This is what it's all about!

Wow, what a terrific weekend! An incredibly rewarding day in the slums, and a wonderful time in church this morning. It just doesn't get much better than this.



We started the early service this morning with Kuhn Sunit leading worship. What a terrific heart for God this young lady has, and she is simply a beautiful, wonderful young lady.



Last winter, Son wrote a drama that the slums team put on for the kids at the Christmas parties. The kids and the adults all were entranced. I have long wanted to see them do something similar at church. I finally told Son that the next time I spoke in the early service, I wanted him to put together a skit that illustrated the main point of the sermon. He wrote a short skit in which Eddie is a non-believer who tries to encourage Ting to use alcohol and then tobacco and finally to use drugs. Ting, the believer, then reaches out to his friend Eddie and invites him to come visit church with him. I followed up the skit with a message on "A Love of a Different Kind," focusing on true Christian love. It all went so well. I am so grateful to God for the good response from everyone. In the photo above, Son, on the far right, introduces the skit.

Eddie, on the right, tries to lead Ting down a bad path.


Ah Jan Winit translates as I speak on Christian love.

Things really got awesome for me at Ja Rurat, though. I have been wanting to introduce the word of God to these kids in just some simple way. I am a big believer in allowing the word of God to do the work of God. I talked with Ah Jan Vee about it, and this week, we worked with the kids to help them memorize just the first half of John 3:16. "For God so loved the world that He gave his only son..." We practiced it over and over, and I told them that I would have a special reward for everyone who could repeat this to me next week. I almost fell over when Fern looked up and said she could do it right now. Nok encouraged her to stand up and lead the other kids in repeating it. Fern was a bit shy at first, but she stood up, motioned for the kids to come gather around and, like an old pro, she led those kids in repeating that verse. I still do not know how I kept from crying. My heart was overwhelmed with joy.

God has burdened my heart so much for this young lady. She is really rough around the edges and comes from a terribly rough background. For the longest time, she just stood around on the outside watching us, but she is changing before our very eyes. Each week now, I hand her my camera and she is the official photographer. Nearly all of my Ja Rurat photos today are ones she took.

On the way home today, Ah Jan Vee said, "Fern really loves you." I said, "What?!?" He said that he goes into Ja Rurat once each week in the middle of the week and talks to the children he sees, and that he has spoken with Fern a couple of times recently. "She says you come from America and she does not understand why you would want to come every week and be with them in Ja Rurat. I explain that you know how much God loves them and you want them to know that love. She loves you because you love them."

Oh my.

Nok translates as I teach the children about King Herod lying to the wise men after the birth of Jesus. Nok later talked about the importance of telling the truth. Nok is one special young lady, as well.

Working on English lesson with my buddy Ohm.



My friend Ah Jan Vee and I share a moment.

Wow. Just wow. Fern prepares to lead the kids in reciting a Bible verse.

Fern Pit, and Nok. By the way, you'll notice her hair is back to normal.

At Bearing today, we kicked off the new term. The team had not been going to Bearing the past month, because the kids are on summer break in school and lots of them were gone to visit family, etc. Today, we gathered information from the kids about where they live and got an idea of what level to place them in for English instruction. Here, Sunit works with a young girl.

Fon helping out.

Son, getting kids registered. This guy is such a blessing in my life!

Ting, quite possibly the coolest person in all of Bangkok, helps another little one fill in her registration.

Dwong, teaches the kids at Bearing a Bible lesson.

Seriously, days like today are what I live for. By the time the day came to a close, and the team gathered in Bearing after dinner together to pray and encourage one another, I was so filled with joy and gratitude. I have the best friends here you could ever imagine, and I have the privilege of being used in ways I never would have thought possible. Thanks so much to all of you who are continuing to pray for me. Clearly, those prayers are being answered!