January Thailand Update

Dear Friends,
Hello! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. We had a great Christmas here – our first as a married couple. It was the first time I had been here for the whole Christmas season. We had fun and Gavin ran a half marathon (13 miles) in Chaing Mai. It was interesting to see how the Thai’s do the marathons. They had boiled rice soup afterwards for the runners compared to America where often they have pizza! They had some kind of funny little Thai band playing traditional instruments as they began their race and it was definitely Thai style. But it was fun and Gavin was very happy with his time. I was very happy to go to Starbucks and wait for him to finish.
I am attaching a photo album with pictures from all our Christmas activities. It was a busy time with the children. We had a Christmas outreach where we invited all our friends and neighbors to our children’s home for a Christmas program. We had food and presents for them. Gavin and I wrote a Christmas drama that the children preformed explaining the meaning of Christmas and a team from Chaing Mai came and preached the gospel. Many people heard the gospel for the first time that night. Almost 150 people came. It was a great success and some of the other churches in the area decided to do the same thing in their neighborhoods because ours went so well.
For Christmas the children made decorations for the Christmas tree and our Christmas tree turned out beautiful. It was so beautiful people kept wanting to borrow it for their Christmas programs. The children also competed in a sports competition with the other children’s homes in the area. Our girls won one volleyball match but then lost in the next round. Our boys won the tournament in a game we don’t have in America called in Thai “da claw”. It is a mix between hackey sack and volleyball where they kick a ball made from bamboo over a net somewhat lower than a volleyball net. They love this game and play all the time.
The children received their Christmas presents on Dec 13th – I always give them money and take them shopping afterwards we had a Thai style barbeque. We also took up our yearly offering for the team going to the Burma border. Every child gave at least 25 percent of their Christmas money to help buy supplies for the refugees. This year, whatever they gave we gave back to them in their Christmas money, so they got the full amount they started with. One boy gave 75 percent of his money, and to him Gavin and I gave double what he had given for the refugees. I love to see the heart they have to give. They are so inspiring because they give not out of their abundance, but out of their need. With the money, we bought towels and food and clothes and small toys for the children. A team of about 15 from our home went to minister in the refugee camps and orphanages by Burma.
Gavin’s music classes are going extremely well and the kids love them. They have been learning how to read music and he has been teaching them to write songs. A team from New Zealand came that was mainly teenagers and young adults and they shared how they write songs as well and the kids really got a passion for it. God sent this team at the perfect time to reinforce what Gavin was doing. They have been writing their own worship songs for about two weeks now and some of them are really incredible. One boy played his new song during the worship service last Sunday morning and I cried the whole time it was so beautiful.
Our kids and the team from New Zealand went to a nearby village that is non-Christian and together they prayed for the sick and saw many people healed. One lady had had a headache for 5 years and she was instantly healed. She got saved and was at church last week with her family. It is awesome to see the kids ministering and preaching themselves. It was also fun to see our older girls serving as English interpreters for the team. They are really very good and I am proud of them.
We have 5 girls graduating the end of February. These girls have been with me for 6 years. I HATE this part!!! I don’t like it when they leave. But they have to go. We prepare them for years for this moment when they can stand by themselves. We do our best to give them what they need and especially that they know God, and now can continue and be successful because they know the God who is always with them and so willing to help them because He loves them so desperately. They will be fine. I know this for sure because I see how much they love God. Anyway, we have one girl named Julie from a very poor family. Her father died and her mother never remarried. They have several children and Julie has never had money for even the most basic things. She wants to study to be a nurse and we need a sponsor for her. It is a 6 month program where she will become a nurse’s aide. After that her plan is to work and continue her education until she is a registered nurse. The six month program is $1100. If you would like to sponsor her, please let me know. She has to pay the money by the middle of March.
Thank you so much to all who give. We love and pray for you often. God Bless You!!
Love,
Candace and Gavin


PS: You can send a tax deductible donation to Rhema Missions PO Box 50126 Tulsa, OK 74150 Memo Rev Candace Brailsford 100% goes to our ministry.



I'd like to share these photos with you.

December 09 16 photos

Link to view these photos:
http://www.photoworks.com/slideshow/album/A8DADF23927F?source=pw980