Slow Down

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.  So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.  He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.” Luke 10:30-34 (ESV) 



When people ask me if I like traveling, I typically respond, “I like being other places, but I don’t particularly like traveling.”

Usually when I am going some place, my goal is typically on my destination, not my journey.  I tend to dislike disruptions and once I hop on a bicycle or jump in a car, it is really hard for me to stop the vehicle and get out.

Yet life is so much about the journey and not so much about the destination.  If God’s goal for us was only to get to heaven, then He would likely just take us from this world as soon as we believe in Jesus.

But He doesn’t do that.  Because our planetary purpose is about the journey.  Things we often see as interruptions are ministry opportunities that God puts in our lives.  Our choice is whether we want to be like the religious leaders who walked right by the man who had been robbed on the way to Jericho, or like the Samaritan man, whose name has become synonymous for one who helps out those he encounters.

Too often, I live like the former.  One incident is deeply embedded in my brain.

Many years ago, I was assisting a co-worker with his work in Twenty-nine Palms, California.  We had begun the day early, while it was still dark, and had put in a long day.  I was on my way home to Bakersfield and I pulled into a McDonald’s in Barstow for dinner.  I normally don’t like to eat at McDonalds but I just wanted have something fast so that I could be on my way home.

As I got in line, I noticed a homeless man and I felt the Spirit stirring me to buy him a meal.  But, like the religious leaders in the story above, I chose to ignore such promptings, justifying my actions by the fact that I had already put in a long day and I wasn’t even done yet.

When I sat down with my food, I noticed that someone else had bought some food for the homeless man and was giving it to him.  And the Spirit seemed to speak to me, “you ignored me, and someone else is going to get the blessing.”

You think I would have learned from that, but still I have a tendency to rush by ministry opportunities that God puts in front of me on my way to ministries of MY own design and under MY control.

Lord, help me to “stop and smell the roses” as I walk along life’s path.  Help me to be more like the Samaritan who sees the ministry opportunities that You have placed right in front of us, that I have a propensity to totally NOT see.  And by Your grace through Christ Jesus, forgive me for all the times when I refused to see what you wanted me to see in order that I might be a channel of your love in the lives of those around me.  Forgive me my pride in thinking that somehow the ministries that I have designed are more important than the ones You have laid out before me.

The Rise

Front view of The Rise

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. Psalm 20:7-8 (ESV)



We have been in our new place just over a week now and I think we finally have things unpacked—at least as much as we need for these 4 months.  Our new place is called The Rise and it is located behind one of the main shopping malls in Chonburi.  The tenants are primarily Thai but there are a few foreigners as well.  There must be enough foreigners here that some of the local restaurants have the main menu in English.

Our new place is less than a 5 minute walk from the office which makes it really convenient for when we need to go there.  And the mall, which is slightly further, has two grocery stores to choose from!

View of Central Plaza from the roof (behind the pink building)

Our place in The Rise is a bit of a let-down from the old place in Bangkok—16 floors to be exact.  We’ve moved from a 22nd floor to a 6th floor.  But there is a nice rooftop which we can get to which offers views in all directions—from the Gulf of Thailand to the west to the hills to the east.  It’s nice to have a view of some green space, which is a bit different than Bangkok.

Even though Chonburi is a much smaller city than Bangkok, there is still lots of traffic, on weekends especially.  This is because there are two popular attractions—the mall is popular with the locals and the ocean is popular with the people from outside of town.  I have just started driving this week so I am trying to get used to some of the unwritten driving rules (which are often contrary to the written ones).  It’s amazing how long one has to wait to make a right turn in some places (since we drive on the left side, this is similar to making a left turn across traffic in North America.) 

On the roof with the ocean in the background

Our apartment is a bit larger than the one we had in Bangkok and is designed much more nicely.  There are three rooms plus a bathroom—living/dining room, kitchen and bedroom.  The big plus is the kitchen—while it is not terribly large, it actually has cupboard space.  It has no window screens—though we hope to change the situation soon—but it does have air conditioning.  Lately we’ve been having lots of gusty breezes blowing, which makes it more comfortable.  (Yesterday we were enjoying the cool evening breeze after the rain and I checked and saw that the temperature was 85F/29C.)

Some of the green space visible from the roof

Even though we have only been here a really short while, we have already become quite involved in the different ministries here in Chonburi: The Abundant Life Homes Orphanage, the Sila Church and the Thailand Mennonite Brethren Foundation office.  But we ill say more about those later.  Meanwhile, here are some pictures of our new home:

Living/Dining Room

Kitchen

Bathroom

Bedroom