A New Season

We have had a busy October with training with other cross cultural witnesses from all over the world in Albania and Summer camp for the Roi Et Students in Bangkok.  Read this until the end~ The best for last.

Attaways in Rome

At the end of September we gathered in Albania for a pre-conference training on coaching.  We have been asked to serve in Community Care for SouthEast Asia, so we reach out regularly to others serving in our part of the world.  The strategies we learned about coaching are helpful and we have already started using some of what we learned.  In this technique the goal is for the coach is to listen and to ask questions that lead the person to talk through their situation and see things in things they might not have seen before.

 The process is one where through prayer the Holy Spirit often brings the new insight and processing as well as healing and movement toward a future goal or resolution.  It is really powerful.  After one of the trainings I took Noah for a walk and started trying to coach him by asking questions.  He finally said, "Is this what you learned about in that class?, Why do you keep asking me questions? You aren't very good at this!".  It is harder than you think.

The conference was an amazing time for all of us with 129 folks serving all over the world in attendance.  We worshiped and fellowshipped together, as well as attending breakout sessions.  The Bible study for the week was the book of Ephesians, we heard sermons and also participated in inductive Bible study.  It was a blessing to study again the words of Paul to the people of Ephesus, the book addresses so many themes that are relevant and important for today such as the need for Unity and the importance of Spiritual Protection.  We felt renewed and encouraged after the study.  It felt good to connect with other's serving cross culturally to hear their challenges and also their praise stories.  We made a lot of reconnections and also met new friends.

Hannah Grace and her MK friends

There were 39 MK's in attendance.  Hannah Grace bonded immediately with several girls in her age range serving in India, Spain and Africa.  She attended the program for kids and learned about how to cope with struggles of being on the field and how to be a witness for Christ.  She sang in worship with the large group and performed several skits,  (no surprise there :)  She had sleepovers in the hotel with a groups of 7 girls a couple of times.  This time was really life-giving for her.

Noah had 6 teenagers in his group, serving in Africa and Jordan and Asia.  He also met a guy Aaron from the UK who had come to help with the leadership team.  Noah enjoyed playing the guitar with Aaron who is a songwriter and performer as well as a witness for Christ in Spain.  Noah and his group wrote a song and performed it for the group the last night.

Noah outside the Colosseum

Hannah Grace in Rome

We were able to spend a few days in Rome on the way to the conference. We stayed at a Monestary Guest House which close to the city, simple and clean and not as expensive as most places.  It was incredible for all of us to see firsthand the beauty and history of Rome that Hannah Grace and Noah have studied about.  We had the opportunity to visit the Colosseum, the Vatican and many Basilicas.  It was a blessing attending an Italian Mass at St Paul's Basilica on a Sunday morning.  Paul's remains are laid in this Basilica.  Rome felt much more like home to us and we ate as much delicious Italian pizza as possible.  We are thankful to God for this opportunity.

Roman Forum

T

Rome

Roi Et kids playing with the kids from the Slum

Noah and his Thai Friend with Chris

The day we got back from Albania we headed to the church for the October Camp where kids from Roi Et come to Bangkok.  The camp held in March is an "academic" camp, this one is shorter in length and called a "moral" camp.  We had 24 students in attendance.  The theme of the camp was "Think and Thank".  The team spent a lot of time praying over what we should present to the kids.  Most of them had not heard about the death and resurrection of Jesus so we felt led to cover this.  Pastor Life was able to teach each morning and did a remarkable job explaining the sacrifice of Christ.  The team members took turns also teaching and adding whatever the Lord put on their hearts.  In the afternoons the students were able to go serve (best place to find Jesus :).  Each day they did a different service activity. They went to a Children's home for handicapped kids, arranged a game day at the church for the slum kids next door, and gave out free water at a park to people riding bikes and exercising. Each evening the students were able to talk about and discuss the day and what things were meaningful to them.

At the Park handing out Water

Worship at the Park

One morning Todd and I spoke about the Resurrection and used the Resurrection Eggs to illustrate the story of Jesus.  We put the students in pairs and gave them each an egg and asked them to see what was inside and talk about how it relates to the story.  We had some Thai Bibles out and showed them in the Bible the scripture references for the story.  In the evening during sharing time several of the students said that what was most meaningful for them that day was we had shown them how to use the Bible.  One girl student said, "Thank you for teaching me how to open the Bible".  It was an incredible affirmation that the Holy Spirit was at work, he used what we thought was a side note (having Bibles to look up scripture) as the big thing.  God is good and he will use us in ways we don't even expect.

Watching "Everything" skit

Patdy and students

The students were able to watch "The Passion of Christ" in Thai one evening.  We also showed the "Everything" skit from the internet, this is a powerful skit our youth participated in at our home church several years ago.  The students were moved by all of it.  One afternoon students were able to write any question they had about being a Christian or anything they had heard about and the staff answered them.  The students had many questions about Jesus, "Why did Jesus have to die?, Why did he have to suffer?, Do you have to go to church to be a Christian?, Can you still Wai (an act of respect performed by the Thai) to Buddha if you are a Christian?, How can really God know everyone in the world"… awesome questions.  It was evident that they had been really processing and thinking about everything that was presented to them.  The Holy Spirit was moving in them.

Trust Fall

Game about Getting Help in Life

Students performing a skit about Love

Foot washing Service at the Conclusion of Camp

The last evening we had a foot washing service.  The staff:  Kat and Patdy, Chris and Dora and Todd and I along with the college youth who help out, washed all the feet of the students.  This was a time I don't think we will ever forget.  Many of the students were crying and visibly moved by God's love.  To have your feet washed in Thai culture is extremely powerful because the feet are the most lowly of all body parts.  It was humbling for them to have this experience, especially being served by people older that them.  In Thai culture the heads of the older people have to be higher than the younger ones, also younger people serve the older ones with respect.  In this case the students were in chairs and we were down lower than them and washing the disgraced feet.  While perfuming the foot washing we tried to put ourselves in Jesus' place as he washed the disciples feet as we prayed for and tenderly washed, dried and and showed love for each one.  The Holy Spirit was present in a deep way; the kids knew they were loved by us, but more importantly by God.  That night many of the students told us they loved Jesus.

Foot washing service

We have been praying bold prayers, that hundreds of people in Roi Et will come to know Christ.  Many of you have joined us in that prayer.  Sometimes that seems like such a difficult, even impossible thing, but this experience was a reminder that God is moving, that his spirit is changing
hearts and that his will, will be done.  We believe the prayers are being answered.  We just have to be faithful and serve him.

Thank you for loving us and joining us in this mission to bring the name, love and hope of Jesus to the Thai people.  Please keep on this journey with us; please pray for us, for the team, and for the Thai people.

Love and Peace,

The Attaways