Thursday, January 22, 2015

Christmas 2014 at The River

Christmas at The River was a very exciting time for the River and all the communities that we are involved with.

We had our first ever River Christmas in Bangkok on the 16th of December! We had a Christmas party for all our Bangkok connect groups with over 100 people attending. It was an amazing time of fellowship, friendship  and fun! Gifts were shared, people were encouraged and the message of Christmas was shared. It is was amazing to see how many new people attended and how fast The River is growing in Bangkok. On the following Saturday, The River team spread the Christmas Spirit by giving gifts to people in the community.

Christmas gifts galore!

Christmas time in Hang Dong was filled with activity and festivity. The River team worked together with local community leaders to  bring a night of fun, food  games and a message of joy to over 200 people in the San Pak Wan community in a wonderful community concert. There was singing, dancing and drama presentations presented by both The River team and local community members.
Santor School invited the River team to be apart of their Christmas celebrations. The students welcomed our team with open arms.


 Our incredible team at Santor School on Christmas Day!


On the 21st Of December we celebrated Christmas as a church community. The place was packed with so many people! It was an atmosphere of excitement and expectancy! Four teachers from a local school that we teach in attended our church for the first time!
One woman experienced a miracle of provision, by receiving a simple bag of rice as a gift.  Only God knew that it came at exactly the right time.

Our beautiful angel!

Christmas in the South was also extremely successful and wonderful.  Families that our team work with helped prepare and present the Christmas concert. Over 100 people attended and 50 gifts where given!  People left with full stomachs and happy hearts!

Thank you so much for your ongoing support and prayers over the Christmas period.  Over 700 people attended River Christmas events and over 500 gifts were given out!


The whole of The River Team wish you a wonderful 2015!

Monday, January 19, 2015

October and November saw GIRL POWER at The River!

The last few months of 2014 were an awesome, crazy, phenomenal blur!  So much happened in such a short amount of time!  We're going to try and fill you in as best we can!

October saw the launch of Shine HOPE in Asia!!
Shine HOPE, from Hillsong Australia, is a new program, aimed at girls and women who are at risk of being trafficked.  It is about clarifying the understanding about the existence of human trafficking and about bringing value and worth to women.  Reminding them that they are beautiful, unique, and PRICELESS!

More than 30 key women's leaders from all over Asia came to attend the training, hosted by the lovely Nandi Spry from Hillsong Sydney.





Not long after this successful week of training, we hosted our magnificent 
Women's Conference - Full Life Begins!  
Around one hundred women come to our Training Centre, where our River Team hosted one of the best conferences yet!    It is astounding to see, when our team gets together - that anything is possible!

We had 2 guest speakers join us for the conference - Ps Rachel Mawston from Hillsong Brisbane, and Ps Barbara Nield from Tweed Coast Church.  They both came with powerful messages that changed lives.

We also spent the afternoons of the conference, training our delegates on Shine HOPE. We are so excited to have this in Asia, and the impact it's going to have on women all over this region!

Amongst many amazing God-moments, one definitely stood out: A friend from a creative access area found freedom and new life in her Saviour. This life will be a catalyst for many more transformations to come!







The River December was just as big with all our Christmas Festivities!
Stay tuned for more to come!!