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. 

Multiplication, God Style

A fun part of small group is hanging out to play games afterward!

"I really enjoyed coming to small group with you last week."  NaamFon shared with me on Sunday. 

NaamFon has been a believer for some years and is involved in another church, so I almost didn't invite her to our Bible study.  She surprised me by being very interested and insisting on going, even though we meet all the way downtown. 

"I think I will start meeting with a small group of students to study the Bible too."  NaamFon continued.

Wait.  What?  Wow! 

Is multiplication that simple?

Well, of course it is, if God is doing it.

We model what the Bible teaches, gathering together with Christ as the focus and the Bible as our life guide, and God brings the people and does the work. 

So in the next few weeks, there will be a group of students meeting at Ram 2 university even though our team is focusing on Bangkok university.  God has shared the vision and passion with a couple other people from NaamFon's church, so they will be partnering in leading this group. 

Just imagine... What if God multiplies that group in the same way, to reach out and start another group at another university.  And what if other people from our group are lead to start a group at the other Bangkok university campus. How long would it take until there was a small group meeting at all of Bangkok's 30+ universities? 

And that's just the work God is doing through our church.  Wow God!  What a blessing it is to get a glimpse into God's bigger vision for reaching Bangkok and Thailand. And what a privilege it is to be involved!

Perspective

Perspective changes everything.

This past week, we played a game called "Can You Make It?"
 

Each team was given a pile of random objects and players took turns trying to make the word they drew out of the bag.  Whatever team guessed the word correctly first was the winner.  Think of Pictionary, just making the object instead of drawing it.

My team guessed this immage within about 10 seconds of me beginning to make it.  I was very impressed.  With the right perspective you'll see...a sailboat.


"Do you ever feel weak?"  Gif asked me later.

"Of course.  Everyone one does at times."  I responded.

However, how we look at this feeling of weakness goes back to perspective.   "We can think about it as God's reminder that he is the one doing the work and we should be relying on him, or we can just be frustrated because we feel like we don't have enough strength."

At one point in the game, my word was "chair."  I made an "L" shape with string then lined up four toothpicks sticking off the bottom.  To me, it looked like a chair.  To the judge (who pointed and said, "That's it exactly!") it was a chair.  To my teammates, it was string and toothpicks in a mixed-up pile.  

How many times do you think we see God's plan like that?  When really, if we seek him (and are patient for his timing) the picture would look much different. 

 Any guesses? 

This one my team figured out...a cat.

 Teams 1 & 2

Teams 3 & 4

 The "making" process.

 Too easy!  

An ice cream cone.

 I was impressed that we figured this one out...

An elephant!  (The trunk is closest to us and the blue dot is its eye.)

Teams 5 & 6

Mango and Sticky Rice

Looking for a cool, summer dessert that uses delicious summer fruit?

Try Mango and Sticky Rice!

My Thai friends were the first to teach me how to make this easy and delicious sweet treat.  At the market we picked up (aka, your shopping list should include)...

 Ingredients:
-1 cup sticky rice (glutinous rice)
-1 cup coconut milk
-1/2 cup water
-pinch of salt
-1/4-1/2 cup sugar (more or less sweet according to your preference)
-1-2 mangoes (or other fresh fruit)

Directions:

Soak the sticky rice for 6-8 hours in a bowl with a lot water (the rice will expand, so make sure your bowl is big enough.)  After soaking, pour out the extra water and rinse off the rice.   While water is boiling in your steamer, place a cheese cloth or muslin cloth on the top part and pour the rice into the cloth.  Cook the rice for about 20 minutes, or until it is translucent and not crunchy.  (If you would rather microwave the rice, see the Microwave Method below.)

Next, heat the coconut milk and water in a sauce pan.  Stir constantly and add the salt and sugar when simmering.  Mix until sugar is dissolved. 

Pour about half the coconut milk mixture into a smaller bowl.  When the rice is cooked, mix the rice into the remaining, hot coconut milk. 

Lastly, peel the mango (or other fruit) and cut it in long, thin slices. 

To assemble, place a scoop of rice on the plate, top with a few slices of fruit and then spoon some of the remaining coconut milk sauce on the top. 







The Microwave Method: Soak the sticky rice for 10 minutes in warm water in a bowl. Soaking the rice is very important. I have tried this method without soaking the rice first and it was disastrous. The rice was undercooked and inedible. The water level should be just above the rice, which comes out to be 1 cup of rice and a little over 1 cup of water (about 10% more). I recommend using a non-plastic container because you may melt the plastic in the microwave. Cover the bowl with a dish and cook in microwave for at full power 3 minutes. Stir the rice around to move the rice from the top to the bottom. You will notice that some of the rice is translucent or cooked and some still has white center or the uncooked portion.

Heat it up again for another 3 minutes. Check and see if it is done. When cooked, all the rice should be translucent. If it needs more cooking, I recommend heating up and checking every 3 minutes or so. How long it takes to cook really depends on your microwave. (Microwave Method from www.thaitable.com)

Enjoy!  (We all sure did!)

Beach and Baptism

Friends from English class joined us at Bang Saen beach. 

Although not the same as the famous southern Thailand beaches, at an hour and a half away from Bangkok, this one is a perfect one-day get away. 

Under our tent-city, we could order food, buy beach toys, or just sit and relax.  

We couldn't enjoy the beach without enjoying some good sea-food...squid, muscles, and papaya salad!  (Can you guess my favorite...?)

Friends of all ages joined us, from an "Aunty" who has been retired for many years (third from the right) to Josiah, who at one and a half years old, we still had to keep from eating sand. 

The highlight of the day was definitely the N, who put her faith in Christ last week, was baptized!  It was perfect timing to make her proclamation to the world in God's beautiful creation.

Kyle, N, and me...so happy for the privelage to celebrate this special day together.

The Tennessee interns were very excited to celebrate with us too.

"I feel good." N told me afterward.  "I have peace in my heart."

Luckily Josiah didn't know that this man was selling cotton candy, otherwise he might not have let him keep going.  :)

New Fuel

I opened English class with a question to get students sharing.  "Tell me something exciting you did this past week, and if nothing exciting happened, tell me why your week was boring."

"My week was boring because I had to study every day."
"Celebrating my birthday with my friends was exciting."
"Boring.  I had to work and did nothing fun."
"I went to Kyle's house and learned about the Bible."  "It was exciting because it was my first time."

Unknowingly, this last student made my day.  He made every task in my week seem more meaningful.  He reminded me that God is working through all the responsibilities.

The small group and student Bible study Kyle and I are a part of has admittedly fallen under the "chore" category occasionally.  We have both taken our turn at being discouraged about students' inconsistency, other priorities they put first, or silence when we ask questions that dare to touch their heart.  A statement like this is fuel to keep pushing forward. 

The following Sunday, this student came to church for the first time.  As David, our new pastor, introduced himself and his family, he shared part of his testimony.  "I don't remember what the pastor preached about the first time I sat in church.  But I knew God was drawing me to himself."  I pray this is part of this student's testimony someday soon.

The Time Has Come

"Do you know that this week I decided to become a Christian?"
"Yes, I heard that, praise God!  Welcome to the family!"
'A' smiled and laughed hesitantly. 

"Do you have peace in your heart about your decision?"  I asked her.
"Yes, but sometimes I still don't understand."
"There are things I don't understand too," I admitted. "But when the time is right, God will help us understand."

For over a year, 'A' had been attending Bible studies and learning about Christ.  Her first exposure to the gospel came through an English class.  At first, attending Bible study was more for English practice than Bible learning.  But as the months went on, God slowly, gently, transformed her heart.  'A' became hungry to know more about Jesus.  Then it didn't matter what language the Bible study was in, 'A' was ready to learn. 

"I know God is real, but I'm just not ready."  She told me a couple months ago.  Her main hesitation has been disappointing her family.   It's a scary prospect, espeically in a culture where everyone is taught to do everything possible to 'safe face' and not disrespect family.  Now, God has given her peace even in that area.

Marveling at the journey Jesus had taken her on, I asked, "Why did you decide to believe now?"
"The time had finally come."