Graduates
They are at the end of the school year in Thailand. Several of the Gethsemane Home children are graduating this year. Wanchai and Joshua are our youngest graduates. They are graduating from middle school by finishing 9th grade and will enter high school in May. June, Sunida, and Yoksaak completed high school. All three will attend universities in Thailand. June is planning on studying nursing. Sunida and Yoksaak will be studying in the Bangkok area as they continue as members of the Thailand National Cricket teams. Sunida will be studying at Ramkhamhaeng University, and Yoksaak will be studying at Chanthaburi University.
We are proud of all of these children and want to thank the sponsors who continue to support them. Most have been with us for over ten years. Titus and Newa are receiving calls from ministers in Northern Thailand about new children needing a home. We are beginning the process of bringing these children into the home and will be searching for new sponsors. Please contact us if this is something you would be interested in.
Seizing the Opportunity
Last year during one of our video chats with Titus, we had the opportunity to hear some of Yuri’s thoughts on the future of the ministry. Yuri is Titus’s youngest sister and part of our staff. She shared with us the value that her and her husband, Moses, saw in bringing a few boys from the villages into their home where they could get a better education. Besides being able to help further these boys’ education, they were also able to share the gospel with them. Yuri also told us that Moses wanted to continue bringing more boys into their home after the situation with the Covid virus improved. Their vision was to build a dorm where they could house five or six boys at a time.
In February we asked Titus if Moses wanted to go ahead with construction of a new boy’s dorm with the help of Under the Son Ministries. Moses said he had the opportunity to buy some land behind his home if we would supply the funds to construct the building. The month of March started with Moses purchasing the land. With money we had available at the time, construction began. The new building will have three rooms and measure approximately 40 feet x 13 feet, with an 8 feet porch on the front. If you are interested in helping with this project, please contact us. The cost has been estimated at $13,000.
Read more about this endeavor in the next article.
Hope for a Better Life
One of the disadvantages hilltribe children in Thailand have is that most village schools only offer a sixth grade education or less. Several years ago, two of our Under the Son Ministries staff members, Moses and Yuri, decided to offer young men a chance to further their education while living in a Christian environment. The three boys that have lived at Moses and Yuri’s came from different villages, but their situation was the same. Their families knew they needed to further their education but needed someone who could help them financially. Juti and Srunyu stayed with Moses and Yuri while they attended technical school in Chiang Mai. Juti studied auto mechanics where he received a bachelors degree and now works at a Toyota dealership in Chiang Mai. Srunyu studied telecommunications and works as a security camera installation technician.
Narin’s story is different in that after his parents divorced, he went to live in a dormitory. When he broke the dormitory rules, he was asked to leave the dormitory. He didn’t have a place to stay, so his mother asked Moses and Yuri to help. They agreed to let him live at their house. Narin was able to finish 6th grade and now is studying at Chiang Mai Polytechnic College and hopes to be a tour guide.
Upcoming Fundraising Events
e have three fundraisers happening in the next couple of months. Again this year, we pre-ordered 400 geraniums in January that will be delivered to our house the end of April. At this time we are taking preorders. We will have dark red, bright red, salmon, hot pink, lavender, and fuschia colors available. If you are wanting to order any, please contact us soon by calling 660-254-5775 or 660-254-8487. They are going quickly!
We will be participating in a Spring Craft Fair at Maryville Community Center on Saturday, April 9th, from 9 AM to 2 PM. There will be over 40 vendors there. We also have a large inventory of items available.
Finally, we have a fundraiser scheduled for May 2nd at Pizza Ranch in Maryville. The fundraiser will be held from 5 to 8 PM that evening. We will receive 10% of the sales for that night and be busing tables for tips. You will also be able to purchase items from our Wonderfully Made inventory. Hope you can join us!
As always, proceeds from all of these fundraisers will be used for our educational fund that pays for school lunches, high school tuition, and tuition for any of our children at Gethsemane Home that choose to attend a university.
We thank you for your continued support of these fundraisers!
