Sojourneys Update: Former KKSM Skateboarder to Thailand Missions

Update: Four Posts

02.21.12 - Last Full Day

03.03.12 - First Week Back

04.04.12 - Gettin' Started

04.10.12 - Engagement

Where to Give Vids

http://www.ripeforharvest.org/give/

Last Full Day

http://davevoetberg.blogspot.com/2012_02_01_archive.html

February 21, 2012

Today is officially my last full day in the U.S. before I disappear back into the heart of Thailand. It's been a refreshing 4 1/2 month "visit". I'm thankful to have had the opportunity, & now ready to get back. Nice to have last year's worth of experience in Thailand under my belt. Going back, I have a much better gauge now of what exactly I'm getting into. It'll be nice to not be as clueless this time around :)

I'm also very passionate about my going back this time around because of what this & hopefully upcoming years will contain as far as missions go. The ministry I've linked up with has me going to one of the poorest & most unreached areas with the gospel in all of Thailand. And I don't say that hoping to get sympathy. Rather, hopefully a reason for you to be excited for me. There's no reason to pity those leave who leave some of the familiar comforts of home to follow Christ in foreign places. Those who go & are gauging their situation rightly would call themselves privileged. The apostles "left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name." Christ puts purpose behind hardship/uncomfortablity that is endured for His sake. I'll leave you with a quote from David Livingstone who, "gave his life to serve Christ in the exploration of Africa for the sake of the access of the gospel." He says:

"For my own part, I have never ceased to rejoice that God has appointed me to such an office. People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa....Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view, and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now & then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences & charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in & for us. I never made a sacrifice."
love you all...

lonely sparrow

First Week Back

http://davevoetberg.blogspot.com/2012/03/first-week-back.html

March 3, 2012

It's great to be in thailand again. getting settled into my first week back. spending the next two months here in Chiang Mai, trying to really hit this language hard, & then I'll be moving to a city in Northeast Thailand called Kalasin. Been talking with the Pastor I work with, walking through what ministry down there will be looking like. Ultimately, the hope for the culmination of our work in Kalasin is church planting/discipleship. It is one of the poorest & most unreached(gospel-wise) areas in Thailand. I've committed to the next three years living & working there with a Thai Pastor & a small missionary team. There's no reason why there can't be a gospel explosion in this country, and particularly in this region. We've all heard stories of what God has done/is doing in China; I'm believing for a revolution. The good news of the shed blood of The Son that turns sinners into saints & makes God's enemies His friends is the answer for this country. For this world. Christ is the universal cure. The importance of this message cannot be stressed enough. I love how Spurgeon put it when he said, "..if I was saved by a simple gospel, then I am bound to preach that same simple gospel till I die, so that others too may be saved by it. When I cease to preach salvation by faith in Jesus put me into a lunatic asylum, for you may be sure that my mind is gone."

lonely sparrow

*If you would like more information about what I'm doing here in Thailand or how you can support financially, please scroll down to previous blog entries.*

 

 

 

 

Gettin' Started

http://davevoetberg.blogspot.com/2012/04/gettin-started.html

April 4, 2012

So, I've been back here in Thailand for about a month & a half now, and more specifically, Chiang Mai. This has mainly consisted of alot of reading, language study, meetings, hanging with local kids, etc. The first two months of my being back were/are a preparation time for what's coming in 2 weeks, which is the move to a city called Galasin, about 12 hours southeast of here. I'll be going down there with my friend Derrick where we'll be helping a local pastor doing church planting. This past weekend we got to go down there and check it out, meet with the pastor, rent a house & really just start to get ready & get a feel for what's going on down there. Discipleship, teaching at house churches, youth ministry, equipping worship leaders, teaching English are some of the pratical ways in which we'll be engaging those in the area. 1,000,000 people with around 700 believers. Definitely lots to be apart of. There really is something special about worshiping Christ with believers in that setting, when you know how few in the area are doing the same thing. And so hopefully our efforts can be used to spill the fragrance of Christ & spread the aroma of His gospel to many in this region. Prayers are very much appreciated, and if you'd like to help support financially, there are links below in previous blogs that explain how you can do that. Thank you all...

lonely sparrow

 

 

 

Engagement

http://davevoetberg.blogspot.com/2012/04/engagement.html

April 10, 2012

Coming up on a year ago, I saw a video on youtube of a youth ministry in southern thailand with a girl on there named Oy, talking about the Lord & her involvement with that ministry. I shot her message & not too long after that we started writing back & forth. And over time it became phone, skype, meeting in person & then eventually dating. And from that has come our plans for engagement & marriage. I know typically in western culture that most of us are used to the wedding obviously being planned but the engagement usually coming as (at least somewhat) of a surprise. But here in Thailand, the custom is to do a type of ceremony for the engagement & the wedding; so that's what we're planning on for the 23rd of this month, with the wedding being the 12th of June. I'm so excited & thankful to the Lord for this opportunity that's on the horizon. It's something I've anticipated & tried to prepare for for quite some time, it's hard to believe that it's becoming a fast-approaching reality.

And what's beautiful is that the girl I get to do this with is such a gem. She's so precious to me. I'm really looking forward to spending the rest of my life following Christ with Oy & hopefully being very much like Christ to her as well. I'd be lying if I said I don't have fears when it comes to the realm of marriage & leading a family, but stepping up & answering the call to man up is possible by the grace of God. I plan to draw every ounce of it that I can from The Lord.

I would really appreciate your prayers, especially now as Oy & I step into this new season & learn what it means to become one as we set our sights on The Lord & walk this thing out together. Also, if you'd like to support financially, the are links below on previous blogs that can direct you where to do that. Thank you!

lonely sparrow (no more!)

http://www.ripeforharvest.org/give/

Thailand 2012 & Beyond...

loving thailand. raising support.

KKSM Skateboarder goes to "Thailand 2012 & Beyond"

 

Thailand 2012 & Beyond...

A quick update of what dave voetberg is planning
on doing in Thailand in 2012 & beyond.

Financial support - http://bit.ly/wVlBHa

Or make checks payable to:

Ripe For Harvest

c/o dave voetberg #361

P.O. Box 487

Monument, CO 80132

Dave Voetberg's website - http://bit.ly/eTvC9b

Family Connection  Foundation - http://bit.ly/wbcckS

My Last Full Day at Home

http://davevoetberg.blogspot.com/2012/02/last-full-day.html

by Dave Voetberg

February 21, 2012

Today is officially my last full day in the U.S. before I disappear back into the heart of Thailand. It's been a refreshing 4-1/2 month "visit". I'm thankful to have had the opportunity & now am ready to get back. Nice to have last year's worth of experience in Thailand under my belt. Going back, I have a much better gauge now of what exactly I'm getting into. It'll be nice to not be as clueless this time around :)

I'm also very passionate about my going back this time around because of what this - & hopefully upcoming years - will contain as far as missions go. The ministry I've linked up with has me going to one of the poorest & most unreached areas with the gospel in all of Thailand. And I don't say that hoping to get sympathy. Rather, hopefully a reason for you to be excited for me. There's no reason to pity those who leave some of the familiar comforts of home to follow Christ in foreign places. Those who go, & are gauging their situation rightly, would call themselves privileged. The apostles "left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name." Christ puts purpose behind hardship/uncomfortability that is endured for His sake. I'll leave you with a quote from David Livingstone who, "gave his life to serve Christ in the exploration of Africa for the sake of the access of the gospel." He says:

"For my own part, I have never ceased to rejoice that God has appointed me to such an office. People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa....Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view, and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now & then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences & charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in & for us. I never made a sacrifice."

love you all...
Posted by lonely sparrow.

KKSM Konnect Skateboard Ministry

http://www.kksm.org/konnect/

Reliance & Siren Testimonies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UOGutE5oTw&feature=player_embedded#!

Sojourneys Update: Isaan, Thailand!

this is My Father's world...

Isaan! 

http://davevoetberg.blogspot.com/2011/08/isaan.html

God's Country
http://davevoetberg.blogspot.com/2011/08/gods-country.html

by Dave Voetberg
Monday, August 22, 2011

This past weekend I got to take a trip out to Northeast Thailand (Isaan) w/ a Pastor friend of mine from Chiang Mai. He had some teaching/preaching lined up in a town called Galasin, & I got to go along for the ride. And more specifically, we've been talking about the possibility of me moving out there in 2 months; so I got to gauge a bit of what that might look like. Honestly, I think it's safe to say I'm sold & would love to labor down there for Christ & the people of Galasin. Heartbreakingly, only .01% of the 1,000,000 people in this area are said to be Christians. As one friend mentioned to me recently, it's "virtually unreached." That's all the motivation a Christian needs.

One open door of ministry down there (& and a means of supporting myself) would be thru teaching English (though I have no college degree) at one of the schools in the area. So right now, I'm looking into/praying about that, hoping God will fight that battle for me. Other than that, I know starting home churches would also be what I'd get to be apart of down there. Really, pretty much starting fresh in an area that Paul would be excited about. He said it was his "ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named." Galasin is just that. A foundation hasn't been laid, with many people never even having heard the name "Jesus" before, much less the gospel. What a beautiful opportunity! Laboring among a people who are nearly untouched with the gospel & watching God do God-sized things for His glory, as He "gather(s) into one the children of God who are scattered abroad."

Your prayers are appreciated more than you know.

All for Jesus & thailand,

Dave

be careful!

the open road.

129 more steps to go.

worth the hike.

this is My Father's world.

Sojourneys - Eggs & Rice

I wanted to share my friend's story of ministry to the street kids exploited for sex on the streets of Chiang Mai, Thailand, to remind us to pray for missionaries serving the Lord. Davey had toured with KKSM for five years beginning his sophmore year in high school, then served as a youth pastoral intern at Village Bible Church under Matt Chandler, before hearing God's call to come to ABBA House's ministries in Chiang Mai a half a world away from Dallas, Texas. You may follow his ministries under "Mission Sites" found on this blog ("ABBA House") as well as his personal blog listed below. Please keep all of God's servants in prayer who serve in these very difficult and dangerous markets of sex, money, addictions and exploitation.

skinhead

**********

Sojourneys by Davey Voetberg

http://davevoetberg.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, June 14, 2011

eggs & rice






Serving God in "another life" in KKSM ministries



Abba House Foundation Vimeo video link
http://www.abbahousefoundation.org/

sour patch kids

by Davey Voetberg
Monday, June 6, 2011

If we're being real, I think we would all agree that sometimes life just gets hard. I mean, really hard. Now the term "hard" is somewhat subjective, being that the definition of difficulty differs from person to person. But life gets hard for you, whoever you are. And life gets hard for me. And sometimes the struggle & strain become so wearisome that we feel as though we may not be able to endure another day. We have those points in our lives where our hearts feel ready to break & we, like king david, wish that we "had wings like a dove" so we could "fly away & be at rest". And those laments from the 55th psalm are in good company with many others that were uttered out of the mouth of the man who ferociously went after the heart of God. I think mourning is almost seen sometimes as unspiritual & to acknowledge pain/difficulty as being a sign of weakness. I would say it's more a sign of being alive & not living under a rock. Even Jesus, our Savior, was a "man of sorrows" who, even though he was fully divine, "offered up prayers & supplications with loud cries & tears".

So I'm not even speaking right now about those outside the body of Christ. I'm talking about blood-bought disciples. It's not as though when you become a christian you take up residence on a cloud high above this fractured world. What happened is that you were, by the grace of God, broken & contrite enough to fall at the feet of The Hero. Not being one yourself, rather, you're simply a recipient of His heroism. With that being true, it's only pride in us that would try to give off the notion that upon trading our sin for Jesus' righteousness, we gave him our tear ducts as well. The day will come when He will wipe away all our tears (and I imagine that when it does, the hands of God will be very pruney!) but we're not there yet. The temptation many times can be to act as though the weight of the world has not penetrated our souls. To put on a face & appear unaffected by it all seems to be the more mature, godly route to go. Some might even think the one crying the hardest at the funeral has the least amount of trust in God's good purposes.

But just because someone weeps doesn't mean that they're not trusting God. It's not that the children of God have dry eyes from the moment of conversion, we just don't "grieve as others do who have no hope." We're told in Acts that the early church "made great lamentation" over Stephen after his death. There is a way to mourn that is available to the family of God & even more so, encouraged when necessary as the Bible calls us to "weep with those who weep."

So we still feel pain and, I would argue, even more so now that everything has been infused with meaning for us, but the tears of the saints contain elements of hope that the unbeliever's tears don't possess. That's the difference. Our tears don't have the same make-up as they did before our adoption. Every tear that falls into God's bottle from the eyes of His elect are laced with His Romans 8:28 designs. This is what makes it possible to be "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing", even when the darkness will not lift.

The rainbow of God's providence is overarching every storm the christian goes through. And when the clouds are dark & pouring, that doesn't mean God will necessarily give you an umbrella, but He will most definitely stand with you in the rain. The rock solid assurance of His sovereignty & loyalty doesn't make pain painless by any means, but it does infuse our pain with meaning as God is, as John Piper says, "plotting the course & managing the troubles with far-reaching purposes for our good & for the glory of Jesus Christ."

And The Lord, in his mercy, has given His people books like Revelation & Isaiah, giving us glimpses of how the story will end. It isn't with sorrow & sighing triumphing victoriously over us. It isn't in despair with weeping & death eternally permeating & plaguing our existence. Just the opposite is true, actually. The victory has been secured by the blood of Jesus & one day he will return with fire blazing in his eyes & tear away the "covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations." "And the ransomed of the Lord shall return & come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness & joy, and sorrow & sighing shall flee away."

 

KKSM Elijah Moore

http://www.kksm.org/elijah-moore-interview/

You can donate by mailing check or card number to:

KKSM International

4920 South Gilbert Road, Suite 1-511

Chandler, AZ   85249

Please call us at 480-772-2999 or email us at:

www.info@kksm.org  if you have any questions.

All money donated to KKSM is tax deductible and a receipt will be mailed to you.

**********

When did you meet at the time King of Kings skateboard co founder Darren Wells?

Around 2002 at the ASR show in San Diego.

You, Shawn Plimmer, Luke Braddock, Zac Archuleta were on the very first KKSM tour… How has being on tour for many years changed your life?

Well, it’s made me appreciate traveling and the excitement of being around new people and places God created.

You guys lived in a Van for years how was that?
It was crazy, cramped, smelly and dangerous! It was a miracle Luke never blew the van up but he did run it out of gas in the middle of the highway because he was on the phone with his wife during his shift.

Was it amazing seeing so many skateboarders give there life to the Lord at the demos you were apart of?
Absolutely amazing! Years later I still have older kids and teens and young adults approach me telling of how our team impacted their lives.



What is the worst thing about tours?
I have to say not being grateful for every moment and not collecting lots of pics and clips of all the action.

What is the best thing about tours?
Traveling the world with the team family skating, preaching and hanging out! All the laughs and great moments!

You and Luke Braddock were the first Reliance Pros back in 03 how was that?It’s been a great experience. It was an amazing experience then and still is. Pretty much every skaters dream is to be pro and that happened for us. Having our own boards made us push ourselves and the brand fully.

What was your first pro model?
My first pro model was a graphic of a light house and angels in different shades of blue.

How was being in the first Burl Factor tour dvd?
That was an epic tour! I skated more, got injured more and enjoyed putting myself into making the video like no other tour! Bwall’s such an on point movie maker that everyone felt comfortable skating in front of the camera. The younger guys like Kight, Deezel and Dave were inspiring to ride with.

What was some of your nick names while on tour?
Gloss Richardson, Satin Black, Elder Skate.

Funny story from a KKSM tour?
Luke driving away from the gas pump with the pump still in the tour van! Luke’s the man!

Did you meet your wife on tour?
Yep. I met my wife Joy in Christchurch New Zealand on the NZ tour.


Where is your favorite place to travel?

New Zealand for sure! It’s a small place with everything. Skate, snowboard and surf all in a day. Not to mention tasty food and gorgeous land. Jurassic Park and Lord of the Rings were filmed there.

Did you recently almost lose your life?
Yep. I got really sick with pancreatitus over night and was in a coma for about 10 days and lived to tell by God’s grace and mercy.

Are you skating without kidney function?

Yep. Well they function at less than 30%.

Things going on in the future for skateboarding?
I’m always stacking clips! Just got another VX and an HD. I have a few pro models that I’m working on so go get one! I’m in the process of moving to AZ so my wife and I hope to be involved in a lot more KKSM demos.

What is God doing in your life right now?
Keeping me alive! Showing me just how much I need Him. We all do.

Advice to young skaters coming up in skateboard ministry?
Focus on Jesus. “The world and it’s desires fade away but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” 1 John 2:17

shout outs

God
Parents
My wife Joy
Darren “Pops” Wells
RIck “Chief” Weigele
KKSM Family
Reliance & Siren Crew
Dameon Rowe at Index
Teammates, friends & family

If you would like to Donate or find out more about helping Elijah continue to do skateboard ministry throughout the world visit his site

MOORE-LOVE.COM

CHECK OUT A FEW OF ELIJAH’S VIDEOS

SIREN & RELIANCE SKATEBOARDS

http://sirenskate.com/
http://www.relianceskate.com/

GET INVOLVED