Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Click on the image to open our 2019 Year in Review pdf or download it and view it later. Then, Zoom in to look closer at the individual images. It’s a large file, but we hope you’ll find it worthwhile!

Now serving Thai Noodles!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Click on the image to open our 2019 Year in Review pdf or download it and view it later. Then, Zoom in to look closer at the individual images. It’s a large file, but we hope you’ll find it worthwhile!
Happy New Year!
Click on the image to open our 2018 Year in Review pdf.
Zoom in to look closer at the individual images or download it and view it on your device.
We would like to invite you to join us in making an evangelistic film for Syrian refugees this coming summer in Sweden.
We are a team of international filmmakers serving with a ministry of Youth with a Mission. Our ministry is a frontier-mission ministry that has been in existence for over 25 years. We produce evangelistic media in the heart language and cultural style of the least evangelized people groups in the world. God has provided our ministry with many skilled and creative individuals who use media and art to strategically make His message known among the nations. Our vision is to communicate the message of Jesus Christ in creative ways that people can understand from their cultural and linguistic background, using media that can be widely distributed, such as dramatic films. We are also trainers who are using this experience to help students learn how to make exciting, cross-cultural evangelistic films.
Our film is inspired by the true stories of Syrian refugee families who have escaped the horrors of war by fleeing to Sweden to begin a new life. It is a film about two Syrian refugee women and their journey toward redemption, based on the Book of Ruth from the Hebrew Scriptures. But modernized and set in present day Sweden, home to many of the Syrian refugees in exile from their homeland. It’s a story of faith, miracles and redemption. It’s about starting life again, in a new land, full of hope!
There are a number of well-made documentaries out there about the plight of the Syrian people. What we are proposing is not a film about the Syrian people for the world to watch, but a movie about Syrian people, for
Syrian people to watch! This is their story we will tell back to them.
By partnering with the Syrian people we can tell a powerful story about God’s redemption, even in the challenges of resettlement – of being lost and then found. It will be an inspirational movie that will share the Good News of Jesus and give them hope for a better tomorrow.
Along with caring for their physical and emotional needs, the Body of Christ also needs to share the Good News of Christ in a way that Syrians can understand and embrace as their own. Our film will be culturally relevant, tailored just for them. The language will be Syrian Arabic. And the actors themselves will be Syrian!
This film will provide all Syrians the opportunity to open their hearts, find restoration from their broken past, and encounter a true and living God!
Because our cast and crew are all volunteers, we are very much hoping to have help local. This will help keep our film production costs more reasonable.
* Network with our local representatives to help open doors to people willing to help
* Identify local Syrian-Arabic speaking actors to be in the movie
* Provide locations where we can shoot the movie
* Serve some of our meals for our small cast and crew during production (15 to 30 people)
Distribute the completed film to Syrians.
Because making a good film costs money, we and our Swedish team members researched how much it would cost to produce the film in Sweden. We have set a reasonable budget of $25,000USD.
Actors’ fees
Meals & housing for crew while in country
Transportation for cast & crew to and from locations
Location fees & permits
Props
Post production
Scholarships for Syrian refugees to receive training on our filmmaking seminar (see below)
The Syrian Refugee Film Project will include scholarships for our six-week filmmaking seminar where we will train students in the basics of cross-cultural filmmaking. The students will then serve as production assistants on the film. They will have the opportunity to learn practical movie-making skills that could help them secure jobs, in the industry, in the future, and to use media effectively in their ministries.
The entire project will take place from 28 May to 8 July in the Gothenburg and Ljungskile areas on the west coast of Sweden.
We invite you to join us in this effort to bring hope to the Syrian people. We believe your generosity today will make a lasting impact on Syrian refugees’ lives forever. We want to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with them by telling this Syrian refugee story, a story that can inspire change, testify to God’s grace, and
encourage hope for a better future.
Can we count on you to partner with us by giving towards the costs of this film? You can contact us anytime via email rob@gmail.com or telephone +66 82-392-3788. We will be happy to help you start the
process. Perhaps you’re very busy, but already know that you want to donate. You can send funds directly to this bank account.
We look forward to seeing you on our team!
Yours in Christ,
Rob
No doubt, you have heard about the auspicious film we plan to make this summer in Sweden? If you haven’t then you need to eat more Kebab, Falafel, and Syrian meatballs! I assume these are all foods found in Syria. My team and I are gearing up for setting the stage, if you will, to rub shoulders with real Syrian people – refugees mostly – to make a film that will bring hope and healing to a people who have needed it for a long time.
Much of the talk about Syria centres around terrible events like the civil war, the Assad regime or a bunch of countries arguing over how we will stop the madness. But, tucked away on a back shelf of dreams flickers a little light, which is being shaped into a full-fledged film script. When the script is done, it will not be just another news report. Nor will it be the 50 kubillionth eye-witness documentary. It will, in fact, be a drama film made for Syrians, with Syrians and by Syrians.
I am impressed with the level of expertise and commitment of our team members. Firstly, we represent seven different nations; this helps keep our cultural perspective broad. Secondly, most of us have lived at least several years outside our own countries; this helps keep our attitudes toward other cultures humble, a key ingredient to making a cross-cultural film like the one we will make. Finally, our teammates are highly skilled in many key areas necessary to meet this type of challenge: script-writing, directing, fund-raising, even the most crucial jobs like: removing duct tape from the side of a building after a shoot, or bringing an actor a glass of water!
One exciting aspect for me is that I get to represent the amazing country of Sweden with all its amazing people and all its amazing nature and long sunsets. Hey! I guess I’m a bit more Swedish than I thought I was. As one of the film’s producers, I spend much of my time emailing back and forth between our global team and our Swedish contacts. And then I email everyone else as I raise funds and camera gear. Occasionally I even get sneak peaks at the script as it develops on that ‘back shelf’.
So, if you’re even half as excited as I am about making a film for Syrians – what an epic thought! – then I invite you to be part of our secret Facebook Group to stay on top of the latest news. Just send me an email or Facebook message and I’ll add you to the group.
The Darby Family
After inviting a young Thai couple for dinner recently, we decided to play a game of Charades we had brought from Sweden. We figured, “Hey! The cards are illustrated, so everybody will understand the word even without knowing Swedish.” We realized after pulling a few cards, however, that there are no igloos, polar bears or Northern Lights in Thailand!
Did you ever blank on someone’s name, and resort to calling them “you”? Well, If you’re receiving this email, it means that you are not just a “you” to us, but a special part of our lives, even if I (Rob) still can’t figure out how to merge a [NAME] field to make you feel even a little bit more special. Comfort Ye! We have not forgotten any of your names! Note to self: Learn how to merge fields in my email so people feel more special.
So, please do grab a cup of your favourite beverage and celebrate the end of 2015 together with us.
One of the biggest parts of our lives is family. We have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with family, friends, and supporters here in Chiang Mai, as well as during our trips to Sweden and the USA. It doesn’t matter how tired we are at the end of those visits; we are soon ready for more!
When Veronica and I see the way Rasmus and Lucas allow God to work in their lives, it is an inspiration to us. We mostly appreciate the way they enjoy each other’s company. And we also love taking them on Mommy and Daddy dates! See some more pictures of the boys here.
Rasmus loves reading books. At age 1 1/2 he helped us win a year’s supply of diapers in a Pampers video contest when I once filmed him in his diaper, reading a book. It might be noteworthy that the book he was reading was upside down. Who knew he would be such an avid reader today? I am pretty sure he has already surpassed me in the number of pages he has read. For those of you who know me, I guess that doesn’t say much. But I’m still really impressed!
Lucas’ favourite past-time is drawing and counting. He is rarely seen without a pencil or pen in his hand. We framed and hung one of his pictures on our wall to remind us of the creativity God has put into him. And he is also fond of making mathematical observations everywhere he turns. The other day he was explaining to Veronica how simple 10 + 6 is the same as 9 +7. Duh Mom!
We believe that to stay grounded and know who you are, and where you come, from means making time to reconnect with good friends. Last summer, in Sweden, we carved out some calendar time to spend with our good friends, the Thiessen family, who work in Nepal. It’s so cool to see them all change and grow every time we meet. You can see a few more pictures here.
Do you like eating food? Do you like supporting mission? Then how about buying my ebook called Food Portfolio? It’s full of foods and drinks I have enjoyed living overseas. You can feel good knowing your money is going to something bigger than food and drink! Note! It is only available on iPad. Sorry Android users 🙁
Buy it here.. Now
I think our boys have collected nearly 100 flights together since they were born. We are a family of travellers, and the boys have their own system down pretty well. They pack their own little carry-on bags with all the necessities. I imagine if they ever owned an airline together, Rasmus would prefer that all seats be First Class, and Lucas would make sure their flights were the fastest on earth!
No, these guys are not our new roommates. They are the movers who helped us put our furniture into our new rental, in a really great neighbourhood close to work, school and friends. Thank you God for finding the perfect home for us! I love how relaxed Thais are, when they can plop themselves down into someone else’s furniture, as if it was their own, and light up a cigarette.
Date nights are something we have missed since moving to Thailand. But now that we have developed some deeper friendships, the boys get to enjoy sleepovers, and Veronica and I get to spend some quality date nights together.
One of Veronica’s passions is her violin. This autumn she got to perform in a beautiful theatre in Chiang Mai alongside some well known Asian pianists. What a classy event that was! I recorded the entire concert. You can listen to it here.
One of my passions is photography. I get to do cool photo shoots like this one – a graduation photo of a missionary ‘kid’ from Chiang Mai. And the cool thing is I get to do what I love and sometimes make a little extra money on the side. You can see more of my grad and family photos here.
Usually, Veronica’s and my work schedules keep us separated. The romantic in me often laments how nice it would be if we could work together more often. Well, last spring we got to work together on part of a film I was involved in. I was directing a live animation scene in a green screen studio, and Veronica got to be my script advisor. The thing that made me most happy was when she said she actually really enjoyed the entire day! You can watch the film here & photos here.
A family newsletter just isn’t complete without the family dog. Clovis, our beautiful Thai dog has proven to be a real gem. She has gained control over her addiction to chewing up welcome mats and plant leaves, and instead has turned her hobbies towards killing snakes, cockroaches and rats around our graden. She still is clueless as to what the words “Clovis! Come!” means, but other than that, she’s doing pretty darned well!
You can see Clovis kill a snake here!
God’s richest blessings & Merry Christmas to you!
Rob, Veronica, Rasmus and Lucas
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Since quite a few years back I have been convinced that learning the language of the people where you live is a ministry in itself. It shows that you actually care about them and that you are willing to be in a humble position. Besides the obvious fact that it really helps in making communication possible of course. But now when we are in the middle of our language learning it can sometimes feel very dreary. The road to actually knowing a language is long. The fact that the language happens to be Thai doesn’t make it any shorter. Somebody told me it takes seven years of studies before you “know” thai. Who knows?
In case you missed it, Create International is part of Youth With A Mission. This is where Rob – and possibly myself – will work after our language studies. They produce evangelistic films for specific people groups, in their own language and relevant to the context of that particular culture. I hope you will be as encouraged as I was.
“As a result of distributing 4 million copies of the Mandarin evangelistic and discipleship film, we were told that 10 000 new churches were established.”
– National workers in China
“In North India, over 600 fellowships in four different Muslim unreached people groups were established, in one group alone 7000 awaited baptism-and they were all using Create International’s contextual gathering film to do this.”
– Paul Eshleman, VP Global Coverage in Campus Crusade for Christ
I know, I know. You can’t measure success in numbers – the most important is our obedience to the Lord – but isn’t it great to read about what God is doing?! We look forward to being part of this good work in a few months. Until then, we will keep doing what we know will generate fruit in the long run, studying Thai.
Until next time! (Pope-gan-na!)
My mom gave me a Fuji waterproof camera for Christmas. It was the perfect gift for what happened to me today; I joined the world’s biggest water fight. It takes place in Chiang Mai center, around the edge of the mote, during the Thai new year of Songkran. The water in the mote is free, albeit not very clean! People line the streets and draw up buckets of water to fill large trash bins fomr which they take smaller buckets and fill them and throw them on anything that moves. Others carry large buckets of ice water and throw it from their pickup tricks. The following images are from my experience today. Enjoy!
Sometimes I see a scene that I would love to shoot, and it may take a few drives past it before I decide to take my camera along. These scenes are a couple of such places.
This first picture below was taken just beside the neighborhood where we live. I’m guessing field workers live in those lean-to’s under that huge tree. I’ll probably find out more when I learn enough Thai to ask the gate guards who work at the entrance to this road.
The other images were taken on my way to one of my favorite cafe’s where I sit and study my thai notes – and practice the language with the local cafe owners, all of whom are very helpful. The little shack is nestled in against the jungle growth and invites my eye back to it and beyond. Makes you wonder what’s in the jungle past there.
This is what I see when I turn around 180 degrees from the jungle shack.
This was a full week. We didn’t really do as much as we would do back in Sweden, or the States, but we felt twice as tired. They say it’s normal to only accomplish about 40% of what you would normally do when you enter a new culture. They were right. But we still had fun!
Enjoy the photos 🙂
PS Don’t forget to check out our storm videos below.
Video 1 – wires, trees and lamp posts swaying in the wind
Video 2 – high winds and heavy rain
Kraftiga vindar och spöregn.
Video 3 – Our family and Gabriella sit out on the front porch and enjoy the cooler weather.
Familjen Darby och underbara Gabriella njuter av det behagliga vädret.