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.