together - January 2015

A 16-year-old boy was lying on his bed just waiting to die from HIV related
illnesses. No hope; no self-value. After 15 months of the team working with
him and his family, he now has a full-time job, full health and his family are
restoring their very broken relationships. This is God’s radical grace at work in
Chiang Mai, where half of those affected with the illness are under 22.
Radical Grace: looking forward
Now that Kenneth Fleck and his family are returning to New Zealand, local
leadership is taking the Radical Grace Project he began in Northern Thailand
into the future, continuing to work creatively and holistically with people with
HIV, their families and local communities .
The new director, Prasert (Daeng) Dechaboon and his wife Ann have been
working in this field since 2009; also in the team are Sutin, Annie and Daa,
with help from Mary Raikes from Tauranga and Jacqui Croxon from Australia.
Cliff and Lynell Thomas are supporting this project as part of their new role in
Thailand. “Daeng has the vision to lead SIM’s HIV response in this country,”
Kenneth says. “In fact, because he’s local, new doors have opened. The biggest
challenge is working with people’s attitudes, personally, spiritually and practically,
as we bring Jesus into some of the messiest environments, both in the
church and the community at large.” There seems to be a spiritual issue around
communication in this part of the world, where it’s normal to sweep difficult
situations ‘under the mat’. Daeng explains, “Radical Grace is the mission of
bringing hope to all of life through the grace of God, which is only possible as
we live true to our name.” He aims to model this central theme
of God’s radical grace to others in ministry.
Give
Daeng and some of the team
• $15 will pay for a care
package for 1 person;
• $30 will send 1 person to
a holistic healing camp;
• $100 buys a training
module;
• $150 buys a life skills
course for girls in prison.
Contact nz.donor@sim.org
and quote project # 98382.
11
sim.org.nz