Baptism December 5, 2011

6 New Believers baptized!!

Fah, Kaew, Nan, Gig, Aom, Fon (left to right)

Nan Baptized

Where to begin??

I have been really bad about updating my blog these days. That is never good because too much time passes and I forget to update you on exciting things that happened or I simply just forget things that really are blog worthy.

 

 

The most recent one I don't think I will be forgetting anytime soon. This past monday december 5th we went to the beach to baptize 6 new believers! That is the 6th Baptism I have been able to be a part of in my 3 years here. I was so excited to see 6 ladies get baptized but the one that was the most special to me was Nan.

 

 

I met Nan about 1 year ago at the BSC. She is a University student. One evening I saw 2 girls sitting at the BSC waiting for class dressed in their university uniforms so I went to talk to them (Nan and Jae). I invited them to join my free Bible English class on Thursday nights and they did and have been faithful to come ever since that day. Both Nan and Jae have shown a lot of interest in the Gospel since they first started studying the Bible. This past summer at camp both of them were seeking but Nan was the one who made the choice to follow Christ in August. She is so faithful to study the Bible weekly and comes to church faithfully. She shared immediately with her mom about her decision and has never waivered. I'm so excited to see what God is going to do in her life and how He is going to use her to reach her own people. Please pray for Nan as even this Friday 16th I will go with her to her campus to tell her friends the real story about Christmas (her idea).

Flood waters Remain

My home is still flood free but so many Thai people are still suffering with flood waters after almost a month. The water appears to be receding in many areas which is a good sign but they are still predicting 2 weeks to a month to get rid of all of it. I have been able to help in a few ways but I wish I knew what to do so that I could do more to help people.

Once the water leaves the clean up process will be a large task so I'm hoping to be able to help many people clean their homes and move back the things that are still salvageable. I feel like that is something that I can do to help people in the recovering process.

Although my home doesn't have any flood water my daily life is affected in many ways by this flood. Here are a list of a few of them

*There is a water and food shortage at all of the stores. It's weird when you walk in a store and half of the shelves are empty and all of the normal things you look for aren't there.

*The Universities still reamain closed and are likely to stay closed until December. This limits my work during the day time. I'm trying to keep busy and make the most of each day.

*I can't go to some of the places that I often go because of the flood waters.

My list has just a few minor ways that the flood is affecting me but really my heart breaks for the people that have lost everything and just want to go home and start over but still have to wait for the water to leave so that can happen.

Please pray for the people in Thailand. I know God has a great plan for everything that happens.

New Beginnings

Despite the flooding problems that continue to be a huge problem in Bangkok there are new things taking place in my life. This past week I moved into a new condo even more into the heart of the city. I now live on the 12th floor of a 28 floor condo building. I can look out my window and balcony and see the skyscrapers lit up all around me. I also have a great view of the sky train (above ground transportation system) coming and going from the station that is about a 3 minute walk from my home.

I have only lived here a few nights and have already fallen in love with it in so many ways. I love that I have a kitchen (fairly small) with a mini oven and an individual burner that I can plug into the wall. I can cook now!!! I can only cook one thing at a time on the burner and the oven is small but I can cook and am so excited about it. The other night I made macaroni and cheese and corn bread (jiffy mix). It was so much fun to cook again. I have to learn how to grocery shop again.

I also love that the place to do laundry is on the 7th floor which is also the location of the pool and the work out center. This is great because you can put a load of laundry in and exercise and come back and put it in the dryer and exercise some more. I desperately need to get into a good exercise routine. I have slacked in that area and need to discipline myself to bring it back.

This week will also bring about new beginnings work related. A new 7 week term will start at the BSC (Baptist Student Center) this week. I will teach 2 classes on Monday nights from 5:00-6:30 p.m. and then 7:00-8:30 p.m. and then will teach the free Bible/English class on Thursday nights at both of those times. I always meet new students every term and then continue building relationships with the ones I already know. My class on Monday nights at 7:00 is already full and I have 23 students. I'm not sure yet about my 5:00 class on Monday.

Another new beginning that I am REALLY EXCITED about will take place this Friday (Nov. 4th). I will start a new cell group/Bible study at my home on Friday nights (6:00-8:00) training some of our new Christian young ladies. P'Pom will help me with this group also. She is my Thai partner in the ministry. We will invite the following girls so please pray for them: Nan, Fon, Aom, Mum, Fah, Kaew, Luktarn. They have all become Christians in the past 3 months. They are already being discipled on Sunday afternoons but this group will give them another way to learn more about God's Word and how to share it with others.

All of these things will start this week as long as the flood waters do not reach this area. I'm thankful that they have not reached me yet but am trying to help others in need who have been affected by the flood. God is in control of everything so all of these new beginnings will start sometime soon (in God's perfect timing) and I'm excited about all of it!!

Flood or No Flood- that is the question?

Will Bangkok flood in the city is the million dollar question these days? A few days ago the word was that the water was receding and that Bangkok was spared. Today the news is that many dams and other safety nets built have failed and the water is coming this way. The outskirts of Bangkok have already been hit and people are leaving their homes.

I went on another food run today just in case because I was already starting to eat the food I bought before so that it didn't go bad. Right now I just wake up every day and check the news, look outside, and carry on with my normal day if I don't see water.

I have a large bin full of water in my bathroom also just in case I need it in the future to take a shower. I have plenty of drinking water stored too.

If the flood will hit my area it should happen within the next day or so and after that it should be clear sailing. Today it didn't rain for the first time in a long time which is good. The rainy season should actually end by the end of this month so we should be on the mend soon.

Please pray for the many areas and people devastated by the flood already.

God's Clear Direction

I'm always searching for what is God's direction for my life. What does HE want me to do and where does HE want me to go? At this time, God seems to be making it clear that it is His will for me to stay in Thailand longer. The reason it is so clearly His direction is watching all of the pieces to the puzzle fall into place. At a time when the IMB is struggling financially to keep people on the field I was given another term to serve. Although the ministry is often changing and I don't really know all of the details of what I will be doing in the next few years I know God will lead me since He so clearly opened the door for me to stay.

Lots of changes are to come with this new term. I will be moving apartments in the next few weeks and will have a roommate. After living alone for 3 years I think I am ready for some company.

If there are any people who still read this blog I will be going back to the U.S. for 3 months from January-April so I do plan to see family and friends before serving this next term. I hope to be able to share many of my photos and experiences with you and to hear about your life as well.

Every day is a journey to see where the Lord will lead me. I just have to keep my eyes focused on Him so I don't miss the plan.

Change of Plans

Things are always changing even little things like when to wash clothes. Tonight I had a great plan to get a step ahead of the game, so that tomorrow on my day off i can just relax. I got home from teaching at the BSC around 9 p.m. and planned to wash about 3 loads of laundry. I got to my apartment and realized I didn't have laundry soap so I planned to go out and buy some at the 7-11 store which is just around the corner. I got all of my laundry organized and together for washing, collected my laundry coins, and then I heard the sound of rain. Rain here is not normal rain. It is usually terrential and you can't go out and stay dry even with an umbrella. It has been raining now for almost 2 hours which means the roads are also flooded so no laundry being done tonight. So much for great plans of getting ahead of the game. Looks like it will be a normal day off tomorrow of doing laundry, cleaning my apartment, and all of those not so fun things.

A Life I never Imagined

The title of this blog means so many things to me. I really am living a life I never would have imagined. Mostly, all better than I could have ever imagined. 5 years ago I didn't even know much about the country of Thailand and now I live here and somewhat speak the language. God's plans are always so much better than our own if only we trust Him and follow those plans.

If I was a faithful blogger (which I'm obviously not) I would be writing about all of the amazing things that are happening all around me on a daily basis. When I take a step back to look at some of those things I see HIS Hands on every one of them and how He orchestrates divine appointments.

Galatians 6:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." This verse has come to life in so many ways recently as I'm seeing new believers come to Christ on a monthly basis and finding seekers all around me.

I thank God for giving me the life that He has for me which truly is A life I never would have imagined!

A Day Off

Today is my first "somewhat" day off since May. I say somewhat because I do have to teach one class tonight at the BSC at 7:00 but I won't leave my home until about 5:30 0r so. A day off usually consists of nothing exciting just staying home all day and catching up on things. I got out of bed around 11:00 today and did 2 loads of laundry. I read my Bible and tried catching up on organizing some things from the summer. I went through all of my papers that I need to make copies of tomorrow and now I am sitting at my computer at 2:25 in the afternoon writing this blog post. I still haven't taken a shower yet and my apartment could use to be a little bit cleaner but that will have to wait.

I honestly am the personality type that thrives on being on the go all the time. I love the excitement of being with Thai people on outings and running around taking care of things. I love being with Thai people! However, when I stop for a few minutes I often realize oops I have some kind of infection/illness, i'm exhausted in all ways, and I have neglected some things that really need to be done. I'm always struggling to find a balance between it all.

Right now there is no rest in sight for the month of August. I have classes every day at the BSC that must be taught to finish up this term. I am putting on my schedule some serious days of rest at the beginning of the month of September before the next term starts. I hope to one day catch you all up on my blog to the great things happening here. Not sure when that will come because this blog is at the bottom of my list of priorities (but it is there).

Until that time comes here are the highlights:
**3 more ladies became believers this past Sunday (August 7, 2011) Aom, Rain, and Luktarn. Aom went to camp with us this summer and she works in the Science department at Chulalongkorn University. Rain and Luktarn are university students that we met at the BSC.

**Tomorrow I will go to Chulalongkorn University and meet Aom to study Bible/English and she is going to bring several co-workers with her. I'm excited to see what doors this may open at Chula for me in the future!

So much to tell

August is already here and the summer team just left. I am exhausted in every way but am so excited about what the Lord did this summer in Bangkok! It was a non-stop summer for me. I worked 10-13 hour days 7 days a week. God always gives me the strength to do it for 2 months straight and as soon as the summer team departs I slow down a little and then realize that I am just plain exhausted.

There are so many things to tell about the summer but here are a few highlights until I have time to write more.

****4 young ladies became believers Sunday afternoon July 31, 2011 at canaan. (nan, nui, mum, and morg)

**Camp (July 15-17) was amazing. We had 23 Thai non-believers go to camp and they all heard the Gospel! (3 of the young ladies that became believers on july 31 went to camp)

**Bible/English classes at the BSC are averaging 10-20 students per night! Almost all of the students who attend are non-believers and are hearing stories about Jesus!

** I have some great new contacts at Chulalongkorn University that could open the door more for me in future ministry there.

**I really was blessed to get to know 8 American University students. I enjoyed spending time with them and watching their lives be changed by the work here in Thailand this summer.

There will be photos to come....

July already????

Where has the time gone??? The summer team arrived (8 American Univeristy students) on June 9th and I have been on the go ever since that day. It has been a real blessing to have 8 students to help in the ministry here even if it is only for 2 months. The main work this summer is at the BSC but we are also going to Sripatum University one day a week and Chulalongkorn University 1 day a week. I'm very busy but it's a good busy so I don't mind.

I will try to update my blog again another day but just wanted anyone who might read this to know that I'm still here :)

Busy is my excuse

Well it has been a while since I last wrote on my blog. There are many reasons for that. one of them is of course that I am busy! But we all really know the truth to that. Everyone has time for things in a day that REALLY matter to them and that is important to them. I honestly don't really know what to write about anymore. There are lots of things happening here (exciting for me) but they aren't always interesting for others to read about.


I am going to try to do better to take time to reflect upon what God is teaching me and write some of it here. More to come soon............

Baptisms in May

Note and Koy baptized at Canaan on May 29, 2011

P'Jum baptized at the beach in Hua Hin on May 17, 2011

Baptisms- Praise the Lord!

This month was a special month. We had 2 baptisms in the same month at different places. The first baptism was on May 17th, which was a Thai holiday, so we went to the beach in Hua Hin. 11 people from Canaan church went in a van and P'Jum was baptized. P'Jum has been a believer for a few years but had never really been discipled and was not an active church attender until recently. She has been coming now to Canaan every week for several months and decided she was ready to be baptized. Praise the Lord for her faithfulness!

The 2nd baptism was May 29 at Canaan Baptist Church. This is the first time they have used the baptism in the kitchen at Canaan in over 10+ years. We worked very hard on Saturday to get everything cleaned and ready for it. It turned out to be a beautiful event. Note and Koy were baptized on that day. Both of them have become believers within this past year. We met both of them at the BSC. Both of these young ladies are being discipled weekly and it's such a blessing to see them grow in their faith.

Let the Crazy Summer Begin!

My third summer in Thailand is approaching and this one is likely to be the busiest yet. 8 American University students will be arriving here next Friday evening. We are all looking forward to their arrival! What makes this summer different than the other 2 is that I will be in charge of them. My supervisor and his family will be going stateside in 3 days so i will be overseeing everything throughout the summer!


We already have a skeletal calendar for the whole summer with lots of fun events planned. Another thing that will be different this summer is that we will mainly be focusing our ministry at the BSC (Baptist Student Center). We will go to Sripatum University only 1 day a week and to Chula university 1 day a week. We will be spending every evening teaching English classes and Bible/English classes at the BSC.


I am already very busy because the 7 week term at the BSC has already started so I am currently teaching 3 English classes (M,T,W) and 1 Bible/English class (Thursday). The summer team students will be taking on some of these responsibilities once they arrive but for now i am busy teaching. I am a teacher by nature so it's not too difficult and I love doing it!


My favorite part is still teaching my Thursday night English/Bible class. I know I have written about it many times on my blog but I still am in awe of how the Lord has used this class to reach people. I first started teaching this class in January with only 2 people attending. That first 7 week term the most I ever had was 5 people on a Thursday night. Then the 2nd term started and the most I had in one night was about 16 and the smallest Thursday night group I had that term was 9. Wow, what a change! I am currently in my 3rd term teaching this class and it is still going very well. 5 of the students that studied the very 1st term are still studying with me on Thursdays. Since I use chronological Bible storying they have gone from Jesus birth all the way to tonight studying about when Jesus ascended into Heaven after being on earth for 40 days after His resurrection.


I know I don't update often on my blog but if you notice even a longer period of time passing by you will know why......the crazy summer has begun!

My Journey to China

This month I got to go on a very special trip. May 1-10 I went to Beijing, China. My mom met me there for a 10 day journey. I have always wanted to walk on the GREAT WALL and I finally got to do it!!!

After living on this side of the world (Asia) for over 2 years I see lots of things differently. Thai people and Chinese people are so very very different! Actually almost everything about the 2 cultures are different. I am going to write down some interesting things that I observed and felt in China.

*The Chinese language sounds like people are always yelling at each other. They speak very loudly.

*Chinese food in China is absolutely NOTHING like Chinese food in America!! If you love Chinese food in America don't assume that you will like Chinese food in China. I really didn't like the food that much.

*China has some amazing ancient history (The Great Wall, The Forbidden City, etc.) I loved seeing everything

*China is very advanced despite what many may think. There are many shopping malls and nice hotels there.

*Chinese toddlers wear pants with a big slit in the back and sometimes wear underwear under that with the same slit. The first child I saw with this on I just figured they were poor and the pants were ripped but NOPE. The pants come that way and it's because the child can just squat and go to the bathroom anywhere at anytime. They are definitely potty trained way earlier than American children. I wanted to get a good photo of this but it didn't happen.

*China was a lot more expensive than I expected. The food was not cheap like Thailand. I am so happy to be back in Bangkok where I can eat delicious food for $1.00-$2.00

*The traffic makes perfect sense and is organized to an extent. There is a special lane for bicycles and they have many bicycles there. I was very surprised that it was much better and safer than Thailand. You still have to be very careful but safer than Thailand.

*The GREAT WALL is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I used to teach my 2nd graders about it in Virginia so it was extra special to be able to walk on it. I wanted to walk all day but the tour was limited so I had to settle for just 2 hours. This was definitely my favorite part of the trip.

It was a fun journey and extra special because I got to do it with my mom. I think we saw almost everything there is to see in Beijing within 10 days! Making the most of the time given!

Easter Party photos

Easter Party Outreach

One of my goals is to have an outreach event once a month. I always have them on a Saturday evening from about 4:00-7:00 p.m. Each one has a different theme and different kinds of food. This month I decided to have one the day before Easter and call it an Easter Party. My original idea was to make cookies and decorate them and have a few other snacks. I decided to change that idea when one of my Thai friends offered to make Mango and sticky rice as a dessert. It is a very delicious dessert and Mangoes are in season now so it's the perfect time to do it.

I also planned to make brownies that day because Thai's love American brownies! I have them at every party. We also bought bags of chips and soda for the event.

The day of the event around 3:00 a terrible storm arrived with torrential rain. The streets were flooding and the power went out in the church. I was not able to cook any brownies because of the water in the kitchen and then the power went out for many hours.

It ended up working out just as the Lord planned. We had around 20 Thai people who came and I was able to tell the story of Easter to a room full of unbelievers. I was hoping to have more people but because of the rain and other circumstances the number of people was less. I try to always remember that whoever was able to come that day is who the Lord wanted there (no more/no less) and find joy in resting on His Will to be done.

Cleaning and Decorating

Today was my day off and I had many things to do. I desperately needed to dust my apartment and sweep and mop the floors. I woke up and did those things first along with washing towels and sheets. Then I decided I really needed to put up all of the things that I have bought in the last month or so on the walls. Remember I live in a one room apartment and it's a very small place. I have to learn how to use my space wisely. Overall, I am pretty proud of myself that I can live in such a small place and keep it fairly organized and clean. I have posted a bunch of pictures below. I'm guessing it won't take you long to figure out that my favorite color is red. I have lived in this place over a year now and at different stages some of the wall decorations have changed. Most of the changes are because things keep falling off of the wall and I can't get them to stay up there. I'm having to improvise and find something different to put up there in it's place. Please let me know what you think. I try to make it look the best I can for the time I'm here and with the budget I have (which isn't much). Enjoy :)

My apartment clean and fully decorated part 1

My newest purchase in Phang Nga. I actually bought it to cover my burnt arms from the sun and when I got home I had an idea that it would look good hanging on the wall behind my bed so here it is. I bought this fan in Chiang Mai to put behind my bed and when I got home it wasn't big enough to go there so I had to find another place for it.

I had these 3 small fans made in Chiang Mai to put on my wall. The writing in Thai says Thailand and the other 2 I just chose elephant designs.

My living room/bed room in my small one room apartment.

Same location but with the curtains open so you can see the balcony.

My apartment clean and fully decorated part 2

Vacation in Phang Nga

Enjoying the water at White Sand Beach Waterfall in Bang Niang

Some of the most beautiful beaches in the world are found in Thailand.

Eating lunch on the beach is always great!

Jai, P'Pom, and me getting ready to go out for Songkran

If you are wondering why we are all wearing flowered shirts it is because that is what Thai people wear for Songkran. A flowered shirt represents Songkran. I was given this shirt by a Thai friend so I needed to wear it and get lots of pictures so she knows I wore it :)

Update on Life

I have not been blogging much for several weeks so this post will just give an update of some of the things happening in my life these days. *I finally went and had a physical at one of the hospitals (after being here for 2 years) and all is well! I don't know why I put it off for so long but am happy that my health is good! *I am still keeping busy at 2 Universities and the BSC *April 13, 14, 15 were days off for Songkran (Thai holiday). My Thai friend (P'Pom) and I went to visit our friend Jai in southern Thailand for the holiday. I have been to that area once before with my parents so this was my second time. I got to see a few more beaches and waterfalls this time around. Just a little summary of the last few weeks.

A New Believer :)

March 27, 2011 Champ becomes a believer. March 26 2011, Pizza Party- Champ and his friends from SPU. Back row Oom, Champ, It Front row Me, Twang, Way, Aeuy

February 5 Brownie Party

December 25 Singing Christmas songs at Owens' house

November 20th- Christian Concert at Central World

Me, Aeuy, Champ, Twang

Anytime a person chooses to become a believer in Jesus Christ my heart is filled with joy. It is an extra special filling of joy when I see a Thai person become a believer. Yesterday I had an extra extra special filling of joy when Champ (freshman at SPU) became a believer. I met Champ back in September 2010. He was a friend of one of the students that I know well (Twang).

Champ was first exposed to the Gospel when he came to a Christian concert that I invited him to at Central World in November. He came with 2 other friends (Twang and Aeuy). I remember Champ telling me during the concert how much he loved the Thai Christian songs and that the songs gave him goosebumps. He told me he was interested in knowing more about God so a few days later I gave him a book that explained more about God.

The 2nd time Champ was exposed to the Gospel was when he came to a Christmas party at my supervisor's house. That night we ate lots of food, sang some Christmas songs, and Tim told the story of Christmas in Thai. I remember Champ telling me again that night that he had goosebumps as he listened to the story and he also got some tears in his eyes. I knew the Holy Spirit was working on Champ.

The 3rd time Champ was exposed to the Gospel was when he came to Canaan (my church) for a Brownie party in February. We mainly played games that night, sang some Christian songs, and fellowshipped together. It was his first time coming to Canaan.

The 4th time was this past Saturday (March 26) when he came to Canaan for the pizza party. We played games, sang Christian songs, and one Thai Christian girl shared her testimony. Champs heart was broken by what he heard and he told me that night that he would come to church the next day because he wanted to know more about God!

Sunday March 27th 2011 Champ showed up at Canaan around 1:00 in time for the Bible study (1:00-2:30). He was in the study with a group of guys. After the study was finished my supervisor Tim (who speaks perfect Thai) shared with Champ the complete plan of Salvation and Champ Prayed!

I am so excited for Champ. I wish so much that I could speak fluent Thai so I could have been the one to Lead him to the Lord but you know it's not about me. i feel so blessed to see fruit of seeds that have been planted since September.

I can't wait to see how God is going to use Champ to reach his friends!!!

Looking for "Abnormal People"

Last week I went to Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand) for our yearly meeting with my missions organization. I was refreshed and challenged in many ways. I was refreshed because I got to sing PRAISE songs in my heart language all week and I got to listen to preaching in my heart language. I also got to fellowship with other M's that share the same heart and vision for the Thai people. It was a week full of blessing after blessing and I felt refreshed.

I was also challenged in many ways. The one that stands out the most is looking for abnormal people. I am sure many things come to your mind when you hear this statement but it really just means I am looking for a Thai person that is not following the normal standards. The normal Thai Buddhist has to hear the Gospel almost 20 or more times to even believe anything it says. The normal Thai person usually studies the Bible for almost 1-2 years before becoming a Christian. This is the normal Thai person but I am looking for the abnormal Thai person. The Thai person who hears the Gospel only 1 or 2 times and believes. They are out there and how do I find them???? I have to share the Gospel with a lot of people every week to find them so I guess I better get busy!

Don't worry. I am still sharing with the normal Thai people who take a long time to hear and accept. I haven't given up on them but I also want to be more prayerfully and diligently looking for those whom the Holy Spirit is working on their heart right now. I think sometimes I miss them because I am only looking for and expecting everyone to be the normal Thai person.

Just 2 weeks ago God gave me an abnormal person. Her name is Belle. She is a student at Sripatum University. She knows Aajaan Lek and I believe Aajaan Lek has shared a little bit of what she knows of the Gospel with her. 2 weeks ago Jill and I were meeting with A. Lek to study the Bible and Belle came with her. Jill and I decided to change the lesson to share with Belle about salvation. Belle listened intently and after we shared everything she said yes she wanted to accept that Gift and ask Jesus into her heart. This is the first time Jill and I had met Belle and shared the Gospel with her and she accepted. There are people out there and in this situation God brought her to us but we also have to be willing to go out and share boldly.

I am refreshed and challenged to continue the work that God sent me here to do!

I wonder why

I am sitting in my apartment on a Sunday evening (8:45 p.m.) eating mango and sticky rice (absolutely delicious Thai fruit and dessert) and thinking about the many Japanese people that are going through pure devastation. Natural disasters amaze me with their great power to destroy everything in their path. Not too many years ago Thailand was cleaning up the mess from a tsunami that struck without warning.

My heart breaks for these people as they look around for loved ones wondering if they are still alive. All I can do is pray for them and pray for the missionaries that are serving in Japan that they can use this disaster to draw people to the Lord.

Sometimes it takes big things like this to happen in the world to wake us up and realize how thankful we should be for what we have every day. I am very thankful and will continue to pray for those who are without in Japan during this very difficult time.

Thursday Night Bible/English Class

I have a huge praise to share with everyone. Tonight I had 13 people for my English/Bible class! I definitely wasn't expecting that many students so I ran out of Bibles quickly and had to find more fast. This is a great problem to have and it was solved quickly. Tonight at 5:00 I started the first class. At first there were 6 new students. I started with the first Bible story about Jesus birth. By 6:00 I had 13 students total in the class. 5 of them had studied this lesson before last term but didn't seem to mind learning again.

A little before 7:00 I finished and 9 of the students left. 4 of my students from last term stayed and we studied the lesson about Lazarus being resurrected. Although I was super excited to have 13 people tonight my favorite part of the night was from 7:00-8:30 when I had the 4 students that I studied with all last term. It was my favorite part for many reasons. I started on story 90 with them last term and we are now on story 98. It is almost like a little Bible study and we all know each other well so it is very comfortable. They ask a lot of questions and interact throughout the story. They also remember everything we have learned before. The other really meaningful part about this group is that all 4 of them come on Thursday nights just to study in this class. Most of the time the people who study this free class come before or after their English paid class that they study at the BSC.

I learned 2 things from tonight. 1. THINK BIG and expect GOD to do great things because HE will and HE did! 2. Continue to be faithful in investing in something because one day in God's timing fruit will produce.

The first Bible/English class I taught on January 13th had 1 person and my 8th Bible/English class taught tonight (March 10th) had 13 people. It produced quickly in this situation :)

New Traditions, Projects, and more......

I love how life is always changing and a lot of those changes are positive, rewarding, and beneficial for myself and for others. I will share about a few of those changes in this post.

One New Tradition that just recently started involves a group of us going to the park every Saturday afternoon around 3:30. If you are wondering why we go at that time it is mainly because the weather is quite hot here so between 3-4 p.m. the sun is less intense. There are about 4-6 people from my church who go together every Saturday. At first we tried to play ultimate frisbee but it's too difficult with such a small amount of people. We were exhausted within the first 20-3o minutes because we were constantly running. Now we usually go and play basketball at a half-court area in the park. There are many advantages to playing basketball in this location. One major advantage is that there are several Thai people who play there every week so now we have made some new friends. I love that I am getting some intense exercise at least 1 day a week and that it is becoming routine for me to go every week. The other fun part is that after we exercise at the park for several hours (until about 6:30) a group of us go and eat dinner together. It is a great time of fellowship with other believers at our church. I hope to be able to get to know the people that we play basketball with better so that we can invite them also to join us for dinner.

Another new tradition is that every Sunday afternoon from 1:00-2:30 we have our Sunday school time at Canaan. We just started this 3 weeks ago and currently have 3 different classes. I help teach one class with P'Pom (my Thai friend). There have been 7-8 people in my class every week so far. I am very encouraged by this great start for such a small church. We only have about 20-30 people total on an average Sunday for church. Today there were 8 in my class and 6 in another class and 2 in the other class. That is over 50% of the church participating in sunday school. Praise the Lord for this great start!

This week I will also start teaching my Thursday night Bible/English class at the BSC. This will be my 2nd (7 week term) to teach there. I am so excited because at least 4 of my students from last term plan to study with me again. They are all non-christians but they continue to desire to learn more about Jesus. I am also praying for some new students to join this term also. I am so thankful that the door opened for me to teach this class on Thursday nights and hope to make this a long running tradition because it is such an easy way to share the Good News with people and that is really what I came here to do!

Every week is different for me but it's exciting most of the time. Sripatum Univ. is closed for a few weeks until the summer term starts the 21st. Chulalongkorn Univ. is finishing up their final exams this week and then will have a break for a few weeks before their summer term begins also. Even though I am not going to SPU at all for a few weeks and only going to Chula to meet with P'Thai to study English/Bible with her on Wed. I am still keeping busy as God continues to open new doors all around me!

I love new traditions, projects, and anything God has for me! I hope to update on more again soon!

Focus on how far you have come not how far you have to go

This title fits me in so many ways. The one thing I think of first is the Thai language. Am I a fluent Thai speaker?? No way, not even close! Do I understand the message at church on Sunday morning? Nope, not really. Can I read Thai? A little bit but I'm very slow that it's not really useful for anything. So, you may be thinking to yourself or wanting to ask me about now--what can you do or what do you know??

I arrived in Thailand a little over 2 years ago and didn't really know one word in Thai. Now I know lots of Thai words. I don't always know how to put the words in the correct order to make a sentence but I do have lots of Thai vocabulary floating around in my brain.

I don't understand everything I hear but I do understand a lot of what I hear and I do know immediately whether someone is speaking Thai or not. A lot of Asian people look the same but as soon as I hear someone start to speak I know they are speaking Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or some other language that is not Thai.

I can not read Thai well and I don't even know all of the rules for writing but I can follow along on Sunday mornings when they sing. I can't always sing along because I read slow but I can find where they are in the song pretty accurately.

I can not understand most of the message on Sunday mornings but I can listen and understand all scripture references given and when I read it in English it makes it easier to follow the message.

I definitely have a long long long long long way to go in finding success with the Thai language but if I look back to where I began I really have come a long way. I am certainly not gifted in learning other languages but God brought me here anyways so I will keep trying to learn this very difficult language and take joy in the little steps of success.

Looking Back ...... Bus experiences

I took some time tonight to glance back at my posts when I first arrived in Thailand. All those things that were so new and strange to me then are now old and normal. I still really love living in a big city. I haven't driven a car in over 2 years and I don't mind a bit. I forget that it was something I used to do every day in my life in America. I love taking public transportation. It made me laugh when I read my past post about my first bus riding experience. I ride the bus every day now and it really is quite simple to use. I just memorize the bus numbers to go to certain locations. I can read a little Thai but by the time I can figure out what it says the bus is already gone so i don't rely on my reading skills to take the right bus.

I actually have a funny story to tell about my reading skills and riding the bus. A few weeks ago I was at the bus stop near one of the malls with Eric. Eric can't read Thai at all. Bus number 24 was coming and I could read that it said in Thai it would go to Victory Monument. I told Eric we could take that bus because it says victory monument. I've never been on that bus before and it's not one of the memorized numbers but hey I can read Thai and it says it goes there. We got on the bus and Eric even asked the lady if the bus went to Victory Monument (guess he didn't trust my Thai reading skills) and she confirmed that it did. I was so proud of myself until we got to the major intersection and it turned left. uh oh in order to go to where we live you have to go straight. Well the bus does go to Victory Monument but it takes a different route and it won't be passing by our home. We had to get off that bus and change to another bus in order to get home. So much for reading skills. I guess I should stick with the memorized numbers :)

Answered Prayers

Brownie Party photo from February 5th. The major praise in this photo is that Koy (girl on the far left) who just recently became a believer brought 3 of her friends who study with her at nursing school with her to the party. The other 3 are all non-believers. This was a great praise. I had just met Nan and Jae at the BSC that week and invited them to come to the party and they came! The other praise is that Nice (a Thai Christian) did an excellent job at visiting with them and helping to take care of them.

Great Praise that 4 students from SPU came to help prepare the brownies and also brought 2 friends from another University with them. They are all non-believers.

The Lord answered this prayer in a mighty way. Joanna (in the middle) is a Thai believer from my church. I asked her to help me on Thursday nights with my Bible/English class because it's important that the students truly understand what I am teaching so she helps to translate in Thai when they don't understand me. Joanna is faithful to come and help me and also faithful to be a friend to these young ladies and other people who study with me.

My Bible/English class at the BSC. This class started out with 1 student and then 2 students and now I have 4-5 students on a regular basis by the 5th week of teaching! In this photo from Left to Right is Jae, Nan, Tock, and Koy. There is also a lady named Kuan that has come 2 times.

God is working in mighty ways and I am so thankful. This Thursday will be the 7th week at the BSC of teaching the Bible/English class. This week will be my last class this term. We will have 1 week off and then will start the next 7 week term. All 4 of them in the photo have said they will continue coming on Thursday night. I am praying for me to be able to continue teaching them and also to get some new students to make up another class.

Valentine's Day 2011

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. Monday is my day off so today I am just relaxing at my apartment. We had a small valentine's party at church yesterday so I will include a few photos.

Unworthy but Thankful and Greatly Blessed

I think this title is fitting because it describes me in so many ways. I am unworthy of God's love but He loves me anyway even though He knows my every thought. I am unworthy to serve Him but He uses me anyway despite my many imperfections. I am unworthy of so many things yet God wants us to find our WORTH in HIM and HIM ALONE.

I am learning every day to just be willing to be a servant and God will use me accordingly. I am learning to continue to persevere and to be a prayer warrior (not there yet but learning) in seeking God's Hand in everything I do.

I am unworthy but feel so greatly blessed and I want to share a few of those great blessings with you!

1. Tonight for my Thursday night Bible/English class I had 5 non-believers join my class to hear about how Jesus chose His 12 disciples and then how He taught them to share His message and how Jesus fed 5,000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. They all were hearing these stories for the first time!!

2. Aajaan Lek met this past Tuesday (feb. 8) to study God's Word. She is still not consistent in meeting with us weekly but she has students that she is sharing the Good News with weekly!

3. The outreach event that was held this past Saturday was one of the best turn-outs in the 2 years of me being here. We had 17 non-believers come (9 of them coming for the first time to Canaan). 9 Thai Christians also came and several of them did an excellent job at interacting with the non-believers.

I am thankful and Greatly Blessed to be here in Thailand for such a time as this.

Accountability in 2011

February is here and we are now 1 month into 2011. I want to take a few minutes to reflect on the past month to see if anything is different and if I am sticking to my goals. Everyone needs goals and we also need accountability. It helps us to stay on the course that was set before us and it also helps us to strive to reach something.

There are lots of things that are different this year. I am now spending 2 days a week at Chulalongkorn Univeristy and 2 days a week at Sripatum University and also teaching an English/Bible class at the BSC. I started this a little bit in 2010 but am now in the official routine.
CHULA NEWS
* I now have 1 lady who works at Chula meeting me every Wednesday from 11:00-12:00 (during her lunch time) to study English. I decided I would use the Chronological Bible storying (starting with the story of Jesus birth) for teaching her English. Today (Febuary 2nd) we studied story 90 & 91 which was about Jesus being born and many coming to worship Him. She really enjoyed the stories and is excited to study story 92 next week. I am praying for her eyes to be opened as we read these stories each week and also that others who are around us may have an interest to join our study. We meet in an open area in a canteen. There are many others students and workers all around us.
*I also have a new student contact at Chula named Oon. We have met 1 time at Chula and plan to meet each week.
BSC NEWS
*I've had 2 students each week for my Bible/English class. 1 of them is a new Christian and the other is not a Christian. I would really like to have more students for this free class. I am praying for God to show me new ways to advertise/recruit for this class.
*I am at the BSC on Wed, Thurs, and Friday evenings. I am averaging about 5-10 new contacts a week within those 3 nights. I really need wisdom on following up with them and trying to get them to come to something at church.


This is getting long so I will close for now. So far in 2011 things are looking up but lots more work is required to improve these ministries.

Piaw has returned

Praise God that Piaw has come back to Bangkok. She arrived about 4:30 a.m. on Sunday so was not able to come to church. I talked to her a little on Sunday evening but am really praying and asking God for wisdom in how to talk to her. She has gone back to her old ways of living in a lot of areas during this month away. Pray that she will desire to return to church, God's Word, and weekly Bible studies.

I am so very thankful that she has returned and know that God can do anything and can work in her life and change her heart to be focused on Him.

Thanks to all who prayed and keep praying!!

God answers prayers in amazing ways!

Today was such an amazing day in so many ways. Jill and I finally got to study the Bible with Aajaan Lek after 2 months of not studying. We were able to meet for about 2 hours today and it went so well. There are 2 reasons why this is so amazing. The first reason is because we used to meet with Aajaan Lek on Monday's and we had a limited amount of time so we were always rushed. Also, my schedule changed recently and my day off is now Monday. However, I was willing to go out to SPU every Monday to study the Bible with her on my day off (Aajaan Lek never knew that was my day off) but last week she told me Tuesday would be better now. Wow- that is great!!! Now I can have my day off and on Tuesday she doesn't have any more classes so we meet to study around 3:00 and we don't have to rush to finish because she doesn't have to be anywhere.

My prayer is that today was just the beginning of some wonderful fellowship times on Tuesday afternoons. God is so good and answers prayers above and beyond anything I can ever imagine!

Pressing on and feeling encouraged this week!

The things that I wrote about in my previous post is all still the same but this week has been much better in many ways.

On Monday Aajaan Lek did not show up to study the Bible but Jill and I had a wonderful time sharing from our hearts and praying for each other during this 2 hour time slot. I did see Aajaan Lek at SPU on Tuesday and was able to talk to her for a while. I'm not giving up on her because God keeps crossing our paths and I see a desire in her just not the full commitment yet.

Tuesday was a great day at SPU. I saw many students and met several new ones also. Today I was on the bus heading to Chula and P'Thai ( a lady that I know that works at Chula) called me and asked me if I had time to eat lunch with her. That was a real blessing. I got to go to one of the canteens at Chula and had a friend to eat with today. She wants to eat lunch with me every Wednesday so that is a start.

Today I also had to do my yearly evaluation with my supervisor. You have to first evaluate yourself and then you meet with your supervisor and they evaluate you also. I was very encouraged after meeting with him today. If you only look at results it doesn't always look like you are doing much but he reassured me that he sees me doing a lot of things and that he sees my heart in everything I do.

I'm just going to press on and watch God work. He always does amazing things more than I could ever imagine.

STRUGGLES

I wouldn't be honest on my blog if I always wrote about all the great things happening here. God is doing some amazing things and I am thankful to be a part of it. I know that God wants me to be here another year because HE clearly opened the door for me to stay (not many people got that opportunity). I am just trying to cling to knowing He has a plan for me to stay and it must be a great one.

This past week was a struggle. It really didn't all just happen within a week but I think many things continue to mount and then one day you just realize you are being buried by struggles and are trying to find a way to dig yourself out of them. Right now is one of those times. I will list a few of those struggles in hopes that some of you that read will lift them up in prayer.

1. Piaw- the young lady that was baptized recently and that I have discipled for about 4 months is currently in southern thailand. I don't know all the details but she went there for the holidays to be with some friends (that are not good influences) and has not returned. That means 3 things. She has been out of church and Bible study for over a month now and she didn't take her Bible with her so she hasn't read God's Word. She communicates with me very little and I am heart broken. Please pray that she will return soon and that she will return to church and Bible study. I used to study the Bible with her every Tuesday so pray that we will return to that soon. The life she lived and friends she hung out with before coming to Christ were very rough.

2. The little church that I am a part of here lacks many things. I do love the people and the community feel of a small church. Recently several people have left the church (and they are people that were quite involved) so this will take it's toll on the church. My prayer for Canaan is that 20 Thai's would rise up at this church and be faithful to come and lead this church. Right now there are about 20-30 people on an average that come to church each Sunday but the faces change on a weekly basis and many people stroll into church 1/2 through the service and some just in time for lunch. There are only about 5-10 Thai faces that remain the same. I am praying for 20 faithful (almost every week) Thai believers and then the other 10-20 faces can add to that number. There are lots of other needs too but let's start here.

3. I have felt discouraged about discipling Thai believers lately. Discipling is actually my favorite thing to do. I love it and I actually think I am fairly good at it (not bragging- I just feel like it is one of the gifts God has given me). One thing I have seen in the past 2 years is that Thai people don't like to make commitments and especially if it means work like memorizing God's Word, setting a goal each week to grow in their walk with God and a goal to share in some way with others. It is like pulling teeth sometimes to get Thai people to set a goal and then to see them follow through with it. If I look back on my past 2 years of discipling many different Thai believers I have only had one person that studied with me faithfully for 4 months straight every week (and that was Piaw). Please pray for the following.

Aajaan Lek (professor Lek at Sripatum University)- She became a believer this past summer but has been on and off to be discipled. She is still in the picture but it has been almost 2 months since we met last. The typical routine with her is we meet for 2 weeks in a row and then she cancels for about 3-4 weeks and then she reappears. As long as she is holding on we will continue to hold our end strong too. We are scheduled to meet with her every Monday so pray for Mondays that she will come and that it can become routine!!

Nice and Ann- These are 2 young ladies that graduated from Sripatum University just a few months ago. Both of them don't have work yet so they have lots of free time. They do come to church faithfully every Sunday but are not part of a cell group/Bible study. I have discipled these girls many times in the past but it is hard to keep a routine with them. My hearts desire is to meet with them again every week but I want them to pursue it. I want them to feel a need to have something more than just church on Sunday and to be challenged to grow otherwise it is just my goal for them and not their goal and their hearts aren't it.

That's all I will write about for now but there are so many more things I could add to it. Please pray and look for a future post of how God answers it.

New Year for New Beginnings

2011 is here! I have now been living in Thailand for 2 full years! Wow- where did the time go? Every year seems to go by faster than the one before. It seems like just about the time I get the hang of things the time is up and it's on to the next journey in life. I am thankful that I get at least 1 more year here in Thailand (and maybe more if God leads).

As the New Year (2011) arrives so do new beginnings. I am excited to see what God has in store. There are several new beginnings that will start for me next week. One of them is that I will be teaching a Bible/English class on Thursday nights at the BSC (Baptist Student Center). I have taught many English classes before but this class is a BIBLE/English class so I get to teach the Word of God which is what I came here to do! I will be teaching one class from 5:00-6:30 and another class from 7:00-8:30. I have no idea how many students I will have but I'm excited. Most of the students are likely to be non-christians. Some of them may even be coming just because they want to learn English but God's Word never returns void so hearts will be changed for sure.

The other new beginning is that I will begin targeting another University here in Bangkok. For the past 2 years I have been doing the majority of my work at SPU (Sripatum University). There has been some fruit from that work and I will continue to target SPU, but only 2 days a week now. Another missionary young guy (Eric) and Thai friend P'Pom will continue to target SPU 5 days a week.

I will enter new territory at Chulalonghorn University. It is the number 1 University here in Thailand. It is a very prestigious school and there are many reasons why I feel lead to target here. I will not explain them now though. I already have a few contacts at Chula but will basically be starting a whole new work. I am a little nervous but mostly excited! I am praying for God to open a door for me to have a connection to work in some department at the University. I will only be going there 2 days a week so I just want to offer free tutoring services or something that will give me an identity on the campus.

I am looking forward to seeing what God has in store for 2011! Happy New Year to all and may you all be blessed with some new beginnings this year.