A Year Ago Today

This week marks one year since we returned to Thailand after our COVID exile. And today is one year since we were let out of our quarantine room for 45 minutes to go out on the rooftop garden. So here are some of our quarantine photos from a year ago.

Breakfast that day was the American Breakfast. This thing they call an American Breakfast is something I've only ever had in Thailand. Before that, I never thought to eat hot dogs in the morning.

American Breakfast

After breakfast, we were escorted to the roof for 45 minutes in the fresh air.

Doing Laps in the Rooftop Garden

Rooftop Garden

Bangkok Views

For lunch that day we had Pad Thai. Something we have not had much since then since we have not found a place in our town that sells it. Along with that was a tapioca dessert shaped like flowers.

Pad Thai with Shrimp

Tapioca Gelatin Desserts

Then in the evening we had massaman curry.

Massaman Curry

After being cooped up for a couple of weeks, I am much more appreciative of how nice it is to be able to get out and around. And we are glad to be living in a rural area where it is pleasant to bicycle through the fields and forests. Often when I'm out pedaling among the paddies I praise God that I get to live in such a beautiful locale. So, by contrast, here are some scenes from this past week.

Pink Water Lilies

Canoe in the Pao River in Kamalasai

Newly Planted Rice Paddies

Pedaling the Field Roads

Palak Paneer at an Indian Restaurant in Kalasin

While the environment we find ourselves in now is much different than it was a year ago, the two are similar in that God is present in both situations. Whether we're stuck in a building in the big city or surrounded by the hope represented in the greening rice paddies, God is close by and ready to visit with us.

But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign LORD my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.
Psalm 73:28 (NLT)

Not As I Planned It

I like to ride my bike because it is a good way to get exercise and, while doing so, I generate my own wind, which helps make the activity more bearable in the hot humid climate of Thailand.

Usually, though not always, I start off with an idea of where I will go. Sometimes it is a route I've been on before, on other occasions it may be a route I picked out on the map. Such was the case one day last week. But while I was out exploring, I noticed the map showing a bridge across the Phan River, and when I got to that road that this supposed bridge was on,  I found it was a wide, paved road. Change of plans. I wasn't really thinking about how I would also cross the Pao River, which I would need to do to get home.

Shortly after I crossed the bridge there was a "road narrows" sign, but with the narrowing also came an ending—of the pavement. I kept going, checking the map now and then to see that I was still on roads that might go through to somewhere I would like to go. After a brief stretch on pavement, I found another road that, according to the map, had a bridge across the Pao River. Off I went.

After going about 50 yards I was wondering why there would be a bridge on that road, it was just a farm road and not even a good one at that.

Oh, that's why.

Bridge Across the Pao River

I'm not sure what kind of load the bridge was rated for, but I felt comfortable crossing on my bicycle. Just after I crossed the bridge, I hit pavement.

Yesterday was similar. I worked my plan for the first 8 kilometers. Then I got to where the map showed two options to get to where I was planning on going. But the option I chose turned out to not really be a road and I ended up on another track going in a different direction, but hey, at least the map showed the possibility of getting across the rice paddies to the road back home. The first part was a bit rough and I debated turning back. But then I came to a village and turned onto a better track. This next route, even though it wasn't paved, was smoother than some of the paved roads in the area. And there was another bridge to cross, this time over an irrigation canal.

Bridge Across Irrigation Canal

After crossing the bridge, it was quite scenic. The ride may not have been as I planned it, but it was probably better.

Scenic Spot Along the Way

Though there was a short stretch of less developed trail.

Road Narrows

Our ministry life is similar to my bike rides. We have a meeting with our core team on Tuesday mornings. Except on weeks when something comes up (most of the time)—in which case we switch to another day. We finally got a rhythm established of when we will do things like making house or hospital visits, teaching English, youth activities, and church worship meetings.

Planning Meeting

English Class

Hospital Visits

Sunday School

Youth Activities - Before Songkran Holidays (no masks required)

But then came the Songkran holidays, a time of year when people travel to their home provinces to visit their families. This year, Songkran corresponded with a new outbreak of COVID-19 in Bangkok and surrounding areas, so many of these vacationers brought the virus along for the ride. Next thing you know, there is a call from the village head to suspend church meetings for two weeks. Then things got worse, COVID-19 wise, nationwide and now there are even more restrictions on travel and gatherings. So we find ourselves spending most of our time at home and avoiding crowds when we go out. Nationwide, it is mandatory to wear a mask outside the home—this includes traveling in a car when you're not by yourself, even if you're with a family member—and the fine for breaking this law can be up to 20,000 THB (about $650 US).

This is not how we planned it.

But, hopefully it will be like yesterday's bike ride, where the road was be a bit rough at first, but it gives way to something better than we planned. We just need to push through the rough part and not turn back.

The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.
Proverbs 16:9 (ESV)

Kilometer Posts

Thailand is very good about putting up kilometer posts along almost all the highways in the country.  The side facing the road will have the highway number, and the sides facing traffic will have the distances to the next towns ahead.

8 Kilometers to Phon Phisai

In the past five years or so, it has become popular to make signs with similar form, as the way of advertising your business or perhaps some landmark, having a distance of "0" to wherever the sign is and then distances to other places.

0 Kilometers to This Intersection

While kilometer posts may not always be very good at letting you know where you are, they are helpful in determining progress towards your destination or from a starting point.

In my home country, these things are more commonly known as milestones, a term that has grown to have significance beyond just measuring distance.

Bicycle in Rubber Plantation

This past month I reached a milestone on my bicycle—I reached 10,000 kilometers on this particular bike.  I realize that this is not much compared to what serious bike riders do (it took me 26 months), still, it was fun to see the odometer put on a fifth digit.

Last month was also another significant milestone for us--it was a year since the official launch of our church.

Official Launch of Phon Phisai Fellowship Church

Because they help measure progress, milestones can help fight discouragement.  Sometimes we are tempted to compare where we are to where we would like to be, and the difference is so great that it can be discouraging.  On the other hand, we can compare where we are to where we used to be and then things might look a bit better.

So while it may be discouraging to look at the above photo and count those who are no longer attending our church, I can also see in there some who a year ago were just "coming" to church who are now beginning to lead.  At the same time there are new faces that are not in the picture.   I can also rejoice in that there is still a church in our sub-district, while a year and a half ago there was none.

The main reason I ride my bicycle is for my heart health.  It's good exercise.  I keep track of my miles in order to make sure I am getting enough exercise.

Our spiritual lives need checkpoints as well.
Our lives have milestones like birthdays, anniversaries, etc.  At these times we can take the opportunity turn and look back and say, "I used to..., but now I...".  Paul writes about this kind of thing, comparing the church at Colossae as it was to how it used to be, "You also did these things in the past, when you lived like them." (Colossians 3:7 ERV)

On the other hand, if we look back and end up saying something like, "I also used to do these things in the past—and I still do," maybe it's time to use the milestone to instigate some change in our lives. We don't want to be like the Corinthian church, to whom Paul had to write, "I could not talk to you the way I talk to people who are led by the Spirit. I had to talk to you like ordinary people of the world. You were like babies in Christ. And the teaching I gave you was like milk, not solid food. I did this because you were not ready for solid food. And even now you are not ready." (1 Corinthians 3:1b, 2 ERV)

Maybe I can use the kilometer posts on the highways as reminders to check for progress in other areas of my life as well.

Decisions, Decisions

The other day I was out exploring/exercising on my bicycle.  I was trying to follow a dirt track which, according to Google maps, went back out to the main road.  But Google maps has not always proved correct when it comes to some of these back roads.

At any rate, I came to a fork in the road and it was time to make a decision.  The road to the left was newer, wider, in better condition, and went in the general direction I needed to go.

But I took the other road—and it turned out to be a wise decision.

The reason for my decision: it looked like the road to the right had been around a while and was well used.  Hence it was narrower (overgrown with time) and in poorer shape because it was used more.




People tell me I can be a fairly good navigator.  Since I was a child I’ve loved maps.  I remember studying the maps on a cross-country road trip that our family took when I was seven.  Back then, most gas stations gave out free maps--that was always a highlight for me!  And it certainly helped to have good map reading and navigational skills in my previous occupation where I made maps.

But navigating is not just about maps—it’s also reading road and traffic conditions.  One trick I will often use in unfamiliar territory is to follow the dominant traffic flow—at least if I’m trying to stay on a through road.  Occasionally that backfires—as when I once ended up at a Coscto.

I think of my crossroad decision—where I followed what appeared to be the more “traveled” road—and I compare it to the last lines of Robert Frost’s famous poem:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost has a different take on navigation here.  And his take is perhaps a bit more relevant to how we navigate through life.

Often, if we want to do the right thing, we will not be doing the popular thing.  Or if we are leading in a given area, we will often be blazing a new trail.

Jesus said:

¹³ "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. –Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV)

This well-know verse comes near the end of the Sermon on the Mount.  And in the Sermon on the Mount there is a collection of sayings that go like: “you have heard it said…, but I say to you…” where Jesus contrasts the normal way of doing things with God’s way.  The implication is that God's way of doing things is often along the "road less traveled".

Sometimes it can be lonely when you take the road less traveled.  It is a road where we can find ourselves misunderstood quite often.  It takes courage to walk that road.

Today in church, a young woman got up during the sharing time and started telling a story.  I had a hard time following what she was saying because she was talking very fast and in a mixture of Thai and Khmu all of which was muffled by her tears.  The young woman was confessing some sin in her life and apologizing to those she had offended.

It took a lot of courage for her to do that.  Afterwards, one of the church leaders got up and reminded people about the importance of what had just happened, commending the young woman for daring to do what she just did, and trying to make sure that she was not misunderstood. This opened the way for mending of relationships that had been broken or messed up because of her behavior.

This young woman had come to one of the many crossroads in life and had to decide whether she was going to follow the well-traveled road—and pretend like her misbehavior was okay or did not matter—or whether she was going to follow the less-traveled road of obedience to Jesus.

She took the road less-traveled…

…and it made all the difference.