Short update

I'm sorry that I have not been posting lately.  My computer broke a few weeks ago and I am still working on getting it fixed. I am currently on my friends computer...
DTS has been going great. It really is amazing how smoothly it has been running. No big problems have come up and everyone is still getting along great. It is definitely God's working.. According to a few people last years DTS, the one I attended, was one of the worst. I think that was mostly due to the fact that a number of the students didn't have good attitudes or open hearts. Thank God this year is so much better! It seems as though the students are really growing and letting God work in them, and I can see that staff, especially me, are growing also.
We are getting ready for our Mini-Outreach! We are all so excited. We will go to the same place I went last year. Hopefully it won't be to cold so the students don't freeze like we did last year.. We will be gone for two weeks, then come back for two weeks, then major outreach starts! It is crazy how fast time is going! It's almost over.. Which is so sad. But I am also excited to start the next phase.
I'm not sure if I mentioned it before but after DTS is over I will go down to Korat to teach for 4 months there and I think I will also be working in a cafe.
Please be praying that everything will continue to go smoothly, that we will all stay unified, and that everyone will have a great time on our mini-outreach.
Love you guys, and I am so thankful for all your prayers and everything!

Pictures

 Here are a few pictures so you guys can get a glimpse of what it's like here -

 We have intersession every-other day during the week

We pray for many different things during intersession

 Our speakers come from all over the world (this is Pastor Sidney who lives in Chiang Mai)

 My "husband" Bruce's youngest, Christopher

Two of the students! Hanna from WA and Gam from Thailand (But we tell her she is Russian)

 P'Whell (one of the Shan staff) showed me how to catch mole crickets

 Then how to clean them, fry them, and eat them :)

 The Shan family's little girl

 Volleyball, one of our favorite pastimes

 Gigi and Kartson watching us dig up some crickets

 Lauren, one of the students, being fed one of the fried up crickets

Hanna was brave and put it in her mouth! Then spit it out after the picture..

And back we go..!

This week has been pretty rough, as far as learning and growing. This week's speaker was teaching on being a christian and disciple of Christ, and I was really looking forward to it! But it turned out that he is really hard to follow.. I feel like I got almost nothing out of his talks and didn't do a lot of growing. A good thing that came out of it though, was that it really motivated a lot of good discussion with my small-group girls, and others too. I feel like the lack of understanding and confusion that most of the students, and I, had made is really look into it and try to dig deeper. Just more proof that God can use everything!
Tomorrow I am planning to go into Chiang Mai to see Carissa's (my little Thai sister) volleyboll tourny. Then I will stay the night in town and go to the night market again with some of the girls.
This time we are going so that we can pray for the people there. Mostly the beggars and the people selling stuff. I am so excited!
I am also excited for next weeks teaching! Larry Dinkens is teaching on prayer and counseling, and weaving the father heart of God into it! Last year that was the week that I experienced the most growth. I am looking forward to being able to grow even more, and for the students to also.
Thank you all for the prayers! I can definitely feel them, and really appreciate them.

Weekend

This was such a great weekend! Not as relaxing as I would have liked, but God is giving me strength.

On Saturday most of us just hung out at the base or went to the cafe. Then on Sunday about 16 of us went into Chiang Mai for the day. Everyone went to church, but I decided to just sit in Starbucks and read my Bible and listen to worship music. I love how much you can learn from simply meditating on just a few passages! He is constantly showing me new things and helping me apply them to my life.

After some of us walked around the mall and just hung out until it was time to go to the Sunday night market. I just love getting to spend time with these girls (and boys)! They are such a good group and constantly blessing me and helping me to improve my walk with God.

The last thing we did was go to the Sunday market. It is a huge market at one of the gates in Chiang Mai. It stretches over multiple streets and draws thousands of people every week. It is such a blast! Venders there sell anything from clothes to hand-made jewelery to delicious street food.

This week we are learning about what it really means to be a christian and a disciple of Christ. I think being a christian and a disciple should be the same thing, but aren't. It is so common for people to just become christians but not truly follow Christ and His will for their lives. It seems like more and more people accept Christ, but continue to be the master of their lives and not truly follow Him.

Prayer requests:

Please be praying for strength! Not only for me but for the students as well. Some of us have been having trouble sleeping, and that on top of classes all morning, work in the afternoons, and more classes at night can really exhaust you. And a lot of the students have been getting sick now that the seasons are changing!

That the students would continue to have open hearts! I am really amazed and inspired by their openness and willingness to listen and accept, but I know that it can get difficult sometimes. So please pray that they will continue to be open.

Please continue to pray for Bowling. Even though she isn't here God is still working in her life.

Also still praying for a car.

Oh, and that pop tarts and sour patch will magically fall from the sky. :)

Saving saving saving!

So I have decided to buy a car or truck! The only thing is that they are crazy expensive in Thailand.. But in the long run it will save me a lot of money on taxis and bus fare. Especially since I will be moving to Korat after DTS and then I'm not sure what I will be doing so I think it would be a good idea to have a vehicle. It will also be a blessing to other people to be able to give them rides, especially into town. I decided that I have about half of what I am willing to spend, leaving me needing to raise about $1,500.. Sounds like a lot, huh? I am certain that God will provide though. He has never failed me in the past and I know He won't let me down now. Especially since I have been praying about this almost since I first got here and I feel like He has given me the "go ahead."
If you are interested in helping to support me not just in this but also just in general living expenses there is a way to do so that is tax deductible. Make out a check that is payable to YWAM. Put my name (Annie Petersohn) and also Chiang Mai in the memo line. Then send it to my mom. Her address is 394 Winston Creek Road, Mossyrock, WA USA 98564. She will then send it off to YWAM Montana and they will process it, send to to Bangkok, then from there it will get to me! Sounds pretty complicated, I know.
I have decided to make a two year commitment to YWAM. Well, actually I needed to to be able to have my funds processed through them. But I am at total peace about it, and I would have probably ended up being with them for about 2 years at least anyways since after DTS I am going to be working with them, then next January I am hoping to do an SBS. That is just a tentative plan though. They always seem to change on me..
Please keep me as well as all the other staff and students in your prayers! All the western girls are fasting for the first time and they are doing so well! I promised that when they were done I would take them to a cafe and buy them all cheese cake because I am just so proud of all of them! I am so glad that I listened to God and came back to Chiang Mai DTS. I'm not sure if I have been a blessing or a help to them, but I know for a fact that they all have been to me! All the students, Thai and western. And I am having a blast learning Thai from them! It is so much fun learning from them and then teaching them English. We just have such a great group this year. I am so happy to be a part of it.
Thank you all for your help, financially and spiritually, in getting me here!
Blessings,
Annie

Bowling..

No, the title does not refer to the popular sport/activity. A Thai student here named Bowling is in need of prayer.. She was having doubts about whether she should be here or not, and was confused about what she thought God was speaking to her about and telling her what she should do. She wanted to leave Saturday night but a few staff talked to her and asked her to stay. So she promised that for the next two weeks she would stay here and learn and seek God's will. Well the other night her family called and said that they were on there way to pick her up. She left today. It has been very hard on me because I was starting to get close to her and I really thought she was making progress. This might really be what God wants for her, and I know that nothing happens that He doesn't allow and that He can use all things for good, but I cannot help thinking that came here for a reason. I really think she would have seen amazing changes in her life if she had stayed.
Please be praying for her as she goes back to her home and starts working at her family business.
She has a daughter but the father is not in the picture anymore.
Bowling is such a wonderful and lively person, but she needs to know that God forgives her and loves her. I tried to show her how much I love her, and I think the others here did as well. She is someone who needs alot of love. Please be praying that she will experience that wherever she ends up!
Other then that, this week we are learning about the character of God and knowing Him. I love this topic and I am excited for this coming week.
Please pray that I will have strength and will be able to get more sleep!
Thank you for your continuous support, it means so much to me.
Blessings!

Amazing things!

God is doing such awesome things! During class today I had three people tell me that God had showed them things about me and all of them were huge confirmations for what I had been feeling like God has been telling me to do.
I got an offer the other day to go to Korat, another area in Thailand, and volunteer teaching English at a relatively new mission there. I really wanted to, but I knew that I had to pray and really seek God's will on this.  I had been feeling like I had the go ahead, and this morning just seemed to confirm it. I am still praying and listening, but I am sure this is what God wants me to do.. At least for the first 4 months after DTS.
I can tell that things are already starting to get hard for some of the students.. A little earlier then I expected honestly. But I know that all of them are going to get through this and come out stronger in the end. God used the difficult times in my DTS to completely change me, and I expect Him to do the same for all of these students as well.
I am having a blast getting to know all the students. They are all so nice, and the westerners especially are just hilarious. It is going to be an awesome four and a half months!
Also, Bruce is contacting YWAM and trying to get something set up soon so that I can receive support and have it be tax deductible for y'all. So if that is what was holding you back please contact me! I can give you all the details.
Love and blessings!