Milo and Natalie Homepage

Bless Thailand

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:59:59 -0500

Natalie:I heard this song when we first arrived in Thailand over 3 years ago and the tears just came down. It's entitled "Bless Thailand". Here are the lyrics in both languages...the Thai for those who can read it...there is just so much heart in the Thai lyrics. ¹Õèà»ç¹¤ÓÍ¸ÔÉ°Ò¹¢Í§àÃÒ·Ø¡¤ ¹¹Õèà»ç¹¤ÓÍéÍ¹ÇÍ¹¨Ò¡ËÑÇã¨ãËé¾ÃÐÇÔÒ³à·à¢éÒ ÁÒà»Ô´µÒã¨àÃÒ·Ø¡¤¹ãËéÍÑÈ¨ÃÃÂì¢Í§¾ÃÐÍ§¤ì à¡Ô´ã¹¾Ç¡àÃÒ â»Ã´·Ã§ÍÇÂ¾Ã»ÃÐà·Èä·Âà»ÅÕèÂ¹àÁ×Í§ä·ÂãËé ÁÕ¤ÇÒÁËÇÑ§â»Ã´à»Ô´´Ç§µÒáÅÐËÑÇã¨ãËé¤¹ä·ÂàËç¹¤ÇÒÁÊÇèÒ§â»Ã´·Ã§ÍÇÂ¾Ã»ÃÐà·Èä·Â ãËéä»¶Ö§µÒÁ¹éÓ¾ÃÐ·ÑÂãËé¾ÃÐ¾ÃËÅÑè§äËÅä»¶Ö§¤¹ä·Â·Ø¡¤¹ This is our prayerThis is the plea from our heartsLet the Spirit pour onto usOpen the eyes of our heartsLet the miracles of the Lord rise among us Please bless ThailandChange Thailand so we might have hopeOpen our eyes and our heartsSo Thais can see the lightPlease bless ThailandBring us to Your perfect WillLet the blessings of the Lord flow to all the Thais~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With the political turmoil as it is here, I can't help but to be thankful that our God is sovereign and in control of all. It is the most comforting thought to us as believers, especially in times such as this. What does God have in store for Thailand? What does He desire to do for the Thai? It has been 3 going on 4 months now of non-stop protests. It has been worsening as of late, as both international airports have both been closed (by anti-govt protesters) for the last 5 days and now rumors are that they will head to close the ports too. The airport closures alone costs the country as a whole billions of baht per day. The Department of Labor has stated that over 100,000 jobs were lost in the first few days of the airport closures. Both political sides aren't budging from their stance...and violence is slowly escalating. Some are saying that the country is heading for unprecedented violence and bloodshed.Personally we have not been affected, despite the fact that we are 15 minutes away from the main international airport. But it is so heartbreaking to see such unrest and fellow Thai people choking and hurting the country so. It comes down to Thais hurting Thais. Both Milo and I see both sides of the dispute and there are pros and cons to both. We just cannot help but to pray and ask that you would join us in prayer for Thailand.The one great comfort in all of this is in knowing that God has a purpose in ALL of this. He always does. He is in control and with that there is much hope. Please pray that God would raise up the small number of believers here in Thailand and His church here to pray. Pray that the Prince of Peace would take hold of the many many Thai hearts searching for peace. Please pray for the leaders of this country to act quickly and wisely to restore civil peace.This song is such a blessing especially if you understand Thai...and if I can get this video to work, hope the song will bless you and help you to pray for Thailand too

peace for Thailand

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:59:59 -0500

Please continue to pray for the political turmoil in Thailand.

There seems to be no practical resolution in sight.

Story08 Conference
Please pray for Milo and Natalie as we prepare to speak and participate at our agency's mission conference from Dec 28-31 in Florida.

Thai Protestors Shut down Airport

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:59:59 -0500

BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- Blasts at two Bangkok airports wounded four people early Wednesday, authorities said.
Anti-government protesters gather in front of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport early Wednesday.

Anti-government protesters gather in front of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport early Wednesday.

The explosions come a day after thousands of anti-government protesters stormed the airports to protest the return of Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from the APEC summit in Peru.

One blast occurred at the Suvarnabhumi Airport at 5 a.m. Wednesday ( 2200 Tuesday GMT), an airport spokesman said. One person was wounded in that attack.

The other blast occurred at 6:40 a.m. Wednesday (2340 Tuesday GMT) at the Don Muang International Airport, wounding three people, police said.

Suvarnabhumi Airport later canceled all flights, The Associated Press reported.

On Tuesday thousands of anti-government protesters partially shut down Suvarnabhumi Airport, the country's main airport, an airport spokesman said. Video Watch fists fly in the terminal »

Pro- and anti-government protesters also exchanged gunfire, a Thai police official said. Protesters with golf clubs and long wooden sticks also clashed with airport taxi drivers, with each side throwing things at the other.

The clash started when the anti-government group People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) was mobilizing supporters near the Don Muang airport, which the government is using as its temporary office. iReport.com: Are you there? Send pics, video

The PAD ran into a pro-government group, resulting in an exchange of abusive words, and the pro-government group threw rocks into the PAD crowd prompting an exchange of gunfire, the police official said.

The PAD has been leading protests against the government since May, accusing the government of being a front for ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Protesters surrounded the parliament building on Monday, forcing lawmakers to postpone their session.

Winter 08

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:59:59 -0500

Join us in thanking the Lord for:
-finishing a semester with many eager Freshmen who seem pretty open
-developing relationships with friends, classmates, parents, neighbors
-some exciting news for our team, ...no we are not expecting another little Cho :)

Join us in praying for:
-some key relationships with some key freshmen in Milo's previous semester of classes
-open hearts and doors with other friends
-Thailand's political unrest

the protests continue ...and escalate

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:59:59 -0500

photo by Reuters
Thailand protests made more international headlines today. The protests continue, and there seems to be greater unrest. Two people were killed, and the injury toll is officially at 381 according to Thai news.

Please pray as are more ultimatums being made by the protestors.

Here is an article from CNN today that explains what happened this morning with police trying to disperse protestors.

BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- Thai police fired tear gas at thousands of anti-government protesters Tuesday after the demonstrators barricaded Parliament and prevented lawmakers from leaving.

More than 120 people were hurt. A deputy prime minister who was charged with negotiating with the demonstrators resigned over the crackdown.

The protesters first prevented lawmakers from entering Parliament to hear newly sworn-in Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat give his first speech to the legislative body.

After the sparsely attended session -- which some lawmakers were unable to attend because of the barricades and opposition party members boycotted -- the legislators were temporarily prevented from leaving by demonstrators who locked the exits.

Authorities flew in three helicopters to pluck Somchai to safety.

Paramedics say they expect the injury toll to rise as demonstrators continued to clash with police. The anti-government protesters are trying to lay siege to other government buildings near the Parliament in the capital city, Bangkok.

Many set up make-shift fortresses of tires and barbed wires on city streets and tried to ward off an advancing army of policemen in riot gear. Watch police and protesters clash »

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh resigned Tuesday. He had been the government's chief negotiator in the crisis.

He said in his resignation letter that he was stepping down to accept responsibility for the breakdown in communication.

Tuesday's flare-up is the latest in an ongoing crisis that has gripped the nation since summer, when anti-government demonstrators, led by the People Alliance of Democracy (PAD), undertook efforts to purge the current Cabinet.

Chamlong Srimuang, a PAD leader, was arrested from a polling booth after he cast his ballot in the Bangkok's gubernatorial elections.

Since August 26, the PAD and its supporters have laid siege to the Government House -- the seat of the Thai government -- saying they will not leave until the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and its allies are ousted from office.

Police issued arrest warrants against Chamlong and nine other leaders, charging them with insurrection, conspiracy, illegal assembly and refusal to disperse.

On Friday, authorities took into custody another PAD leader, Chaiwat Sinsuwong.

The anti-government alliance accuses the PPP of being a proxy government for one-time Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a bloodless coup in 2006.

Thaksin returned to Thailand after the PPP swept into power in December 2007, but fled again in August, just as he was to appear in a corruption case against him.

The PAD contends that the People Power Party wants to amend the constitution so Thaksin does not have to face charges.

The protesters have held mass street demonstrations, some of which ended in clashes with pro-government supporters.

The protests began with the PAD calling for the ouster of Samak Sundaravej, who was then the Thai Prime Minister.

Samak was eventually removed from office after a constitutional court ruled on September 9 that he had violated the constitution by appearing as a paid guest on a TV cooking show.

But opposition party supporters were further inflamed when Samak was replaced by Somchai, Thaksin's brother-in-law. He was sworn in on September 25.