What's New from Jeff and Tammy: Feb 2006
 

Dear Friends and Ministry Partners,

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things and at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

2 Corinthians 9:8

 
New Babies on the Block!! (No, they're not ours)
 

Baby (our rottweiler) gave birth to a surprising litter of 7 squiggly, chubby little pups! Why surprising? Because we only knew Baby was pregnant just a couple of weeks before she gave birth! (We wondered why she was getting so fat, but that's another story)

It was a truly exciting day for us... starting with having to help deliver some of the pups ourselves! The vet came and helped Baby to deliver the first 3 puppies. We watched how he eased each newborn puppy out of its gooey sac, tied the the umbilical cord before cutting it and other stuff that we wouldn't have known what to do. Baby, being a first time mum, seemed a bit clueless too!

But giving birth was a whole day process, and the vet could stay for a little while. So he left the scary task of delivering the remaining 4 pups to us! Yikes! We've never seen a dog give birth before, let alone assist one! But thank God, all the pups came out happy, healthy and noisy. And Baby had the biggest smile of all!

  

Pic (above): Baby with her 7 puppies at dinner-time

  
       
 

It's been 2 weeks by now and the puppies are growing really fat! Their eyes haven't opened up yet and they're wobbly when they try to stand up and walk. But they're strong little fellows and commando-crawl around really fast now. And man, do they know how to howl! Just 2 weeks old!

I love watching these little bundles of life. I marvel at how these puppies, despite not being able to see, yet know how to crawl in the right direction to find Mummy's milk (well, not always, but most of the time). God is really amazing when He designed all creation and gave it life. Really really amazing!

Pic (left): 2 pups attempted to escape but fell asleep halfway.

  
 

 
Building Up the Worship Ministry Team
 
 

Jeff trains the music team every Thursday; some weeks on correct singing techniques, some weeks on group dynamics and other aspects of worship ministry.

This small group is the backbone of the church: they are the same people who faithfully serve in both the Youth Ministry and the Worship Ministry (and many other things). Jeff believes we should have excellent standards in everything that we do for God, and he hopes to lead by example. Faithfulness is a virtue that is sorely lacking in the Thai society. But with this group, we are happy that they love the Lord and it shows in their dedication. 

Pic (left): Voice training at our house
 

Jeff is also training up a second band for the worship ministry. This will lessen the load on the present band, as well as create more manpower when there is a need for music teams to perform for outreach events. Pastor Thamanoon and Jeff are possibly planning to go to the different districts of Nongkhai Province and assist 10 other AOG churches in training up their worship bands this year.
 
 
 Nongkhai Women's Ministry
 
Finding New Allies in the Battle Against Prostitution
     

Sommai and Tammy attended a networking meeting in Chiang Mai and met up with many missionaries and agencies which were ministering to women and children affected by prostitution, human trafficking and abuse.

It was a very educational trip for the both of us, as we met up with leaders of established ministries that reached out and rehabilitated women from the flesh trade. We asked many questions and learnt about what kind of difficulties they faced and testimonies of how they established the ministry.

One thing we realized is that with the small team of manpower we have, it is unrealistic to try to rush a start-up of a similar ministry as the ones we saw in Chiang Mai within a short time. These ministries required much manpower and resources.

 

Pic: Tammy and Sommai having a breakfast meeting with some missionaries in Chiang Mai

  
 

Chiang Mai had many missionaries and churches working together, and hence had the necessary strength. Where we are at right now in Nongkhai, I feel like I am standing in front of a Goliath. But what encouraged us was the willingness of these ministries to provide support and advice to us, to help us develop our ministry in Nongkhai. We do not walk alone; God always brings people to march on alongside with us.
 

 
Facing Some Setbacks and Pressing On Again

These last few weeks I struggled with much anxiety and disappointment. To summarize a long story, the 2 Lao girls that we were trying to help, disappeared back to Laos and their old lifestyles. There were many lies and trickery involved and  our attempts to counsel and teach them (even to the point of visiting them in Laos) were unsuccessful.

Nevertheless Sommai and I feel that we have tried our best to sow the seed of God in their lives and ultimately they have to make that decision to follow after Jesus. We hope that one day they will turn to God. This event has taught us to be more careful and hopefully more discerning; there is definitely more than meets the eye. But as one missionary was advising us: never to be jaded. Our role model is Jesus, who was always prayerful and full of compassion.

And we press on. Recently the Holy Spirit has alerted us to the colleges in Nong Khai, where I hear that senior students who do part-time prostitution whilst still in school are recruiting the juniors in too on a big scale. Many are on drugs and some have contracted AIDs! Please pray for these girls and for Sommai and me.
 
 
 Please Pray for us and for the following points!
 

1. A Tuesday Group Team is coming up to Nongkhai and helping us to run an English camp in Prathumthep School on 22-24 March 2006. We hope to make friends with the students and invite them to a Youth Outreach Party on 25 March 2006, and hopefully have an opportunity to lead them to Christ. Please pray for us.

2. Please pray for Pastor Thamanoon's health.

3. Please pray for finances where we can help the Nongkhai AOG church to pay the instalments for the church pick-up truck.

  
 

 

Thank you for praying for us and God Bless,

 Jeff and Tammy Yuen

15 March 2006

  
 
     

We have moved house! Our new address is:

408/20, Moo 9, Mubaan Kayhad, Thanon Nongkhai Phon Phisai,  Tambon Hadkham, Amper Muang Nongkhai 43000, Thailand.

Jeff's Email: hub4thailand@yahoo.com

Tammy's Email: tamsteh@yahoo.com                                                  Back to main page