Footbon on the Courts

Last night, I finished up work in the office about 5:30. Over the weekend I discovered that there is a soccer court behind my room. So after work I stopped by the court to see if anyone was playing. Sure enough there were a lot of guys who looked like they ranged from age 15-30 playing soccer with even more men and kids watching. As I watched and tried to see how the game was structured some of the younger boys came up to me and tried talking with me. I asked them their names and how they were doing (about all my Thai allows right now). Next thing I new some of the older men who were playing were asking me to play with them. I ran back to my room to get dressed for the occasion. When I returned, I was immediately placed on a team. The court was concrete and the goals were frames only. We played 5v5 with a size 3?4 ball rotating teams at every goal with winner staying on. We played for 1 1/2 hrs, well past the sunset. Though I could not say much to them, they all played hard and seemed to have a good time.

The people in my neighborhood area are getting used to seeing me. I think they have a curiosity about me/find me funny. There is a group of men who hangout in front of the door to my house. One of the men tells me hello in English and gives me a high five every time I pass by now.

It is fun to get in the community and hangout with the people. I have found that even though I do not know Thai, I do not have much difficulty participating in activities with Thai people. They are very nice and usually want to incorporate me in whatever they are doing at the time.

Learning and Exploring

Last week was slow on the work front. My ability to work with the microfinance part of my job was limited by my coworker being on vacation, so I spent a lot of time getting to know the Step Ahead staff, Thai culture, and Bangkok area. I have so many questions. The hardest thing about working in a cross cultural situation like mine is the language barrier. The staff are very nice and want to get to know me but our differing languages limit our conversations.

Saturday I went to kids club. This time I was the first one there, and when the kids saw me coming, they ran up to me telling me hello and giving me big hugs. The kids have become my favorite people to interact with. They are so much fun to play with, and somehow the language barrier seems smaller between us.

I am looking forward to our soccer clinic next week. We have a short term missions team coming in tomorrow, so instead of having kids club next Saturday we are going to use their man power to put on a soccer camp. We will also be having English classes at Step Ahead Tuesday through Friday night. This should keep me pretty busy, as I will be helping with the English classes and in charge of the soccer camp.

Saturday afternoon and Sunday I was able to walk around Bangkok. I ended up walking to the richer part of Bangkok, and it is amazing how nice and close to the poor parts of the city it is. I took some pics which I put on flickr if you are interested in seeing them. The one that has the skyscrapers in the background and the street vendors up close is my favorite. It captures the absurdity of the wealth and poverty that coexist side-by-side.

I am still trying to find how I can make the impact that God has brought me here to make. I appreciate all your prayers as I work out my salvation here with fear and trembling.

Flickr

I just set up a flicker account. Like this blog, it is a work in progress. It contains the pictures in the slideshow as well as any videos I upload. I hope it helps you see what my day looks like. Right now it only has pictures of the apartment where I am staying.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/when_seeing_becomes_sight

Praising God in Funny Times

Thank you all for your prayers. I need God so much, and He has been close to me these past few days. Thank you for your prayers. Praise God for he is good. So many prayers have been answered:
I am here safe.
The bed where I am staying is comfortable and there is a fan in the room which keeps it cool.
The people here are very nice.
The food is very good.
God has been close to me, and held me close to Him.

I started working in Step Aheads office Monday. Right now, I am:
Orienting myself to how Step Ahead operates.
Learning some Thai so I can get around the city on my own. (I have found learning Thai from the staff has been one of the biggest ways we have been able to bond.)
Researching two accounting programs Step Ahead is looking at implementing. (I am having to wait until next week to get fully into this because Timy who I will be working with is on vacation right now.)
Organizing a soccer clinic next Saturday for the kids in the Klong Toei slum.
Organizing a soccer league for those kids to play in following the clinic.

You can be praying for:
God to give me the gift of tongues. The sooner I can speak Thai the better.
My safety working in a foreign land.
The staff to continue being so nice to me as I have so many questions.
The soccer program, that the networking that needs to happen will happen, that the kids will show up if it is something they want to do, and that it will be a success in all ways.
That God will be close to me in visible ways now as it is a little lonely not knowing the language or anyone here. (Most menus are in Thai so it is hard to order food and if the menu is in English the server often speaks Thai. This makes even ordering food hard.)
Be praying for all the other Covenant College interns who are on their internship already or getting ready.
Please pray for those who are still preparing to leave that everything falls in place. I know some who still need to raise more support. Pray that comes in. If anyone is interested in helping them you can email me and I can give you their info.

God bless and sa wai dii krop (good bye) from Thailand

God of This City

Today I went to the Evangelical Church of Bangkok. During the service we sang God of This City which you may know (as I did) as a song written by Chris Tomlin. The choir director, however, shared the true story of its origin:

God of This City was written by an Irish worship team called Blue Tree that went to Pattaya, Thailand to pray and worship over the city for 48 hrs. Pattaya is a city southeast of Bangkok that has the world's largest sex industry. While in Pattaya they were asked to play in a bar/brothel. When they were playing the Spirit of God gave them the words to God of This City, and they played it for the first time then and there as it was given to them.

I was surprised that I had never heard this if it were really true. So I checked it on YouTube, and it checked out. Chris Tomlin was performing in Ireland and one of the intro bands to his concert was Blue Tree. When he heard the song he asked them if he could play it. They agreed and the rest is history. Here are some YouTube clips telling the story:

This one is of Chris Tomlin telling the story behind God of This City:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co-RP2isqZY

This one is of Louie Giglio telling the story behind God of This City. I must warn you, however, that this contains explicit images from Pattaya:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClODquEcYs8&feature=related

This one is of the lead singer for Blue Tree telling the story behind God of This City:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXh_tgjnYJw&NR=1

Kids Club and other updates

So today I went with Coleman and Carter (son and daughter of John and Kim Quinley) to Step Ahead's kids club. It was supposed to start at 10 but when we arrived at 10:15 no one was there. I found out Thailand goes by "Thai time." (Being 15 min late to an event is normal.) Ja, the lady who leads the kids club, showed up about 10:30 and gathered together about 20 kids from the Klong Toey slum. These kids were a lot of fun. They drew pictures and Ja brought make-up for the girls to play with. At first I didn't know how to say anything to the kids and they pretty well ignored my being there. I asked Coleman if the kids did high fives and he said yes. I also asked him how to say very good. He told me to say di mak. So I started telling the girls di mak about their make-up and the boys di mak about there pictures and then offered them a high five. Soon one of the girls started trying to put make up on my face, and that is when things picked up. Next thing I knew I was running from ten girls with make-up brushes. I managed to avoid a lot of the powder but by the end my shirt and face had taken a toll. I also found the kids liked to be picked up and spun around and to be quickly lifted high in the air. I played with legos and tossed paper airplanes with the kids. We had a lot of fun. I learned how to ask their names and how to tell someone my name. You ask what a persons name is by saying chun alli and respond by saying chun John. Though I learned some of the language and had Coleman help some with translation I was still told by one girl that I was a silly foreigner who didn't know much Thai. She proceeded to smile, give me a high five, and laugh.

I wish I had brought my camera. There were so many photo opportunities. The kids club meets every Saturday so I will be able to go back. I also found out that the Quinleys really want to start a soccer program for the children living in the slum. Step Ahead had a soccer camp not to long ago and 60 kids showed up. That got Mr. Quinley thinking about starting a league because he has experience starting an American football league for one of his sons, and he was talking to some big names in the soccer scene in Bangkok and they agreed to sponsor the equipment needed. When Mr. Quinley heard I play soccer at Covenant he decided he wants me to head up starting the program, in addition to the work I will be doing with Step Ahead's microfinance program. So that will be getting started in the week to come. I will keep you updated on if that progresses into reality. I visited the microfinance office two days ago and met the staff. Most of them only speak Thai though I was able to talk with a few in English. I think I will primarily be working to implement new loan tracking and business modeling systems at the main office. Mr. Quinley has mention that I might go down to Klow Lak for 2-4 weeks to see what Step Ahead is doing there and possibly to Pattaya for 1 week to take surveys of the potential client base for microfinance if they start a branch there.

In Bangkok

The flight went well, and I am safe and sound in Bangkok. My first flight was from ATL to Seoul, Korea and then I flew from Sheol to Bangkok. Let me tell you, I flew Korean Air, and the service was amazing. The Quinley's told me Asian airlines typically have better service then Western ones. They served great meals and drinks, as well as giving us blankets, pillows, tooth brush, shades, and even socks. How sweet is that. It was odd having all announcements given in Korean and Thai before English, though. I guess I have to get used to it. I felt separated from what was going on, because of the language barrier. It makes me think more about the Hispanics in the US who don't know English.

The Quinley's picked me up from the airport, and tok me to their house where I will be staying for the next few days before I move into my own apartment. John Quinley is so excited about loving the Lord, sharing Him with others, and helping those in need. I am really excited to be working under him this summer. I think there is a lot I will learn from him and his family. His 19 year old son has done in his life more than I could dream of doing for a while. The Quinley's are people who don't bow to the idea of conservative growth. They have already told me so many things they are starting or want to start. They see needs in the world and are finding answers.

Well I will keep everyone abreast on the latest news from Bangkok. I have had a lazy morning and think Mr. Quinley is going to take me to visit Step Ahead's office this afternoon. Until then, God bless.

19 1/2 hrs to departure

So I am 19 1/2 hours from being on an airplane headed to Sheol Korea and from Sheol to Bangkok. 34 hr and 45 min travel time...ya! I still have so much to do before I leave: pack, say good bye to friends, send this great blog link to all whom I love and love me. (Feel free to share this blog site with others. I probably forgot a lot of people.) Well, pray for my safety and acclamation to the new place. I don't know what to expect, but I trust things will fall in place in the next few days. Until then, God bless and I ask pray for me.