YWAM Thailand ~ National Office

March 2008 Update

Study group The 2008 Chiang Rai DTS kicked off with a bang January 19 with the students thrown into the deep end with a weekend camping experience in the mountains. It was a time aimed at bringing the class together in unity and teamwork and also a great time for the 16 Thai and international students to get to know each other. Our current DTS has 8 Thai students and 8 International students from Laos, America, Canada, Australia, France, India and the Philippines.

Our theme this year, “A holy people chosen to be light,” comes out of 1 Peter 2:9-10. In praying for this DTS in our training time before it started, we really felt that God wanted to call out these students and give them their identity in Jesus Christ, something we believe has already begun to happen even in the first month of lectures.

We have recently completed the first month of lectures. The students really enjoyed the lectures, were challenged in many areas and also had their eyes opened to what God can do in and through them. In the first week after orientation we had Art and Ellen Sanborn come and teach on hearing the voice of God and intercession and it was just amazing to see the students specifically hear God. For some of them it was the first time they had heard God speak to them in this way and they were really encouraged. The second week we had Tom Hallas, the YWAM Asia Pacific field director, come and speak on the Nature, Character, and Father heart of God. He challenged many of the students on some long-held beliefs and caused quite a stir, and by the end of the week, the students were engaged and thoroughly enjoyed his teaching.

Paul Wilcox, our DTS director, spoke next on The Fear of the Lord, Sin and Repentance. This was an amazingly powerful week as students and staff came to God and confessed sins and things from their past that they'd been holding on to. Everyone came out of the week with a freedom and release that was inspiring.

Prayer Time In the fourth week of lectures Ray McConnell, a counselor for missionaries in Chiang Rai, and also part of Shoulder to Shoulder ministries taught on Intimacy with God. He spoke about God's Heart for intimacy with us and what that means, and how we can receive that.

We just finished our first two-week outreach. One team worked with MMF (Mekong Minority Foundation) and went into many non-Christian Red Lahu villages to help the villagers build fire trenches and share the gospel through children’s programs. The other team went into a Karen hill-tribe village and helped a local church do construction work around the place. The team also visited and ministered to many families and put on children’s programs for the village.

We are excited for what God is going continue to do in this DTS. Pray for His love and grace to shape and mold each student in this DTS!

The vision of YWAM Chiang Rai is to reach out within Thailand and strategically into the surrounding nations of Myanmar (Burma), Laos, and China. We hope to send teams into these three countries in the upcoming DTS schools. Last year's 2006 DTS had 3 outreaches within the nation of Thailand: two 2-week outreaches and one 5-week outreach. On these outreaches the students were involved in evangelism within schools, villages, prisons, slums, and bars; teaching English; working with existing Christian ministries and churches, serving them in whatever way they needed help; and ministering to University students. It was a stretching and rewarding experience as we as a school worked together with Jesus to be a positive witness to both Christians and non-Christians alike.

So what about you? Do you want to experience a new culture? Meet Christians from countries all over the world? Be a part of a pioneering ministry?

Bring the love of Jesus Christ to nations who have never heard His name? Grow in your knowledge of God and experience Jesus in a new and radical way? Then we invite you to be a part of the next chapter of the Chiang Rai bi-lingual DTS as we enter into new horizons. It’s an experience that will remain in your treasure-chest of memories for a lifetime.

The motto of Youth With A Mission is: To Know God and to Make Him Known. This is the purpose of the DTS.

Our next Bilingual (Thai/English) school in Chiang Rai,
will begin in January 2009 at the Chiang Rai Training Center.