Wedding Plans

So, as we settle in to life in Thailand, we are privileged to be part of a great team here. And now, that team has grown by one more. Taam, her nickname for us as it is easier to pronounce than her given Thai name, and Seth Hood, the son of our home church Pastor, Pat Hood were married today in a really interesting setting and wedding ceremony. Seth and Taam met soon after Team Bangkok arrived in Thailand and began building relationships with the local Thai people of Bangkok, and from the start it seemed obvious that God had chosen them to be together and glorify Him as a couple. Taam is the only follower of Christ in her family, the rest are all Buddhist. Pat married them in a local church in Chiangmai, which is where we are now, about an hour and a half flight north of Bangkok. Pat did a great job describing how Jesus talks about marriage and how to love each other as husband and wife as Christ loved the church and laid down His life for her. About 40 or 50 Thais heard the Gospel- possibly for the first time and hopefully in a way they had never heard it before. It was a really special moment when Seth and Taam served each other for the first time through the Lord's Supper. Pat and Amy were proud parents as they welcomed a daughter into their family, and Seth and Taam became one flesh to serve and glorify God together the rest of their lives. I was and am proud to be part of this team, even more today as we grew to one more. I can't wait to see how God uses this couple to reach others to glorify himself.

Adjusting to Life in Bangkok

Sorry, the preceding blog, my call to Christ, has been interrupted by our move to Thailand. We've been here for a week and a half and wow, have we been running!

We arrived to the welcome of our team at the airport late last Monday night. They helped us with all of our suitcases, which arrived with no problem. We were able to check into a guest house where we'll stay until we find something more stable- 4 people living in a one room guest house is really not too fun, the walls tend to close in on you fast. However, we are really happy to be here where God has called us.

The kids are enrolled in an international school, which is a huge blessing for us as they are able to have much more of a schedule and both my wife and I are able to be involved in ministry together. And, the administrators gave the kids scholarships to attend, so that means we only have to pay $1000 per year per child, rather than $12,000 for Kev and 16,000 for Leigha. We do have to pay for transportation too, but it is worth every penny in this large city! God is good and provides all the time.

I started teaching English, as much of my team has, at a local student center on a voluntary basis. They are providing me with a work visa so that I can stay along with my family for one year without leaving the country. I teach 3 nights per week, and it is really fun- the Thai students, mostly college age, really like to laugh and have fun, and are enthusiastic to learn English. I am hoping to build relationships through the classes I teach and share the truth of Jesus to any who are interested.

Some observations I have made since moving to Bangkok:

• It is a city full of sin- several "red light" districts, which have many bars full of young scantily clad Thai girls offering themselves to white tourists, are what Bangkok is known for. Since I am an American man, many times I am looked upon as one who would frequent these establishments. Many men, aged 45-60 go to these bars for companionship and other things. When I look at them, I feel disgusted, but also sad for the men as well as the women- what an empty life they are both leading, not only emotionally and physically but spiritually empty.
• Walking in the early morning after dropping the kids off at the bus stop, the night life is just winding down, the night markets are cleaning up and some of the local businesses are just opening. Many Buddhist monks are walking around at this early time and the local Thais offer them food in return for blessings. They bow in prayer to the monks- another very sad and empty attempt at finding peace.
• Observing people in general, everybody wears some kind of good luck charm or amulet around their neck, on their wrist or on their fingers, or even all of the above! The more good luck charms the better. They post them over the door posts of their businesses and homes and fill their dwellings with idols of Buddha and even Hindu gods to receive good fortune and karma.
• Riding the mass transit system- everyone on the subway or elevated train system completely disconnects from any type of relationship or friendly conversation while riding to and from wherever they are going. They are all reading texts, watching videos on the train or listening to music. There is nothing relational about using the mass transit around here- no way to connect to anyone due to the intentionality of disconnecting from reality to avoid relationships.

Again, all these things are just observations after being here for one week. Add to that an incredibly large population- 14 million in the city alone, 65 million in Thailand, the task ahead seems impossible. But, praise God we have a relationship with Jesus that fills all these needs for us, and we pray that we can reflect Jesus and His love for the people of Thailand so that they can know that the things they are doing to find peace, love, acceptance are only found in Jesus.

Reconnection- Part 1- My Call to Christ

This may be a long post, so it is best to put this into a couple different posts. This is a build up to my recent reconnection to family that God has really orchestrated from the beginning. But, in order to get to the point of the story currently, I have to share my journey to how I met Christ and became one of His followers:

I was the first grandchild in my family on both sides, and from many memories and pictures I could tell I was spoiled rotten! My family was all in Michigan, and the first 6 years of my life I grew up as any child did - wearing some very interesting plaid clothing and Oxford saddle shoes. My parents were divorced around the time I was 6, and when that happened, my mom got re-married and moved out to California, where I followed soon after they were settled. The plan was that I would come visit my dad and grandparents for a couple months of every summer. I became a world traveler at a very young age, because they put me on a plane by myself to Michigan, and it became some of the most fun times I remember. I visited my dad for about 3 weeks at a time, however, I never saw him because of his job. He was a high school football coach, teacher, and driver instructor which kept him very busy, and there was only a few times that we really ever spent time together as father and son. He got remarried eventually and had another son, my brother, when I was about 12 years old. I was so happy to have a brother, and when I finally got to see him, we hit it off immediately. I remember having some fun times with him even with the age difference. The last time I really remember him was when he was about 3 years old, but the time we had was really fun- I taught him how to skip rocks in a pond, and we did it for hours and we would laugh. When I went to leave, he said that next time I come we should throw rocks together and laugh. I never saw him again.

My mom and step-dad got a divorce when I was about 13. My step-dad, incredibly, stayed involved in my life, even though we were not blood related, he and his parents and siblings treated me like I was their own. I really felt love, but there was still something missing- I still hadn't had that father-son connection with my biological dad. I really started to feel the hurt through my teenage years, and couldn't understand the lack of affection and attention from my dad.

When I was 16, my real dad was involved in a messy divorce from his current wife. The mess divided our families from each other- my dad's side and his wife and her family's side. Because of the circumstances, my brother's mom was protecting him from us, a fact that I understood from a certain perspective, but it still hurt. I desired a relationship with my brother, but was not able to have one with him due to the things that occurred. I desired a relationship with my real dad, but was unable to. I felt lost. Through my teenage years I began to try to fill my emptiness and hurt with alcohol, pornography and inappropriate relationships that really started to taint and ruin my image of women. I had a great family around me- my mom did an incredible job raising me as a single mom, and my uncles and aunts were always there for me- I felt more like a brother to the family rather than a nephew- rarely, if ever, did I call them "uncle" or "aunt"- I always called them directly by their names. Still, my thoughts were of how I could fill the emptiness in my heart- partying, drug experiments, sports- anything that would gain me acceptance. I needed to feel accepted, the kind of acceptance that a son gets from his father.

Enter the most beautiful woman in the world. Christmas of 1989, I met the woman God chose for me and we fell in love immediately- neither one of us were believers nor had we been brought up in any kind of church. We knew we were for each other, and that we would get married. Then, Jesus showed up! This is where it gets good, and due to the length of this first post, I will end part 1 here. (cliffhangers are cool!)

So Ready!

Have you ever been geared up so much for something, but then it seems to stay so far off you seem to lose some steam? For the last month, I have been sort of going through the motions and waiting on getting to our next place of service. I've been doing other things, but it still feels like a holding pattern, and filler to tide us over until we are placed in Bangkok. It's been a long wait, but lately, God has been faithful to recharge my batteries.

We have been communicating with our teammates in Bangkok, who are preparing for our arrival to plug us into what they have been faithful to do these last 7 months on the field. This has gotten us even more excited to join them. I have also been able to plug in, and talk structure and strategy, with our home church here, and receive more insight on my role and expectations when I hit the ground in just a few weeks.

Last night, I was able to talk to my former team mate in South Asia, who has just returned to the field after a year in the U.S. We talked about some of the things we went through while on the field, but even more than that, he has been able to visit with some of the church planters that we trained together, and follow up with them - the news is really exciting! They have continued to grow and train other church planter networks and have seen growth into the 3rd generation! In addition to that, he told me that last year, while we were gone, the church planters we had trained had recorded almost 3000 baptisms, and that was only half of the number of new believers for the year! The leaders there have really come to own the training we gave them, and have really advanced the Gospel and God's Kingdom like it never has been in this area.

We continue to marvel at the great things God has been doing, and I believe it was our leaving and getting out of the way of the work and the dependency upon us to lead and teach that has really opened up the doors for God to make the growth happen in that place. We can do all the seed sowing and watering, but God gives the growth. (1 Corinthians 3:6).

This has really got me excited for what God is going to do in Bangkok and outward into Thailand. God is good, and he refreshes us as if we are trees planted along the stream. We hope to be used similarly in Thailand as we were in South Asia, and we pray that a solid church planting movement is started and we can just sit back and watch it go, until there is no place left to work! (Romans 15:23)

Newest Update

We've been off the field and home for over one year, and it has been a challenging and rewarding time for us. During our time home, we have been privileged to have many folks join our team and give to support us financially. God loves to provide, but He also loves to provide through His faithful servants to fulfill His goal and purpose of growing His kingdom on earth. We have been truly blessed by the generosity of people that believe in us and the call that God has placed on our lives. Having said that, we have gained enough financial support to be able to join our team that is already on the ground in Bangkok, Thailand. We have purchased our plane tickets and will be on the ground in Thailand February 28 of this year. Our team, all sent from our home church, has been working hard since July 2010 when they first arrived, and God has really opened up doors and provided many contacts for the team to advance God's kingdom in that place. Team Bangkok has been working closely with a local Thai leader, who has told our leadership that he has been praying 10 years for someone to partner with to expand God's kingdom among the Thai people- his countrymen. After hearing the vision that we have as a team, he has stated that his prayers have been answered. God is blessing our obedience as a team provided the contacts for us to work with among the Thai people to glorify Him.

We have felt unsettled during this year, even though God has provided us time to visit our families and friends before we go overseas again. But, we know that this is not our home- our home is where God has called us, and we are excited to be able to have a date set for our going. So now, we get to pack our things up and get ready to settle again. We count it as all joy, however to be able to be the hands and feet of our Lord and Saviour wherever He calls us.