Khao Lak January '09 - Part I

Another "Wow," experience. Guess I should be getting used to those. Thursday night, J arrived around midnight. Jason Hinckley is a pastoral intern at Wellspring Community Church and a young man I have mentored for many years. By email, I introduced him to my buddy, Vee, and they have been very anxious to meet and work with each other. That day finally arrived.

We picked J up at the airport and went to my condo so he could unpack and change. By 3:00 a.m., we were on the road for a nine hour drive to Khao Lak, the village in Southern Thailand that I visited with a team from church two weeks ago and earlier in October. This time, we went with a bare bones team. J, Vee, me, and a dear young brother from church named Son. Because Vee had school obligations on Monday and Son had to work, we could only be there Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, returning Sunday evening.

This time, we worked with another church Immanuel supports, Pak Ping Christian Church, and their pastor, Ah Jan Acharaa. (Pak Ping means 'hidden in the rock.') Although we were only there for three days, we packed in a ton of adventure!

J has been looking forward to this trip for months now. He had little or no interest in doing the typical 'touristy,' stuff, but wanted to roll up his sleeves and do real Kingdom work. He was not disappointed. Over the three days, we went to four small group meetings, where we took turns haring our stories or leading Bible studies. We visited several church members in their homes and encouraged them and prayed with them. Because it was the weekend for Thailand's national Children's Day, we put on special activities for two groups of children. And at the main service at Pak Ping on Sunday morning, we each shared a brief worked of encouragement and J preached the sermon. By the time we headed home late Sunday, driving through the night to arrive in Bangkok at 5:00 a.m., we were utterly exhausted, but so filled with joy... J, who had never been outside of the US, had, in three short days, fallen in love with Thailand, had his heart overwhelmed with excitement for missions work, and had made two new friends for life in Ah Jan Vee and Son.

Sharing with a family at their rural home.

One thing you can be sure of on these trips is that you can not be sure of anything. You are certain to be asked to preach or share your story with less than five minutes notice. The plans will change in an instant. Saturday, Ah Jan Acharaa decided that, since we were there and willing to do anything, and since it was Children's Day, we'd put on a special activity for the children in a community she ministers to. This community is one where the small homes were built by the government and all the people there lost everything they owned in the tsunami. With just a couple of hours to get the word out, we had no idea how many kids would show up. As you can see... many did. More than fifty, I am sure. Son and Vee led them in games and songs, while J and I went inside with the adults and we had a small group-type meeting with them. At one point, Vee came and got J and they stepped outside so J could share his story, about growing up in a broken home and making many many bad decisions before meeting Jesus several years ago. Just a wonderful night.


As I said, while Vee and Son were outside with the kids, J and I went in and spoke with the adults. J and I are in the top row with Gai and Dto, two fishermen who love Jesus. This small group is amazing. The men had worked for a big fishing company, but it required them to work on Sundays and miss church. The church helped them find organizations that donated small fishing boats to them, so there are four fishermen in this group with their own boats now. They go out separately, but they pray together before each trip, and they stay in contact by cell phone and check on each other's safety regularly. Fishing has been bad recently. The fishermen have to buy baitfish and sometimes new hooks for every trip. If they catch no fish, they have no money to buy baitfish for the next trip. They had a plan to put together a small fund of 5,000 baht (about $150) that could be used by any of the four, if they caught no fish that day, but would be repaid the next time they did catch fish. They had the thing all planned out and were just hoping to be able to save enough to start the fund. Well, hello, Holy Spirit! Shortly before J left the US, one of his church members approached him and pressed a hundred dollars into his hand, saying, "There will be someone over there in need. You'll know them when you see them. Use this to bless them." Before we left that evening, we gave them a 3,000 baht start on their fund. Their gratitude to us, and to God, was a beautiful thing to see.

Oh, and I told them a story about me going fishing with a friend on the Grand River, back in Missouri, and sinking the boat. They laughed and laughed. And at the end of the evening, they seriously asked me to come back and go out fishing with one of the men for a day. You better believe I WILL do that!


One morning, Ah Jan Acharaa took us far from Pak Ping and to a place so remote, there were no roads or even car tracks that went back so far into the jungle area. There, we met with people in a tiny two home community. There were about seven adults and several children. Most of the adults were believers, but some had still not crossed the line of faith. We met with them in one of the homes. J shared his story and I did a short message on the Raising of Lazarus. Afterward, Aj Jan Acharaa asked if anyone was ready to take that step and give their hearts and lives to Christ, and two people did. (The man and woman on the left side of the photo.) We prayed with them and Acharaa spent a long time patiently and quietly visiting with these two about what this kind of decision meant and how they can be SURE in their new relationship with God. And angles in heaven were celebrating.

Me speaking to a small group about church, and how much Jesus loves the church and what 'doing church,' should look like, from the example of the early church.