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.
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.
November & December 2023
Merry Christmas & A Happy Blessed New Year!
Joy to the world! The Lord has come.
We delight in knowing the greatest gift has been given to us.
From all of us at YCF, wishing you and your loved ones a
Blessed Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year.
May every joy be yours this holiday season.
September & October 2023
Flu be gone
Can you believe that we are almost at the end of another year? Just in a blink of an eye we are entering the second last month of the year. The rains have been coming down heavy the last few days, bringing with them fierce winds and the bad change of weather also brought about a serious flu bug. This flu bug had been ‘bugging’ us for the last two months.
In September, many of our children caught the bad flu bug from their classmates in school. It was so bad as it was widespread and we were getting children down with fever every consecutive day, some of our staff also caught the flu bug from them. It continued to the extent that school closed for a few days as both teachers and students were sick, and the flu bug was still spreading widely, and the school needed to isolate those who were ill. When the children fall ill in the home, we are kept busy and constantly on our toes. Our staff had to sacrifice their sleep and rest time as they were constantly on hospital runs, bringing and ferrying the children to the doctors, ensuring those who were unwell were well taken care of, fed their meals and medication and that those who were unaffected stayed away from those down with the flu bug in order for them to not catch the flu. It was definitely a tired period, but we thank God for granting us the energy and peace to see us through it. We have all recovered but you can still hear some lingering persistent coughs, but we have faith that it will fade off and everyone’s health will be restored, and all the coughs be gone!
As we battled the flu bug season, along with the rainy days we are thankful that the children have completed one more term in school. Thank God for all His goodness. We are so happy each time we celebrate the end of a school term. It always heartens us to see our children so happy to go and to come back happy from school. Education is so important, and we are blessed to be able to provide access to good education for them.
Term break lasted for three weeks, in those three weeks, we were glad that everyone was back to good health as some of our children returned to their villages while those who stayed on in the home were kept well occupied during their free time. Our girls were privileged to learn how to make some keychains and book dividers and they had such an enjoyable time learning and making the little crafts. We could hear their gentle excited whispers and delighted in their glee as they completed their keychains and book dividers. For those who went home to their villages, we are happy they could return to spend some time with their family and relatives. We also made a few trips with some of our children back to their villages to meet with their families and to catch up with them. These trips are always the best as we get to see how the families of our children are doing and to update them on the children’s progress. Their villages are always so quaint, and we just enjoy walking around and taking in all the sights, it feels like we have gone back in time.
As the new month comes along, the children have all returned to school and we are back to our usual routine. We are now in the midst for preparing for Christmas, which is everyone’s favourite time of the year, which is for us in YCF. It is still raining but soon the chilly weather will soon be on its way, we are looking forward to that.
July & August 2023
Joys of New Experiences
We just passed the last two wet months; it was raining pretty much, and we were glad that the weather was a little cooler and the rain fell to flood and fill up our rice fields. On some days, we were blessed with a glimpse of beautiful rainbows which went from one end of the sky all across to the other, the birds would chirp loudly as they flew just below the rainbow line and the smell of freshly fallen rain would fill the air. In the next few months, we pray that the rice we have planted this year will start growing rapidly in order for us to have a good harvest this year. God has been truly so good to us, and we can only sing His praise and give thanks for all things.
School has been taking up most of our time these days, the routine of waking up early and going to bed early has been taking place and during weekends are the days that we all look forward to as the children have more time to play and just relax. We have also been diligently working in the rice fields to weed and to ensure that there is enough water in each plot so that the soil will not dry up and get tough as that would kill our rice. So, the children have been on rotation to help and check, aside from their daily chores and schoolwork. We love the rice planting season as it is our yearly tradition and it is such a good life skill to have, especially so for us living in Thailand where agriculture is a main part country’s livelihood. Even when the children return to their villages to spend time with their family, most of the time they will head out to the rice fields or vegetable plots to assist their parents with their farming and agriculture work. Yes, it is hard work, and it takes up a lot of our time, but the process is something so precious in giving the children experiential learning and when harvest time comes about, they will know how their hard labor has produced such a great outcome and they get to reap what they sow by enjoying the fragrant rice. Stay tuned to harvest month, which will start in October.
In the month of August, we had the privileged to have some international encounters as we sent a small team consisting of three staff and three children to Singapore to Bethesda Pasir Ris Mission Church to join with them in their annual mission month. We usually will visit the church to share about YCF and to inform them of updates and prayer pointers, we are so thankful for their hospitality and generosity. This year, five out of the team of six travelled abroad for their first time and it was definitely many firsts for them – first time taking a place, first time visiting another country, first time sharing in front of a big crowds, etc. We thank God for allowing them to experience all that and it was such a memorable trip for them as they came back so excited to share with the others all that they had seen and done in Singapore. It is always our joy to be able to provide our children with such opportunities, of course with the help of many others and God, it was all possible. For our children, it is a good reward as they come from small remote villages and being able to travel opens up their minds and shows them how big the world really is, and we love seeing them learn and ask questions. We pray continually that for some of our children without citizenship yet, that one day soon, they too will be able to get their citizenship so that they too will have the chance to travel and broaden their horizons.
Last but not least, the month of August is when we celebrate Mother’s Day in Thailand and it seems like our annual tradition for the last few years, thanks to the generosity and kindness of The Duke’s Pizza, we have been so blessed to be treated to a free meal every year on Mother’s Day. The children simply love it! We enjoy all the delicious food and drinks there and the best part is that there is no limit on ordering and so our big boys will cease the chance to order many slices of pizza and fill their stomachs to the brim. Another thing we love observing is the new children, as many of them do not step foot into the city let alone a shopping mall or restaurant before entering YCF, they are just full of wonderment and in their little awkwardness we delight in seeing them learn how to behave, eat out and just enjoy the moment of being a dine in customer. Everyone was all smiles that day, we all left full, both heart and tummies.
As we enter the new month, we give thanks to the Lord for everything. We continue to do what we do in YCF because we know we can do all things because we have the Lord with us, He renews our strength daily and He watches over everyone in YCF. We thank God for sending us love and support in various forms from various people and we are just ever so thankful.
May & June 2023
Waves of Grace
We are constantly reminded that we can never rely on ourselves, our own strength, or our own capabilities as it is really God who we rely on in all things. He provides and God is more than enough. 2 Corinthians 12:9 reminds us of that daily. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast even more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
The days just go by so quickly, here we are at the end of the first half of the year. We have been really occupied at the foundation, with school now back in full force, preparing the rice fields for the rainy season which is also when we will start our rice planting, going through the last phase of the repair works at home. Things have been quite messy, but we have done our best to make the best out of it, and we can only thank God for all His goodness and grace. We have moved things from room to room, finding space in all the mess but realizing it was a blessing in disguise as it gave us a reason for a massive spring cleaning. By clearing and cleaning up it brought about a sense of refresh. Reorganizing and refurbishing our home has really given us all a sense of newness through this whole repair/renovate process. It is so nice to see things coming together. Though it has been a long time coming and we have had some inconveniences shifting things amid all the reshuffling and reallocating, we thank God for His grace. God has always provided, and we know will continue to provide for us in the way He knows best for our foundation.
We have had a few visitors come by to bless us in the past two months. They have not only given their time but have also donated many things to help us ease our expenses in feeding our big family of growing children, especially our teenage boys who eat at minimal, two big servings of food each meal. We love seeing them enjoy their food and seeing them grow is something just so beautiful. Some visitors even came with their talents to help us to cut the children’s hair, giving free haircuts to ensure our children are well groomed and looking smart for school. Some gave and taught our children skills like illustration and story writing, embarking on such enriching projects with the children and imparting such good life skills to them. Most importantly, we are thankful for their support, thoughts, and prayers for YCF. God is so good; He sends people who bless us and are of such big help to the foundation. Thank you to each of you. Even in our imperfections and weakness, God’s grace is sufficient and by His grace we can carry on each day and with His love, we can love the children and love the work.
The past two months has been good, we are happy to see our children enjoying school. Our older children are starting to feel the pressure of being in high school with more subjects and schoolwork, but we are certain that by being hardworking and resilient they will be able to put their best foot forward and give their best shot in their studies. Please keep them in prayer as we have a handful of high school youths this year, and as we know, teenage years are at times challenging. Finding their own identities, having to manage school and friendships, and making sense of the world. We are confident that the Lord will work in each of their lives, and we strive to provide them with the best opportunities we can to learn, grow and develop. The new additions have also been settling in well, we are always so amused to see them ‘transit’. It’s a whole different world from the remote villages that they come from, coming down to a big city and attending school, having to speak the Thai language instead of their native hill-tribe language, seeing and learning new things – for instance, many of them have never seen an airplane (because the airplanes do not fly across their villages) and having to see them fly across our homes at night with their bright red flickering lights is something very new and foreign to them and their eyes just open wide in awe at the sight of the airplane flying by. Little things we take for granted yet are larger than life for them serves as a good reminder for us to be constantly thankful for all the blessings and opportunities we have. We look forward to getting to know them better and to watch them grow physically and spiritually. They have also settled well into their new schools, and we are happy to see them enjoy going to school and hearing about school from them each evening.
As we enter the rainy season, we are praying for our rice fields to be flooded by the rain waters so that the rice we plant will be well nourished and we will have a good harvest this year. Even though the heat is not the most ideal, we will soak it all in before the daily rain comes, and we will have to deal with the wetter and cooler seasons of the year. Thank God for everything.
March & April 2023
Newness
There has been so many things happening in the past two months, the weather has not been the best with the worst combination of heat and haze, however we are thankful that everyone is well. March and April in Thailand are the hottest months as the Thai New Year (Songkran) is celebrated in April where Thai people enjoy all the water splashing activities to help quench the heat and it is also during the long school holidays that lasts for two months. In the month of March, it is also when we up North, are hit by the horrible haze which sees the air quality index going up to PM 2.5. It is very bad as the haze is thick and it just lasts for weeks. This is due to the irresponsible farmers who still practice the slash and burn farming methods. We can only pray for the rain to come shower down and wash away the thick choking haze to help clear up the weather. God has been good as it rained a few days, and those days were good, and we gave thanks and enjoyed them.
We have also had much progressed with the roof repair and maintenance works, the main building’s roof has been replaced, electrical wires and new paint has all been done and now we are moving to the lower building over the dining room, kitchen, laundry area and all the internal rooms’ wiring, paint job and ceiling boards will be put in soon. It is so nice to see everything coming together, the children are all so excited to have a ‘new building’ and we are also looking forward to having it completed.
As most of the children are back in their villages with their family and relatives to spend their school holidays at home, our staff were able to get their own much needed breaks and had the time to do their own things and some even went to visit family and friends. Self-care is so important, as they have to take care of all our children daily, it is good that they rest and have time to themselves too. We all had a good week to rest, clean and just recharge. Once the staff returned, it was back to work as we had to welcome the new children for this year. This year we will have a handful of new children joining the YCF family, thank God for sending them to us and we are looking forward to getting to know them better. It was a busy period for us as we had to go fetch some of them from their respective villages as their villages were far away, remote, and hard to access without a vehicle. We spent much time on the road, but we are glad that they are now with us in YCF and starting to settle in well. We also had to settle all their schooling arrangements and administrative matters. The new children are still rather shy, it will take a while for them to adjust as most of them are still working on their Thai language and do not speak fluent Thai as they are used to speaking their ethnic hill tribe language back home in their villages. However, we are confident that in no time they will pick up the Thai language and will be well settled into YCF, their new schools and will make good friends here.
As May comes about, we are all getting ready for the new school year, in which we will know the initial weeks will be rather hectic, but we know that the Lord will see us through it. More updates to come regarding our new additions to YCF in the next update and we will share about the children’s schooling.