When in Rome...

Guess who wears the big shoes in the middle? I suppose you don't even have to guess.

This is what it looks like outside of every house in Thailand that has a number of people inside it at that particular moment.

It is part of the Thai cultural identity. There are many other things that are integral to the historical Thai culture. Thai dance (ramthay), muay thai (Thai boxing), extreme respect for elders (take note young people), and flamin' spicy food.

What brought me to write this short note was due to a song we sang at worship last week. Americans are rather abstract in their thinking but Thais, generally, are very concrete. The following illustration is a perfect example.

We were singing the hymn, 'Standing on the Promises' but I noticed in the Thai translation that the translator did not use the phrase as we sing it. Rather, he wrote, 'chuu thuu,' which means 'to hold or carry the belief.' Those phrases, I suppose, could be similar but the meanings seem to be a stretch.

Then, a friend reminded me of the cultural significance of the foot in Thai culture. It is considered very dirty and unclean. As a matter of fact, it is impolite for someone to even see the bottom of your foot. Thais, with their concrete thinking, would literally visualize someone standing on a Bible. That, also, is of cultural significance.

Thais would never set their Bible (or any other book, for that matter) on the ground. It is very rude and impolite. So, to put their Bible on the ground and then to take a stance on top of it, would be extremely insulting and something no Thai would ever, ever do.

Now, we know that 'standing on the promises' does not literally mean to stand on the Bible but, to the Thai mindset, that is exactly what is being said. This is just another reason that we must be sensitive to understanding the people and historical culture of where we are living.

I just wish eating hot, spicy food wasn't something that was culturally significant.

Mission - Sharing the True Meaning of Christmas

Over the past ten days, we were blessed to have a team from Ferris Baptist Fellowship in Hat Yai to help us share the true meaning of Christmas with Thai students. Seven schools graciously opened their doors and allowed us to come in.

Students ranged in age from kindergarten through high school. Some of the schools were in a large city and some were in the countryside. Some schools were very large and others very small. However, in every single school, the team was accepted and the 'farangs' were a big hit with the students. Following every program, dozens and dozens of students literally rushed the team to seek pictures, autographs, phone numbers, and email addresses. They definitely made an impression on the students.

The program they shared consisted of games, story-telling, songs, and a play. Each was designed to help the students learn the story of Jesus' birth. The team divided up responsibilities and, during each program, shared leadership at different points of the program.

During one particular presentation at a school far away from the city in a very small village, the leader was teaching about the name of Jesus to a group of mid-high students. She simply asked, 'Does anyone know who Jesus is?' expecting several to shout out 'Phra Yeesuu', which the team had heard a number of times before. However, all 50 students sat there with a blank stare in their eyes. She repeated the question, 'Does anyone know who Jesus is? Has anyone ever heard of Him before?' Again, silence.

At that point, the team realized they were part of something really remarkable, something so very, very special. They were humbled with the realization that they were the first believers to ever have the awesome opportunity to tell these beautiful young people who Jesus is...to share with them the truth of God's love.

It took a moment for this to sink in. But, following their initial bewilderment, they forged right ahead and shared the beauty of the Christmas story. It, undoubtedly, will be a moment the team will never forget.

We had the opportunity to share with at least 2800 students in seven different schools. Praise the Lord. This will be a Christmas this team from Ferris will, undoubtedly, never forget. They spent their time in Thailand as farmers, sowing the seeds of faith - day after day after day.

Movin' On

The past 6 weeks have been very busy and event-filled.

First off, Kay's father, J.B. Wingfield passed on to glory last month. He was 94 years old and, without a doubt, ready to enter into the promise given him so many years ago when he placed his faith in Jesus Christ. His memorial service was a fitting tribute to a man whose influence had touched so many throughout his life. Integrity...character...uncompromising. That pretty well sums him up. We will miss him but also look forward to being united with him again someday in heaven.

Our regional meeting was held in Chiang Mai last month. My faith and desire to 'get to work' was so buoyed by the words s

hared by so many of the M's of what they are experiencing in their personal work and ministry. It is evident the Holy Spirit is moving in the hearts and lives of many Thais. Once these people have discovered the joy to be found in the Lord, they are excited and boldly share that good news with their friends and family. Hardly a Sunday goes by that we don't see new believers attend our fellowship. That, truly, is the Good News!!!

FYI...we have been formally released from language school (I think they just got tired of us!) and are busy preparing our next 'snapshots' that assess our language acquisition level. Pray we will do well and meet the minimum requirements so we can move to our assignment in Hat Yai.

While Kay was home for J.B.'s memorial service, she had surgery to have the pin removed from her elbow. You might recall she fell and broke her elbow during our visit to the states last July. It has been an extremely difficult year - definitely one we want to put behind us, medically speaking.

We have had numerous opportunities to share our faith, especially with taxi drivers. When we are in their taxis, we, literally, have a captive audience. Every single one of them is courteous to hear what we have to share and we pray that the words we share and the tract we leave with them will be another step towards understanding true peace and happiness.

We had an opportunity to attend a concert with Don Moen this past week in Bangkok. There were over 4000 Thai believers (and a few Buddhists, I would bet) that came to the worship time. It was such a blessing to be in the middle of so many Thais hearing them sing 'Shout to the Lord' at the top of their voice. I think it might have sounded a little bit like what worship in heaven is going to be like.

Thanks once again for your words of prayer and encouragement. We are always anticipating the Lord to do something really miraculous in our lives and will rejoice to share with you what happens on a daily basis.

Blessings.

Post Red Shirts

It is truly going to take a very long for Thailand to 'come back to normal' after the red shirt demonstrations over the past couple of months. It has been a sobering experience to hear Thais voice their disbelief at what happened within their beloved country. I went by Central World earlier in the week and there were about 200 people just standing there, staring at the burned out buildings. Few were talking to each other...they just stood there open-eyed...as if they were mentally unable to process the fact that this had happened in Thailand and in Bangkok, no less. The congressional representatives are now delving into the 'blame game' as to who is to blame for the whole fiasco. There is no trust whatsoever by either side for those on the 'other side of the aisle' and the vitriol coming from their mouths shows that the healing process that will be long, indeed.

As always, we are trusting that people, when they find themselves in a time of crisis, will be more prone to make value changes in their lives. That value change, we believe, is trusting Jesus and discovering the truth that He is the only way.

On a lighter note, we had a really wonderful time at the Thailand Baptist Convention in Pattaya last month. Even though it was exceptionally warm, we were so blessed by meeting a number of the believers throughout the country. The confidence of their faith was an encouragement for us all. The worship times were extremely blessed.

I knew Pattaya was a mecca for tourism but I never realized how much until I turned on the TV in our room. There was programming in the following languages: Ukranian, Hindi, Spanish, French, Russian, Italian, Chinese, Arabic, German, Japanese, Thai, and English (programming from America, Great Britain, and Australia; however, I'm not sure a lot of the Australians speak 'English'...I usually can't understand a word they say). It was a good reminder we are to be lights to the whole world.

Sad to say that Pattaya has earned its' reputation as a city where sex is bought and sold in any form or fashion. Anything goes. As Kay and I walked along the beach road, we literally encountered - and not to exaggerate - 250 prostitutes. They were all just sitting and waiting for the next guy to walk by. (That number doesn't include any of the ladyboys who are in another part of town.) A talented Christian artist named Chris Tomlin was sitting in one of the bar/restaurants along the beach in Pattaya and wrote the words to God of this City. It has become one of the favorite songs we sing in church. Here's a link to the recording on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d61LamkXfwk&feature=related

God of this City

You're the God of this City
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are

You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City

That last line rings of truth...yes, greater things are still to be done in this city, especially after the past few months.

Blessings,

Robert and Kay

A Few Thoughts....

It has been a couple of months since the red shirts invaded town and finally, by all appearances, the demonstration looks to be over in a few days - one way or the other.

Our hearts were buoyed a few days ago when the prime minister offered a path to reconciliation and both sides immediately voiced their disapproval. That said to me that it was probably a good compromise that would allow neither side to lose face. However, those hopes were dashed by a general lack of trust in the opposition by both sides.

Much of the violence has happened in an area about a half-mile from our apartment. The past two nights, we have heard bomb explosions and sporadic gunfire all throughout the night. It seems to come and go in cycles.

I sat on our front porch this afternoon reading for a couple of hours and the distant gunfire was almost continuous. We can only imagine what the area looks like. The government has declared it a 'live-fire zone' and no one is allowed to enter. (However, red shirts are allowed to leave, if they wish. I think that would be a very, very good idea they should all pursue.) I can't fathom the idea that people are being targeted on the very same sidewalks in an area we used to frequent quite often ... and plan to again someday.

Kay had a revelation last night I'd like to share with you.

At one point late in the evening, there were 2-3 very loud explosions, not like any we had heard before. It was obvious these were from much larger weaponry, probably from tanks that have cordoned off the protest area. Then there was intense rifle fire for about 3-4 minutes. I could tell lots of ammunition clips were being completely emptied.

However, as we looked out towards the area where the violent confrontation was taking place and people were literally losing their lives, we looked down from our balcony and were amazed at the sights before us.

There was a swimming pool with a number of people frolicking in the water, laughing and playing as if nothing was going on around them.

Then we saw a couple of families heading down our soi (a small lane), dressed in their finest, heading out for a good dinner and night on the town.

Then a couple of vendors passed by, still trying to sell that last bit of fruit and ice cream that still remained in their carts.

We also saw a great number of people walking down the soi, talking and laughing - just having a grand, old time - obviously not paying any attention to the struggle going on just a short distance away.

And then it hit her - What an eye-opening illustration about spiritual warfare! Most of the time, we live our lives, doing all sorts of things in our daily routine, never giving an ounce of thought to the realization of the spiritual battle going on all around us. The forces of good and evil are in a battle to the death and we don't even acknowledge the fact that the battle that is raging. Trust me, the memory of this vivid truth will be engrained in my mind for a long time.

Please know we are completely safe in our little apartment. We stocked up enough food for 3-4 days and have pretty well 'hunkered down' for the duration. We have all confidence that nothing happening here is a surprise to the Lord and we have been praying that He would lead us to seek other accommodations should our situation become perilous. We're trusting Him for His protection, not only in our lives but the lives of all the M's in Bangkok.

Kay and I have always known the following to be true, 'When people find themselves in times of crisis, they are more prone to make value changes in their lives.' This truth has been used by the Lord in a number of situations throughout the years to bring about change in people's hearts and lives. Join with us that this tumultuous time in our country will somehow bring the Thai people that we have learned to love so much to the understanding that the Creator God is the one and only true God and His love through Jesus is for all who believe.

Robert and Kay

The Red Shirts are coming...the Red Shirts are coming!

It has been almost three weeks since the Red Shirts arrived in town. The staging area for the initial protests was centered near the Parliament building but, when things didn't go as planned, the Red Shirts began to parade around town, causing massive traffic jams and forcing businesses to close for days at a time.

A couple of times we have found ourselves in the middle of a protest march - not by our own doing - and we hurried to find a hasty retreat from the area. We live a couple of hundred yards from a major thoroughfare in Bangkok and the Red Shirts have not been shy to march down this particular avenue to try to get their message across. There are thousands and thousands of people here for the demonstration. Most have come from the smaller provinces around the country and there doesn't seem to be any kind of rush to try to get the situation resolved - either from the side of the government or the protestors.

However, I sense something will be coming to a head fairly soon. Either (1) the prime minister will dissolve the Parliament and the red shirts will win, (2) the red shirts will give up and return to their homes, or (3) there will be some kind of physical confrontation which will precipitate violence. Scenarios 1 and 2 do not seem very viable. However, there is a chance the red shirts will suspend the protest next week and take it up again at a later date. A very important Thai holiday is coming up next week and I imagine most of the Red Shirts will want to celebrate the holiday with their families. One other scenario which seems rather remote would be for the prime minister to relinquish his position so, I would assume, new elections must be held. This would allow both sides to save face - which is so very important in Thai socieity - though this possibility doesn't seem very realistic.

In any event, the protest, up to this point, has been mostly peaceful. There have been a few grenades and bombs and some minor skirmishes between individuals but, for the most part, the protests seem to take on a party atmosphere. But, as time drags on and patience becomes thin, the possibility for expanded violence becomes more of a possibility.

All of our company personnel are safe and take extreme caution to try to not place themselves in a situation near protests that could escalate and become uncontrollable. Pray for the country and the leaders of both groups that clearer heads might prevail. Millions of people are suffering heavy, heavy monetary losses and there is no doubt that it will take a long time for the country to regroup and become united again. It is our hope the Father would somehow use this opportunity to show Thais that are living in the darkness how much freedom there is to live in the light.

Alpha Class Retreat

Let me take a moment to share with you an experience from our Alpha Class Retreat last weekend. It was truly a God-inspired experience.

During the Saturday night training session, one in which Tuktaa was the leader, we had 16 young men and women from Cambodia attend who are working at the resort where the retreat was being held. Tuktaa started off by speaking to these people first, sharing a little bit of the gospel and how Jesus had died for their sins. Then she transitioned into the regular teaching, How to Know the Holy Spirit is Working in your Life. As she taught the information, I was struck with the knowledge that these beautiful people from Cambodia didn't need to know as much about the Holy Spirit in their lives as the simple message of the gospel of love in that, as best we knew, none of them knew Jesus as their Savior. The odds are that many of them had never even heard the name of Jesus before.

So, not wanting to try to interfere with our leader, I simply prayed, 'Lord, if You'll give me the chance to speak, I'll be bold and try to share the simple gospel story.' About five minutes later, Tuktaa said, 'Aachan Robert, would you please dismiss us in prayer.'

I walked to the front of the room, praying as I went, 'Okay, Lord. I promised You I would speak. Give me three words to share with these people.' And, immediately, three words came to my mind - special, love, and plan. So, I asked Tuktaa for permission to speak directly to the Cambodians and she graciously gave me additional time. I then asked one of our group, a Cambodian, if any of the people understood Thai. She responded, 'No.' So...I asked Tuktaa to come stand by me and asked Suphaap to stand by Tuktaa. I would speak in English, Tuktaa would translate the English into Thai and then Suphaap would translate the Thai into Cambodian. (Suphaap does not speak English.) I shared an extremely simple gospel message of only 5-7 minutes using the three words the Lord had given me. Understand that these people are common, manual laborers, workers in the fields. When I finished, I understood why the Lord had given me the first word - special - for, in these people's lives, there is nothing 'special' about them. They are at the bottom of the social ladder. However, they are so very special in the Lord's eyes and that was the focus of my sharing.

When I finished sharing about the Lord's love for them and God's plan for their lives, Tuktaa shared a little more with Suphaap translating for her. Somewhere in the midst of her sharing, she asked a question and, immediately, all 16 hands shot up in the air. She had asked how many wanted to become believers in Jesus Christ. It wasn't like one hand was raised and then another and then a couple of others. When she asked the question, every hand went up simultaneously! Then I heard her ask a question, using the Thai word for 'Bible.' Not a single hand came up. Then another question about 'phrakhamphii' - Bible - and, again, all 16 hands went up. (Later, I found out her initial question was asking how many had Bibles and her follow-up question asked how many would like to have a Bible.) Somewhere in this process, Tuktaa led them all in the sinner's prayer.

Then Tuktaa asked if any in our group had anything to share. Five different people in our group came to the front and shared their personal testimony about what Jesus had done in their lives.

Then, she asked the Cambodians if any of them had anything to share. One young man, almost sheepishly, raised his hand and was invited to the front to speak. In essence, he replied that he felt like God was calling him to be the leader for this particular group - to be responsible for learning about God and then sharing what he learned with the new group of believers. Holy mackerel!!! How remarkable is that. Whenever God has a purpose, He always has a way!

The next morning, we discovered another one of the Cambodians is adept at playing the guitar so he met with our worship leader and she helped him with some basic songs for them to sing during their group time until some other materials could be sent to them.

I asked Tuktaa what would happen next. She responded that someone from their church would return, probably on several occasions. This person would bring Cambodian Bibles and discipleship materials which could be translated into their heart language. In a short while, after this group has developed a good understanding of what becoming a Christian really means, they will baptize them and then this group will become a new church start.

What an exciting weekend this was. We went expecting to learn about how the Holy Spirit works in people's lives and, instead of just learning about it, we saw it first-hand. What a glorious experience it was. Praise His name.

I apologize for not staying up-to-date on our blog. Time just kinda' slips by but I promise not to let it happen again!

We just celebrated Chinese New Year. A friend and I went to Chinatown in Bangkok to celebrate the occasion...with about 250,000 people and I think I bumped into every single one of them. As I scanned the scene in front of me, all I saw was a sea of black hair. Again, I was reminded why we are here.

I have been working and teaching some with the Alpha Class at our church. It is a class for searchers - people who have little or no idea of who Jesus is. We are going on a retreat this week-end. Hopefully, several of the participants who have been coming to the class will be able to attend. Join with us that it might be a 'fruitful' weekend.

Kay and I have befriended a young soldier who has been coming to our Sunday Morning English-learning Bible Study group. As we were having lunch, he looked at me and asked if I would explain the gospel to him. Trust me - that hasn't happened very often in my life! So, I shared some very simple elements of the good news and then asked Baap, another good friend who is a strong believer, to explain the gospel again just to make sure Don had understood it. He is not ready to commit his life but is genuinely interested so, in your prayer time, pray for the light to shine in Don's life.

Kay and I both are coming to the end of our language acquisition journey. We'll keep you posted about our plans. They should become clear in the next couple of months. Plans now are to move to Hat Yai, where we will stay for about a year. Then we'll move to another city in the south where we have no company personnel...but that is quite a while away.

Until next time, blessings and enjoy the journey.

Random thoughts

Last night, Kay and I went to a Mexican restaurant in the middle of Bangkok. Whenever we go places, we always try to speak Thai, if at all possible. So, with that in mind, I ordered my dinner using the best Thai that I could. The server just looked at me with a confused look on her face. So...I tried again, changing up the sentence to say the same thing in a different way. Again, she didn't say a word but just stared at me. I was at a loss as to what to do. I felt my grammar and sentence structure was okay and I could not think of a reason she should not understand me. I was beginning to feel somewhat desperate.

Finally, she looked at me and, in perfect English, said, 'Uh, I can't understand you. I don't speak Thai. I'm from the Phillipines.' Whew...I ordered my beef Tex-Mex enchiladas (using English, no less) and we all had a good laugh.

Let me share another experience that has haunted my memory this past week.

There were about a dozen songs in our music library that the Celebration Singers could sing on a moment's notice. They were songs that we loved to sing and were practically memorized by the choir. I called them 'sugar daddies.' I could pull one out and go over it one time and it would be ready to sing for worship the following Sunday. Each one was special to the choir in its' own way. One of these songs was People Need the Lord. Last week, while walking down one of the large, main streets in Bangkok, an experience we had brought the words of this song back to my memory.

As some background information, when walking down a street, if one should meet a Thai coming the opposite way, seldom will the Thai speak first. They will almost never make eye contact, usually just a quick glance and then they'll look back down at the ground. (As bad as the sidewalks are, everyone always looks down to avoid stepping in a bad spot in the walkway! If you've been to Bangkok, you know what I mean.) However, if you speak first and smile and say hello, they will always smile back and most respond with a verbal hello. But prolonged (key word) eye contact with a stranger is never experienced...unlike New Mexico where you can carry on a 10-minute conversation with a total stranger and, by the time you part, you know just about everything in regard to the person you met just 10 minutes earlier, children, job, religion, political party affiliation, etc.

However, last week, I met some ladies who gave me prolonged eye contact and the words to People Need the Lord burst upon my mind. When walking down the street, we came upon some prostitutes looking for their next client. There were 8-10 in this one location right in front of Tony Roma's Ribs, just standing there...waiting...and, as I walked by, we made eye contact but, unlike most Thais that quickly look away, their eyes met mine and they continued with prolonged eye contact until I walked past. (I was very uncomfortable at the moment, to say the least.) They were all young women, every one of them in their twenties and the empty looks I saw in their eyes, coupled with the lack of smile on their faces, easily displayed the hollowness that I know is in the depth of their souls.

Every day they pass me by, I can see it in their eyes. Empty people filled with care, headed who knows where...

Bang!

All of a sudden, the words to that song blasted into my mind, searing themselves deeply upon my heart.

Here were some beautiful young women, each one uniquely created by God, needing to discover the freedom that can be found in Jesus. The awkwardness of the moment was more than counterbalanced by the realization of the truth found in those words.

Every day they pass me by, I can see it in their eyes. Empty people filled with care, headed who knows where...

I am happy to tell you that there is a vibrant, Christian ministry called The Well that was created and exists solely to minister to the needs of the thousands of prostitutes and bar girls in Thailand. If you would be encouraged by reading some of the success stories of how this ministry has literally helped take women off the street, here is a link to get you to the right place.

www.servantworks.com/well

A couple of nights ago, we were at Central Dept. Store. I stopped for a moment just to look around. To my left were some Hindu families from either India or Pakistan. The women were wearing brightly colored saris and had the tell-tale red dot in the middle of their foreheads. To my right were a large group of Muslims. The men were wearing the white, pleated hat and the women had on solid black burqas with a small slit as an opening for their eyes. There were also a number of shoppers from Japan, carrying large bags of clothes from the store. Surrounding us were dozens of Thai Buddhists, each one hurrying to get on with their life. And, of course, there were a few farangs (foreigners) usually from Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Indonesia, or any one of dozens of countries.

Yes, Dorothy...we are not in Kansas anymore... What opportunities continue to await us.

Bless each one of you for your prayers and words of encouragement. To God be the glory.

Back in the saddle again...

The past two months have been quite a journey for both of us but through the experiences have learned a great deal about ourselves and the Lord who supplies us with grace each day.

We returned to the states in late June to attend the wedding of our youngest daughter, Kara, to a fine, young, godly man named Zane. The wedding, the reception - everything was just perfect!!! After spending a few days with friends and family, I (Robert) returned to San Antonio with my mom and Kay went on to Amarillo to spend several days with her parents before we returned to SE Asia.

However, Kay slipped on a freshly mopped floor in the facility where her parents reside (no - there was not a warning sign), fell, and broke her elbow. Six days later we were back in Roswell to have a 2 1/2" screw put in her elbow. The surgery went well and we returned to BKK a week later with the left arm in a sling, not to be used for six weeks. At first, everything seemed to be going well but, after our six-week checkup, it seems that the bones may not be healing as fast as they should be. So...another six-weeks in the sling.

Besides that, her left shoulder has begun to hurt a lot and there seems to be no proverbial 'light at the end of the tunnel.' So, if you would pray for healing in her arm and shoulder. With all that we have on our plate, this truly has become a major distraction.

On a more positive note, I finished Module 5 (and decided to take it again for reinforcement) and Kay will finish Module 4 this week and begin Module 5. We are both on a good pace for our language study. In a couple of weeks, we will both take oral 'snapshots' of our language learning as we will record a conversation with a Thai friend to show just how far we have come. When we reach Level 5 (not Module 5), we'll receive the okay to head on to our assignment in the southern part of the country to begin our work there. (A Level 5 would be equivalent to how a 5th or 6th grade Thai student would speak. We relate to the TV show, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? In a few weeks, we'll find out!) It is important we do well in this assessment. Pray we'll have good ears to hear and steady tongues to speak on that day.

All else is moving along. We have continued to develop relationships with several Thai friends (as well as several from other countries around the world) who need to know Jesus. They are all an intense burden upon our hearts. Pray that, as our strategy coordinator said this week...'they would find Jesus irresistible!'

I'll do my best to update our blog on a weekly basis. Our schedules have been fairly complex these past few weeks.

Blessings.

And here we go........

This past couple of weeks we have been blessed to have been asked to participate in a number of teaching opportunities with Thais.

The first was to teach a couple of Sundays in our English-speaking Bible study. The teacher is the only other 'farang' in the class. Though the students attend to learn English, by using the Bible and the stories found therein, we are able to share the good news of the Savior. Many in the class are believers but many are not.

We also were asked to lead a session on prayer with the Alpha Class, a seekers class full of people who know very little or nothing at all about Jesus. It is remarkable to hear the questions they ask - topics I've grown up around all my life - but, to them, are being heard for the very first time.

I also was blessed to spend a day working with a choir at one of the drug rehabilitation prisons. There were about 35 in the group. Not a single one is a believer so it was a profitable time to share about the hope found in Christ and how He can - literally as well as figuratively - set men free! Needless to say, they were a 'captive' audience. They sang well and responded beautifully to all we had to say. The director of the choir is a remarkable woman with a wonderful gift of music.

On Saturday afternoons, I also try to help with another English-speaking Bible study. The teacher allows me to have input every now and then. I'm there, primarily, to develop relationships with the Thais at the Baptist Student Center (BSC).

So...our life is not just spent with our noses in our textbooks...though most of our day is focused on language learning. The more we stick with this, the more we learn just how little we know. We are fortunate our teacher is very patient. We are blessed to have him guiding us through the language acquisition process.

We'll be heading home next week for our youngest daughter's wedding. Pray it will be a fruitful time of R & R, spending time with family and friends before we head back to a country and people we have learned to love so very much.

Blessings.

It has been an uneventful month in many ways. Go to school...come home and study...go have dinner...study some more and go to bed. That is our routine for many of our days. Spliced throughout the week, however, are some wonderful opportunities for ministry and well as some R and R every now and then.

I finished module 4 and will spend the next month with a private tutor, working primarily on my speaking and listening skills. Kay is in the middle of module 4 and will continue her work with her tutor. We study with khruu Satorn. He is a very talented young Thai with exceptional patience and understanding.

One short story to share with you. As I have mentioned before, as I was growing up, I heard from people time and time again that there are untold millions of people throughout the world who have never heard the name of Jesus. When I heard that statement, it was hard get my mind around such a statement.

However, we meet people all the time who will very honestly tell us they have never heard of Jesus and know nothing at all about Him. That statement still boggles my mind. In America, there seems to be a church on every corner, religious TV and radio shows, newspaper articles, bookstores, etc. and etc. Bottom line is this - in the states, anyone who wants to know who Jesus is has fairly easy access to the truth. However, in most places throughout the world, such opportunities are very limited.

In our city of 15,000,000 people, the largest evangelical churches would be considered tiny compared to some of the large churches in America. It is still difficult to fathom that less than 1% of the people in Thailand claim Jesus Christ as their Savior.

In our Bible study class last week, our teacher asked if everyone in our group knew who Jesus was. One 29-year old man raised his hand and said that he had never heard of Jesus - He didn't know who He was. Every single time I hear someone utter that phrase, I am again reminded why we are here and we thank the Lord for the opportunity to share the message of hope that can only be found in Jesus.

A Time of R and R

The political unrest seems to have abated, at least for a little while. The red shirts and the yellow shirts seem happy to pursue their agenda in Parliament and not through massive protests in the streets. That is good news to everyone. The latest 'comers' on the scene are the blue shirts. These Thais have a desire for all the unrest to end and hopefully will work as silent moderators between the reds and the yellows.

During our break, several of us spent some time on a day tour. We went to the floating market, the Rose Garden, the Crocodile and Elephant Show, as well as a few other stops along the way. It was a good time of R and R from the rigors of school.

Kay and I had a surprise blessing last Sunday morning during Bible Study. We attend the English speaking Bible Study class at New Vision Church. Besides the teacher, we are the only farangs (foreigners) who attend. Though it's main focus is teaching the Word, it has a secondary goal of teaching English. So, several of the participants are not believers in Jesus but come for English study.

A young man attended for the first time last week. He is in his mid-20's and is a soldier in the army. We were reading the story of the feeding of the 5000. To be honest, having heard that story numerous times in my life, I listened without paying much attention. When it was the young man's turn to read, he read it in total amazement and then posed some questions to his friend to discover if the story was actually true. You see, he had never heard it before and was in awe of the miracle. He didn't have to say anything - his wide eyes and dropped jaw said it all!

Sometimes the Lord has to hit us between the eyes with a board to get our attention. This past week, He used the simple story of the feeding of the 5000 to remind me that the truths in the scripture are never too old or simplistic to attract someone's attention.

I'll be watching this young man in the future weeks just to be reminded of beauty of simple, childlike learning. Pray with us that this young man will understand the deeper things of God and have a desire to turn to the truth found in Jesus.

Bangkok protests

Just thought I'd take a moment to get everybody up-to-date with the protests and all in Bangkok and let everyone know how we're doing.

First off, as some have asked, it is true that our apartment is near the epicenter of the clashes between the government and the red shirts so we have 'hunkered down' in our apt. and will do so for the next few days. At the same time, our apt. is a couple of hundred yards off the main street so we feel very safe and secure and do not anticipate any trouble near our apt. but it is always prudent to take precautions for it truly is an extremely volatile situation. Even as I update this blog, there are some physical clashes between the red shirts and the yellow shirts just down the road with volumes of smoke coming from fires that have been set.

We took the skytrain past Victory Monument this afternoon and saw a number of barbed wire barricades manned by government soldiers blocking off most entrances to the monument. This is where the main conflict occurred these past couple of days. It is apparent the government is not going to let the monument become a staging point for the red shirts again. In speaking to some who have been here a long time, we have come to realize this situation is different from earlier incidents and that is causing some alarm...for expats as well as Thais.













The above pictures were taken from the same exact spot. The picture on the left shows what traffic usually looks like and the picture on the right was taken today in the middle of the afternoon, which is always a very, very busy time. The Thai New Year has taken a lot of people out of town but there is still concern and, apparently as seen above, a lot of people are not going outside.

But, on the other hand, Songkhran is going on albeit with a somewhat subdued festive spirit. Click on the file below to see where all the people actually are!!!



Songkhran is a water festival that commemorates the Thai New Year. People roam the streets with water guns, seeking to douse whoever might come their way. Young people drive around in the back of trucks with 55-gallon drums filled with water with which to saturate those standing next to the road. It is all taken in good fun and everyone knows that, if you dare walk the streets in Thailand during Songkhran, you are inviting yourself to become a water target!

What a paradox. Water guns or government guns. Laughing outloud with glee or screaming with explosive anger. A choice between frolicking with either family or fanatics.

The truth, however, is that this situation is no surprise to the Lord. It is our hope and prayer that the He can take this challenge and turn it into an opportunity...a time when the Thai people will reevaluate what is really important in their lives and, those who have been made aware of the grace of the Lord, will turn to Him.

Pray for Thailand and the future of the people we have learned to love so very much.

What a difference a month makes...

To catch everybody up, this past term I started module 4 (reading and writing short vowels) at Union Language School and Kay started working with a private tutor reading and writing long vowels. Both of us have discovered unique challenges to our learning curve and we both will have to really 'buckle down' to get the language learned. So...that has been the 'sum toto' of our past month.

I had the opportunity to spend part of Friday afternoon with Tony, an Australian who has lived in Bangkok for the past 7 years. He is a street preacher who, though witnesses to everybody, has a real heart for people visiting Thailand from the Middle East - Iran, Israel, Pakistan, etc.

While he preached in Thai at a bus stop, I walked through the crowd passing out tracts. We did that for about 30 minutes. After that, we went into MBK, a really, really big 7-story mall and just 'cruised' the hallways, filled with throngs of people, many of which are tourists. He could spot somebody from the India or the Middle East and pretty well determine what country they were from just by looking at their physical appearance. When he approached them and asked what country they were from, he was usually right. At that point, he would pull out a tract in the language of the speaker, be it Hebrew, Arabic, Hindi, or whatever. Believe it or not, most of the time, the people took the tract, shook his hand, and thanked him for the gift of the tract. Really, really cool.

I want to spend the rest of this blog sharing the story of a young, dynamic man named Tong. Here is a picture we took last week. (For those of you who have forgotten what I look like, Tong is the guy on the left.) He is from northern Thailand. He moved to Bangkok and became a drug dealer...and he was very, very successful. He became a very wealthy man. However, Thailand has extremely strict drug laws and, when he was arrested, he was imprisoned with little hope for his future.

It was in prison he started singing in the prison choir and heard the story of Jesus for the first time. After hearing the Good News several times, the truth slowly began to sink into His heart and mind. He prayed one night, "God, if You are real and can somehow get me out of this prison, I will spend my life serving You." Realize, however, that, at that point, he had little hope of parole.

One day, a short time after that, he heard an announcement come over the loud speaker, asking for Tong to come to the front office for his release. Knowing that there were several thousand imates in this particular prison and, in that Tong is a rather common Thai name, he thought the announcement was being made for someone else.

A little while later, the announcement was made again but Tong chose to ignore it. About an hour later, the prison warden approached Tong and said, 'Why didn't you come to the office when your name was called,' said the warden. 'We have papers for your parole. Don't you want to be released?'

At hearing the news, Tong literally ran to the front office, not believing the news he had been given and, sure enough, someone, somehow approved his early release from prison. (Though, to us, we know it God's response to a specific prayer request.)

After leaving the prison, the immediately went to his parents home to tell them the wonderful news but they did not believe him. They thought he had escaped from prison and would not unlock the front door to let him in for fear of the authorities.

Having nowhere else to turn, he sought out the House of Blessing, the church that, as a part of the Thailand Christian Prison Ministry, was instrumental in his decision to become a believer in Jesus.

(As an aside, when an inmate who has become a Christian in prison is paroled, he can move into the halfway house at the House of Blessing and live for up to 6 months until he gets and job and finds a place to stay. )

So, Tong settled into the halfway house, very unsure of his future. As time passed, it became apparent God had some specific plans for Tong and his wife. He, in essence, became the halfway house administrator and oversees the care of the parolees who choose to stay at halfway house during their reintegration into society. He has been in this position for the past several years.

Here was a man, tagged with an extremely long prison sentence, who took the Lord at His word and prayed, believing God could do something miraculous. And, when God answered, Tong was faithful and did exactly as he had promised, serving the Lord at the House of Blessing to be a minister to others. What a wonderful testimony of God's grace in a dear man's life.

Just a day on the farm...

I remember a day several years ago when we were visiting with some church members who raised chickens to show at the Eastern New Mexico State Fair. (They could potentially read this posting so I won't say anything about how funny those particular chickens looked with the feathers on the top of their head resembling an inexpensive whisk broom!!! ) They took us out to the chicken coop and proudly showed us the nests, filled with all their prized flock. I was watching some of the chickens as they were strutting around in the dirt, using their talons to poke around the clods, looking for something to eat. I vividly remember us talking about the marks the chickens made in the dirt as they 'scratched around.'

Funny thing is that a lot of the letters we are learning to write as we learn the Thai alphabet look a lot like some of those chicken markings! Many of the Thai letters are actually kinda' fun to draw. They are very fluid and cursive in style. The hard part is that there are a lot of exceptions to the rules and then there are exceptions to the exceptions, and, in one case, an exception to an exception to an exception! Go figure...

We have been blessed with a number of beautiful new friends. Several have stepped forward and volunteered to help us in any way they can to help us try to master the language. I've included a couple of pics of our some of our special friends. The first of is Ta. She works at the Baptist Student Center and is one of our main language tutors. We attend Friday Night Live each week at the BSC to make friends with young Thai students and encourage them with their English language learning. (And, if you're wondering...yes, we do enjoy talking to people in a language we can understand!!!) She is a precious young woman with a vibrant faith and love for the Lord.

The next picture is of Nittaya Chang. We worked with her extensively in 2005 when we spent time teaching at the Seminary in Bangkok. She and her family have become very dear friends to Kay and me. The first time we attended the church they started, there were about 12 people. Here is the picture of the church taken during the Christmas celebration. Look at the growth! How exciting it is to be blessed by the Lord in such a beautiful way.











We're in the picture above. See if you can find us...kind of a 'Where's Waldo?' challenge.)

Here's a picture of our current class. We have students in the class from Portugal, Mexico, Japan, Russia, Korea, Boston, California, and the Land of Enchantment. It is quite an eclectic group. We will be finishing our current module this week and will have to prayerfully make some decisions about the next one - whether to move on or take this one again, in that it is so difficult. So we would appreciate your prayer support in this endeavor. Otherwise, life for us is fairly mundane. Go to school, come home, study, go to bed and get up the next morning and get ready to go to school again. But, please know, we are so truly blessed to be where we are and are thankful to all who support us through their giving to the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas offering. Your love and support make all this possible. Bless you for your encouragement and prayerful.

The hot season is a-comin'...

For the past three months, the weather in Bangkok has been unlike anything we expected. There has yet to be an exceptionally hot day and we have been pleasantly surprised as to how cool it has been. After all, we were told that there are three season in BKK - hot, hotter, and hottest!!! The Thais have been walking around in jackets, gloves, scarves, and woolen hats. And there I was - in a T-shirt, shorts, and sandals. No wonder they think the farangs are crazy!!!

That being said, our future hopes for cooler weather were quickly dashed when we were told that it has been forty years since Thailand has experienced weather such as this. In essence, the locals have told us, 'Don't get used to it. It is not the norm.' Well...thank the Lord for the past three months.



We will finish module 2 this coming week and begin module 3 on Thursday. We will have our first taste of the Thai alphabet, reading and writing the language. We have been blessed in that we both feel we are attending a wonderful language school. The teachers - khun khruus - are very skilled and capable instructors. Everyone seemed to make such a big deal about the tones - and the tones are very, very important - but the tones have not been as much of a challenge to me as sentence structure and word patterns. And, as in almost any language, there are same words that have a variety of meanings and that seems particularly true in Thai.

This past Friday, our class spent a couple of hours in a park speaking to Thais. It was a good experience. We try to talk with people we run into at the market, as we ride the skytrain, or meet throughout the day. Usually, those conversations don't last very long because the people are busy and can't make the time to stop and talk to strangers. However, at the park, it was a very relaxed atmosphere and we had the opportunity to speak at length with several people. (I had one woman try to corner me into committing to teach her to speak English!!!)


Chinese New Year has been a lot of fun. The decorations seen throughout the town are beautiful - lots and lots of red color, the Chinese color for good luck. It is not uncommon to see 'dragons' coming your way, accompanied by drums and cymbals.

Last weekend, we went to Chinatown in Bangkok on New Year's Eve with Rocky and Pam Johnson and about 200,000 other people. We thought a parade was coming by for people were standing 6-7 deep along the street. In actuality, the princess of the country was walking the parade route and everyone was waiting for the opportunity to see her. There is such a high degree of respect and admiration given to the royal family. It really is a beautiful thing.

Other than that, we go to school in the morning and study pretty much the rest of the day. It has become a rather comfortable routine.

One night this week, we went to the Baptist Student Center near our apartment and spent the evening conversing with Thai students who are taking English. It was a very profitable and rewarding time, spending a few minutes with several different young men and women.

One of our new friends is a championship caliber badminton player from Japan. We went with him one evening to watch him play. It is an extremely fast game. The players must have lightning fast responses. I included a short clip in this update to show him in action. (He's the tall guy in the gray T-shirt.)



We again appreciate everyone who is praying for us on a regular basis. Your thoughtfulness, encouragement, and prayer support is so important to us on a daily basis. We have had the opportunity to share our faith with a number of people and we will continue to pray the Holy Spirit will take those seeds and bring them into fruition.

Bless you all,
Robert and Kay

Movin' on to Module 2

We have finished our first module in language school and are a week into our second module. Things are going exceptionally well. (Kay might choose to disagree with that assessment, however.) We are beginning to be able to speak in Thai to just about anybody we run into. The conversational topics are rather mundane, however, but those conversations are building blocks to our future success with language acquisition. Besides, how many Thais have 'farangs' ask them if they think pineapples are sweeter than watermelon or if they think Thailand is hotter than Canada...

I got to use a question today in class I've been contemplating. The English translation goes something like, 'When my hair is long, I get a haircut. I like haircuts.' But the Thai translation goes something like 'weelah phom phom yaaw phom kaw tat phom. phom chaap tat phom.' (If you say it fast enough, it sounds like a few explosions going off.) Of course, the all-important tones are absent but you can get the general idea.

We found this manger scene (along with 5 other scenes of angels, shepherds, etc.) in the middle of the largest park in downtown Bangkok. It was quite surprising and a pleasant discovery. So much for separation of church and state in Thailand. Today is January 10th and we still hear 'Joy to the World, the Lord is Come' being played over the loud speakers in the mall. Of course, 'Here Comes Santa Claus' is right after it!!!

We get asked unusual questions every now and then. One particular question has been sticking in my mind. Here's the background.

If you walk the streets in Bangkok, you will quickly notice that the vast majority of Thais are extremely clean. Their clothes are laundered and they usually appear clean and refreshed, even on the hottest days. We have noticed that this is true in the rural areas, as well. Though the people outside the cities are much less fortunate, even in the poorest areas, the Thai people still take their personal hygiene very seriously. The house may be falling down and the cattle may be bone poor but, as a whole, the people exhibit a high degree of personal cleanliness. (The average Thai takes several baths a day because of the climate.)

With that as a prelude, the question that was asked of one of our m's was 'Is it true that Americans only take one bath a day?' At first, it seemed like a silly question but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. The young lady found it incredulous to think that we, as a general rule, feel that only one bath a day was sufficient for proper personal hygiene.

Her question guided me to a couple of very specific points. The reason the Thai people have such a high regard for cleanliness is that (1) they make it a priority and (2) they are consistent with their hygienic discipline. Oh, that we could say the same about our spiritual discipline. (I'm not pointing fingers at anybody for I'm speaking mainly to myself here.)

Day in and day out, the Thais constantly make it a point to maintain that high degree of cleanliness through a conscious, concerted, intentional effort. Do we do the same for our spiritual discipline? I have a feeling that, if we approached our spiritual lives the way the Thais approach their physical lives, the Christian faith, as we know it, would have a much different look.

One of Bobby Renfro's favorite songs was 'All day long I've been with Jesus. It has been a glorious day.' Spending each moment with the Father each day is like taking a 24-hour shower!! Think how clean, though wrinkled, you'd be when the shower was done.

Speaking of Bobby, how our hearts were saddened when we heard of his passing last week. But, at the same time, how our hearts were elated to know he now stands in the presence of our glorious, loving Lord. We are jealous he has already had the opportunity to see our Redeemer face to face. His impact will, indeed, be felt for years to come. I know many of you have expressed your sympathies to Jane, Libby, and Lane. What a generous, free spirit he was. (I have no doubt he's checking the banquet table we will all feast at someday to make sure the green peas are absent...)

Blessings.

In the twinkling of an eye...

This past week, Kay and I went to a seaside resort called Cha-am for a couple of days of R and R. Here's a picture of Kay on the beach 'suffering for Jesus.' There are some really nice parts of living in Thailand with hour long, $5.00 foot massages on the beach being one of them.

On our way back to Bangkok, at one point we noticed that all the traffic on the opposite side of the median had disappeared. Just minutes before there had been numerous cars zooming by but now, there was not a even single one.

There were, however, policemen stationed about every hundred yards or so, blocking all the streets - large and small alike - preventing any car from entering the roadway. We began to muse about what was going on and it didn't take us long to realize that a motorcade ferrying the royal monarchy was about to pass us by.

I strained my eyes, peering down the open road, trying to get a glimpse of the oncoming yellow limo, the King's personal travel vehicle. We knew it was coming...we just didn't know when. We looked and we watched and we waited with camera in hand, hoping to get a picture of the royal family. We knew they had a mansion in Cha-am and were, no doubt, on their way there for some R and R, as well. I must admit, there was a bit of electrical energy in our car. How often do you get to see royalty!!!

And then, before I knew it, whoosh -in a flash - the motorcade flew by before I could even get my camera off my lap. They appeared and then disappeared as quickly as they had come. I didn't get my picture. I didn't see any royalty. The whole series of events happened so fast... they were coming, they were coming, they were coming and then, as John Madden would say, 'boom, they were gone.'

As I reflected upon the experience, I thought of the similarities with Jesus' return to the earth. We know He is coming, we yearn to see Him. We look and we watch and we wait. We just don't know when it will be. The scripture says it will happen in a heartbeat, in the twinkling of an eye. And, just like that, it will be over and it will be too late for those who don't place their trust in Jesus.

We, as believers, must continue to be vigilant, peering down the road, watching for His return. But, until He does come, we must continue to be faithful to share the Good News with those who don't know Him.

Thanks to all who gave to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Your benevolence supports the work of over 5600 missionaries scattered throughout the nations of the world. Every single penny of the LMCO goes directly to evangelistic projects submitted by the 'Ms.' May the Lord's richest blessings be on you all.

And, as always, keep your camera ready...

What language are you speaking???

We have finished our first 20-day module of language school. Hip..hip...hooray...(repeat 2x). It was as challenging as everyone told us it would be - well over 500 words of vocabulary and about 20-25 different sentence patterns ... and that was in the beginner module!

To strengthen the learning process, we have been diligent to practice the words and phrases we have learned with strangers we meet on the street, in a taxi, or in a restaurant. The funny thing is that, quite often, after we say a phrase, the Thai person just looks at us with a 'deer in the headlights' kind of look. It is apparent they have no idea what we are saying.

We'll repeat the phrase, enunciating it as carefully as we can - being sure to use the correct tones for the words - and the probable result is that they just look at us and shake their heads, letting us know they have no clue what we are saying. They just can't quite figure out what language we are speaking.

Usually, by the third time we say the phrase, you will see their eyes widen and an 'AHA' moment erupts. You can literally see that little light bulb go off in their heads. They did not expect us to be speaking Thai!!! They were expecting us to be speaking English (and they are thinking that our English is really, really bad!!!) and had no expectations of us speaking something else. If they happen to be standing with someone they know, they will invariably start speaking rather quickly to the other person, saying something to the effect that 'Hey...hey...hey...they are speaking Thai' and then the conversation continues once we all get on the same page.

One security guard on the skytrain, in particular, was quite embarrassed at not recognizing his own native language. He apologized to me three times for not 'getting it.' When we boarded the skytrain and looked back, he just stood there on the platform with a big smile on his face, bewildered at those farangs speaking his heart language, feeling rather stupid he didn't recognize it. The words and tones were all correct - his expectations were the problem.

After contemplating these experiences, I realized that there are a number of direct parallels in this example to our lives. The most obvious, of course, is when the Lord is speaking to us and we do not recognize His voice. We might have prayed for guidance or direction and, then when He does answer those prayers - for whatever reason - we simply don't hear His response. We might have other things plugging up our hearts or ears and are oblivious to His voice.

Another possibility is that He is speaking to us in a way we don't recognize. We might be trying to interpret His voice in a language we choose rather than in the one He spoke to us in. We might be trying to 'read into' His answer and translate it in a way that He did not communicate rather than taking His answer for simply what it is.

So, the end result is, I have decided that the next time I try to speak to someone in Thai, I am going to first communicate to them that I am learning Thai and get permission to ask them a question. After I get an affirmative response, I'll ask the main question and go from there. (Maybe the Lord should do the same for us...'Okay, now that I have your complete attention, here is the answer to your prayer...are you ready for it?...here it is...are you sure you're ready???)

After all, I never did like that 'deer in the headlights' look either...

Here is a little footage from our morning at Lighthouse church. What a blessing these beautiful people are...



Robert