Honoring the King

Monday, December 5th of this week was the birthday of the King of Thailand. 
In Thailand, the King’s birthday also becomes Father’s Day, as he is seen as the father of the Thai people.  His birthday this year was an important one as it was his 84th—which is a multiple of 12.  The 12 year cycle has astrological significance.  So this year was his 7th cycle birthday.  Though the king has little official power in the Constitutional Monarchy here in Thailand, he has earned a great amount of authority because of his love for his people and the country and the things he has done for them.

In honor of the King’s birthday, there were many celebrations throughout the country.  The King himself made an appearance at the Grand Palace.

We joined the festivities at Queen Sikrit park.  This park was named in honor of her 5th cycle birthday.  It is a beautiful park—my favorite in Bangkok—because it has a wide diversity of plants.

For the King’s birthday there were many things going on—there were performers putting on shows and vendors selling plants and food.

The day culminated with fireworks throughout the country.  From our 22nd floor balcony we could see about a dozen different sets of fireworks throughout Bangkok—including one from the temple grounds next to our apartment building.

In December we also honor another King’s birthday.

Christmas is a day when we celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings.  In recent years I have been less and less into celebrating Christmas because the holiday in many places has been turned into a celebration of self and wealth.  Even here in Thailand the Christmas displays seem more designed to draw you to the shopping malls than to make you think about Jesus.  The holiday has little to do with Jesus anymore and in my home country it is almost illegal in public events and institutions to associate the holiday with the person it was named after.

But this celebration of the King’s birthday in Thailand has got me wondering—do we citizen’s of Christ’s Kingdom celebrate and honor our King as much as the citizens of Thailand do their King?  I realize that there is more to this than just throwing a big party once a year.  In fact, Jesus himself talked down public shows of faith in lieu of day-to-day honoring God with the way we live our lives.  He was not impressed with those who made a big show of their prayers (Matthew 6:5ff) and giving (Mark 12:41-44).  Though he did allow people to worship Him in an out ward fashion such as the woman who washed his feet with her hair and anointed him with expensive perfume (Luke 7:36-50) or when he went to Jerusalem for that last time in an event we now refer to as Palm Sunday (John 12:12-14).

Instead Jesus’ teaching seem to make it clear that the way to show our great love for Him of to show great love for others—especially those who can’t reciprocate. (Matthew 25:31-46 is just one example).

So how will I celebrate the King’s birthday this year?

Fireworks viewed from our apartment

Chinese magicians perform

Clown getting directions

The tallest Thai person I've seen :)

Mailbox for birthday cards for the King

Coconut sherbert served in the shell.  I'm wearing a bracelet to commemorate the King's birthday

    

Down the River

We could do without the noise.

For the past several days, the fireworks have been going off throughout the night.  And last night was the worst.

But there is a reason to celebrate.  Don’t you sometimes wish you could take all the bad things you have done and just send them away out of your life so you can start over?

Sending away your flaws and bad deeds is part of the symbolism in the Thai festival known as Loy Krathong.  The center of the celebration is not the fireworks, but the small “boat” (krathong) on which your flaws and bad deeds float (loy) away.

The small boats usually contain a candle and some incense and perhaps a few other things as well.

This symbolism is similar to a ritual in Judaism where the scapegoat is sent off into the desert:

But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat. (Leviticus 16:10-NIV)
Loy Krathong takes place on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. This usually happens sometime in November.
 
The Loy Krathong celebrations in Bangkok were a bit muted this year because of the flooding.  Often the krathongs are placed in the rivers and canals—but the authorities are trying to keep those clear so that the flood waters can escape more easily.
 
We went to observe the festivities at a nearby park where the krathongs were placed in a small pond.  Because there is no current, people had to help shoo the krathongs away.
 
As I was watching this happen, I kept thinking about how John the Baptist described Jesus, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29-NLT)
 
How grateful I am that Jesus takes our sins away.  All of them.  Forever.  And I don’t have to shoo them away.  As the Psalmist writes: “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. (Psalm 103:12-NLT)  And we don’t have to wait twelve months.  We can confess our sins and put them away from us at any time.  But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. (1 John 1:9-NLT)
 
God, I thank you that because of what Jesus did for us on the cross,  I can send my bad attitudes and my bad deeds “down the river” at any time.  Thank you, too, that you clean up in us the things that we are unable to clean up on our own. 
Some scenes from last night:

Flickr Tags: Bangkok,Thailand,Festivals,ลอยกระทง

Storm Purge

¹² Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.
¹³ But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

--1 Peter 4:12-13 (NIV)

A little while ago we were at the coast.  We noticed a lot of debris high up on the beach that we had not seen in earlier visits.  It was the result of a combination of strong east winds (to push the trash) and unusually high tides (to get it high enough to not be washed back).

Our lives can be a lot like the ocean.  We accumulate a lot of debris and trash that makes us not so pretty and pleasant to be around.  But when storms or trials come, then can help purge our lives of this trash.  The more junk we get rid of, the better people can see Jesus inside of us.
So while the storms may be difficult to endure, we can rejoice in what they produce in our lives.

Panic or Pray?

An update on our situation during Thailand’s worst flooding crisis in 50 years.
20 to 50 cm (8 to 20 inches)

That is the estimate of one “expert” on the depth of flood water we could expect in a worst case scenario in our part of Bangkok.  And given what we have seen so far, the “worst case” seems to be the most likely.

Despite all of the attempts to keep it out of central Bangkok, the water still wants to come.  One after another sandbag barrier or levee has failed. (The number of millions of sandbags that has been put up staggers the imagination.)   Even an evacuation shelter had to be evacuated.

The physical damage has been great.  About 300 lives lost. So far over 700,000 people suffering from water borne diseases.  For many farmers, the years crop is lost.  In Ayutthaya Province alone (about an hour north of Bangkok), over 900,000 jobs are temporarily or permanently lost with the failure of flood barriers in several industrial estates.  (Many employers are promising partial salaries at some level while the factories are shut down.)

The emotional damage has been even greater.  Many poor people have lost everything they have, leading to a number of “flood-related suicides”.

Squabbling and lack of cooperation among different government agencies has exacerbated the situation.    The inconsistent messages from different agencies increase the level of panic. Grocery stores, particularly those frequented by foreigners, are bereft of bottled water, bread, cereal and canned goods.

Ethical issues arise.  Some barriers put up to protect Bangkok have been torn down by residents of some areas because they cause the floods will be deeper and longer-lived in their areas.  Is this the rich profiting at the expense of the poor?  Or is it just trying to reduce the overall economic damage because flooding in central Bangkok would have a greater detrimental effect on the entire  economy of Thailand?  And what does it mean for me if I stay dry at the expense of someone else?  (If they had just let the water come would the damage the damage have been less severe and less prolonged though more widespread?  Some people think this way.  Click here.)

Any Good News?
Government schools were on mid-year break already and the government has extended that break until at least the end of the month for the city of Bangkok.  Many students have been volunteering at relief centers.  The city water supply was briefly compromised in the pre-treatment stage, but so far they are keeping the murky, polluted water out of that part of the system.

Fortunately there has not been a lot of rain.  Though the flood water are from up north, rain puts a stress on the city’s drainage system and also makes life more difficult for those who are currently homeless.

How about  us?
It is ironic that we were in Chonburi for the weekend, and we came back on Sunday even as many people were fleeing there from Bangkok to escape the floods.  They, too, are now experiencing a lack of some supplies and apparently the hotels are all at full capacity.

So far our part of Bangkok is dry.  For us, personally, we are on the 22nd floor of a building the BOTTOM of which is already probably well above highest expected flood levels.  (Though the pumps that pump the city water to the cisterns on the roof are at the lowest point in the building, even below the first floor.)

We have several days of drinking water stored up and some basic foods as well.  We might be inconvenienced if water or electricity are cut off—which could be a major issue if it is for an extended period.

Though the government has declared a holiday for all government offices through the 31st, our school will continue to meet unless the flood waters actually come.  If the waters do come, we have no idea how long things will be affected for.

Since many grocery stores are out of stuff, we have been forced to explore new places to buy things.  This has led to meeting new people and even finding less expensive sources for some things.  We even found a bakery where we can buy fresh bread.  And all of this within a mile of our place!

At one store, the owner wanted his two teenage daughters to deal with the foreigner since they knew some English.  Neither wanted to do so,  which led to a brief war of the wills as they decided amongst themselves who would do it.  There was a great sense of relief and some laughter when I  announced I could speak Thai.

There is a small convenience store on the first floor of our building.  The guy who runs it is amazing.  It is the best stocked store anywhere around!  Though it is only about the size of our bedroom, they have an amazing supply of things.  Even bottled water!  (There is one fellow in our class who says he cannot find drinking water anywhere near where he lives.)

I’m a little annoyed that our better computer is dead at a time when I really don’t want to leave it at a repair shop since I have no idea when it might get looked at or when I might get back to it.

The Waiting Game
One thing we have learned over the years is how to cope with waiting and uncertainty (though we still haven’t mastered either of these subjects—it would be easier, mentally, if the water just came and got its flooding over with).  We are in good spirits.  We are able to find humor in some of the stuff happening around us and we can marvel at how people can pull together at the time of crisis.
We try to stay content, whatever comes our way, and we are confident that God is with us.
 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."  (Hebrews 13:5, NIV)

And by the way, I have decided to NOT go after the $33 bounty that the government is giving for the capture of crocodiles that have escaped from flooded crocodile farms.  I figure my arms and legs are more useful than the money.

Pictures from our neighborhood: sandbags and floodwalls

The Beachhead

It starts out small.

A single sedge “nut” or seed somehow finds a favorable enough environment to take root in the not so plant-friendly beach sand.  Soon it sends up more shoots, and eventually more sand is blown into the clump and is trapped there.  A small dune begins to form around the sedge.  It now has its own little micro-environment that is a little less harsh and barren than what is around it.  The soil scientist in me suspects that a soil will begin to form within the miniature dune.  Eventually a seed or piece of this sedge dropped by a bird may end up nearby, and if conditions are right, this process will start all over again.

Like a military unit, the sedge has set up a beachhead.  It will be able to expand out from here, causing the dunelet to grow and eventually be colonized by other plants.

Missionary work is like that.  We start out with a small group of believers and as people find a favorable environment within this mini-church, it begins to grow.  Eventually, people go out from these churches to begin new ones.

That is the situation in Thailand now.  There are not many churches in the country, though some areas or people groups might have many.  But people are beginning to go out from these churches to begin new ones.  Pray that the lives of these young plants won’t be snuffed out by the sand and surf around them, but rather, that they would find small areas of good soil on the beach from which to begin transforming the landscape. 

Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Matthew 13:8 (ESV)

Hopeless

And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ³Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:2b-5 (NIV) 

I saw an interesting statistic in the Bangkok Post this past week.  In a story about casualties from the flooding in northern Thailand, there was a count of suicides attributable to the flooding and people on suicide watch because of the flooding.
What would cause so many people to want to cause suicide at a time like that.  Was it because they had lost their rice crop and now owed money they could not pay?  Was it because they lost their home and had no money to rebuild or place to build for that matter?  Was it because they lost some loved ones?
Many people suffer these kinds of things and do not want to commit suicide.  So what is the difference?
Certainly if our hope is bound up in possessions and we lose them we can become desperately hopeless—perhaps hopeless to the point of suicide.  And in a culture where public shame is very bad thing, perhaps the shame of not being able to care for your family could cause suicidal despondency.  It doesn’t help either that there is not a lot of mental health assistance available in Thailand nor do many see the value in it.
But I find the verses from Paul quite interesting.  When times of suffering come, we can become hopeless.  But Paul says that suffering can actually produce hope!  This seems rather radical to me.  Yet it is only possible because of the last thing Paul mentions in this passage—the Holy Spirit within us.
With the Holy Spirit we should be able to get to the place where we could lose everything but not lose hope because we still have Jesus.  I’m not sure I’m at that place.
And so I am reminded of a song sung by Fernando Ortega:

 In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise, give me Jesus

Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus

When I am alone
When I am alone
When I am alone, give me Jesus

Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus

When I come to die
When I come to die
When I come to die, give me Jesus

Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
You can have all this world,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus

Built upon the Swamp

In February of last year, before we ever imagined that we would be living in Bangkok, we were here visiting some family members who were living here at the time.  One day we went for a walk to the nearby Cultural Center and noticed that it was adjacent to a swamp.  It was at that point I remembered that much of central Thailand, including what is now Bangkok, is on bottomland—land with high water tables and likely propensity for flooding.

It is no wonder that in the original city much of the transportation was by water.  It was much easier to dig a ditch and have an instant canal than to try to build a road.

Houses along a major canal in old Bangkok

As these thoughts came to mind, I looked up at the tall buildings around me and wondered about their stability.  How big a footing is big enough to adequately support buildings that are more than 20 stories tall like the one Ingrid’s sister’s family was living in (or the one we are living in right now.)

In my past life, I worked with USDA as a Soil Scientist—making maps of where different kinds of soil are located and showing, among other things, there suitability and limitations for different uses.  The soils of Bangkok would likely have been rated “Severely Limited” for most urban uses—a term that means, more-or-less: “not impossible but has properties that would be expensive to overcome and/or prone to failure” (my own definition).

I was reminded again of this last week when we were exploring one of the nearby communities.  To get there, we had to cross under an elevated freeway.  As is quite common under many of these elevated freeways, the pillars appear to be built on mounds.

Pillars appear to rise out of the ground sinking around them

Under some highways, these mounds are quite high and extend well into the motorway underneath.  At first I thought it was a weird way to construct a highway—but then I realized that the more likely cause was that the supports for the upper highway had good footings and were stable, but the lower highway was on uncompacted ground subject to subsidence—the ground beneath the highway was sinking!

Jesus often used analogies about soil and farming to speak to his followers.  On one occasion he wrote:

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.
   But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”  (Matthew 7:24-27--NLT)

So now, when I see these sinking highways, I will be reminded to do a quick check of my own life—am I building my life on the teaching of Jesus or on the teachings of ordinary men?  I want to be able to say, as hymn writer Edward Mote put it: On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.

Grammy’s Pan

Chink…chink…

We were celebrating the completion of a test in our language module by watching a couple shows from the Numb3rs TV series on our computer when we heard this unusual sound coming from the space in our apartment we call a kitchen.

Chink…chink…

It wasn’t much of a sound.  I just thought it was some dishes drying on the counter rearranging themselves.  Perhaps a gecko was entertaining himself on them disturbing their delicate balance.

Chink…chink…

We thought about ignoring the two sounds.  But Ingrid and I both share a sense of curiosity and wonder and desire to want to answer the question “Why?”.  (That’s one of the reasons why we like shows like Numb3rs and why we enjoy living in different cultures.)  So with a click of the pause button we’re off to the kitchen.

At first everything looked normal.  Then I noticed that the 9x9 inch glass baking pan that had been drying upside down on the counter was cracked into two pieces.  I don’t know why it decided to break at that moment—maybe it’s time had just come.

We have not used the pan much since we moved here as we do not have much of an oven, but Ingrid had made a recipe called “Yorky Beef Pie” that evening—a recipe we found in a free cookbook I had picked up in a Shaw’s grocery store in Portsmouth, New Hampshire about 30 years ago—probably close to the time I had acquired the pan.

The baking pan had belonged to my grandmother and I acquired it after she died in late fall, 1979.  I remember the day she died.  It was my last month at University and I was in my apartment when the phone rang.  For some reason I knew it was my dad calling (which would be unusual as typically my mom would initiate calls) and that he was calling to tell me my grandmother had died.  I don’t know why I knew this—she had not been particularly ill.  But so it was.

My grandfather had died several years earlier.  I did not know him all that well—I think perhaps that as a young child I was a bit too annoying to have around.  My Mom tells me that I am a lot like him in many ways, especially in my love of the outdoors and my curiosity about the natural world.
(Interestingly, I alone among my siblings carry the brown eyes from my mother’s side.)
 
My grandmother had a birthday a day apart from mine and we would sometimes celebrate together.  One of the few photos of my grandmother I have with me here in Thailand is one of the two of us with a birthday cake.  I usually tout this photo so as to show that I onece had hair.  Today I will show it to celebrate my grandmother and all the good things I have acquired through my parents and grandparents—whether through genes or through upbringing.



We will miss the pan—not so much for its intrinsic value but because it was a reminder of some precious people in my life as a child.

(And special thanks to my Mom who made the cake.)

(ACTION) Team

Confession time.

I watched more basketball last night than in the past 30 years.  In fact the last time I watched a basketball game was probably the one time I went while I was at University.  (This is nothing against basketball—the only athletic events I’ve watched in the past 30 years, save a few random minutes of football, consist of 1 high school football game and 1 minor league baseball game.)

SO why this change of heart?

Early yesterday morning an ACTION team arrived in Thailand.  This team is comprised of just over 20 young men and women basketball players from the US and Canada who are here to teach basketball skills and engage in some competition.  Along the way they will have the opportunity to tell people what Jesus has done in their lives.

Last night the group met at a park here in Bangkok for some pick-up games.  Even with my limited knowledge of the game (the object is to get the ball in the hoop on your opponents side of the court), I was able to notice something.  The first group of locals that our guys played against went very fast.  It seems like there were only seconds between one of the ACTION team members putting the ball in the basket.

The next game took a bit longer.  And our guys had to work a bit harder.  One reason for this appeared to be that their opponents seemed to function more as a team than a group of individuals.  No one person seemed to want to hog all the glory for himself, the object was to score for the team.  It took them longer to get the ball down to the net, but when they did they were more likely to score.

Robert Sandoval passes the ball to team member Ricky Sanchez

Looking for a team member to pass the ball to

The church is supposed to function as a team.  The apostle Paul writes:
⁴ There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7 NIV)

 God gifts us with abilities in order that we might use them for the common good of the church.  The church functions best when this happens and it loses its reputation the quickest when this doesn’t.

Even our being here in Thailand is a result of teamwork.  There are people who support us financially and who pray for us and who encourage us.  There are staff in Canada and the US who take care of mundane and not-so-mundane tasks.  There are fellow missionaries we learn from and are encouraged by.  There is the local church here where we minister and can be ministered to.  Even the ACTION Team that has come to play basketball functions as part of our team, helping us tell the people of Thailand the good news of what Jesus has done.

Pray for the ACTION team as they serve here over the next two weeks.  Pray that they will be safe.  Pray for opportunities for them to share their faith.  Pray that they would grow closer to Jesus.  Pray that they would catch a vision for bringing the good news of Jesus to people who have not heard.

How Bad Do I Want It?

Diatomaceous earth is really amazing stuff.  The ancient beds of microscopic marine life are found in various places from where it is mined for a variety of purposes.  It has the ability to absorb large amounts of water so it is used in things like kitty litter.  It also has lots of microscopic sharp edges.  Because of this, it is used as a pest control agent.  When snails and slugs crawl over it, these sharp edges abrade their skin so bad that they will die from their wounds.

You would think that with such tender bodies, snails and slugs would avoid sharp surfaces.  Hence my surprise when I witnessed the following scene:



There must be something really special about the fruits of these cactus that cause the snail to risk injury to get to it.  It wasn’t like there was a lack of succulent green vegetation to chew on.

Jesus also told a story about someone who wanted something so bad that he engaged in some very risky behavior.  The kingdom of heaven, He said, is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.  (Matthew 13:44 NIV)  This man knew that the value of the treasure was so great it was worth the cost.

How valuable is the kingdom of heaven to me?  What am I willing to “sell” to get it?  Anything? Everything?

At another point Jesus told the people who were hanging out with him what this might look like: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.  (Mark 8:34-35 NIV)

Sometimes I like to think that I am doing a good job of following Jesus.  I have left my home, sold most of possessions, quit my job and moved to another country where I am studying one of the more difficult languages in the world in order to tell people how much God loves them.

But I have not sold all of my possessions and I still have a house (almost paid for) and a retirement fund (though it’s not worth a whole lot in the present market.)  And find myself being occupied sometimes more by my possessions than by Jesus. And I find myself relying sometimes more on my accumulated wealth than on the One who owns everything.  And when I put to much hope in my possessions that will one day turn to dust, I am unwilling to take risks for Jesus.

Lord, help me to be like the snail, willing to risk his very life to obtain that which is of greatest value.

Danger of Comparisons

Philippians 3:12-16 (ESV)
¹² Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
¹³ Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
¹⁵ Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.
¹⁶ Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

LOOKING TO THE SIDE

I have recently been reminded of the danger of comparing ourselves with each other.  While such comparisons can be good in that a little competitive spirit can bring out the best in us, there is a double-edged danger to this.

On the one hand, I can get an inflated ego and full of pride as I see how much better I am than others at a given task.  On the other hand I can become discouraged and want to give up as I see how much better others are.

In our Thai class the other day, we were learning the expression to say: “In the past I was ___ but now I am ___.”

I remember as a child that I was not very good in sports and so I gave up on them completely.  The taunts and jeers kept me from wanting to participate.  I was better academically, but there were always those better than me and even though I was near or at the top of the class in some subjects, I always felt that I was behind.  In this case though I was confident enough to benefit from a competitive spirit.

LOOKING FORWARD

In the passage above, Paul reminds us that our eyes ought to be looking forward toward Jesus.  Jesus is our standard, not others.  Paul says in the following verses that people would do good to imitate him, but only as much as he follows Jesus.

Having Jesus as our example could be discouraging, as the goal of imitating Him seems impossible to attain.  Indeed, it is impossible to attain on our own, and so it should give us humility as EVERY ONE OF US, even Paul, need to depend on the power of the Holy Spirit to become like Christ.  But this also gives us hope, because the same Holy Spirit is available to all—even to the lowliest and most awful sinner among us.  I can do no more to earn my salvation to anyone else.

LOOKING BACKWARD

While Paul tells us to forget what lies behind, he is telling us not to go back to our old way of life.  We don’t want to be like the Israelites, wandering in the desert wishing they were back in Egypt, rather than moving forward towards the promised land..

But one can be encouraged by looking back just to see what progress has been made.

I like to climb mountains.  But sometimes it seems like we walk for hours and seem to be no closer to our goal.  Then, all of a sudden we get to a viewpoint where we can see where we came from.  At that point we realize that, while we have not reached the top—and we may not even know how far ahead it is—we have come a long ways.



Columbia Rock--an encouraging point on the challenging hike to the top of Yosemite Falls

Learning Thai is like climbing a mountain.  If I look at the task ahead of me, it seems like I can never become fluent.

If I look to the side at others around me learning the language, I see those that are further along and those that are further behind.  There is not much value in making these comparisons—I can become either prideful or discouraged.  If I must look to the side, it should be either to give encouragement to others or to receive encouragement from them.

What does encourage me is when we are asked a question that I don’t know how to answer, but then I realize that at least I understand most of the words in the question, which I would not have been able to understand a week ago.  I am moving forward, even if I have not arrived.

BALANCE

In general, I like to:

• Remember where I came from,
• Live in the present
• Move forward towards the goal
• Encourage and be encouraged by those around me

Memorial Day: Remembering the Warriors

In a few days Memorial Day will be celebrated in the USA.  It is a day to remember those who have fought and died for the country.

I was thinking it would be an appropriate time to remember those who truly fought for us:  for those who have labored for hours on their knees interceding for their friends, families, neighbors, their nation and even their enemies; and for those who have faithfully taught and obeyed the word of God.

I don’t remember Jesus anywhere telling us to take up weapons against others.  There was that time before they went to the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus told a quote about buying a sword and the disciples commenting that they had two (Luke 22:36-38).  But in the end Jesus told his disciples not to use the sword but to put it back in its place.

That same night the sword was used, also in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus labored in prayer and He exhorted His disciples to do the same.  The business of the disciples was prayer, not sword fighting.

How often could the words of Jesus to His disciples that night be applied to me:

^40… Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." (Matthew 26:40-41 (NIV))

The Apostle Paul wrote about another weapon that is used by the followers of Jesus—the Word of God.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:17 (NIV))

We wield our sword when we study the Word of God, live by its teaching and teach others from it.  (In contrast to fighting with the sword, commands to be obeyed from the Old Testament are summarized in Matthew 22:37-39 as loving God and loving others.)

There are many people who have given up their lives because they fought for God’s kingdom and chose not to use the weapons of this world.  Instead the chose the weapons of prayer and the Word of God. To them, the battle for the Kingdom of God was worth the cost.

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Hebrews 11--a chapter sometimes known as the faith chapter because it begins with a definition of faith and then talks about some of the then famous heroes of the faith: people like Noah, Abraham, Moses and Rahab.

But it is the latter part of the chapter that intrigues the most--ever since I heard Elisabeth Elliot speak on this chapter at the Urbana 79 missions convention.  Verses 32-38 (NIV) read (emphasis mine):


³² And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. ³⁷ They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated--³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

This memorial day, while we remember those who have fought for our country and given their lives for that cause, let us also remember those for whom this world was not worthy--those who have fought for God’s kingdom and have given their lives for an even better cause.  A good way for us to remember them would be to follow their example in prayer and studying, obeying and teaching others from the word of God.  Let us choose to be good soldiers, never yielding in our allegiance to the King of Kings and laboring hard with the weapons we have—the word of God and prayer.

Rebellion

And when the LORD sent you out from Kadesh Barnea, he said, "Go up and take possession of the land I have given you." But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. You did not trust him or obey him. (Deuteronomy 9:23 NIV)

The Israelites did not believe that God would enable them to overcome enemies greater than themselves—so they didn’t go.
Lack of faith—>lack of obedience—>rebellion.

When I shy away from doing something God wants me to do because I don’t have the strength or ability and I don’t trust God to supply I am rebellious.

There have been many times in my life when I have rebelled in this way.There have been times when I have felt inadequate to speak up and did not trust God to supply words to speak.  There have been times when I have refused to serve because I was tired and I did not trust God to supply strength.  At other times I have not served because I felt I lacked the necessary abilities and I did not trust God to supply them.  There have been times when I have not prayed for healing because I did not believe God could heal.  At other times I have not prayed for the lost because I have felt them beyond God’s ability to save.  There have been times when I have not given because I did not believe God could supply.  I have at times not led because I am not a natural born leader and I did not have faith the God would lead through me.

There is a balance in all of this.  If I think that I/we can do something, that is pride.
If I/we act like God can’t or won’t act through me/us, that is rebellion.

God, in this land, I want to trust You.  I am unable to lead people to Jesus, but you can lead through me if I obey.  I barely have words to tell people about Jesus, but I trust you to give me the words.  You are the One Who is able to set people free from the power of sin and addictions.  You are the one who can restore broken relationships.  You are One Who can heal.  You are the one who can provide resources for those who lack them.  Help me to have faith to use me in the process.  For this land is in need of healings, restored relationships and freedom from poverty and from bondage to addictions, idols and sin.

We cannot do these things, but You can.  Help us to act like You can.  Help us to not shy away from engaging with these works of the enemy because of our lack of ability or strength.  Help us to obey your calling, even when it is beyond us, because we trust that You have the power to work through us and You have the resources to supply every need.

One Month

Today marks one month that we have been in Bangkok.

It seems like we have been here much longer than that.  I think one reason for that feeling is the intensity of language school.  Some days we may be introduced to upwards of several dozen new words.  And the grammar can be a bit challenging, as well.  The subject+verb+object placement is similar to English—which helps—but the similarity ends there.

Yesterday we had our first quiz—we’re about half-way through the first module.


Practicing Restaurant Lingo

 


But the good thing about it is that we are recognizing more words that we hear and are able to use what we’re learning in our day to day interactions.

There are frustrating moments when you are not understood because you don’t get the tone just right.  Some people are able to understand us better than others when this happens.  But then there are the exciting moments when we are communicating something that we didn’t learn in class and are understood—like when Ingrid went to ask for kaffir lime leaves from a produce vendor.

Some words can be especially challenging.  The name of the sky train stop that we use in our commute is “Victory Monument”.  The announcer (recorded) says it fairly quickly so I could never quite figure out what she is saying.  Victory Monument is an important landmark so it is useful to be able to say its name.  So I asked our instructor for help and now I can finally say it—though I cannot say I have mastered it.  Now I just need opportunities to practice using it.  And maybe one day I’ll evn be able to write it in Thai

Remembering Dad

We are spending Easter weekend in Bang Saen so we can participate in some of the Easter services at our mission churches.  Last evening (Good Friday) we were able to participate in a beautiful time of worship and prayer at The Life Center.

Good Friday service at The Life Center

While we are here at Bang Saen, we are staying at Samiya Guest house.  At Samiya, there is a shaded area outside where they serve breakfast.  In the eating area there are lots of little statues, including a cluster of pink elephants.

Pink elephants at Samiya guest house

Whenever I see elephant statues, I think of my dad, who had a collection of then on a shelf in the living room.  I don’t know how he actually got started on this, but I always assumed it was because he was such a staunch Republican.  (One time I brought him back from Haiti a  rather garishly painted donkey to add some balance to his collection.)

I didn't have a perfect father, but he was a good one.  One of his values was that all people should be treated equally regardless of nationality, skin color, language, or whatever.  That probably had a large influence on our family hosting exchange students from other countries and hosting black people from a nearby city.  And perhaps that is one reason I am so comfortable traveling to different places and being around people who aren't like me.

So here we are—for the second time in our lives we are living in a country where not only are we part of the minority, but where we look and speak distinctly different from the majority around us.  And while we find it difficult because we can neither speak nor read the language at this point, we are comfortable being here and calling it home.

So, thank you, dad, for teaching us to love those who aren't like us.

Being Honored

Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you. Exodus 20:12 (NLT)

It was Songkran (Thai New Year) celebration in Bang Saen—the last big day.  Pickup trucks carrying drums full of water had traffic paralyzed on the main roads.  Revelers in these trucks and on the street were throwing water at everyone possible—including themselves.  Even the driver of the van we rode from Bangkok had to take back roads just to arrive somewhere near the van station.

Traffic at a standstill in Bang Saen during Songkran celebrations.  Traffic in the right hand lanes is supposed tobe going the other way.

To stay dry and to keep our faces from being plastered with clay, we were walking the back way from where our van dropped us off to our guest house.  (We would have used public transportation, but it wasn’t running due to the traffic situation.)

Children preparing to throw water at us during Songkran celebrations.

One route we had hoped to take was pretty much clogged with partiers, so we decided to back-track half a mile to take a different route.  The hot afternoon sun beat down on us and we were getting weary.  Suddenly, a group of boys came running toward us bearing cups of water.

We were prepared to get doused.  But, instead, the boys had us hold out our hands while the gently poured water over them in a Songkran tradition of honoring elders.  (It is this tradition that has morphed into the present-day water-throwing festivities.)

The water was icy-cold.  Truth-be-told, I would have appreciated it if the boys had dumped this water on our head.  But amidst all the drunken revelry of the New Years celebration, we were honored as elders.  And indeed, we felt honored and blessed by the actions of these children.

Ingrid showing honor to an elder at Wattana church by pouring scented water over her hands.

In Thailand, many people feel that the old Songkran traditions are getting lost and replaced with wild parties and festivities—much like the traditional Christmas in the west has become lost in the hype and materialism of our present-day celebrations.

The Bible tells us to honor our parents.  This commandment seems like an odd one, stuck between the first four commandments about loving God and the last five about loving our neighbor.  Paul calls this the first “commandment with a promise” (Ephesians 6:2).  Clearly, honoring parents has high value to God.

We in America seem to have lost this concept of honoring our parents and elders a long time ago.  Age is seen as an enemy.  Youth and looking young are worshipped.  Old people are sent to homes where they are often forgotten.

This week, an older person, whom I respected very much, went to be with Jesus.  Harold was a gentle, humble man who loved the Lord.  His wife, Marianna, continues to faithfully serve and follow Jesus.  They had recently celebrated their 66th anniversary.  These are two people who deserve to be honored by having water poured over their hands.

Thank you Jesus, for sending people our way to remind us of something that is important to you.

Soi

(NOTE: I normally would not assemble 2 blogs within a day, but with language school starting next week, posts may become more infrequent.  It helped that but Ingrid wrote most of the last one.)

Soi is a term used in Thailand which is hard to define.  Our address is Rachaprarop Soi 14, which means it is a soi off of Rachaprarop Road.

But what is a soi?  Is it a street?  It could be.  But a soi is not always wide enough for a car.  It is usually wide enough for a motorcycle.  (In Thailand, everything is wide enough for a motorcycle—it’s pedestrians that don’t count.)

A soi is a narrow street or passageway.  If it is a street, it may be only wide enough for one car at a time.  Typically there are no sidewalks on a soi.  A soi may go through to another street or soi or it may be a dead end.

On the soi, pedestrians, motorcycles and cars vie for the right of passage.  The general rule is the bigger the object, the more right-of-way it possesses.  So the dog yields to the pedestrian, who yields to the motorcycle, who yields to the three-wheeled vehicle that yields to the car that yields to the truck.  (This is true on sidewalks as well as sois and streets, though in our western way of thinking, a person would have some right-of-way at least on a sidewalk.)

A soi is often full of life.  Vendors set up stands on the side or in store fronts.  There is constant movement.  People buying, people selling, people just passing through.

The soi is where we will meet people.  A soi near our apartment has a fairly sizeable market where vendors hawk fruits, vegetables, meat, cooked foods and dry goods.  We will continue to do a lot of our shopping there.  It will be on the soi that we will practice our Thai and hopefully begin to build some relationships.

A soi is a challenge for me (Edd).  Though I am generally laid back, when I get on a road or a trail I become very destination oriented and I don’t tend to spend a lot of time on the sides.  But a soi is not just a way to a destination, it is a destination.

In some ways, the soi is a picture of our life.  Our life has a destination (either the grave or the return of Jesus), and we will all get to our destination.  The important thing is what happens along the way—all those interactions with pedestrians, vendors, vehicles and other creatures and things we meet on the soi of life.  As we travel the soi, we are to bring life to it with God’s word:

 Impress (the commandments) on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:7 NIV)

Some soi scenes: