Dear Friends and Partners in Ministry,

I was reminded that I had not updated my blog in a while. Time has been flying by and I didn't even realize how long it had been. Much has changed since I sent out my prayer letter. In December I thought I wouldn't be going out to Thailand till late summer or early Fall. Since then, however, much has changed. In January I had planned to be part of some of the lectures put on by MBMSI for short term missions teams. As well I intended to take several other courses, one being a prayer course from CBC. Two days before all this was to start I got a call from the missions asking me and my team to come and take part full time in the training for two months. This required that we put everything else on hold and stay at a conference center in Abbotsford called the Mark Center. We were all excited about the opportunity to spend this time together. It has been very stretching and yet incredibly good as we have heard from some great speakers and have been able to spend a significant amount of time with each other. 

An incredibly exciting thing for me has been that the mission has asked my team to stay longer and alongside that my time has shrunk. So at present it looks like we will all be going out to Thailand together; starting language school together. The team is leaving end of April or beginning of May and I will be leaving shortly after as I have some stuff that needs to be taken care of but we will all start school together June 2 God willing. We are all very excited about this as the time is drawing progressively nearer. Our time is divided between lectures and team time and trying to get all our paper work together for visas and such.

I have not started to raise support because I was not leaving for some time yet originally. Now that I am it seems an impossible task to do all my support raising as well as continue doing everything the Lord has asked me to do. However, the Lord has been incredibly good. I am already at 40 % and have potential for more. Please do pray that all my support will come in on time and that I would build some good relationships with future churches that will support me. I will continue to keep you updated as the time draws closer to leave. At this point the biggest areas that you could partner in prayer with me for are the visas to come through alright and for the remainder of my support to come in. God Bless each of you for your care and concern and commitment to join me on this adventure.

Bitsy

The Next Chapter of this Adventure

Well it has been a long time since I updated this. July I believe. I was just reading over some of the updates I sent out before I left Thailand and shortly after I got back and am amazing to see God's hand so clearly guiding and directing my path. He is indeed faithful. At present I am a retreat center where I will be for the next 2 months. This is rather sudden as I had planned to attend lectures but the Friday before they started the mission called me and asked if I and my team would come live at the Mark Center and spend some serious time together in prayer and individually growing in the Lord. We all agreed and so we will be here till the end of February. This changes many things for the team. Originally we were supposed to be leaving the month or next but now it looks like the Lord is asking us to stay till May. I am excited about this because originally I was going to be coming out later than everyone else but I may be going we them after all. This would be an answer to prayer for all of us. Please do keep us in your prayers as this will be a special and yet hard time for us due to the uncertainty and constant change that we have had to deal with. As well there is some problem with our visas, if you could pray the the people dealing with those would be given wisdom and that they would have a hedge of protection as I know the evil one would do anything to keep us from going to Thailand. Well I'm off to a lecture but I will keep you all updated. God Bless,

Bitsy

Well it has been a few months now since I last wrote and 3 months since I've been home. When I returned home I did not know where the Lord would be leading me next but I was certain of two things: that I was home for a period of time which He wanted to use to prepare me for my future and that my heart would always be in Thailand. At the beginning of May I went to a conference with MBMS International. At the time and during the week I felt no peace about going out with any of the teams going or already on the field. I loved Thailand and wanted to go back right away but that is not where the Lord was leading I felt Him saying wait. The very last night however several of the people who had come to the conference met together about forming a new team to Thailand leaving in 2007. The Lord seemed to say "this is it." I needed to be here for the preparation period but Thailand was still in my future. So as of right now I am in the application process with MBMSI as well as getting to know the team that I would be a part of going back out. At this time we are aiming for January which changes my plans a bit as I had intended to attend CBC for a year but I think now that it may only be for 1 simester in which I will be taking counceling, missions, and a Bible course. My intention in doing this is because I felt so inadiquate to councel the women that came to me when I was in Thailand and I want to better understand people as well as how to prayer councel and disciple them. I also hope to attend UCFV and take a design couse as that is one of my strong interests, Graphic Design. This is all however still in a very open hand as the Lord is the ultimate director of my steps. I know that my fulfillment comes when I am perfectly in His plan and not trying to determine my own steps. Please pray with me that I would continue to give everything to Him trusting His faithfulness. This next few months will be busy with support raising, school and preparation for going out long term to the missions field (10 year commitment). I will try to keep you all updated as things come together or if things change. Thank you for standing behind me as the body of Christ in prayer, friendship and support. My prayer is that you will continue on with me in this new Adventure with Jesus.

Bless You,

Bitsy

Last Chapter

Well My Dear Friends,

The last chapter to my newest adventure has now come to a close. I returned home to cold Canada on Wednesday and am still adjusting to the time change. First let me tell you how much I appreciate all of you partnering with me in both prayer and finances while I was away. The Lord put both to good use. This time away has been such a time of learning and growing for me. I feel like my relationship with the Lord has grown so much and His voice has become more discernable for me to hear.

            I left for Thailand 8 and a half months ago, not knowing what the Lord had for me but trusting Him to guide and direct my steps. Before hearing about this opportunity I had had no interest at all in Thailand I thought my heart would forever be in Indonesia. However, I was very much mistaken. I have grown to love the Thai people so incredibly and during my time there was made to feel like one of them. My prayer and desire is to go back long term in the not so distant future. But I will talk more about that towards the end.

            I left for Thailand asking the Lord for several things during my time away. Two of which where that this would be a time He would direct me towards His long term vision for me and second that I would grow deeper in my walk with Him. In both areas He was more than faithful. While I was there I was given the opportunity to use the artistic skills and abilities the Lord has given me in new and stretching ways. I was able to design cards for the women to make and produce media to help in our marketing of the cards and other areas we train in the center. I also was asked to teach the English class. Up until that time I was convinced I hated to teach only to start and realize how much I loved it. Teaching allowed for me to get to know the girls coming in from the bars much better than if I had only been in the office or doing design work. Although I found that the turnover of new girls was quite frequent there where some that faithfully came every week and with these I was able to build relationships.

            After Christmas it seemed the direction the Lord was taking me was changing. At first I thought that because there was less and less work for me to do at the center that the Lord was telling me it was time to go home and yet I didn’t feel like my time had come to a close yet. I asked my mom to pray that another ministry in the area would open up that I could work with during the time I wasn’t needed at the Tamar Center. He was again incredibly faithful and opened up another YWAM ministry that had a kids club for slum children that lived in the poorest areas of the city. And although I was first brought to Thailand with the intention that I would work long term with prostitutes I have found that once again the Lord has brought me back to the place that I realize He has made me very specifically for children’s ministry. It always seems to come back to that. By no means where the first months there wasted. I see very clearly the Lords timing in everything that happened. I am so thankful for the areas I was able to minister in the center but I think long term I will be in some way involved in children’s ministry.

            I would have loved nothing better than to have stayed out there the intended full year but I felt that my time was coming to a close for now. I have come back with the intention of working these next 5 months so that I can attend school in the fall. The direction the Lord seems to be leading me is to take either a two year diploma in counseling or a 4 year Bachelor at CBC. At this point I don’t know which. Personally I would like to do whatever gets me back out to Thailand the fastest. I have been asked by several of the ministries there in Pattaya to consider returning to work alongside them. But I have laid my plans and ideas at the Lords feet trusting and knowing that He is faithful and will direct my steps in the best path for me. But please do continue to pray for me in this if you think of it. The prayers don’t need to end just because I’m back I would love it if you continued to pray for His direction in my life especially over these next few months and years even.

            Right now my biggest prayer request is a job. I need fulltime work until the fall. I also really would like it to be some form of ministry as working just to make money has never particularly appealed to me. I will be starting to look on Monday so please keep me in your prayers. Also I am looking to enroll in a Thai class either in a school or by private tutor. I do not want to loose what I have already gained and I also would like to fully learn the language before I go back out there as that was my biggest frustration while I was there. Being such a part of the life and yet still having the language as a huge barrier between me getting to really build deep relationships with people was incredibly frustrating.

 I will most likely be putting on one or two slideshows and sharing a bit more about the work. But I will let you know. I don’t really have any details about that yet. But I have sent you a link to look at some of the photos I took while out there so please feel free to look at those. Also if you have any questions do not hesitate to e-mail me. I look forward to sitting down with many of you and sharing more about my time here and catching up on friendships. I want to thank you all again for your tremendous support to me both financially and in prayer while I was away. I pray the Lords special blessing on each of you.

In Christ,

Bitsy

Dear Friends,

I hope you all had a wonderful time of fellowship with family and friends this Christmas and I wish you all of God's blessings this New Year. It has been a little while since I wrote and I wanted to let you all know how I am and what I will be involved in this last stretch before I head back home to B.C. I spent my holidays in Singapore with my Aunt and Uncle. I was sick for most of the time but I can't think of a place I would have rather been sick in. My aunt and uncle were so caring and giving allowing me the rest I needed but having plenty to do when I felt a little bored of being sick. I also went to Singapore to renew my visa for the remainder of my 3 months here. I tentitively intend to be back in the middle of April. Though I look forward to my time here and am excited for all the opportunities the Lord is opening up to me I have mixed feelings about returning home, I day I feel like I could never leave this place that has become so dear to my heart and yet another I am excited to see what the Lord has for me next but I want to leave those feelings till I get home so that I can concentrate on the many areas the Lord has for me to serve in here. I will give you an update as some of my responsibilities have changed and I will be going in a few new areas. Firstly I will start ministry in the slums of Pattaya on Saturday. This ministry involves loving the many children that are in the poorest area of the city and I will also be in charge of making the craft for each week. I am excited to be a part of this as it is such a different sense of ministry than the center. On thursdays I will be teaching two english classes potentially, not for sure yet but at present I teach one. The rest of the week I will be at the center but instead of concentrating on design I will be concentrating on marketing because at present we have hardly anyone consistently buying our products so that takes priority and of course continue to teach english to the girls in the bars and do bar ministry 3 nights a week so ya that is what my life looks like for the next 3 months. I will try and continue sending updates and prayer requests as I am here. Right now my biggest prayer request is that I will minister well in all these areas and not get burned out so I will be changing what my Sunday looks like, instead of going to the center for church I will be joining a different church that is in the morning and I will just rest and hang out with friends the rest of the day as at present I get no rest on Sunday because I spend the entire service taking care of the kids and don't understand the sermon anyways as everything is Thai and rarely translated so I really feel like God is telling me to take time out for myself and to spend with Him without all the distractions that drain me. So please pray that I am able to do this and get the rest I need so that I can do what I am doing with all my heart. Thank you for your prayers.

Sincerely,

Bitsy