It's a record!!!!
Just over 2 years ago we almost bought a nice little 4-wheel drive that we thought would be good for our ministry in Thailand. Unfortunately the sale fell through which disappointed me greatly.
Later we bought an older vehicle, a 2000 model Ford Ranger station wagon from a pastor in a church in Chiang Mai. It used fuel quicker than I would have liked, and at the time fuel prices were climbing rapidly. I started to wonder if our purchase had been a wise one indeed. Then I started seeing the advantages of the car.
Friday night I was driving back from a cell group in the house of one of the Christians of NaamKhem (=Saltwater, province of Phanga) church. Another Christian got off when we passed the market where she and her family live; leaving me and a friend of mine who came to visit. But my Thai friend didn't go home. Instead she turned the direction of a close by 7/11 shop. 'She didn't dare to ask me to stop in front of the shop because somebody strange to her sat in the car as well,' I thought.
Next morning this Thai friend came. When I asked her whether she went to 7/11 yesterday after cell she nodded with her head and told me, " I put my Bible in the basket of a motor bike parking there. Didn't want to show up in 7/11 with this fat book, you know? But when I came back this bike was gone. I looked around but couldn't see my Bible anywhere. So I said to God, 'If you won't bring my Bible back to me, I'm no longer interested in you.'" I couldn't help but raise my eye brows at that. "Next morning somebody saw me in my cafe in the market. He had my Bible in his hand and asked, 'is this yours?'
GOD is gracious!
For the last year I (John) have been studying Thai in two different cities, while Nuch has been completing her Masters in Bible at the same time. As Nuch already has the language, we’re sort of “half-ready” to move on to begin church planting in Southern Thailand.
Since we left Australia in January 2009, we have lived in so many different houses since then including a 1 bedroom “sauna” in Lopburi for 3 months, a chinese townhouse; also in Lopburi, and a 2 bedroom condo in Bangkok’s CBD. We’re really thankful that we had no sooner left our last home in Bangkok when the recent riots/civil unrest began.
The point of the story is that we counted around 20 different places/homes we’d lived in in the last 5 years (the whole of our marriage). You might hear that and think, “wow”!! “that’s crazy”!!
Three months ago Book and her husband were driving at night delivering a load of shrimp to market. Her husband momentarily fell asleep at the wheel causing the car to careen off the road and plough into a tree. Book’s husband escaped uninjured. However, Book had cracked ribs, broken front teeth and a fracture of the spine. She was rushed to hospital where she was put in a full body cast. Months later she was still recovering from the injuries sustained from the accident.
As Book and her family are Buddhists, they believe that if something bad happens to a person it is because “bad luck” or that they have offended a “spirit”. So they consulted the head monk of the temple. The monk told Book that the “spirit who ruled the province” had punished her for leaving the province without permission. In order for Book to recover and not have anymore “bad luck” she would have to become a Buddhist nun for 1 month. Book’s family is very poor. To become a Buddhist nun it would cost the family more than 3 months wages. Even though the family could not afford it, they borrowed money so that Book could become a nun, and earn back her “good luck”.
Many Thai people live in fear of “offending the spirits” which may lead to “bad luck”, ill health, loss of job or problems within the family. Pray that they will know “the Truth that sets them free”.
Amongst the coconut and palm oil palms, papaya and banana trees it is quite a pretty place to be ..... except for the sliippery mud after the recent rains and a few mosquitoes here and there. We arrive and crowd into the tiny area in front of Sut and Suay's parent's house. In view of the mud and the tiny (dry, mud-free) area we quicky change the choices of games to play. At first the kids are hestitant to join in but they begin to see these "farangs" (foreigners) are pretty normal and speak Thai so it is okay.
We play a few games then sing some songs about Jesus. This is probably the first time most of the group have ever sung about Jesus. Suay plays the guitar. It takes a few practices but everyone seems to enjoy it even "Mum and Dad" who haven't been interested in Jesus in the 4-5 years that Suay and Sut have been Christians.The ability to read and write is important to the Thai people. All Thai children learn to read and write in school from a very early age. Literacy across the country sits at about 99%. However there is a section of Thai society that either prefers not to read, or finds it difficult to read due to old age and lack of suitable reading glasses. A friend of mine has started distributing reading glasses and finds this a very significant tool for outreach.