Sunset Over the Mekong River

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Partial Fulfillment of Perpetual Wanderlust

I.e. On the road again

That's how it seems sometimes.

Today we are on a journey to Isaan to find a place to live for the next few years.  While I was planning the journey, I noticed that Google Maps traced out a route that was a bit shorter than using the more major roads.  It would cut about 2 hours of travel time.

But I was a bit dubious.  I was thinking that we would be ready to spend the night somewhere along that lonely stretch, and it did not look like there were a lot of options for lodging in the the small villages along the way.  I had pretty much decided not to go.

But then we made good time getting to the turnoff for the shortcut--and that in spite of stopping by the motor vehicle department to renew vehicle registration.  So I figured we should go for it.  A few miles in, we came to an intersection and as I rounded the corner, my brain made a mental jump.  A sense of adventure kicked in as we entered what  for us was new terrain.  This is not an area frequented by foreigners.  There are not many people to speak English to.

Eventually we made it to Nakhon Thai--or "Thai City", as it translates.

It was interesting looking for a place to stay.  We drove by one place that Google Maps showed, but the outward appearance was not too inviting.  So we turned around and went to another place we drove past earlier.  There was a registration booth, but no one was there.  There was a bell to ring, so we tried that. No response.  So we drove down the road further and saw the Petch (Diamond) Resort.  Like the previous place, there was no one around.  We rang the bell that was there.  No response.  But there was a phone number on the window, so we tried that.  That met with more success.

A few minutes later, a couple of people showed up on a motorcycle to help us with our rooms.  By this time, there were several of us waiting.  We decided to splurge and spend some extra dough for an A/C room--$15 altogether.


Diamond Resort 5
Is the pretty girl included with the room?
The resort might have more visual appeal at another time of year.  Right now it is the end of dry season and the fields are bare. A cow and her two calves were trying to scrounge up a few morsels in brown soil.   Soon, the paddies will be flooded and shortly after that they will be green with new rice.


Diamond Resort 3
View from our room


The better days of the Diamond Resort are behind it.  Still it is nice, quiet place.  Like the place we stayed a couple nights ago, the  rooms have names instead of numbers.  "Diamond."  "Gold."  We are in "Silver."


Diamond Resort 6
Diamond Resort


The resort is in a residential area with a lot of run down homes.  This is a farming community and it appears that there is not a lot of money to be had.  We took a short drive to the first restaurant we could find.  "End of the Sky" (Plai Fa) is a Thai style buffet where you cook your own food.  When we first arrived, we weren't sure the place was open because it was so quiet.  But soon the place was bustling.  Many people were getting take out, which means they would give you a bag and you can fill it for 200 baht (about $6).  So people were loading up their bags with raw meat and fish to take home.

We ate our fill and headed back to the resort, then went for a walk down some of the alleys. The people were friendly, although obviously not used to seeing much in the way of foreigners walking down their streets. One woman pointed out where the Seven Eleven is--I guess she figured that's where a foreigner would go to get food.  (She was right.  We had just been there to get some food for breakfast.)


End of the Sky
End of the Sky Restaurant


Tomorrow morning, we will head out towards Nong Khai.  We are about an hour drive from the Khorat Plateau--which is the region known as Isaan. Then it's about 4 more hours to our final destination. We are excited to be looking for a place to live.  We have no idea what we will find.

We are going to a District called Phon Phisai.  It is the next district to the east of the city of Nong Khai.  As we go to Phon Phisai, we are mindful that God is already there.  "For what great nation has a god as near to them as the LORD God is near to us whenever we call on him?" we read in Deuteronomy 4:7.  As we journey into what, for us, is the unknown, we are glad that God is near to us.  All we have to do is call on Him.


Wednesday, April 19, 2017

The best place places to camp

32“But even after all he did, you refused to trust the Lord your God, 33who goes before you looking for the best places to camp, guiding you with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day. 



China Eastern Plane at SFO
Our plane for the first leg of our journey

Today marks the beginning of a new journey--a return to Thailand and a move to a new place.

While we know the city we're hoping to move to, there are a lot of unknowns.  And there is a lot to do to get ready for that move--flying to Thailand is the easy part.

As I was reading in Deuteronomy this morning, though, I was encouraged.  When Israel was wandering through the desert for 40 years, "the Lord their God went before them, looking for the best places to camp."

And this is our prayer as we go forward, that the Lord our God will go before us, looking for the best places to camp.  And that we will have the sense to follow whatever pillar of cloud or fire He sets before us.



Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Fresh Green

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
     Psalm 23:2

พระองค์ทรงทำให้ข้าพเจ้านอนลงที่ทุ่งหญ้าเขียวสด
พระองค์ทรงนำข้าพเจ้าไปริมน้ำแดนสงบ



San Joaquin River Gorge 1
Green Pastures in the Madera County foothills

San Luis Reservoir View 13e
San Luis Reservoir-Still Waters in California

It has been wonderful for me to experience springtime in California this year.  It has been a long time since I've had the opportunity to go for walks among the lush green hillsides.  At times, it has been a bit dangerous--I told Ingrid that being here at this time of year makes me a bit reluctant to leave.  (It seems easier to leave in the summer when it is hot and everything is brown, or in winter when it is foggy and cold.)

When I walk among the wildflowers and green grass, I think of Psalm 23.  I particularly like the Thai version, where it says "fresh green fields".  David says that God, the shepherd, leads him to the green pastures. The sheep don't have to know where the lush pastures are as long as God does.

I, and I think also many North Americans, have a tendency to want to be in control.  To provide for myself.  To know where my next meal is coming from.  To know what our future looks like.

God, on the other hand, wants us to trust Him to lead us to green pastures, even if we have to pass through things like the valley of the shadow of death to get there.

Lately, I've been reading through Exodus and Numbers.  Here we have perhaps a couple million people hanging out at Mount Sinai for a year.  That is not a lush place.  How do you feed and water all those people? What will their livestock have to eat and drink?  This was not a problem for God.

The exact location of Mount Sinai is disputed, but it's not very lush
https://committeeforculturalpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/lossy-page1-800px-Mount_Sinai-110709_005.tif.jpg
     That evening vast numbers of quail flew in and covered the camp. And the next morning the area around the camp was wet with dew. When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as frost blanketed the ground. 
     The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. “What is it?” they asked each other. They had no idea what it was. And Moses told them, “It is the food the LORD has given you to eat
     Exodus 16:13-15 (NLT)

God has amazing ways of providing for His people.

This week we have been on the road visiting people.  Our travels took us north through California into Oregon.  As we approached the city of Redding, we could see Mount Shasta, poking its white, snowy head into the sky.  The ingenuity of engineers has enabled us humans to store the snow as it melts, and send it all the way to Southern California, several hundreds of miles away.  Some is used for agriculture.  Some is for domestic use.  So when I see the snow, I think of how God is faithfully providing for mankind.


Mount Shasta
Mount Shasta rises above Redding, California

One of the names of God given in scripture is is Yahweh-Yireh--God Provides.  It is a name given to God by Abraham, after God provided an alternate sacrifice to Isaac (Genesis 22:14)

God provides for us.

How has God provided for you today?