Because much of the ministry here is focused on the Bible college, it goes without saying that things tend to slow down between May and September. This was a good time and opportunity for Dean to head back to Canada to touch base with family and friends and for myself to take Baylee and Julia on a holiday/mission trip to Northern Thailand. It was the first time I had ever ventured to take the girls anywhere that far from home for that long, alone. We saw many great things, met some truly wonderful people and had our share of adventures. We made balloon animals for hill tribe children, dug out a water run-off way up in the hills, visited some temples, swung through treetops like gibbons, broke bread with some great new friends involved in child rescue, and even went tobogganing! We had a lot of fun and really enjoyed our "girl" time but it still could have been better had Dean been with us.
Dean returned to Thailand at the beginning of July with a few tag-a-longs, his mom and dad and Brittney came back with him to spend two months with us!
We have had a good amount of time to build on some new friendships and contacts made within the child trafficking trade here in Thailand. It seems now that everywhere we go, God is opening doors for us to meet people who hold fountains of knowledge in this area. It is wonderful for us to know that although this is new to us and the ministry we are under, it is not new to many other people who are more than happy to share their knowledge and resources with us.
The last 4 months seems to have been a "hold on and wait for what I have for you" season. We have felt for several months now, really since the beginning of 2010, that the fall would bring breakthrough, and we are more than ready for the Lord to advance us into the positions He called us here to fill.
However, in the mean time, we have had a wonderful time spent with family, showing them all we have experienced this first year in Thailand. We were also able to go into Cambodia as leaders of the 7 Weeks in Asia team. It was an incredible time and a real eye-opener for Dean's mom and dad and especially Brittney. We visited village churches where we played and prayed with the children, even seeing the healing of a small baby!
A trek into the slums brought us to an oasis, a free Christian nursery school. There, the kids sang us "Father Abraham" in Khmer and we taught them the ever famous "Let Me See Your Funky Chicken" complete with actions. We had tug-of-wars and sac races... it was muddy and oh, so much fun! And of course, nothing is ever complete until you have had a snack and a balloon animal.
We went to the CDC - AIDS clinic where we laid hands on many, saw one man delivered of spirits and one woman accept Jesus! The woman who is now the Lord's just wept and hugged me tightly after. When we first went into the clinic she was laying on her bed, hopeless and sick. After, as we were ready to leave, she was up sitting on her bed with her mask off, smiling and chatting and eating a banana! The man with the spirits was sitting on his bed staring at us with no life in his eyes, as soon as we gathered around him and laid hands on him to pray he started to shake, knowing that there was something not of God on him, we commanded in the name of Jesus that he be left alone, and the shaking stopped. When we were done praying he explained, through our interpreter, that he felt as though something was leaving upwards through his body and out the top of his head, and that he felt so much better now. It is amazing how your eyes are opened to the reality of the spiritual world when you live in a place that is culturally, so far away from God. It makes His faithfulness all the more prominent... you cannot, no matter how hard you pray or how loud you yell, cast out a demon in the name of Buddha.
Every single day, all day we were busy. We painted the church, visited a children's home and a Village of Hope that has been set up by the same organization that runs the nursery school. The Village of Hope is a place where widowed women who are affected by HIV/AIDS can go and live with their children. It is a completely Christian community where everyone lives as family and looks out for each other. It truly is a remarkable place and an awesome ministry.
Our time in Cambodia was finished with a bit of fun and sight-seeing with a trip to Siem Reap to climb through the ruins of Angkor Wat, considered one of the seven wonders of the world.
Now, with less than two weeks to the start of a new ministry year we wait with anticipation on how the Lord is going to release us full-time into our calling: rescuing under age children from Thailand's notorious sex trafficking ring. We are full of ideas and willingness, now all we need is the "go!"
To do this without you is not a possibility. We need your prayers and your financial support. In the fall Dean will be going to Chiang Rai for undercover training as well as into Cambodia to meet with a ministry involved with safe homes and safe havens (safe villages, not just individual homes). The training, along with under-cover missions all cost money and to keep this ministry going strong we need a solid foundation of financial partners. Please, seek God in how He would have you partner with us in this, and be faithful to what He has called you.
All giving is tax deductible. Please send cheques made out to:
A & D World Missions
P.O Box 26010
Lethbridge, Alberta
Canada T1H 6H4
*Make sure to write "Torgersons" on the memo line.
Also, please follow this up with an email to us if you wish the funds to go towards something more specific. Ie; surveillance equipment, travel expenses, under-cover investigations, etc...
Thank you so much for your faithfulness and generosity towards our family, it keeps us on the front lines.
Dean, Kathy, Baylee & Julia