The trip is over but the mission has just begun!

The team made it back safe and sound.  God truly blessed this trip and had us all in the palm of His hand.  There is so much good soil in Thailand and at the Home of Blessing.  Megan is planning to go back in July 2008 and after Eleanor and I are married in May we are going to go back to the Home of Blessing as full time missionaires in September 2008.  Megan, Eleanor and I just put in 10 straight hours on a video we will be showing all over San Diego and hopefully the world to create awareness for the Home of Blessing, the girls their and the House of Prayer (their future church) that they are raising money to build.  You can view this video by going to www.youtube.com and typing in "Home of Blessing" into the search.  The trip is over but the mission has just begun! If you are interested in finding out more about future missions to Thailand, Pastor Sayan or ministry at the Home of Blessing please email me at jeffpshort@gmail.com.  Thank you all for your prayers and support for this amazing opportunity to see God work in the pure hearts of the girls at the Home of Blessing.  Cling tight to Jesus.   Jeff

"It's So Haaard To Say Good Bye!"

It was SO HARD after going back for only one day to the Home of Blessing to say our final goodbyes to all the girls! They had a ceremony at the end like the one they had prepared for the team to welcome us where they played a couple songs and the girls came up to give us hugs goodbye (they don't normally get or give much hugs, but for our team they did ALOT and they LOVED it!) and each girl said "God Bless You," to us - how precious! Please pray that the girls hearts won't grow lonely now that we're gone, but they'll simply draw closer each day to Christ! Love you all very much, laurel.

Sorry it's been so long...

Wow! We have been doing sooooo many fun things, it's hard to find time to write. My apologies. We are now in Chiang Mai and our trip is sadly coming to an end quickly. These last two days have been pretty chill here. Today we got to ride elephants through the jungle and I got to steer a bamboo raft down the Ping River. Rosa will post some pictures soon. Tonight we ate at this amazing barbeque your own food place and yeah...any weight I may have lost...forget about it :) Then we went to the night bazaar which is similar to a Mexican market type of thing. It's 12:30am right now and I am so sleepy, but I will update you some more later. I can't wait to share the stories in full...there are sooo many! I will share tomorrow about the vision our team has for the Home of Blessing. Goodnight! Rah-tis-awa :) ~Megan

Home sweet Home of Blessing

We professed the gospel in front of 500 non-Christian students.

It was a rough crowd but so worth it.

"We turn our eyes from evil things, Lord we cast down our idols...give us clean hands, give us pure hearts, let us not lift our souls' to another..."

"Head and Shoulders, knees and toes"

We finally made it back home to the Home of Blessing and the Pastor and his wife took us to a shrimp farm to eat. I actually ate 3 fried shrimp...they were yummy!

:)

Hola !!!!

hey every one just wanted to say hi to all of you, and to tell you that God's been doing an amazing job here even though sometimes it's not easy but God keeps going.

today we had to most crazy crowd of kids, the wouldn't stay still and listten but still we keeped going with our dramass and songs , i know that God will move in their hearts some day.

kk got to go and play football :) keep us in ur prayers, thank you .

ur friend Rosa ...

Camp Joy

Our team spent Tuesday evening at Camp Joy in the Nan Province. It is an orphanage for 40+ children. We played them in soccer for the first hour and then did dramas, testimonies, worship and shared the gospel with them. They were the most receptive audience we have had yet! God has strengthened our teams unity and our dramas have been getting sharper and sharper. God keeps opening doors to new exciting ministry opportunities.

Rosa and the babies (Cookie and Hunny)
Street Evangelism in a market place

Peanuts from Primary School

creative english lessons

Primary School Outreach

Yesterday we got to go to a Christian primary school. The school is run by Christian administrators and teachers, but the student population is diverse with both Christians and non-Christians. So it was a really cool opportunity to minister to very young Christian kids as well as kids who don't know Jesus as their personal savior. We went and taught english lessons to five classrooms ages 7 to 9. They were so smart! I was really surprised that they already knew a good sized amount of vocabulary! We used puppets for the small kids and we found creative ways to teach them new words they didn't know before. We worked on the alphabet, colors, and emotions. Then we did an assembly for them where we sung worship songs, performed dramas and taught them action songs in english and Thai. The kids were all so well behaved and they seemed to love the outreach! They were chasing after us in the truck as we pulled out of the shcool! Thanks for all your prayers and support! Please keep it up! Laurel

Monday nights street evangelism

Last night we had a really cool opportunity to do some street evangelism in the Nan Province. We didn't know what to expect and we didn't think we would have an interpreter or a sound system, but we actually got to set up an outreach at a street festival. We sang worship songs and performed dramas for the people at the festival. The people really seemed to enjoy it and appreciate us for being there. David's enthusiastic spirit led the team into sharing the gospel with individuals after he gave the gospel message. We had alot of fun at our first festival and our first street evangelism experience here in Thailand. Please lift up the hearts of the people here to the Lord that He soften and prepare their hearts for the seeds we will plant; and that He continues to give us boldness and effectiveness as we preach His word and share His love with Thailand! Thank you, Laurel.

Innocent Beauty

Gyim...SMILE!

Sisterly love

Presents from Jesus (Dovetail Ministries)

Laughter is contagious

A New Beginning

Hey everyone! It's Megan. It's our 1st official day in the Nan Province. It's a bigger city, but it seems so much more laid back than Chaing Kham. I miss the girls at the Home of Blessing so much. It was very hard to leave. We will be staying in a a safe hotel for the next few days under the care of Pastor Narong who has planned out the week for us. Today we did an outreach at a men's prision re-entry program and I believe the Spirit truly fell on that place through our worship and testimonies and dramas. Unfortunately at this time we don't have the connector to post pictures but we will as soon as possible. Our schedule for the week is still open for changes, but so far we hae visited the prision, we are supposed to go to the Fantasy Fesitval, which is the celebration of the King of Thailand's birthday where we will street evangelize, and visit some shcools to do children's ministry. Thankfully we will return to the Home of Blessing for one more night on Friday to say our final good-byes and then off to Chain Mai we go where we will attend a Pastor's conference and ride elephants...haha! Well family, we hope you're enjoying our trip thus far. Feel free to comment with questions and we will post more updates and pictures soon! <3 ~Megan

Off to the Nan Province

Pratchow san de! (God is so good) Our team is off to the Nan Province today. It is a 4 hour drive east of Chiang Kham (It's in Northeastern Thailand) The Home of Blessing has been an experience like none I've ever had before-I asked the Pastor "How do you keep 126 girls so well behaved and respectful with only 8 staff? He said-"We dont rule over them with laws and ordinances we just lead them to the Lord" Enough said! Our prayer request today are for the unknowns of the Nan Province-This is the one week of our trip that we could not plan out before hand. We are not concerned one bit though because our God is the creator of the entire universe (including Thailand) and he has us right where he wants us- To Him who is ABLE to do exceedingly abundantly above what we can ask or think-Eph 3:18 Thanks for all of your prayers. Next time we update the site we will be right on the border of Laos and Thailand.
Jeff

Diggin holes for the Lord

Megan and her new friends

David and Ratana

English Lessons

Last night after dinner we broke the girls up into four groups and taught english lessons for almost two hours. There are a few girls that can speak a little English but most of them are just learning the alphabet and the basics. There is a huge need for English teachers here. Pastor Sayan said when the girls graduate from the Home of Blessing if they can speak English they have a much better chance for a good job and a better chance to get into a Thai University. Please pray for full time English teachers to come and stay at the Home of Blessing. I am praying that God uses us as part of the solution.

THE BEST NEWS I"VE HEARD SINCE WE ARRIVED--when speaking to the Pastor he told us that none of the 126 girls here at the Home of Blessing have ever been exposed to prostitution or the sex trafficing industry that is so prominent in Thailand. Everyone of the girls were rescued before they were sold into prostitution or protected by God through other means until a space at the Home of Blessing became available! This is a far different story then when the Pastor and his wife started the Home of Blessing over 18 years ago. God is working in mighty ways out here and more and more girls are being rescued and given a safe home and more importantly are being led to the Lord.
The work, however, is not finished and there are so many girls that are unrescued. The Home of Blessing needs more awareness and support. We need more people like Pastor Sayan and his wife that are willing to lay down their lifes for the calling God has placed before them. Our team is working on a documentary that will create this awareness. We are interviewing the pastors of the area and the girls here at the Home of Blessing. We are going to make a video that will not only pave the way for future ministry here at the Home of Blessing but for all of northern Thailand. Thank you for all of your prayers!
Jeff

Amazing Love

So we finally made it. Yesterday was our first day at the Home of Blessing and we experienced first hand why the name is made for this ministry. 126 beautiful pairs of brown eyes glowing as they line up to welcome us individually to their home with a rose. I can't begin to put into words the pureness of this ministry family. I have to post a video to allow you to witness for yourselves what I mean. Today we woke up at 5 to pray and worship with the girls and breakfast was amazing! :) I (Megan) spent all day with the girls while the boys helped assemble a new roof for their meeting hall. Rosa and Laurel are on their way and wow...they are gonna be so overwhelmed with joy when they get here. Pastor Sayan said he would take us to a waterfall where he has baptized the girls and I wanna get baptized again!! This family is the most hospitable and godly family I have ever met...no exaggeration. Beautiful can't even explain what it is to be here. Tomorrow night we get to do an outreach with the girls and learn their worship dances and teach them some of our songs. Games, laughter, and fun!!! Prat ye su rahk coon means Jesus loves you :) I don't think I would ever be able to learn how to read or write this language but I know if I were to stay...I don't know...20 years may be :) then I might be able to speak Thai. Honestly there is so much to say. I will post pictures tomorrow evening to show you what's been happening. I love you all and oh yeah...please pray for the Home of Blessing's House of Prayer...they want to build a meeting hall that is indoors and not outdoors. I will give you all the info. and fundraising ideas later. <3 Sho-out to my mama and sister! <3

2 Minutes

It's Megan. It is so cool out here. Lots of travelling though. This is the first sunlight we've had since we left. The time change is crazy but so cool.Love you all back at home. Talk to ya soon...

Minor Roadblocks

Since David Chu was already over in Korea and was scheduled to meet us in Bangkok the other 5 team members arrived at Lax about 16 hours ago to fly to Taipei. We ran into some minor roadblocks. Rosa and Laurel were not able to take the originally scheduled flight due to visa and passport complications and will be flying out of LAX on Wed. Please keep in prayer that our team would be successfully united in Chiang Kham at the home of blessing. Alex, Megan and I are off to Bangkok in about 15 minutes. God bless everyone-Thanks for your prayers
Jeff

WE ARE OFF!
Team Thailand is leaving San Diego at 8am this morning (Monday 26th) and flying out of LAX at 1:50 pm to Taipei, Taiwan and then on to Bangkok, Thailand. Our prayer requests are for safe travel, good health, translators and unity among the team.
Thank you to Bill & Anna and everyone else that is keeping us covered in prayer. Thank you to Mike Short for allowing our team to use your camcorder on this mission. We intend to use it to assist us in capturing and spreading the vision for future ministry in Thailand. Thank you to Kathy Short and everyone else that helped us with resources to make this mission trip possible. God is faithful and He has blessed us through you all exceedingly abundantly above what we asked for and above even our thoughts for this mission.
Special thanks to Eleanor-I love you and I am blessed to have you by my side. Thank you for all of the time and energy you have spent helping me prepare for and plan for this trip.
I know God has divine appointments lined up for us everywhere we go and my prayer is that the people of Thailand are empowered by the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ that we are bringing their way. As a team we are committed to "rising up and building" & putting our hands to the good work the Lord has set before us. -Neh 2:18
Keep checking back for updates on the mission.
God Bless! -Jeff

This is a picture that David took 5 years ago of the beautiful young ladies from the Home of Blessing in Chiang Kham, Thailand with Pastor Sayan and his family. Pastor Sayan has a heart for the young girls of Thailand whose families sold them into the sex trafficking culture, in which the Lord used him to save these girls from. We are going out there to share God's love through practical ways out outreaches, time, laughter, and needed service projects. I cannot wait to take some pictures of our own!!!

Thanks Eleanor for hooking us up with this awesome flyer!! Also thank you everyone who has been praying for us! Please leave us some comments and feedback! The next posting will be coming up soon to give you details about the Home of Blessing and our ministry focus for this portion of our mission. <3

"My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Time's-a-tickin and Team Thailand is beginning to put the medal to the medal. These next two weeks are crucial for prayer and practice! We'll be working on our drama outreaches, which we believe will be the most impactful Gospel presentation for the people of Thailand. We thank you all who have been praying for us. God is really moving and your prayers have helped us stay strapped in tight. Feel free to comment on our page...it would be great to see who's reading. <3

Cracking the Shell

Well this is it. The fun has begun! David Chu, Alex Collins, Jeff Short, Laurel Kepner, Rosa Wettengel, and myself, Megan Michaud, have officially been approved to go to Thailand and fulfill the mission God has placed on our hearts. I can't even begin to tell you what a miracle this trip coming together is. For our school, the Horizon School of Evangelism, we are required to go on a 3 week internship and without knowing, for each of us, the door to what would have been our internships, were closed. The teams that came together had been meeting for 5 weeks or so, so when we proposed a trip to Thailand just this last Thursday, the odds were against us. The Bible says, "What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut." And so He did because Team Thailand was approved yesterday, Monday November 5, 2007. Amazing, but not even the whole of it. We had to come up with over $7000 to be able to go and more than 2/3 of our little group did not have the money. Long story short, Tuesday morning came and almost all of our finances have been covered. What a faithful and powerful God we serve. Please continue to prayer for our finances, health, provision, unity, and whatever else God places on your heart. More updates with more details will be coming soon! Love you all.