White Unto Harvest, Black Unto…

With the dry season and the end of harvest for some of the corn and rice plantings, it is common to see plumes of smoke coming from the fields.  As dry season goes on, the air just gets more and more smoky.

As I was looking bicycling past some of the fields this pas week, I noticed that there were people out in the blackened paddies.  And as I looked more closely, I saw that they were out planting in the fields.  In fact, some of the other paddies were flooded as if irrigating a new crop.

As I watched the workers in the black fields the words of Jesus came to mind: “the fields are white unto harvest.”  And I thought, “these fields are anything but white.”  But then, they were not harvesting, they were planting.

And I thought this is a good picture of one aspect of missionary life.  Before a field is “white unto harvest”, it must first be planted an cultivated.  And when we first plant the gospel, sometimes things seem very dark.

Today, one of the young women who comes to our English club had to rush off afterwards to join her family for some ritual involving ancestor worship.  She is a young believer but still under the authority of her non-believing father.

Darkness.

This afternoon, a long, slow parade of vehicles was following a car with a loudspeaker announcing a special opportunity to make merit—trying to increase the chances that one’s next life will be better than this one (but no guarantees).

Darkness.

But the good news is that darkness ≠ hopeless.

Indeed it is in these blackened fields that we can plant seeds of hope and light.

Sowing.

There is the young man who went to school to become a teacher, and then, when he had opportunity, he moved back to his home village to bring the good news of Jesus to that place.  Still, few adults in this community want to risk getting the spirits angry by following Christ.  Yet this teacher perseveres in his faith.

Cultivating.

There is another young man who has been holding youth meetings in another village every week.  For the longest time there was no interest on the part of the adults in following Jesus.  But now there is talk about some of the village leaders even setting aside a piece of land for a church.

Harvest.

A group of people come from across the river to declare their faith by dipping in the Mekong River. 

We are grateful for the opportunity to help plant seeds of light in the darkened fields.  And we till the fields in hope of a great harvest.

I’m Not Lost

Last Sunday I was teaching in church from the story of Zacchaeus.  Luke closes the story with Jesus explaining why he came.  Jesus says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10 ESV)

A challenge in seeking the lost, I explained, is that the lost don’t always think they are lost.  Usually they think they’re doing just fine.

A few weeks ago, we were hosting a team at the Changing Life Center.  Arrangements had been made for a van to take the team back to Chiang Rai.  However, due to the amount of luggage, another vehicle was needed.  I volunteered to take the luggage in our truck.

The problem was, I had no idea where this hotel was that they were going to, and I didn’t have time to research it.  (The person who had made the arrangements was not there.)  So I check my phone to see if perhaps the location was in Google ® maps.  It was!  So I turned on the GPS and had the program get me directions how to get there.

(One might ask, why not call and ask for directions.  The challenge with that in Thailand is invariably I get  names of landmarks/streets that 1) I don't know, 2) don't exist on or differ from what is listed on any map, and 3) don't have any signs posted to let me know when I see them.)

A couple of hours later, we get a call from some of the other team members, “Our van just arrived at the hotel, where are you?”  “I’m just a few minutes away”, I replied.

The problem was, I was lost, but I didn’t know it.  For as we got near the destination we found out that the location on the map was wrong.  Where the map said the hotel should be, there was a temple.  Our hotel, we found out, was 9 kilometers south of where we were.

Since the lost don’t always know they are lost, it was necessary for Jesus not only to save them, but also to first seek them.

When I became as Jesus-follower, I had not been look for Jesus or even any kind of religion.  But Jesus knew I was lost—even if I didn’t—and He sought me.

Thank you, Jesus, for being the seeker of the lost.

A True Compliment

I walked up to the ticket counter to enter Doi Inthanon National Park, home of Thailand’s tallest mountain, Doi Inthanon.  The following brief conversation took place (in Thai):

     Me: Two adults and one car.
     Ticket agent: That will be 110 baht.

I walked away with my 3 tickets (one for each of us and one for the car) with a smile, having received one of the best compliments I’ve ever received for Thai speaking abilities.



You see, in Thailand, attractions such as parks and museums often have two prices—one for Thai people and one for visitors.  The visitors don’t often know this because there will be two signs-one in Thai and one in English—with the Thai one using Thai numbers (0-9=๐ ๑ ๒ ๓ ๔ ๕ ๖ ๗ ๘ ๙) to help conceal this fact (most of the time they use Arabic numbers).

Sometimes, they will let foreigners with a long-term visa pay the Thai price.  Usually to get this price, one has to request the price and then show their visa or a Thai driver’s license (which I had to do the following day at another park).  However in this case, I was offered the Thai price just on my speaking ability.

To me this was a better compliment of my language skills than a direct one.  In Thai culture, being nice is a higher value than being truthful.  So people might sometimes give a false compliment because they don’t want you to feel bad.  There are occasions when I have been given compliments about my Thai speaking abilities when I KNOW I just butchered their language.  (And I’m sure there are many more times when I’ve been given a compliment when I UNKNOWINGLY butchered their language.)

Learning this cultural aspect of language use is just as difficult as grammar and pronunciation.  We are much more used to direct and even confrontational speech.  Here the emphasis is on making the other person feel good and especially to NOT offend.  And we can offend not just with our choice of words but also with they way we say the words.

The apostle Paul wrote: Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone. (Colossians 4:6 (NET))

I pray, then, the God would help me not only know the correct words to use when I speak Thai, but that I would also use the correct words correctly.

Reflected light

I remember a night, many moons ago.  Our team of 3 guys had climbed up in the hills above Montrouis, Haiti, to a place called Kournol.  It was my first time in the tropical mountains under a full moon.  It was so bright—Randy was out reading by moonlight.

But as bright as that moon was, it’s nothing compared to the light from its source, the sun.  For the moon only reflects a small portion of the light from the sun.  So even under the most optimum conditions, I would not want to try to do things like driving by moonlight (unless I was going really slow) or doing something like embroidery.

Here in northern Thailand, the air is seldom clear enough for the moon to be anywhere near as bright as what I experienced that time in Haiti.  In the rainy season the moon is obscured by the clouds and in the dry season, smoke and smog dim the its light.  Though there was that day last week—the day before the eclipse—when the haze wasn’t too bad and I was able to capture a great photo of the moon (wish it was so nice the day of the eclipse.)

Almost full moon the day before the eclipse

Trying to understand God can be like trying to do delicate embroidery by the Hazy moon of Wiang Kaen.

Hazy view of the moon coming out of the eclipse

Paul writes:  Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NLT) 

I’m grateful that God is a God of revelation.  He has revealed Himself through His creation (Romans 1:19, 20), through the prophets (Hebrews 1:1) and ultimately through His Son, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:2).  And I’m grateful for all those who faithfully recorded the activities and prophecies and words of God in the Bible.  So there is a lot we can know about God.  Still, even with the Bible there is so much I don’t know about Him.  Not only don’t I know a lot of things about God, I am incapable of it.  And so, like Paul, I look forward to that day when I will see God face to face.

Watch out for the little guy…

It was probably a couple of weeks ago that a little virus taunted my 6 foot tall, 180 pound body saying, “Watch out, big guy, you’re going down.”

To which my body replied, “Says who?  You’re so small you make a grain of sand look like a mountain!”

“Don’t be too brash,” said the virus, “I got people.”

And my body brashly replied, “Where, I don’t see anyone?” 

At that point the virus found a nice comfy place in a mucous membrane, and self-replicated until there were probably a few million of them, wreaking havoc on my throat and sinuses.  So my body is using most of its available resources trying to quash the rebellion—leaving me not much energy for anything else.

Watch out for the little guy—with friends.

There was once a little guy named David.  When David saw the giant, he ran fearlessly toward him with his sling.  David wasn’t afraid because the giant made fun of his God and he knew God would give him the victory.  So David let loose the stone and the stone hit true and the giant fell in a heap. (1 Samuel 17)

Watch out for the little guy—with a friend named God.

There was once a working-class man from a part of the country that was looked down upon by the rest.  Being a fisherman, this guy didn’t have time to invest in a quality education.  When he spoke he had a tendency to put his foot in his mouth, so much so that, on more than one occasion, Jesus had to rebuke him for speaking brashly.

But then the day came when Peter stood before a huge crowd and people marveled at the preaching of the uneducated man from Galilee.  And people were cut to the heart and many responded positively to his words. (Acts 2:1-40)

Watch out for the little guy—with a friend named God.

Last Saturday, three high school girls listened in rapt attention to this irrelevant old white guy as I struggled to tell them, in Thai, some of the things that Jesus has done for me and the reason we came to Thailand.  I’m sure if there were a Thai language instructor present, his face would be all distorted from the constant wincing and biting of the tongue.  But somehow, in spite of me, God was able to keep the attention of these three young women.’'

And so my prayer is, “God, don’t let my Thai language abilities get so good that I think that I can accomplish something worthwhile in Thai without your help.”

Some of those who listen to our teaching in spite of us.

Love who?

Last weekend we wrapped up the biannual Anabaptist Conference that was held this year here at the Changing Life Center.  We had participants from many different parts of Thailand and from nearby L*os.

For this  conference, the theme was The Sermon on the Mount.  These words of Jesus are always very challenging to hear because Jesus takes the common wisdom of this world and turns it upside down.

A good portion of time was spent on this section:

⁴³ "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  ⁴⁴ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  Matthew 5:43-45 (ESV)

It was amazing to hear testimonies from people with real experience loving enemies.  I’m not talking about those who love some enemy who lives far away and is no immediate threat to one’s life, health and well-being.  Nor am I talking about enemies who dislike you because of your bad behavior or social status.  I’m talking about enemies who, at any moment, can arrest you, beat you, throw you in prison, disown you, ostracize you or confiscate your property or your family members because you talk about what Jesus has done for you.

Listening to teaching during the conference

How to you love the person that beat you into a coma?  Or the one who threw you in prison?  The one who makes it difficult for you to even make a living so that you can survive?  The parents who ostracize their child for trusting Jesus in a culture where family relationships form the fabric of the culture?
 

These are the kinds of stories we heard from people who have persevered in their faith in Jesus in spite of the persecution.  Some have seen their persecutors become brothers and sisters in Christ.
 
It is very humbling to be in the midst of such people, for I come from a very luxurious background by comparison.
 
These persecuted brothers, Jesus tells us, are the blessed ones.
 
That’s not what I would say.  If we were to write out the beatitudes, it would go something like this.
 

• Blessed are you who have a nice job and a fat bank account for you shall never want.
• Blessed are you who have a great family and a faithful partner for you shall enjoy love all your days.
• Blessed are you who have a nice house in the suburbs for you shall be comfortable.
• Blessed are you in good health for you shall live a long life
• Blessed are you who have a good education for you will succeed in life and be respected by others

But Jesus said:
³ "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
⁵ "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
⁶ "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
⁷ "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
⁸ "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
⁹ "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
(and this last one really strikes me)
¹¹ "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:3-12 (ESV)

Ouch!

This seems so backwards.  But the things we often perceive to be “blessings” are actually things that cause us to abandon God.  If I have all I need in this life, then why do I need God?

That’s not to say that God will never bless us with good things, nor do all who have some of the good things in life abandon God.  But we need to be careful lest we end up seeking a good life more than we seek God.

And be careful when you pray asking for God’s blessing.

God, I thank you for the opportunity to learn from these truly faithful servants of yours.

I’ll end this with a poem from Amy Carmichael:

From prayer that asks that I may be
Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee,
From fearing when I should aspire,
From faltering when I should climb higher
From silken self, O Captain, free
Thy soldier who would follow Thee.

From subtle love of softening things,
From easy choices, weakenings,
(Not thus are spirits fortified,
Not this way went the Crucified)
From all that dims Thy Calvary
O Lamb of God, deliver me.

Give me the love that leads the way,
The faith that nothing can dismay
The hope no disappointments tire,
The passion that will burn like fire;
Let me not sink to be a clod;
Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God

I’ve gotta see a man about a horse…

“Never do anything alone.”

I was recently going through notes on some of the books about missions I have read and I came across that piece of advice.  It has to do with the role of mentoring when it comes to trying to disciple others.  Those who are includers can greatly impact others.

Maybe this is why I was reminded during my waking hours of the night of those who impacted my life by including others in their life.  And so my mind went back a lot of years to a man named George Libby.

George Libby was a volunteer who maintained a good portion of the Tunxis Trail (Part of the Blue Trail system) in Connecticut.  But rather then do this on his own (which my more introverted grandfather did on the Mattatuck Trail), George had a well developed system for including young people on the task.

There were two levels on the crew, Juniors and Seniors.  One began as a Junior.  We earned points based on the number of hours we worked, which was reduced by things we missed or did wrong.  Upon earning enough points, one could qualify for the “Junior Trip”, awarded to the top 4 point earners of the season.  This was an overnight stay in a cabin in new Hampshire and a one day hike up Mount Welch.

Standing on top of Mount Welch

After completing the Junior Trip, one became a Senior.  Seniors worked to qualify for a Senior Trip, which was a overnight hike to one of the AMC huts in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  There was no limit as to the number of these one could go on. Again, it was awarded to the top 4 point earners of the season.

Our "Senior Trip" crew along with Dave Ford and his wife who were leaders-in-training.  (I'm the one with the stars and stripe shirt.)

I was probably about 15 years old when I started.  Our task was to clear a 6 foot wide and six foot tall trail way.  The tasks we did included clearing loose obstacles, swinging a weed cutter and assisting George who wielded the loppers.  Special trips were made for applying paint blazing or pushing the distance measuring wheel.

George even invited me to a meeting of the Appalachian Trail Club one year and later endorsed me for membership in the club (it was a bit of an exclusive club in the early days.)  I kept the membership up for many years—always expecting that I would one day end up living in northern New England.

George Libby died in 1986, but he left  behind a legacy that included more than just a well maintained trail.  It was people like him who helped others focus on doing something positive with their lives as opposed to engaging in self-destructive behaviors (which I did enough of anyway).

I learned from all of this the importance of inclusion, though I admit it is difficult for me as I am more like my grandfather who would rather do the job alone most of the time.  Paul alludes to this inclusive “passing of the baton” in his letter to Timothy.  “You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses,” he writes, “Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.”  2 Timothy 2:2 (NLT)

As we work with leaders of the churches here, there is also a kind of mutual inclusion that goes on.  We invite others to partake in certain activities and they also invite us to be involved in certain things and we learn from each other.

But I am challenged after reading that quote yesterday as to how we can include others more in what we are doing.

But before I finish, I should explain the title of this post.

One day, our crew (normal crew was 7 people) was all in the back of George’s  old International Scout as we made our way down some dirt track out to the paved road.  All of the sudden, he stopped, jumped out of the truck and said, “I’ve got a see a man about a horse,” and then he disappeared into the bush, leaving us young people wondering where on earth this horse was that he was talking about.  Then a couple of minutes later he appears and gets back in the truck and we continue on our way without explanation.  (Though by this time we were pretty sure we learned another way to say “I’ve gotta take a leak.)

Where there’s smoke…

Stickers.

The kids love to get stickers.  Whenever we teach, the children appreciate it if they get a sticker on their paper afterwards.

A former co-worker of Ingrid’s, who knows about this, recently sent us a bunch of stickers of all different kinds.

Among the stickers, were two of Smoky the Bear.

My (former) hero

It’s probably appropriate that this friend sent these stickers—her part of California has been besieged with some nasty wildfires this year, and this is a good reminder to pray for those affected by the fires.

Seeing this sticker brought back a lot of old memories for me.  Smoky was one of my heroes as a child.  At some point, I remember joining the Smoky Bear Fan Club and my Junior Forest Ranger badge was one of my prized possessions.  I found out about the club from a cousin who lived down the street.  His father was a Fire Warden for many years and his sons and my brothers and myself were part of putting out many a forest fire in our youth.

Smoky was a real bear.  Rescued as a cub after a fire in New Mexico in 1950, he was treated and then kept at the Washington National Zoo, where I saw him just a couple of years before he died in 1976. 

Probably the earliest calling I felt in life was to be a forest ranger.  I even steered my life towards that direction, studying forestry at the University of New Hampshire.  I loved being outside and enjoying the nature.  It was definitely my preference to be among natural things than to be among other people.  Back in my teen years, I probably pictured myself as an adult living off the land deep in the forest, far from my nearest neighbor.

But in all this, I was oblivious to other things going on around me.  It’s as if the forest all around me was on fire and I could neither see the flames or smell the smoke.

But then I, like Smoky, was rescued.

Jesus rescued me from myself.

When I put my faith in Jesus, and He put His Spirit in me, my life changed in revolutionary ways.   But the obvious changes were not the significant ones.  Giving up cigarettes and a speaking vocabulary that consisted mostly of cuss-words was obvious.  But the real change was much deeper. Instead of seeing humanity as an infringement upon nature, I began to see humanity as part of this whole created realm.   And I realized that life wasn’t just about me.  There were real people with real needs, spiritual and physical, all about me and that I was somehow supposed to be a part of meeting those needs.

And that changed the course of my life.

Instead of a career path that centered around nature, I found myself on one that centered on human needs or the interaction of humans and their environment.

Mind you, I still love plants and animals and all that.  I somehow still often find it easier for me to build a relationship with a dog or cat than with a person.  And I find being alone on top of a mountain much more refreshing than being in a mass of humanity.  But now these things are just part of a bigger picture.  A bigger picture that involves caring about the human suffering in this world and caring about those who have yet to find freedom and hope and true peace in Jesus.

I love the redemptive picture in Romans 8:18-25, where the fate of humanity and the rest of creation mix together:

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope  that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.   And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?   But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Thank you, God, for rescuing me from me.

Myopic Adventures

A few weeks ago I was looking at some travel information and I saw a picture of a waterfall.  When I read the details about it, I found out it was called Huai Kaew waterfall and it is in Chiang Rai province.

So yesterday, while we came to Chiang Rai on business, we decided to detour to check out the waterfall.

The travel distance was about 20 kilometers but Google maps said the driving time was just over an hour without traffic.

Just over an hour!  Why!

Oh--that's why.

The last 6 kilometers we drove up and then down a very steep road which was only one lane wide and had lots of blind corners.  There were very few places to pull over and so we hoped we would not meet up with any four-wheeled vehicles, as it would likely mean backing up a long distance to a wide spot on the road.

So while on the one hand I wanted to drive very fast in order to: 1) minimize the amount of time I was on the road and therefore reduce opportunity for meeting up with another vehicle, and 2) try to get there and back to the two lane road before the impending storm hit.

However, it was necessary to drive slow so that: 1) I wouldn't hit any vehicles going around blind corners, and 2) I wouldn't lose control and drive off the pavement which would result in serious damage to the vehicle and its contents.

Due to all of this, I was rather intently focused on the road and so was not paying very much attention to things not related to that.  I'm sure there was some really nice scenery.  I might have taken a photo if there was a place to pull over and park the car--but there wasn't.

We ended up parking about 1 kilometer from the waterfall because the pavement ended and the road condition beyond that was not very good.  But the walk up to the waterfall was well worth it.  We passed through a tea plantation being run by the Akha people who live there.  At the falls, the piercing whine of the cicadas added to the roar coming from the water as it tumbled over the rocks.  I wish we could have stayed longer and just enjoyed the natural sights and sounds and smells, but the dark clouds above were roaring out their plans for the near future, and I wasn't too excited about them.

So we rushed back to the truck.  The rain started falling gently while we were on the downhill stretch.  Fortunately, the heavy stuff did not come until we were back on the two-lane road. All-in-all, it was a fun adventure.

Sometimes life can be kind of like our trip to Huai Kaew waterfall..

Just a couple of weeks ago, my brother-in-law was being examined for a suspected--and verified--kidney stone.  While performing the scan, the physician noticed some signs for what appear to be a fairly advanced cancer.  But without any other symptoms, it was not even known what the source was.

All of the sudden George and Dawn's lives have become like driving a narrow, mountain road, with much of their attention very focused on figuring out what is happening with George's body.

Please pray:

1) for skill in navigating the course ahead
2) for places along the way to pull of the road and enjoy the view
3) that they won't encounter "vehicles" causing them to have to back up and start over
4) for some pretty waterfalls along the way
5) that they will finish the course before the heavy rains hit.

You can follow their journey here.

O my soul, bless GOD.
     From head to toe, I'll bless his holy name!

O my soul, bless GOD,
     don't forget a single blessing!

He forgives your sins—every one.
     He heals your diseases—every one.

He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
     He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.

He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
     He renews your youth—
     you're always young in his presence.

GOD makes everything come out right;
     he puts victims back on their feet.

He showed Moses how he went about his work,
     opened up his plans to all Israel.

GOD is sheer mercy and grace;
     not easily angered, he's rich in love.

He doesn't endlessly nag and scold,
     nor hold grudges forever.

He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve,
     nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.

As high as heaven is over the earth,
     so strong is his love to those who fear him.

And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
     he has separated us from our sins.

As parents feel for their children,
     GOD feels for those who fear him.

He knows us inside and out,
     keeps in mind that we're made of mud.

Men and women don't live very long;
     like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,

But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
     leaving nothing to show they were here.

GOD's love, though, is ever and always,
     eternally present to all who fear him,
     Making everything right for them and their children
     as they follow his Covenant ways and remember to do whatever he said.

GOD has set his throne in heaven;
     he rules over us all. He's the King!

So bless GOD, you angels, ready and able to fly at his bidding,
     quick to hear and do what he says.

Bless GOD, all you armies of angels,
     alert to respond to whatever he wills.

Bless GOD, all creatures, wherever you are—
     everything and everyone made by GOD.

And you, O my soul, bless GOD!

Psalm 103:1-22 (MSG)

Huai Kaew Waterfall, just west of Chiang Rai

Don’t Judge a Book…

Just down the street from where we live is a large shed.  Until a short while ago, we had not seen any activity going there.  There was a large conveyor across the back of the shed, so we assumed it was for some kind of agricultural packing operation.

Then, we noticed that there was a refrigerated semi-trailer running beside the shed.  What kind of packing would they do that needs refrigeration?  Most produce here is shipped in open trucks.

So on the way back from an evening walk we stopped by and found out that they pack pummelos.  That night they were packing a load for China.  They also ship to other nearby countries like Malaysia and Indonesia.

(If you’re in the import business and would like to import some pummelos from Thailand, I can get you the contact info.)

Who would have thought that our little town would have such an operation.  A little shed in Wiang Kaen, the least populous district in Chiang Rai, is impacting the diets of people throughout Asia. How cool is that?

There is an English saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” that seems to fit this situation.

The Bible, too, is full of examples of misjudged expectations.   King David is one of the prime examples.  Here he was, the smallest guy from a large, insignificant, family chosen to be king and also the one to take down a giant.

"Do not consider his appearance or his height,” LORD said to Samuel, “for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)

Many of the surprising examples from scripture are women.  Rahab, a harlot, is instrumental in the fall of Jericho and becomes an ancestor of Jesus and David.  Just down the genealogical line, Ruth, an unknown woman from Moab, enters the same line.  And Jael, remember her?  Didn’t think so.  She took out Sisera, the commander of an army that was tormenting Israel.

In the New Testament, there is Mary, from an insignificant town in an unimportant place called Nazareth.  But now millions of people know about Nazareth because Jesus is from there—because Mary was from there.  Then there is that other Mary—the woman of the streets who anointed Jesus feet.  We don’t know the names of many of the important people of that time—but we know her name.

These people weren’t trying to make names for themselves—but we know their names anyway.  No one would have picked these people as “most likely to succeed,” yet their names have been recorded in history.  We know the names of these people, not because they were prominent people in their day or because they sought glory and fame, but because they chose to love and serve God rather than men.

Some people have a goal in life that they want to be famous.

A better goal is that we be found faithful.

Pummelos in plastic baskets waiting to be packed

Unloading pummelos from a pickup truck

Putting labels on pummelos prior to putting in boxes

A 2 kilogram pummelo

Beyond my Ability

Last week, during a break between rainstorms, we took Ingrid’s sister and niece on a drive into the mountains near here.  For the first 16 kilometers, the road generally follows the course of the Ngao River.  It has a fair number of very steep, but relatively short sections.  I’ve been bicycling that portion quite a bit lately for exercise.

But as we turned off the main road, I noticed that our path was becoming quite steep for sustained distances.  As we entered the first such section of road I said that, in regard to my bicycling, this was “beyond my ability”.

I’ve heard that there are those who ride their bicycles all the way to the top—to a small park called Pa Tang.  But I couldn’t see myself ever doing that.  Some parts even seemed a challenge for our truck.

But the other day I decided to try to attempt at least the first grade.  As I thought, it was quite hard.  I think I was pedaling about 5 km/h (3 mph).  The threatening clouds had me thinking maybe I should head back before I got to the top of that first grade.  But then a smidgen of sunlight would break through the clouds and I would keep going. And then, after what seemed like forever (but was probably only 10 minutes), the road leveled off at the base of this hill that protrudes awkwardly from the landscape.

The hill at the beginning of the road to Pa Tang with the first steep grade marked.

Suddenly what seemed so impossible now is doable.  (Who knows, maybe one day I’ll even get to the top—there are only about 12 more kilometers of the remaining 13 that are as steep or steeper than that.)

Our work in Thailand is often like this.  Sometime it seems impossible.  Truth be told, it even IS beyond our ability.  But it IS NOT beyond God’s ability.

I think of a recent occurrence here in Wiang Kaen.  Samyo is a young Khmu man who was born and raised in the US.  He was on an Action Team that spent about 2 weeks in our area.  The locals would tell you that his Khmu language skills are not that great.  But one Sunday morning he preached in Khmu in one of the churches.  God gave him Khmu words to speak that he didn’t think he knew.  People listened with rapt attention.  Some people decided that they want to believe in Jesus.  Praise God that Samyo did not let his lack of ability keep him from speaking that day!

One day, Jesus was chatting with a wealthy person who wanted to know how he could have eternal life.  After giving him some advice, which the rich person was loathe to follow, Jesus said to his disciples, “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24)

Get through an eye of a needle!  I have trouble getting into the pants I bought last year!

The disciples must have been on the same wavelength as me, for they said to Jesus, “Who then can be saved?” to which Jesus responded, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)

Some things are, in fact, beyond my ability, but they aren’t beyond God’s ability.  The challenge for me is to walk the same path Jesus is walking so that I can see the impossible take place.

A New Word

God.

How can we describe God?

How can we talk about God to a people who don’t even have a word for God?

I mean the kind of God who isn’t just a minor being like us, but that we can’t see.

Not the kind of god that can be confined to a building.

Not the kind of god created by a craftsman.

But the God who created the craftsman everything else in this world and who is over everything in the universe.

THAT kind of God.

We had the opportunity to introduce God to some school children last week during an English camp at Wannasorn Wittaya school in Wiang Kaen.  Many of these children have no sense of God in the way that we would.  An Action Team of six people helped us with this (Kelly, Samyo, Samson, Josh, Kim and Lorren).  Ingrid’s sister and niece (Ruth and Kaira) also helped out.

One of the ways we teach English is by telling stories.   Listening to and retelling stories gives people a chance to see how words connect together to convey ideas.   This is especially important in a country where children are taught lots of words but cannot think for themselves to create a new sentence.

The story we taught this last week was the creation story.  It’s a good teaching story because it has a nice pattern (Day 1, Day 2, etc) that help the children be able to put it back together.  AND it also tells them about a different kind of God than ones they have heard about.

Christina taught the creation story.  She was helped by Samyo and Lauren from the team.

Samyo, Christina and Lorren telling The Story

We also taught using music, since music helps people retain words.  Samson and Kim did a great job getting the kids singing and dancing to English words.

Kim and Samson following the lyrics

Ingrid and Ruth helped the children do crafts.  The children learned new words and got to practice using them in sentences (e.g. “May I have some scissors, please?”).  Pat, our office administrator in Wiang Kaen, also helped out.

Ruth, Pat and Ingrid helping with crafts

Children also were able to practice English in the context of playing games.  Josh and Kaira took the lead here with some help from Boonsert, a intern from Laos who knows a little bit of English (along with Lao, Khmu, Korean and some Thai).

Kaira and Josh supervising games

At the end of camp, we had a closing ceremony.  Even the teachers couldn’t help but join in as they danced to the lyrics of the Chaa Chaa song.



In the end, about 180 school children, along with their teachers, got to have fun while learning English.

And they learned a new word.

God.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1

Who is my neighbor?

That was the question put to Jesus by a man who was trying to justify himself with his own self-righteousness.

The man had knew in his head that which is most important in life, for previously had answered Jesus: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself." (Luke10:27)

But the man did not understand the application of the two greatest commandments. So Jesus answered the man’s question by telling the story of the good Samaritan.

We shared this story in our kids club last week.  This week we added to it by sharing another story Jesus told, the story of the foolish rich man.

This rich man was considered foolish because he was “one who stores up riches for himself, but is not rich toward God” by pursuing God’s kingdom (Luke 12:21, 31)

After telling this story, we gave the children opportunity to be good neighbors to each other.  We had them draw names and then create a card for the person whose name they drew.

It was fun to see their creative juices flow.  We put out lots of materials but didn’t direct them as to how to create their cards.

Some of our neighbors showing off the cards they received

Explore

Last week, while we were driving home from Chiang Rai, we decided to take a different route than usual.  The route took us through an area that has a fair number of these bizarre hills that stick almost straight up out of an otherwise very flat landscape.

A limestone hill in Wiang Chai district of Chiang Rai province.

I noticed that there seemed to be some kind of statue on the side of one of these, so we turned off down a dirt road that headed in that general direction.  The road quickly narrowed until it was just wide enough for a vehicle to pass between the rice paddies on either side.  It also turned away from the hill we wanted to get to.

A quick question to a farmer assured us that the road would take us to the hill, we only needed to turn left up ahead.  And, sure enough, we eventually made it.

Buddhist shrine in Wiang Chai

While we were climbing around the shrine, Ingrid noticed a small “tunnel” formed by some pieces of limestone that had fallen off the mountain.  She suggested that we go through the tunnel (letting me go first to scare any snakes out of the way).  We were rewarded by coming to a small cave formed by a large slab of rock sloughing off the mountain.  But what this cave lacked in size, it made up for in the sheer number of bats that were hanging around inside.

Bats hanging from the wall of the cave,
even after scaring off many of them.

Both Ingrid and I have this curious bent that makes us want to explore new places.  To us, the phrase, “we haven’t been that way before,” is an invitation to a new adventure.  Sometimes we even get rewarded by the sight of something new or especially interesting or beautiful.

Last week I was wandering down a farm road on my bicycle when I happened upon an almost random Curcuma flower growing at the edge of a rice paddy.  Well worth the flat tire incurred along the way.

Bloom of Curcuma latifolia.

Since I’ve taken to bicycle riding as a form of exercise in lieu of going to the non-existent gym, I’ve been able to explore a lot of the roads in the area.  Often I’ll get a big smile from some farmer driving his truck down the road (after the initial look of surprise a seeing a foreigner on a bicycle in the middle of nowhere).  One time I even got cheers from a bunch of people planting corn, who were impressed that I actually rode a bicycle up the hill that far.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising, then, that it was at a workshop called Explore that we were launched on a new trajectory towards service with MB Mission.  With a compass on the logo like that, who WOULDN’T want to go?

Since coming to Thailand, we've had the opportunity to explore different parts of Thailand. 

On our explorations of Thailand, we’ve noticed a few things.  One is that there are large areas of Thailand with no churches.  Another is that some areas, like where we currently live, have lots of churches—but they are generally in villages of some of the hill-tribe peoples that don’t worship in the Thai language.

One of the challenges facing the church in Thailand is how to mobilize some of these people groups with a fair number of Christians to reach out cross-culturally within Thailand.  It is our privilege to work with a number of our Khmu brothers and sisters who have a desire to do exactly that.  So now we are exploring  together with them how it might happen.

Working with some of the Khmu church leaders.

There are a lot of challenges to make this happen.  Like some of our journeys, sometimes the road seems to go in the wrong direction.  And just like how driving down the back roads brings risks of getting stuck or a flat tire, we also will likely run into obstacles along the way.

But in the end we have the hope that we will encounter something beautiful along the way.

Then all of you came near me and said, 'Let us send men before us, that they may explore the land for us and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the cities into which we shall come.'

Deuteronomy 1:22 (ESV)