1 March 2011 – Praise & Prayer from Robert & Dara Peh

“Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2, KJV).

THANK GOD for the five brethren from Singapore who came to render their physical help. James Tan, May Eng, Sandra and her two children (Tze Anne & Tze Shaun) came on 16 February and returned on 23 February. They helped to clean up the books, bags, clothing, toys, kitchenware and cabinets, etc. Thank God for their labour of love. As it is written, “God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister” (Hebrews 6:10, KJV). Thank God again for them, for sacrificing their time and comfort to come and bear the burden together with us. They were indeed a great help and encouragement to us.

Elder Victor Wee, though had just returned from the India mission trip on 19 February (Saturday), came on the 21 February (Monday), together with our co-worker Peigang (who was back in Singapore for the Lunar New Year).

Thank God also for Dara’s Thai friends, Ek and Pee Ploy for coming to offer us encouragement on 14 and 15 February respectively. God is indeed marvelous. He knows who to send and how to meet our needs. “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee” (Psalm 84:11-12, KJV).

Thank God for all the love and concern, prayer and financial support we have received from fellow believers in Christ during this trying period. Clothing, toiletries, instant noodles, and some goodies were also provided. Jesus says, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me” (Matthew 25:40, KJV). “And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42, KJV).

Removing of the debris is still in the process, a little here and there every day. Thank God that along the way, we could find some soaps and toothpastes still in usable condition, reminding us of what Jesus says, “…Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost” (John 6:12, KJV).

As one of the walls of the dormitories is joined with the kitchen outside, we may need to cut it apart before we could knock down the other walls. We may start to demolish the building, God willing, within this week to make way for the construction to take place. Please pray for safety and protection in the work and for wisdom in planning and ideas for the design of the dormitories. Weather is also an issue here.

While waiting for the dormitories for the boys and girls and Dara’s and the children’s study room to be built, we are trying to find a proper working space for Dara and our two kids to do their work. We have blocked up one portion of the building that was not affected by the fire to put our wardrobes in. Robert has fixed up electrical wiring, powered by car batteries, to bring in some light to the room. We have shifted our beds to Robert’s office. Thank God for this arrangement and for preserving Robert’s office from the fire. The office is just 5 metres away from the building that caught fire.

At this juncture, many of you may be interested to know how we are doing and coping after the fire incident. We must say again, “GOD IS ALWAYS SO GOOD TO HIS CHILDREN!” He has enabled us to adjust life back to normal again, though things are still quite messy in the rooms.

On 14 February (Monday), 2 days after the fire took place, the children got their school uniform and were back to school on the following day (15 Feb). The school said that they would be given new textbooks for free but until now, they are still sharing textbooks with their classmates. Thank God. There was not much studying for them for the past two weeks. Since 17 February, their school has been busy with a series of sports competitions and camp. They even requested us to use our lorry to fetch their students to another school for an inter-school sports tournament. THANK GOD! John, who had obtained his driving license two years ago, could serve as the driver. The end of the school term is coming soon. One more week to go and they will be sitting for their final examinations (around the middle of March). Pray that they will be ready for the exams and able to do well.

As for the older boys, they are back to their normal chores: looking after the animals, taking care of the paddy field, watering the crops, etc. It is a joy to see them faithfully and diligently serving the Lord each day. Pray also especially for John and Isaac in their preparation for their exams at the end of April. John recently twisted his ankle badly while playing soccer with the boys and it is still swollen and painful. Do pray for healing for him.

Evangel and Evangeline have also started their studies. Their home-school materials are not complete due to the fire, but they just have to move on with what they have. May God help them to be disciplined after so long a break. In addition to their studies, they have other learning activities too. This week, they are learning to bake. Thank God that they really enjoy it very much. They also learn Thai from Dara in the evening or sometimes at night, depending on their commitments. For this subject, Evangel is currently at Primary 4 level and Lin is at Primary 3. On top of these, beginning this week, Evangel has to do a research paper from the Internet about a famous person that he likes. Pray that this will expand his knowledge and improve his IT skills.

As for Dara, apart from home-schooling the two kids and teaching them how to bake (with Grace as her assistant), she has to do her own studies too. Thank God that she could attend classes last weekend. Thank God also that her health is improving steadily. THANK GOD! She has no more body cramps since last week. May the Lord grant her a complete recovery. Do continue to uphold her in prayer.

Grace is always working diligently behind the scenes. She joyfully does the laundry, cooking, washing, ironing, etc for our family to relieve us of those things. At times, she also assists Dara in teaching Thai to Evangel and Lin. Thank God for her. She is indeed a great helper and a blessing from God to all of us. May God grant her strength daily to discharge her daily duties.

Robert had wanted to get this update out since a week ago (24 Feb) but he has been occupied with so many different assignments on hand that he had to delay it. For the past one week until now, he has been feeling a bit weak physically and his eyes have been getting tired easily. We request you to pray for him, for better health and extra strength to manage the various tasks laid before him and for his recovery from bodily weakness. Thank God for sustaining Robert day by day. Indeed, God’s grace is always sufficient for us.

Our daily Family Worship is held in the evening. Robert is still doing the teaching. The residents also take turns to preach under Robert’s guidance. Pray that God will continue to bless the family worship, and for every soul in the Christian Home of Love to keep growing spiritually in the Lord and be strengthened daily to live in obedience to His Word. “Blessed are they that keep His Testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart” (Psalm 119:2, KJV).

Thank God! We have also started the Truth B-P Church Building Project on 14 February 2011. At present, we are in the midst of creating a new blog to testify the mighty acts of God in our church and to keep you informed of how you can continue to pray for this work together with us. Once the newsletter for the church building project is ready, we will notify you. Until then, keep praying and thanks for your prayer.

To view more photographs, click this link: https://picasaweb.google.com/robertdara/CHOLCaughtFire12Feb2011oogle.com/robertdara/CHOLCaughtFire12Feb2011

His unworthy servants,
Robert, Dara, Evangel & Evangeline Peh
& all in the Christian Home of Love
& the Truth Bible-Presbyterian Church
Chiang Mai, THAILAND
Mobile: 089-1916606 / +65-89-1916606

Praise and Prayer from Robert & Dara Peh -13 February 2011

“All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies” (Psalm 25:10, KJV).

Could you believe? C.H.O.L. caught fire. THANK GOD! Everything is fine with us. No one got hurt. Everything in the boy and girl's dorms were gone as the fire started off first from the boy's dorm and then spread very quickly to the girl's dorm. Dara, Evangel and Lin's study room also got it but thank God that we managed to bring out many of the furniture on time with the help of the villagers, mostly our ex-students and their parents.

All the clothing, money and belongings of the children were gone. School books, uniforms, bags, shoes etc were also burned up. They have no more clothing of their own. However, thank God for the last batch of clothing that Elder Wee brought up in January 2011 and I kept them at another place. So, they were all given the clothing last night. PRAISE THE LORD! They could wear these clothing for Sunday Worship today (13 Feb). The weather at night and in the morning is cold. Thank God. We still have stock of jackets and wind breakers for them.
Jesus says, “for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things” (Matthew 6:32, KJV).

The fire started at about 5.15 p.m. on Saturday (12 Feb) when we were having our family worship. We do not know exactly what was the cause of the fire but the boys were saying that it could be because of the loose contact of the electrical plug and the mobile phone charger in the boy’s dorm that triggered the fire sparks and when the wind blew in, it ignited the mosquitoes nets and then the mattresses and blankets and the whole wooden building. Everything happened just so fast. When we ran to the boy’s dorm, the bed was already on fire. Within 5 minutes, the whole room was already burning. THANK GOD! The fire didn’t take place in the middle of the night when everyone was sleeping, when there was nobody to help carrying things, and when there was no one to drive the fire engine.

After the fire had finally died down, we carried on with our family worship. We thanked and praised God for Who He is in our lives. After we had sung the song, “Thank to God for my Redeemer,” Dara reminded all of us once again to thank God for the series of messages we had learned at the end of last year, entitled “When Disaster Strikes” to prepare us for such a time like this. Indeed, God’s Word is our comfort and strength, as the psalmist says, “This is my comfort in my affliction: for Thy Word hath quickened me” (Psalm 119:50, KJV).

THANK GOD! There are two power supplies for the Home, one from the front yard and the other from the back yard. Though the one from the back yard were cut off due to the fire, thank God that we still have light at the front yard. So, we are not living in darkness. The same is also true with the water source. We have two main pipes, one to the boy and girl’s dorms and the other to the guest house. Since the dorms were reduced to ashes, the children are now sleeping at our guest house, with full water supply. THANK GOD! Our kitchen is also not affected by the fire. Likewise, the fire didn’t burn down our Fellowship Hall. We are now putting up at the house that we have built for Elder and Mrs Wee. It’s just in front of the Fellowship Hall.

Couldn’t imagine. Our house was burned up by fire. Nevertheless, we still believe that God is in full control. In time like this, some may think that it must be due to some sins in our lives so God is chastising us. We acknowledge the Bible teaches that “For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth (Hebrews 12:6, KJV).” But this is not always the case. The Book of Job says that Job “was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil” (Job 1:1, KJV) and yet he encountered calamity in his life simply because he was a godly man and God, as it were, offered him to Satan to be tempted, as it is written in Job 1:8, “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?”

We are finite. We may not know exactly why God allows certain things to happen to us even when we have tried our best to live for Him but still, we must believe that God is the Author of our lives and He has the final say. We are just an instrument of God. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Through this incident, we have learned also not to hold on to material things too tightly but to learn to let go. Like Job said, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the Name of the LORD" (Job 1:21, KJV). God has always been very good to us and He will definitely grant us His grace to go through this time of testing, though it may take quite a while for us to rebuild everything again. Don't worry. We are fine. God is always so good to us and He has granted us His peace and joy even in moment like this. PRAISE THE LORD! “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28, KJV).

The police officers have come to block up the area. They are going to file a report. Thereafter, we should be able to start cleaning up the mess. Do pray for wisdom for us to know how to go about doing it and how and when to start the reconstruction. Do also pray for strength and good health for all of us.

It has not been easy especially for Dara, having to go through so much at this time when her health is still very weak. The environment is quite smoky at time due to forest fire or the villagers burning the rubbish. She finds it hard to breath at time because of the air pollution. Kindly uphold her health in prayer.

Due to the fire and the water from the fire engine, many of the books of Dara and both Evangel and Evangeline were damaged. Those books are for their studies. Pray that we will be able to quickly source out the number of books that were destroyed and find a replacement so that they may move on with their studies when everything is more or less settled. We also hope to explain to Dara’s lecturers about her situation and ask for permission for her to study at home. Pray that her lecturers will be very understanding.

The students do not have any uniform to go to school on Monday (14 Feb). And as some of you may know, every student needs 4 different sets of uniforms throughout the week. So, we will be going to the school to inform the teachers about it. Pray that they will be able to buy all the 4 sets of uniforms from the school as soon as possible and also the school will have enough text books to sell to them at this time. In a month’s time, they will be having their school examinations, followed by the long summer holidays. Pray that their studies will not be affected.

Under His loving Care,
Robert, Dara Evangel, Evangeline Peh
& all at the Christian Home of Love
& the Truth Bible-Presbyterian Church
13 February 2011

9 February 2011 - Praise & Prayer from Robert & Dara Peh

“My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips: When I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches. Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice” (Psalm 63:5-7, KJV).

OUR GOD IS ALWAYS SO GOOD AND SO FAITHFUL! He has so graciously provided all our needs. He has once again shown Himself to be a loving and caring Father to His children. GLORY TO HIS NAME!

Thank you for your prayer for Dara’s treatment last week (31 Jan – 2 Feb 2011) and for her recovery. After the treatment, Dara was given Levothyroxine, Calcium and vitamin D tablets for daily intake. For a better understand of Levothyroxine medication, click this link: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a682461.html.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a682461.html

At the moment, she is experiencing some side effects caused by the medication, such as headache, nausea, lack of energy, slow of speech, feeling cold. Besides, she is having pain around the area that was operated in December 2010. Pray that the pain will be gone soon. On Tuesday (8 Feb) she was extremely weak physically and emotionally down. THANK GOD! She was slightly better the next day (9 Feb). We will be returning to Thailand on Thursday (10 Feb). The aeroplane will be taking off at 3 pm and arrive at Bangkok at 6 pm. We will be transiting at Bangkok airport at 9 pm, and arriving at Chiang Mai at 10 pm (Thailand time). Pray that God will grant her the additional strength to cope with the long journey and remove the headache and nausea from her. The journey from Chiang Mai to the Christian Home of Love (CHOL) will take another 3 hour drive (150 km). We will stay a night in Chiang Mai and return to CHOL on Friday (11 February).

THANK GOD! This coming weekend (12 & 13 Feb), Dara doesn’t have to go to study at Chiang Rai. This is indeed a blessing to her. According to her university original time-table, there should be no break for this month. Definitely, our GOD KNOWS that she is weak at this time and needs more rest. It’s surely our God’s doing to let the university changed its plan this week and proclaimed a holiday. PRAISE THE LORD! OUR GOD IS TRULY OMNISCIENT! “I will praise Thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify Thy name for evermore” (Psalm 86:12, KJV).

THANK GOD for the sweet fellowship we could have with fellow Christians during our short stay in Singapore. THANK GOD also for the blessed time we could spent with our loved ones. God willing, we will be back to Singapore for hospital appointment in August 2011. Dara will be having another total body scan at that time. Pray that she will be completely healed by then. “For great is Thy mercy toward me: and Thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell” (Psalm 86:13, KJV).

Peace be with you all!

Under His loving care,
Robert, Dara, Evangel & Evangeline Peh
Christian Home of Love
Truth Bible-Presbyterian Church
9 February 2011

31 January 2011 - Praise and Prayer from Robert & Dara Peh

“THE LORD IS GOOD, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him” (Nahum 1:7, KJV).

PRAISE GOD! Like Moses going up to Mount Sinai alone to meet the LORD, Dara has prepared herself to go to the hospital and spend all her time alone in the ward with her Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in prayer and in the reading of His Word for the next few days. Besides the Bible, we have printed out some hymns for her to bring along to sing praises unto the God of our salvation. Pray that she will have a wonderful time fellowshipping with the Lord. “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him” (Psalm 34:8, KJV).

This morning (31 January), Dara will be admitted to the Singapore General Hospital for a 3 day treatment for thyroid cancer. She will be given high dosage of the radioactive iodine and her body will be radio active for a while. During this period, it’s better for her not to have close contact with people, especially the pregnant women and children under 5 years old. So, she will be confined to a room to herself. No one could visit her, not even her love ones. Yet, the Lord will always be her companion. Pray that she will be fully healed and physically strong after the treatment. God willing, she will be discharged on Wednesday (2 February 2011).

For those who are interested to know more about the I-131 treatment for thyroid cancer, click the following link: http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/type/thyroid-cancer/treatment/radiotherapy/radioactive-iodine-treatment-for-thyroid-cancer

After her 2 thyroids were removed on 8 December 2010, she is not on any medication and is lacking of hormone in her body. Till today, 8 weeks have passed. The lack of calcium and other chemical in her body has caused much cramp on her body and made her out of breath at times and headache and tired easily. Thank God. The day has come for her to go for the treatment. May the Lord grant her a complete recovery!

“He only is my rock and my salvation: He is my defence; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:6-8, KJV).

Thanks for praying.

Cheers,
Robert, Dara, Evangel & Lin
31 January 2011

29 January 2011 - Praise and Prayer from Robert & Dara Peh

“Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7, KJV).

Thank you for your partnership with us in prayer. Thanks for praying with us for our Christmas outreaches last month (Dec. 2010). By God’s grace, everything went on well and smoothly. Many had come and heard the gospel. Have attached a few pictures on this blog for your viewing.

THANK GOD! We arrived safely at Singapore on Tuesday night (25 Jan), with 8 baggage. GOD IS ALWAYS SO GOOD! It was an eventful trip which God used to teach us the lesson of TRUST.

Firstly, at Bangkok airport, we were not allowed to check in because Dara’s passport is less than six months from the expiry date. They knew that if Dara could not go to Singapore, than all of us would not be going too. We told them that Dara would be going for her treatment in Singapore. They asked for the hospital letter from Singapore but we didn’t have it with us. So, what should we do? Prayed and prayed. The Bible says, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7, KJV).

We Knew that we have to call Singapore to fax us the letter. THANK GOD! We managed to get hold of Elder Victor Wee who contacted the doctor for us and had the letter fax over. Thank God for Elder Wee who was always so willing and ever so ready to help us. After calling Elder Wee, we informed them that the letter would be in soon. PRAISE GOD! Somehow, they just believed what we said. It must be the Lord’s doing. They could have let all of us wait until the fax came in then let us check in but God worked in such a way that while waiting for the fax to come in, they allowed us to check in all the baggage first and let Dara, Grace, Evangel and Evangeline to go in. As for me, they wanted me to wait till the fax reached their office. Thereafter, Dara said, “THANK GOD FOR CANCER.” If it’s not because of cancer, she would not be able to come to Singapore on that day. Yes, “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28, KJV).

We actually arrived at the Bangkok airport quite early at about 2.30pm, slightly more than 2 hours before checking in. We could have gone for lunch first, but thank God that we didn’t. The queue was very, very long. When it reached our turn, it was about 3.40 pm. The departure time was 4.45 pm. When they finally allowed Dara, Grace, Evangel and Lin to go in, it was about 4 pm. I waited for them to call me but they didn’t, though I was just standing in front of the counter. At 4.30 pm, I decided to ask them and tell them that the fax had already reached the office. To my surprise, they said that they had forgotten to inform me about it and that the aeroplane was about to depart. They wanted me to quickly run in before it was too late. Quite exciting wasn’t it?

Then when I reached the airport immigration, know what, the queue was also very long. I knew that it would take quite a while before my turn and I would be late. What to do then? Prayed and prayed. I called Dara to inform the air-stewards about it. They said they would wait for me till 5 pm. If still I could not make it, then they would send someone there to help me clear the immigration quickly. 5 pm finally came and there was still a person before me, but the airplane couldn’t wait anymore. So they sent an air-steward to look for me at the immigration and found me at the counter. Thank God. I finally reached the aeroplane safely being the last person to board the plane. GOD IS SO AMAZING!

After I had boarded, the plane was all ready to take off. They shut the door and in no time, the plane started to move. As usual, I would count all the passports. And since, I was not able to go with them earlier, I told Grace to look after them and their passports. But, something happened again. Lin’s passport was missing. She remembered that she had already given it to Grace. Where had it gone to? The plane was already moving. It was too late to go back now to the airport and find the passport. With the seatbelt on, we tried searching around where we were sitting but the passport was no where to be found. Lin and Evangel was sitting in the row in front of Grace. Grace bended forward to see whether she could find the passport under their seats but couldn’t. What to do now? Prayed and prayed. When the seat belt light went off, Grace bended down to search under her own seat and to her amazement, she saw the passport lying down there. She cried. God was so merciful again. “I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known Thy faithfulness to all generations” (Psalm 89:1,KJV).

However, it was not the end yet. We have not reached Singapore. What if the Singapore Immigration couldn’t allow Dara to enter Singapore because of her passport? We actually told the airline in Bangkok to print out a copy of the letter for us so that we could show it to the Singapore Immigration officer. However, because they had forgotten about me, they had also forgotten to photocopy a copy for me. It was too late for me to rush to the office and ask for a copy now. What to do then? Prayed and Prayed. We hoped that the immigration officer in Singapore would not notice the expiry date. But, guess what? He did. However, God had shown Himself once again to be faithful and merciful. God had soften the heart of the immigration officer to let Dara entered Singapore for a month. Pointing at Dara’s passport, he just reminded Dara not to forget to renew her passport after returning to Thailand. PRAISE THE LORD! “Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds” (Psalm 36:5, KJV).

Through all these happenings, we know that God was teaching us to trust Him ever more, even before we reached Singapore. We know also that it is God’s will for Dara to have her treatment done in Singapore. We went for the hospital appointment on Thursday (27 Jan). The doctor confirmed that Dara has to go for the radio iodine on Monday (31 Jan). She will be admitted to the hospital for three days, until Wednesday (2 Feb). During the treatment, she will be isolated, not because she is carrying any contagious disease but that she will be radioactive. So, no visit will be allowed. To be honest, it is not the treatment that is painful for her but the separation from us for 2 days and 2 nights. But, God is so good. Unlike Thailand, she is allowed to make phone calls in the ward. Thank God for this arrangement. This will definitely reduce her loneliness and longing to see us. PRAISE BE TO GOD!

Thank God again that the timing is just perfect. The doctor said that she will be discharged from the hospital on February 2. So, she will be physically present for our family reunion dinner, though she may still need to abstain from certain food. Besides, she will also be able to join us for the Chinese New Year visitation. GOD IS ALWAYS SO GOOD AND SO GRACIOUS! "How excellent is Thy lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy Wings" (Psalm 36:7, KJV).

Do pray for everyone in the Christian Home of Love during our absence that God will keep them close to Himself. Pray for John our church deacon as he leads the Sunday worship services and preaches the Word of God. God willing, we will return to Thailand on February 10. Do continue to pray for Dara’s recovery.

Wishing you all a blessed Year 2011!

In God we trust,

Robert, Dara, Evangel & Evangeline Peh

29 January 2011