Thailand/Burma Ministry Trip
On Thursday, July 31st, seven people from our church left the country to participate in a special twelve day overseas ministry trip facilitated by an organization called Christian Freedom International (CFI).
Trip :: BLOG
CLICK HERE :: To read the daily updates our people posted while in Thailand.Trip Summary :: FINAL UPDATE
To Our Beloved Friends and Family
It has now been six weeks since the seven of us have returned from our trip to Thailand and Burma (Myanmar). I want to communicate on behalf of all of us deep thankfulness for your commitment to us and the trip. We still feel blessed and privileged to have been the recipients of so much of your generosity and your prayers. I also want to give you a quick summary of the trip.
The trip consisted of basically three parts. Two days in Bangkok upon arrival. 5 days with Christian Freedom International that consisted of travel, education, and ministry in Mae Sot, Thailand and areas of Burma. Two additional days in Bangkok before departure. In that short time we were blessed to meet and encourage believers, meet small/practical needs, and bring a smile to the faces of many scared and persecuted people. I will list the specifics in a bullet point fashion.
- Two extra large duffle bags were brought to Thailand full of toys, clothing, necklaces, coloring books, and candy for children. These were distributed to children living in the Mae La Refugee Camp, children in the villages of internally displaced people (IDP) inside Burma, and to the children in the vocational school where we stayed.
- We had the opportunity to meet persecuted believers in Laos and Bangladesh and to pray for them and support them financially.
- We had the opportunity to learn of the civil war inside Burma that is resulting in displacement and genocide of the Karen people, particularly Karen Christians.
- We visited a new school and health clinic inside Burma. On these visits the larger group brought food and Bibles to the people.
- In these IDP villages we had the opportunity to pray for the sick and for those who have chosen to fight for political freedom.
- We visited an orphanage and church inside a refugee camp and played games and sang songs with the children.
- We were able to join Canaan Baptist Church in Bangkok and teach English to Thai natives, many of whom are not Christians. This is a major outreach of this church and we were privileged to join this class one Sunday morning. This is also the church that Kim Tolleneare has done short term missions with on two occasions.
- We learned about the greater needs in the world, about different ways of living the Christian life, and experienced firsthand some of the struggles of sharing the love of Jesus globally.
Praise the Lord for the opportunities that were given to us and to our church through this trip! I am convinced that this trip was a small step in the movement our church has been taking in meeting needs in the name of Jesus throughout this world. As we go forward from this trip we have the opportunity to learn from our experiences and to establish partnerships that will result in more long term and effective ministry. At this point the major emphasis of that long term ministry will come in the form of serving international students in Mount Pleasant and doing compassion ministry locally. I am excited to continue in that ministry and to assist anyone who wants to take a larger step in meeting those needs.
On behalf of the seven of us, may God bless you with His presence and equip you to love and serve others.
Jason Sroufe
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More Info About The Seven
Jason Sroufe, Tonya Steele, Robin Jones, Ryan Giegling, Rob Brown, Ben Coffman, Jessica Rorai
Jason Sroufe
Job: Families First Supervisor, Lutheran Child and Family Service of Michigan
Wife: Sara Sroufe (Lil Church and Social Worker)
Daughter: Joy Sroufe (7 mos)
I am a supervisor of a team of social workers that assist families where there has been child abuse and neglect. We work in the family's home and work towards keeping the children safe in their own homes. We have seen that it is extremely significant to be with families in their own homes in order to understand them and help them.
At Grace Church I volunteer with the International Team. This trip I see as an opportunity to go to these countries and have a truer understanding of the needs of those from other nations. Also my life is dedicated to assist children in being in safe and loving environments so it means a great deal to me that God would allow me to spend time with orphans.
Robin Jones
I am originally from a small rural, farming area of Iowa. I came to Mt. Pleasant 8 years ago for a graduate assistantship with the athletic department at CMU and currently work for them as an Assistant Athletic Trainer. I work mainly with different female sports and athletes (basketball, field hockey, volleyball, gymnastics, softball). I have been at CMU for 8 years in this position.
I have been attending Grace Church for about 6 years and have served on the Production and Graphics Teams. I have not served 'officially' on the International Team, but have found myself serving through conversation clubs, conversation partners, airport pickups, etc. with international students. God has placed a heart in me that desires to know international students and their cultures. I have greatly enjoyed and have been blessed beyond measure by my relationships with so many international students. Many have become good friends of mine. I have been able to share my faith and belief in God and have seen many of them come to know Christ and grow in a local church.
Over the last couple weeks I have been amazed at how God is sovereign and is in control of everything, whether we know it or not. He has a plan for us and for this temporary world we live in. This has in turn shown me how much He loves me, you, the people of Thailand, the people of Burma, etc. When I was asked to go on this trip, my heart beat really fast...mostly because I was excited. Over the next half an hour or so God gave me peace and great confidence that this was His plan for me at this time. Things that led up to this day prepared me to say 'yes'. God has been growing me and maturing me into someone who could ask Him in prayer and confidently trust in His answer. He also laid out a couple weeks that I would not be missed too much at work. Different things have happened since I've said 'yes' that has reassured me and showed me how much in control this awesome God of ours is. God has given me a heart for these Thai and Burmese people we will be ministering to. I confidently hope and expect to see God move in ways that I can't even imagine. Our God is a big God. As I pray for this trip (and as you readers pray for us)... I don't want to underestimate our God... I will pray BIG... you pray BIG too!
Tonya Steele
Occupation: Bookkeeper and Graphics Leader at Grace Church; I oversee all the finances at the church and other daily office operations. I also help oversee the graphics ministry which includes advertising, photography, and weekly service projection. I also work as a part-time Computer Programmer at Page Olson and Co. CPAs where I write programs for our accounting software (ICommander). As of late, I have been able to put to good use the graphics skills I learned at Grace in creating different marketing materials for our firm.
Why Go: To put it simply, God said go. And with all we've been learning about obedience, how could I even think about not going? In addition to that though, over the past few years God has given me numerous opportunities to minister to people of different nations as well as opportunities to minister alongside people of different nations. I believe it is through these times that He has grown my heart to love people more as well as awaken my heart to the urgency and importance of blessing the nations. Somewhere along the way He filled my heart with great compassion for those of other nations and for those who have not been as fortunate to have all of the material blessings that many of us have here. Though I don't quite know exactly what to expect (which can be difficult for me sometimes), I do expect God to do great things. Great things not only in me, but in the other six, in our church and even in our community.
Prayer Request: I'm single and don't have a family that will need to make due with me gone. However, the wonderful group of women on the graphics team that I work with week in and week out are like family. Two others besides me (Jess and RJ) will be in Thailand as well and one will be visiting her home in China. I would ask that you pray for the rest of our team as they fill in the gaps and begin preparing for the upcoming fall season of ministry. Pray for strength, creativity and closeness to their Creator.
Ben Coffman
I am 29 years old and am a Project Manager for a disaster restoration company here in Mt. Pleasant. My wife is Heather and we have four children ages six years to 15 mo. I've been a part of Grace Church since its beginning and have played a role in international ministries here for about six years. The past year has tested our family in many ways and I trust that much of it has been to prepare my heart for Thailand. I am becoming increasingly aware of the needs of those around the world and asking God what he desires of me in response to the suffering and the need for others to hear about salvation through Jesus Christ. I am praying for, and believe, that this trip is going to help me see a little bit of what God would have next for our church and for me personally in regards to the people of other nations. I am particularly looking forward to interacting with the orphans in the refugee camp and getting a chance to spend some time sharing the love of Christ with them, even if just for a short time. I think this trip is going to make the world seem a lot smaller to those of us who are going and help us see that the task of reaching others, even across the world, is not as impossible as it may seem. My prayer is that this is the beginning of something new at Grace Church, or better yet the continuation of something that has already begun, and that this trip will help all of us see what further role God would have our body play in his great plan to bring to himself those whom he has chosen.
Ryan Giegling
I've been teaching for 4 years now at Mt. Pleasant Public Schools. In the Fall I will teaching 2nd grade (by choice) for the first time. My wife's name is Betsy and we have 3 beautiful children...Ellie who is 5 1/2, Mackenzie who just turned 4, little Benjamin who will be 2 in November...and Baby #4 also set to arrive in November! There are so many smiles, hugs, and beautiful faces to miss while we're away.
A year ago, the Lord began speaking to me about a significant area that was lacking in my life. Through passages like James 1:27 and Matthew 25:40, I understood in a new way God's heart for the poor and "the least of these." I began asking God for an opportunity to minister to those in need, especially to those from another nation. I believe this opportunity is answer to those prayers.
I work with kids all day at my job and spend a lot of time doing Children's Ministry here at the church. I am particularly excited to meet and interact with kids at both at the orphanage and throughout our travels.
Having never traveled abroad, I really don't know what to expect. I have felt a clear leading from God to be a part of this trip, so more than anything I am expecting (and asking) Him to move in each of our hearts. More than anything, I am humbled to be a part of this and consider it a real privilege.
Based on some things we've read and talked about recently, I think our desire as a team is to listen and learn throughout our time in Thailand. I would just ask you to pray that we would indeed be good listeners and open to what God desires to teach us.
Rob BrownWife: Brooke Brown
Daughter: Zoe Brown
Occupation: Video Production/Graphic Design at CMU
If you've found your way to this page, you may already know a little about me so I'll spare you the details. I'm very excited for this trip. Like some of the other people on the team, I've never been overseas. Heck, I've never been on a plane for more than 3-4 hours. I'm excited that when the landing gear goes down on these giant 747's, I won't feel the whole plane literally shutter!
I've been trying to read up on Burma and the difficult situation there. It's very complicated and the roots of it go back centuries. I'd encourage you, if you have a second, to do a google search and find out more information. If anything, it'll help you pray for us more specifically, perhaps, and more accurately.
How can you pray for me? Good question. Pray that my heart would be full of love and compassion for every single person I meet, whether Burmese, Thai, American, Canadian:-), whoever. Jesus was. And that's why, as Luke 15:1 says, "And all the tax collectors and 'sinners' drew near to Him to hear Him..." Pray that I'd see people like Jesus does...highly valued possessions, worth the greatest cost. I ask you to pray this for me (and for us all, I suppose) because I feel like if this is where my heart is, all the other junk I could ask you to pray about will take care of itself. Love is truly the most important thing.
Thank you (yes YOU) for taking the time and energy to enter into this trip with us. I think I can speak for all of us and say that it gives us so much more hope and courage to know that there are literally dozens of people there "with us" at almost every moment by their prayers. THANK YOU! May we be counted faithful stewards of this opportunity.
