TCCC Staff Conference 2017

Last week was the Staff Conference for our TCCC staff throughout the country and it was held at our center in Chiang Mai. One of our staff made this recap of the week.  I absolutely love it and have watched it over and over. When we first moved to Thailand, there were just two full time staff and it has been our privilege to watch the ministry grow to this group of staff. What a joy it is for us to work with these brothers and sisters who are so passionate, fun,  lovable, and most of all seekers of all that God wants them to be.  Enjoy! 

An All American BBQ-Year 3

Well they did it again!  The Foltz's "hit it out of the park" with the American BBQ. They had a lot to live up to after the big bash in 2014 that was amazing  and then again in 2015 that got even better.   You can read about the background of these dinners from past years on those posts.  Last week, we just finished the mid-year stint conference.

The first time we set up for 200+, the second year it grew to 300, and this year we fed 400 people! These are people that come to our city for a conference from countries where it is much more difficult to live and work and we get to host them, treat them, and give them a fun night at the conference. 

Marisa loves the planning and decorating for this.  Each table was similar and yet a bit different with the American BBQ theme. 

We laugh at how different it is planning events like these in Thailand.  Everything is so very much cheaper, and yet sometimes you get what you pay for and cannot have high expectations.  They did a beautiful job on the 40 table flower arrangements, and yet the table/chairs/tablecloth deliveries company caused a little stress in their delivery time. 

Jon orders all the food from a favorite restaurant in town that makes great BBQ ribs, chicken, and lots of side dishes. They eat and eat until they are stuffed.  He also arranged for 40 songtao's (red trucks) to shuttle the 400 guests from the hotel to our center and back.

Our Northern Thailand CCC facility is a great place to host events like this, and we are thankful for the space and gift it is to the ministry.

This year we set up a little photo booth and got bales from a horse barn.

Cute cowgirls! 

Marisa and I did most of the set up during the hot afternoon with the scorching sun.  We laughed at ourselves a lot for doing what we do and were so tired.  But once the guests start arriving and it cools down, it is so worth it to see how much they enjoy the evening. 

They spread out throughout the evening in the gym with basketball and volleyball and outside with Frisbee's, corn hole, and ended the evening with a traditional dance party. 

Marisa decorates with a lot of American flags, because the majority of the stinters are from the USA serving in countries all around Asia and this is a taste of  home for them.  However there are a fair amount from other countries, too that seem to enjoy the theme along with us.  

Mike ended the evening again with a fireworks display this year.  It was suppose to be small, but he got a little carried away.

Jon and Marisa, you are quite the party planners.  I heard several say that the BBQ night is their favorite part of the conference, which makes it worth all your work to be a blessing to so many. (Hope it doesn't grow to 500 next year) 

Allen's from UofA to Orlando

We love the work that Michael produces with his camera.  This was one of his last projects at the University of Arkansas where they have worked with Cru for the past 5 years.  They will be moving to Orlando, Florida to work with Broken Phone Booth which is a ministry under the Jesus Film Project. Both of these are still ministries with Cru. We are hoping that they can get their new financial support amounts raised in the next two months so that we can help them with their move at the end off the summer before returning to Thailand.

Watch this and enjoy hearing what God has done in students lives at UofA this last year.

Cru Vision Dinner 2016 Final from Michael Allen on Vimeo.