Our 2009 Other Sheep Asia Trip
Three Meetings with Pongthorn Chanlearn
Tuesday, July 14, 2009; Friday, July 24, 2009;
and Tuesday, July 28, 2009
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(3) Introduction of Pongthorn Chanlearn and Rev., Dr. Ken Dobson to one another, Tuesday afternoon, July 28, 2009
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(2) Meeting with area gay Christian pro-LGBT activists arranged by Pongthorn Chanlearn, Chiang Mai, Thailand, Friday, July 24, 2009  
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(1) Meeting with Project Director of MPlus, Pongthorn Chanlearn, Chiang Mai, Thailand.  Tuesday, July 14, 2009  
Pongthorn Chanlearn,
Pongthorn Chanlearn,
Jose Ortiz                              Pongthorn Chanlearn
Jose Ortiz                 Steve Parelli                                      Pongthorn Chanlearn
On July 14, 2009, Pongthorn met with
Steve and Jose of Other Sheep at his
M-plus office in Chiang Mai.  Upon
hearing the mission and message of
Other Sheep, and our purpose to
especially reach the Christian
population of Thailand, Pongthorn, a
Buddhist with interest in all faiths,
immediately identified with Other
Sheep as a practical means to teach
against discrimination.  Upon looking
over the book The Children Are Free,
Pongthorn was committed to getting
the message out in Thailand and
offered to set up a meeting for gay
Christian activists in which we could
present Other Sheep.
Above Photo:  Jose Ortiz, left, and Steve
Parelli, middle, meet with Pongthorn
Chanlearn, right, in the offices of MPlus,
Chiang Mai, Thailand, July 14, 2009.
Above Photo:  Steve Parelli, seated, shows Pongthorn
Chanlearn, left, the Other Sheep website, highlighting
what had just been accomplished the prior two weeks
in Nepal.
Two gay
Christians are
introduced to
Steve and Jose
On July 24, 2009, Other Sheep met with ten
individuals at M-Plus to present Other Sheep
and discuss the possibility of some form of
Other Sheep in Thailand.  Our host, who
invited the participants and provided the
meeting space, and one other individual,
were Buddhist.  A third party was Catholic in
his background, but now a secularist.  The
other seven individuals were Christian and
pro-LGBT activists, some with theological
education and/or ministry experience at
some level.
Photo below:  Jose Ortiz is
seated at the table before the
participants arrived.  M-Plus
hosted the meeting
Photo at right:  Nhkumm Naw,
Human Rights Education Institute of
Burma,   Coordinator - Community
educator to vulnerable Burmese
migrant MSM and LGBT
communities in Thailand.
Above Photo:  Steve Parelli
presented Other Sheep and the
results of Other Sheep visit in Nepal
which occurred just prior to
introducing Other Sheep in Thailand.
Photo at right:
Pongthorn
Chanlearn, host
and initiator of July
24th meeting with
pro-LGBT activists.
Upon our arrival in Chiang Mai
from Nepal on Saturday, July
11, 2009, Jose took care of
practical needs - like a sim
card for the phone, etc, - while
Steve wrote up the Other Sheep
report for Nepal.

One of the many things Jose
did was to phone Pongthorn
Chanlearn, a contact we had
through another contact (if I
recall correctly).  Pongthorn
wanted to meet with us as
soon as possible.
Photo at far right:  A web page on our
contacts in Nepal, shown during this
Chiang Mai, Thailand, meeting.
Pongthorn Chanlearn asked Steve and Jose
to introduce him to Dr. Kenneth Dobson of
Payap University.  Dr. Dobson was very glad
to meet Pongthorn and invited him to meet
him on the campus, which we did.  At the
meeting, we discussed ideas and ways of
working together.
Above photo:  Pongthorn Chanlearn (left)
and Rev., Dr. Kenneth Dobson (right), are
brought together for a first time meeting
through the facilitation of Other Sheep.  Jose
Ortiz, center, is Other Sheep Coordinator for
Asia.
Photo below:  Nhkumm Naw,
Human Rights Education Institute of
Burma,   Coordinator - Community
educator to vulnerable Burmese
migrant MSM and LGBT
communities in Thailand.
Following the meeting, with Dr. Dobson,
Pongthorn, who has been key in bringing
people together in Chiang Mai to meet us
and Other Sheep, told us he would like to
see Dr. Dobson, Nhkumm Naw (far left
photo) and himself work together to discuss
the possibility of forming an Other Sheep
Thailand.
Pongthorn Chanlearn                  Jose Ortiz                     Dr. Kenneth Dobson
Nhkumm Naw,
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This web page was created July 30 - August 1, 2009, on the train from Chiang Mai,
Thailand, to Singapore.  This web page was published August 4, 2009, from Singapore.

Visits to this site since August 4, 2009.
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Our 2009
Southeast Asia Trip
--Table of Contents--

Photo Album of Sites
Visited  

OTHER SHEEP 2009 ASIA  
MINISTRY

Written Report

NEPAL INDEX  
June 28 - July 10, 2009

THAILAND INDEX
Chiang Mai, Thailand
July 11 - 29, 2009

Bangkok & Mae Sot
August 23-30

SINGAPORE INDEX
August 1 - 7, 2009
August 9 - 13, 2009


MALAYSIA INDEX
August 7 - 9, 2009
August 13 - 23, 2009


RETURNING HOME
August 30, 2009