Letter from home

Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.Proverbs 25:25 (NIV)
 
In Thailand it is not unusual for utilities to remain in the name of the landlord.  Whoever moves into a new place takes over paying the bills, even though nothing is in the name of the new tenant.  Since moving here we have received a few such things.  But yesterday when I looked in the mailbox there was a big surprise:
 

It was the first personal mail we’ve received since moving to Ban Phrueksa.
 
Perhaps it’s because we seldom use the post office to send mail these days that receiving a letter seems so special.  But another thing about getting the first mail is that it makes us feel a bit settled—like this is really our home now.
 
Moving around as much as we have the past few years, it is hard to feel like there is any place that we call home any more.  We live in one place long enough to begin to develop some relationships, but just when ministry type things seem to start happening, we’re moving on again.
 
But now, Ban Phrueksa is home.  Even the Thailand Post Office knows it.

As Judy Garland said, “there’s no place like home.”

So thanks, Shelly and Rob for the Christmas letter and especially the family photo.

Juan

Am I back in California?

We had just finished an outreach program at a Children’s Day celebration at a park in Ban Phrueksa.  Louise and the TREK team kept children occupied with games and crafts and singing along with a presentation of the gospel.

Afterwards, a young fellow came up whose name is Juan.  At least, that was my first thought.  Then reality hit that this was not California and the boy's name was more likely “Day” (Wan) than “John”  (Juan) (translating from Thai instead of Spanish), but I had not heard that name before, so it caught me by surprise.

Wan had bene watching our presentation and was interested in what he saw.  He expressed interest in learning to play an instrument, perhaps guitar.  We chatted a bit and then he helped load all of our stuff into my truck and later helped unload it at our house.  I thought perhaps I might next see him for guitar instruction on Saturday.

Once we got organized, the TREK team, Louise, Ingrid and myself got into my pickup and headed off to Bethel Church.  Several people had to sit in the back of the pickup (at least there is AC in the camper shell).  When we got to the church and everyone spilled out of the back I saw, to my surprise, that Wan had come along as well.

Wan (left) prays to receive Jesus into his life

We made our way to the church, arriving just as the sermon was about to begin.  Ajan Nat was preaching.  One of the verses she shared was 2 Corinthians 5:17--where Paul writes that if anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation.

After preaching, Nat asked it there were any who would like to trust Jesus as their Savior, and so become a new creation.  Wan, along with another first time guest (read Danae’s blog for that amazing story) went forward.
 
And so se welcome Wan into the family of God and pray that he will persevere and become active in the house church that will be starting here next week.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17--NLT)

Dagwood

When I was a child, our family would sometimes eat at at a restaurant (I think it was Litchfield Farm Shop, later bought out by Friendly’s) where they served a sandwich called “The Dagwood”.  The sandwich took its name from Dagwood of the Blondie cartoon strip.  Dagwood makes these extremely tall sandwiches made up of all manner of whatever.  But they all have a commonality—a piece of bread on either end.

The bread is not the most consequential part of the sandwich, but the two slices to give you something to grab onto as you eat.

As I did last year, I am focusing on the first and last photos of the year I took—that may not be of the most consequential events of the year but they serve as kind of a way of to grab onto the year.




January 2 is Ozz’s birthday.  On his birthday, he and his wife, Sara, came to join us for dinner at our apartment in Bangkok.  Sara is a good friend of ours whom we have known since our early days in Fresno, California.  Ozz is studying at a seminary in Bangkok.

Jus a few days ago, Sara and Ozz again joined us for dinner—only this time it was Christmas dinner at our new place in Chachoengsao Province.  With them was their 8 month old son Elijah.  Elijah is their first child (and kind of like our first grandchild), so their lives have been filled with a lot of change.



Our lives, too, have been filled with a lot of change—first a move to Chonburi and then to Chachoengsao.  Our lives have been filled with some births as well—first the birth of a vision to work in Northeast Thailand and then (when some complications arose), birth of a vision to start a church in an isolated community in Chachoengsao Province.

But even as people are born into this world, others leave it.  And so we bid farewell to my mom in late July.



The above picture of my mom and me I took back in 2007.  It is at the location of another birth, of sorts.  The Haystack Monument in Williamstown, Massachusetts marks the location of the birth of the world missions movement in North America—something that is significant in our lives as we have become part of that.  So even though my mom is gone, there is new life rising up in her place.  Pray that God will use us to bring new life in Jesus Christ to the people of Thailand.

December 31, 2012.  It is a few minutes before midnight and the main street in Ban Phrueksa is relatively quiet—belying the fact that there are a bunch of noisy parties going on on a lot of the side streets.



We seldom stay up to bring in the New Year, but since this was our first in Ban Phrueksa, we thought we would stay up and see what happens.  So we watched the final two episodes of season I of The Mentalist and then broke open a new deck of Uno cards to keep us awake.


Just before midnight we wandered out onto the streets and son the sky came alive with fireworks.



The abruptness of that moment—from quiet to loud explosions—is kind of what our December was like.  At the beginning of the month we were not even imagining living in Chachoengsao.  And then the timing seemed right and so there was an explosion of activity with a lot of praying and then house-hunting and participating in a multitude of Christmas outreach events and then moving mixed in with all of this.

And here we are—starting a new year and kind of a new live in Ban Phrueksa, Chachoengsao, Thailand.  As I reflect back on the year and see death and new life, I am reminded of the transient nature of life on earth.  But God and His work are not transient—His work will last.

I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.  Ecclesiastes 3:14 (NIV)


I wonder what kind of sandwich we’ll have this year.

The end or the beginning

Last week we were visiting Chao Lao Beach in Chanthaburi Province, about a 3 hour drive south of where we live. I got up early in the morning per my usual style and walked down the beach, hoping to catch a glimpse of the sunrise from the pier that I could see in the distance.

It took me about half an hour to get to the pier and as I was walking out to the end, I thought, “this is it, I can’t go any further, I’ve come to the end of my journey.” But then, I thought, it’s all a manner of perspective. To some people a pier not the end of the journey but only just the beginning of it.

Ingrid and family by the boat
that took them to Canada

Several years ago, such a boat ride marked the beginning of a new life for Ingrid’s family in Canada. To them, when they got on the boat, the journey was barely beginning.

But even as one begins such a trip, one has to keep in mind that such a segment of a journey is not necessarily easy. It could be dangerous (depending on the type of boat one is in) and there will likely be bouts of seasickness. But often we can’t get to our destination without boarding either a boat or a plane.

Our lives are often have piers in them as well. We get to points in our life and say, “well that was fun, but we’ve run into this obstacle, and we can’t go any further.” But maybe it might be the time to say something like, “Wow, looks like our journey is finally about to begin. Looks like it might be rough sailing for a while, but I can’t wait to get to the other side.”

After the nation of Israel had been wandering in the wilderness, they too, came upon an obstacle. They knew they were supposed to go to the land on the other side of the Jordan River, but the River was running at flood stage. Trying to get two million people across a flooding river would seem to be quite the challenge. But God had a plan. It did not involve a boat, but it did involve an ark.

So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. Joshua 3:14-16 (ESV)

Right now, we feel like we are about to get on a boat at the end of the pier. We’ve been on a journey to bring the good news of Jesus to the people of Isaan. We did not expect that our journey would take us the way it did and we finally got to the end of a road where it looked like the journey was over. But there is a boat at the end of the pier with Ban Phruksa-Chachoengsao written on its bow. It seems that if we ride this boat for a while we will eventually get to our destination. We don’t know what the ride will be like, and we may get a little seasick at times. But the end of the pier we are on is not the end of our journey, but only the beginning.

Entrance sign to Ban Phruksa

Weapon or Toy

A flambouyant tree similar to the one
we saw in Haiti

It was about 32 years ago when I first saw it. We had recently moved to Saint Marc, Haiti, and we were visiting Amani-y Beach just south of the city.  As we were driving over the white limestone soil on the way to the beach we passed this bare skeleton of a tree—except that it was covered with magnificent red blooms.
 
The flambouyant tree is probably the first tropical tree/flower that I learned the name of. And as beautiful as the blooms were, the later transformation was just as amazing. The big red blossoms gave way to enormous bean pods filled with hard, elongated beans. The pods dried almost black in color and when dry, the pods could be used as musical shakers. The dark skin could also be etched away revealing the paler woody pod beneath in order to make handicrafts.

Bloom of the flambouyant tree

The seeds themselves are quite hard. In the past, when I wanted to plant some seeds, I would file a notch in the side of the seed and then pour boiling water over them to hasten germination.

Pod and seeds of flambouyant tree
If you know how big my feet are, you can really appreciate this

 
It was in search of such pods that I set out a few weeks ago. I needed to pick them off the tree before they finished drying completely because otherwise they would split open while still on the tree. I had noticed a relatively short tree not far from our apartment on one of my walks so I headed to that tree.


When I arrived to the tree, there were the usual dozen or so feral dogs hanging around. (The undeveloped areas around here are home to probably a couple hundred feral dogs which are fed by well meaning folk trying to earn merit.) I had been around long enough where the dogs were more afraid of me than I of them. But that day they were even more afraid because now, in addition to the usual weapon I use to chase them away (my eyes), I also had this large, stick-like seed pod in my hand.

As I continued on my walk that morning, I turned around a corner when I saw this petite woman sitting on a curb almost dwarfed by the two golden retrievers that were with her. I had not seen those two dogs before, nor they me, but upon seeing me, the two came running up to me. One of them saw the bean pod in my hand—the same one that had been a potential weapon in the eyes of the feral dogs—and tried to pull it out of my hand to play fetch. (I had gone to great effort to get this pod, however, and I was not about to let it go.) The lady was apologetic about her dogs, but I was more than happy to hang out with the friendly duo for a few minutes. One of them wanted to follow me home, and I was tempted to let him.

We will soon (hopefully) be moving to the community of Ban Phruksa in Chachoengsao Province. This move to me is kind of like the seed pod of the flambouyant tree—I can look at it two different ways. The feral dog part of me wants to move to Isaan right now and resents the interim move we will soon be making to Ban Phruksa. The golden retriever in me sees how well suited we are for the ministry opportunity in Ban Phruksa. So I have to constantly choose between the two—will I be a feral dog or a golden retriever?

It’s kind of like when Moses sent out 12 spies into the Promised Land.  All twelve saw the same things, but ten of them, even though they had seen all the good things that the land had to offer, did not think that Israel was able to conquer the land or that it was worth the effort.  Only two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, thought that Israel was able to conquer the land.  Caleb reported: "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it." Numbers 13:30 (ESV) They believed that it was possible not because the nation of Israel was capable, but because God had promised them the land and that God would assure victory.

God, help me to see things with your eyes and to trust you to give victory.

Being Grateful

It’s not a good sign when you have aquatic plants as your front lawn.  But such is the case for many poor people living on this back road in Ang Sila.

The rainy season is supposed to end by Loy Krathong (a festival which fell on November 28 this year), an old fellow told me.  And it couldn’t be soon enough for some of these people.

I took the picture above several days before Loy Krathong.  Several days before some of the heaviest rains we’ve had.

This was the neighborhood where we held VBS a couple of weeks ago.  The VBS program was held at the home pictured below.  The gray-haired lady was our host.  An MB Mission team had helped fix up her flood prone home.  They raised it a little bit and gave it a concrete floor—although I don’t think they raised it enough to be above the current water level.  The woman and several others have since come to Christ, though they don’t get to church much because they have no transportation to get them there.



Ingrid and I had come back to the neighbor hood to inquire about a girl we met during VBS. This girl had a chronic leg infection and Ingrid had treated it some and we wanted to see how it was doing.  We did not know exactly where she lived and so we were traveling with Upa—another woman from the church who lives close by.  But when we came to the flooded area Upa said we shouldn’t go into the neighborhood.  She told us we’ll get a rash on our leg—and she should know—she lives on the back side of the same swamp in a house that is also prone to flooding.



It is hard to know what to do with situations like this.  One wants to help, but how?  This neighborhood is built on a depression—a low spot where all the rainwater collects.  Upa said it would be a least a week until it dried up—and that was before several more days of rain.  The original houses in the area were built on the few high spots in the area.  If it were in America, no one would be allowed to put up a community in a swamp without doing something to get rid of the water (However frail it might be as we learned in the case of New Orleans).  But here in Thailand, the poor have to live somewhere and the options are few.  So they settle where they can, even if it is a swamp.

On the night of Loy Krathong, we watched the fireworks and flying lanterns that mark the holiday from the dry safety of our 6th floor apartment.  (The orange star-like things in the photo are actually balloon-like lanterns the are set afloat in the sky.)  We are grateful for such housing.



But we and the Thai believers from Ang Sila church still think about the plight of those living in the swampland neighborhood.  Not only are they physically poor, they are also spiritually poor as well.  During VBS, many children indicated a desire to follow Jesus.  The Ang Sila church now grapples with how to follow up on this VBS.  How do we bring the gospel of Jesus to this neighborhood?  How do we not just tell them about the love of God but also show them the love of God?

The bigger question is, how do we not grow calloused after seeing this kind of situation again and again throughout Thailand?  It is too easy to just throw our hands in the hair and say, “well, this is too big for me to deal with,” and so do absolutely nothing.  We pray that we might find ways to show our gratefulness to God by doing things that others can be grateful to Him for.

As James writes:
¹⁴ What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?
¹⁵ Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing,
¹⁶ and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
James 2:14-16 (NLT)

You’re never too young

For the past couple of weeks, we have had new helpers in the children’s program we are helping to run at Sila Church.  Some of those who were helping before we’re too tired from working long hours at their job to commit to the 2 hour a day, 4 day per week program that had been going on since before we came to Chonburi.

But then we got a new volunteer.  Upa is the only person in church who is older than us.  She faithfully comes to the twice-a-week program—driving up on her little motorcycle with sidecar.  She helps gather children to come and to walk them home.  She helps communicate some things that I still struggle to communicate with my rudimentary Thai.

And even though she is not completely literate in Thai, she is right there with the children in trying to learn English and learning new songs in both English and Thai.

Upa helping to lead new songs

All this from a very humble woman of little means who struggles with many health issues.

As we continue in our challenge to learn Thai, we sometimes think, “this would have been a lot easier 30 years ago when our brains were a bit fresher.”  Yet Upa is an inspiration to us—she does not let her age keep her from trying to learn new things.  If Upa can do it, so can we.

God, I thank you for the wonderful people like Upa that you have placed in our lives.  Thank you for the inspiration they bring to us.  I pray that you give Upa strength and wisdom so that she can continue to be a bright light for you in Ang Sila.  I pray that you will use her faith to bring many others into your kingdom as she faithfully serves you.

Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."--1 Peter 5:5 (NKJV)