THAILAND 2011 - Church in Bangkok

Bangkok, Thailand
Sunday, March 6, 2011
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Church in Bangkok

Today was a day filled with church services. First our entire team went to the Newsong Church which was an English and Thai speaking congregation. Then our team split into two groups and went to the N.L. Church; one group going to the adult service which was Thai speaking only. The other group, which I was a part of stayed downstairs with the children. They are very precious, these children. Our team played games with them, colored with them and got to share stories about some of the miracles we've seen in Africa. I shared the "ant story" and the story of the child's legs receiving strength in Assumane. Then we asked if any of them were sick or had fears and together with the children prayed for one another. At the end I was also able to give some of the toys that our children; Jonas, Jordan and Justine picked out of their toy collection to give to the children of Thailand.

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We prayed for A.D. who is the founder and director of N.L. and she prayed for us. We also met Brandon and Kayla who are with SEAHOP (South East Asia House of Prayer) here in Bangkok. Our team all got words for them over dinner. During dinner God was revealing more and more what our role as IRIS Ministries is in Thailand will be. So...there may be some slight adjustments over the next week. I'll keep you posted.

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Christian Young

THAILAND 2011 - Salvation and Healing at a Block Party

Bangkok, Thailand

Saturday, March 5, 2011

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Salvation and Healing at a Block Party

Today our team made preparations to throw a huge block party in an area of Bangkok where YWAM is working. Before we began preparations, we met with a man named Mark who is the director of OMF (formerly China Inland Mission) over all of Thailand. Jesse's dad, Brian had gone to college with him and thought it would be a good idea to connect with him...and it really was a great connection. Mark has been a missionary in Thailand since 1985 and gave us tons of great information and statistics about the evangelical church in Thailand. One interesting thought we were challenged with is the fact that most districts and sub-districts in Northeast Thailand are without evangelical churches. This is the area that most girls come from to work in prostitution in order to send money back to their families. So as IRIS Ministries embarks on beginning a work in Thailand, we really need to seek the Lord on how we can BOTH rescue girls from prostitution and sex trafficking in the big cities AND plant churches in the Northeast of Thailand which would be a preemptive measure as villages come to Christ and families stop sending their daughters to work as prostitutes in Bangkok, Pattaya and other big cities. After Mark finished sharing from his wealth of knowledge and experience with us, our team gathered around him, prayed for him and prophesied over him. We have been able to do this very thing as we have connected with different organizations throughout this entire trip. What an honor and a privilege to be able to support and bless these warriors on the front lines here in Thailand.

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Then our team began to make preparations for the block party. We figured out some games. We practiced a skit together where demons come out and bind up people caught in various sinful lifestyles; a group of party-ers, a man with two prostitutes and a woman who commits suicide. then Jesus comes and binds the demons and sets those who were bound by Satan free. I got to play the part of Jesus. We also placed people in four groups where we would sit on different mats or "booths;" a healing mat, a dream interpretation mat, a prophecy mat and a prophetic art mat. We would all remain at our various stations for people at the block party to come and utilize. I chose to be at the healing mat. We then had a time of worship together. I prayed that a literal city block from heaven would come down and rest upon the city block in Bangkok where we would throw the block party. Let me tell you...this really did happen.

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After lunch we took taxi's to the part of Bangkok that Ivan and Kashmira from YWAM work. We first had a meeting with them and the other staff at the YWAM base where our team prayed for their staff. Then we prayed for the block party. After that we headed towards the park area where we would throw the party. We split into groups, some of us went around handing out more invitations, while others of us stayed and decorated the place with balloons and such. Then we all gathered in a circle, held hands and prayed together as the Buddhists from the area who had come for the party watched us. One man who is literally the "godfather" of this part of town not only gave his approval of the block party, but helped make preparations, including getting the food ready. We kicked off the party with games. Hundreds gathered to watch and participate. Then we performed our skit which was very well received. Jesse got up and shared the meaning of the skit afterwards as hundreds of Thai Buddhists listened intently. We then began to distribute food in carry-out containers to 250 people who had sat down on long mats. They all received gifts of little flashlights and Bible tracts as well. When I surveyed the type of people who had come to the block party, I realized they were exactly the type of people Jesus ministered to; street people, prostitutes, beggars...the least of these. How amazing!

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Our team took their places at their various mats or "booths." At our mat, the first man to come had nerve damage in his fingers and could not feel anything. He also had similar damage in his legs. We talked to him about Jesus, then prayed for him. He was completely healed and ecstatic! Another woman came with arthritis pain in her legs. We laid hands on her and she was completely healed as well! The amount of people coming to our various stations at that point was relatively few. Our team felt it necessary that someone who had been healed should testify to the hundreds gathered of Jesus' healing power. Remember the first man who had come and been healed in his fingers and legs? Well he got up and testified of his healing over the sound system. All of the sudden there was a huge influx of Thai people with various ailments who rushed to the prayer mats. Everyone on our team began to pray for people's healing as well as continue to interpret dreams and prophecy.

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A man who was a Buddhist monk with sinus issues came for prayer. Myself and a few others placed our hands on his nose and prayed. Afterwards he breathed in deeply, saying that his breathing was now clear and that he had been healed. He told us that as a Buddhist monk he had never had peace until now. We asked him if he wanted to receive Jesus Christ. He said that he did want to. And right there this man forsook Buddhism and turned to the living God.

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Then they began to bring us a large group of deaf people. Our team began to pray for them. I took anointing oil and stuck my fingers in one man's deaf ears. After a quick prayer the left side completely opened up. We pressed in a bit more until the right side opened up as well. As I snapped my fingers on either side of his head, he smiled and nodded to say that he could hear now! Thank You, Jesus! The same thing happened as we prayed for the next deaf man. He was completely healed as well! I kept hearing shouts of victory as our team was seeing deaf ears opened and blind eyes see as well as one lady with a cataract was healed. Many were praying to receive Christ, too. We prayed for a man's back. He felt the Holy Spirit's power flow through his body...I literally felt a creative miracle happening as my hand was on his lower back.

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Then a prostitute came and asked for healing in her hip and leg. We prayed for her. She was completely healed. We then shared the gospel with her. She was responsive. She said she wanted to leave her "work" as a prostitute and follow Jesus. I felt to do a prophetic act and grabbed two flowers. Through translation, I began to explain to her that she saw herself as this flower...I began to pluck out the pedals one at a time and explained that as she gave herself away to different men, what was once a beautiful flower lost it's pedals and became something she perceived as very ugly. She agreed that this is how she felt about herself inside. I then took the other beautiful flower with all of it's pedals and exchanged it for the barren, ugly flower and told her that through the forgiveness of Jesus Christ, He was now exchanging her old life for a new one and that He sees her as beautiful and pure. I then gave her the beautiful flower which she placed in her purse. Then some other girls from our team continued to minister to her. I truly believe that a city block from heaven literally came down to that city block in downtown Bangkok. Many people were saved and healed! It was awesome!

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Another cool thing is that YWAM is starting a church on Monday nights in the park and all of the people who were saved and healed were invited to come to that church and continue to be discipled. The YWAM staff was blown away at how the block party went, saying that it far exceeded any expectations they had. I think all of us agree that it couldn't have gone better. Heaven is certainly invading earth here in Thailand! More, LORD!

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Christian Young

THAILAND 2011 - Kanchanburi to Bangkok

Kanchanaburi, Thailand

Friday, March 4, 2011

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Kanchanaburi to Bangkok

Pretty much a travel day today. Slept well in the tent last night. Had breakfast with Arun and Pang. They are a lovely couple and the first indigenous Thai YWAMers to start a base. Their heart is for Western Thailand which is virtually unreached by the gospel. They desire to train and send missionaries into Western Thailand and Myanmar. I just found out that we are only 20km from the Myanmar border in this village where the YWAM base is located. Pang told us that the border guards will let them through into Myanmar, but only if they don't go too far in. She said that there are no villages in that area of Myanmar close to the border...only jungle. We asked if our team could trek into Myanmar this morning to pray. We would have been able to except that only Arun knew where that road is and he was heading to an appointment somewhere else for the morning. Arun and Pang said that the majority of the villagers here are actually Burmese. Thay also said that the Thai and Burmese languages are as different as Thai and English are.

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After breakfast, we prayed for Arun and Pang. Then we loaded up our things and Pang's mother took us to some beautiful waterfalls where we were able to hike and swim. There are fish in the water that nibble on your feet and toes. It feels really weird...almost tickles.

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From the waterfalls we met up with the van that would take us back to Bangkok. We made good time. Now we are staying at a hostel more downtown in Bangkok. It's really nice and again, really inexpensive. Lonnie and I are sharing a room for $15.00 per night. That's only $7.00 each!

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Tonight is the night that the girls on our team did outreach in the bars to prostitutes with N.L. Guys aren't permitted to go on outreach into the bars with N.L. so the entire team had a time of prayer and worship with the N.L. staff. Then Jesse, Lonnie and I had dinner together. We were going to to witness to the men who buy the girls for sex, but we had to wait until Tanya got back with the rest of the girls from the team because Jesse had Zoe. The girls got back too late so we couldn't go, but I believe that God will give us more opportunities to do so, probably in Pattaya.

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Christian Young

THAILAND 2011 - Trip To The Mountains

Kanchanaburi, Thailand
Thursday, March 3, 2011
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Trip To The Mountains

Got up this morning and read from earlier in Luke's gospel about John the Baptist. What struck me was his message of repentance and that he was literally preparing the way for Jesus to make His entrance as Savior of the world. I so much feel that Thailand's need is for true repentance from idolatry. Only then will Jesus make His entrance as their Savior. I had a vision yesterday that I shared during our team's time of prayer and worship. It was a vision of a river bed that was cracked and dried up. No water was visible to the eye, yet I knew that underneath this dry riverbed there was water. Then I was our team walking along this dry riverbed. Everywhere we stepped we stomped through the dry and sracked soil and water began to collect in each one of our footprints from underneath the soil. As this happened, people came from all over to drink from the water that had collected in our footprints. I understood that the dry riverbed is Thailand and that everywhere that our team set foot in Thailand would bring the refreshing water of the Holy Spirit. I also understood that it was both Thai people AND ministries that were coming to drink of the water of the Holy Spirit that had collected in our footprints.

This morning seven of our team members left for the mountains of Kanchanaburi, about a four hour van ride to the northwest of Bangkok. Jesse, Tanya, Zoe, Carrie, Irene, Katherine and I all packed into a van that we hired to take us to the small YWAM base in Kanchanaburi. Our hope was to be able to show the Jesus film to the villagers in this mountainous area. When we arrived we were greeted by Arun, Pang (Arun's wife) and Pang's parents who are the base leaders here. We found out that YWAM had distibuted the Jesus film around the entire area a while back. Buddhism is so strong in Thailand, yet YWAM saw 30 people forsake Buddhism and follow Christ within that first year of their evangelism efforts. Now about half of that group form a small fellowship here at the YWAM base. Arun said we could still show the Jesus film later in the evening if anyone was passing by the base at that time. He said the night before a terrible storm swept through the area destroying some of the roofing at the YWAM base. Upon our arrival we saw four tents set up for us to sleep in so we were hoping that another storm wouldn't hit and wash us away.

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The mountians here in Kanchanaburi are gorgeous. Such a vast difference to the view from the city of Bangkok. Arun took us to a goat farm where he has learned to raise them in order to generate income as well as to bless the poor people of this area. We then proceeded to a place where we were able to ride elephants. What an adventure! As we sat in the back of the pickup truck we worshiped and interceded for Thailand for almost an hour. It was an amazing time.

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From our elephant riding escapade we headed to the Bridge over the River Kwai, which is a very historic site. We all ate spicy Thai food together on a restaurant that floats on the River Kwai. Then we cruised back to the YWAM base. As the wind blew through my hair in the back of that pickup truck, I took in all of the sights and smells of Thailand and counted myself blessed to be a part of this team.

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Christian Young

THAILAND 2011 - Visit to N.L. Foundation

Bangkok, Thailand

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

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Visit To N.L. Foundation

Hit the ground running this morning as our team of 15 IRIS missionaries jumped into the back of a truck that would take us into downtown Bangkok at 9am. We were given the opportunity to get a tour of a ministry called N.L. Foundation takes in and ministers to girls who were once prostitutes as well as girls victimized by sex trafficking. It was great to hear from S.M. who has worked with N.L. for five years now. Wow! After hearing her speak as the tears ran down her face our hearts were breaking for the work of God among these girls here in Bangkok (more on this in a video interview to come). After S.M. shared with us, our team gathered around her and prayed for her. Powerful time! One of their main needs at N.L. is for people to buy the jewelry that these girls make everyday. This is their livelihood now that they are not selling themselves for sex in the brothels. If you are a business-minded individual with resources to be able to see this jewelry sold in the U.S. or elsewhere, thus saving these girls' lives, please contact N.L. via their website :

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http://www.nightlightinternational.com/

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God brought me to Luke 4:18-19 in my quiet time this morning. It says, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." I know that this is a passage from Isaiah that Jesus quoted in a synagogue and referring to Himself at the beginning of His public ministry, but I felt it was for our IRIS Thailand team, having to do with why we are here in Thailand. I shared this with the team on our truck ride into Bangkok today.

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Our team had an awesome time of worship and rayer together this afternoon. I was blessed to be able to lead worship. I love the heart of IRIS missionaries for the presence of God.

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Some things about Thailand I have noticed so far: The temperature is in the 80's and 90's and very humid day and night. There are idols literally everywhere you look; on street corners, in the shops, in the taxis. I believe idolatry to be a major stronghold here. Thai food is amazing and super-cheap. I bought a bowl of rice and pork for 20 baht which is only 67 cents!

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Christian Young

CHI-NA 2011 - En Route to Thailand

Bay-jing, Chi-na

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

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En Route To Thailand
It didn't look so great for me at first as I was dropped off at the airport in Portland, Oregon. My passport was scanned at the self-check-in line in order to get my boarding pass to San Francisco and then on to Chi-na and Thailand. Then right at the beginning of the check-in process, the machine prompted me to place my visa for Chi-na into the scanner. The potential problem was that I never got a visa for Chi-na because their embassy stated that I would not need one in transit if I was only in Chi-na for a period of 24 hours or less. So the people at United Airlines asked me to stand in another line and wait for their assistance. They were very close to not giving me my boarding pass as they stared at their computer screen, saying that the Chi-nese embassy page was giving conflicting information on whether I needed a visa or not. I assured them of what I had researched about it. Finally, after two of the United Airline employees went back and forth, they gave me my boarding pass to San Francisco only and told me I may have problems with Air Chi-na once I arrived. I wasn't too shaken as I knew the Lord had called me to make this journey, but texted people to pray nonetheless. I got a chance to chat with a guy named Ryan from Portland who sat next to me on the flight from Portland to San Francisco. Ends up he grew up in a baptist church and was heading to South Korea to teach English for a year.
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After getting to San Francisco, I went to the Air Chi-na counter and they gave me my boarding passes to Bay-jing AND to Bangkok with no hassles. It was a long 11+ hour flight. These days I have trouble sleeping on airplanes so I just studied up on my Thai language aand read more about the history of Thailand. I sat next to a lovely Chi-nese couple; Mr. Xu and his wife. They had very broken English, but they proceeded to teach me some Chi-nese. Another Chi-nese couple and their two year old son sat in front of us. I was able to share some about God with them. It was a great opportunity to shine the light of Christ with the Chi-nese.

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We finally arrived in Bay-jing. I nearly teared up as I set foot on Chi-nese soil. I thought about the work done in years past by my grandparents and great grandparents who ministered in Chi-na as full-time missionaries. I thanked God for them, for the mighty work of God among the underground Chi-nese church and prayed for the nation as a whole.

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Made it through their customs and to the gate where my flight to Bangkok was boarding. It was only a 4+ hour flight to Bangkok. I sat next to a man from Thailand named Chamnan. He spoke broken English and I practiced my conversational Thai with him. By the end of the flight I was dead tired, but had gained a new friend who gave me his phone number and address in hopes to connect with me once I get a Thai SIM card for my Blackberry.

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Jesse, Lonnie, Katherine and the taxi driver were waiting for me as I made it through customs and picked up my baggage. We then proceeded to the YWAM base in Bangkok.

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Christian Young

UNITED STATES 2011 - FacePlant Skate Church Staff Meeting

FacePlant SkateChurch Staff Meeting

FacePlant SkateChurch Staff Meeting at Whipple Creek Church

FacePlant SkateChurch Staff 2011 (L to R): James Atchley, LeeAnn hull, Pam Knowles, Curtis Christensen, Christian Young, Brian Worcester, Zach Barazowski, Ricky Brewer, Chad Stevens, McKenzie Knowles (not pictured: Josh Newton and Victor Marquay)