As the Burma army continues it's decades long war to eradicate and enslave the non-Burman ethnicities of Burma, another army comprised of Christian soldiers, has continued to bring aid and fellowship to those ethnic people the World media has turned it's back on.
All along the border between Thailand and Burma live hundreds of thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP's)and Externally Displaced Persons (EDP's), and while many receive care and aid, many more do not.
In the Northern Thailand provinces of Tak and Mae Hong Son, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's)care for basic needs of the masses of refugees fleeing the persecution of the State Peace and Development Committee (SPDC), the military junta in control of Burma.
Further south, many more refugees in Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi provinces receive little or no aid.
In terms of organizing a ministry in Kanchanaburi province to serve the EDP community, it makes sense to take advantage of the relationships which the members of the Calvary Chapel Norco congregation, and it's sponsored missionaries have worked for years to strengthen in Huaymalai, a small village near the border town of Three Pagoda Pass which is becoming the heart of the Southern aid movement.
The ministry could be placed in a position of working alongside the Safe House, and the Kwai River Christian Hospital (KRCH), which would establish a forward operating base in the area. 
A relationship with KRCH would provide a missionary health care infrastructure in the area. And a relationship with the the Safe House, which is well known for it's work on behalf of the needy people and EDP's in the area, provides the unmatched local knowledge of Nan Doe and Paw Lulu, who have lived through many of their own trials and tribulations at the hands of the Burma Army.
And yet there is so much love involved in their work, love that is expressed through living by, and sharing the teachings of the Bible.
As often as possible, it would be favorable to assist the Safe House to find funding and materials through NGO's and educational organizations already operating in Thailand so as to take advantage of their logistics chain, rather than re-inventing the wheel in each case.
It is quite possible that the NGO's which are operating in the North, may be willing to channel some of their donated supplies to those in need further South, if there were a logistical chain in place for distribution.
This is another situation where prior relationships nurtured by Calvary Chapel Norco's sponsored missionaries might be taken advantage of and expanded on in order to shorten the learning curve as regards working within the aid systems which are already in place, and networking with those organizations to more quickly solve issues with Thai government regulations. It should also help the ministry to avoid repeating mistakes made by other organizations in the past.
There will be many cases where ministry personnel will need to track down the appropriate Thai government offices and officials to obtain permission and or assistance to conduct ministry programs. That permission or assistance might pertain to anything from shipping donated medicines, clothing, and educational materials into the country, assisting EDP's to obtain ID cards, or arranging travel permission for those in need of medical treatment.
This will be one of the most crucial tasks for the ministry to come to grips with, due to the fine line between helping those in need, and aiding and abetting those whom the government may consider to be illegal aliens.
Not to mention attempting to administer a Christian ministry, in a predominantly Buddhist country. 
*Initiatives
*Assist the Safe House, and lead an effort to find sponsors to re-build the Safe House on owned property.
*Assist the Safe House in networking with NGO's operating in Northern Thailand.
*Sponsor clinics which serve remote EDP and IDP villages.
*Sponsor schools and teachers in the villages served by the clinics.
*Sponsor a recruitment drive in the US, for doctors, dentists, nurses, and medical students to work at KRCH, as well as field clinics in accessible villages in need of medical care.
*Recruit Pastors, Bible study teachers and VBS teams to visit the supported clinics, villages, and schools.
*Recruit teachers to develop English and basic math courses built around the Karen, Burmese and Thai languages.
*Help find ways to provide schooling past grade 4 for EDP children.
*Create a dedicated multi-media website and make maximum use of archived audio and video clips of sermons, Bible studies, worship music, VBS and YWAM activities.
*Make use of videotaped interviews of visitors in order to get people back at home looking. Let them see their sons and daughters at work, and take advantage of all means possible to educate them and show them how they can personally make a difference.
*Make the videos and interviews available with translations into Thai, Karen, and Burmese, in order to allow playback via portable DVD video and audio cassette hardware for those living in remote locations so that those in need may be inspired by the words of foreigners who have traveled so far to help them.
*Sponsor a study of the use of multi-media for sharing information between those who have resettled to host countries, and those scheduled to be resettled. It would be helpful for them to hear words of encouragement, as well as words of caution, in their own language, from someone who has already resettled to the same geographic area that the immigrant will be moving to, as well as providing local Church and aid group phone numbers they can call for assistance and moral support on arrival.
*Where to Work
*Visiting the Thai refugee camps could give foreign visitors a false impression that all EDP refugees have the same standard of living as those in the camps. It would be of more educational value to those visiting, to be taken to see the living conditions of those who are in desperate need of aid and fellowship outside of the camps. These EDP's need to receive the teachings of The Bible, Christian fellowship, medical care and education.
That is not to say that those living in the camps should be written off, only that during the start up period of the ministry, assets should be deployed to the areas where there is the greatest need.
I am not referring to creating a touristic environment, but rather an environment where the positive aspects of humanitarian efforts to improve the health of the EDP community, and to educate their children, are associated with Christianity and Faith in God.
Whether it is a VBS team, a medical ministry clinic team, a traveling Pastor, or a team of Bible School students, it is a case of putting people in situations where they can connect with those in need, and in doing so, further their own educations and first hand observations on the needs in the region.
There are thousands of EDP's living in the jungles of the Sangkhlaburi district and along the shores of Lake Vajiralongkorn. Many of these people are EDP's who have no government services, no clean water, no clinics, no schools, nor churches. And without proper identification, they can't legally travel to find work.
There are also many locations further South along the entire border with Burma where there are large refugee populations needing aid and fellowship.
Again, Calvary Chapel Norco's missionaries have a strong relationship with Karen evangelists in the village of Pala-U in Ratchaburi province, and have met with Christian missionaries from Shoreline Calvary Chapel who work with Karen refugees further South near Phuket.
Since the ministry can't reach far past the border without endangering personnel or violating international laws, any Bible teachers from among the EDP's who are willing to travel beyond the border should be supported both financially, and with learning materials. This brings out the importance of the local Bible schools, because the EDP's must be Bible students before they can someday become Bible teachers.
Another great need, is that the EDP children should be taught basic math and reading skills. This objective should be one that anyone can see as important beyond the obvious needs in everyday life, and as pertains to future community leadership and development.
Whether it is in Burmese, Karen, Mon or Thai, if a child can't read, the child can't read the Bible.
All of the regional issues need to be identified, prioritised, and addressed as assets will allow. Findings should be shared, committees and alliances formed of Churches, private citizens, and corporations who can provide finances, material aid, and manpower through recruitment drives.
*Where to Start
*A trial program involving two of the existing clinics in Thailand, and their satellite villages should be instituted providing medical supplies based on a six month period, and pay for the medics at two locations.
*School supplies based on a nine month school year, and primary teachers pay for 4 villages per clinic, including the village the clinic is located in.
*Support as recommended by the Safe House staff, for local Bible teachers who work in the trial program areas (financial aid and learning materials).
*Recruit and send as many Christian visitors as possible to the villages where the clinics are located, to hold fellowship meetings, Bible studies, and Sunday services with translators.
*Use multi-media as much as possible, record the translations as much as possible, find reliable ways to replay the recorded content for the villagers as often as possible, preferably with one playback location per village.
*Add health and hygiene announcements in between the program content segments.
*Visitor Ground Transportation
*Identify reliable ground transportation contractors, and try to use them exclusively in order to make all ground transfers as safe and dependable as possible.
This is another area where CCN missionaries have made great progress, though for smaller groups public transportation remains the more economical mode of transportation.
However, with a dedicated transport service, the visitor education process can begin while in transit through the use of recorded content on DVD players in the van.
*Importance of Visitors
*Visitors go home and tell the stories, which will generate more visitors.
*Visitors validate the system.
*A Christian doctor, or a dentist can hold a clinic by day, and share the word at night.
*A teacher might be the one to inspire a child to learn to read, by reading a story through an interpreter.
*Someone who sings can teach a song.
*Everyone should have something to share, and if someone is bashful, or shy...they can take photos with everyone else's camera for them, work with English language flash cards, or push the start button on a DVD player with prerecorded content.
*Visitors may add their thoughts and suggestions, their charitable contributions, their prayers, and possibly more if asked the right questions.
*Ministry representatives, need to educate the visitors at every opportunity, and learn about them by asking some standardized questions which can allow possible further networking opportunities to develop. (eg. A family member works for a drug manufacturer, someone works for an airline or travel agency, or has a source for supplying funds for anything from textbooks to fishooks.)
*Schedule visitors to coincide by the van load if possible, so as to take advantage of shared ground transportation and housing, and strive to use the same drivers who know the drills.
*Suitable guesthouses, as well as empty local homes in Huaymalai could be listed.
*Schedule potential donors, potential partners, church elders, etc., to come over with VBS teams so they can participate in, learn about, and evaluate the various programs for better nutrition, basic medical care, primary education, and Bible studies conducted at the schools by the sponsored Bible school graduates, as well as visits to the Safe House, and KRCH.
*K-buri House
*Reconfigure the rooms of the K-buri house with twin beds and folding cots to accommodate up to a van load of visitors and the driver.(6 to 9 persons)
*Have short K-buri activities and dining planned for each inbound / outbound group based on the amount of time available.
*Visitor Preparations
*Develop a visitor handbook, based on the info pack prepared by Pastor Louie for those traveling to Thailand.
*Suggest favorable arrival / departure times to and from Bangkok, which will allow for the best use of time, and then quickly expedite the group through Bangkok to K-buri house. Late night arrivals limit options and waste a day. Late night departures are difficult to work around as well.
*Have an online checklist of advisories regarding passports, visas, prescription drugs, customs information, etc. (huge shipments of drugs intended for clinics and NGO's, have been confiscated for lacking the proper authorization)
*Have an online checklist of personal items and clothing to bring, as well as suggested items to buy on arrival.
*Make things easier for the visitor by forseeing their needs, and add some suggestions as to what they may want to leave at home.
*Have online videos, or photo essays, detailing the arrival and departure processes at Suvarnabhumi International Airport, in Bangkok.Including a printable page with photos of the ministry representatives and drivers to be looking for.
*Medical and dietary restrictions should be communicated ahead of time, some foods in Thailand will be unpalatable to the Western tongue.
*Prepare an estimate of appropriate funds for food, transportation, and lodging based on the group's intinerary.
*Whenever neccessary, take advantage of local restaurants, guesthouses, and vacant homes for flexibility, and to help stimulate the local economy.
*Prepare a recommended outline as regards donations, tips, gratuities, and gifts.
*Research tax laws to make sure that adequate documentation is provided for donor tax purposes.
*Multi-Media and the Internet
*Take advantage of the K-buri house for first and last night accomodations for visitors whenever possible, to allow for inbound briefing, and short outbound videotaped interviews where visitors can give their parting thoughts while everything is still fresh in their minds.
*Create a website with the proper formatting to run sound and video files, display photos, and make free voice over internet protocol phone calls available to visitors.
*Maintain a library of audio files of the Bible study messages from prior visitors, who are accustomed to speaking with a translator among the Karen, Burmese, and Thai people. This will give the visitor valuable input on how much to say before allowing the translator to speak, and perhaps some insights as to the words or phrases which might be found confusing or culturally offensive.
*Maintain a directory of audio/video files of the phonetic pronunciations of Karen, Thai, and Burmese greetings and phrases, as well as a directory of English words, along with a printable reference sheet.
*Maintain a library of photos and videos from prior group activities, and prepare briefings detailing the visitor's itinerary.
*Add a short description of the weather and geology where they will be working, different types of trees, their fruits, and in some cases, how to eat them.
*Point out which plants, insects, etc, to avoid/minimize contact with as well as preventative measures and local cures for various insect bites.
*There should be video content describing the possible sightseeing possibilities which would be enroute, and within the confines of favorable arrival times at the daily destinations. (waterfalls, parks and gardens, temples, palaces, and markets to name a few)
*There should be video content describing the Karen, and other ethnic groups, including their costumes, music, foods, culture, and cultural do's and don'ts.
*There should be a variety of videos documenting the treatment of the Karen and other ethnic groups by the Burmese military, both hard core versions, and also soft core versions, depending on the group.
*These videos could be available to be played over the Internet, in the van while enroute, or at the K-buri house.
*If all of the videos were hosted at a website, they can also be viewed by a visitor prior to a trip, or viewed by the public as an educational tool.
Take advantage of digital multimedia to keep congregations updated on what their team is doing via Internet.
*Host an online forum where family, friends and congregation can send and receive messages to and from Safe House visitors.
*Have all videos translated into Karen, Thai, and Burmese, and burn them onto DVD's for playback at schools, churches, private homes and village meetings.
*Include messages on hygene, water purification, family planning and prevention of STD's, as well as other public announcements.
*Supply (and maintain) the ability to record DVD's.
Make use of portable DVD players and an appropriate amount of extra batteries
*Supply adequate (solar) charging systems for the DVD players, and instruction on their use and maintenance for teachers and Bible Teachers. With each replay, the words of the visiting speakers and groups are heard by more people, making the cost of the visitor's travel expenses more cost effective by allowing their words to be heard by more listeners. There will come a point where untrained Bible teachers who are willing, can be deployed equipped with recorded content to more distant villages allowing the words to echo on and on long after the speaker has returned home.
*KRCH
It is hoped that a system could be worked out to recruit and refer Christian doctors, dentists, nurses, and medical students to work at the hospital for either short or long term stays.
These professionals and students would also be encouraged to organize off-site clinics, and to participate in Church fellowship and social functions.
Courage On The Run
