among villagers, but it will be impolite to reject such a wonderful gesture. So we ate. Food was yummy and helped to keep us warm on such a cold morning.

This is how the houses looked like in the Lahu village. Their houses are better built and is a little better than the Palong villagers. They even have refrigerators. A small luxury.

Lahu girls

The toilet

We had the meeting with the village women out here... Pastor Tina, Mary and I gathered to pray before we started the meeting

The morning meeting with the village women was about 10am. After lunch and a short rest, we had to leave to another Lahu village for a meeting. It will be a large gathering because its a joint meeting of 3 Lahu village. I had a short nap before we left to the meeting.... was still down with the flu. So, the short rest between meetings was really helpful to keep my energy going.

The Lahu girls singing and worshipping God. Looks like the whole church standing in front!

Mary praying for the Lahu Pastor and many others. Many were healed and blessed.

This is a picture of Mary weeping and holding the Lahu woman's feet. She later told me the reason why she knelt down there to weep for quite some time. It was very touching.... 4 years ago, God gave her a vision. It was a drawing she drew and pasted on her wall at home in Bangkok. Tonight, while praying for this woman, God gave her the same vision again and said that this woman's name is written in the Lamb Book of Life. Wow!


This meeting stretched till late at night. We had an hour dinner break. It was really funny eating dinner in the dark. For one, I had no clue what dishes it was.... chicken? Pork? Vege? I just thanked God for the food and ate... Everyone stood next to the table and gobbled up their food. Guessing the food as we tasted it! Pumpkin... pork... I really Thank God that Joel and Ethaniel was so flexible with their food that they had absolutely no problem eating. They neither complained nor fussed about the food. Chili or not. It was gobbled up. They are really missionary kids in the making!


I was tired because it was a long meeting stretching from 4pm to 9.30pm. It was also a very cold night. Joel and Ethaniel was running around, playing with the village children and some puppies. Joel had a great time playing with a bicycle which was brakeless. He climbed a hill and zoomed down... Eeehhhh... That was scary. I said a silent prayer of protection for him. Also had it in video.


That night, eventhough it was late, we decided to go back to Chiang Mai after the meeting. I was happy I could get a warm shower that night.


To view more photos click here to go to my online Picasa album.

Day 5 - To the Next Village... Lahu at Phrao

To read Day 1 - Onward to Tak, Thailand,

Day 2 - On The Road Again .... Chiang Mai
Day 3: Palong Village
Day 4: Still in Palong Village

We reached the Lahu village late at about 5pm. This village is located in Phrao, North Thailand. Its about 1 hour away from Chiang Mai.

When we arrived, we were greeted by the Lahu villagers, welcoming us with smiles and and tight handshakes. They do not adopt the "Y" greeting of the Thai culture, they prefer to shake hands. I thought that was interesting.

The weather seem cooler here and fortunately, there was a huge bond fire. A primitive heater but it works great!

Left: Daniel, he is an awesomely joyful, playful and humourous boy. He was so friendly to Ethaniel and even jokes with me. Daniel wore the dungaree for a whole 2 days... Maybe more but I left after the 2nd day.
Right: This little boy was a real clown. I totally enjoyed his playfulness... My kinda boy!

All of them look so handsome, trying on their shorts, sweaters, pants and shirts.

There was a group of girls and boys gathering around us and I decided to take out the clothes which we brought to give out to them. It was really fun giving out clothes and dressing them up at the same time. There was a particular boy who was so glad to receive his "new" clothes that he told his Mom to take out all his clothes in the freezing weather, sweater plus pants... and insisted to just wear that new t-shirt and pants.


Seeing that boy being so excited with his new clothes really touched my heart. I rarely see this with my children or myself. Maybe because we are spoiled with obtaining new things often. It really sink-in that this small little gesture of giving makes a great difference in a 3 years old boy's life. He rarely gets anything new... whether a hand-me-down shirt or brand new something. At that point, I was truly inspired to do more... How so little can make so much of a difference.

The service was to be held at about 7pm and it was a great time of singing praises and enjoying the dance presentation by the teenager boys and girls and young children.

Praise and worship by the local Lahu people was just simple and truly heartfelt. The young children sits down and sing the songs by heart. No lyrics, songbooks or transparencies. I really enjoyed looking at them singing, full of joy on their faces. Unlike the bored look I see on my children's faces, sometimes.


The rest of the meeting was spent praying for the people, for both healing and deliverance. It was great seeing them being touched. The little children and adults alike.


After we finished the meeting, the local tribal Lahu girls gathered around us at our small hut. We ate butter cookies together and played UNO. I blogged about it when I was there. Click here to read.


To view more photos click here to go to my online Picasa album.

Day 4: Still in Palong Village...

To read Day 1 - Onward to Tak, Thailand,
Day 2 - On The Road Again .... Chiang Mai
Day 3: Palong Village


This will be our last day in the Palong village, Chiang Dao. We will be leaving at about 3pm, so that Khun Rat can get a bus back to Bangkok by this evening.


The last 2 days we have not been able to get Pastor Somboon's attention. He has been deeply troubled since we arrive because he was cheated of some money by a gang of 6 people who drugged him. So, he was really worried and upset. For good reason since the money was used to purchase crops for the work of the villagers.


Mary has been keen to speak to him but due to the issues he was facing, it was difficult. He had to go to Chiang Mai to report to the police. Anyway, he was just not in the right state of mind.


This was our last day and Khun Rat took the opportunity to sit together with him at the breakfast table to encourage him. When the rest of us awoke to join them at the breakfast table, I shared with him a very important key of freedom, which was forgiveness. He has been separated from his wife for the last 10 years and this has caused a lot of bitterness, resentment and anger within his heart.


We spoke to him for almost 1 hour plus before he was willing to forgive his wife and daughter for all the grievances which they have caused him. After that, it was an amazing change on his face!!! All the heaviness and worry just left his face.


Mary spoke a word to him and said, "God has delivered you from hell today". Indeed, the destructiveness of unforgiveness.


We were all very excited to see the change and freedom he has received. We prayed that God will help him to regain the money taken by the thieves. After that, he had to hurry of because the Thai Police Officer came to see him regards to the theft.

**********

In the last few months, the government of Thailand has given the Palong villager a new land. This new place which is about 1km from their current place will be able to house 93 families. Each house is given THB3,000 worth of materials to build. Its not enough to build the toilets, though.


We have been requested to go there to pray for their homes and land.

Walking towards the new land. It was really dusty due to the dry winter season

They work together to build homes for each other

One of the land of the villager



Limited tools to work with. Indeed its hard work

Khun Rat taught the "doll method" to the Assistant Pastor and some village women. It's a very effective evangelism tool to the Thai people.

Ethaniel and Joel made friends with the Palong boys and they ran around the area exploring grounds. It was great seeing them making friends, eventhough they cannot speak the language. I saw them running together with a group of Palong boys across to the other side of the village, being adventurous. Well done, boys! (It would be horrifying for me to see them sitting around looking bored or isolating themselves from these Palong children)

After we finished praying, we left at about 3pm and drove towards Chiang Mai.