We have finally transitioned into our new home and have wi-fi…woo hoo! It only took about a month.
Alot of my time has been spent making this new house a home for my wife and boys and I feel like I have accomplished that goal… (three pats on the back for me) I can honestly say that even though our new place is not like our former home, there is much more peace here. After four moves in seven months, I am glad to just finally be done with all of the lifting, painting, purchasing, cleaning, and organizing.
I am taking it all in stride though. Everything in this first year has been a lesson for me. I can see the hand of God in all things these past few months, even in what seems to be like delays and distractions. I am really learning alot about myself, trust, patience, perserverance, faith, and all of those other life lessons we might love to skip out on if possible.
What always keeps me pressing forward, besides the grace of God and my awesome family and friends, is the cool things that are happening in the lives of Thai people around us. Here are a few recent things:
-New believers are being baptized,
-People are hearing the Gospel for the very first time…ever,
-University students from other nations are being saved,
-Prisoners are experiencing the freedom of Jesus,
-Doors of opportunity are opening in new villages,
-Wisdom for new outreaches is being received,
-Thai People are testifying of God doing miracles for them, and
-Underground believers in a restricted nation are being encouraged in practical ways.
So for these reasons and more, we continue to press on for the hope what is yet to come for this place.
What is it that has motivated you and driven you through the difficult times of transition in your own life? I would love to hear…
During one of our stops, we were clandestinely brought into a home where a group of believers meets. There we met with a group who had been faithfully meeting for some time. Their desire was to eventually be recognized by the government as an official church, so they made an application. They had not heard anything as of yet, but they told us that they had been working hard to demonstrate that they were a group that could be trusted in their community. Our Lao contact felt that while this was certainly to be respected, he encouraged them to stand firm in their faith no matter what the outcome. They were already a “church” that had been accepted and received by Jesus Christ. They were accepted and authorized by Him!
As we spoke with them, we could not help but overhear a loud wailing coming from outside. The members seemed to try and ignore it, but it was nearly impossible. As our friends talked in Lao and Thai, we were getting a little lost in translation. Eventually we were able to hear the story of what was going on. read more…
Remember Us.
*Update: This recently released news story from Compass Direct matches with the first hand story I just shared about persecution, threats, denial of medical care, schooling for children, etc: Click Here to Learn More.
“One brother asked for us to come. This brother NEEDS us to come.” This is what our Lao contact said to us as we headed to our new destination to encourage a family that was facing real life persecution for being Christian.
The villagers had already shut off access to water and kept their son from attending school as a way to force them out of the village. The boy was now very sick and needed to see a doctor, but the village doctor refused to see him and the drug store owner refused to sell the parents medicine. As the parents searched desperately for a solution, they contacted their brother in Christ to come and help them.
This would be one of many real life dramas we would encounter on our journey throughout the countryside of Laos. read more…
Once we decided to go to Laos, it seemed like everything tried to work against us to keep us from going. My friend Freddy got a high fever and a very bad stomach flu the day before we were supposed to leave. My landlady had also just told us that we would have to move within ten days which was only a couple of days after I was set to return from the trip. It seemed that hell was breaking loose on us at once. We came to the conclusion that this resistance was even more proof that we were doing the right thing in taking this trip.
The night before we our meet up, we prayed for Freddy’s healing. He got up the next day and headed up to meet us in Udon Thani. As he soldiered forward, he progressively got better. Before leaving, I had talked with my wife about our situation and we both felt we would deal with the situation when I returned. In some way, I knew that everything would work itself out. And eventually it did. After I returned, my landlady gave us another month and a half in the house before we needed to move which was just enough time to get into our next home.
Getting Ready to Cross the Border
Freddy came to Thailand from Cambodia with the intention of going into Laos. When he mentioned the trip to me, I felt strongly that I wanted to go, so I began to make plans. Freddy found our Thai contact through a friend of a friend from Cambodia. This Pastor then connected us with our contact in Laos. Freddy also invited an older Thai man who spoke good English to come with us as our interpreter. One brother who was thinking of coming with us backed out at the last moment and it turned out to be a good thing. We would not have had a seat for him in the truck we traveled in. We later saw that if another one of us would have backed out of the trip, it would not have been possible for the rest of us to go. Everything had to line up so that this trip could be accomplished.
Once we arrived at the border, our interpreter was only able to get a three day visa because his passport was within six months of expiring. Another hurdle for us to overcome that cut our trip by a few days from our original plans. After we met our contact in Laos, our plans changed on the spot. We were going in the exact opposite direction that we talked about going. Not only that, but our ministry plans had changed and both Freddy and I were beginning to feel that we might have to separate and go our own way. read more…
I recently returned from a trip to the country of Laos where I was able to see and learn so much. I want to invite you to come with me into this modern day story of those who are paying a high price for their faith in the Lord Jesus.
For the sake of protection I will be general in description of people, places, and timing. It is my hope that you will be challenged and encouraged by these stories, and energized to pray for and support our brothers and sisters who live in this reality every day.
Let me start things off with a little background first.
Laos is a very diverse tribal country of over 6 million people with over 90 languages. Over 80% of the population makes their living from subsistence farming. The average income is only 1.3% of the median income for America which comes out to about $1.00 per day.
The forces of globalization and modernization have long left this country behind. The majority of the people living know very little, if anything, of the modern materialistic life being lived out in the mega cities of the world and in the West. Even the Northeast of Thailand, which is the poorest area of our country, seemed to be modern compared to what I saw and experienced in the countryside of Laos.
The country gained independence in 1954 when the French were defeated by Vietnamese and Lao communists. The Communist party is still in control of the government to this day. After the Vietnam War, Laos gained the dubious distinction of being the most bombed country in the world because of the ordinance dropped on it by the US, 30% of which was left unexploded. The battles fought in Laos during the Vietnam War has come to be known as the “Secret War.”
Major persecution of the Christian church by the communists began after the pull out of 1975 and continues on to the present time. Although Christians number less than 2% of the population, Christianity has been declared the NUMBER ONE enemy of the state. According to Open Doors, Laos ranks in the top ten most persecuted countries in the world for Christians. On our journey, we heard first hand reports of imprisonment, torture, and murder. I will share a few of these stories in my next posts.
Though the government allows a “registered” church to exist, mainly in the capital city; evangelism, church planting, and new building is against the law. Most, if not all of these registered churches, were in existence prior to 1975. Still many have been shut down and their buildings have been destroyed by the government. Others have been infiltrated by government spies who report on any growth and “illegal” evangelistic activities.
Laotian Leader Praying With Us
Despite the heavy restriction of religious freedom, there is a growing underground movement led by indigenous Lao and tribal leaders who are taking responsibility to see that the Good New of Jesus Christ goes to their whole nation. They carry the burden of their people daily and live to see them come to know the freedom that is found in Jesus Christ.
They carry out their mission in secret knowing that any moment they could be found out and suffer the consequences along with their families. Many have already been imprisoned, tortured, and lost their families because of their faith in Jesus Christ.
To me, they are modern day heroes of whom Hebrews 11:37-38 says, “the world was not worthy of them.”
Playing the "Kaen" and Slide Whistle
During this little gap between posts we; hosted a great short term missions team from Hawaii, purchased a white ‘95 Nissan Sunny, traveled to speak at Thai churches and groups, had a home robbery where we lost a good chunk of our tech stuff (sniff sniff), was asked to move out of our new rental home because of conflict over a “spirit house”, received guests at our home, traveled to a city a few hours south for outreach and reunion with four other families, nearly twenty kids, and two single alumni from our Bible School. Lastly, I just returned from a week in the country of Laos meeting new contacts, serving with my friend Freddy, and learning about the work happening there.
Little Man w/ a Little Khaen
A few days ago, my oldest son (6) has started second grade homeschool and after only a couple of months of Thai lessons is already reading three syllable words in Thai script and has all of the alphabet and vowels memorized. (We are so jealous!) Our other son Aslan is growing up seemingly oblivious to all that is going on around him for the most part. He has started greeting Thai people with the traditional Thai greeting, the “wai”, which is palms places together touching just under the nose. He will even tell them “Wadeekhap”, which means hello,…when he feels like it.
Before coming to Thailand, many seasoned people told us that it would take awhile for us to transition here, but I never wanted to believe it. Other have told us that their first year of missions life was the hardest and that they wouldn’t want to relive it again! Although their words have proven to be true in some respects, we continue to work through all of the highs and lows of this season of life and ministry with a focused diligence and the grace that only God can give. He is teaching us so much as a family and we are working to embrace all of the lessons that we are learning together.
We have been blessed to have great friends here locally, both Thai and foreigner, to encourage us in our journey. It has been a joy to partner with them in order to accomplish things together that could not have happened if they were done alone. These partnerships in the Gospel make life here so much more sweeter. I believe that the Father is pleased to see “brothers dwelling together in unity.” We have also been encouraged by our friends who lift us up in prayer on a regular basis. By their help we bust through all kinds of spiritual barriers and escape many pitfalls where we could easily fall prey.
So, now that we are a little more caught up, I will try to get back on the blogging habit and fill you in on my recent trip to that country just north of Thailand. We saw and learned so much, so I look forward to sharing with you in my next few posts. Stay tuned.
I am finding that culture shock is real though I don’t really like the term. Shock seems like such a harsh word. I guess in some ways living in a completely different culture than your own can be a little shocking at times. But it doesn’t have to be debillitating. I prefer the term cultural transition. When I think of shock I think of someone about to die. I must get this from my medical background. But culture shock is just a normal part of transition in missionary life. It ebbs and flows and is stronger at some times more than others. Sometimes, you don’t realize you are going through it until you look back and say to yourself, “Why was my emotion at an 8 out of 10 for that little incident? Something is going on here.”
I am finding that in missionary life there is always a mountain to climb, especially as you move through seasons of transition. Each day has new challenges, some of which are harder than others. Each day has its own joys and frustrations that are heightened by the amount of culture transition you may or may not be experiencing at the moment. In addition to normal cultural transitions there are things that I call “pluses.” These factors add to cultural stress and cause it to be intensified. I will touch on a few that I have noticed recently in my own life recently. read more…
I was my pleasure to participate in a recent group blogging project put on by www.bibledude.net where we were able to each review a chapter of Pastor Dino Rizzo’s new book Servolution. This book has really got me thinking about what a revolution of serving looks like here in Thailand. Here is my review of Chapter 8 of the book. Be sure to pick up a copy for yourself and let’s see a Servolution take place together!
Chapter 8 of “Servolution”
“Unlocking the Need- There’s a Great Treasure Inside”
I am honored to be able to review this chapter of Pastor Dino Rizzo’s new book “Servolution.” Being a native of South Louisiana myself, I know first hand the reputation of Healing Place Church as a church that doesn’t just talk about serving, but actually does it. read more…
Monk Scandals
In the age of the internet and video, what was once confined to a local village issue is not being broadcast throughout the country and even the world. Most Thai’s are deeply embarrassed by these stories, but they are also beginning to question the motives of the ones who are looked at by many as the examples of morality and spirituality in the kingdom.
The two most recent stories coming out may have rocked the faith of many even further given the grievous nature of the incidents.
Other stories of monks caught on video by police doing drugs and heavily drinking alcohol have been recently reported. Many of these role models can be seen walking down the street enjoying a cigarette even as they are fasting all food after noontime.
I wonder what the effect of these ongoing revelations of the behavior of these “holy men”, who are revered and supported by most Thais, will do to the state of faith in the country?
I acknowledge that each faith has its own villains that could be pointed to as aberrations and not the norm, but as these stories continue to abound in the Thai media they are giving many concerned Thai Buddhists something to consider.
Sources: read more…
from → Social Commentary, Thailand Country and Culture