The Experienced, Mature, Balanced Team

Today marks a week since we left California.  What a whirlwind it has been.
We have been staying in the province of Chonburi in central Thailand.


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Our bodies are beginning to adjust to the time zone and the climate.

There have been three major activities that have marked this first week. One of those tasks is working on getting our visa extension.  This is a rather complicated task but we are making progress on what needs to be done to make this happen.

A second activity has been learning some of the practical things about living in Thailand and how the Thailand Mennonite Brethren Foundation functions.  This part can be fun because part of living here is eating here and we get to experiment with new foods like the very nice looking “cinnamon” roll we bought at the night market.  Make that fish roll.  Move over Cinnabon ®.

But the main thing we have been doing is getting to know our team better.  Part of that has been doing team building exercises with a representative from Clarion.  The other part has been just hanging out as a team.



Phone Keo, Chansone, Bob and Christina came down from Chiang Khong so that we could all get to know each other better.

One of the things we have been thinking about is what to call ourselves.  Most of the other missionaries working here have cute names for their teams like Operation Second Wave or Team 2000.  One of the other missionaries joked that it doesn’t matter what name we pick, everyone is just going to call us The Old Team because we are all a few years older than 30 .

Since we are all in the second half of life, our team has a lot of things going for it.  We have a lot of experience with life in general. We have a good grasp of our strengths and weaknesses.  We have learned how to adapt even when we’re operating in our weak areas.  And while we all have our differences, we have one thing in common—we love each other and we love the people of Northern Thailand.

So while our other team members are returning to the north and we will be moving to Bangkok soon for language studies, we look forward to the day when we will join them there—showing and telling people about that great love that God has for through Jesus Christ.

Red

Twenty-five years ago, we left the small town of Marion, Alabama to move to Haiti.  We had about 2000 pounds of stuff we were bringing, so we had planned on renting a small U-haul to bring it to Florida to load on a plane.

The U-haul dealer in our town, who was a member of our church (Siloam Baptist Church), did not have any small trucks so he rented us a 24 footer for the price of a small truck.  We had to stop at a vehicle inspection in Florida and the guy there had an incredulous look on his face when he saw this big truck with a load that did not even cover the floor of the truck.

The truck was an old fashioned one with stick shift and manual steering.  To steer such a thing, there was this huge steering wheel that sat almost horizontal.

When we arrived in West Palm Beach, we gave up the truck and rented a car.  We rented a “small” car and were surprised with a bright red Camaro.  Ingrid likes red cars—we had just sold our red Dodge Aries in order to move—and so she was happy with the choice.

I almost crashed the car on the way out of the parking lot.  Having just driven a great distance in the huge truck, I now found myself with a tiny steering wheel that sat almost vertical.  And the steering was very sensitive!

It was fun to tool around West Palm Beach a couple of days in that car.

Now to the present…

For the occasion of driving to Los Angeles Airport to catch our plane, we rented a car.  Because we were bringing a bunch of stuff (though less than 300 pounds this time) I rented a full-size car.  When we walked out to the lot, there was only one full-size car—and it was bright red Chevy Impala!

Maybe the red is significant, maybe it isn’t.  But it seemed almost more than a coincidence.  The red Camaro marked the beginning of an incredible time we spent in Haiti where we saw God at work and where He showed Himself faithful to us again and again.  This red Impala seemed to be God’s way of telling us that He is the same God and He is still faithful and He is still watching over us as we go to Thailand.

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

Sierras

A piece I wrote when we moved out of our house to go to Canada in 2009.  Seems more poignant to me now that we are moving to Thailand and probably won’t be back for three years.

I'm not a guy who likes particularly cold weather. Summer is my preferred season. Nineties are nice. But there is something about being in the mountains in the early spring, when the snow still covers the higher peaks (and may even be falling as you watch). To take this in from Yosemite Valley or some other place between 4000 and 6000 feet elevation is really quite breathtaking.
In the morning the cool, heavy air descends from these high places, chilling the bones of those in the valleys. No, I don't really care to spend the night in these places, unless I'm in sturdy cabin with a fireplace. But I do enjoy driving up from the lowlands to these mountain valleys to begin a hike in the quiet stillness that is often present in these conditions.
I don't see many people on the trail if I start out early. Most people are loathe to leave the warmth of their beds. The hardest part is first leaving the car to put on my boots. And I don't want to overdress because I know I will quickly warm as I ascend the slopes around me.
Maybe my journey will bring me to some fresh snow and I get the honor to make the first human imprints into the soft, white carpet.
As I leave California the thought that I will be leaving this almost brings tears to my eyes. I will miss my Sierras. I will miss seeing them from my Kitchen when the atmosphere permits. I will miss the comfort of location they give me (they're always to the northeast of wherever I find myself in the San Joaquin Valley).
I will miss treading on their slopes. I will miss the cascades of water that carve out majestic canyons from the massive granitic batholiths.
I will miss the giant veins of marble that form structure of the caverns.
I will miss the marmots and the deer.
I will miss the overpowering fragrance of the blooming bear clover that seems to stay in my truck for weeks after I pass through it.
I will miss the red fir forests with the openness beneath their canopy. I will miss the melodic chants of the hermit thrush and the plaintive call of the chickadee. I will miss the montane lakes and the granite polished by the glaciers to a high gloss.
I will miss the grandeur of God's glory that overpowers me when I stand on a rocky, treeless peak.

I will miss the cuddly bears that effortlessly shred large logs with their claws in search of food.
I will miss the beauty of the poison oak plants and black oaks and willows when they put on their fall clothing.
I will miss the silvery trout swimming the cool mountain water--pleasing both to the eye and to the palette.
I will miss the meadows with their squishy soils. I will miss the wildflowers with their cacophony of color in the spring and summer.
I will miss the ancient trees that were alive when Jesus walked the earth.
How God ever contrived to create this large ball of rock and water whose restless skin breaks and bends and molds to form such majestic mountains is a mystery to me.
Did God know that the coat of ice and snow could carve such majestic monuments from the slabs of granite? Did He design it for us, so that our eyes could be overwhelmed with the view of it? Did God design the clothing of the mountains-always seasonably and fashionably dressed?

Oh sweet Sierras, I will miss you.
I will miss your beautiful countenance in the morning and evening light.
I will miss touching my skin to yours, the intimate contact of my feet upon your side.
You stand as a firm foundation--a symbol of God's stability and the security God provides.
You have been a source of God's comfort and solace when my soul was troubled

Hollywood

We are staying in Hollywood.
It is not a place I thought I would ever visit, but it is close to the  Thai consulate, where we needed to go to get our visas.  And the accommodations were reasonable.

I’ve never really cared much for the Hollywood scene.  I don’t watch many movies or TV shows.  I’m pretty much a cultural illiterate in regard to these things.

But it has been an educational experience staying here a couple of nights. I have found that Hollywood is a city devoted to worship.  People come here to somehow make a connection with others who have become famous in the film industry.  Posters. Wax figures. Names of stars in stars in the sidewalk.  Perhaps they can even catch a glimpse of someone famous.

(There is a seedy side to this city as well. The most common businesses seem to be sex/lingerie shops and tattoo shops.)

There are those who can tell you all about who starred in which film and who follow the lives of actors and actresses. There is a whole entertainment industry built around the entertainment industry.  You can not only watch your favorite actress in a show, you can watch a show about your favorite actress.  This comes close to and may in some cases even be idolatry.

As for those who are idolized, many no doubt, started in the industry because they liked acting.  Some got famous—and they liked being famous.  They become like those Jesus described in John 12:43, “for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.”  Some may not so much be in it for the fame as for the fortune.  Perhaps they like the earthly treasures that come as a result of being famous.

Some in the entertainment industry cannot handle the fame very well.  There is a huge, light-up billboard that currently flashes the face of an actor who is having personal and legal difficulties because of his moral lapses.

But lest I criticize others too quickly, I must look at my own life.  Do I devote more of my time and energy to the things of this world than I do to God?  It is easier for me to remember an obscure fact about someone or something that it is for me to quote the Word of God? (While riding back to Fresno, Ingrid asked me how high the pass was on the Grapevine. I said I thought it was 4144 feet. This was confirmed when we arrived a short while later. Indeed an obscure fact I remember--and I have never consciously tried to memorize it. And its not like we travel that way a lot. Why can I not recall scripture so easily?) Do I want to connect with God as much as these Hollywood visitors want to connect with the rich and famous. And in regard to ministry: do I do the things I do in church out of service to God and others or because I like to be popular and seen by men?  Do I desire men’s praise more than God’s praise? And just like those who fall because they become famous I must be careful that my position in the church does not set me up for a fall. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! (1 Corinthians 10:12 (NIV)