MINISTRY UPDATE!

By Ellie

All that's been going on, here in Bangkok!

The past few months have flown by and it’s certainly been a busy time for us here in Bangkok. So here’s some of what’s been happening…..

HOSTING SHORT-TERM OUTREACH TEAMS

We had three short-term outreach teams here with us at various times during January to March – the Transformation School, the Arts Evangelist School and the Foundations for Counselling Ministry school from Perth. They had many great ministry opportunities – slum ministry, evangelism in the city, worshipping on the streets, working in a drug rehab centre, painting murals in the slum area and at a child’s disability centre, public preaching, bible proclamation, prayer walking, spiritual mapping, running a local churches Sunday school and talking to/ forming relationships with some of the workers in the bars in one of the red-light districts in the city! We kept them busy that’s for sure!

We also have another team from Townsville, Australia here with us this week and will be hosting the Compassion DTS from Perth next month. It’s great to have teams working alongside us here and checking out what is going on in the city related to children - identifying trends and patterns related to trafficking, need, street children etc.

CAMBODIA RESEARCH TRIP – PARTNERING & NETWORKING

In March I visited Poipet, Cambodia for a week. Poipet is the border town/city between Cambodia and Thailand. The purpose of this trip was to discover the works of NGOs and ministries related to children at risk in and around the border area and to ascertain what the current needs are for this region related to children at risk. Take a look at the testimonies page for a report on the week in Poipet.

It was a very eventful and fruitful trip – linking and connecting with different organisations there and seeing how God wants to use Ark International in Poipet. I strongly believe that this is a place where He wants to use us and to support and serve alongside other ministries and NGOs there. The relationships and connections we have formed with individuals and organisations in Poipet are so real and poignant. Please be praying for God’s wisdom as opportunities in Cambodia are starting to open up for us.

SLUM MINISTRY

The kids continue to come each week and are enjoying the teaching, games and crafts more and more! Our focus is not only to teach the kids about healthcare and hygiene, but also to have input into their lives through discipleship. The kids are really starting to open up to us, and share different aspects of their lives with us. We finished a teaching series on the fruit of the spirit at the beginning of this year and will soon be finishing a series on ‘Love’ from 1 Corinthians 13. We believe that seeds are being sown in to theses children’s lives and pray that God will continue to reveal more of Himself to them.

NEW STAFF

Next week we will see two new staff members join us - Kelea and Rachael will be moving here from Perth, Australia with their two young boys – Malaki and Kanye. We are looking forward to having them here with us, and we’re so excited that the team is growing! Praise God!

SPORTS CAMPS

We will soon be starting up sports camps in the city, and hope to have a 3day rugby camp running at the end of this month while the kids are on their school holidays. This is a great opportunity for us as a ministry to establish relationships with kids, have positive input into their lives and for them to feel a part of something.

Please continue to keep Ark International in your prayers. The year has started off so well and we are grateful to God for His guidance and wisdom through the past few months. We continue to be full of expectation for great things over the next few months!