THE SCHOOL OF PROMISE, THAILAND

HELPS, HIS, CRUX, & SCHOOL OF PROMISE

In August Amy-Brock Devine introduced me to Joel and Marvel Vander Kooi, founders of Hope International Schools (HIS), and operators of The School of Promise; a Christ based school near Chiang Mai, Thailand. Currently the School of Promise is only for preschool through grade 6, however they have been granted permission to begin to add grades 7-12 in upcoming years. This is a big PRAISE; the challenge is that the facilities they are presently renting will not accommodate more than grade 8, perhaps 9. Because of this they have begun praying for funds to purchase and build a Secondary School facility, with the site sized large enough to accommodate a future Primary school so they will someday no longer need to rent their present facilities. HIS has teamed with Crux Community Design Studio (a ministry under the umbrella of Helps Ministry, which links with California Baptist University School of Architecture) to begin master planning and designing the new School of Promise Complex.  Following is more information regarding HIS and this school:

BREAKING THE CYCLE OF POVERTY AND OPPRESSION

Life in Thailand presents many risks for children, especially children in poverty. Human trafficking and forced prostitution are tragic realities. In addition, God’s love and forgiveness are largely unknown. Only six people out of a thousand know the love of Jesus. HIS started the School of Promise with the goal to break the cycle of poverty and oppression by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and providing excellent education to children and families in Hang Dong, Thailand (near Chiang Mai).

THE CHALLENGE

The School of Promise is an elementary school, educating students from preschool through  grade six. Upon graduation from grade six, students must find ways to continue their education elsewhere. The teen years are critical to developing a solid relationship with the Lord. We need to continue discipling students in these years. Middle school age is often the time in children’s lives when families push them to drop out of school. It is a very risky time of life in Thailand. We have been sought out by many 6th grade graduates from other schools who are seeking help to stay in school. Also, students often enter the School of Promise as older students who are not reading or doing math at grade level. This is due in part to draw of students from low-income families, but it is due also to overcrowding and neglect of special needs in the mainstream school system. The School of Promise needs more time with our students.

THE SOLUTION, COST, AND TIMELINE

HIS will work with the School of Promise to purchase land, build facilities, and start secondary school with capacity for 280 students. The cost of the project is $2,500,000. HIS will work with foundations, charitable organizations, businesses, churches, and individual donors to raise the funds and locate the appropriate site in 2017. The School of Promise will break ground for construction by December 2018 and open High School in May 2020.

Recent Design Projects

Following are three recent design projects that I have been privileged to work on with the help Dale Slusser from Helps Ministries, Caleb Walder from California Baptist University, and Julian Rexam, a young architectural graduate who I worked with while in India last year.

Life International School, Madrid, Spain

Measkrin Village Church, Tanzania

Missionary home in Indonesia

School of Promise, Pattyaa, Thailand

This past month, through the Lord's amazing leading, Thailand missionary Amy Brock-Devine, who is in the states on home assignment, visited our church missionary team to share the latest things that the Lord is doing through her service in Thailand. Amy serves in Pattaya, a spiritually dark environment where trafficking of children in prostitution is rampant and the light of our Lord is greatly needed.

Amy is a school teacher by education. She shared the following: "It was after midnight and we had been in Pattaya a few days. We thought we were dancing in a typical dance club in this beach town on our company holiday Thanksgiving. At 26 years of age, I left crying from that cleverly disguised brothel. However, seeing women that seemed as young as 14 years old inside the club and the groups of children outside the clubs on the streets, it seemed as though a veil was being removed from my eyes." The Lord has used this experience to lead Amy to serve the youth and children of Thailand, and in Pattaya in particular. She has been serving for several years, most recently with Compassion to Every Nation. Her goal is to open schools in Asia, beginning in Pattaya, partnering with  The School of Promise (TSOP).  THIS IS THE CONNECTION WITH YOUR'S TRULY.

Following her meeting at our church, finding out that I serve the Lord through Architecture, and hearing from the Lord through a message she listened to a couple days after our meeting, she felt the Lord was leading her to think Big concerning the Pattaya Christ based school, and also to contact me.  So, this ias all in the early stages, but the school is to be constructed in three phases, starting with 100 primary aged students, eventually growing to 1000 primary and secondary students. Please pray for Amy, her Thailand team, and me as well as this unfolds.  They will need to seek the "right" piece of land; I may fly over to help with this process shortly after she returns to Thailand.  It is so exciting to see how the Lord connects the dots.

CBU & Crux Design Studio

This past year, out of the blue, I was asked to be consider interviewing to be the director of the relatively new architecture program at California Baptist University (CBU). As I have never formally taught at any higher educational institution in the past, this truly took Sally and I by surprise. I was told that their interest in me was due to the architectural missionary service. We were honored, and figured it might be worth submitting information and such. We did interview, and the director position was not a good fit for me, but relationship with CBU is turning out to be an amazing testimony to the work of our Lord in intertwining ministries, education and even private architectural practice.

Mark Roberson

ARCHITECTURAL ADVISORY BOARD: Mark Roberson, the dean of the college of Visual Arts and Design, has asked me to be a part of their advisory board consisting of, in my opinion, much more accomplished and worthy architects in various parts of our country.  This is a new advisory board, and it is so humbling and such an honor to be a part of this organization 

Dr. Matthew Niermann

Caleb Walder

CRUX DESIGN STUDIOS: Dr. Matthew Niermann, who initiated the schools contact with me, along with Caleb Walder, both professors at CBU have enlisted me in a vision that we trust the Lord to be bringing together in a new ministry named Crux Design Studios (Crux). Crux has linked with Helps Ministries, the organization that I serve through, and a relatively new private business I formed last year called WHL Architecture PLLC (WHL are my dad's initials, see earlier blogs on my dad to further understand the significance of using his initials). The vision is to provide an architectural ministry that can enable college students (initially CBU students) to earn many of the internship credits required to eventually become a licensed architect, while attending school, and, most importantly, exposing these students to serving our Lord through architecture throughout our country and world.  Helps provided the 501C3 structure, and is such an awesome ministry as it is flexible to allow this to occure; CBU will provide the student services and instructional platform, and WHL will provide a licensed architectural firm and architect to provide design supervision, a requirement for architectural licensing internship credits. Much more to come from this later as the Lord leads.

I think the main thing, for now, is that when I thought I was forming a side company to provide services my main job isn't able to provide, and when Matthew thought he was seeking a potential candidate for the CBU director of architecture position, the Lord was orchestrating a new ministry like no other that presently exist for architecture students while they are enrolled in college.

My dad and hero, William Henry Luebben

An evening of Worship in Mexico

with Pastor David Power

Operation Christmas Child

We were so blessed to worship at the recently built Community Center building by, and also for use by the Church at San Luis, which is a church plant from Church Mexico. We first visited this very impoverished district of San Luis, Mexico in February, 2013; just a piece of sand with a tarp used for worship. In 2015 the church, assisted by volunteers from a church in Colorado helped construct a restroom/shower facility that can be used by this entire community; many who do not have showers or indoor restrooms.  This past year the community center building was completed for the community use, as well an enclosed building for the church to worship in, and also be used for things like Operation Christmas Child, which we were privileged to witness during the Sunday evening that we visited in mid January. Please keep David, Iracela and their family as they minister to this awesome community of believers.

Yuma Free Clinic

Sally, Jose, & Rene - San Luis, Mexico

Had a wonderful time of fellowship with Rene Bustamante, our dear friend from Yuma who organizes several dental, medical, eye, and veterinary clinics throughout Mexico each year. This past year they were able to equip a trailer with exam chairs, counter and sink that is stored in Mexico. This speeds up their time spent at the border, not needing to bring this trailer and much equipment back and forth over the border. Rene, the doctors and volunteers that help at each clinic are able to serve real needs for impoverished areas of Mexico, and share the awesome gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as well. Please keep Rene and his wife Gloria in your prayers as they serve our Lord. The pictures below are from our January visit. Rene, and his friend Jose helped us cross the border, Praise God for Rene, an amazing servant of God.

Grace Center Bible Church - Sierra Leone

GRACE CENTER STARTED THIS YEAR IN THEIR OWN BUILDING!

In December, 2015 the Grace Center Bible Church site was still filled with boulders and a lot of dirt. 

Church site last year...a lot of rock to move!

Lots of dirt & boulders to move!!

January 1st they held their 1st worship service in their new building; no longer needing to rent a community center building, move their chairs and equipment to and from the building every Sunday morning, evening, and Wednesday evening. The ground floor is complete, and will eventually be used as a dormitory for training pastors around Sierra Leone, and neighboring countries. The second floor will be used with classrooms for training and for Aletheia Ministry offices, and the top floor will be the church and large group gathering area. But for now, just to have a secure place they can call their own, seeing how far they've come from last year.  Praise almighty God :). 

Ground floor is complete!

Dedication service on January 1, 2017