The Power of Short-Term Teams

Our Thai friends helped us take the short-term team on a first-day tour of Bangkok. 

9 American high school students joined us this past week, taking their spring break to come serve alongside our LifePoint Bangkok team. Their energy and enthusiasm pushed them through jet-lag  and into a week full of English/Bible camp for kids in the Com110 community, visiting an orphanage and home for kids with disabilities, adult and university student English classes, and lots of relationship building. 

One of my favorite memories from this past week was the last days of the kids' English/Bible camp.  Thai kids are on summer break this month, so the timing was perfect for gathering them together for games, stories, crafts, songs and English lessons. 

As with many groups of kids, we had a few who preferred to draw attention to themselves instead of follow along with the activities. One of the short-term guys and I took on the challenge of reigning in this group of rambunctious kids.  Once we got them sitting down in chairs, they actually started paying attention. 

They could remember the English lessons from the day before and really listened when we shared about the clean heart Jesus gives us when we trust in Him.  This group of boys didn't try to deny that they were sinners.  All hands quickly went up when we asked if they had ever told a lie.  The cool thing was, some hands also went up when we asked if they wanted to believe in Jesus, the only One who can cover our sin and make us clean in God's eyes.  The sneaky, button-pushing boys from the hour before had become wide-eyed and seriously attentive.

Of course there's a lot more than just Bible stories and explaining how Jesus makes our heart "beautiful." And yet at the same time, I had to remind myself that we don't need to over complicate it either.  In Matthew 19:14, Jesus himself said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."  If Christ was calling the children to himself, he must have had a message that they too could understand. 

After a long talk in our small group time with the kids, lots of questions, explaining, and a time for them to pray if they wanted to, we split up for games.  Before we left that day, the 12 year old boy from our group came up to one of the short-term team members and pointed at him then pointed back at himself.  "Brothers."  He said, just like we had assured him earlier in the day.  If he chooses to follow Christ, he joins the biggest family in the world. 

Our team will continue pouring into this community and following up with the kids.  We have been serving in this community for over two years and hopefully will continue to be present and available until members of the community are Christ-followers and raised up to take over the job. 

Experiencing different types of transportation including tuk-tuks, the sky train and riding the river-taxi boat (above).

English classes were divided into small groups and led by the short-term team, a great time for extra conversation and building relationships.

Sharing in the joy and celebration of J's baptism.

American and the Thai friends joined Friday's UniteBKK activities including building a tower out of straws. (This one actually stood on its own and won the competition for tallest tower.  How?  We are still wondering that ourselves.)  

It was a quick, energy-filled week, and I am confident that God will continue the work He has been doing here in BKK!  Thanks to all the extra hands that came to serve with us this past week!

Wan Makha Bucha

Buddhist temple near my house.

Many Thais celebrated Wan Makha Bucha on Friday.  It also happened to be Valentine's day, but the two holidays don't always line up.  Wan Makha Bucha falls on the full moon day of the third month in the lunar calendar (usually in February).

Part of making merit on this holiday is making a donation.  Money stapled to ribbons hanging from a string outside the temple.

Jacky, an English student, explained it as a Buddhist holiday commemorating the day that 1,250 monks spontaneously gathered from far and wide to be taught by Buddha. On the same day 45 years later, Buddha gave his final teachings and achieved Nirvana. 

Other people make merit by lighting candles and incense.

Nowadays, Thai Buddhists go to temples in the evening of this holiday to pay respect and make merit. In remembrance of the monks' long journey, people will walk around the outer perimeter of the temple three times.

Does that bring to mind a story? I'm always on the lookout for connections between our daily conversations and Biblical truth.  Bible stories are a great way to share that truth.

So I shared with Jacky (and whoever else was listening), the story of Joshua leading his army around the walls of Jericho. When I got to the part about the wall falling down, Jacky said, "Wow! That's amazing!"

"Yes! God does a lot of amazing things!" Was my response.

Jacky, my other Thai friends, and most of our English students have already heard us share about Jesus and his life-changing sacrifice.  However, opportunities show God's character through stories like these makes Christ more real. 

"Is it a true story?"  Jacky asked.

After I assured him that all stories from the Bible are completely true, Jacky was quiet for a moment.  I could see him pondering and prayed for God to continue to work in his heart.

United at the Beach

Thai & international YWAM family

 

"For the body does not consist of one member but of many..." 

This passage from 1 Corinthians 12:14 and the following verses are quite familiar, but as we spent time together at the beach last week, they became real again.

It seemed someone from every part of the "body" was represented.  From the voices who answer the phones and the hands that clean the offices to the fingers that type information for the website and the eyes that spot the ministry opportunities.  From the minds who keep the accountants straight to the tongues that translate for teams.  From the  elbows that work on the cars to the body that sits in YWAM Thailand's National Director seat.

Our body is diverse.  And that's a good thing.  Just as Paul reminds us in Corinthians, we wouldn't be a useful body, actually we wouldn't be a body at all, if we were all an eye or everyone was an ear.  Praise God for diversity!

Before returning to Bangkok, we had some time to share how God had been speaking to us:

"When we say yes to God, we must say yes 100%."

"Thank God that I can serve in a family like this!"

"As I looked out at the ocean and prayed, God reminded me, he loves us that much!"

Proverbs 31: 8-9 "Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.  Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy."

"I feel like God has guided me here (to serve at YWAM) through every step."

"Relaxing like a family here is really important.  Every minute we serve together is important.  There is no job too small for God to notice or so big he is overwhelmed."

"God pressed on my heart this year that I need to be more committed to my church family, learning and seeking the Lord with them."

"I like to see the younger girls and remember when I was a young student like that.  It's good to encourage each other."

"God reminded me with Ephesians 6:5-8.  We are to serve with all our heart."

Praise God for uniting us together to serve him as one body and pour out his love on others in Thailand!  We couldn't do it without each other, and we definitely couldn't do it without him!

Trilingual

DD reading Proverbs 16:9 in Chinese, 

"The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps."

"Do you understand it?"

"Yes, I can't write it, but I can read it."

"So this is the old language?"

"Yes. But I still like it.  I love to read the Bible, it has such good advice, and it is so beautiful."  DD has only been reading the Bible for a little over a month, and most of that time she has been reading in her second language, Thai. 

This week however, that changed.  For the first time, our Saturday student Bible study used Bibles in three languages.   Thai, English, and Chinese. 

Excited that we had finally found a Bible in the right Chinese dialect, I asked DD to read the passage we were studying out loud.  What I didn't realize was that finding the passage was going to be almost as big of a task as finding the Bible itself.

"James."

I might as well have said a random word in Russian or Afrikaans.  The name didn't get us very far, and me flipping through the pages that held absolutely no familiar letter or number clues wasn't helping either.  I thought I had our solution when I looked up the characters for "James" in Chinese on the internet, but for some reason, they didn't match.  Another dead end, but we weren't giving up.  

"Okay.  We need a new plan."

First, the table of contents.  I flipped more pages. DD flipped to the back cover.  I wanted to say something like, "We want the table of contents, not the concordance." But I didn't know those words in Thai (or Chinese).  Then I realized what DD already knew, Chinese is written from right to left, top to bottom in columns.   I counted in my English table of contents.  James is the eighth book from the end (in case you ever have to find it in a language you can't read.) 

"Yesh-ceb?" DD asked.  Knowing that "James" is pronounced, "Yhe-cob" in Thai gave me confidence that we had found the right book.  We turned to the first page.  Not being able to read Chinese numbers, I had to trust DD was following.  "There should be a big number 'one.' Okay, now 'two,' 'three,' and 'four.'  Yes!  We want four, that is the chapter.  Now verses 13-17.  Those are the little numbers.  Yeah!!!  We found it.  Can you read it to us?" 

While DD read, my heart leapt.  It was beautiful, as was her expression, which came alive as she read.

By the end of the night, DD was tuning pages, finding chapters and reading verses all on her own.  "You can take this Bible home to read if you want."  I encouraged her.

"But what if someone else wants to read it here."

"We will get another. It is so special that you have one in your own language to read."

Kids' stories aren't just for kids!

The silly girls I live with...wouldn't trade them for anything.  :)

"Julia!  Can I come visit you?"  Wi asked, opening my door before sound could leave my mouth. 

"Ooh, your room is hot too."  Wi said, as she came in.  "What are you doing?"

"Translating a Bible story to teach the children at church on Sunday."

"Can I read too?"

"Sure."  I responded, handing her the teacher's book of stories. 

We sat on my bed, fans blowing the hot air around the room and flapping the pages of our books.  Wi read story after story out loud but to herself, insisting I get my work done and only occasionally stopping to ask how to pronounce a word or its meaning.  I occasionally did the same, asking the difference between two verbs that seemed interchangeable or the correct phrasing for a sentence.

After a while, Wi turned to another story.  "This one is from Genesis 26."  She stated.  "What's a 'well' and why were Isaac's ne-i-ber-s...a-r-gu-ing?" She asked, but quickly followed with, "I'll read and find out." 

Soft murmuring came from the other side of my bed.  Her petite finger ran across the lines of the story, brow intermittently wrinkling under her short, black bangs as she stopped to examine a word. 

"Hmmm."

I looked up, noticing Wi was finished with the story.  "So, why were Isaac's neighbors arguing?" I inquired.

"They wanted Isaac's well. But Isaac didn't want to ar-gue, so he built another one and then another one. He wanted to be their friend."

We sat quietly for a moment.

"I'm going to go now."  Wi stated, rather abruptly.  She paused, seeming to think about the stories she had been reading.  "God encouraged me to not argue with my friends."

"Good." I said, marveling at the way God just used a kid's bible story and my prep time to remind us of a lesson we often forget, even as adults. 

The door closed, and I was left alone to translate the rest of the story for Sunday school.

"Ar-gue?"  Wi called back, checking to make sure she was remembering her new word.

"Argue." I confirmed, smile widening across my face. 

Uarn's Journey Continued

 No-bake cooking night with friends from English class at UniteBKK.

Uarn's story started a few weeks ago.  Start here to read from the beginning. 

"I believe in God but my dad won't let me."  Uarn shared during conversation time after English class.  I put down our English worksheet.  No amount of English is more important than this. 

It just so happened (in a completely God way which means not as a coincidence), that the three people sitting closest to us were Thai Christians who had also com to English class.  Uarn knew this was a place she could find out more about this God who loves her.  She admitted, however, "It doesn't look like a church." 

As she shared her desire to "see" God, Mii opened up a Bible and pointed to a section for Uarn to read.   After reading the story to herself, she looked up in awe. 

"Have you ever read the story of Zacchaeus before?"  One of the others asked.

"No..." Uarn said contemplating what she had read with a smile on her face.  Then her smile faded.  "My dad won't let me read the Bible.  I want to be a Christian.  I believe in God, and I love God."  Passion streamed through Uarn's young voice.

"If you really believe in your heart, than you are a Christian already.  It doesn't matter what your ID card says.  God knows your heart." Mii encouraged Uarn.  She shared how Jesus sought out Zacchaeus and wanted to spend time with him even though he was a sinner, just like he wants to spend time with Uarn. 

We are praying that Uarn can keep coming to English classes and hopefully to church and small group Bible study.  How amazing it would be to see this high school student grow in her passion for God and begin planting seeds of the gospel throughout her circles of influence--with her family, friends, neighbors, schoolmates, and teachers. 

God on YouTube

Mexican Food Night at UniteBKK

13 year old Uarn sat down at the table after our Friday night event with a big smile.  "I got into the high school I wanted!"  She announced.  Uarn is younger than most of our University student friends who come to UnteBKK, but she is excited to be there each week. 

As she jabbered away about school she played with Taam's iPad.  Uarn opened up the YouTube application and switched the keyboard to English.  Handing it to me, she said, "I want to see God."  My face must have communicated my confusion because she tried again, speaking slowly and as clearly as possible in English.  "I want to see God...Ggoodd." 

We didn't cover this one in Missionary Training School.  Here's to improvising!   

As I took the thin machine, Uarn looking at me expectantly, my mind raced through my options.  Do I explain how very few people have ever seen even glimpses of God, or just say that he can't be found on YouTube? 

Curious myself about what would come up, I typed "God" into the search bar and pressed enter.  Uarn stared at the screen.  As expected, I needed to scroll through the first few options, Jesus hanging on the cross, famous preachers with their hands extended.  Finally I clicked on one titled, God of Wonders.  As we watched the video's beautiful images of stars, mountains, rivers, and delicate flowers, we talked about how God created everything in the universe, from the planets to the oceans to "Me!" Uarn said. 

"Why did Jesus have to die on the cross?"  The bright, inquisitive young girl asked once the video was over.   I shared the entire magnificent story of creation, sin, separation, forgiveness, and ultimate love with her.   In a God's-perfect-timing way, just as we began to get to questions and answers on the outside of my Thai vocabulary, Taam came over and joined us. 

This wasn't the first time Uarn had heard these stories.  She had obviously been mulling over these ideas for a while.  And God was obviously speaking back to her. "I believe in God...When I think about God before I sleep, I have good dreams.  If I think about Buddhist ideas, I don't sleep well."

What a privilege it is to see and be a part of God working in the hearts and lives of Thai people!

Pla Pla Community Kids

Kids from Pla Pla community showing off the Easter eggs they found.

"Will you read with me?"  Was the first thing out of Ben's mouth as he walked up carrying the Bible we gave him last week.   "Of course!" We responded.  As other kids began to gather and play, Ben and Taam sat on a bench reading stories from the Bible. 

Sometimes I wonder if spending half a day chasing kids around, singing songs, teaching English, and listening to a Bible story is a good use of my time, but then one of the kids come up and says they want to read the Bible.  That brings everything back into perspective.  More perspective comes when a parent walks by and stops to listen during our story time or gives a friendly smile and says, "The foreigners have arrived!" as we walk by their house.

 

Taam, our amazing teammate, made eggs out of clay for the kids and brought all the supplies to paint them.

The kids had a great time.  It was their first time decorating eggs, and they wanted to get everything perfect.

After covering every inch of their eggs, the boys resourcefully held them in front of the fan to dry.

Kids and Coffee

One day of my travels in northern Thailand was spent hanging out with about 30 kids in an Akka village.  The three Thai friends I was with love kids and are great with spur of the moment ideas.  Nothing was planned and the kids didn't know we were coming, but it turned out to be a wonderful day.  

The kids were apprehensive at first...What are these visitors doing here?

 

The big kids were looking out for the little ones, even when the "big kids" weren't so big themselves.

 

After hanging out for a while, my friend asked if any of the kids would like a snack.  No one hesitated to show us how to get to the snack shop.

 

This is one of my favorite pictures.

 

And here is the smile behind the beautiful eyes in the above picture.

 

After a snack, we headed to an open space to play some games. 

 

Getting ready to play "Tigers and Monkeys," similar to the game, "Sharks and Minnows," I played as a kid. 

 

It didn't take long for a few adults to show up, wondering what was going on. 

 

When everyone was tired out from the games, we had the kids sit down so we could tell them the Christmas story.  Most of them knew Christmas was this time of year but could not tell us why it was a special day.  What a privilege to be able to tell them about Jesus!

COFFEE!

Another day in the Akka village was spent learning about coffee.  Many of the families of this mountain town make their living by growing coffee. 

 

Ama (the grandmother of the friend we were staying with) taught us how to pick coffee.

 

Basket full of beans!

(They look a little different than the finished product we're used to, don't they?) 

 

Then we separated the ripe beans.

 

We sold the 161 kilos/355 pounds of beans picked that day to the nearby factory that processes them.

 

The beans are soaked then spread out on tarps to dry. 

 

They are raked to make sure all sides dry.

 

 Dry beans are bagged and kept for one to three years.

 

After aging, the beans are roasted.

 

Finally, the look we are familiar with!

 

The roasted coffee is weighed and bagged to be sold around the world.

 

We got to taste some freshly roasted and brewed coffee. I thought it was strong and delicious. It was the first cup of coffee ever for my Thai friend in the picture. He added lots of milk and sugar, but the look on his face after the first sip was priceless. I could see him thinking, Why would anyone choose to drink this horrible tasting liquid???!!! He politely finished the cup but later said it made his head and stomach ache. It will probably be his first and last cup of coffee.