Slow But Steady

Kwa on left, baking with friends last week.

Day 1: Kwa and I meet at our Tuesday night of dinner and worship. She expresses interest in learning English, and we set up a time to study.  She leaves part way through the worship.

Month 1-3: We  study English weekly, enjoying our time together and deepening the relationship as we go.

Month 4, week 1: Kwa invites me to lunch after studying English.  Afterward she takes me to her apartment to show me around.

Month 4, week 2: Kwa helps a friend translate for a friend at the dorms then hangs around after studying English to bake brownies.

Month 4, week 3: I invite Kwa to a Christmas party at church.  She accepts the invitation!  We enjoy visiting with people, delicious snacks, and singing Christmas songs.  Halfway through the talk on the meaning of Christmas, Kwa says she needs to go.  We say goodbye and confirm our next date for studying English.

While I would have loved for Kwa to stay for the whole Christmas story, I'm not frustrated she left.  I'm actually very excited she came in the first place and stayed for as long as she did.  I know God is working in her life, and I trust he has already started to cause some turbulence in her heart.

Relationships take time.  That is especially true here in Thailand and even more so because we are crossing language and cultural mountain ranges as we walk through the relationship's path, but the outcome of the time invested is well worth it. 

 

P and I have been friends for two and a half years, a friendship well worth the time invested.

God's Schedule

"I ran quickly."

"I run quickly."
"I will run quickly."

"I took out the trash." 

"I take out the trash."
"I will take out the trash."

"They borrowed the car."

"They borrow the car."
"They will borrow the car."

English tutoring was going on as usual when Ben walked in. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but can anyone translate for me?  I would like to pray for my friend who is visiting." 

Kwa, the student I was tutoring, just looked at him.  Then he asked her, "Do you speak English and Thai?"
"Yes." She responded.
"Can you translate for me?"
"Okay."

We quickly finished our lesson, and I double checked with Kwa.  "It's okay if you translate?" 
"Yes." She replied.

When we joined Ben and his friend, he explained that he has been studying the Bible.  We chatted for a while using all of our combined English and Thai, and somehow communicating most of what we wanted to say. 

The whole time, Kwa visited, listened, and seemed to enjoy herself.  

That's when I laughed at myself.  So often I want to control situations to keep them comfortable for everyone.  But when I step back and trust God to take care of the situation, I am often surprised.  

Kwa is a Buddhist.  If I had gone with my first instinct, I would have discouraged her joining the conversation as the translator.  But on second thought, I figured it couldn't hurt anything, if she was willing.  

So much of ministry is living life with people, living a life for God and allowing others to observe and be involved.  Some of our students still consider themselves Buddhists, but am encouraged when I see them joining us in worship, prayer, inviting others to hangout, and saying, "I thank God for..."  

Is God working in these students' lives?  Most definitely. 

  

Later that day, Kwa joined us to bake brownies.  That lead N to teaching us how to make butter cake.  Having left over eggs and being hungry for "real food," we made omelets and rice.  Late in the afternoon, Kwa said she had to go home.  A two-hour, tutoring session turned into a day of spending time together, just what I love to do. 

 

Happy Birthday to the King of Thailand!

December 5th was the King's birthday.  It's a national holiday (schools and banks are closed on Monday in observance) and also the Father's Day is celebrated. 

Some of my friends from the dorm invited me to go to the park to join the festivities.  I realized this is a lot bigger than Father's Day in the States when I saw the traffic heading towards the park.

We jumped on a song-taow, a pickup truck with space for people to sit/stand in the back.  With 31 people in the back, we felt the bottom of the truck hit the ground at every pothole and speed bump. 

 

The park was decorated with strings of lights over many of the trees, beautiful flowers, and pictures of the king.  Thousands of people gathered to celebrate, remember, and pay respect to the king.  There were people everywhere, couples, kids, families, teenagers, some sitting on mats, others buying ice cream, others taking pictures.  

 

As I looked across the lake in the middle of the park, I saw lights being spread.  One by one, fire was passed from candle to candle until the whole park was lit by the candles each person was holding.  

Then everything stopped, people stopped moving, the noise from the ice cream carts was silent, and the King's song began to play.  It played twice while people held their candles in respect. 

 At the end of the songs, fireworks shot into the sky.  It felt like the Fourth of July. 

As we left the park, we saw a family lighting a floating lantern.  The heat from the fire causes them to rise into the sky.

   

The whole evening was a beautiful display of respect and honor.