New Life Outreach

This morning, I left Chiang Mai for Phetchabun with some 50 cartons of donated rice noodles.

Driving single-handedly made the journey both challenging and exciting (as I'm bad with roads). Above that, it was a short 15min stop which made my day.

Basically, I was driving through a police road block and this conversation started :

Policeman : Where are you headed ?
Eugene : Phetchabun
Policemen : What is at the back of your truck ?
Eugene : Cartons of noodles
Policeman : Where are you from ?
Eugene : Singapore

The next thing I knew, my driving license and ID was confiscated and I was "ushered" to the side of the road with 4 armed policemen directing me to step out of my truck.

After checking my truck for some 15mins for concealed drugs, they were satisfied that it was really rice noodles and off I went.

As I looked back, it was really comical ! Definitely not a convincing story for a Singaporean to be driving noodles around Thailand!

Please do note that the fund raising trip from 25-28 January trip has only 5 slots left. The trip is all inclusive and it includes a SGD$200 contribution to the outreach fund.

If you are available, please email ben@radion-international.org quicky to reserve your space.

Additional updates :
Our office in Chiang Mai has been set up and now I'll be heading back to Phetchabun for a couple of days before going down to Bangkok for another set of meetings.

We are planning to start a school in 2008, but financially its a challenge. Please continue to pray together with us for this project to work out.

We have just completed 2 full days of outreach at the refugee camp. Tomorrow will be our final day of outreach. For the last 2 days, it has been lots of fun and the volunteers have given the most positive feedback ! :)

I'll post the pics as soon as I can !

Today, I spoke at Lanna International (Chiang Mai) and I spoke about the endless possibilities one can do, if only we are willing. I guess many times God does not choose the most beautiful vessel but the one which dares to step out and say “Use Me”

For me, I’m a “vertically-challenged” feller with not much of a looks to boast about. But I guess what differs me from a common folk is a burning passion to make a difference…. and a simplistic faith in God that He can use me to change the world.

It’s my personal challenge to my friends out there to step out and make a difference.

p/s : I’m done with the series of meetings, tomorrow 6am I’m heading back to Phetchabun with our Christmas Cargo !

We look to 2008 with both reluctance and anticipation. With confirm reports of these Hmong Lao being earmarked to be deported back, it is a painful year for RADION. But no man is a master of time, I guess we just have to look toward 2008 hoping to make a continual difference in these people’s lives.

In 2008, we need your continual support to make that difference. In fact, we aim to bring our MILK! Mission to the refugees every week but this of course subjected to funding.

This will be the very first 4D3N Fund Raising Trip (Project – The Next Step) in the year 2008. In each of these trips, we aim to raise funds (MILK!) by involving like-minded individuals to come alongside us to make a personal difference in the lives of these people. Please contact us if you can make the time.

eugene@RADION-International.org or Ben@RADION-International.org

Project : The Next Step
Date : 25-28 Jan 08
Activity : MILK! Mission and entertainment for 1000 children
Cost : SGD$900/pax (Some SGD$200/pax will be channeled to the refugee outreach effort)

*As we fly by budget airlines, the earlier you book, the more funds we can channel to helping these people.

Come alongside us, feel our heartbeat, see our tears. You’ll understand why 2 young men gave up their common day jobs to commit themselves to an uncommon dream to bring hope to the hopeless.

When we first started the Project Christmas - Last Christmas, our dream was to bring the little ones a gift for Christmas. Something which will aid their education....a 1 hour lesson each week at a make-shift school.

It was a huge dream with very little time and it was not a small sum either, we needed some SGD7000 just to put a little gift in each child's hands.

Today, I'm proud to announce that we have met our target ! Yes. All 3500 children will get a gift this Christmas. And its through each and everyone of you who have chipped in a little to make this happen !

Yes. And miracles do happen.

I will be flying to Bangkok this Saturday to meet a few companies to see how we can collaborate to help these refugees.

I'll be running around from Bangkok to Phitsanulok to Chiang Mai and may not be able to blog as much as I would like to. But I'll post whenever i can :)

After that I'll be staying to work on the refugee project for about 1 month, so do bear with me. Internet is a rare thing on the mountains.

Please also note that the Christmas Trip is fully booked. We need volunteers for Jan and Feb. If you can afford the time to come alongside us to make a difference. Please drop both myself and ben an email.

See RADION International to know what we are working on :)

The dates have just been firmed up. Each of these trips will aim to bring MILK! to the children. These trips will include a SGD$200 contribution to the refugee outreach effort as well.

Please drop us an email if you would like more details.

eugene@radion-international.org
ben@radion-international.org

January Fund Raising Trip :
25-28 Jan (Fri-Mon)

February Fund Raising Trip :
15 - 18 Feb (Fri-Mon)

You know, its so easy to make a difference but so difficult to convince others.

For me, relatives and loved ones sometimes are the greatest discouragement when you want to do something meaningful. They will come up and tell you how "impractical" these dream are and 1001 reasons why they will not sustain.

In fact, they are right. Its impractical and may not be sustainable. But through impractical dreams, we brought the following :

1600 blankets. 4000kg of reliefs. 7000 cups of milk.

Yes, people laugh at 2 silly young man trying to change the world. Yes its upsetting, but if i stop in my tracks in discouragement who is going to bring blankets to the cold and milk to hungry children ?

Will the practical people take my place and do it ?

Let my impracticality and dreams make a difference to the ones who matter most- The little ones who are on the receiving end.

I would like to mention someone very special in my blog - Pastor Ricky Tan.

This is the man that first brought me to the refugee camp and it was through his encouragement and help that we embarked on our refugee outreach project. Without his help, starting out would be impossible.

Pastor Ricky. Thank you once again for all your hospitality and your kind advices. Thank you for allowing CCOF to support us in our infancy stages and we will remember your kindness even as we go our separate ways !

As you all know, this is likely to be the last Christmas for these refugees before being sent back to Laos.

Deep in my heart I would really like to bring the Christmas cheer to these refugees and more then that, a small gift to each and every child in the camp. Yes all 3600.

To date we have enough funds to buy just 500+ children a stationary set.
So what do we do if we don't raise enough before Christmas ? The answer is simple, we will not have enough gifts for the remaining 3000+.

I'm sorry. But thats the reality and I can only do this much. But with your help to spread the word, I believe that we can achieve this target and bring smiles to 3000 children.

I have a dream which I've kept in my heart for almost 12 years now.

Since I was 15, I held a dream, a dream to reach out to people without hope. People who have nothing to fall back on and nothing to live for.

Sometimes in our Christian walk and we are just too image/reputation conscious. We are scared to be seen at Geylang(Red Light District) for the fear of being seen among prostitutes, drug addicts and the likes.

In fact, these are the people who need God the most. I believe that God can perform miracles in their lives today. I'm a living testimony to that.


My dream ? To build a centre to bring delinquents, destitute, prostitutes, gangsters, drug addicts, HIV children and the likes.... to bring them all in and care for them. For there is no greater joy then to see lives transformed and changed by God.

I see this refugee outreach in a similar light. And truly, there is no greater joy !

We are working to obtain a a charity status and we've been working on it for quite some time but its a challenge in view of all the red tapes, more so when funds collected are transfered a cause in another country.

Some close friends are telling me to keep RADION as a business so funds can reach the refugees and not be caught in the paperwork.

Yes. For the moment RADION International is a business, but its a business with a heart.
Now, I'm not going to put a tag and say "Some profit will be channeled to XXX cause", I'm going to be upfront, transparent and be totally un-businesslike.

This is my assurance ! ALL our earnings will be used prudently to better someone's life !