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Mrs. Leena Helle Director of Lutheran Diakonia Department
Distributing tarpaulins for villagers
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Greetings from Director Dear readers, Greetings again from the Lutheran Diakonia Department. On this second issue of year 2008 we would like to share something about the daily activities of the School Ministry, the Ministry among the Elderly and the AIDS Support Center. All these ministries are very much needed in this society and we have been happy to be able to carry out these ministries in co-operation with our local congregations. In addition to these long term ministries we have been continuously challenged by the emergency situations, where help from all of you has really been appreciated. Therefore, I would like to use this opportunity to thank you. Almost four years ago Thailand was hit by the tsunami. For most of us it was a new word, a word we had never even heard before. Even though the ELCT did not have any work in affected areas, it was seen as important to get involved in the time of need. With help from partners abroad, the ELCT got involved in the relief work. First, it was answering the most urgent needs: food, clothing and medicinal supplies. Later, the re-lief work also included supporting rebuilding, and we had several teams of congregation members participating in practical work. Subsequent to this, the long term rehabilitation programs have continued until today. At the moment the ELCT is still supporting em-ployment programs at Phangnga province, recreational activities at Ban Nam Khem and new permanent building for a day care center at Tapdawan sea gypsy village. All these projects will hopefully be finished before the end of 2008. However, the natural catastrophes seem to continue: in May cyclone Nargis hit our neighboring country, Myanmar, and caused huge damage. Nobody knows the exact numbers, but after three months the UN reported that 924,000 people are still in urgent need of food on a regular basis. Areas in Irrawaddy Delta and around Yangon were among the worst affected. Initially, the relief operations were humbled by the restric-tions of the governing military junta. Emergency relief teams were not allowed to travel to the Delta area and all relief items were only allowed to be delivered by the junta. Later on, after international pressure, emergency relief teams got better access to the af-fected areas. In the ELCT, we also took part in the relief work. After a letter from the bishop to the congregations, donations - food and clothing - were gathered at the Dia-konia office and forwarded to affected areas through the “Helping hands”-project. Some financial support was also given to this project. This “Helping hands”-project was initiated by the Lutheran Church in Myanmar and the Norwegian Mission society. It was a short period (1.6-31.7) emergency relief program. However, through that pro-gram 909 food supply packages (each enough for 60 days for a family of five) and non-food supplies were delivered for needy families in Irrawaddy Delta and Yangon area. On this occasion I would like to thank all of you who participated in this relief work! As Christians we are all called to serve our neighbours with love. In our neighbourhoods there are all kinds of challenges for us, such as human emergencies, social problems and loneliness. In these situations we are called to help, to act and to proclaim the presence of the Kingdom of God. We are not asked how much we have or how much we can do, but we are asked if we are ready to put what we in have in use. As Mother Teresa said; “Don’t look for big things, just do small things with great love”.
This ministry’s goal is to encourage, provide sup-port for daily living, and visit aged people in differ-ent congregations, which relate to Evangelical Lu-theran Church in Thailand. The staff visited aged people in various communities in Bangkok, some-times together with co-workers from local congre-gations. At the countryside the elderly were visited at their homes. Each visit, staff discussed and lis-tened to the problems of the elders and gave en-couragement, and when needed, food and other items for personal use. During the last 6 months, 35 elders were visited regularly. Providing money for daily use and helping in various occasions, for ex-ample funeral costs and urgent troubles, the minis-try of seniors was able to help and provide for 14 elders.
A senior day was organized at Good News Ubon Church together with church workers of the district four of the ELCT on the 3rd of April 2008, 130 eld-ers attended. That day was filled with elderly smiles having a joyous gathering and chatting with one another about personal experiences. More than that, the elders sang songs, exercised, and listened to the meaning of senior day from the director of the Diakonia department. The elders got to play games and do jigsaw puzzles. Before leaving, small pre-
Home visits and senior days -latest news of the past 6 months,
Sents were given to all the elders that came and then all shared a meal together before going home. The elders commented that this activity should be held at least every year as it was such a blessing. Moreover, this activity was also held at Mukdahan Church and Nonghan Church at Udon Province, and even though there weren’t so many people who at-tended, the atmosphere was still filled with joy and once again, people requested this activity to be held again. Therefore, I really thank God for this ministry that I have been part of, and have been able to help eld-ers and underprivileged people. God bless you.
Mrs Putta Towannang Staff member of the Ministry among Elderly People
”..Most importantly, HIV-positive individuals need our love and acceptance and an equal right to live their life like all other people in our society without stigma and discrimination.”
Every year we have arranged an outing for our clients, people living with and af-fected by HIV and AIDS, in a nice venue outside of Bangkok. This year was a little bit different: We had our very first overnight camp! On Saturday 9th of August, a total of 35 children and adults travelled by chartered bus to the Jomtien Beach, Pattaya. After having a good lunch and some rest we focused on health issues. Deaconess Leena Helle, the director of the Lutheran Diakonia Department, gave in-formation about taking care of our own health. Eating healthy as outlined by the food pyramid, sleeping enough, and having regular exercise were said to be the foundation of good physical health. Additionally, being together and sharing with friends and a family helps us to care for our emotional wellbeing. Later, Psychiat-ric nurse and Art therapist Kirsi Mikkola, the leader of AIDS Support Center, contin-ued with the special HIV and AIDS health issues: How to prevent HIV? How to take care of yourself if you are living with HIV or AIDS? And how to take care of your loved one having HIV or AIDS? The most important thing is to support and encour-age a person living with HIV and AIDS. Most importantly, HIV-positive individuals need our love and acceptance and an equal right to live their life like all other people in our society without stigma and discrimination. Beside this educational part of program, we still had lots of fun including swimming and playing on the seaside, watching movies, playing games, evening prayer with Mr. Paitoon Meetee, the leader of the Family Development Project, and barbequing seafood. On the next day we gathered together after breakfast and had some singing and praying led by our team member Mr. Sutthipat Akaranthapong and Evangelist Yohan Trakoonmesuk from the Samrong Lutheran congregation. Evt. Yohan took this chance to talk about the meaning of life, and a total of 20 people wanted to come to the front to be prayed for. After our service there was still time to go to swimming or to make some artwork before lunch. In the afternoon we had buses full of content faces heading back to Bangkok: the camp had been a great success! Mr. Suthipat Akaranantapong The staff of the AIDS support Center
Mrs.Kirsi Mikkola, The leader of the AIDS support Center
SCHOLARSHIP GRANTING CEREMONY of the School ministry in Ubon Ratchathani province
Ms. Sriphai Anochai, the leader of the School ministry, explains: “On the 6th May 2008 we arranged a scholar-ship granting ceremony at the Phibun Mangsahan church. There were about 30 guardians participating in this occasion, when Mrs Leena Helle, the director of the Lutheran Diakonia Department, handed out scholarships to 101 children altogether. From the 101 children 66 stud-ied at the lower secondary level, 27 at the higher sec-ondary level, three in vocational colleges and five in universities (one in Ratchaphat Suan Dusit University, two in Ratchaphat Ubon Ratchathani University, one in Nak-hom Pathom Christian University and one in Ubon Ratchathani Univeristy). Even though the support pro-vided for each of the students can only answer their very basic needs, it is still very useful for them. Those who had just graduated from M6 (High school), in par-ticular, need the scholarship to cover the expenses of enrollment to educational institutions of the next level. In general, some students miss the opportunity to con-tinue their studies just because they lack basic funds to prepare for enrollment.” “Even though the support provided for each of the stu-dents can only answer their very basic needs, it is still
very useful for them”
In her speech to the students and the guardians Mrs Leena Helle had some good news. She out-lined the changes to come in 2009; according to plans, the School Ministry and the Family Devel-opment Ministry will be put together and made into one project. Consequently, the value of each scholarship will increase; earlier the schol-arships granted by the School Ministry varied between 1500-2500 depending on the level of studies, yet in the new project the students are entitled to support according to the real costs of the education. They will pay for their expenses first, and then bring the receipts for reimburse-ment. Also present at the ceremony were the team of teachers from The North Eastern Polytechnic Col-lege educating the students on how to prepare themselves for studies in the next level and how to choose a suitable option for themselves. It was a special opportunity for the students to get up to date information about educational oppor-tunities. Hopefully they can use it for their own benefit in the future to reach their goals.
Bamboo Furniture Project of a Senior Group, Chiang Rai Province
Bamboo is a natural forest plant that is largely con-nected to the daily living of Thai people since the olden days. Thai people in the rural areas use bam-boo to build houses and make baskets and chairs. Bamboos are useful all over from the shoot to the root, as well as the trunk and leaves. One of the good qualities of bamboo is their resilience against weather and climatic conditions. The trunk can be cut into string and bent into wanted shapes, such as baskets and bowls. Bamboo is extremely durable and does not break easily and these properties make products last long, which makes bamboo a popular raw material. Bamboo furniture project of the senior group run in Chiang Rai Province got 27,000 Baht support from the Ministry through congregations (under LDD) through the Chiang Rai preaching place. The purpose of this project is to support the quality of life of the elderly and enable them to work and make a living. Mr. Sri Kampaengdam, the leader of the senior group in Sanyapang, Chiang Rai Province, once worked as a maker of bamboo furniture, so he is very skilled and experienced. However, when there was a customer from a resort or a hotel who ordered a lot of items at a time, he was unable to fill these orders be-
cause of a lack of tools and funds. However, since the support, Mr. Sri was able to make bamboo furni-ture again and felt like he was able to do the things he enjoyed once again. In addition to support from the Ministry through congregations, this project also received 5,000 Baht from the district administration and now has enough funds to continue to make bamboo furniture. Bamboos used in this project are bought from the villagers who grow them. Before beginning to make furniture, the bamboos must be soaked in termite protection liquid and then left to dry completely. Most of the furniture that Mr. Sri and his friends make are made to order, according to needs of the clients, for example chairs and sofa sets. They sell for around 3,500-5,000 Baht.
A team from the LDD surveyed the needs and vis-ited the senior group on the 24-26 March 2008. The project was progressing well. The senior group was healthy and happy. They were able to take care of themselves and their families, and that made them feel that they are still useful and don’t have to de-pend on their children and community. This is quality life for them.
พันธกิจศูนยกําลังใจ รวมมือกับพระคริสตธรรมลูเธอร ขอเชิญผูรวมงาน ศิษยาภิบาล ผูประกาศ และนักศึกษา รวมรับฟงการสัมมนาในหัวขอ “การใหคําปรึกษา” ระหวางวันที่ 6-10 ต.ค. 2008 โดยวิทยากร ดร.ศจ. วิชาญ ฤทธ์ินิมิต ที่จะแบงปนเกี่ยวกับ “หลักการใหคําปรึกษาท่ัวไป” และ โดย ศจ. สน่ัน วุฒิ แบงปนเกี่ยวกับ “การดูแลใหคําปรึกษาแกผูท่ีประสบวิกฤติชีวิตเอชไอวี/เอดส” ณ พระคริสตธรรมลูเธอร The AIDS Support Center together with the Luther Seminary in Thailand (LST) wants to invite all co-workers and students of the LST to participate in the “Pastoral Care and Counseling”-seminar to be held from 6 – 10th October 2008 at the LST. The lecturers will be Rev.Dr Wichan Ritnimit (general guidelines of counseling) and Rev Sanan Wutti (pastoral care and counseling for the HIV-positive).
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ขาวสัมมนา “การใหคําปรึกษา”(Pastoral Care and Counseling”-seminar)
“ลูกๆ เปนความชื่นชมยินดี (Children are a Joy)”
ดร.ศจ.วิชาญ ฤทธิ์นิมิต
ศจ.สนั่น วุฒิ
แผนกคริสเตียนสงเคราะห ขอเชิญผูรวมงาน ศิษยาภิบาล ผูประกาศ นักศึกษา ครูรวีและผูปกครองที่สนใจ รวมรับฟงการเสวนาเกี่ยวกับครอบครัวคริสเตียน ในหัวขอ “ลูกๆ เปนความชื่นชมยินดี (Children are a Joy)” ระหวางวันที่ 31 ตุลาคม -1 พฤศจิกายน 2008 ณ หองประชุมสภาฯ ต้ังแตเวลา 09.00 – 16.00 น โดยไดรับเกียรติจากทีมพันธกิจเด็กจากประเทศฟนแลนด เปนวิทยากร Dear church co-workers, pastors, evangelist, students, Sunday school teach-ers and interested guardians: you are warmly welcome to join a seminar to share experiences and learn together about ministering children through the theme “Children are a Joy” on 31st October-1st November 2008 at the head-quarters of the ELCT. The program will last from 9 am to 4pm both days. A group of child ministry workers from Finland will be the facilitators for the seminar.
อ.วรรณี เข็มทอง ศบ. คริสตจักรพระกรุณาคุณ ไดใหขอมูลวา พันธกิจศูนยกําลังใจ รวมกับคริสตจักรพระกรุณาคุณ จะจัดกิจกรรมเนื่องในวันเอดสโลก จุดประสงคเพื่อการรณรงคตอตานการแพรเชื้อเอชไอวีแกประชาชน ในชุมชนยานรามคําแหง โดย ขอเชิญคริสตจักร มีสวนรวมในกิจกรรมตางๆ อาทิ เชน เกมส ตอบคําถาม ตัดผม ตรวจสายตา ทําดอกไม ระบายสี โดยงานจะจัดในวันอาทิตยท่ี 30 พฤศจิกายน 2008 ต้ังแตเวลา 15.000 น -17.00 น ณ คริสตจักรพระกรุณาคุณ Evangelist Wannee Khemthong from Grace Lutheran congregation wants to invite all those interested to par-ticipate in the World AIDS day event to be held on Sunday 30th November 2008 from 3pm to 5 pm at the Grace Lutheran church. The event is arranged in co-operation with the Grace Lutheran congregation and AIDS Support Center. The purpose of the event is to campaign against spreading of HIV at the communities of the Ramkhamhaeng district. In addition to up to date info about HIV and AIDS the activities for the day will also include games, quizzes, free hair cuts and eye tests, handicraft demonstrations and coloring activities for children.