James 2: 14-26 says:
"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." - James 1:27
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" - Jesus (Mathew 7:15-23)
Brothers and sisters let me warn you. God is not impressed by our knowledge of Him and of scripture anymore than he was impressed by the Pharisee's knowledge. "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder." What God desires from us is to care for the poor and oppressed. "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." Jesus says those who will be allowed into his kingdom will be those who take care of those in need. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." There will be many who knew the right things and even said the right things, but did not love God and others in action who will be cast into hell. "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
I share this with you, because I don't want you to labor in vain. If you are laboring to know the "right stuff" or to know the "right answers" or to do the dos and not do the don'ts you are missing the point. Jesus wants us to "love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all of our soul and with all of our mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:37-40)." We can not show partiality when helping our neighbor. James 2:1-9 We must not choose to surround ourselves with only rich friends. Jesus says, "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money (Matthew 6:24)." When you have earthly possessions you become attached to them. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." This is why as a Christian we are constantly putting off the things of this earth and storing up treasures in heaven via good deeds. "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (Mathew 19:24)." In order not to serve money we must get rid of it via using it for good works. That is the only way to free ourselves from serving it and begin to serve God.
Let me encourage you brothers, "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead...press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13b-14)."
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
No Man's Land: A life of unseen tears
The much belated is finally here: an update on my trip to Mae Sot.
First, let me set the stage for my trip. Mae Sot is a large city located on the Thai side of the Thailand Burma border. The city is the most trafficked land bridge between Burma and Thailand. For those who do not know, Burma (Myanmar) is run by a military dictatorship who took power 20 years ago when they ousted the newly elected prime minister. The prime minister won the free elections by a 70% margin. Since the military took control they have ruled with an iron fist. The government has waged war against the minority groups (most of whom live in the Southern mountains). Because of the genocide facing the Karen and Burmese, they are fleeing to the boarder. Mae Sot has a population of 120,000 and an estimated 100,000 refugees. The Thai government is not granting the refugees legal status; instead, they are turning a blind eye. They have set up many check points around the city to keep the refugees from traveling further into Thailand.
This has turned Mae Sot into a forsaken city. Its residence have fled Burma for their lives and are now living in a city ignored by Thailand. This has provided opportunity for black market trade to become rampant. Among the things smuggled across the boarder are drugs and people. Refugees in Mae Sot have no government over them. They are truly in no man's land. Because of this there are no medical institutions, schools, jobs, or law enforcement agencies for them. NGO's have begun to step in and provide basic medical treatments, food, schools, and law. I worked with two organizations while in Mae Sot. One was providing free primary education and free lunches to about 80 Burmese and Karen refugees. The other is providing law enforcement for abused refugee kids. They take kids away from abusive families and provide safe houses for them to live in.
An overview of what we did:
Friday
We facilitated arts and crafts with the kids at the migrant school until lunch.
After lunch we built up the schools road with 2 dump truck loads of dirt, because the road was a mud trap for cars before.
I dug out the dump truck after it beached itself on the dirt it just dumped.
We built portable wall partitions to separate classrooms in the one room school. (The school teaches 1-6 grades!)
We walked through the refugee villages giving out box diners and ice cream.
Returned to the hotel for some rest.
Saturday
Worked at Compassio (the safe house for abused refugee kids) building an outhouse around a toilet behind the safe house.
We had five guys building the walls with cinder blocks.
On the second level of cinder blocks Chris asked us how the kids were going to get in the bathroom.
We took down the second level and made a door.
At lunch we hopped on two motorbikes to go to a near by restaurant.
Kevin informed us he could drive one of them.
I hopped on the back of his bike, and he began to go.
We both crawled out from under the bike after he ran into a pile of sand. Luckly the sand pile cushioned our fall. (No worries, I didn't even get a scratch)
At 4 we quit building and went to Compassio's head office where we grilled out for the Compassio kids and staff.
Later that night we had a dance party with the kids for 45 min.
They played No Body but You by Wonder Girls for the whole party. (A Thai favorite)
Sunday
Worshiped our God with the team on the top of a hill overlooking the Burmese mountains. It was quite surreal.
Went back to the migrant school to build more wall partitions and a bench.
We brought out the paints again and let the kids paint the wall partitions.
Te Te, one of the kids, painted a picture of Jesus on the cross on the top of a mountain. Their was one person bowing before Jesus and one person standing pointing to another mountain in the distance. It was pretty touching because the school isn't a Christian school, and even while the kids were painting they had to stop because some Buddhist monks came.
At 1 we left for Compassio's baby house where we picked up 15 kids to go swimming in our hotels pool.
At 4 we packed up and headed out.
During the trip I was able to spend myself doing manual labor outdoors with kids. Exactly what I love to do. I didn't realize how much I miss doing that kind of stuff. The past few summers I have been able to do some combination of outdoor labor and youth ministry. This summer, I spend so much time in the office pouring over a computer. It was freeing and rejuvenating to pour myself out physically and emotionally for kids who have seen so much that no one should have to see. Please be praying for these kids. I have a few days built into my trip to vacation with. I think I am going to plan another trip up there to work with these kids. They are truly the people no one sees or cares about. They are the least of these. The kids at Compassio have fled their country because their own government wants to kill them. They are living in a country that wants to pretend they don't exist. And they live at Compassio because their parents beat them, starved them, and forced them to beg on the streets. And in the midst of all of this, Compassio stands for these kids, to give them dignity, a home, food, an education, love, and best of all Jesus.
Everyday, hundreds of Burmese and Karen people are displaced or killed by their government, because they are different. They either speak a different language or are a different religion. Christians are being targeted by the Buddhist. I talked with one Christian Karen woman who had just visited one of the Mae Sot hospitals. She told me all Karen have been targeted by the government for extermination. Recently the Buddhist Karen people sided with the government against the Christian Karen. "I don't understand why they kill us. We are the same as them. We are Karen. Why do they kill us? When I was at the hospital there were Buddhist and Christian Karen soldiers in the same hospital. I brought them gifts, and I gave the gifts to everyone, to the Christians and the Buddhist. I did it because I love them too. They need to know we don't want to hurt them. We are brothers."
One more story:
On Sunday I talked with Sia, one of the Compassio staff. All weekends I had noticed she looked tired, so I asked if she was tired. "Ya" she replied. I asked, "Is it a lot of extra work when teams come to help?" She answered, "A little, but I always stay busy. Even when there's nothing to do, I find something to do. I work myself a lot." I thought about what she said. On her wall I noticed a picture of her weed eating. I thought about what she said. On the way back to Bangkok, everyone was sharing stories and it came up that one of the kids at Compassio is Sia's brother. Someone asked how that could be, and Nate responded: "Her dad had many wives. Sia is mixxed up in much the same stuff as the kids." It all made sense. She pours herself out to the point of exhaustion because she loves the kids. She chews Nate out for bringing us to the grill out 20 min late because she loves the kids. She cries after chewing Nate out because she loves the kids. She risks her neck for the kids because she loves them. Do you love anyone like that? She is doing all she knows to do to help the kids. Interestingly, I saw the same characteristics among the refugees in every older sibling for their younger siblings, in every older kid for the younger kids, in every adult for kids, and in every adult for fellow adults.
First, let me set the stage for my trip. Mae Sot is a large city located on the Thai side of the Thailand Burma border. The city is the most trafficked land bridge between Burma and Thailand. For those who do not know, Burma (Myanmar) is run by a military dictatorship who took power 20 years ago when they ousted the newly elected prime minister. The prime minister won the free elections by a 70% margin. Since the military took control they have ruled with an iron fist. The government has waged war against the minority groups (most of whom live in the Southern mountains). Because of the genocide facing the Karen and Burmese, they are fleeing to the boarder. Mae Sot has a population of 120,000 and an estimated 100,000 refugees. The Thai government is not granting the refugees legal status; instead, they are turning a blind eye. They have set up many check points around the city to keep the refugees from traveling further into Thailand.
This has turned Mae Sot into a forsaken city. Its residence have fled Burma for their lives and are now living in a city ignored by Thailand. This has provided opportunity for black market trade to become rampant. Among the things smuggled across the boarder are drugs and people. Refugees in Mae Sot have no government over them. They are truly in no man's land. Because of this there are no medical institutions, schools, jobs, or law enforcement agencies for them. NGO's have begun to step in and provide basic medical treatments, food, schools, and law. I worked with two organizations while in Mae Sot. One was providing free primary education and free lunches to about 80 Burmese and Karen refugees. The other is providing law enforcement for abused refugee kids. They take kids away from abusive families and provide safe houses for them to live in.
An overview of what we did:
Friday
We facilitated arts and crafts with the kids at the migrant school until lunch.
After lunch we built up the schools road with 2 dump truck loads of dirt, because the road was a mud trap for cars before.
I dug out the dump truck after it beached itself on the dirt it just dumped.
We built portable wall partitions to separate classrooms in the one room school. (The school teaches 1-6 grades!)
We walked through the refugee villages giving out box diners and ice cream.
Returned to the hotel for some rest.
Saturday
Worked at Compassio (the safe house for abused refugee kids) building an outhouse around a toilet behind the safe house.
We had five guys building the walls with cinder blocks.
On the second level of cinder blocks Chris asked us how the kids were going to get in the bathroom.
We took down the second level and made a door.
At lunch we hopped on two motorbikes to go to a near by restaurant.
Kevin informed us he could drive one of them.
I hopped on the back of his bike, and he began to go.
We both crawled out from under the bike after he ran into a pile of sand. Luckly the sand pile cushioned our fall. (No worries, I didn't even get a scratch)
At 4 we quit building and went to Compassio's head office where we grilled out for the Compassio kids and staff.
Later that night we had a dance party with the kids for 45 min.
They played No Body but You by Wonder Girls for the whole party. (A Thai favorite)
Sunday
Worshiped our God with the team on the top of a hill overlooking the Burmese mountains. It was quite surreal.
Went back to the migrant school to build more wall partitions and a bench.
We brought out the paints again and let the kids paint the wall partitions.
Te Te, one of the kids, painted a picture of Jesus on the cross on the top of a mountain. Their was one person bowing before Jesus and one person standing pointing to another mountain in the distance. It was pretty touching because the school isn't a Christian school, and even while the kids were painting they had to stop because some Buddhist monks came.
At 1 we left for Compassio's baby house where we picked up 15 kids to go swimming in our hotels pool.
At 4 we packed up and headed out.
During the trip I was able to spend myself doing manual labor outdoors with kids. Exactly what I love to do. I didn't realize how much I miss doing that kind of stuff. The past few summers I have been able to do some combination of outdoor labor and youth ministry. This summer, I spend so much time in the office pouring over a computer. It was freeing and rejuvenating to pour myself out physically and emotionally for kids who have seen so much that no one should have to see. Please be praying for these kids. I have a few days built into my trip to vacation with. I think I am going to plan another trip up there to work with these kids. They are truly the people no one sees or cares about. They are the least of these. The kids at Compassio have fled their country because their own government wants to kill them. They are living in a country that wants to pretend they don't exist. And they live at Compassio because their parents beat them, starved them, and forced them to beg on the streets. And in the midst of all of this, Compassio stands for these kids, to give them dignity, a home, food, an education, love, and best of all Jesus.
Everyday, hundreds of Burmese and Karen people are displaced or killed by their government, because they are different. They either speak a different language or are a different religion. Christians are being targeted by the Buddhist. I talked with one Christian Karen woman who had just visited one of the Mae Sot hospitals. She told me all Karen have been targeted by the government for extermination. Recently the Buddhist Karen people sided with the government against the Christian Karen. "I don't understand why they kill us. We are the same as them. We are Karen. Why do they kill us? When I was at the hospital there were Buddhist and Christian Karen soldiers in the same hospital. I brought them gifts, and I gave the gifts to everyone, to the Christians and the Buddhist. I did it because I love them too. They need to know we don't want to hurt them. We are brothers."
One more story:
On Sunday I talked with Sia, one of the Compassio staff. All weekends I had noticed she looked tired, so I asked if she was tired. "Ya" she replied. I asked, "Is it a lot of extra work when teams come to help?" She answered, "A little, but I always stay busy. Even when there's nothing to do, I find something to do. I work myself a lot." I thought about what she said. On her wall I noticed a picture of her weed eating. I thought about what she said. On the way back to Bangkok, everyone was sharing stories and it came up that one of the kids at Compassio is Sia's brother. Someone asked how that could be, and Nate responded: "Her dad had many wives. Sia is mixxed up in much the same stuff as the kids." It all made sense. She pours herself out to the point of exhaustion because she loves the kids. She chews Nate out for bringing us to the grill out 20 min late because she loves the kids. She cries after chewing Nate out because she loves the kids. She risks her neck for the kids because she loves them. Do you love anyone like that? She is doing all she knows to do to help the kids. Interestingly, I saw the same characteristics among the refugees in every older sibling for their younger siblings, in every older kid for the younger kids, in every adult for kids, and in every adult for fellow adults.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Mae Sot
I know I just posted a lengthy blog yesterday, but I could use your prayers.
In a few hours I will be leaving Bangkok for Mae Sot. Mae Sot is a border city to Burma, six hours north of Bangkok. I will be going with a team of 10 people from one of the international churches I am involved with. We will be in Mae Sot today through late Sunday/early Monday. Pray our travels are safe. We are taking a van there and back, driving through the night both ways. Pray the drivers stay awake and aware.
While there we plan to do a lot of construction as well as spending some time playing with the refugee children. The team lead (a friend and mentor of mine) has been heavily involved in the work in Mae Sot for the past few months. About two months ago he took a team to do much of the same things. Pray that he has wisdom in the leadership decisions that fall upon him. Also pray for our team. We don't know many details about what our living and working situations will be like when we arrive. And, pray for the hearts of these Burmese refugees. May God grant them hope and salvation from the hell they now live in.
In a few hours I will be leaving Bangkok for Mae Sot. Mae Sot is a border city to Burma, six hours north of Bangkok. I will be going with a team of 10 people from one of the international churches I am involved with. We will be in Mae Sot today through late Sunday/early Monday. Pray our travels are safe. We are taking a van there and back, driving through the night both ways. Pray the drivers stay awake and aware.
While there we plan to do a lot of construction as well as spending some time playing with the refugee children. The team lead (a friend and mentor of mine) has been heavily involved in the work in Mae Sot for the past few months. About two months ago he took a team to do much of the same things. Pray that he has wisdom in the leadership decisions that fall upon him. Also pray for our team. We don't know many details about what our living and working situations will be like when we arrive. And, pray for the hearts of these Burmese refugees. May God grant them hope and salvation from the hell they now live in.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
A Memorable Day of God's Grace
Yesterday was a day full of God's grace being poured out on me. I went to Din Dang to work on Microfin with Timmy at a coffee shop in the morning and to visit the Thailand Bible Society. Three friends joined Timmy and I at the coffee shop limiting our work productivity, but definitely making the time more enjoyable. After lunch, Timmy, Dwight, and I traveled to the Thai Bible Society where the Bible and Christian literature are translated into English. The building doubles as a Christian book store where I found a manga of the gospels and Acts (A manga is a Japanese graphic novel).
Timmy had some work to do there, so Dwight took me to the Bangkok Refugee Center (BFC). Dwight is an English teacher in Bangkok and has organized and run many philanthropist projects in his spare time. He told me how he has developed relations with many projects in Bangkok and a website where he connects volunteers to those organizations. This only further confirms my suspicions that many Christians do not suffer from an inability to help people but low expectations and apathy. Dwight uses all of his spare time to help people through the skills he knows, and he started by finding those in need. We believe as Christians we should help the poor. When we don't see any poor around us, we say God hasn't put anyone in my life to help. No! That is not the case. The truth is as Christians we have to seek out those in need of help. That is the first instrument of grace you show to those you help: that you sought them out just like God sought us out and saved us.
In any case, Dwight showed me around the center and introduced me to a Sri Lankan refugee who shared with me the hidden life of refugees and asylum seekers. This conversation opened a whole new world to me that I didn't know exists. I will have to do more research on these people. Maybe you too will be moved to do the same. What I found out is that those who have to flee their countries because of persecution are considered illegal aliens in the country they flee too. The UN has a system worked out where refugees can apply for refugee status, which doesn't make them legal in the country they fled to, but does qualify them to receive aid from the UN. That aid includes food, medicine, special skills classes, and access to a social worker. The social worker works with the refugee to help them find a country who will give them legal residency statues. Until a country gives them legal residency status they are illegal aliens in the country they have fled to. They legally can't take a job, and are always in jeopardy of being arrested and deported back to their country. The Sri Lankan man I talked with was the chef at the refugee center. He shared that the people in the most need are the asylum seekers. People can stay in this stage for years because of bureaucracy. Asylum seekers are illegal in the country they are seeking refuge in and are not receiving aid from the UN yet. The Sri Lankan man shared that these people are starving. He gives them the leftovers from his restaurant each day, but it is not enough. He asked Dwight to focus his next project on helping that group of people.
After visiting the refugee center, I went with Timmy to a printing shop where a Christian Thai track Timmy had was printed. We wanted to see if the printing shop had more tracks we could distribute, since their aren't any tracks for sell in Bangkok. The address was all we had to connect with this place. It was hard to find, but we found it. Turns out the printing shop is owned by a Buddhist couple and run by their Christian son. The son (Phom) uses his own money to print the tracks and sells them at cost. When we asked them about the tracks and expressed our desire to have some literature in Thai to give to the Thais round us, he insisted we take a pack of every type of track he has for free. I told him I wanted to pay for them, but he insisted we take them free of charge. As we made our way to leave he asked where we were headed. I told him, and he told me he was going to drive me there. I told him it was no problem for me to walk, but he insisted he would drive me. He asked me where I am from. I told him America. "You have travelled a long way, probably spending lots of your money, to come here to share Jesus with us. Let me do this for you. There will plenty of opportunity for you to walk later." Wow. Please pray a prayer of thanks for this man. His faith and kindness will not go unnoticed by God.
Wow I have so much more to say, and I am realizing how much I have said already; so, I will brief you on the rest:
On the way back I took a motorbike part of the way. The motorbike drivers pegged me as a tourist and asked me for 50 B for the ride. I told them the ride was only worth 20 B and that is what I would pay (I was right. I was not trying to cheat them). The bartering continued until I settled for 25 B. The person who took me volunteered to drive me when I raised my bid. When I arrived at home, I handed him 25 B. He told me no, and handed me 5 B back. Wow. If you know motor bike drivers, you will know how crazy this is. They usually try to rip you off as much as they can. Please pray for this man a prayer of thanks giving, that God saves this man, if He hasn't already, and that God provides for this man's needs.
Later that night I went to Kung's house for dinner. The motorbike driver I used turned out to be a member of Tallia, and was the first motorbike driver to tell me "God bless you." Another amazing blessing from God.
While eating with Kung, I asked him how he became a Christian. He shared how his mom dedicated him to God when he was 10 months old. He had gone to church his whole life, but it was all head knowledge and not reflected in his actions. He had a wife, a street business, was a leader in the Mafia, and was a moneylender who beat his clients (ironic). Four years ago he was arrested, lost his business, and his wife left him. The courts told him he was going to have to go to jail for 7 years. He and the whole Tallia church prayed to God for grace and that he would not have to go. When he went for sentencing he was told he was free to go. No jail at all. He dedicated his life to Christ then and is now training under Tallia's pastor and planting a church in Lummoo. It was amazing to hear what God is doing and has done in his life. It is scary how much of his story reflects that of mine. I have not told him yet, but I think I will soon.
As always, if I can be praying for you in anything please let me know. My heart is with everyone near and far. God bless you for your prayers and encouragement. He is encouraging me.
Timmy had some work to do there, so Dwight took me to the Bangkok Refugee Center (BFC). Dwight is an English teacher in Bangkok and has organized and run many philanthropist projects in his spare time. He told me how he has developed relations with many projects in Bangkok and a website where he connects volunteers to those organizations. This only further confirms my suspicions that many Christians do not suffer from an inability to help people but low expectations and apathy. Dwight uses all of his spare time to help people through the skills he knows, and he started by finding those in need. We believe as Christians we should help the poor. When we don't see any poor around us, we say God hasn't put anyone in my life to help. No! That is not the case. The truth is as Christians we have to seek out those in need of help. That is the first instrument of grace you show to those you help: that you sought them out just like God sought us out and saved us.
In any case, Dwight showed me around the center and introduced me to a Sri Lankan refugee who shared with me the hidden life of refugees and asylum seekers. This conversation opened a whole new world to me that I didn't know exists. I will have to do more research on these people. Maybe you too will be moved to do the same. What I found out is that those who have to flee their countries because of persecution are considered illegal aliens in the country they flee too. The UN has a system worked out where refugees can apply for refugee status, which doesn't make them legal in the country they fled to, but does qualify them to receive aid from the UN. That aid includes food, medicine, special skills classes, and access to a social worker. The social worker works with the refugee to help them find a country who will give them legal residency statues. Until a country gives them legal residency status they are illegal aliens in the country they have fled to. They legally can't take a job, and are always in jeopardy of being arrested and deported back to their country. The Sri Lankan man I talked with was the chef at the refugee center. He shared that the people in the most need are the asylum seekers. People can stay in this stage for years because of bureaucracy. Asylum seekers are illegal in the country they are seeking refuge in and are not receiving aid from the UN yet. The Sri Lankan man shared that these people are starving. He gives them the leftovers from his restaurant each day, but it is not enough. He asked Dwight to focus his next project on helping that group of people.
After visiting the refugee center, I went with Timmy to a printing shop where a Christian Thai track Timmy had was printed. We wanted to see if the printing shop had more tracks we could distribute, since their aren't any tracks for sell in Bangkok. The address was all we had to connect with this place. It was hard to find, but we found it. Turns out the printing shop is owned by a Buddhist couple and run by their Christian son. The son (Phom) uses his own money to print the tracks and sells them at cost. When we asked them about the tracks and expressed our desire to have some literature in Thai to give to the Thais round us, he insisted we take a pack of every type of track he has for free. I told him I wanted to pay for them, but he insisted we take them free of charge. As we made our way to leave he asked where we were headed. I told him, and he told me he was going to drive me there. I told him it was no problem for me to walk, but he insisted he would drive me. He asked me where I am from. I told him America. "You have travelled a long way, probably spending lots of your money, to come here to share Jesus with us. Let me do this for you. There will plenty of opportunity for you to walk later." Wow. Please pray a prayer of thanks for this man. His faith and kindness will not go unnoticed by God.
Wow I have so much more to say, and I am realizing how much I have said already; so, I will brief you on the rest:
On the way back I took a motorbike part of the way. The motorbike drivers pegged me as a tourist and asked me for 50 B for the ride. I told them the ride was only worth 20 B and that is what I would pay (I was right. I was not trying to cheat them). The bartering continued until I settled for 25 B. The person who took me volunteered to drive me when I raised my bid. When I arrived at home, I handed him 25 B. He told me no, and handed me 5 B back. Wow. If you know motor bike drivers, you will know how crazy this is. They usually try to rip you off as much as they can. Please pray for this man a prayer of thanks giving, that God saves this man, if He hasn't already, and that God provides for this man's needs.
Later that night I went to Kung's house for dinner. The motorbike driver I used turned out to be a member of Tallia, and was the first motorbike driver to tell me "God bless you." Another amazing blessing from God.
While eating with Kung, I asked him how he became a Christian. He shared how his mom dedicated him to God when he was 10 months old. He had gone to church his whole life, but it was all head knowledge and not reflected in his actions. He had a wife, a street business, was a leader in the Mafia, and was a moneylender who beat his clients (ironic). Four years ago he was arrested, lost his business, and his wife left him. The courts told him he was going to have to go to jail for 7 years. He and the whole Tallia church prayed to God for grace and that he would not have to go. When he went for sentencing he was told he was free to go. No jail at all. He dedicated his life to Christ then and is now training under Tallia's pastor and planting a church in Lummoo. It was amazing to hear what God is doing and has done in his life. It is scary how much of his story reflects that of mine. I have not told him yet, but I think I will soon.
As always, if I can be praying for you in anything please let me know. My heart is with everyone near and far. God bless you for your prayers and encouragement. He is encouraging me.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Weddings and the Mafia
Sunday, I was invited to a wedding reception for one of my Thai friend's friend. After teaching English at church, I went with my friend to the reception. When we arrived I quickly realized my friend was very good friends with the groom. He was the equivalent of the best man in an American wedding reception. He recruited me to greet new comers and lead them to tables for dinner. People poured in in a constant stream for over an hour. I could have become tired of standing so long, but I just kept looking at the bride and groom who stood in the same place for pictures the whole time, and I felt better. Wedding receptions in Thailand are times for the friends and family of the bride and groom to feast, sing, and have a good time. For the bride and groom, it is a three hour photo shoot with everyone attending. After the first hour I sat down with some new friends and feasted on Chinese cuisine for two hours. It was a lot of fun, and I was able to meet some new people.
Some highlights from the reception:
1. All the people there were from Klong Toei. It was a great chance to meet and connect with a lot of Thais in my area of work.
2. I was introduced to the mayor of Klong Toei or Governor of Bangkok. I'm not sure. I was introduced to a guy who acted like he was important. Later I asked who he was, and was told, "He is the head of the government. Not the country government, the city."
3. An interesting dynamic of the reception, which I hope is not a foreshadowing of the marriage though I am scared it will be, was that after most people had left the groom found some friends and drank till he no longer could put a coherent sentence together while the wife counted the money gifts given to them. Interesting how the dynamic starts so early.
Yesterday I had lunch with a pastor of a local international church and a friend starting a project in the Klong Toei slums. We talked some about the Tallia church. I knew that a lot of the people in the church if not all came from backgrounds of excessive drinking and all the vices that are common in the slum. I found out the pastor of the church was actually part of the local mafia before his dad sent him to a Bible College in Korea. He became a Christian there and returned to plant a church. Since he has planted one church and is in the process of planting/training to churches/pastors in the area. The church building was actually bought from the mafia when the church began. This connected some dots in my mind. I have wondered how many of the friends I have been making are in the mafia. I wonder how much I am in the mafia circles now. Because the church is on good terms with the mafia, the pastor and members are friends with a lot of people in the mafia. I don't know the extent of the mafia, but I think it is more of an organization that unofficially runs the area. I know the motorbike drivers are all part of the mafia.
In any case, pray God will shine through me. My faith that God can speak through me in Thai is small. Pray God increases my faith. Pray He speaks even if its not through my mouth in Thai.
Some highlights from the reception:
1. All the people there were from Klong Toei. It was a great chance to meet and connect with a lot of Thais in my area of work.
2. I was introduced to the mayor of Klong Toei or Governor of Bangkok. I'm not sure. I was introduced to a guy who acted like he was important. Later I asked who he was, and was told, "He is the head of the government. Not the country government, the city."
3. An interesting dynamic of the reception, which I hope is not a foreshadowing of the marriage though I am scared it will be, was that after most people had left the groom found some friends and drank till he no longer could put a coherent sentence together while the wife counted the money gifts given to them. Interesting how the dynamic starts so early.
Yesterday I had lunch with a pastor of a local international church and a friend starting a project in the Klong Toei slums. We talked some about the Tallia church. I knew that a lot of the people in the church if not all came from backgrounds of excessive drinking and all the vices that are common in the slum. I found out the pastor of the church was actually part of the local mafia before his dad sent him to a Bible College in Korea. He became a Christian there and returned to plant a church. Since he has planted one church and is in the process of planting/training to churches/pastors in the area. The church building was actually bought from the mafia when the church began. This connected some dots in my mind. I have wondered how many of the friends I have been making are in the mafia. I wonder how much I am in the mafia circles now. Because the church is on good terms with the mafia, the pastor and members are friends with a lot of people in the mafia. I don't know the extent of the mafia, but I think it is more of an organization that unofficially runs the area. I know the motorbike drivers are all part of the mafia.
In any case, pray God will shine through me. My faith that God can speak through me in Thai is small. Pray God increases my faith. Pray He speaks even if its not through my mouth in Thai.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Prayer for the Thai Church
I just want to update ya'll about some things I have done and learned this weekend.
First, Please be praying for Nom, the Buddhist lady who helps at kids club. She is curious about Christianity. She has told me she wants to go to church with me. She even offered to take me to her local church which she doesn't go to but would like to. At dinner Saturday night she asked me to pray for the food before we ate, and she has asked me to be praying for her.
Second, Tallia Klong Toei Church is awesome. Koon brought a lot of the kids in the church to kids club Saturday. When he saw we didn't have a whole lot planned he immediately sent some one to get him some candy and began games with the kids. The kids loved it and had a blast. Some more people from the church have told me they would like t help. Its so great.
I am officially the conversational English teacher at Tallia. This past Sunday was great and we had a lot of fun. I learned that Tallia is looking to plant two churches in neighboring slums. Two of the Tallia members are training under the pastor to become the pastors of these church plants. Tallia is praying to be able to start 12 churches. I have been praying the same for them, and I ask you will do the same. They need prayer that God will pour out His Spirit on them, giving them boldness, courage, humility, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. They are trying to start as many social programs out of the church as well. They trust God to use them to show compassion to the people in the community, helping them like Jesus did during his ministry on earth, with the prayer that through them the community would be saved.
Yesterday was a landmine day for my research. As I mentioned before, I interviewed five of our clients last week. Those interviews brought up some interesting aspects of our program. Yesterday all of those things were brought to light and discussed. It was a great jump start to my research which was beginning to bottom out. Please be praying that God will give Timmy and me the right questions and true answers to those questions as we try to understand better where Step Ahead is now and where it should go. We have a lot to do in the next few weeks so please be praying for God to work through us to help direct Step Ahead into the instrument of grace that He intends it to be.
About four weeks ago I noticed one of the girls who goes to kids club had a few deep holes on her ankle and foot. I asked her what the were and she just brushed me off. There was still the evidence of band aids having been used to cover them up. The next week I noticed the wounds were not better, instead flies flew around them. The next week I noticed that the wounds were noticeably worse. I asked Ja who had the most experience with Step Ahead if we could do anything to help. The Thursday before that I had talked in a Bible study about being in a situation like that. We had discussed how we would help in that situation since it was a specific need God was giving to us. I did nothing, because I did not know what to do. She was on my mind all last week. I regretted not doing anything for her. This past Saturday, her foot was much much worse. Her foot had changed colors, the wounds were obviously infected, and she was in pain when she stepped wrong or someone touched her foot. Thankfully God had placed it Mr. Quinley's heart (CEO of Step Ahead) to come to kids club that morning. I told him about the problem and asked him what we could do. At first he was reluctant to help for fear of the prospect of changed community expectations of kids club. I insisted that this was a real problem and that I wanted to help if at possible. He took a chance and helped her. Praise God. She had her foot cleaned and was given antibiotics. When she got back from the clinic she ran up to me and showed me her foot. She was excited she had it cleaned. I ask you too pray for this girl. Pray her foot heals. Pray God heals her physically and spiritually. Pray this act of compassion doesn't compromise Step Ahead's position with kids club. Instead, pray it furthers Step Ahead's witness and works to multiply what they can do in the community.
One final thing I will mention and ask prayer for. Today formal English classes begin with the Step Ahead staff. I have been given a textbook to work through with them and will be teaching from 5-6pm Monday-Friday. I will have to commit 1 hours prep time for each class, which means this is a big time commitment to add to my schedule. Pray God works through this time for them to learn English, me to learn Thai, us to build a deeper friendship, and God to become more evident in our lives. As it is I have committed to attending church services Wednesday-Saturday nights as well as Sunday morning and teaching English at the church Sunday afternoons. I am finding there are often not enough hours in the day to do everything I would like. Pray God will sustain me, strengthen me, work through me, humble me, and give me boldness in truth. Pray God gives me wisdom to know when to say no, and when to say yes. I do not want to be so committed that I am spread thin, giving less than 100% in everything I do. I also do not want to settle for doing anything less than what is divinely possible.
Pray God works in Thailand. Pray He works in America. Pray He works in this world.
We long for the day of our King's return, when we will be joined with our savior, the broken mended, the weak made strong, the abused loved, the curse lifted. In that hope and to that end we strive to seek justice, love the abused, feed the hungry, and lift up the afflicted. We strive to present the world to God upon His return as likened to the world He so desires it to be. In that effort we throw off the things of this world and press on to the surpassing greatness of our King.
First, Please be praying for Nom, the Buddhist lady who helps at kids club. She is curious about Christianity. She has told me she wants to go to church with me. She even offered to take me to her local church which she doesn't go to but would like to. At dinner Saturday night she asked me to pray for the food before we ate, and she has asked me to be praying for her.
Second, Tallia Klong Toei Church is awesome. Koon brought a lot of the kids in the church to kids club Saturday. When he saw we didn't have a whole lot planned he immediately sent some one to get him some candy and began games with the kids. The kids loved it and had a blast. Some more people from the church have told me they would like t help. Its so great.
I am officially the conversational English teacher at Tallia. This past Sunday was great and we had a lot of fun. I learned that Tallia is looking to plant two churches in neighboring slums. Two of the Tallia members are training under the pastor to become the pastors of these church plants. Tallia is praying to be able to start 12 churches. I have been praying the same for them, and I ask you will do the same. They need prayer that God will pour out His Spirit on them, giving them boldness, courage, humility, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. They are trying to start as many social programs out of the church as well. They trust God to use them to show compassion to the people in the community, helping them like Jesus did during his ministry on earth, with the prayer that through them the community would be saved.
Yesterday was a landmine day for my research. As I mentioned before, I interviewed five of our clients last week. Those interviews brought up some interesting aspects of our program. Yesterday all of those things were brought to light and discussed. It was a great jump start to my research which was beginning to bottom out. Please be praying that God will give Timmy and me the right questions and true answers to those questions as we try to understand better where Step Ahead is now and where it should go. We have a lot to do in the next few weeks so please be praying for God to work through us to help direct Step Ahead into the instrument of grace that He intends it to be.
About four weeks ago I noticed one of the girls who goes to kids club had a few deep holes on her ankle and foot. I asked her what the were and she just brushed me off. There was still the evidence of band aids having been used to cover them up. The next week I noticed the wounds were not better, instead flies flew around them. The next week I noticed that the wounds were noticeably worse. I asked Ja who had the most experience with Step Ahead if we could do anything to help. The Thursday before that I had talked in a Bible study about being in a situation like that. We had discussed how we would help in that situation since it was a specific need God was giving to us. I did nothing, because I did not know what to do. She was on my mind all last week. I regretted not doing anything for her. This past Saturday, her foot was much much worse. Her foot had changed colors, the wounds were obviously infected, and she was in pain when she stepped wrong or someone touched her foot. Thankfully God had placed it Mr. Quinley's heart (CEO of Step Ahead) to come to kids club that morning. I told him about the problem and asked him what we could do. At first he was reluctant to help for fear of the prospect of changed community expectations of kids club. I insisted that this was a real problem and that I wanted to help if at possible. He took a chance and helped her. Praise God. She had her foot cleaned and was given antibiotics. When she got back from the clinic she ran up to me and showed me her foot. She was excited she had it cleaned. I ask you too pray for this girl. Pray her foot heals. Pray God heals her physically and spiritually. Pray this act of compassion doesn't compromise Step Ahead's position with kids club. Instead, pray it furthers Step Ahead's witness and works to multiply what they can do in the community.
One final thing I will mention and ask prayer for. Today formal English classes begin with the Step Ahead staff. I have been given a textbook to work through with them and will be teaching from 5-6pm Monday-Friday. I will have to commit 1 hours prep time for each class, which means this is a big time commitment to add to my schedule. Pray God works through this time for them to learn English, me to learn Thai, us to build a deeper friendship, and God to become more evident in our lives. As it is I have committed to attending church services Wednesday-Saturday nights as well as Sunday morning and teaching English at the church Sunday afternoons. I am finding there are often not enough hours in the day to do everything I would like. Pray God will sustain me, strengthen me, work through me, humble me, and give me boldness in truth. Pray God gives me wisdom to know when to say no, and when to say yes. I do not want to be so committed that I am spread thin, giving less than 100% in everything I do. I also do not want to settle for doing anything less than what is divinely possible.
Pray God works in Thailand. Pray He works in America. Pray He works in this world.
We long for the day of our King's return, when we will be joined with our savior, the broken mended, the weak made strong, the abused loved, the curse lifted. In that hope and to that end we strive to seek justice, love the abused, feed the hungry, and lift up the afflicted. We strive to present the world to God upon His return as likened to the world He so desires it to be. In that effort we throw off the things of this world and press on to the surpassing greatness of our King.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Centuries of History
This week has been slow on the MFI scene. I have not been able to do much work with Microfin and Loan Performer because Timmy has been writing a paper for his university. One of the volunteers from Step Ahead Khao Lak came into Bangkok Monday to see the difference between life in the city and the south. I took him around town for dinner Monday and Tuesday night and went with him, Carter, and Coleman, Wednesday, to see some historical parts of Bangkok. We went to the Temple of the Dawn which was the royal temple 1-2 centuries ago, the grand palace which was the last king's palace and know houses the emerald Buddha, and the temple of the reclining Buddha. That's right. The significant historical artifacts in Thai culture all have something to do with Buddha or the king. The Thai flag is red, white, and blue. Each color represents king, country, or religion (Buddhism). I'm not sure which color represents which. In Thailand to become a Christian truly means to give up mother and father, wife and children, and even king, country, and history.
I put some pictures from the Temple of the Dawn and the Grand palace on my flickr. The Temple of the Dawn was really old and looked it. It was the first pyramid I have climbed, though. Pretty cool. The Grand Palace is absolutely spectacular. Just the temple of the emerald Buddha has to be valued at billions of dollars. There is so much gold, jewels, and intricate paintings on everything. The most amazing part, to me, was the continues mural that stretched across the inside of the wall surrounding the palace. The wall is 1900 meters long, and the mural painted on it tells the story of an ancient Thai myth. It is painted with beautiful colors and is very intricate. It even has a lot of things painted in gold! So beautiful. If you haven't been to the Grand Palace (which I assume everyone reading this hasn't) you should (as if it is that easy). I truely am blessed by God.
Tonight, I am going to a party for a friend who is leaving Thailand. Please be praying for him and his family in this time of transition. Pray God would protect him and draw him close to God.
Tomorrow, I will be leading kids club again. Please continue praying for the kids. Pray that God will save them and send His Spirit as a seal on them. It breaks my heart to think of these kids without God.
Please be praying for me. I am struggling with feeling useful. I want so bad to be able to talk with my neighbors and to share with them the good news of Christ, yet when I speak they do not understand what I am saying, because I am not speaking their language. Please pray God uses me. That He will show me how I can be useful and direct my paths to invest in what I can do. To God be the glory. He works amazing miracles daily in my life. Please pray He does the same for those around me.
I put some pictures from the Temple of the Dawn and the Grand palace on my flickr. The Temple of the Dawn was really old and looked it. It was the first pyramid I have climbed, though. Pretty cool. The Grand Palace is absolutely spectacular. Just the temple of the emerald Buddha has to be valued at billions of dollars. There is so much gold, jewels, and intricate paintings on everything. The most amazing part, to me, was the continues mural that stretched across the inside of the wall surrounding the palace. The wall is 1900 meters long, and the mural painted on it tells the story of an ancient Thai myth. It is painted with beautiful colors and is very intricate. It even has a lot of things painted in gold! So beautiful. If you haven't been to the Grand Palace (which I assume everyone reading this hasn't) you should (as if it is that easy). I truely am blessed by God.
Tonight, I am going to a party for a friend who is leaving Thailand. Please be praying for him and his family in this time of transition. Pray God would protect him and draw him close to God.
Tomorrow, I will be leading kids club again. Please continue praying for the kids. Pray that God will save them and send His Spirit as a seal on them. It breaks my heart to think of these kids without God.
Please be praying for me. I am struggling with feeling useful. I want so bad to be able to talk with my neighbors and to share with them the good news of Christ, yet when I speak they do not understand what I am saying, because I am not speaking their language. Please pray God uses me. That He will show me how I can be useful and direct my paths to invest in what I can do. To God be the glory. He works amazing miracles daily in my life. Please pray He does the same for those around me.
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