Children registering to receive gift sets and door prizes

The Lutheran Hour Ministry Thailand (LHMT) director and staff spent part of Children’s Day on January 14 in Bang Pood Samakee 3.  This is one of the communities where LHMT assisted flood victims through the Flood Relief Packs project last month.  Bang Pood Samakee 3 had been under water for more than two months when LHMT first visited there.  After distributing the packs, LHMT accepted an invitation from one of the community leaders to return on Children’s Day to lead special activities for the children.

LHMT staff welcoming children

This Children’s Day was different from past years in Bang Pood Samakee 3.  This was the first time that they planned to have all the children gather together in one place.  Usually they had divided the children into several groups according to the different areas of the community in which they live.  This year more than 100 adults and 97 children attended.  A number of residents prepared free food.  Others sang songs or provided other entertainment from the stage that was set up for this special occasion.

Between 6:00-7:00pm LHMT staff started the entertainment time by teaching several children’s songs and having them all sing together.  They also

Explaining Children's BCC to parents and inviting children to join

led some games, gave out lots of door prizes, talked about the Children’s Day motto, advertised the LHMT Children’s Bible Correspondence Course and SMS text messaging program.  They ended their portion of the program by praying for the children and the families in the community.

When the LHMT staff arrived on Children’s Day, many of the Bang Pood Samakee 3 residents greeted them with warm smiles and friendly handshakes.  Several of them mentioned how much they appreciated the help that LHMT gave them.  It was fun spending time with them and sharing in their Children’s Day celebration.

LHMT staff having fun leading songs

As the LHMT director and staff were leaving, the Bang Pood Samakee 3 community leaders and other residents gave them many gifts of food to take home with them.  They were very pleased with the program LHMT led and asked us to return on Children’s Day again next year.  We were very happy to accept their invitation.

Students enjoyed watching the animated video, "The Little Shepherd"

During our annual Lutheran Hour Ministries Thailand (LHMT) Christmas School Outreach program each December we usually visit about 10 primary and junior high schools.  We had invitations to do our presentations about the real meaning of Christmas at 10 schools in Samut Songkhram Province this year, but we had to change our schedule.  Six schools had to cancel our visit, because they still were closed in December due to the floods that covered many parts of Thailand.

LHMT worked with local churches to plan and coordinate this program.  The four schools that were in session in December were very happy to have us present our program, because they never heard about the true meaning of Christmas before.

On December 13 the schedule was arranged by Pastor Gongpop Phujan from Jaisaman Samut Songkhram Church.  In the morning they did the program from 10:30-12:00 noon for 514 students at Muang Samut Songkhram School in Muang District.

In the afternoon 558 students at Ahnutbaan Muang Samut Songkhram School enjoyed the same program from 2:30-4:00pm.

LHMT staff gave gifts sets and encouraging Christian tracts to every student

On December 14 Pastor Samattapon Tankanitlert from Nimitmai Amphawa Church arranged for the LHMT team to visit two schools.  From 10:30-12:00 noon the LHMT team did the program for 299 students at Amphawan School in Amphawa District.  In the afternoon 130 students at Tessabaan School#3 participated in the program from 2:30-4:00pm.

Because all of the schools were primary schools, our staff showed the “Joel, The Little Shepherd” video to the children.  After watching the video, the LHMT staff talked about the story with the children to be sure they understood the main points about Christmas.

In addition to the video, the LHMT staff led many fun activities with the students.  They sang Christmas songs, played games and gave many door prizes to the children.  The pastors introduced their church members who helped with the program, told the students and teachers about their churches and gave a blessing to the teachers and students.

In spite of the schedule changes the trip went very well.  Everything was well organized by the pastors and our LHMT team were very happy with the results.  Although we weren’t able to present the program at six schools, we thank God for the opportunity to share the true meaning of Christmas with more than 1,500 students and teachers.  We also had a good chance to get to the know pastors and some of their church members and to begin building good relationships with them.  We look forward to working with them again in the future.

We distributed 2,100 Flood Relief Packs through this project

The original goal of the Flood Relief Packs Project was to provide 2,000 families, who suffered because of the floods, with rice, instant noodles, sardines, cooking oil, fish sauce, salt, sugar, medicine, a flashlight and batteries.  Although modifications had to be made, the project has been completed successfully.

After the first 1,000 packs were prepared and delivered to flood victims in several communities, the water began receding.  The time for cleaning homes and businesses was beginning, so the project team decided to make a change for the remaining packs.  Cleaning supplies were purchased and another 1,000 packs were assembled.

The houses in Ruam Gua Community in Tawee Wattana District in Bangkok had been flooded for 4 months.  When our team arrived there on December 22, the area finally was dry and the residents were beginning the big task of throwing out destroyed furniture and personal items, sweeping away trash and trying to remove the mold from the floors and walls of their homes.  They were very happy that we could provide Flood Relief Packs of cleaning supplies to all 672 families in their area.  The packs contained a pail, a brush, 3 sponges with cleaning pads, a container of cleaning liquid, 2 bottles of mosquito repellant, 2 pair of rubber gloves, a dozen cloth masks, 3 cleaning cloths and a container of skin balm.

On December 26 our team traveled to Tahan Bok Community and distributed cleaning packs to 300 families. The remaining 28 packs were given to the victims in the neighborhood around our Lutheran Hour Ministries Thailand office, who had been volunteering to help us with this project.

After delivering all 1,000 cleaning packs, we had some project money left. So we purchased more cleaning supplies and were able to deliver an extra 100 packs to more victims in Tahan Bok Community.

Our thanks to LCMS World Relief and Human Care, the Lutheran Hour Ministries headquarters in St. Louis and the Garuna Foundation for providing the funding for this project.  We thank God for the opportunity to help a total of 2,100 families who suffered from the flooding.

We’re happy that this project made it possible for us to get to know a number of our neighbors, who very generously volunteered their time and energy to help us assemble and distribute the Flood Relief Packs.  In the weeks ahead we look forward to following up with some of the communities we helped.

We also want to thank all of you, who donated money to this project and who have been praying for us and the Thai people affected by the worst flooding in Thailand in more than 50 years.  We very much appreciate your support and partnership in our ministry.

We're thankful to LCMS World Relief and Human Care, Lutheran Hour Ministries and the Garuna Foundation for funding this project

After some delays in getting supplies for the second distribution of Flood Relief Packs, we were able to help flood victims in two more communities on Saturday, December 10.  Once again the Lutheran Hour Ministries Thailand (LHMT) director and staff are very thankful for the large number of volunteers who came on Friday, December 9 to help prepare the packs.  Even with so much help, it still took about five hours to place all of the items into another 500 packs.

Because there was still quite a lot of water in their area, the residents of Ladpladuk community in Bangbuathong District had to come out to the main road to receive their packs from us Saturday morning.  Even the big trucks that the Royal Thai Army so generously provided weren’t able to drive all the way into their village.  Although they had received donations from the King’s Pack, the provincial government and the Thai Red Cross during the past few months, they still were in need of help.  In spite of the fact that we caused a small traffic jam because we had to distribute the packs along the main road, we were able to help 200 families.

After lunch our team traveled to Bangpood Village at Wat Goo.  After giving Flood Relief Packs to 263 families, the community leader gave us a short tour of the neighborhood.  We were very impressed by the long ribbon of wooden walkways they had built and by the huge dike of sandbags that ran through the area.  Bangpood Village had definitely been hit hard by the floods.  Not only did the water level reach nearly 2 meters (more than 6½ feet), but their homes were flooded for 4 months.  Just recently were they able to walk on dry ground again, even though some water still remains in low-lying areas and in the ground floor of some houses.

After spending some time together, the community leader asked the LHMT director to return to Bangpood community with her staff to conduct some special activities on Children’s Day in January 2012.  We thank God that we were able to provide Flood Relief Packs to the residents and for the invitation to do ministry among them on Children’s Day.  We look forward to seeing them again.

We still had 147 Flood Relief Packs left, so we decided to help two other groups of flood victims.  Some of our LHMT staff, Concordia Into Light Lutheran Church members, students in the English classes at the church and other families in the neighborhood surrounding our LHMT office are still recovering from the floods.  We are providing 47 packs for those families.

Just across the road from our LHMT office and the church/English center is a stand for motorcycle taxis.  While the roads were flooded, the motorcycle taxi drivers weren’t able to use their motorcycles.  Some of them were without any income until the roads were dry again.  Others earned a little money by walking through the flooded streets, pulling small boats that were carrying a few people and some supplies.

Our LHMT staff identified motorcycle taxi drivers whose homes were damaged in the floods.  We gave Flood Relief Packs to the families of 100 of those motorcycle taxi drivers.

We’re very grateful to LCMS World Relief, Lutheran Hour Ministries and the Garuna Foundation for donating the funding for this project.  We also want to thank the LCMS missionaries, Concordia Welfare and Education Foundation Thailand director and staff, Concordia Into Light Lutheran Church members and people from the shops near our LHMT office for volunteering their time and energy to help assemble and distribute the Flood Relief Packs.

Our team worked well together assembling the flood relief packs

On Saturday, November 26 we packed the first 500 bags for the Flood Relief Packs.  About 12 people helped, including Mrs. Gunya NaThalang (our Lutheran Hour Ministries Asia Counselor), our Lutheran Hour Ministries Thailand (LHMT) staff, our 2 LCMS long term volunteers, several members of Concordia Into Light Lutheran Church, a few students from the English classes and some neighbors who run shops near our LHMT office.

Most of the people in that group also helped deliver 390 packs to flood victims on Sunday, November 27.  With the generous free assistance of 2 big Royal Thai Army trucks we were able to carry our team and packs to three locations.  The community leader we worked with did a very good job of organizing the distribution in each place, so that every family that was supposed to receive a pack got one with no problem.

Our first stop was at Wat Baw School, where we gave packs to the families of 50 teachers who were victims of the floods.

Next we went to Village 5 in Bang Ta Nai sub-district in Pak Kret District that has been under water for more than two months.  The water there is still nearly 120 centimeters (4 feet) deep.  The people had to come to the meeting point in small boats to collect their packs.  We helped 220 families there.

Then we went to Village 4 in Bang Ta Nai sub-district, where we gave packs to 120 families.

Some of the people told us that they had received some help before, but they got only individual box lunches and small packs with just a few items inside.  They had never been given packs with so many helpful things, as they received from us.  On Monday the local organizer, Teacher Wanwalee, called to thank us and to tell us that many people had contacted her and said how much they appreciated the Flood Relief Packs and that they enjoyed meeting our team.

Everyone on our team had a good time working together and giving our time and energy to help these flood victims.  Spending the day working together was a good opportunity for us to continue getting to know our neighbors better.

They all said that they’re eager to help us again when we receive the supplies for the next 500 Flood Relief Packs.

Next week we will go to Lad Pla Duk community in Bang Bua Tong district to distribute the rest of the packs that we were able to purchase for the first phase of the Flood Relief Packs project.

We are experiencing some delays in ordering the supplies for the next 500 packs, but we pray that we’ll be able to distribute those soon.

LHMT staff worked hard to clean the floor in the bookstore

Although the flood water is still in the homes of some of the Lutheran Hour Ministries Thailand (LHMT) staff, the director and her staff were able to work in the office every day this past week.

A few days ago the water level dropped low enough that the water is no longer coming into the building.  In addition to doing some normal ministry activities the LHMT staff were able to clean the floor in the bookstore.  The floor is now dry and doesn’t seem to have any major damage after being under water for nearly one month.  A desk, a cabinet and some of the wooden bookshelves will need to be repaired or replaced, but we thank God that there doesn’t seem to be any serious damage.

Mr. Siam and Director Boom opening the office for the first time in nearly a month.

The flood level in the street in front of the Lutheran Hour Ministries Thailand (LHMT) building continues to subside, but very slowly.  Monday morning the level was still at 71 centimeters (28 inches).  In spite of that the director and staff waded through the water to get to their office.  Although about six inches of water stood against the front of the building, for the first time in nearly a month they opened the door and went inside.

As expected, water covered the floor.  Marks on the walls indicate that the level had been as high as 35 centimeters (14 inches), but now was down to 15 centimeters (6 inches).  We thank God that the building sits higher than the road or the flooding inside the building would have been much worse.  All of the bookstore materials had been moved to higher floors before the floods reached the building, so there was no loss of inventory.  The amount of damage to the floor, walls, cabinets, desks and bookshelves can’t be assessed until after the water is gone and the cleaning can be started.

It will be at least a few weeks before the first floor can be used again, but the director and staff were able to turn on the electricity in the upper floors and begin the process of getting back to work.  They spent part of the day discussing and planning details for the Flood Relief Packs project.  The supplies and bags have been ordered for the first 500 packs.  Because the supplier has limited inventory, LHMT won’t receive the materials until about November 22 or 23.  Hopefully, during the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States the LHMT director and staff, LCMS missionaries, Concordia Welfare and Education Foundation director and staff and some Concordia Into Light Lutheran Church members will be packing and delivering the first set of Flood Relief Packs to flood victims in the community near the LHMT office.

The goal of this project is to distribute 2,000 Flood Relief Packs, but some of the supplies are not yet available in such large numbers.  As soon as more items arrive at our supplier, we’ll deliver more packs.  We really appreciate the donations that many of you have made for this project.  If you haven’t sent a gift for this project, but you’d like to help, here’s what you can do.  Visit the Lutheran Hour Ministries website at www.lhm.org and go to their special giving page.  Or you can send a check made out to Lutheran Hour Ministries through the mail to 660 Mason Ridge Center Drive, St. Louis MO 63141.  Be sure to write “Thailand Floods” in the memo field.  You also can call the Lutheran Hour Ministries headquarters in St. Louis at 1-800-876-9880.

Three of the LHMT staff (Siam, Tak, Jin) still have flood waters in their homes.  Please pray for them and that we’ll be able to continue our ministry activities as soon as possible.

In spite of difficulties caused by serious flooding, people can still be seen smiling

Thailand’s nickname, The Land of Smiles, still holds true, even in the midst of the worst flooding the country has seen in more than 50 years.  Although millions of people have been displaced from their homes and large numbers of flood victims can be seen wading through waist-deep water, they still manage to greet one another with friendly smiles.

Flood waters from northern Thailand continue to reach Bangkok, but mostly are being diverted to the east and west in an effort to protect the central business district.  Residents in at least 18 of Bangkok’s 50 districts have been told they should evacuate the area, but many are trying to stay in their homes as long as possible.

As more of the districts in southern Bangkok begin to flood, the water level in the northern districts is finally beginning to slowly go down.  In the past 3-4 days the water covering the road in front of the Lutheran Hour Ministries Thailand (LHMT) office has dropped from 80 centimeters (32 inches) to 71 centimeters (28 inches).   The LHMT director is hoping that the office can be reopened Monday morning, if the water continues to subside.

The most immediate LHMT ministry activity that the director and staff will be working on is a project to provide flood relief packs to 2,000 families harmed by the floods.  As soon as possible packs  containing rice, sardines, instant noodles, cooking oil, fish sauce, salt, sugar, medicines, a flashlight and batteries will be delivered by the LHMT director, LHMT staff, LCMS missionaries working in Bangkok and Concordia Into Light Lutheran Church members.

LCMS World Relief and Human Care is providing the initial funding for this project, but more money needs to be raised.  If you would like to help, there are three ways that you can donate to this project.  1)  Visit the Lutheran Hour Ministries website at www.lhm.org and go to their special giving page.  2)  You can send a check made out to Lutheran Hour Ministries through the mail to 660 Mason Ridge Center Drive, St. Louis MO 63141.  Be sure to write “Thailand Floods” in the memo field.  3)  Call Lutheran Hour Ministries at 1-800-876-9880.

Please pray for the people of Thailand who have been affected by the flooding.

LHMT director and other volunteers packing lunch bags for flood victims

The Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand (EFT) is an umbrella organization through which Lutheran Hour Ministries Thailand (LHMT) and many other Christian groups are registered with the Religious Affairs Department of the Thai government.  On October 27 one of the LHMT staff, Mr. Siam Chommee represented LHMT by volunteering to assist the EFT with a flood relief project through their Thai Christian Relief Fund.  Ms. Yaowanit Kasetwattananon (interim secretary of the EFT Board of Directors) and Rev. Somnuek Montrilertratsamee (the chairman of Church of God World Missions) coordinated this project.

Mr. Siam helping distribute lunch bags in the flood area.

On October 28 the LHMT director and her husband joined them at the EFT headquarters on Ramkamhang Road.  They helped prepare 500 relief packets that contained lunches of cooked beef or pork, sticky rice and a bottle of drinking water.  Later that day Mr. Siam, Rev. Somnuek, Ms. Yaowanit and some church members delivered the packets to Bang Yai District in Nontaburi Province, which is in the Bangkok metropolitan area.  This is one of the hardest hit areas.

On October 29 , through the coordination of Rev. Decha Angkasuparagul from Full Gospel Assembly of Thailand and other volunteers delivered packs of personal supplies (toothbrushes, toothpaste, medicine and other basic items) to three places.  The first place was for Jaisaman Church Nontaburi members who were affected by the floods.  They also provided packs to some church members and other flood victims in Bangplad and Banggruay through the coordination of Rev. Surachai Wuttiudomlert, the chairman of the EFT Bangkok Metropolitan Region.  The third place was to victims in Wat Kongka community in Bang Yai, Nontaburi.

LHMT is happy to work with the EFT in this type of special holistic project.  We wish that more of our staff could have been able to help, but they were busy because the flood waters had come into their homes.  We look forward to working with the EFT again on some special projects in the future.

During this time we ask for your prayers for all of the Christian organizations in Thailand that are sharing Christ’s love in action, as they provide help to flood victims in many communities.

Another reason that the water level went up is that a group of people in Don Muang District damaged one of the barriers that was preventing the water from coming into the Changwattana Road area.  This is where our LHMT office is located, plus the church/English center (where the volunteer English teachers live) and the LCMS office.  The people were angry, because they thought the dike was causing their area to be flooded.  By breaking the barrier they hoped the water would leave their area.

On Saturday the LHMT director and her husband went to the Changwattana area to see the situation.  A 4-kilometer (2.6 miles) section of Changwattana Road was flooded.  The road in front of our LHMT office had 50-70 centimeters (about 25-28 inches) of water.

We feel sorry for so many people who live not far from our office, who have deep flood water in their homes.  In some places the water is 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) deep.  Some of the residents in those neighborhoods had to be evacuated by small boats and army trucks.  Thousands of people are living in temporary shelters set up by the government in some schools and government buildings and in shelters provided by private companies.

Our LHMT director and all of our staff are safe, but the flood water entered some of their homes a few days ago.

As the flood water passes through our area in northern Bangkok, it is moving closer to the central business section of Bangkok.  The Bangkok governor has been trying to block the water from entering that area, because it will cause a very big problem for the economy of Thailand.

We appreciate all the prayers that you have said on our behalf and ask that you continue to pray for our safety and protection.  Also, please pray for God’s blessing on the thousands of people who have been evacuated from their homes.