Fourteen Sports Leaders invited 10 alumni and 11 staff and parents for a three-day Christmas ministry south of Mae Sot. Barely shouting distance from the Burma border, Thoo Mweh Khee school stands in Thailand, educating 400 refugee boys and girls, ages four to twenty.

Grace students used their vacation to coach sports and play with the children. They also taught songs, led worship music each day, helped create colorful crafts and taught English classes.

Two highlights were swimming in the river marking the border and the crazy talent show, including everyone jumping with 2,500 night-glow sticks.

Along with Partners Relief and Development missionaries, Sports Leaders and Alumni helped host a Christmas party. To the children’s delight, they learned to decorate sugar cookies and devour them!

Grace students and Partners gave sports equipment for Christmas gifts and brought many sizes of winter clothing for the local church to distribute.

Finally, Sports Leaders piled into vans and trucks for their nearly six-hour drive home to Chiang Mai. Was it worth the distance, time and effort? Everyone agreed, “Absolutely!”

Download Vol 1 Issue 1 Alumni newsletter

More than 40 alumni attended the 5 January 2012 “Back to School” program, which included a special chapel with high school students,  held at the GIS poolside. After the chapel, most secondary teachers invited alumni to speak in their classrooms.

One big, red dog and 150 adults and children walked the new campus land at the January 2012 Open House. They prayed for future students and buildings on three routes. Some circumnavigated the prepared secondary site; others saw the brush-covered elementary area or walked the entire perimeter. Many bought bright “Tiger Truck” T-shirts, new GIS baseball caps and tiger-shaped thumb drives. That 4,000 baht plus 1,300 baht in donations will provide 26.5 more loads of fill-dirt.

“After the first 500 loads dumped in March 2011, donors have funded 12,100 more piles to level,” Advancement Director Matt Coe said. “About 8,500 loads have settled, ready for construction. Now 4,000 are in queue. We hope sponsors continue to outpace workers!”

Staff in school-color canopies provided free site maps, prayer lists, water, lollipops, Tiger Truck transfers and cut-outs to color, postcards and savings cans. People took photos as they played “driver” on a parked front-loader, truck and excavator.

Since the land purchase in October 2010, Christians world-wide have used the “Tiger Truck” project to help level our 86 rai (33 acre) campus site. Each 200 baht ($7 USD) pays to dig and dump one five-cubic-meter load. The new elementary and secondary campus needs 33,600 loads. Even students around the world have saved and sent their coins. A world-class education at Grace will continue as we build.

“Grace plans to grow from 657 students today to nearly 1,000, serving missionaries across S.E. Asia,” Superintendent Don Williams said. “We want room to teach nearly double our current number, rather than refuse admission because classes are full.”

Visit www.gisThailand.org for more photos and facts. Read more about Grace International Educational Foundation (GIEF) at: www.gracefndn.org. The “Tiger Truck” campaign is a “Saving Grace” project.

Please help! Buy 1, 10, 100 truckloads. Let’s build a school!

Alumni are always welcome on campus and are encouraged to participate in events and reunions. We invite all alumni to stay in touch with each other and with the school.

We have special souvenirs (T-shirt, cap, drawstring bag) for all alumni. Stop by our office or email us at alumni@gisthailand.org with your address and t-shirt size.

Grace International School 7th grade students recently enjoyed making and eating Korean foods. And they learned the history first-hand from Korean parents: Early USA missionaries arrived there in 1885. When the ‘Pyongyang Great Revival’ of 1907 began, thousands trusted Christ!

GIS parent Grace Shim’s father Rev. Dr. Sang-Bok David Kim is deeply involved in training Korean evangelists and is retired pastor of Halleluiah Church. He founded Torch Trinity Graduate University (TTGU) in Seoul, with 41 professors and students from 30 countries — the first in Korea to instruct in English.

“TTGU exists to train Christians to proclaim Jesus’ Gospel for salvation,” Pastor Kim said. “They’ll go into fierce spiritual battles against the powers of darkness, which enslave people under unbearable oppression. They’ll save patients with wounds from the battles of life.”

Of the 70 Korean families at GIS, most parents plant churches and evangelize. Two parents work in Bible translation, one in literacy. Other Koreans serve with computers, in orphanages, in business as ministry, teaching missionary kids and English as a Second Language.

And with Korean enrollment at Grace up to 18 percent, there is increased interest in the culture and language, taught this year by Jeong-Ho Lee. He also hosts a weekly after school Korean Club for elementary, with about 15 students first semester.

“A dark period in Korea was under Japan’s rule from 1910-1945. Japanese killed many pastors and Christians who would not bow to idols,” Grace Shim said. “Yet revival grew, driven by missionaries’ commitment to prayer and Bible study.”

GIS Korean Representative Deborah Kim added, “After five years of freedom, Korea was at war on June 25, 1950, then it split; the North become communist. But General MacArthur’s strategy helped the South remain free. Today the two countries are quite different in politics, economics and freedom. South Korea uses English for new technologies like ‘TV’ and ‘computer.’ In contrast, North Korea refuses English words.”

Rev. Kim was involved with ‘Global Consultation of World Evangelization 1995,’ with 4,200 delegates from 185 countries, seeking to reach 12,000 unreached people groups for Christ. Today’s statistics show South Korea sends out the most foreign missionaries, and GIS Korean parents are superb examples!

“I saved my money to buy Bake Sale cookies. But I’d rather buy rice instead,” one little girl said.

A few days earlier the pastor visited first grade teacher Angela Futch’s class. He was deeply touched, listening to them explain how they raised the money. Some washed cars; others donated their own birthday gifts of cash. One group sold Fruit Loop® necklaces and Kool-Aid®.

“They raised 10,200 baht, which bought 12 huge rice bags, nearly 100 lbs. each! Praise God!” Futch said.

These pint-sized students exceeded their original goal by 700 percent, after they heard Superintendent Don Williams’ challenge to “Find ways to exercise your faith.” Their efforts yielded valuable lessons for the first graders and blessings for a hill tribe village.

The pastor showed people a photo of the children who sacrificed for people they never met. Then Futch and her family helped distribute rice, edible expressions of love.

Our soccer guys roared through the recent four-day tournament in Taiwan. They ripped apart four games and tied two, outscoring opponents 18-1 in six tussles with Malaysian, Hong Kong, Philippine and Taiwan schools. Pouncing on Faith Academy in the final, GIS Thailand won 5-0, led by coaches Scott Hackett and Chris Cole.

“They’ve been blessed by God with opportunities and talent,” Cole said. “This group really loves each other and loves playing the game! We dealt with lots of injuries and rain early in the season. But it turned them into a team that worked hard — with humility. And they’re learning to honor and glorify God, specifically in soccer.

“The tournament was exciting and satisfying. I’m pleased how the team improved after early season struggles. As coaches, we knew they were talented, but they grew by working through difficult things and lots of adversity. It’s the first tournament win for GIS outside of Thailand. We are all grateful to God for the opportunity and for His strength to win!”