'Tis the Season to Spread Love!

Merry Christmas!

A few years ago, Irislee and I had an epiphany about how we celebrate Christmas.

Living in North America, it’s hard to resist the pull of materialism, the obligation of gift-giving and the hectic peace-less lifestyle. When we first heard about Operation Christmas Child, we wanted to give, but didn’t know how we would afford one more thing during the Christmas season. After a few discussions, we realized we wanted to make Christmas better reflect what we believe about the birth and message of Jesus. He gave up heaven to come to earth and live among us. Surely we could make some sacrifices too! We could use the money we would normally spend on each other and give it away instead. Over the years, we’ve sent boxes to Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan’s Purse, Project Seeds to Guatemala and Boxes of Love to Zambia. Some years, we’ve even chosen Christmas giving gifts from Samaritan’s Purse, Gospel for Asia and World Vision for our extended family members. No one has ever complained, but instead thanked us for giving to those in need on their behalf.

Have you ever heard of Advent Conspiracy? It’s a great idea that has changed the Christmas season for thousands of people! Check it out.

One fantastic idea for this Christmas specifically is the Christmas Giving Catalogue idea developed by Omega Global. Omega Global is a one-year discipleship program (directed by Zach Wylie) from Summit Pacific College, and students in this program are coming to Thailand this spring to volunteer in various parts of the country. As part of their pre-trip planning, they want to raise money for some of the projects Imagine Thailand is currently running and so they’ve put together a fantastic Christmas Giving Catalogue. Follow the instructions on page 4 and make an impact in Mae Sot, Bangkok, and Takua Pa!

On a personal note, thank-you for your interest and support in all things Imagine Thailand. This has been another significant year in Thailand and Burma. The Thai elections, the continually changing politics of Burma, and the devastating floods would top the chart in events followed by the international media.

It has been a significant year for Imagine Thailand as well:

• The many missions teams that visited 1 or more of our 4 regions of involvement (Bangkok, Takua Pa, the Deep South, and Mae Sot) and our interns have been important in creating momentum for our team on the ground.
• We hosted our first Discovery Tour – a humanitarian tour of Thailand for those concerned about social justice and interested in how Imagine Thailand responds to social justice issues throughout the country. Deeply impacted by the experience, some of the tour participants raised thousands of dollars for water systems in Mae Sot upon returning home.
• We began training our first full-time community development directors who will move to the Deep South in 2012.
• Kelvin Chan who interned with us in the fall of 2011 is revamping and expanding our educational process for our tutoring center in Takua Pa…more on this in the spring.
• We established The Pie Shoppe in Bangkok (providing good English meat pies!) to help raise funds for Imagine Thailand.
• We continue to develop the The School of Leadership in Mae Sot, preparing it for a launch in 2012.

These examples illustrate that our directors Peter and Cavelle Dove and our Imagine Thailand team are constantly creating new ways to deepen Imagine Thailand’s commitment to the people of Thailand and Burma.

For our family here in West Kelowna, we have enjoyed another full year of training teams, creating support for projects, and spreading the word on what is happening in Thailand and Burma. We’ve established relationships with a number of schools, churches, and colleges who have graciously allowed us to take away “regular programming” time in order to hear our stories about the thoughts and dreams of people we’ve met in Southeast Asia.

We’re already looking forward to a full slate of plans for 2012 that we will keep you informed about through our blog. By way of reminder, it’s not too late to sign up for Discovery Tour 2012 (January 17-29th).

From us…the Koch Kamotion…
Derek, Irislee, Ellie, Isaac, Hannah, and Olivia…

We wish you and yours a Merry Christmas, filled with the peace, joy and love of Jesus, and a Happy New Year!

Discovery Tour 2012: Have You Heard?

The time has come!  It’s time for you to begin planning for Discovery Tour 2012.

For those that came last year, Discovery Tour 2011 was an amazing experience that gave everyone an excellent up-close-and-personal view of everything Imagine Thailand.

One participant wrote that

Discovery Tour is a very fun, educational tour… You get to learn about Imagine Thailand and see some of the country too, in a safe and organized way. The whole tour was so organized.

From a dad with young children…

We thought it was superb for our kids… Our kids loved every day; we were grateful for how the team cheered our kids on!

Someone who had already been a supporter of Imagine Thailand and came to see first-hand how her support was being used wrote,

It was great to actually see a ministry you support and hear about. It was worth that in itself. Excellent idea to have an organized time to do so. Plus, I also think it’s a great way to experience the country, through people who live there and know what’s good and what to do and see. For those non-world travellers it’s a nice way to be introduced to the country.

On January 17-29, 2012, Peter and Cavelle Dove, the founders and directors of Imagine Thailand, Derek and Irislee Koch, the North American representatives of Imagine Thailand, and the Imagine Thailand Thai staff will take you on a journey you won’t forget. Where will you go? The tour will include Takua Pa in the south of Thailand where we are involved in a number of educational ventures with children who survived the tsunami of 2004. You’ll visit Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand and Imagine Thailand’s headquarters. A delicious coffee awaits you at Imagine’s Passport Cafe. A trip to Mae Sot and a number of Burmese schools along the Thai-Burma border will give you a clear understanding of the crisis in which Burma finds itself.

Along with good food, clean and comfortable accommodations, a few tourist stops, and the rich interaction with Thai and Burmese culture, Discovery Tour 2012 promises to be a trip of a lifetime.

For more information or to register for this amazing experience, go to Discovery Tour 2012

Hope to see you there in January 2012!

September Update from the Doves

Hello everyone,

September is upon us, life is very busy for you I'm sure as it is for us. I am attaching a couple of quick updates. The first is a short newsletter and the other is news of our Discovery Tour coming in January 2011.

We are very excited about this tour as it will give opportunities for individuals and couples to visit Imagine Thailand, here during the best time of year and travel to all the different parts of the country. If you, or you know of another person who may be curious to visit Thailand but would like to do so with a purpose please pass on this information.

Many blessings,
Peter

October 2009 Update from the Doves (1.0MB PDF)
Imagine Thailand 2011 Discovery Tour (1.0MB PDF)

Kids Camp in the Ukraine

Join us this summer on a short term missions trip, August 11 - 19, to Camp Black Sea in the Ukraine. Help minister to orphans and street kids. If you are unable to go yourself, please consider sponsoring a child in need to attend camp at $75 per child.

More details:
Fred Ilyin at 250.549.1703
www.newmanna.org

Christian Hockey Camps

Christian Hockey Camps International, organized by Hockey Ministries International, will be held at UBC, August 2 - 7. The cost is $575 + tax. Combining high quality hockey instruction and practical training in Christian living has proven to be a winning combination in preparing young athletes for challenges, both on and off the ice.

More details:
Jordan Peterson at 778.908.5224
www.hockeyministries.org

Fe Viva Missionary Training School

Do you have a passion for Jesus? Do you have a call to missions? Is there a hunger in your heart to share the love of God with the lost and brokenhearted? Do you have a vision to see the kingdom of God advanced throughout the nations? Fe Viva’s Missionary Training School (MTS) is now taking applications for 2010. This is a 3 month missions school specifically geared to those who feel called to a life of missions work. We are looking for young adults who feel this call. If you are interested in missions or you know of someone who would be interested, then MTS could be for you.

Next MTS: February 12 - May 2, 2010
Cost: US$3,995 (does not include airfare or personal spending)
Application Deadline: December 31, 2009

For more information or application forms, check out www.feviva.org/short-term-missions. Feel free to join our Fe Viva MTS Facebook Group.

feviva.org*matt*Question from Emmanuel Website about MTS