2011

It's a new year! Hooray for that. I feel that this one may be a challenging yet fruitful year. God is already moving us along in big ways. I haven't blogged on here in for so long that I'm not sure where to begin. Perhaps a reflection of last year...

Our son Jet, who is now 6 mo. today was safely born in the states. He is now almost crawling! Of course we are back in Chiang Mai and enjoying being home again. Our time in the states really made us realise that we are truly made to be living over here as we deeply missed the international community and sense of adventure :) We did however, love seeing our families and friends during our stay. We miss them often. Maya loves being a big sister. Jared and I are finally adapted, I think, to having two. It's quite a change. It's amazing to think that it is only a little over a year ago that we moved to chiang Mai. Now another year begins!

The end of 2010 and the beginning of this year has been one of the busiest times in my life aside from preparing to move here. We have been going non-stop. Not to mention the new additions to our home. Maya now has a dog named Spot. She is absolutely adorable. We got her from an animal shelter here in Chiang Mai. The dogs are so many they just give them away free already spayed and vaccinated. Jared and I decided that this was the year for a dog as it would add extra security. Last year when there were thefts around the area, only two homes that we know of got hit. Us and our neighbor. We were the only two without dogs. We feel a bit safer with spot around. Our second addition is Tahn. She is a Thai friend of ours who just graduated from an animation school with YWAM. She is in-between places right now as she has been trying to figure out her next step. As it turns out, God put her in our home for a reason. Later on that. Now total, including the kids we have 8 people in our home plus a dog. Any more and we will burst. We are sort of looking forward to our border run in February as to have some quiet time.

Another add to the hustle in bustle is the English classes we've been doing out of our home. Right now we have 5 university students that we cook for and teach twice a week. This helps us make a bit of money and allows some discipling. We've talked about topics including abortion, aliens and creation, desperate housewives, JFK conspiracies, ect... it can get quite interesting. Our hour and a half class usually turns to two hours or more.

Jared is still looking for full time work. We hope to find out something this month... we're counting down the days :) Even so, work will not begin until March. I am now in partnership with Tahn, working on a Family Club. We have rented a house three doors down from our home to use as an outreach center and language center titled the Happy Family Club. It's a Thai style english name. :) So, I've posted the details on our project further down. Right now we are trying to make and raise 3000 U.S. dollars to finance the start up costs. Tahn has signed the contract for the building. She signs the lease in 2 more weeks! Please be praying for this project as it has the potential to make a big impact in the community. There are many (70-80%) broken families and unstable homes in Thailand.

Happy Family Club
Transforming communities by transforming families.
December 29, 2010

Founders
Amber Lee
It has been my vision to start a center for children in
Chiang Mai for many years. I’ve been waiting patiently
for God to bring along someone in Thailand to work
with who carries the same vision and conviction for
community, families, and children. If we can give value
to the lives of children and work to build stronger
family units, it will change lives and has the potential
to change generations. Through this project, I believe
we can bring joy and the hope of Christ to the families
within the community. It is my honor to be able to
work alongside Tahn to serve and bring glory to God!

Tahn Vong
From when I could remember, it has always been my
passion to do media for kids and families. I value families as
the very core foundation of community. To build a strong
community, we need to start at its heart, which is families.
After Christ came into my heart, He made me even more
passionate about families. He has equipped me with
education and experiences to make that dream of mine,
which is truly His, come true. I have invested my time,
energy, skills, and finances for this passion and have
started putting together the pieces of this jigsaw. Our God
is creative and He has creative plans to reach communities
in southeast Asia. I am so blessed that He created me to be
a part of His creative plan for His creation. I would be the
manager and facilitator for this project.

Our Vision:
To transform communities by transforming families.

Mission statement:
To create a center where families can come to build stronger
relationships with each other and learn skills through seminars, media
and activities to continue building a healthy happy family in the future.

Club Center Club Center:

The features of this house make it the perfect facility to
start our center. The features include: a large courtyard where kids can
play, an open main floor with a small kitchen, an office on the main floor,
four rooms on the second level suitable for classrooms, two restrooms,
ceiling fans, and air-conditioning in the classrooms. It is located in a
central residential area within Chiang Mai City. Another advantage is
that it is only three doors down from our home. This is good as we will
be spending a lot of time at the center!

Our activities will include:
- Family fun night
- Kids story time
- Handcrafting
- A mother&daughter cooking time
- A father&son sport time
- Child development workshops
- Marriage improvement workshops
- Family’s day outreaches in surrounding communities
- English Fitness: Teaching English by playing and doing activities. We will charge
people for the English Fitness program to generate income for staff.

This Saturday we will celebrate Children's Day. We will pass out cookies and have tea at the center to become more known to the community!

There is a lot to look forward to in this year! God is good!

P.S. My new years resolution is to update my blogs regularly this year. Should be better now that we have the Internet! I'll get a pic of the center up asap.

Thailand Update

After much consideration and search for wisdom... we have decided to come to the states to have the baby due to the time frame on our visas, the dicey political situation, and the risk of being stuck here with a new baby with no passport for him if anything should get worse. We don't expect it to deteriorate much more but it is better to cover the bases and be safe, especially with a coming little one.

We have bought round trip tickets from Chiang Mai to the States. We will be there from May 23 to Aug 12. We will be spending about a week in California and arrive in Indiana on June 3 early in the morning.

Please pray for peace for our family as we are having to leave our home and family in Chiang Mai for longer than we would like at this point in time. We are excited to see you all but didn't really expect it would be under these circumstances. Any way we will be seeing you soon! It will be great to see all of your faces and be able to give you big giant HUGS.

Please also pray for Diane as she will be staying to hold down the fort :) She is not in any major danger at this point and shouldn't have much of a problem handling her visa stuff. Mainly, just keep her safety and spirit uplifted as life is going to be changed a bit for her at our departure. She will be looking forward to our return and seeing baby Jet! The Chinese students will also continue to rent, so she will not be alone.

Last thing to keep in prayer specifically for our family is our flights and the smooth operation of the airports here in Thailand.

Of course in general,
Pray that the issues in this country can be peacefully resolved with a movement forward for the better of the whole nation.

We Love You All!

Lee Update

Hello everyone!
*I have put in bold prayer requests for those of you without much time. This set is quite urgent ;)

Once again we have been delayed in our updates! We have much to cover ;) First, let me thank you for all of your prayers as they are being answered and in the same breath remind you to continue to pray. Daily life continues to be challenging as the cultural frustrations are mounting into an everest of obstacles; some to be overcome only by faith, others by hard work, and all creating a lasting lesson of shall I say... PATIENCE. Also please continue to pray for health, safety, and covering in all areas.

Our family is growing or should I say... namely me. Jet is doing well, though he is proving stubborn to turn into the correct position for birth. We are fervently praying that he does as there is no other option here besides a c-section for delivery of a breech baby. Those of you that know me well will also know my position on that subject :) He still has 7 weeks. Please join us in praying that Jet will turn and any obstacle preventing him from doing so will be removed. IN THE NAME OF JESUS!

Jodi, one of our original housemates has officially been accepted into Chiang Mai University to pursue her masters in International Business. It has been a long wait as she has had to go through several testing phases. She has truly become a part of our family and a best buddy to Maya. We are glad that she will continue to stay with us during her studies. She is a blessing to our family. Jodi is often a breath of fresh air when we need one. Right now she is visiting her family in China for 2 weeks. Please pray that the student visa process goes smoothly for her. Also pray for her growth in the Lord as she continues to press in though there have been some rough patches along the way.

Our new long-term housemate is Candy. She will be rooming with Jodi. Candy will be studying for her masters at Payap University here in Chiang Mai. Candy is growing on us also. Though she is a bit more shy. Please pray that Candy's heart will open to the gospel and that we will have increased opportunity to talk to her.

Good news... Diane has been blessed with the perfect job for her. She has been employed at a language school ran by two christian ladies. It is part-time and fun. There is also opportunity for more hours in the future as their business is growing. Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray that Diane finds a good option for her visa.

As far as Jared's job.... right now the job situation he is currently in continues to go from bad to worse. There have been a couple of job opportunities that we have recently heard about that he will be pursuing. Both of these job opportunities are at good schools and are known to treat their employees better. This evening for you.... Jared has a scheduled interview at one of the schools and will be stopping by the other to drop off his resume. Please throughout the day and week for favor and clear direction for any doors that may be opened. Also, a quick response to whether he will be hired or not as things can drag out here. We are in need of a breakthrough in this area.

We love you all so much and I personally wish I could give you all a big hug. I know I do not write often to many of you on an individual basis. Please know you are always on my mind...
You are special to me. I can't tell you enough. Just knowing you are all there blesses me.

With LOVE,

Amber, and Family