School is Out Friday!!!!!!

Hello everyone (Amber writing),

I realise I just updated the blog not to long ago. However, I didn't give much detail to the happenings not involving Maya's B-day. I thought it might be more digestible broken up. I know when I see a huge blog, I think OH MY, and fall asleep half way through, unless it's really interesting... I don't think I've got that talent :)

PART 2

I would like to write to you all and tell you more exciting things like we've shared the Gospel with 10 people and they excepted the Lord.......... but the truth is we've just been getting settled into our new environment. Our next bit thing is for Jared and Diane to find jobs, and to find housing. It takes a while, especially in a new country. I am usually the one who puts the crazy and unrealistic expectations on myself more than anyone. I guess perhaps, to PROVE we are actually making a difference to gain approval from man. Unfortunately, in the past, my need for approval from man has crippled me from receiving and experiencing what God really has for me. Instead of being lead by love and keeping my eyes on Jesus. I was being driven by fear of man which produces all kinds of wrong thinking. God has been breaking so many things off of me the past six weeks. That's exciting to me! I have grown leaps and bounds. Fear and pride in me are being dealt with. Galatians 5:1 says :It is for Freedom he set us free, therefore, standing firm, do not become subject again to the yoke of Slavery! I have a ways to go but my hope is in Jesus Christ. I know that the Holy Spirit will continue to transform me as I draw closer to God. Christ did not set me free to be controlled by fear and pride. All of this has been a work God has been doing in me for a very long time. Though it looked like nothing was going on, on the outside and to others, God was doing something great in me before I even new it. So the same goes for our ministry here. God is preparing us, preparing those we are to minister to, preparing the way! It may not be as fast as we would like but God is working in ways we cannot see. As long as our eyes are on Jesus He will be glorified. That's what it is all about! Instead of trying to force things into motion we are patiently and peacefully waiting on the Lord and trusting in His timing. Thank you for your prayers. It is evident that we are being protected by them. We covet them and thank you for offering them to our Mighty GOD who hears them and answer them!

THE NITTY GRITTY STUFF....

Tomorrow is Jared and Diane's last day of school. Public schools will be going on a 3 week break, 1 week from Friday. So the time frame for them to find a job before the break is 5 days. Even though there will be no money coming in, the benefit to finding a job before break will be that we will have a budget for housing and a specific area to look in. The students will be on break for 3 weeks, as well as the staff. This extra month of no income was very unexpected. Because of this and all of the chaos that occurred in Bangkok, we are strained financially. If none of this would have happened we would be fine. However, It did. We would greatly appreciate any donations to help get through this month or so before Jared and Diane start making an income. It would also help secure a house for rent before Jared gets a job. Otherwise, we will be where we currently are for another month or more. We want to get out of the hotel so that we can invite people into our home and get to know them on a personal level. We cannot do this where we are living as it is one small dorm style room. It would also help financially as we would be able to cook our own food instead of eating out all the time. Which is what we have had to do because we have no where to cook. Donations of any amount would help so much! You can donate through paypal (on our blog)or send donations to :

Jared Lee

9720 Mallery Drive

Noblesville, IN

Checks Payable to :

Jared Lee

or for tax deductible donations:

White Rock Fellowship....NOTE IN THE MEMO FOR LEE MISSIONS or we will not receive the money.

Thank you for all of your love and support! We appreciate you!

Amber Lee

Maya's Birthday Celebration

This past week has been a week full of birthday blessings for Maya. The best part was her party at the

House of Hope. It took Maya and I a whole week of shopping to prepare for her birthday bash! She had a ton of fun picking out the presents for all of the kids. Of course one of the best parts of shopping was taste testing her cake! She picked out a creme cake with lime zest in the middle layer. We also got some pandang and buttermilk cupcakes! So good. The only downer was that the lady who made her cake put 1 on the cake instead of 2. It's OK, because they tasted delicious. mmmm..... The ladies at the house of hope prepared all of the food for her party. We had spaghetti, chicken and vegetables, fried chicken, an assortment of fresh fruit, sticky rice, steamed rice, and a couple of different types of soups. The did a fabulous job! However delicious the food was, the true highlight of her party was just getting to hang out with the kids. They received two soccer balls, a volleyball, 4 baminton rackets, birdies, and a net. When we got everything out for them the kids dove right in and the place came alive! We also had water balloons, and a foam rocket launcher! At one point I was playing with Mee, the boy to the left of Maya, in the above picture. He ended up rolling his eyes at me because I was so bad at badminton. It was funny. I eventually got the hang of it. Badminton is a popular sport in Thailand so most of them are pretty good. It was so great to be able to bless the kids. They really enjoyed it. For Ruth, Mary, and Esther we got bags and filled them with hair clips, mirrors, combs, notebooks, stickers, nail polish, scrunchies, and Jewelry. It was so fun seeing them prance around with their purses at church the next day :) We blessed each of the seven boys with a soccer Jersey and Matching shorts. They were so humble in receiving gifts. They didn't really know how to respond to their individual gifts at first but we could see them secretly smiling. At the end of the party one of the kids got his guitar out and we sang songs of thanks to God for the blessings he has given us. Sang prayed over Maya and blessed her for her birthday . The picture below is Sang praying for and blessing Maya. I love Mayas expressing. She is taking it all in. After Sang prayed Jared prayed for and blessed the orphanage. Such a great ending to the party! Many of you helped bless these kids by your prayers and donations. We can't thank you enough! Just know that your gifts are being used for good work and your prayers are coveted. We are so blessed to have you all behind us!

As far as Jared and Diane go with their schooling.... after today they will only have 4 days Left. Praise God. They have a couple of tests coming up so please keep them in prayer specifically for focus and clarity of mind as they are wrapping up this phase. School and their teaching practices have been taxing on them. Your prayers have definitely helped. Peace has surrounded all of us through this challenging time. As they do complete this phase please keep in your prayers that we will be able to hear God's clear direction as far as housing and Jobs. We believe God has already provided Jared and Diane a job and our families a place to live. However, we want to make sure we hear what those jobs are and where are homes are, so that we can receive it. I have no doubt that God will tell us, it's just whether we will hear. We know God is aware of our needs so we are standing in faith and ask that you stand in faith with us and claim that our God, will in fact, provide all of our needs! Isn't that wonderful. Our assurance is in HIM!

WE LOVE YOU ALL!

The Lees

A Story or Two from Jared

Hello to all from "The Land of Smiles"!!! This is my (Jared) first blog, as Amber has done a great job updating regularly. So much has happened since we first arrived in Thailand, I thought I might give an update from my point of view. I'll spare you the details of our first two weeks, but share that it was a difficult transition to say the least. However, God guided us through, and we came out the other side with a renewed focus on our tasks ahead of us. Not to mention all alive with no major injuries or problems (ie. passports)!!!

My mom and I started school on July 31st. I think that I can speak for both of us in saying that the first day was a big shock to our brains. I was eager to start, and once it began, even more eager to complete it. Sounds a bit funny, when you think about it, but isn't that the way it is with most things? Anyway, our brains have been on overload, mostly with the amount of English grammar we are re-learning. I honestly didn't think that I would have to consider when to use a present perfect verb instead of a present simple verb when teaching English as a foreign language. Hahaha! That is exactly what we were thinking our first hour into the class. We are slowly adjusting, however, and getting caught up to speed. We usually have about three-four hours of English grammar, an hour of Thai, and two-three hours of teaching principles/practices. Our class is an interesting mix of 8 Americans, 2 Australians, and 2 Britts. The ages range from 22-65, so there are alot of crazy/arrogant ideas, mixed in with some "wisdom" that has come with age/experiences. I feel that I can comment on this with a COMPLETELY rational mindset (moving my wife, daughter, and mom half-way around the world). {For those who don't know me that well, I'm being sarcastic. For those that do know me, I'm dead serious, COMPLETELY rational.} The class seems to cover alot of topics including: the best bars, palm reading, astrology, Buddhism, ghosts, alcohol in mass quantities. All the more the need to be a light and an example. With that in mind, I have focused my attention on being friends with my classmates and really getting to know them. I spent this past Saturday with one of them. His name is Kyle. He is 24 and from Colorado. We rented mopeds for the day and drove all around the surrounding countryside. Kyle is searching for something he is not sure of. He has asked alot of questions regarding Amber and I moving to Thailand with a small child and how we came to find out what we are supposed to do with our lives. If you think about it, please pray that God continues to use us in Kyle's life.

Maya saw the moped and was so disappointed that she wasn't going for a ride. Amber and I talked about it for a bit and decided, like all good parents, that our kid needs a moped experience! Now before you get too anxious/flustered/upset/angry/joyous/jealous (the list could go on and on), consider that I'm practically a pro now, with TWO WHOLE DAYS of driving experience (sarcasm again). Maya was SO excited that the morning of, she woke up, jumped out of bed saying, "Maya's ready!" That was followed by a "YEAAAAHHHHH!!!!!" and clapping. How could a loving father say no to that?!? She was so happy to put her mask on and hop on. She did great! I thought for sure that she would wiggle around, but she sat in between Amber and I and smiled the whole time.

We are in the middle of our 4 week course and are looking and praying for work once we are finished. We still aren't sure what city we will be in, but we do believe it will be in the north of Thailand. Please continue to pray for us and our ability to hear God and His direction for us. Maya's birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks as well. Amber is hard at work planning a big party at an orphanage. We want to use her party to bless kids who have never had an opportunity like this before. If you want to be a part of this, please email Amber as we would love for you to be able to bless kids through us. We have also invited my class to come as well. Please pray that some of them take us up on the offer and God touches them through it as well. Also, please be praying for Maya as she continues this transition to a country that is in awe of her blonde hair, blue eyes, and white skin. She is a magnet wherever she goes and sometimes gets quite annoyed with everyone touching her and gawking at her. She is a trooper though, and is learning Thai and speaking it on occasion! She loves to play with kids and would love to be around more of them. Please pray that she will have plenty of friends she will trust and love. I would also ask that you keep my mom in prayer as well. She has left the comforts of home to travel to a place that is extremely awkward for her at times. She has been adjusting well, considering all of the changes. Being much taller than everyone has many disadvantages, especially walking around in the market where canopies are 5 and a half feet tall and one has to walk through bent over. However, she has made it this far and continues to impress me with her determination.

Thank you again for all your prayer and support. We miss all of you and can feel your love and the difference your prayers make in our lives. Know that we think of you often and that you are having influence on the other side of the world. If any of you use Skype and would like to talk to us, our Skype name is amber-jared. We are on at random times, but usually in the morning States time.

In Him,

Jared

School Begins!

Jared and Diane started their TEFL class on Monday. Let's just say it's been a long week for both of them. Among the classmates there is wide range of beliefs all mixed with astrology, buddhism, and a bit of atheism. There are 7 Americans, a couple of Brits, and a few Australians. Most of them are between the age of 23 and 26. The oldest is a 65 year old British man who practices Tibetan buddhism. Jared and Diane are the only Christians in the class. It has been quite an awakening to the true state that the world is really in. Constantly being around all of this has been taxing on their minds and spirits as they are in a small classroom with everyone 6-7 hours a day. They are bombarded with a lot of junk. Jared asked me to write a short message to everyone about all of this so that you can keep them in prayer as they are dealing with all of this. Please pray that God puts rest and peace over their minds and spirits and that He uses them as a light in the darkness. Who knows what God can do!