Chaiyaphum

I am mostly in charge of putting together our team newsletters... This first one I composed was too long for our team to use... However, you can go ahead and enjoy it in its entirety (I got carried away writing lol.)

---

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

• Ephesians 6:10-20, NIV

Howdy y’all!

First and foremost, it would be in the best interest of the readers to give our team a proper introduction. Here is a picture of us at YWAM North Cascades in Lynden, WA.

From left to right: Ethan Stoner, 28, Alyssa Dunn, 25, JT Bayliss, 20, Ashlin Cole, 19, Kiah Nordgren, 18, Madeline Hull, 18, Sarah Robison, 20-something, Trevor Sullivan, 20, (An)Drew Dunn, 25.

Drew and Alyssa are our fearless newlywed leaders, God’s hand is made apparent in their marriage by the way they interact with each other and the rest of the team through times of joy, adversity, and chaos. J.T. and Madeline are the heart of everything worship related, J.T. plays guitar and Madeline sings (quite well). Sarah is our head of hospitality, and she brings invaluable wisdom, life experience, and empathy to the table every day both to our team and the people we get to interact with. Ethan’s passion for soccer has begun to serve us well through our nightly soccer (futsal) ministry, and when he speaks it’s deep and worth listening to. Kiah, beside fulfilling her assignments as team scribe and journalist, has quickly become the most connected of us all with local schoolchildren… When she isn’t playing futsal she’s on the sidelines, cheering the others on and using Google Translate to bridge a language barrier that is admittedly difficult for us all. Ashlin’s God-given heart for people and infectious energy are both gifts that nobody takes for granted. The ability to lighten a room just by walking in is no small power, and she wields it gracefully. Trevor is technically in charge of the newsletters, but Madeline is a force of nature that makes sure they don’t get too out of hand.

While we haven’t been here at YWAM Chaiyaphum for very long, it feels like we’ve lived a lifetime. After leaving America some 220 hours ago, we had an 11 hour+ flight followed by an hour layover in South Korea (only 23 miles from the border of North Korea) and then a 6? Hour flight to Bangkok. By the time we got through customs and to the baggage claim, it was the middle of the night back home and everyone was exhausted. Stepping out onto the street shortly after was our first taste of the reason our base’s truck didn’t come equipped with a heater from the factory, just air conditioning. We loaded both the Cambodia and Thailand teams into trucks that were set up for people transport, and rode for half an hour to the YWAM base in Bangkok, soaking in the smells, sights, and warm southeast-Asian air. They do drive on the left side of the road here, but from my (Trevor) limited foreigner’s perspective, Thailand feels like if north central Indiana, Florida, and Mexico had a baby.

The following morning was deeply bittersweet. Team Cambodia was off to their mission field, and everyone knew that they wouldn’t see their friends in the other group for 10 weeks. One of the many special things about a YWAM DTS is how quickly deep relationships form, and that makes it all the more difficult when class size dictates multiple outreach locations. After a brief impromptu worship session, we prayed, shared hugs and tears, and watched them drive away.

The rest of the day was filled with exploration of the neighborhood, a trip to the mall, and a very warm orientation to Thai culture from our contact, John. For dinner, we walked a few blocks to the vibrant night market, where the vast selection of foods and smells, ranging from “plain rice” to “definitely still alive” was enough to make the more squeamish of our group balk a little. Everyone did eventually find something to comfortably eat, however it was evident that the adventure had indeed begun.

After rest and breakfast, we bid our contact goodbye and were off again. This time it was an hour by truck followed by a 4 hour bus ride. The latter was mostly uneventful, Maddie did manage to lock herself into the bathroom twice, Ethan tried and failed to waterfall out of a water bottle into his mouth, and the views out the window were varied and intriguing. In the late afternoon, we were dropped off at a small bus stop in the city of Provence. As soon as our transportation arrived for the last half-hour leg of the journey, we knew it was going to be a 5 weeks to remember… We loaded all of our luggage and selves into the cabs and beds of third gen Ford Rangers. J.T.’s hat blew off in the bed of one while Ethan and I (Trevor) sang country songs and thoroughly enjoyed the fresh air in the other.

We arrived at YWAM Chayaphum, our home for the next 5 weeks, around 6:00 p.m. We were warmly welcomed by the family that runs the small, cozy base on the edge of a 6000 person village in rural Thailand.

Every week we ask a team member to write a personal testimonial, and this week Sarah obliged. Given the circumstances that befell, her perspective is unique and I’m personally glad that out of all of us she took the time to share. The following is her writing:

Chiayaphum is a lovely province in central northeastern Thailand. Our team is located at a small base with Nan and Raem as our base hosts/leaders. They have four beautiful children. Pip, Asia, Matthew and Nation. We have been so blessed to have them all teach and serve us these past few days. 

Meals are prepared mostly by Nan and Pip, who always surprise us with  new and exciting dishes to try. I’m so very proud of our team as we are graciously eating what is put before us. Nan serves us with a chef’s hat on and it is 100 % for entertainment purposes! Meals are served family style and we all eat together sharing stories and just how good our God is.

Raem and Nan have a soccer ministry they started and are very proud of. They meet local children every evening to warm up, play scrimmages and compete in tournaments. This has been a huge opportunity for our team to not only play, but minister to all the children that come. It’s also great to get out all that energy we as a team have! 

Our first local church service on Sunday was definitely a “fly by the seat of our pants” moment. JT, Maddie, Kiah and Trevor helped lead worship, I gave the sermon and Ethan shared his testimony. I think we all (even though impromptu) agreed it went really well. We are looking forward to more opportunities to serve on Sundays.

On Sunday, December 8th I took a bad fall while playing soccer. Nan, Drew and Alyssa were able to quickly drive me to the local hospital. My wrist had suffered a fracture and would need to be reset and casted immediately. Unfortunately with the language barrier the staff at the hospital did the best they could and sent me on my way. Back at the base I quickly began feeling the panic set it. I felt uneasy. I had just given my Sermon on God’s restoration so I took a deep breath and remembered I had quoted Isaiah 41:10 in my sermon just that morning. I immediately felt the Holy Spirit wash over me. 

The next morning, YWAM North Cascades leadership, my husband, Drew, and Alyssa all agreed that a second opinion was wise. Alyssa along with Maddie would escort me to a hospital in Bangkok. We made the 4 hour trip with Nan and Raem driving us. We stopped at the YWAM base in Bangkok to drop off our things and then headed straight to the emergency room. I began praying for God to go before me and prepare Drs and staff, for communication to be clear and that no further complications would arise. I prayed that I would not need to be sent home to the states nor need surgery. 

We were quickly checked into Bumrungard International Hospital emergency room. The process was very quick and as I entered the emergency room I was met by Dr. Surapong Anuraklekha an Orthopedic Surgeon. He first assessed that the temporary cast was way too tight and began removing it. I had instant color and sensation back in my fingers. Thank you God! Alyssa had taken photos of my X-rays from the previous emergency room and showed Dr. Anuraklekha. He immediately said “She knows she will need surgery, right?” I think I knew deep down I would. He said he would be happy to fit me into his schedule as soon as Wednesday. We knew we would have to make a few calls before saying yes and moving forward. Either way he would want me to come back and have a more proper cast put on especially for traveling back to the states should it come to that.

We headed back to the Bangkok base to communicate with YWAM North Cascades leadership. A lot would need to be taken into consideration and I left it in God's hands. 

Tuesday, December 10th. We woke to amazing news! YWAM North Cascades agreed surgery was the best option for my overall health and wellbeing. They 100% supported me having this done and continuing on with outreach. I was overwhelmed and humbled by their love for me. Alyssa that morning had read to me Isaiah 41 verses 8-9. God has called me, I am His servant and He has chosen me. She wanted me to rest in knowing God is faithful, and He has big plans for me. We met back up with Dr. Anuraklekha and because of the severity and urgency he scheduled me for surgery that evening at 7:30pm. I am pleased to say the surgery went well, and I am on the road to healing and recovery. I am excited to be reunited with my outreach family and am looking forward to humbly serving the Thai people together.

God absolutely orchestrated every bit of this journey for His glory. God's love, grace and mercy is a gift to all of us and I will forever be obedient to Him. His restoration heals our wounds and gives us hope to love and live a life with Him. Psalm 23:3 says “He makes me strong again. He leads me in the way of living right with Himself which brings honor to His name.”

While the girls were in Bangkok, ministry back in Chaiyaphum looked a little different. We continued to go to futsal every night, prayer walked to two different temples, did concrete on and painted some of the building the students are sleeping in, of which the renovation is almost complete. Everyone was flexible, spontaneous, and willing to fill in where needed which made the week run much smoother than it could have with a less Christ-focused team. Drew worked overtime to make sure that we had the opportunity to serve in any way possible as well as to allow us to emotionally process the situation at hand, and for that I am very grateful.

At the time of writing this the team has been reunited back in Chaiyaphum, everyone is in good spirits, it’s a lazy Sunday afternoon and our second church service we’ve helped lead went smoothly (most of our team dancing around the altar to a worship song we couldn’t understand was not on anyone’s list of expectations, but it happened and was awesome).

Yesterday, we got to visit Tat Ton waterfall, a beautiful gem in a national park that, in the busy season, attracts tens of thousands. We were blessed to have the place mostly to ourselves, and enjoyed swimming, lounging on the rocks, and taking in the natural beauty. In the afternoon, we went and watched Asia’s and Matthew’s soccer teams compete.

Today (12/15) we learned that English lessons will start on Wednesday! We covet your prayers as we start them and continue to do other forms of ministry.

With love,

Team Thailand.