General News

L to R: Oth Ali, Lacee, Hser Nay Htoo, Kathleen, Htee Mu Pel, Hser Nay Say, Hser Nay Paw, and One.

“Go ye therefore into all the world, preach the gospel unto everyone.”

I know this scripture was directed specifically to the apostles and Jesus Christ wanted them to be the ones to preach His truth. But what does it mean to those who aren’t ministers? What does it mean to children and young adults? What does it mean to women who don’t have a speaking or ministerial role in the church? Does that mean that we can’t go and preach the gospel? How can we preach without preaching? I have been asking myself these questions for a while.

On our way to basketball. One, Hser Nay Say and Lacee

Jesus tells the apostles to GO OUT. He doesn’t tell them to hang out where the truth was already stable and flourishing. There were already churches that were able to function on their own because of Christ and the apostles preaching. Their job was done and they then left those congregations in the hands of faithful and devout men. He told them to leave the foundation that they had built together and go find somewhere new. He told them to go and find new people to preach to and to share God’s plan to other willing hearts and ears.

Taking a break while playing basketball: Htee Mu Pel and Nay Blu Htoo

I look at a map and see just how huge this world is. I see how many places that the gospel could potentially be preached to. I know it is all up to God. The men and women who dedicate their lives to live in a different country (or preach in another country and travel tons) in order to build up a strong, faithful and unified congregation are now one of my greatest respects. They have been chosen by God to uproot their stable and comfy lives in order to create a stable and comfy church for brethren that couldn’t possibly have it without help from a more blessed nation. Those that accept the challenge are my heroes!

The students harvesting sweet potatoes. Mo Palel is using the hoe.

I am a 25 year old lady-girl (saying lady is weird and saying girl is weird because I am technically an adult… and woman makes me sound extra adult) with little travel experience. I have traveled all over America and into Canada and Mexico a few times so when I felt God pushing me to come to Thailand, I resisted at first. I actually resisted for a whole year. It was a very scary thought but thankfully I accepted the challenge and here I sit in Mae Sa, Thailand… a small and peaceful village 20 minutes outside the hustle and bustle of Chiang Mai. At this moment I am witnessing God’s endless miracles, blessings, compassion and His holy spirit working in amazing ways. Legacy continues to get money from donors from other countries and we all are very pleased and ridiculously thankful. Without those donations, Legacy wouldn’t exist anymore. Legacy couldn’t have a school, couldn’t feed the students, couldn’t house the students and most importantly, the church in Burma would lack leaders who will one day be leaders in that church. My point here isn’t to advertise the fact that Legacy needs to continue to have donations; it’s the fact that what I see is a church that is truly working! God is calling people! They LOVE God’s word and they thrive on it. They want more and more. They constantly want to learn. God’s congregation in Burma (which I get to visit in April for the Holy Days, God willing) has 25 families. Families have children, lots of children! Will those children have a future? Will they know God’s truth and live a life for Him? Will they live lives free from the war and upheaval that exists in Burma? It’s crucial that our small congregations all over the world remain intact. It’s our job and our responsibility. It’s important that they are well sustained and cared for. It’s important that each congregation has well trained leaders, who love God first and their brethren second. It takes time to train leaders to be in charge of a church community, and that’s what Legacy is here for.

Myself carrying Oth Ali to the farm

If we aren’t trained ministers, how can we “Go therefore into ALL the world?” I have a few ideas. We can donate to these small churches that need our help to build a church, a house, to have clean water and food daily. We can sponsor a young adult to go and serve in countries who need our help, encouragement, resources and EXAMPLE. Go visit during the Feast of Tabernacles and Days of Unleavened Bread. (Your life will change) If you are on vacation or a business trip in a foreign country, go and stop in on the Sabbath. I think the most important job that we all have is to PRAY. Pray that all the places that God is seeking out and calling people that He will call on special people to take on that job and duty to be there for that church community. Pray that these people will answer that calling and they are willing to give up their life for serving God and His people. Times are changing everywhere on the globe. Life is getting harder and the world is getting more evil and God has many people on this earth with eager ears to hear His word. Those of us that are blessed to know God’s truth already… well we should try to listen to what God wants us to do for Him through our lives in order to help others join us as FIRST fruits in His Kingdom.

Lacee Hilgen
Volunteer Instructor
Legacy Institute, Thailand

Left: 40 foot Christmas tree at shopping mall, Chiangmai; Top Right: It could well be a display in Los Angeles, but this is in Chiangmai, Thailand; Second Right:Christmas decorations hang on every floor; Third Right: Snoopy and Santa together at the mall; Bottom Right: Snoopies and Christmas Trees at a Thailand Mall

It is that obnoxious season of the year again. Santa Clause is depicted in every shopping mall. Everywhere you look, there are those fake evergreen trees with red and silver balls hanging on them and sometimes a plastic angel perched on top. And then there is that maddening music. If I hear Jingle Bells one more time, I am going to scream!

…And by the way, I am talking about Thailand, not Los Angeles or Dallas. It is now all over Thailand, too.

Why does a largely Buddhist country have anything to do with Christmas? Sometimes because of my white beard and mustache, little Thai children come up to me at this time of year, point to me and say, “Santa Craw, Santa Craw.”

The god of this world is doing a very successful job of blinding people to the real story about Christmas. Even Buddhist Thailand is infected with the lie that will not die – that December 25 is the day on which Jesus was born. Actually the Buddhist Thais do not care when Jesus was born since they do not worship Him as Lord. So why do they have the music, Santas and all the decorations in the shopping malls?

Money! Christmas is just one more marketing opportunity. It is much the same in the West. Most could care less about the supposed message of Christmas. They are interested in presents, clothing, family get-togethers and parties. So now this cancer of Christmas is even infecting non Christian countries like Thailand.

The marketers are very clever. One can find bright flashing lights everywhere, and The Jolly Fat Man in red is Ho ho ho-ing inside and outside all shopping malls and department stores. Here in Thailand, they pal Jolly Old Santa up with Snoopy or Mickey Mouse or some other cartoon character, so that if the little Thai kids do not know who Santa Craws is, they will certainly know Snoopy or Mickey. Then, of course there are lots and lots of striped candies and reindeer shaped cookies to lure the little kids into asking their parents for more and more and more. They are very clever indeed, these marketing gurus.

I get fed up quickly with the great LIE of Christmas. It appeals to our physical senses and our intellect. It looks good, sounds good, makes sense that it must be a good thing, even if God hates it.

Remember the Garden:

Gen 3:6
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

My father hated lies and despised liars. I remember when I was about 5 or 6, he told me that Santa Claus was a lie; that there was no such person as Santa Claus who came down the chimney and left presents for little kids. I cried. My mother got angry with my dad for telling me the truth.

I appreciate today my father’s truthfulness. Telling lies to children is the work of the Devil. He spends a lot of time telling lies so that we will not learn the truth.

2Cor 4:3-4
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Christmas is one of those great lies of the Devil. Instead of worshipping Jesus the way that God says we are to worship Him, we participate in false worship practices honoring the birth of the Sun god on December 25, all the while thinking we are honoring Jesus. And the rest of the world, Christian or not, follows along.

Take a bite of the fruit Thailand.

Until next time, guard the minds of your children. Satan is working overtime targeting their little impressionable minds.

T. Leon Sexton

The Feast of Tabernacles went very well over here in Chiang Mai, Thailand! The other teachers and I were quite busy during the Feast but we loved every minute of it. It was great for us young volunteers to see just a glimpse into what running a Feast site is like! The best part of the Feast for me was witnessing the students so happy as they experienced new things and places. My second favorite part was the music. These students love to sing and I hear them sing on a daily basis. I think it was extra special because the songs were “feasty” and the Feast is always an emotional time for all involved. I balled like a baby when all the kids sang a song they had been working on for months called, “Where Would I Be.” They got off the stage and one of my students was sitting next to me during church, she wrapped her arms around me and whispered, “I know you are crying because you know you wouldn’t be anywhere without God’s love. But next time don’t cry so much because I couldn’t sing good because you were shaking and turning red.” WOOPS! It was a very uplifting and rewarding Feast. Great messages, wonderful activities, and days spent with our students and guests. God sure put protection over everything that happened.

We went to an elephant camp with our 3rd year students and our guests. It was so wonderful. It was the first time for a lot of the students to come here. We have two students who actually have worked with elephants in the past and one of my students MoPalel was silent while he was staring at the elephants. I asked him what he was thinking and he said, “I really miss working with the elephants. They love me so much and I love them so much. I miss them.” Watching these elephants and caregivers interact was really amazing. Considering how huge these creatures are, it is amazing how gentle and caring they are. They truly are beautiful creatures. We not only got to ride through the jungle and cross a river on these amazing creatures but we also got to be picked up by them by their strong trunk. That was unreal!

The students loved it so much; most of them did it multiple times with giggling squeals. When I did it, I didn’t follow direction fully… oops, so the elephant was lifting me up but I didn’t grab onto his trunk the right way, so I was clutching onto him for dear life while the caregiver and all those watching laughed at the state I put myself in. The elephant let me down and the caregiver made me do it again the right away. I definitely liked just petting and hugging the elephant’s trunk instead. After the elephant ride we went on a raft ride down the river. The raft ride turned into a water fight. Let me tell you, I didn’t start it… I only escalated it quickly. Buoy, a Legacy worker filled up her empty water bottle with river water and squirted it on us. We only got sprinkled with it. I took that to be a sign that I needed to dump water all over her and the people in front of me. Another raft that had most of the 3rd year students saw the fun we were having and 2 of my students grabbed the oar and started to splash us. Let me just say, we all walked off the raft completely soaked and onlookers thought that everyone always got wet on the nice and peaceful raft ride. Nope… just us! The day was just really special spending it with the students and getting to know the guests.

All guest, volunteers, workers and students spent a day and went to Queen’s Sirikit’s project. It was beautiful and a wonderful treat. The best part was seeing the students so happy exploring somewhere new. Another cool part was eating crickets. Mmmmm!

Another highlight was an art museum that we were blessed to go to because of donations. It was called Art in Paradise and it was a museum that had 3D paintings on the walls and the floor that made it look like you were standing in the painting. The students absolutely LOVED it! They had so much fun running from painting to painting and jumping into that world. It totally reminded me of Mary Poppins! It was a pricey museum, for Thailand, so it was such a blessing to take ALL the students and Legacy workers. It was a really special day!

The volunteer teachers and I, along with guests and old teachers who were here for the Feast went to Tiger Kingdom one day. I chatted with Leon at church before we left and he asked what tigers I was going to choose to “play” with. This is what I said, “HA. I am only going to play with the babies. I like my life. I am not about to step foot in a cage full of grown tigers. I can do that in the Kingdom.” We chuckled together and I went on my merry way to go play with some baby cubs. I fully believed I was only going to cuddle with the baby tigers. We took a songthaew up the mountain to Tiger Kingdom and as we walked in, I went over to the upper deck where you can look down at the full grown tigers. I instantly decided it was a once in a life time experience and I had to do it. I also thought, “Hey, it’s the feast, what better way to envision the Kingdom than lie down with a tiger!” So I splurged and I paid to hang out with the big, small, and smallest tigers! There was a group of 7 of us and 6 of us went in to play with the big tigers. We went during nap time so the tigers were relaxed and sleepy. It was the perfect time to go see the big tigers. The first tiger we went up to was HUGE. These tigers are full grown at 18 months old, which is unreal. I volunteered to go first because I was nervous and wanted to get it over with. The minute I walked behind the tiger and started stroking his back and felt the vastness of this creature, my mind changed. Michael went up to the tiger 2nd to last and the tiger started to yawn and the tiger fell asleep whilst purring! It was so precious. We now call Michael the “Cat Whisperer.” The next tiger we went to was massive and even bigger than the last one.

It was a he and he was chilling in the sun next to the pool. His paw was the size of my head and he was so beautiful. The trainer instructed us that we were able to lay on him. At first I thought, “HUH!??!?!” But I watched my friends risk their lives and go before me and they survived, so I crept up to the tiger and laid my body on him. It was so incredible. To lay and cuddle with this creature made us all think of the Jurassic park when Dr. Alan Grant lays on the triceratops while she was breathing and he rises up with each breath. It was unreal just like that. I got up from the tiger and I touched his huge paw, and the trainer said that I could give him a foot massage, so I can now say that I gave a tiger a foot rub! The next big tiger we saw was on her back and she was totally waiting for us to give her some belly rubs. That was neat!

Next were the small tigers and 5 of us went inside. This was a neat experience because these tigers were so playful with each other and with us. They were 9 months old and to give you an idea they are what you envision little Simba to be in size. They were so adorable! Last but not least were the baby tigers! This is the part of the day I had been waiting for. I won’t go into much detail because it was just so amazing and I was filled with joy after my time spent with them, but there were 4 cubs that our group got to play with. They cuddled with us, played with us, and laid in our laps. A few fell asleep and we got to take selfies with some of them. It was just a really great experience and I cannot wait until the day when we can all dwell with animals peacefully in God’s Kingdom.

The Feast spent here in Chiang Mai was like nothing I will ever experience again. It was filled with service on everyone’s part. It was filled with love and kindness. But most importantly it was filled with a sense of oneness. There were people from all over the world, sitting in a hall learning about God’s word and His plan. All of us sat in that hall everyday and were a part of something that was happening all over the world. I was thinking that I am involved in something so wonderful and so peaceful. We all are called into God’s family and we are here because God thinks that we can help Him build His Kingdom for all of mankind. Each year when we take part in the Feast it’s a week of oneness and an amazing connection with our brothers and sisters in Christ, with our Father in Heaven, and with our Savior Jesus Christ. This Feast really hit home with me that one day, WE ALL are going to meet, WE ALL are going to work together and finally be at one with God. We will be able to see how God has worked with ALL of us in the physical life that He blessed us with and we can see how we overcame the spiritual war and made it to our final destination, God’s Kingdom.

I hope you all had a very special and inspiring Feast!

Until next time,
Aj Lacee

One week before The Feast of Trumpets the Legacy student body president (Moe Palel), a Legacy Employee (Surachai) and myself (Chris), one of the teachers at Legacy, set out to the western boarder of Thailand to visit with Noh Blay Paw, a lady who is unable to attend the Feast of Tabernacles this year. Noh Blay Paw is the mother of one of the students at Legacy and she lives in a Burmese refugee camp with her husband.

Surachai, Moe Palel and I left Chiang Mai around 8am, and the drive to the town of Khun Yuam took about 8 hours. There we stayed in a hotel that was managed by a friendly Burmese woman with very good English and she was able to give us directions from the hotel to the refugee camp in the mountains. It took us an additional 3 hours of driving from the hotel to the camp, not because of distance, but because the road leading into the camp was extremely bumpy, and if we had not had 4-wheel drive, the truck would have never made it.

(Photo of the road leading to the refugee camp)

Once the three of us made it to the gate of the refugee camp we were greeted by Noh Blay Paw’s husband and he walked us through the camp to the hut where they lived. The hut was quite small. It only had one main room and two small bedrooms.

(Photo of Noh Blay Paw’s hut)

Noh Blay Paw and some village girls served us lunch; which was white rice, a chicken curry dish, noodle and cabbage soup, spicy fried fish and watermelon. After Lunch Moe Palel and I held a bible study with Noh Blay Paw and about 8 other Burmese refugees that came and sat in to listen. Moe Palel spoke about The Feast of Trumpets and I spoke about The Day of Atonement, and Moe Palel translated for me into Burmese. After the bible study we visited with everyone for about two hours, they showed us around the camp, and then we had to get back on the road.

(Photo of Myself, a refugee girl, Noh Blay Paw and Moe Palel)

Everyone at the refugee camp that we came in contact with was very friendly and hospitable towards us. They were shy towards myself and Surachai, who is Thai, but seemed to be completely comfortable with Moe Palel, who is Burmese, even though they had never met him before either. Overall, I feel like this was an incredibly successful trip without any major problems. On our way home Moe Palel and I were talking about how much we had each been praying in our heads for God to help us not get stuck on the road leading to the camp, or to not get lost and also for our safety. I think God heard our prayers and he answered all of them.

(Photo of Moe Palel and me in front of the Refugee Camp)

This journey was a learning experience for Myself, Moe Palel and Surachai. None of us had ever seen anything like this refugee camp and the people living there seemed, for the most part, to be very happy with their lives. It really made the three of us appreciate so much more what we have in our lives, and to be thankful for what we do have even though at times we may feel like we could have more.
Happy fall holy days,
-Ajaan Chris

NOTE: Chris Collins is a volunteer teacher at Legacy Foundation Leadership Training Project in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He teaches Bible and Public Speaking. This was Chris’s first opportunity to visit the border area of Thailand and Burma.
T. Leon Sexton

About a month and a half ago I was in the middle of our corn field doing a happy dance. The corn was taller than me and looking so strong! All our hard work had paid off and the corn was growing taller and faster than we had hoped. The following day we show up to the farm and a great amount of the corn had fallen over! I was devastated! The previous night there was a huge storm. The rain flattened out the mounds that the corn root buried itself into and with no foundation; all 7 feet of the corn had fallen over. Also there were some casualties just because the wind was so strong as well. Upon seeing the damage that was done I knew that we needed to fix the problem. So I cancelled planting beans and tending to our other farm in order to keep this corn alive. We went through each row and created stronger rows and mounded them up.  We went in the jungle and cut down 10 foot long sticks to dig in next to each plant and we tied the corn to the stick so it could stand up straight. This process took 3 days to accomplish.

The students were so excited that the corn stood taller than me!

Hser Nay Paw and Hser Nay Say harvest our 3rd batch of corn. 60 kilos!

During those 3 days I had many different thoughts. I was upset that we had to do this extra work but I was also mad at myself because I had looked at the corn a few days before the storm and noticed some of the corn’s root out of the bed it lay in. I saw that some were flimsy and needed a stick to support it if it was going to get any taller. Instead I figured we could do it another day. I kept putting corn maintenance on the back burner. After I was done with the frustration stage I began to think of the spiritual lessons I am learning as I work on this farm. The day of my happy dance I was amazed at how strong the corn looked and glad at how tall it was getting. It looked great on the outside and we were happy. I felt content even though I saw that the foundation needed help. It looked strong so I thought that it didn’t need any help or encouragement. How wrong I was. Just like in my life, I can fool myself into thinking that I am living a godly life and the way that he wants it. I can pretend to be strong and grounded in His faith, but in reality I know that I have a lot to work on. We all do. We can look so great and godly and strong on the outside but God doesn’t care about that at all! When we see a slight character flaw in us, we aren’t supposed to ignore it for another day! We need to fix it right away or else we are not only going to fail in that part of our life but that character flaw will bring other positive things in our life way way down. When one weakness continues to hinder us, we will see more and more weaknesses creep up and creep up fast! At that point we don’t have one thing to work on, we have a huge web of weaknesses, trials, character flaws and hardships coming our way all because we decided that since we looked pretty righteous on the outside, bettering ourself wasn’t a top priority.

The corn now stands up to 12 feet high!

I am happy to say that today we have harvested our corn 3 times already. The biggest harvest so far was 57 kilos! As we are harvesting we can’t see each other because the corn is so tall and thick. I would say they range from 8-12 feet tall which is great since we were estimating them only growing to about 6 feet! Thankfully we all love corn and are enjoying corn in a lot of meals and corn on the cob late night snacks. All our other crops are doing very well. We have sweet potato, long bean, bush bean, winged bean, cucumbers, squash and watermelon that are truly thriving. We have tons of other plants and veggies that are doing very well too.

Everyone working hard at the “Old Garden,” clearing a path for more rows

Managing to have fun on the farm too!

It is just so amazing how much faith you need to put in God, that He will provide rain, good soil and nutrients and protection. Without all of that, the farm would fail. The land Sabbath begins for our land when the sun goes down for the Feast of Trumpets. That’s tomorrow! We have been doing a lot of extra work on the farm and making sure all of our crops are strong and healthy before we put the farm completely in God’s hands. It will be up to God’s amazing protection and I pray that myself, the other Ajaans’ and the students remain faithful and trust that He will let our crops produce within the next year’s rest! God is good and has delivered so much to us here already! I had no idea we would be harvesting cucumbers everyday! I didn’t know that the corn would produce that much! I didn’t even think that the watermelon would be able to successfully grow here. We are being blessed by God with our farm work and it makes me so entirely happy.

Happy Feast,

Ajaan Lacee Hilgen

Note: Lacee is a volunteer teacher at Legacy Foundation Leadership Training Project in Chiang Mai, Thailand.  She is the organic gardening teacher even though she has had little experience as a gardener.  But she does have a green thumb and loves to garden.  We all love Lacee’s positive can-do attitude.

T. Leon Sexton