24-Hour Prayer

"How was your time in the prayer room?"  I asked Pang as she shut the door behind her.
"So good.  I didn't want to come out, but it was the next person's turn." She responded.

As a community we have been learning a lot about prayer here at BJD.  Pang knows she can pray anywhere at any time, but there is something special about being part of 24 hour intercession.  Everyone who participated by taking an hour to pray in the prayer room on Saturday seemed to really enjoy it. 

Here's a few of our findings:
*We have been learning about listening to God.  If we are to "be still and know" that He is God, out lips can't be moving. 
*We have been finding rest and refreshment in him as we hear him whisper to us, "Come my child, sit on my lap and let me comfort you." 
*We have seen of the power and authority behind the name in which we pray, Jesus. 
*We have been reminded that our prayers are pleasing to him, as "golden bowls full of incense" before the Lamb. (Revelation 5:8)  They are pleasing because when we pray, we are declaring that God is the only one who can take care of the problem.  Then when the problem is resolved, we can give him the glory because we can't take any credit for fixing it.

Believers in Eastern Thailand

 

In the middle of fields, trees, and small villages, we came upon this lake. About 30 people joined us for the baptism of 9 new believers. 

 Before the baptisms, we spend time worshiping the God who changed these precious lives. 

The pastor from the Thai church in Bangkok gave a short message before the baptisms.

Then we prayed for those who had committed their lives to Christ.

And the baptisms began.  It was a little tricky getting to the water, but God kept everyone safe.  Many pitched in to help those who could not walk. 

 

 Old and young had declared that Christ is King of their lives.

The church at Naam Yun.

The church at Na Chaluai.

On Sunday, we celebrated communion together.

Then a couple who had been married 30 years earlier as Buddhists, wanted to dedicate their marriage to Christ.  The pastor did a simple ceremony for them.  God has worked mightily in their lives.  The husband's legs were paralyzed but now he can walk slowly with a cane.  

The weekend wouldn't be complete without some food pictures.  Here's delicious noodles, pork and veggies in gravy.

And a traditional dessert:  sticky rice cooked in coconut milk wrapped around a banana (I don't know why the banana was pink.)  The whole thing was wrapped in a banana leaf and tied with a rubber band.  Yum!

From English to Onion Rings

I prefer teaching informal English classes ten times over formal classes.  One reason is that I can teach more specifically to what the students are waning to learn.  When one student got a new job and needed to correspond by email in English, we spent a couple weeks talking about why we don't write, "Looking forward to hearing from you soonest," and polite ways to say, "We really need the shipment now!"

This week's English class began as usual, some conversation about the past week, practicing a few new grammar points, and answering some questions that came up about tricky exceptions to the "rules."  From there, we somehow began talking about food, probably because 6:00 p.m. was approaching and our stomachs were beginning to rumble.  We decided it would be a great day to practice the English we use in the kitchen, so out came the noodles and spaghetti sauce (Thanks to good friends in the States, we had a packet of spaghetti sauce seasoning which made everything even easier!)

With a leftover onion, O taught us to make onion rings.  What began as English class became a wonderful evening of building friendships, eating, and having fun. 

   

This is my little fish that I caught with a big pole.  (He got thrown back.)

 

And my big fish that I caught with a little pole.  (He got fried and eaten later in the day.)

 

Nid's little fish that she caught with the little pole.  (Can you see it? Look closely under her left hand against her arm.)  

 

We used crumbled bread mixed with butter, worms, and shrimp as bate.

 

And then the waiting...at least the scenery was pretty, and I brought my Thai flashcards study too.

 

Pastor and son joined us on our fishing adventure and caught some nice fish.

 

 

 Our catch of the day--15 fish all together between the 9 of us!

 

Dinner later that night...we fried 13 fish like this, leaving two even bigger ones to be frozen for a future meal.

A Monk's Retreat

 

Driving away from Bangkok, the busy, quick-moving roads began to get smaller, narrower, less crowded.  Small shack shops replaced the tall, concrete buildings.  People in work clothes and field boots replaced the skirts, ties, and polished black shoes. Babies skillfully wrapped around their mothers so work can continue replaced the children in strollers out for an afternoon walk in the park. 

Turning up a deserted dirt road, we passed a shrine and monk burial ground then came to a cluster of trees and spread out buildings.  It was eerily quiet, not even the sound of the breeze blowing through the trees or birds chattering to themselves could be heard.  The rumble of our car was very out of place and the ring of my phone even more so.  The space was open, with one central building for ceremonies and daily cooperate prayers.

As we walked down a small dirt road, we came to one of the monk's quarters.  My friend's uncle stayed here for the past week, pacing along the roofed path in an effort to clear his mind of everything.

 

  

Now before everything becomes too abstract, let me put a face to my friend's uncle.  Three weeks out of the month, he is a "regular person," living in Bangkok with his two sons, in a simple house and a quiet neighborhood.  He spends one week each month away from everything at this monk's retreat, gaining merit for himself and his family. 

It was an honor to be invited to travel here.  My friend commented on the idea of inviting a Christian to visit this Buddhist place.  Through our conversations, I learned a lot and hopefully so did they.

And one picture to finish out the trip, the uncle's friend...Mr. Snake.  Supposedly he is friendly and even likes to sleep with the uncle.  I'm glad he already has a friend, because I don't know if I would be a welcoming.  :)

The way it's supposed to work

"I just feel like I'm supposed to be here."  S, an English student, said as she joined us for worship on Tuesday. 

"That is God knocking on your heart."  L responded.

With the instructions to sit in small groups and pray for each other, L initiated, "Let's pray that S keeps learning more and more about Jesus." 

(S just sat in the group with us and smiled appreciatively.)


                             *************
L spent most of the night with S, talking to her, explaining things, and introducing her to other girls who came to know Jesus here at the dorm.  I was so encouraged to see S join us for Tuesday night worship and then on top of that, to see L stepping up to befriend her.

Firsts

 

Baking at BJD with students from English class.

"I'm so excited! I'm so excited! I've never done this before.  How do I by the ticket?  Where are we getting off?"

You would think Z and I were going to Disneyland with all the anticipation billowing around her.  We both smiled as we bought her first skytrain ticket ever and walked up the stairs to wait for the next train.  This every-day mode of transportation for some, was a compete novelty for my 19 year old friend from northern Thailand.

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"I don't swim.  Really, I don't swim.  I've tried before...I don't know about this..."

As the smell of chlorine drifted past and sweat dripped down our backs, the cool pool became more and more tempting.  O, a university student we met on campus a few weeks ago, wasn't about to make this decision quickly though.  She obviously wanted to learn to swim but had many hesitations.  "When I was a kid, my dad tried to teach me.  Then a friend tried again when I was older. I just can't do it." After a lot of reassurance and proof that the shallow end of the pool really wasn't very deep, she put on her swimsuit.

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"Is it really that easy?  Just mix all this together, pour in a pan, and wait an hour?"  I could do that on my own!"

C, a new student from English class, stuck around after the lesson to help us make brownies for a friend's birthday.  She was astounded by the ease of the recipe and the delicious results afterward.  It was her first time making brownies and her first time tasting them fresh from the oven (the best part!) 


With all of these firsts, comes great opportunity to deepen relationships, build trust, and create memories.