February 2011

It's starting to warm up here! The average is about 90 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the beginning of a rapid incline in Temp. Yesterday I had to run the AC for 10 min. just to cool down after mopping the floor. Not a good sign considering soon The average temp will be somewhere in the mid 100's. Sweat :) On the top of our to do list is to go out and purchase a few more fans and some sun-blocking curtains. I'm sure your all feeling sorry for us as your freezing in the snow and ice.

Jet is now standing almost on his own and in attachment phase full force. He is also the big-toe sucking monster. In Thailand it is custom to take off your shoes upon entering a home. ALWAYS. Often Jet will be playing on the floor and then all the sudden... ewww he's trying to suck or chew on your toe! Very Gross and not so polite for guests. Considering the status of the foot in this country. AAAHHH!! Maya is still learning the tough lessons a three year old must learn. Everyday feels like a repeat. I'm sure it will sink in sometime. I have seen some hopeful glimmers of improvement as she moves towards the age of 4. Four just so happens to be my favorite age in Children so... I'm waiting and waiting for the 4 year old to emerge :)

Jared did well in his job interview but unfortunately didn't get the job. That's ok though. We are in the process of discovering what's next here in Chiang Mai. We are researching and looking at many different things we can do here. Please keep us in prayer as we are in the middle of some big and a bit scary decision making. We will let you all know the plan as soon as we are sure! Stay tuned :)

Please pray for peace over our family during this time of searching and decision making. These times can be a bit stressful for our family. We are already a bit stretched as it is ;O We are continuing to trust in God and seek Him in everything we do. Your prayers are so important to us and we need them. Thank you for the time, energy, and money you put towards making it possible for us to be here. We are on the edge of a breakthrough to the next step. Thank you for believing in us and working with us to help make a difference in peoples lives.

This is Jody telling us about a Chinese desert consisting of beans, nuts, and other ingredients.

Back from Tachilek!

Just thought I would update you all. We made it to and from the border all safe and sound. We had a slight hold up on the Burmese side when they wouldn't accept our U.S. currency because of a mark on one of the bills. Who can get a perfect one these days? Anyway, we didn't have anymore money and fortunately Maya and Jet's big blue eyes convinced the guy to accept the money and let us through. I looked online when we got back and apparently they have been more often than not wanting to be paid in Thai baht rather than U.S. dollar lately. It's more expensive to pay the Thai baht but next time it might be what we'll do as to avoid the hold up.

Second in the updates... Jared got a call from Dara and he goes in for a group interview a week from Wed. Please pray for favor and the opened door if it is God's will. Also pray that we will find out sooner rather than later whether he is hired.

And last, we have been hit hard with attacks recently on our emotions and thoughts. A lot of things are pending right now on Jared getting a full time job. Both of us feel this is the next step right now so we are persevering in trusting God and waiting patiently; this is easier said than done at times :) Our family is very tired from all the moving and changes in the last 2-3 years, mostly concentrated in the last year, so we are hoping that God intervenes soon to provide us some rest and stability so we can move forward in His work.

Thank you all for your love and support. Hope you guys stuck in ice and snow are staying safe and warm. Your in our prayers.

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.