Just wanted to let everyone know that we made the long journey back home safely and without incident. Our flight got into JFK at around 6:30 am this morning, and we arrived back in Mechanicsburg around 11:30.
You may see some additional reflections regarding the trip show up here once we've all had a chance to rest and get our heads clear, but I just want to give one more big thank you to all of you for your prayers and support of us during this trip!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
my reflections from this trip (sitting and waiting in Bangkok)
We are sitting in Bangkok airport waiting another few hours until our flight leaves for JFK airport, so I finally have some time to sit down and write after a busy couple of days of ministry. Yesterday, we had some good ministry time with the team, and I sensed that the group was really blessed with the worship and the sharing that we had together. The highlight of our last full day in Ubon was our trip to Dongaul village with Lynn, Silk, and Ai along with our team. Go ahead and read Cheryl's blog about the particulars of that time, but I can definitely say that I was blessed and encouraged by what I saw. As Andrew and I sat in the back of Lynn's pickup truck and reflected on what we experienced, I really sensed that what this team is doing is to extende the Kingdom of God in a way that few people will ever see or take notice of. But God DEFINITELY takes notice of what is happening with that church of ten people. There is new life happening, and it is the kind of life that angels rejoice about.
Sunday morning (this morning), we worshipped together and really ministered together with the whole team. Andrew and Cheryl were real troopers with the way they cared for the children through the weekdnd. Our singing time was very special with Lynn praying for people to be free. I shared about the Kingdom and spoke mostly from Luke 10:8-9: LK 10:8 "When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, `The kingdom of God is near you.' I affirmed the team for the way they were doing exactly that. In Dongaul, I had the chance to meet the leader of the village, and Lynn shared that he gave permission for them to come into the town an dminister to people there. They are eating what is before them, meaning they are getting to know the peopel on their level and becoming incarnational. They are healing the sick, and they are sharing with this village that the Kingdom of God is near. It was a blessed time as we prayed for and encouraged one another. Then we set off for a meal at a local restaurant. Note to self: If I am every going to start a restaurant, find a way to have childcare in the restaurant itself so that the adults can sit back and talk with each other. A great place for good dinign and onversation - Thai style!
Overall reflections from my trip:
I came to Ubon for a number of reasons, including:
1. The chance to connect with the team there and get to know them on their turf. To renew our church’s relationship with this team and encourage them.
2. To have a chance for a shared experience with Andrew overseas and allow him to see a part of the world in a developing country.
3. To stretch and grow myself and get a different perspective on what is happening at McBIC and CrossWalk than what I am currently doing.
From that perspective, this trip was a win on all counts. I really wanted to have a time of bonding with Andrew, and I think out tuk tuk ride in Bangkok really started that experience together. Is was a real blessing to do something with Andrew. For a 13-year-old to have this experience is precious to me as his father, and even thought I do not necessarily see him on a foreign mission field in the future, I know that this experience changed the way he sees missions and the way he sees the world.
I was also blessed to get to know the Thai team in Ubon (and Bangkok) and see how God is moving in the lives of the team there. I have a renewed appreciation for all those who God calls overseas in a different culture especially. The language barrier is real and difficult to overcome, yet God in his graciousness is allowing the team to break through those barriers and be a light in a dark world. Seeing Lynn and Amy persevering through a very debilitating diagnosis is extremely encouraging to me, and no matter what happens, I am encouraged to see Lynn and Amy especially persevering through this hardship and keeping the team focused on the Kingdom of God.
For each member of the team, I have a renewed appreciation for their specific needs: for Lynn and Amy, for Randy and Jody, for Micah, for John and Becky, and for Silk.
But the most significant learning for me was the personal growth I experienced particularly in learning more about the Kingdom. As pastor of CrossWalk, I sometimes wondered if I was speaking too much about spiritual battle as I interacted with people at church. No more. This is a war, and as a former Mennonite who has definite views of pacifism, I used to shy away from the spiritual battle that ensues. But now I see that this is Kingdom work. My role as pastor at CW is to extend the Kingdom of God in the POWER of the Holy Sprit and to speak truthfully and candidly to those who are struggling between two gods: the god of chaos and security and Jesus Christ who offers healing and wholeness and forgiveness. I say the god of chaos and security because so many people at CW are living lives of chaos and say they want to get out of that life, but it is so secure for them, yet demonic. Many people in my context say that they want out of their misery, but many are unwilling to let go of what is close to them. It sounds to me like the people of Dongaul have many of the same issues.
I am blessed and encouraged to see what God has done in me and through me on this trip. There’s plenty to be encouraged about, and yet plenty still to pray for. I encourage anyone who is serving in the church to consider coming and seeing what is happening here or in any place of the world where Christianity is the clear minority (0.5% Christian in Thailand) and where people are focused on building the Kingdom of God. Be blessed, all!
Sunday morning (this morning), we worshipped together and really ministered together with the whole team. Andrew and Cheryl were real troopers with the way they cared for the children through the weekdnd. Our singing time was very special with Lynn praying for people to be free. I shared about the Kingdom and spoke mostly from Luke 10:8-9: LK 10:8 "When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, `The kingdom of God is near you.' I affirmed the team for the way they were doing exactly that. In Dongaul, I had the chance to meet the leader of the village, and Lynn shared that he gave permission for them to come into the town an dminister to people there. They are eating what is before them, meaning they are getting to know the peopel on their level and becoming incarnational. They are healing the sick, and they are sharing with this village that the Kingdom of God is near. It was a blessed time as we prayed for and encouraged one another. Then we set off for a meal at a local restaurant. Note to self: If I am every going to start a restaurant, find a way to have childcare in the restaurant itself so that the adults can sit back and talk with each other. A great place for good dinign and onversation - Thai style!
Overall reflections from my trip:
I came to Ubon for a number of reasons, including:
1. The chance to connect with the team there and get to know them on their turf. To renew our church’s relationship with this team and encourage them.
2. To have a chance for a shared experience with Andrew overseas and allow him to see a part of the world in a developing country.
3. To stretch and grow myself and get a different perspective on what is happening at McBIC and CrossWalk than what I am currently doing.
From that perspective, this trip was a win on all counts. I really wanted to have a time of bonding with Andrew, and I think out tuk tuk ride in Bangkok really started that experience together. Is was a real blessing to do something with Andrew. For a 13-year-old to have this experience is precious to me as his father, and even thought I do not necessarily see him on a foreign mission field in the future, I know that this experience changed the way he sees missions and the way he sees the world.
I was also blessed to get to know the Thai team in Ubon (and Bangkok) and see how God is moving in the lives of the team there. I have a renewed appreciation for all those who God calls overseas in a different culture especially. The language barrier is real and difficult to overcome, yet God in his graciousness is allowing the team to break through those barriers and be a light in a dark world. Seeing Lynn and Amy persevering through a very debilitating diagnosis is extremely encouraging to me, and no matter what happens, I am encouraged to see Lynn and Amy especially persevering through this hardship and keeping the team focused on the Kingdom of God.
For each member of the team, I have a renewed appreciation for their specific needs: for Lynn and Amy, for Randy and Jody, for Micah, for John and Becky, and for Silk.
But the most significant learning for me was the personal growth I experienced particularly in learning more about the Kingdom. As pastor of CrossWalk, I sometimes wondered if I was speaking too much about spiritual battle as I interacted with people at church. No more. This is a war, and as a former Mennonite who has definite views of pacifism, I used to shy away from the spiritual battle that ensues. But now I see that this is Kingdom work. My role as pastor at CW is to extend the Kingdom of God in the POWER of the Holy Sprit and to speak truthfully and candidly to those who are struggling between two gods: the god of chaos and security and Jesus Christ who offers healing and wholeness and forgiveness. I say the god of chaos and security because so many people at CW are living lives of chaos and say they want to get out of that life, but it is so secure for them, yet demonic. Many people in my context say that they want out of their misery, but many are unwilling to let go of what is close to them. It sounds to me like the people of Dongaul have many of the same issues.
I am blessed and encouraged to see what God has done in me and through me on this trip. There’s plenty to be encouraged about, and yet plenty still to pray for. I encourage anyone who is serving in the church to consider coming and seeing what is happening here or in any place of the world where Christianity is the clear minority (0.5% Christian in Thailand) and where people are focused on building the Kingdom of God. Be blessed, all!
Good evening... or is it morning?
I guess a 7 hour layover at Bangkok is a good chance to update the blog!
This is Cheryl writing, coming to you live from the Starbucks in Bangkok, Thailand for the last update before we return to the States.
Last evening we went with Lynn and Silk to Dongul for their regular time of weekly ministry there. We visited 2 women in the village before church began. For those of you who heard Kris Garis speak at McBIC or at CrossWalk the other week, you may remember the woman who was paralyzed on one side. I have no clue how to spell her name, but this woman was one of the ones we visited. Silk read with her a book that they had given her a little while ago. This woman never learned to read, but she is able to read this book! We prayed for her, about her paralysis, and after we finished, she wanted to try to walk, so with assistance from Silk and Ae, she walked around the room a couple of times. She has been paralyzed for several years, so this was huge!
The church at Dongul consisted of about 13 people, with the four of us. They started out in worship, and even though the words were all in Thai letters, and we had no clue what the page in front of us said, we followed along in the song packs. The songs were not typical of what you would hear in the states. They were that of the culture, and the style was that of their culture. It was so incredibly sweet to hear and be a part of it.
After the service was over Silk, Lynn and I had the opportunity to pray for a number of women in the church. After we were finished praying, it was supper time. Sticky rice, and a number of dishes to eat with it... chicken, mushroom, peppers, something with mint in it... a lot of spice and flavor!
This morning then we headed over to Lynn and Amy's one last time. John and Scott had a time of ministry with the long term team, and Andrew and I entertained the kids outside with water balloons.
After the ministry time and lunch were finished, it was time to say goodbye... or c-ya later... as we started our about 30 hour trip home. I personally never completly adjusted to the time change, although I now realize how much more of a night owl I tend to be as opposed to getting up at 3:30-5:30 AM.... it gives you a lot of time to think and pray... which is always a good thing :).
So here we are... about 4-5 hours into our journey. It amuses me that even though this trip takes us litterally as far away from home as possible, all of our travel takes less time than when my YES team went from Lithuania to Wales- where it took a total of 53-54 hours to travel approximatly 1,500 miles. (thanks to google maps for that info). We're here in Bangok for a couple more hours before flying to JFK and continuing our journey home.
This is Cheryl writing, coming to you live from the Starbucks in Bangkok, Thailand for the last update before we return to the States.
Last evening we went with Lynn and Silk to Dongul for their regular time of weekly ministry there. We visited 2 women in the village before church began. For those of you who heard Kris Garis speak at McBIC or at CrossWalk the other week, you may remember the woman who was paralyzed on one side. I have no clue how to spell her name, but this woman was one of the ones we visited. Silk read with her a book that they had given her a little while ago. This woman never learned to read, but she is able to read this book! We prayed for her, about her paralysis, and after we finished, she wanted to try to walk, so with assistance from Silk and Ae, she walked around the room a couple of times. She has been paralyzed for several years, so this was huge!
The church at Dongul consisted of about 13 people, with the four of us. They started out in worship, and even though the words were all in Thai letters, and we had no clue what the page in front of us said, we followed along in the song packs. The songs were not typical of what you would hear in the states. They were that of the culture, and the style was that of their culture. It was so incredibly sweet to hear and be a part of it.
After the service was over Silk, Lynn and I had the opportunity to pray for a number of women in the church. After we were finished praying, it was supper time. Sticky rice, and a number of dishes to eat with it... chicken, mushroom, peppers, something with mint in it... a lot of spice and flavor!
This morning then we headed over to Lynn and Amy's one last time. John and Scott had a time of ministry with the long term team, and Andrew and I entertained the kids outside with water balloons.
After the ministry time and lunch were finished, it was time to say goodbye... or c-ya later... as we started our about 30 hour trip home. I personally never completly adjusted to the time change, although I now realize how much more of a night owl I tend to be as opposed to getting up at 3:30-5:30 AM.... it gives you a lot of time to think and pray... which is always a good thing :).
So here we are... about 4-5 hours into our journey. It amuses me that even though this trip takes us litterally as far away from home as possible, all of our travel takes less time than when my YES team went from Lithuania to Wales- where it took a total of 53-54 hours to travel approximatly 1,500 miles. (thanks to google maps for that info). We're here in Bangok for a couple more hours before flying to JFK and continuing our journey home.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Bringing you up to speed...
Apologies for the lack of an update yesterday. It just got lost in the shuffle of a very full day.
So, let me try to give you a whirlwind update before heading out to the village of Dongaul this afternoon.
Our friends Jon, Becky, and Silk arrived via the train from Bangkok. With all of the team (well, all of them that are currently in Thailand) together for the first time, we sat down for a sharing time, as each of our team shared briefly about why we came to Thailand, and then our friends all shared their stories as well.
We followed this up with a time of prayer for the team, for Lynn, and for the activities of the afternoon. Lynn, Amy, Randy, Silk and I ventured to Dongaul to meet the spirit doctor we believe to have put a curse on Lynn that is the source of his symptoms. One of Lynn's intercessors shared with him via an e-mail within the last week that he should reverse the curse by coming in the opposite spirit, so that is what we set out to do. I really don't have time to give the full run down on what transpired, but Lynn, Amy and Silk were able to connect with him for a time (Randy and I stayed in the truck praying and interceding), up to the point where they started to talk about Jesus and about blessing and praying for him. At this point he basically became afraid (not so much him, but the spirits in him) and essentially ran away. He said he had other things to do, but he was basically just running. Lynn and Silk blessed his property and his house, and then we left, and on the way out we saw him again, and he was going every which way to avoid us.
Anyhow, we learned a good deal about this man from just our short trip. We know that he has difficulty seeing. We also learned that there seems to be some sort of brokeness between him and his son. We were going to use his son (whom Lynn and the team here already had a connection with) as our connection point with him, but found out that they were rather distant and decided to go directly to him instead. We are trusting God for healing for this man, both physical healing of his eyes and healing of the brokenness in the family. We very much believe that God wants to use these circumstances surrounding Lynn's illness as a catalyst for a great work in Dongaul, and even beyond. Please join us in praying this way.
After we returned, we shared our experiences with the team, and then had some dinner. Following dinner, Andrew and Cheryl took all the kids, and John and I led our friends in a ministry time. We had a sweet time of worship, followed by John leading a discussion about the kingdom of God - really asking what it is. We were all challenged to bring the kingdom of God to more fullness in our own lives, and in the lives of those around us.
This morning we had another ministry time, and we'll be leaving in a few minutes to go to Dongaul for their regular weekly ministry time in the village. Lynn and Silk will be accompanying us. If you get this first thing in the morning, we'll probably in the village from around 5 am to 9 am EST. Please pray for us as we minister in the village. Pray for another opportunity to connect with this spirit doctor, and that he will have sensed and experienced something that makes him open to hearing more about God. Also pray for protection for us, the team, and the current believers in Dongaul. We believe a great thing happened in the spirit world yesterday, and are aware that that might stir things up a bit. However, we go in the confidence that God is bigger than anything we might encounter in Dongaul.
There's a distinct possibility that this will be the last update prior to our return. We will be back later than usual tonight, and we don't have a ton of time in the schedule tomorrow before we catch our plane to Bangkok at about 3:30. We will have several hours in the Bangkok airport prior to our flight home, so hopefully we can get some internet access there, but we just don't know. Regardless of whether we get another in country update done, we will definitely be posting a final entry on our return, with reflections from each member of the team.
So, let me try to give you a whirlwind update before heading out to the village of Dongaul this afternoon.
Our friends Jon, Becky, and Silk arrived via the train from Bangkok. With all of the team (well, all of them that are currently in Thailand) together for the first time, we sat down for a sharing time, as each of our team shared briefly about why we came to Thailand, and then our friends all shared their stories as well.
We followed this up with a time of prayer for the team, for Lynn, and for the activities of the afternoon. Lynn, Amy, Randy, Silk and I ventured to Dongaul to meet the spirit doctor we believe to have put a curse on Lynn that is the source of his symptoms. One of Lynn's intercessors shared with him via an e-mail within the last week that he should reverse the curse by coming in the opposite spirit, so that is what we set out to do. I really don't have time to give the full run down on what transpired, but Lynn, Amy and Silk were able to connect with him for a time (Randy and I stayed in the truck praying and interceding), up to the point where they started to talk about Jesus and about blessing and praying for him. At this point he basically became afraid (not so much him, but the spirits in him) and essentially ran away. He said he had other things to do, but he was basically just running. Lynn and Silk blessed his property and his house, and then we left, and on the way out we saw him again, and he was going every which way to avoid us.
Anyhow, we learned a good deal about this man from just our short trip. We know that he has difficulty seeing. We also learned that there seems to be some sort of brokeness between him and his son. We were going to use his son (whom Lynn and the team here already had a connection with) as our connection point with him, but found out that they were rather distant and decided to go directly to him instead. We are trusting God for healing for this man, both physical healing of his eyes and healing of the brokenness in the family. We very much believe that God wants to use these circumstances surrounding Lynn's illness as a catalyst for a great work in Dongaul, and even beyond. Please join us in praying this way.
After we returned, we shared our experiences with the team, and then had some dinner. Following dinner, Andrew and Cheryl took all the kids, and John and I led our friends in a ministry time. We had a sweet time of worship, followed by John leading a discussion about the kingdom of God - really asking what it is. We were all challenged to bring the kingdom of God to more fullness in our own lives, and in the lives of those around us.
This morning we had another ministry time, and we'll be leaving in a few minutes to go to Dongaul for their regular weekly ministry time in the village. Lynn and Silk will be accompanying us. If you get this first thing in the morning, we'll probably in the village from around 5 am to 9 am EST. Please pray for us as we minister in the village. Pray for another opportunity to connect with this spirit doctor, and that he will have sensed and experienced something that makes him open to hearing more about God. Also pray for protection for us, the team, and the current believers in Dongaul. We believe a great thing happened in the spirit world yesterday, and are aware that that might stir things up a bit. However, we go in the confidence that God is bigger than anything we might encounter in Dongaul.
There's a distinct possibility that this will be the last update prior to our return. We will be back later than usual tonight, and we don't have a ton of time in the schedule tomorrow before we catch our plane to Bangkok at about 3:30. We will have several hours in the Bangkok airport prior to our flight home, so hopefully we can get some internet access there, but we just don't know. Regardless of whether we get another in country update done, we will definitely be posting a final entry on our return, with reflections from each member of the team.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
It's date night in Ubon!
This morning Jodi picked us up and took us out to the Ubon University to meet Randy. Randy is doing his research project for his masters degree in aquaculture at the university, and he gave us a tour of the hatchery facility where he conducts his work, as well as look at what he is building for his project, which involves rearing freshwater prawns. It was awesome for me to see how he has progressed in his education and understanding in the 16 months since I last saw him, and I'm very excited for what this project and the business that Randy will look to be setting up upon completed his degree will mean for the team and for the Issan people. You can be praying for this endeavor, especially that they will find a site (a good water supply is critical) and that Randy will find a Thai helper to come alongside him in the work.
We then headed back into Ubon for lunch, which was a traditional Issan meal, including a barbecued chicken (which is incredible here, if you ask me), barbecued fish, papaya salad, and sticky rice. Good stuff. This also offered us an extended opportunity to connect with Randy and Jodi.
After lunch, we headed back to the hotel for a quick rest and some freshening up, before embarking on tonight's task, which I'm currently in the midst of. Our team has provided Lynn and Amy and Randy and Jodi with free childcare for the evening and a little seed money for a date night. John and Cheryl are with Jodi and Randy's kids, and Andrew and I are here with Lynn and Amy's clan. You wouldn't expect such a task to afford time to sit down and blog, but the kids have been very, very cooperative. I'm hoping that continues, because I need to get some laundry finished before we leave. The team was instructed to basically pack for a week, so we've reached the point where we were all going to start being less pleasant to be around if we didn't get some clean clothes.
I ask that today you would just pray especially for Lynn and Amy, Randy and Jodi and their families. Raising a family in a completely different culture has unique challenges, and so pray today especially for continued strength and wisdom as they bring up these wonderful and beautiful children.
We then headed back into Ubon for lunch, which was a traditional Issan meal, including a barbecued chicken (which is incredible here, if you ask me), barbecued fish, papaya salad, and sticky rice. Good stuff. This also offered us an extended opportunity to connect with Randy and Jodi.
After lunch, we headed back to the hotel for a quick rest and some freshening up, before embarking on tonight's task, which I'm currently in the midst of. Our team has provided Lynn and Amy and Randy and Jodi with free childcare for the evening and a little seed money for a date night. John and Cheryl are with Jodi and Randy's kids, and Andrew and I are here with Lynn and Amy's clan. You wouldn't expect such a task to afford time to sit down and blog, but the kids have been very, very cooperative. I'm hoping that continues, because I need to get some laundry finished before we leave. The team was instructed to basically pack for a week, so we've reached the point where we were all going to start being less pleasant to be around if we didn't get some clean clothes.
I ask that today you would just pray especially for Lynn and Amy, Randy and Jodi and their families. Raising a family in a completely different culture has unique challenges, and so pray today especially for continued strength and wisdom as they bring up these wonderful and beautiful children.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Taking to the streets of Ubon
First of all, let me apologize for any delay you might have had in being able to view our most recent entries. That was the fault of Blogspot, not our diligence in updating! Updates were posting but not displaying last night (yesterday morning for you), now they are there for all to see.
Anyhow, we've completed our second full day in Ubon. Yesterday, after meeting with our friends Lynn and Amy for breakfast and lunch, we started off our time with a little prayer walking under rather intense sun. We started in a vacant space around some other businesses where Lynn has had a vision to one day setup a healing center. We hope to have some video of that to show you later, if the internet cooperates. We then made our way to the Assumption School, where all of the children of our Ubon friends are enrolled in school, with of course the exception of baby Aden. Afterwards we hoofed it back to our hotel for some rest prior to dinner out. During dinner we encountered the full wrath of the Thai rainy season. We were shielded from the storm by the building, but the tin roof of the building made dinner conversation something of a challenge.
Today we hit the streets again, this time (thankfully) aided by cloud cover that didn't yield rain throughout the day. We prayed blessings over a local church in Ubon, and then made our way to visit our friend Micah for lunch, and some prayer at the school (Benchema) where he teaches in the English program. The "highlight" of the day, at least from a memorable moment standpoint, was our unplanned detour into the outskirts of Ubon via "song thiew", Ubon's method of public transportation. Our fearless leader (that's me) got a little overconfident in his understanding of the routes of these vehicles, and the end result was about an extra 45 minutes of riding that was the result of an attempt to avoid about 20 yards of walking. In terms of defining travel moments, however, I'll take that over the defining moment of my last time in Thailand, which was an (at least) 45 minute one way walk in Bangkok to the Baiyoke Tower, which I've since learned was totally unnecessary. (Mr. Brubaker, if you're reading this, we to have a chat when I get back.)
After we (finally) got back to the hotel and has some time to rest, we went out for dinner, which was the first time we got to be with all of our Ubon friends, and the first time we connected with Randy and Jodi at all. It was a great meal, highlighted by our surprise for Amy - a suitcase full of baby shower gifts that we brought from friends and family back in the States. A big "thank you" for those who contributed goes out to you from Amy and family!
Well, that's about it for now. You should see some reflections from other team members show up sometime in the next 24 hours, along with a regular update about tomorrow. Thank you for your continued prayers and support, they are felt here!
Anyhow, we've completed our second full day in Ubon. Yesterday, after meeting with our friends Lynn and Amy for breakfast and lunch, we started off our time with a little prayer walking under rather intense sun. We started in a vacant space around some other businesses where Lynn has had a vision to one day setup a healing center. We hope to have some video of that to show you later, if the internet cooperates. We then made our way to the Assumption School, where all of the children of our Ubon friends are enrolled in school, with of course the exception of baby Aden. Afterwards we hoofed it back to our hotel for some rest prior to dinner out. During dinner we encountered the full wrath of the Thai rainy season. We were shielded from the storm by the building, but the tin roof of the building made dinner conversation something of a challenge.
Today we hit the streets again, this time (thankfully) aided by cloud cover that didn't yield rain throughout the day. We prayed blessings over a local church in Ubon, and then made our way to visit our friend Micah for lunch, and some prayer at the school (Benchema) where he teaches in the English program. The "highlight" of the day, at least from a memorable moment standpoint, was our unplanned detour into the outskirts of Ubon via "song thiew", Ubon's method of public transportation. Our fearless leader (that's me) got a little overconfident in his understanding of the routes of these vehicles, and the end result was about an extra 45 minutes of riding that was the result of an attempt to avoid about 20 yards of walking. In terms of defining travel moments, however, I'll take that over the defining moment of my last time in Thailand, which was an (at least) 45 minute one way walk in Bangkok to the Baiyoke Tower, which I've since learned was totally unnecessary. (Mr. Brubaker, if you're reading this, we to have a chat when I get back.)
After we (finally) got back to the hotel and has some time to rest, we went out for dinner, which was the first time we got to be with all of our Ubon friends, and the first time we connected with Randy and Jodi at all. It was a great meal, highlighted by our surprise for Amy - a suitcase full of baby shower gifts that we brought from friends and family back in the States. A big "thank you" for those who contributed goes out to you from Amy and family!
Well, that's about it for now. You should see some reflections from other team members show up sometime in the next 24 hours, along with a regular update about tomorrow. Thank you for your continued prayers and support, they are felt here!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Our first day in Ubon from JK
I am challenged in many ways by what I see. We are in a completely different culture with a completely different world view. I can only imagine what Lynn and Amy (and for that matter, John and Kathy) must have felt as they began. The first thing one MUST do here is pray. “Lord, where do we go first?” It reminds me of Philip in Acts 8:
AC 8:26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road--the desert road--that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."
AC 8:30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.
AC 8:31 "How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
It seems to me that I what Lynn and Amy and the team are doing here. They are praying and looking closely into the heart of what God wants to happen. Then when they get a word from the Lord, they go forward in that direction.
Here’s an example of what that looks like. As Lynn was praying everyday for months along a road that he walked, God led him to an empty place right above a Starbucks just down the road from where we are staying. I feel drawn to pray with Lynn for that place to be a healing center—a place of business on the second floor, just as people walk across a bridge from the other side of the road. It seems to be a symbolic place of some kind. Tuesday afternoon, Andrew took a video of thi place, and hopefully we will have the opportunity to put it on youtube so EVERYONE connected in prayer with Lynn and Amy and the team here can see this place and pray for an opportunity for the team.
I am also being challenged by Gary Thomas’ book The Beautiful Fight in which I am getting a glimpse of the Kingdom of God. I was very challenged by the idea that when a number of people were dying from disease in the 3rd Century, it was the Christians who put their lives on the line by caring deeply for those who were ill. Their witness led others to Jesus, and the Christian’s death because they stood in the gap for people was the catalyst for the Kingdom to grow.
Lord, help us to see what you are doing here in Ubon.
AC 8:26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road--the desert road--that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."
AC 8:30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.
AC 8:31 "How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
It seems to me that I what Lynn and Amy and the team are doing here. They are praying and looking closely into the heart of what God wants to happen. Then when they get a word from the Lord, they go forward in that direction.
Here’s an example of what that looks like. As Lynn was praying everyday for months along a road that he walked, God led him to an empty place right above a Starbucks just down the road from where we are staying. I feel drawn to pray with Lynn for that place to be a healing center—a place of business on the second floor, just as people walk across a bridge from the other side of the road. It seems to be a symbolic place of some kind. Tuesday afternoon, Andrew took a video of thi place, and hopefully we will have the opportunity to put it on youtube so EVERYONE connected in prayer with Lynn and Amy and the team here can see this place and pray for an opportunity for the team.
I am also being challenged by Gary Thomas’ book The Beautiful Fight in which I am getting a glimpse of the Kingdom of God. I was very challenged by the idea that when a number of people were dying from disease in the 3rd Century, it was the Christians who put their lives on the line by caring deeply for those who were ill. Their witness led others to Jesus, and the Christian’s death because they stood in the gap for people was the catalyst for the Kingdom to grow.
Lord, help us to see what you are doing here in Ubon.
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