Shayne in Thailand
From Life in a Northern Town
My name is Shayne Rochfort and I am a servant of God, volunteering in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I am the “something” helping several organisations around Chiang Mai. I am helping with websites, coordinating the office, reporting activities as well as opportunities to connect with other foundations and their projects in communities all over Thailand. My main role involves everything and anything, STILL.
Coming home was a little uncertain as to what I would be doing apart from investigating OMS’s options for moving forward into Thailand. Now I am working with Hope Connections Foundation.
New Year, New Foundation It’s a similar story to last year, so now I am working with Hope Connections Foundation in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It is currently a very small foundation with the Chairman, myself and a Thai staff member. We are in preparations and planning to grow the ministry we have, so we are researching opportunities for relationship and development in communities in the northern areas of Thailand, also partnering with other organisations along the new China-Myanmar(Burma) Highway. I help the foundation follow it’s objectives in coordination and distribution of donations to the villagers and the communities, with community development projects, education projects, quality of life projects and culture and religion projects and also with fundraising and promotion.
My first project was to prepare the first annual report for the foundation to give to the Government. This report is also used in interactions with all the government departments. It was about 15 pages full of all the foundation activities from its inception in November 2015. I then had to get it translated and fixed up for submission to the district office. Currently much of the work I am doing is helping to prepare the foundation for the future. I have experience with foundations and I am working with our Thai staff to prepared documentation for new volunteers, policy documents for foundation activities, working with the chairman about new projects that are happening in 2017 including some village building projects and also discussion plans for teams that will come to assist with these projects.
This work is mostly computer based and hard to show physical objects, but these will be printed when complete. New foundations need to prepare a lot of documentation for all the government departments and we are working hard to comply with all regulations. We hosted a team of Korean university students for two weeks earlier this year and they spent time sprucing up the Foundation Office, having cultural exchange with local schools and ministering in the mountain villages. They are pictured having lunch here and I was sharing about life in Thailand as a missionary and about the Thai people and what they believe. This was to assist the students in preparing relevant ministry for the people they were to be visiting. It was a fun group to be a part of and we know many of the students’ lives were touched. May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendour to their children. May the favour of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us - yes, establish the work of our hands. Psalm 90:16-17 (NIV)
Mid Year Ramblings, it’s June already! I can’t believe it! I have been working with other missionaries as counsellor and advisor, just helping them work through life on the missions field, as well as encouraging them and helping them technically with aspects of their work. They are sometimes still new to the mission field so the more people they have pouring into them, the more they will grow as individuals and in Christ. Thailand is a very challenging place, and has a unique range of obstacles, which can overcome new people, until they gain a reasonable level of understanding about what goes on here.
Having fun at Thai Children’s Day, the Airforce Base is opened to the children and everyone can play with all the toys. Even the big kids! Lots of giveaways and planes and everyone has a great day. Here is a video - http://bit.ly/2rigZT5
I am also called on regularly to help new and prospective missionaries with regulations about visas, work permits and all the government requirements to be in Thailand long term. We as missionaries are always looking for opportunities to partner with other non-profits as it is a time to learn from them. I have had great opportunities to learn useful skills in all my work in Thailand and this has given me talents and competencies to help many people in many ways. Outside of “work”, I am helping several other groups with marketing, promotion, event planning, and hosting encouragement, networking and connection, community building, coaching, strategic and critical thinking, computers, web activities, management and growth. These are skills gained through my life as God has put me in positions to practically learn these skills and then put them to use. I can see these benefitting people in Chiang Mai and around the world, within the people coming and going through Chiang Mai. These interactions are mostly with non Christians, so I have a wide open mission field right in front of me. I have always loved helping others and this is helping create relationships where I will have the opportunity to share Jesus with them in the future.
Donating Blood, Coordinating Trash Hero, A Friend’s Birthday, Paying Respect to the former King, Giving away a Leicester Football Shirt that I won.
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO PRAY: Praise God for His every day guidance and love! For His provision and for those who help me continue my work here in Thailand. Please pray for Thailand. Thailand is still in mourning and until the funeral in October. Things are still very much up in the air about Thailand and the future. It will take a while for stability and normalcy, but thankfully it is not affecting the general population yet. Please continue to pray, I have many opportunities to serve Thai people and others also, inside and outside of my “work”. I am committed to being in Thailand. I would like to let you know that if you are able to partner with me in my work, then you can do so through One Mission Society. There are many ways you can support me, through prayer as well as financially. This partnership is helping serve the great need for Thai people to come to know Jesus.
Supporting Shayne
My prayer card with all the details is available at http://issuu.com/shayneinthailand/docs/prayercard . Please include my missionary number #803833 with any donations. You can support me financially by :-
Feel free to Contact me, I love to chat.
Phone/WhatsApp
+66801202074 Email - shayneinthailan@gmail.com Skype/LINE - shayneinthailand
Cheque - Please make cheques payable to: OMS International, PO Box 897, RINGWOOD, Vic 3134. Include a note with my name. Direct Debit - If you wish to make a payment directly through your bank, pay to: Westpac. Acc Name: OMS International Australia- Inc. BSB: 733172 Account Number: 628724. NOTE: In the transaction details please be sure to include your name and ROC. Credit card donations - can be made through the website. http://www.omsaus.org OMS phone – 03 9870 8559