Special Needs Project

Lees 1 - 5 terugvoer-briewe bo (eerste brief) na onder (laaste brief) oor die vordering van die projek oor 3 weke

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Letter 1

Friday Evening 6 July 2012

Hello Dear Family & Friends of Philip

I trust and pray that this e-mail finds you well and blessed.

Over the next 4 weeks or so, I will be sending you some news tit bits and updates from Thailand and the Special Needs Project that will be unfolding on the Island of Ko Phayam on the shores of the Andan sea.  I will be e-mailing in English and ask all our Afrikaans friends to please bare with me – my written Afrikaans would not stand up to this challenge.

And so it is some 4 weeks ago that we received pictures and disheartening messages from Philip our dear brother in Christ. His home on the Moken Island of Ko Phayam (built with his own hands) was being flooded by the monsoon high tides. Living in the house was becoming unbearable as the flood waters were washing right through the house and some of his equipment and possessions were already being damaged.

 

What could be done to solve this problem – simple – his house would need to be broken down and rebuilt on stilts above the water line so that the sea could flow below without getting the whole house wet. This was a task easier said than done. Philip is alone, apart from his Moken family of children that he is taking care of. The local men in the village are all currently out to sea – as this is peak fishing season – so not many able bodied men to help. Then even if he could get people to help, they are not skilled and Philip would have to supervise every part of the project – and he cannot do this as he is teaching the children in the local Thai school.

So what was to be done??

A local disaster relief team to be sent from South Africa to assist our brother and the Moken youngsters with him, in this time of need!!  And so it started to take shape – the sending cell mobilised, God’s direction was sought, much prayer and intercession – and then there were 2 and then 4 and now 7 on this team to go and assist Philip in lifting his home onto stilts – clear of the rising flood waters.

the 6 volunteers and 1 recce person

Much planning was made by the sending cell & Philip and outside friends and team members – but in all this planning and busyness there was one thing that just amazed us beyond all our wildest expectations – and that was the faithfulness of you his Family & Friends – you who have determined and discerned that Philip is good soil into which you can sow your seed – and sow you have – not just financially, but in prayer and support and encouragement. Thank you for heeding the call, for hearing Our Father’s voice and responding beyond expectation.

The final team comprises 7 of which 3 of the team members have taken it upon themselves to finance there own trip to assist in this project. Two of the team members already arrived in Bangkok on Wednesday (JP & his son Jordan) from the Kingdom Encounters camp – JP & Philip’s friendship go back many years and was forged at the same time as Philip’s friendship grew with Jonathan Kwok (currently part of his team and fellow STAMP member). Jonathan & Calley are based on the mainland in Ranong.
 

You could say that JP & Jordan were part of the advanced logistics team – they have gone ahead of the rest of the team to book bus tickets and organise accommodation – and then to buy some equipment for the project – besides now being able to bless Philip with a new inverter to power his laptop & cell phone (the old one got water logged), they are also buying an electric hair clipper for Philip so that he can trim the kids hair himself (we’ll let Philip tell you that story himself). Then they are scouting for spades – yes you read right – good old fashioned South African spades to dig holes. The Thai people do not use spades like we do – they rather use a hoe to dig holes – us South Africans are just not used to such equipment – and the team need to dig big deep holes to plant those poles in the sea sand – JP said he was still searching the Bangkok stores for something that resembled a proper spade!

In addition to the tools that are being searched for in Bangkok – each team member had to take along his own tool kit – hammers, pliers – hand drills (no power in the Moken village) etc etc. – 23 kg luggage of which 15kg’s is equipment.

Paulien, the 3rd member of the team and part of Philip’s sending cell arrived in Bangkok this evening. She will be there for only 2 weeks and will be doing some scouting work – this with a view to taking exposure groups to visit Thailand and Philip in the not too distant future – watch this space. Paulien will also be meeting with Peter Shankar, who is Philip’s oversight from his missions organisation STAMP – with a view to also broadening South Africa’s relationship with him and the STAMP organisation.

The rest of the team departs on Sunday and will be IN Thailand till 28 July.

I am not going to tell you more as I want to keep some of the stories for later and allow you to participate in the unfolding of this adventure as we invite Our Father to write His Story into it.

Please pray with me: Our Loving Father God, You have made all the peoples of this earth and as You love us so you love each and every soul out there. It is Your desire to see all reconciled to Yourself. We are so privileged that You have chosen to use us to show Your love to all the peoples of the world. May we be found worthy of this great task You have laid before us. Father, thank You for Your hand of protection over the Special Needs Team that is to work in Thailand over the coming weeks, for travel mercies, to keep them in good health and to strengthen them physically in the tasks ahead. May Your will be done & Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven. We pray this in the most precious name of Our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ.

Till the next time

________________________

Letter 2

Tuesday Evening 10 July 2012

Hello Dear Family & Friends of Philip

I trust and pray that this e-mail finds you well and blessed.

Firstly, just a huge thank you to all who have e-mailed back with messages and words of encouragement. I thank you so much for your efforts & time to write back – it is much appreciated. I must now also apologise for not being able to respond to all of you – I will certainly still try to do so.
 

The whole Special Needs Project team - includes Jon & Cally Kwok (as well as Danelin & Melissa) 

 

And so a week has already past since the first members of the Special Needs Project departed from OR Tambo for Bangkok. JP & Jordan as part of the “advanced” team to do all the necessary prep, then Paulien arrived there on Friday to do some scouting with a view to taking future cultural exposure teams to Thailand and to visit Philip.

In my previous e-mail I mentioned that JP was looking for spades to take with to the Island to use to dig the holes for planting the poles – well he managed to find spades – not exactly what we are used to, however spades they are. The inverter and the hair clippers were also obtained.  

Then it was time for the rest of the team – Arno & Louise, Estelle and Jeroen. They departed on Sunday morning and arrived in Bangkok after 17 hours of travel. After something to eat, they were ordered to bed to catch up on some sleep as they departed that same evening on a bus for a 10 hour trip to Ranong – and the likely hood of a sleep on the bus was very slim. They arrived early morning at the seaside town of Ranong, had a little time to great Jonathan & Cally (Philip’s team members) organise the necessary supplies before departing on a boat trip at 2pm to go to the Island of Ko Phayam.

I am pleased to report to you that all have arrived safe and sound on the Island – all but quite wet. It is raining incessantly and everyone and everything is getting drenched. Arno has also caught a bit of middle ear infection – so please pray for his complete healing. The team will be commencing early tomorrow morning with the first part of the project – to move all Philip’s stuff in his house to a rain proof storage place and then it will be time to break down the old house in preparation for the building of the new. Please remember the team in your prayers as they work in these wet and difficult conditions.

You will be able to catch up on the developments as they unfold with the special needs project team on Ko Phayam Island by visiting the following blogs. Updates may now be irregular as communications are quite limited on the Island – but give the blogs a visit and have a good look around:

 

http://www.taaiboernewsletter.blogspot.com/

http://meanderwithjp.blogspot.com/

http://kefpretoria.blogspot.com/ - the 2012 Trips page

And so that brings us to the end of chapter two of this most amazing adventure that we invite Our Father to write His Story into.

Please pray with me: Our Loving Father God, thank You for Your faithfulness in bringing the team safely to Ko Phayam Island. We come before You and ask for Your hand of protection over the team and their physical well being as they work in the difficult conditions. We thank you for no illness and no injuries to any team members and for protection from any diseases. Holy Spirit we ask for your guidance of the team as they undertake the first phase of the project, for mental vitality & swiftness of hand – for Your supernatural ability in their bodies.

Thank You Father that we can petition before You for the calming of the storms, for the rain to be held back as this team toils for Your Kingdom plan.

May Your will be done & Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven. We pray this in the most precious name of Our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ.

 Till the next time

 _______________________

Letter 3

Friday Evening 13 July 2012

Hello Dear Family & Friends of Philip

I trust and pray that this e-mail finds you well and blessed.

Again, my sincerest thank you to all of you for your responses & messages – it is most encouraging to receive your feedback and hear your excitement about this project and the story Our Father is writing into these events. Please forgive me if I do not respond to all of you – but know that every message is valued and taken to heart – thank you again.

raining buckets

 

And so the week ends and the weekend approaches. Much has been accomplished in what is the most challenging of circumstances on Ko Phayam Island Thailand, but there is still very much to do. The team arrived on the Island Tuesday & went straight to work - there was no time to relax and enjoy the tropical Island.

     

The team jumped in straight away to unpack Philip’s home, moving his stuff to a waterproof location, and then it was down with the old in preparation for the new. In the process of breaking down the old home, Estelle was bitten by some vicious red island ants (please keep her in your prayers) they left some nasty bites on her – who says everything on a tropical Island is fun?

Part of the team is busy transporting the building materials from the Ko Phayam harbour to the Moken village, where Philip’s home is. They are using the “school bus” to transport bags of sand and cement (for the concrete) and also other supplies needed for the construction project. The concrete pillars for the stilts were brought to the village by tractor. Of course that is not the end of the trail – all the supplies must be transported across the tidal river on Philip’s built float, and then carried another 150m to the village – real hard physical work in muddy, wet, hot and humid conditions.

    

To make circumstances even more unmanageable the tides are again already beginning to rise – full spring tide will be happening next week. It is thus imperative that the team complete the planting and anchoring of the concrete stilts before then – so that they can start with the construction of the home. As they have been digging the holes for the concrete stilts the water has been flooding in and collapsing the holes – a trench had to be dug to divert the waters – taking much extra time and effort.

Then it is up to the cooking team to collect food and supplies from the Island harbour town and then take it to the working team in the village – where it is prepared and cooked for lunch time. The team also only has electricity at there accommodation from 7pm to 10pm in the evenings.

So many challenges all round for the Special Needs team.

This weekend, Jonathan & Cally arrive from Ranong bringing additional supplies from the mainland. Jonathan will also be an additional hand to help and Philip will be with the team for the whole weekend as he does not have to go give school.

The team is also having its fair amount of scrapes and cuts and scratches – as the work is physical and hard. An added irritation to these injuries is that due to the humidity, the injuries are infecting making them even more unpleasant and irritating.

 

 

You will be able to catch up on the developments as they unfold with the special needs project team on Ko Phayam Island by visiting the following blogs. Updates may now be irregular as communications are quite limited on the Island – but give the blogs a visit and have a good look around:

And so that brings us to the end of chapter three of this most amazing adventure that we invite Our Father to write His Story into.

Please pray with me: Our Loving Father God, thank You for Your faithfulness and keeping Your hand of protection over the team on Ko Phayam Island. We come before You and ask for Your hand of healing over the team and their injuries and for physical well being as they work in these difficult conditions. Father, as the physical challenges face the team, we thank You for guiding them in their actions, for mental vitality and Holy Spirit for Your supernatural ability in their bodies. Father we come before You and ask You to hold back the rising waters and for the calming of the storms as this team toils for Your Kingdom plan. Thank you Father for Your hand against the enemy and his plans – they will not prevail against Your Kingdom.

May Your will be done & Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven. We pray this in the most precious name of Our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ.

Till the next time

___________________________

Letter 4

Wednesday Evening 18 July 2012

Hello Dear Family & Friends of Philip

I trust and pray that this e-mail finds you well and blessed.

Thank you for your faithfulness and prayers for Philip and the special needs team. In the last e-mail we asked you to stand in prayer with us and ask Our Heavenly Father to hold back the storms and the waters. It was becoming nearly impossible for the team to work effectively and to make progress – especially in regards to digging the holes in the sand, that were continually filling with water and making it impossible to erect the concrete pillars and also to cast the concrete. But it is Our Father’s desire that we ask Him – and so you did and the Faithful Father that He is – He held back the storms and the rains. It has been sunny and without rain for the past 5 days – Praise Our Heavenly Father for responding to our prayers.

And so, without the rains the team has made good progress with the task at hand. However the challenges are ever present – there is no electricity so everything is done the old fashioned way – by hand. Even though it is not raining, the result is much heat without the cooling effect of the rain showers. But our team remains unfazed by the challenges remaining, for they are under His guidance and upheld by your prayers, thoughts and support.

 

The team continues to make amazing plans and is coming up with ingenious solutions to overcome the obstacles that face and challenge them each day as the project unfolds.

Then the questions begin to be asked – why are we doing this? What is Philip actually doing in this remote part of the world amongst these people? – Can we really make a difference? – Is this effort all really worth it?

Paulien wrote to me this morning from Bangkok (she is returning earlier than the rest of the team):

- “When looking at the Moken village on the surface, it is hard to comprehend that this most unlikely place and people is what Father chose to penetrate our hearts and lives.... How is it that a simple little semi-indigenous structure like Philip’s house in a poor and dirty place, can interrupt our lives and then have such a profound impact?

I will never be the same again. God was faithful and touched my life again ....

When Jon and Cally arrived on the island Saturday morning, he could interpret for me what the Moken locals were saying and there I met the people Philip writes his stories about! What I witnessed was so profound as I saw the goodness of God portrayed through Philip just living with them as a son of the Most High God.

Jesus repeated the Old Testament when He said the poor will always be with us and His intent to take us to them is quite clear. His love for them is not difficult to see once you are physically there. Which brings me to wonder what do you discern is His intent with your life? There is a part of His Kingdom among the poor that we cannot inherit unless we go meaningfully to them .... I cannot show you the full equation because it is very much a conversation reserved for you and Him – once you go yourself and become desperate to hear His voice ....

I wonder who is missions for?”

 

The team continues to suffer its fair amount of scrapes and cuts and scratches – as the work is physical and hard. The insects also remain a continual hassle & irritation and the humidity all adds to the aggravation.

You will be able to catch up on the developments as they unfold with the special needs project team on Ko Phayam Island by visiting the following blogs. JP has been amazing and is updating his blog each evening after the days work with amazing pictures and stories of what has happened each day:

And so that brings us to the end of chapter four of this most amazing adventure that Our Father has chosen to write His Story into.

Please pray with me: Our Loving Father God, thank You for Your faithfulness and keeping Your hand of protection over the team on Ko Phayam Island.

We thank You for responding to our prayers and for holding back the rain and the waters so that the team can progress with the task before them. Dear Lord thank You for physical healing of the teams injuries and keeping them strong and healthy as they continue in the difficult circumstances. Father, continue to guide the team in there actions, with renewed mental vitality and an increased supernatural ability in their bodies. As the time is beginning to run out, Father we come before You for a supernatural increase in time to complete the job.

Lord as Paulien is the first team member to return home, we thank You for Your travel mercies and for returning her home safely.

Thank you Father for Your hand against the enemy and his plans – they will not prevail against Your Kingdom.

May Your will be done & Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven. We pray this in the most precious name of Our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ.

Till the next time
______________________

Letter 5

Tuesday afternoon 24 July 2012

Dear Family & Friends of Philip, I trust and pray that this e-mail finds you well and blessed.

It always seems impossible until it is done...

Today the team finally laid down their tools which were brought from SA, bought in Bangkok and shipped by boat from Ranong, because the Special Needs Project has been accomplished!

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also.

The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!

For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

Psalm 95:2-7

Again I thank each of you for your faithfulness in praying for Philip, the children as well as the whole team. Without your financial partnership, moral support and life-giving prayer, this task was impossible. A big heart-felt THANK YOU for putting your resources and faith behind this project! We stand in awe of His story where He invited us to take part in....

It has been a while since I last sent you an update – but this one is packed full of the latest news – so enjoy and see how amazingly Our Father has written His story into this special needs project.

In our prayer of the last e-mail, we asked Our Father for a super natural increase in time, as the team was becoming concerned that they may not be able to complete the task at hand. Our Father is so amazing and responded in such and incredible way – as only Our Father does. He sent the team “time” – Yes time in the way of power tools – and in so doing enabling the team to complete the tasks at hand so much quicker.

 

It has also only rained a little again since the last e-mail to you and the team has been able to work un-interrupted without the added concern of flooding. Praise Our Father for continuing to hold back the storms.

We managed to speak to the team yesterday evening on the Island and they told us that the job was just about finished – and that they would in fact finish the task – and even a bit more. When we asked them if there was anything that we should say in the e-mail we were going to send out – Arno said, we must please tell you all that they can physically feel your prayers – so again thank you for your faithfulness in praying for the team. The team just said that even the couple of incidents that they had and the cuts and bruises and bites and scratches were not even that bad – just because they were so aware of the prayers from back home that was carrying them.

And so with the task being completed today, the team will be leaving the Island tomorrow morning by boat back to the mainland and to Ranong. Wednesday evening they will be taking the overnight bus back to Bangkok and will be basically spending one evening in the city before departing on Friday to return back to South African. They arrive very early Saturday morning at OR Tambo international. Please keep the team in prayer as they travel back home, for travel mercies and for Our Father’s hand over their lives and returning them back home safely.

Philip is currently in Malaysia on his Visa run and will be meeting up with the team on Wednesday in Ranong before they return back to Bangkok. Please keep him in your prayers as he travel’s and that he will be in-time to say goodbye to the group. It is certainly going to be a surprise for Philip when her returns to the island as he is not aware that the team has actually managed to finish his home.

Thank you also for all your prayer’s for Paulien who returned home safely on Friday and who will be operated tomorrow. At this time I also ask that you keep JP & his son Jordan in your prayers as they will be going from Bangkok into Malaysia. They are going there to consult a doctor for Jordan who has had a longstanding injury that has adversely affected his left wrist and causes him much pain.

Please visit the following blogs to get the latest up to date news on the developments as they unfold with the special needs project team on Ko Phayam Island. JP has been amazing and is updating his blog each evening after the days work with amazing pictures and stories of what has happened each day:

Please pray with me:

Father God, we thank You for Your faithfulness and Your guidance, Your favour and Your goodness. Thank You for enabling us and keeping Your hand over the team and bringing them through the completion of Philip’s home. Thank You Lord for hearing and answering our prayers time and time again. Thank You for sustaining us all through our own difficult circumstances we each face. Thank You Lord for Your travel mercies and for accompanying the rest of the team as they begin their return home. We also pray for all the harvest workers to take up their own crosses and follow You Lord where you lead them to take their places in extending Your Kingdom. We pray this in the most precious name of Our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ.

And so that brings us to the end of chapter five of this most amazing adventure with our Father. Till the next time when the whole group is back in SA.

Mark Enrieu

PHILIP VAN WYK SENDING