11-23-2008 Slummin'

Nok and Pai joined Vee and me today at Ja Rurat, and that helped a lot. I continued my 'series' on the story of Joseph and the older kids seem to really follow it well. We'll finish that up next week and do one week with the Christmas story before the Ja Rurat Christmas party on December 14th.

One thing I was very pleased with today was that Vee told me that one little girl's mom had told him she loved for me to teach the Bible stories each week. She wants her daughter to learn English and loves that I speak English and Nok or Vee then translates, AND that she is starting to become interested in the gospel. That is a big part of the goal of this ministry, to reach the parents through their children. Vee also said that a couple of the older children asked him about coming to church next weekend. Wow.

Pai loves coming to JaRurat and seeing faith in action. I enjoy so much having him with us.


Vee's son Kimmy (left) and Tony's son Nathan used to want nothing to do with the big farang. Now, I can't peel them off of me. I get mugged every five minutes every Sunday, it seems.

Wat's up?

After visiting Pakkred Orphanage, we went on a short boat ride on the river. As we floated along, I was struck once again with how many wats, or temples, there are along the river and every major roadway. Folks who have been in Thailand for a while often talk about how you lose the sense of wonder at their beauty because you see them everywhere, but yesterday I was reminded of what a major part of Thai culture these buildings are.

Every half mile or so, it seemed, another wat appeared on one side of the river or the other.

A funeral taking place at one wat we went by. The black condolence ribbons on the wreaths had a 'Sopranos' feel to it.

Pakkred Orphanage

Yesterday, I went to Pakkred Orphanage with associates from my work. They were planning a team building outing and I was pleased and proud of them for deciding to fore go a day trip for pleasure and instead collect money to donate to the orphanage and take the time to go up and give the kids a day of activities and fun.

I was also surprised when, afterward, the director told us how much they enjoyed it because they seldom get visitors who come and spend time with the kids.

Pakkred is actually in the city of Pak Kret, which is like a suburb north of Bangkok. The orphanage is huge. There is the home for boys, which is where we were, the home for girls and a home for babies. All three are huge complexes next to each other, but separate. The home for boys currently houses about eighty boys. I believe this to be government sponsored, but it is secular, at any rate.

The kids came in and quietly lined up in their groups.


The group I was in taught the names of various body parts in English. Ear, nose, eye, mouth, etc.

Then they were giving coloring book sheets with Winnie the Pooh characters and asked to color them in as a team member called out a body part.

I wasn't sure if the older kids would have any interest, but they sure did.

Pond, showing off his masterpiece.

Soi 107 11-16

Vee and I leave for Ja Ruarat a half hour to an hour before the team leaves to go to Soi 107. Each week, after we are finished, we race across town to join them.



Today, when we arrived, I discovered that they had formed a new group for young adults in the church to also receive English instruction. That's good stuff, that is!

Like I said, kids are kids, whether Ja Rurat or Soi 107 or Liberty, Missouri.

Forming sentences with new vocabulary words.

That's just a cool sight.

Best part of the day is always the same. After the kids are gone, we break bread together. Well, OK, we have rice and Som Tum (papaya salad) and whatever the ladies bring back from the market. When the dishes are cleaned, there's a time of just relaxing together and spending some time in prayer and worship and just enjoying being together. There's something so hard to explain about sitting in the open air, singing Heart of Worship or Here I am to Worship, with voices singing out in both English and Thai and knowing that the miles and cultural differences are all bridged by a common love for Jesus and for his church. These few moments are always the brightest, most energizing point of each week for me.

Ja Rurat 11-16

The day started as well as I could hope. I was asked to preach at the 8:00 service again this morning. I spoke on Mathew 9 and how Jesus attracted people like tax collectors and sinners because of the love and acceptance he demonstrated, and how we we are called to draw others to Christ by our own demonstrations of irresistible care. It seemed to go well and was well received.

Just Ah Jan Vee and I on our own today at Ja Rurat. Two men handling twenty eight kids is a challenge, without a doubt, but it went as well as it possibly could have. We sang a couple of songs and Vee led us in a very simple game. Afterward, I taught the Bible lesson for today (with Vee translating) and we picked back up on the story of Joseph and took him from being sold into slavery to being thrown into prison after being falsely accused by Potiphar's wife. The older kids are really following the story and seem very interested. The younger kids can not sit still or understand the story, so they are all over the place. Vee and I both know we have got to do something to break the kids into age groups for part of our time each week or we may lose the older kids. We're going to be discussing how to do this in the weeks ahead.


Vee leads the kids in a game. The kids really love him. He has such a heart for the slum areas.

We had coloring book pages that went along with the lesson. My Thai is still very limited, so about all I could do with them is suggest various colors in Thai.

How can you help liking these kids and hurting at the thought that at the end of the day, you're going home, but they LIVE here?

Kids are kids the world over, and these kids show the same unbridled joy that all kids do.

Workin' that new hair-do!

The Big Five-Oh

There are no words to tell you how it pains me, but as of today, I have been on this planet for half a century. Oh my. And except for first thing in the morning when I can barely move, I do not feel a bit over 28.

I had thought I would escape the usual razzing that comes with this birthday when I came here, but it turns out that 50 is a big birthday here, too. It is pretty much when you become officially old and 'uncle' to everyone. Great.

I was treated to lunch today by a big ol' crowd of DST associates, who took me to a great Chinese restaurant right in our building. I'd never been there and it was great. And very nice to be so honored by so many.





This is all us... the DST gang.




Momo and Joy 1. I have worked with them since I first came here in 2006. In the background are Vera, my boss, and her husband Ben.



The TRAC Dedicated team. I am their manager.

Aey, Lek, Pook, Eam, and Kae.

And to my sister, who asked the folks here to make a bid deal of my fiftieth, I will not post how far away your turn is, but someday, somewhere... your turn will come, too.

Partyin' at Ja Ruarat

After we missed last week in the slums because of the church gathering in Pattaya, Ah Jan Vee decided we would meet the kids at Ja Rurat with a party this weekend. About twenty five kids showed up and we started the day with me telling the beginning of the story of Joseph. The kids really enjoyed it (thanks, I am sure, to Nok's translation for me) and we left off with Joseph being sold into slavery. I am sure the kids will be eager to pick the story back up next week.

And then it was party time, with chips and sausages and soft drinks and cupcakes and fresh fruit. Good times for all!

Pai loves working with the kids in the slums. I love the fact that he gets to see that the Christian faith is action, not just sitting in church on Sundays.

I believe she's having a good time.

You'd think that dog might be a little better on a bun with some mustard, but he's liking it fine just the way it is. By the way, hot dogs may be All-American food, but Thailand didn't get the memo. They eat dogs (which they call sausages) by the ton.

Another quick road trip

Pastor Winit asked me yesterday if I would be able to join him and Vee on a road trip to a location near Pattaya. A church member had donated a parcel of land to the church and we were taking her to meet a local pastor who was interested in building a church on the property.

We ended up at the home of the church member's sister. She runs a jack fruit orchard or farm. Her husband operated it until his death a few years ago, and now she is left to run the farm herself. We visited with her for a while and prayed for her.




What in the world is a jack fruit you ask? Well, it looks pretty awful, like a huge, elongated hedge ball.



Jack fruit ready to be hauled to market.

Si Pai (the member's sister) cuts up a jack fruit for me to try after finding out I had never tasted it. The flesh is thick and meaty, but the flavor is quite sweet, and it tastes a lot like a good, sweet cantaloupe. Vee warned me that, although it tastes very good, eating a lot of it at once can make you sick, but I suppose that is true of a lot of things.

pastor Winit encouraged Si Pai to discover how much God does love her.

Family Time

Last Sunday, a group of about forty of us from Immanuel left right after church for the ninety minute drive to Pattaya, where there is a Baptist Church camp located about thirty feet from the sea shore. It was mostly just a time of building relationships and relaxation.

Bamboo Pai and Naf, an eighteen year old young man who just became a Christian a couple of months ago.





We played soccer on the beach for a while. A fun time.

Oh, the sacrifices I make in serving Jesus!

We gathered in a meeting room for a brief period of worship. In addition to folks from the church, three missionaries serving with Pioneers, Jenny and Phil from Australia and Greg from the US, joined us. The four of us farangs (foreigners) were asked to speak to the group, sharing our stories and encouraging folks in their spiritual growth.

We finished off the evening with a wonderful Thai all you can eat meal at a seaside restaurant. THIS was some good eating! Bot a bamboo worm or cricket in sight.

Thai-ing the Knot

Bin Chinnery, one of my American expat co-workers, married his lovely Thai ladyfriend Friday in a traditional Thai style wedding. The bride and groom, in ceremonial garb, kneel at a sort of golden altar. Guests line up and one by one come up to the happy couple, where they are given a sea shell filled with water. While the bride and groom each hod their hands in a sort of praying posture, the guests pour water over their hands as a sort of blessing.




Notice their is string-like thing wrapped around their heads, connecting them. I believe this is some kind of floral deal. Thai who read this can give you the real meaning of this. I assume it has something to do with the eternal bond that now exists between them... or is a Thai way of saying, "Dude, you are roped for life."



The wedding was held at the Jim Thompson house, one of the major tourist attractions of Thailand. Thompson was an American who came to Thailand and revitalized the silk industry. In 1967, while vacationing in Malaysia, he went for a walk and was never seen again. Jim Thompson silk stores are all over and most people visiting Thailand make it a point to visit his house.

Garden In The Sky

When the king's mother passed away a few years ago, it was decided to build a botanical garden in one of her favor ties areas near the royal villa in the mountains of Chiang Mai province. Roughly translated, it is called the Garden In the Sky, and we stopped by between visits to orphanages.