Last week, our family, along with Colleen Saddler, Lisa Issler (from West Kelowna), an 8-person team from the USA, and a couple of our Mae Sot staff travelled 6 hours south, to a refugee camp.  The traveling was difficult.  The narrow, mountainous roads were some of the most curvy we’ve ever driven.  Most of us felt sick at one point or another and all had a tint of green upon arrival!

The camp has an occupancy of over 10,000 people…moms, dads, teenagers, children, babies, and seniors.  People like you and me…except without a country.  For those of you who have seen pictures and news footage of refugee camps (most likely in Africa), the camps in Thailand are more civiilzed.  These camps are the longest running camps in the world and so people have settled in.  Bamboo homes, markets, churches, and schools are all a part of this stateless community of people.  Most are from the Karen ethnic group and have escaped the mass persecution of the Burmese military regime.

Our purpose in being there was to help run a teen camp.  Three hundred students between 12 – 22 years of age filled a dirt floor auditorium much like an old-style church camp in a rural town. A group of pastors from the surrounding area who ran the camp rivaled the creativity and energy of any group of North American youth pastors.  The picture below shows some of the craziness! The camp was incredibly organized, the teens were musically talented with musical specials and performances on a continual basis.  Their earnestness was demonstrated as the students took notes 0n everything that was taught.

Derek was one of the main session speakers and besides speaking in the camp, he spoke a number of times in the churches of the camp.  Irislee also received an opportunity to speak at the Sunday morning 7:00 am Women’s service at one of the churches! As a team, we led the songs and stories for the younger teens in one of the breakout groups and led games for the entire camp on one particular day.

We were billeted in two homes.  We slept on bamboo floors, on bamboo mats and ate Karen food everyday for breakfast (incredibly delicious!). Lunch and supper, served by the camp staff was yummy too!  Incredible hospitality.

Here are some important lessons we learned:

1. The missions work of Adoniram Judson in the early 1800′s to Burma has carried on 200 years later.  The majority of the Karen ethnic group are Christians and their faith can be credited to his pioneering and sacrificial work.  We saw it first hand everyday.

2. People are the same wherever you go.  While dreams and goals may differ because of available opportunity, everyone wants security, a place to live, and a chance to earn enough money to survive and accomplish their dreams.  Education is important to all.   It was so easy to have an us-them kind of mentality when I lived in Canada.  Not so easy anymore…

3. The camp reminds me of a very large cage.  There is some employment available… people can work for NGO’s or for Thai landowners who own farms outside the camp. Some relatives outside the camp send money in and so people can start small businesses.  Children go to school.  However, there is no escaping the fact, that the camp has a gate, there is barbed wire and there are fences all around the camp.  There are food rations and foreign groups are needed to give aid and offer programs.  The Karen are stateless and they are waiting, waiting, waiting…either to resettle in a third country or for Burma to have freedom and democracy.  One the last day, we met a young adult who is resettling to America this month. Amazingly, she will be only 40 minutes drive from our American team that were with us for the camp.  Coincidence?  I think not.  Another girl will head to North Carolina in October to live with her Karen grandparents who are waiting for her.  If Burma doesn’t change, most people in this refugee camp will die of old age, stateless and uprooted from their homes. There is room to move, but the camp is still a cage.

4. These people have not given up.  They carry on their long-standing traditions, they are full of life and energy, they are thankful, and they are preparing themselves for the future by educating their young. Always looking for more resources to do the job better. Computers, better school buildings, vocational training centers, etc. They are an example to those of us who quit too easily when life gets tough.

As a way of thanking the camp for hosting us, we decided to learn the camp theme song in the Karen language and sing it for them at the closing ceremony.  It was written by one of their teachers and is one of the most beautiful songs we’ve heard. What made it even more special was the words themselves.  It took hours, for our Karen staff to teach us, but was so worth it.  These words express the desires of the 300 teens who attended the camp. The song is much more beautiful sung in the Karen language, but the English translation is…

When you are young, give yourself to Jesus.

We must do the duties that Jesus gives to us.

Let us hold hands and work hard for Jesus.

Peacefully, we will do this.

Along with a hauntingly beautiful melody, this song could easily be a hit all over the world.

Back in Mae Sot, our camp experiences continue to fill our thoughts.  Olivia and Hannah didn’t want to leave the camp because they loved the “camping out” experience so much.  I’m sure they would feel differently if they knew they could never leave.  However, the cultural richness of the Karen people, their ability to smile, laugh, and engage life fully in spite of difficult circumstances, the memory of the crazy pastors, and general feeling that even though the Karen people are not free, they continue to learn and grow and develop as individuals and as a community, has left a permanent impression on our hearts and minds.  Again, like in so many situations this year, we came to teach and we have left having learned more than we have taught.

Until now, missions teams have come quietly…a few people at a time.  Mae Sot continues along without really noticing a dramatic change.

The West Kelowna/Emmanuel Gang!

That all changed when our friends from West Kelowna arrived in Mae Sot.  Not only did we fill small restaurants with 20 people (14 guests and 6 Koch’s), one restaurant closed its doors for us so that we could have a private dinner (my 40th birthday party).

The Thai border police instructed us to stay out of the Moei River (for the first time ever).  Never a problem before with a few people here or there, but this massive group of 20 could be a problem on the border…

The Irrawady Guesthouse courtyard, normally a quiet place to reflect for a guest or two, was filled with 12 happy children and teens along with 8 adults each night for team debriefing.

We spread out all over Mae Sot.  Dave Hanson helped with a water installation and repairing desks at a migrant school. Pastor Derrick preached at the Thai Four Square Church and we all came together for our main focus…the Life Camps.

We blazed into Huay Ka Loke school and with great energy and enthusiasm, put together a great camp for 54 boarding house children – 37 of which were orphans. (The others stay at the school during the week and go home to parents on weekends).

We were so grateful for the participation of everyone – from the youngest (that would be Cami) to the oldest (that would be…well you take a guess!)

This particular camp focused on 6-10 year old stateless Karen children in a rural school in Mae Sot. While 17 of these children go home to parents, 37 of them have either no parents or haven’t seen their parents in more than a year.  The camps were designed to help these children understand how special they are.  Through the songs, Bible stories, crafts, games, and food, the children were reminded that God loves them and so do we.  Along with this focus, we took passport-type pictures, beautiful portraits and fun camp pictures that will be placed in a specially created identification book.   Once our interviewers have spoken with the children individually and gathered important information about their families, place of birth, health records, and other relevant information, the photos and information will be placed in the “This is Who I Am” book that will be left in the hands of the headmaster from each school.  This book, along with the world-wide data base that will include the child’s information, will help bring status and stability to these vulnerable children.

Not only were Irislee and I excited about how well the camp ran, we were very thankful for the money that was raised before hand to help pay for the camps, for our Kwe Ka Baung field strips,  and for teacher resources.  For all of you who ate chilli and desserts and bought Christmas crafts- thank-you!  Your donated money was well-spent.

And to the team from West Kelowna…we love you and we miss you and we look forward to seeing you again in 4 months.  Mae Sot is a bit quieter now…I’m sure people are wondering where the whirlwind went.  When they ask we’ll just point them to the happy faces of children who go to sleep at night knowing that they are not alone.

God Bless You to all and to all a Good Night!

Here is Irislee’s version of the Life Camps

We’re all pretty excited to update our blog with the following information!

We have made a decision about our family’s future.  When we left for Thailand 6 months ago, we made a one-year commitment to Imagine Thailand.  We were unsure whether we would come back to Canada or stay in Thailand once the year ended.   That decision has now been made.

drum roll, please………..

At the end of July 2010, we will move back to West Kelowna and take up the position of Campus Pastors at Emmanuel’s Peachland Campus.  At the same time, we will continue to work with Imagine Thailand as Canada-based volunteers.  To be more specific, we will work with Emmanuel Church 50% of the time and for Imagine Thailand 50% of the time.  We are working through the details of this arrangement with Pastor Derrick Hamre of Emmanuel Church and with Peter and Cavelle Dove – executive directors of Imagine Thailand.

To make a short story long, we waited until January to begin to seriously think about what we would do once our one-year adventure ended.   We purposely ignored the question in our first four months in Thailand in order to settle in and work without distraction.  But we knew we had to decide eventually.  And so, at the beginning of the new year, all 6 of us took significant time to think about the future.  For one week, we spent a portion of each day thinking and praying about what to do.  When the week ended, Irislee and I interviewed each of our children, Irislee and I shared our own feelings with each other, and then we put the puzzle pieces together.  To our dismay, the puzzle pieces didn’t fit.  The decision wasn’t unanimous.  We spent additional time weighing out different options and talking with Pastor Derrick and the Dove’s.  Without speaking with each other, both Derrick and Peter suggested the same option to us–a 50/50 split.  The moment we learned that this was a possibility for us, we knew it was the right decision.  In fact, as Irislee and I went back over our notes, we realized that all of the comments and ideas fit neatly into this specific solution!

The dual role offers many exciting opportunities.  Pastor Derrick’s keynote address at the beginning of January was inspirational and we want to be a part of Emmanuel’s plans for the future.   There is so much potential!  At the same time, creating awareness of Imagine Thailand’s work, raising money for projects, and taking teams from Canada to volunteer in Thailand gives us the opportunity to carry on what we began in Mae Sot this year.  Now we are praying for someone to come live in Mae Sot to take on the day-to-day responsibilities here.

Please continue to stay in tune to what is happening at Imagine Thailand.  Even though we are coming back home in four and a half months, we are not winding down.  In fact, our project load is increasing.  We will continue to keep you informed about significant events.  Next week we begin the third of our three main projects:  The Life Book Project.  We’ll give you the thrilling details in our next blog…

See You Soon!

PS.  Oh yes…on a side note.  After a desperate search, we finally found a website that showed the Canada-USA Gold Medal Game.  Isaac and I woke up at 3:00am to watch Canada win in overtime.  Even though we dragged ourselves through the next day, it was so worth it!

No one would fix a car without the proper tools.  What good is soccer without a soccer ball?  And how effective is teaching without proper teaching resources?

In Mae Sot, migrant school teachers struggle with resource shortages all the time.

a migrant nursery classroom

At the elementary school level, one teacher in whose class I teach English, bemoaned the fact that she had no budget for printing coloring sheets and so when we brought in 30 photocopied coloring sheets of Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus, along with pencil crayons for the whole class, she was ecstatic.  In high school Science classes, one teacher told us that students simply memorize chemical formulas from photocopied books, instead of being able to actually run experiments.  Needless to say, every grade has a shortage of resources.

nursery teachers in a "learning cluster"

In response to this crisis, we’ve been asked to find a way to bring resources to classrooms.  And so, we’ve developed a 4-School Cluster System focusing on Nursery (preschool) children.  Migrant school Nursery teachers are already in “learning clusters” for idea sharing and encouragement. In this system, a Nursery teacher will use a bin of resources for one week and then pass it on to the next teacher on the list.  After 4 weeks, each school will have had the bin for one week.  Because the nursery classes use 8 monthly themes during the school year, we will develop 8 bins. Each bin costs approximately $100.  48 migrant schools have nursery/kindergarten classes and so we need to develop 12 cluster groups (4 schools/group).  And so to summarize the financial need, we need $800 for each cluster and $9600 to be able to provide for all 12 clusters.

a sample nursery resource bin

inside a resource bin

We are so excited to announce that with your generosity, we’ve already raised  $3000 for Teacher Resource Kits!  In other words, we are able to provide resources to 3 (and almost 4)  clusters of preschool teachers.

We would like to start the same system for elementary math teachers, providing hands on learning opportunities in developing numeracy.  At the high school Science level, we are still at the very beginning of the process, putting together a list of what teachers need to teach biology, chemistry and physics.

Would you spread the word and help us reach the rest of our goal?  As Bob and Larry say in …”It’s for the children.”

We’ve prepared a short video to show you the problem and the solution!  Enjoy!

A Fresh Start 2010

January 13-15

Recently, we were asked if we would be interested in putting together a day of celebration for 650 migrant school teachers and headmasters.  We eagerly agreed and “A Fresh Start 2010″ was born.  Along with a number of other organizations, we planned a great day of encouragement for these dedicated mentors of children.  Specifically, we planned games, gave gifts, and made speeches.   We ran the event over three days, dividing the 650 teachers based on the areas of town in which they taught.

This event was quite significant.  All 61 migrant schools are under the direction of a Burmese school district office (BMWEC).  However, the BMWEC is accountable to the Thai Ministry of Education (MOE).  A Fresh Start was hosted by the MOE, planned by Imagine Thailand and other organizations for the benefit of the Burmese teachers and headmasters.  

At times, there has been tension between the two organizations.  The Thai Ministry of Education has graciously allowed Burmese people to set up schools in Mae Sot, but because the quality of education is lower than in the Thai school system, they have not granted equal graduation certificates to students who complete studies in the Migrant schools.  Furthermore, the BMWEC  has insufficient money to pour a lot of resources into the Migrant schools to make them stronger.   On the other side, the Burmese schools are begging for help and not receiving as much as they truly need.   They often lack teaching supplies, salaries for teachers, and food for the students.  In fact many who teach in Mae Sot were not even teachers in Burma.  (One man I spoke with was a taxi driver in Burma before fleeing to Thailand!).  There was simply a need to educate children and so people have stepped in where they can.  The situation is desperate for these schools.

A Fresh Start brought the two groups together.   We had the privilege of helping to build a bridge!  In many ways, I felt like we were planning a Deep End for adults (for those who are unfamiliar with Deep End, it was a high school outreach that our youth group led at our local high school – it consisted of games, food, dramas, and a message about Jesus).

We presented gifts to the Thai Ministry of Education, gave out coffee mugs and pens to all migrant teachers and headmasters, hired a magician and planned fun crowd-breaker type games that everyone loved. At the end of the gathering, we were able to pray a blessing over everyone.  It was really special.

This event has paved the way for us to get to know more of the migrant school leaders in the BMWEC, which in turn, paves the way for us to be of more assistance to them.  Additionally, it has deepened our relationship with the MOE.  Ultimately, we hope that “A Fresh Start 2010″ gave the migrant community an encouraging kick start for the new year! 

On the personal side, it was a good learning experience for us as we engaged two cultures (Thai and Burmese) in an official capacity.  Translating between three different languages and navigating amongst three different cultures made the planning a lot more work…enjoyable, but definitely a lot more work!

Thank-you for continually supporting us financially.  We were able buy mugs, gifts, prizes and pay for the magician because of your donations!