Biola’s Missions Conference 2012 Promo from The Student Missionary Union on Vimeo.

January 2012 STM Trips from The Student Missionary Union on Vimeo.

If you have any questions, please email Rob at smu.recruit@biola.edu

Leader Expectations
Summer Leader Application
Ministry Reference
Pastor Reference
Personal Reference

Thailand
Spain
Swaziland
El Salvador

Now that I’ve caught your attention, let me back up. The past two days have been quite an adventure. Yesterday, Sunday, we got to experience a Christian church in Thailand. First of all, praise God that this church exists! It was so exciting to see that even though Thailand is 95% Buddhist there are still people here that love and worship God! (As a side note, they really like Hillsong here )

The adventures continued as we took some of the kids from TawSaeng to a near by park and played. For hours. Playing has the same language everywhere: running and laughing! So we were finally able to interact with them with no miscommunication, just fun! The last of our adventures for Sunday consisted of the Sunday walking market. This is a market that over takes a few miles of streets. It was like walking around any normal street except for the thousands of people pushing you around, hundreds of carts selling thousands of random items, and street performers only adding to the chaos. So ya, maybe not like any normal street…

Ok, now onto the exciting stuff. Elephants and rafting. Yep, that was the majority of our day today. After a long, windy van ride up the mountain we found ourselves on the side of the road where a dirt entrance revealed about 6 full grown elephants walking around. We walked across the kind of bridge Indiana Jones does, climbed up a platform and sat in a “basket” on the back of an elephant, all the while laughing at how differently things would be if we were doing this in America. So we rode on the back of an elephant, no seat belts, just holding on to our seat backs, so we wouldn’t fall off whenever the elephant shifted weight or went down hill. It was exciting, and it was magnificent!

Kelly and Lucy

Merari, Lindsay and Tessa

Chrissy and Brittany

After visiting a hill tribe whose name is pronounced like our American name “Karen” we found ourselves again at an activity that if were in America would have had much more extreme safety precautions. Let me correct myself, it would have HAD safety precautions! In groups of four we stepped onto, literally 8, 3inch thick pieces of bamboo strapped together with strips of tire and began floating down a moving river with our driver stirring us in a similar fashion as a Italian gondola. Get the idea? It was like nothing I have ever done before and it was incredible. The men that drove our rafts were characters to say the least and as a result we got extremely wet!

An adorable little one from the Karen Hill tribe

We concluded our day with a birthday celebration for our dear Lindsay at a restaurant that serves what they call here, “western food”. What we would call, burgers! Yes, we’re in Thailand and yes we should be eating Thai food, but trust me we have been, and what the birthday girl wants, the birthday girl gets.

All of this to say, the past two days have been days of adventure, but not only that, that they have been days were I/we have been able to experience God is incredible ways. Whether that was sitting in a church listening to a sermon given in both Thai and English, or running around with little kids whose beautiful faces shine with the creativity of God, or maneuvering through a crowded market place surrounded by a mix of what seemed like representations of every tribe and nation, or riding on the backs of a gigantic, beautiful examples of God creation, or even screaming and laughing as we “floated” down a river, we got to see God in beautiful ways today! And we are so thankful!

Tomorrow we begin our first week of working at TawSaeng. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we seek to love on these kids despite the language barrier.

We love you all!

-Chrissy Keegan

Most of Thailand is Buddhist. Buddhism is all about walking the middle life. Whatever life you are given here, that is your life. So if someone is poor or a prostitute, then that is there purpose in life. You do not help them because you may be changing their purpose and you do not want to displease the spirits. At the same time, you seek to do good things to win merit and please the spirits. Girls here Chiang Mai usually get into the sex industry because they want and need money. It is expected when the children move out of the house that they take care of their family and send money. The more money they can send back, the more respect their family gets in the community. Family is emphasized here as well as respect. Put yourself in their shoes, would you go into prostitution to bring your family honor and to help please the spirits? It is hard to be judgmental when you come at it from their perspective.

Also, even if a Buddhist were to become a Christian, they would be blamed for the bad things that happen to themselves, their family, and their community because of doing things to not please the spirits, i.e. bringing a sacrifice to the spirit houses. Their actions not only affect them, but affect everyone around them. It is another reason why it is so hard for a Buddhist to become a Christian. Would you be willing to give up your family and be blamed for bad things happening around you? Maybe even kicked out of your house for Christ? Remember to praise the Lord for the freedom to choose Him without this persecution. Pray for Thailand. Pray that the Lord would continue to move and set His people free. They are His children and have the right to know Jesus. Pray especially for the sexual bondage here and the bondage of fear. Pray for the King of Thailand to become a Christian. Prayer is powerful and changes things in the spiritual realm, which is reality. Please pray for strength for the team as well.

It has also been a blessing to see how the Lord is working in our team. Multiple people have received a word of light for our team and how we are vessels for the light which is Jesus. Even the name “Taw Saeng” means rays of light or shining light. One of the ways we bring light is through prayer. Our team has been learning the importance of prayer. This mission trip is about prayer. With a language barrier, it is often hard to communicate but we can always pray. We can pray specifically for each child in Taw Saeng and have the opportunity to love them with Christ’s love.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

-Tessa McFarland

As a team, we did devotions on the first two chapters of John. In the first chapter, our leader, Lucy, reminded us of the light that God has called us to be: He wants us to shine. It also mentions how lightness will always cover darkness so we should have full trust in that. We talked about the city of Chiang Mai and how much darkness has invaded the city and how God has brought us to share His light.

In addition to the Bible, we brought the book Jesus Calling which in the first day of devotionals reminded us to trust Jesus. It specifically mentioned trusting the Lord in the midst of difficulty and that’s exactly what we’re striving for in our team. During the second day/flight (it’s a little confusing but it was the 5th of January) Brittany, our other leader led us into the second chapter of John and how we should look at what God has done in our past and be grateful for it. All of those struggles have brought us to grow closer to God. The book Jesus Calling reminded us that being victorious means so much more than just being successful. God takes delight in our mistakes, because we don’t have to be perfect to be victorious in Him.

…being victorious means so much more than just being successful.

After getting situated in Nice Mum Lodge, the hotel we’re are staying in, we went to eat Thailand food. It was the best food ever! We then served at Taw Saeng, which was also really good! We got to meet the kids, the director of the organization and the staff. They were all deeply in love with God and passionate about their calling. The kids were a huge blessing and we all can’t wait to build relationships with them.

Please pray that the hearts of these kids open to hear about God and that our team stays united. Also pray that we can constantly be reminded that this trip is for the Lord.

-Merari Aleman

Biola University Short Term Missions 2012 from The Student Missionary Union on Vimeo.

When Jesus calls us to go somewhere and speak His name, often the first thing He breaks is our expectations. Maybe this is because He wants to remind us that our ministry is for His purposes and not our own. Maybe this is to realign our goals with His. Whatever the reason, we can take heart that if we are indeed pursuing His purposes in our ministry, then He will be glorified and we will be contributing to His kingdom.
I had the privilege to sit down with a member from each of the 2011 summer short-term mission trips and listen to their stories. I heard about these expectations that were broken, as well as relationships that were formed, people who were transformed and the work of the Holy Spirit throughout the nations. I pray that as you read each of their stories, you become empowered to share Jesus’ unconditional love with a world that is desperate for it, curious about it and waiting to hear it. I pray that these stories bless you, encourage you, break you and challenge you to go.

In Christ,
Lydia Ness
SMU Publications Editor 2011-2012

Check out The Went Book Summer 2011