Updates
YCF
There are many things to be thankful for everyday at YCF, and we would love to share snippets of our thanksgiving with you. In this page, we want to also share prayer request items, provide updates and to create a platform where we can showcase what we do at YCF.
Its a joy and privilege for us to keep you updated, we hope that you will delight in our sharing and do remember to keep us in your prayers.
May, June, July & August 2024
Entering the last quarter of the year
The months of this year have just flown by so quickly! We are in September already and so much has happened and we have been so busy. Nonetheless, we thank God for each day and for being able to do what we do. It is true that the weather these days is so unpredictable, we are in the midst of the rainy season and yes we have had downpours but the rain has been so scattered and inconsistent, and it is so hot when the rain does not fall. Many of the children have been falling under the weather, catching viruses from school and we have had to have a few hospital runs. It is not the most fun of times, but we have no choice but to press on. We remind our children to keep up good personal hygiene and to drink plenty of water and of course sleep at least 8 hours each night.
On a brighter note, we have planted rice in our rice fields and the rice is growing well this year. We are starting to see little rice grains popping up and in two months’ time we will be harvesting the rain. On evenings when it is hot, everyone still works hard to weed and get dirty in the mud. We reward ourselves with icy cold water and at times sweet treats like ice cream or chocolates. The work gets done fast when we do it together and we are glad that the children learn this important life skill. The rain fields are well filled with the rain water and we are praying this year’s harvest will be good.
The children have all been busy with school. They had their long school break and school reopened for the new academic school year in May. We are proud of some children who received awards and certificates for their good grades. We are happy to see them grow up well and move on to the next level of their education. They adore school and love being able to see their teachers and friends. We are thankful they are also learning lots in school.
We have also started working on building the university student dormitory in Chiang Rai. We have been going up almost every weekend to oversee the work and getting the older children involved with the building construction works, as they get to experience and pick up skills on construction. We hope to be able to complete the new student dormitory by the end of next year. It will take some time as we are building it on our own from scratch. We cannot wait for it to be completed as it will be good for our university students to live in as we can save on their hostel fees and also be able to help the community by also allowing fellow university students to rent a room and also spread God’s love and word to them. This is our next big project as we look forward to ending the year and entering the next year. Other than that, all has been status quo here, God has been ever so good in leading and providing for us. We pray that you continue to pray with us, and support us in the works we do in YCF. We are so thankful, and glad that we have been making good use of our days this year to accomplish the things we have set out to do.
In August we also celebrated Thailand's Mother's Day and we had our annual treat at The Duke's. The food is always so good there, the pizza and the fried chicken! Our children ate to their heart's content! God is so good, we are so thankful for all His blessings.
During the last week of August, we had the opportunity to take two of our older children to Singapore to join with BPMC church for their mission month. We got to visit their church and share about the works at YCF. It was the first time that our two older children took an airplane and they were so excited. Thank God for this great opportunity for us, it is good that we can reward our children by providing them with such opportunities. We had a great time fellowshiping with our Singaporean friends and sharing about YCF to others to allow them to know more about us. It was also nice that when we came back, our older girl shared about her experience of the trip and it encouraged her younger peers to want to be able to go next time in the future. Thank God for all His goodness and grace.
February, March & April 2024
Celebrations all Bundled Together
February
In this short and sweet month of February we attended the graduation of one our university child. She graduated with a degree in Nursing, and we want to thank God for seeing her through four years of university, getting good grades and graduating well. Another big thanksgiving is that she managed to get a job at the university hospital right after she graduated. She has been working diligently since she graduated, and we are so proud of her achievement, and we hope that many of the younger children will be inspired to study hard for a better future for themselves just like how their senior has set a good example for them. We drove up to Chiang Rai with some of our children to delight in the wonderful day and we are always so proud of our children, especially when they graduate.
March
In March, we had another round of graduation celebrations and ceremonies, our high school students, and elementary school students’. We love celebrating and delighting in these big milestones with them. It always brings us so much pride and joy as we see them advance on to the next of their education and as we journey with them to find their way. Thank God for all His goodness, thank you to all the education sponsors who have helped to make all this possible for our children to access good education and for them to attend good schools to learn and grow well. Your generous funding has gone a long way, and we are so happy to see them enjoy going to school and learning each and every day. Education is the key to a better future, and we are so privileged to be able to assist as they get their education, and we pray and hope for each of our children to grow up to be good members of society to help and give back to others and contribute to the society when they are older.
Another event we attended in March was for the commemoration of Women’s Day, we were invited by Khun Lorne who put together the lovely event and we were so blessed to be able to share with the attendees about the works of Youth Charity Foundation and how by the grace of God, we have the strength and joy to do the works we do, empowering others by our faith and beliefs. We were so honoured to have met many powerful women figures who so passionately give their all to the works they do. It was a nice gathering where we could encourage one another and spur each other on.
By the end of March, school was out for all the children. We were busy as we had to make arrangements for some to return to their villages to spend the vacation with their families and had to plan for those who stayed on. It is very important to us that we keep our children well occupied, especially during the long school break. Some children who do not get to go back to their villages due to many reasons, have to stay with us for the whole month and so they have much time on their hands.
April
As tiring as this month was for us, having to care for the children who stayed on during the school break, we had a wonderful time celebrating Songkran. This year it has been extremely hot, the weather is not the best. We have had some rainfall this month however it has always been followed after by the intense heat and humidity. The children who were with us went up to Chiang Rai to help with some construction work, where they received pocket money for the work, they helped out in to be saved into their saving account. We had a good balance of work and rest. They played and splashed water after church service during the Songkran festival, it was a good time of rest as it was a long public holiday for the Thai New Year, and everyone was in such a festive mood. Songkran festive activities are now back in full swing after the Covid pandemic and so everyone was looking forward to playing and splashing water.
The past three months has passed us by so quickly. We are now in the midst of preparing for the new school year. The children are returning back to the foundation, the staff are busy with administrative work, cleaning and preparing the foundation as we get ready to open our doors to new additions to the foundation and things get back into action. Always a busy and hectic time, but we give thanks as through it all, God guides and blesses us. We can do it through Him who gives us the strength! We are excited to meet the new children and we pray that as the new school year rolls in, our children will continue to grow well, mature and be good students and just be happy as they grow. We cannot be more thankful and we are looking forward to what the new school year will bring with it.
January 2024
Hello January, we meet again.
A new year has tiptoed in, hello 2024, we want to embrace the new year and make it a great one by improving ourselves and cherishing each brand-new day.
2023 ended on a high note, we gave thanks as we sat around the open space, went a round to thank God for His goodness over our lives in 2023. Another year just so quickly over, where does time go? 12 months and there we were, saying goodbye to the old year and ushering the new year with new hope. The children are growing so big each day and we cannot be more thankful as we have the privilege to watch them grow and journey with them. Some days are hard, but there are more sweeter days that just makes the hard days all worth it. With God, we can do all things! With Him by our side, before us and over us, we stride on boldly, knowing that He is with us all the time. At the foundation, work is never ending and there is just simply so many things to do keeping us on our toes all the time. We are blessed for a good team of staff and for all the support we have received. It really takes a village to raise a child.
In the last month of 2023, in December, the children had school and the middle and high schoolers had to sit for their mid-year examinations. Thankfully, with some pocket of free time and with a week off school (Christmas- New Year), they could enjoy and be part of the Bible Camp that was held by BPMC Church from Singapore. It has been an annual bible camp for the children, and they look forward to it every year. The new children were so excited as they had never attended the bible camp before and had only heard it from their friends. It was a good bible camp, two days and one night. The camp’s theme was “Light” and the children all enjoyed the bible study sessions and games. We ended the camp with a nice fellowship dinner in our big open field, the children got to showcase their Christmas performances to the Singapore team before they departed. It was a beautiful night. A few weeks later, we held our annual Christmas party and hosted friends and neighbours. We had a spread of scrumptious food and a lovely time of worship and celebration. We also got to join in a few Christmas parties hosted by our fellow friends and the children loved all the good food and of course gifts that they received. We were so blessed. Christmas is truly a time of giving and receiving, we have the greatest gift and that is Jesus Christ! Given to us for free and forever till we unite with Him in heaven. It has and always been a good time soaking in all the Christmas activities and festivities. The children adore the Christmas season and so do we, as we see them all so happy and we take time to thank God for all His blessings over us in YCF.
We started the new year, 2024, with a few weeks of nice cold early mornings and evenings. The children have been going to school and everything is just running as it is. We had a few friends come to visit and do activities with the children, some even came to help us trim and cut the children’s hair. We always appreciate such help, and we are so glad we have visitors who can assist us. January has been a nice start to the new year, eleven more months of the year and we want to commit all the days into the Lord’s hands and pray He always guides and leads us. We wish you and your loved ones a very lovely start to the new year, may this year be filled with goodness for you in all that you do. Even on tough days, remember you are tougher and may God bless you. We are excited to see how this year will unfold, but for now, we will live it a day at a time with a thankful heart.
We will continue with our monthly updates, every two months one update....so keep tuning in to this page for our updates or follow our Facebook Page "Youth Charity Foundation Thailand". Thank you for your continuous support and love. We can do all things through Christ and from all your love, support, prayers and generous giving.