Valentines from the Slums

Valentine's Day is celebrated in Thailand, just as it is in the U.S., so it was our

theme today in Ja Rurat.

Singing about the love of Jesus.

The kids made their own valentines.

Hard at work.


Proud of their handiwork!

Ice, getting hers just right.

Vee and Nok, helping out.

Have your people call my people.

My buddy Ome. He was standing on the side,

not getting involved, until I cut out some hearts

for him to start with. A billion dollar smile and he

was off and running.

Masterpiece! It says, "I love you, mother," signed Ome.

With Love From Nippon

Izumi is a young Japanese missionary who arrived in Bangkok shortly after I did. She has gone on many of the same trips I have and is a wonderful young lady. This week, here parents came to visit for a week. Her father pastors a Baptist church in Japan.

Izumi. Think about this. Japan is around 1% Christian, and Thailand 4%. She

has given up a year of her life to come to Thailand as a missionary to this country.

There's a real need for American believers to do more.

Izumi and her folks. They will leave Thailand this week tired, but

deeply encouraged by the level of commitment and energy they

saw in the church here.

Izumi's father spoke at the Friday evening prayer meeting.

He talked about how Americans brought the gospel to Japan

after World War II, and that the church grew rapidly in

those days. As Japan grew more prosperous, the people began to

feel they didn't need God, and the church has struggled

much in recent years. He says that there are few young

believers, and little energy in the church today. Maybe the

current economic issues facing the world will shake people's

false sense of security and result in a new openness to the

gospel.

David and Goliath come to Ja Rurat

Another terrific day at church and in the slums.

Son led worship in the 8:00 service. What a wonderful heart for God! By the way,

there is a link to Son's blog on the left side of this page. He's just getting it started.

Photo is blurry, but so was I after getting up at 3:30 a.m. to watch the UNC basketball game on the internet. Anyway, here I am speaking at the 8:00 service, with Ah Jan Winit translating. I spoke on Acts 3, and Peter healing the blind man. God used Peter's limitation (he was broke) to open the door to greater opportunity. Instead of getting a little money, the man ended up healed.

In Ja Rurat, I am teaching the kids about David and today was David and Goliath.

They enjoyed it a lot. I am about to play Goliath to this boy being David.

Afterward, we played games and had a party today. Vee and I have decided

that we'll have a small party once a month.

The kids plot their strategy for the game we played.

Yes, she shows up in pictures almost every week,

but how do you NOT include this one?

New, one of my old BSC students was back in town and joined us. He is now a flight attendant with Saudi Airlines. Not yet a believer, he is close and this day of working with the kids touched him deeply. Here, we have Ah Jan Vee, Pai, and New.

If it's Sunday, it must be slum time!

The day starts well, as the guys kick off the 8:00 a.m. service with worship.

My friend, Greg Brown, had a stirring message about God's call to holiness. See his blog through the link on the left side of this page.
At Ja Rurat, I taught about David as a shepherd boy, and then we had some games related to that concept. Here, the shepherd calls his sheep to 'follow me.'

The kids knew the answers to all the review questions after the lesson.

Vee led the kids in a game where the loser got smeared with talcum powder.

The shepherd here is blindfolded and has to find the sheep by the sound of their voices.

Things go better with Coca Cola... even in Thailand.


We caught up with the team at Bearing just in time for supper. In Thailand, we don't have escargot. Just snails.

J's buddy (and mine), Son like his snails. Look at the pile in his plate!

Happy birthday to one of the crew, then worship and another great day draws to a close.

Lazy Saturday Morning in Bangkok

I got up this morning to find my beautiful view had vanished! The fog was incredible. You could not see four feet out, it seemed.

Hey! Where did Bangkok go?

I know it's out there, somewhere !

Eventually, the fog burned off and I went about my day. Stopped at my favorite little hole in the wall restaurant for an omelet and pork with garlic, with fish sauce and chilis. And Thai iced tea with milk, which J nicknamed 'crack in a cup,' while he was here. Whenever I do return to the US, I have no idea how I will ever adjust to not eating Thai food. Oh, and with the Thai tea, this set me back a bit under two dollars US.

Miscellaneous images from J's visit

Vee, relaxing in Pak Ping Church.

Playing with kids in Khao Lak on National Children's Day.

A final meal with Ah Jan Achara and her daughter, Anchalalee.

J at the national sea turtle hatchery.

Too cool. J and Son.

Not quite so cool. J and me in Ayuttayah.

On the beach at Khao Lak. This is where the tsunami hit.

J and my boss, Vera, at a lunch with my friends at work.

Memorial signs for tsunami victims.

An elephant takes a tip from J on the sidewalk outside my condo. Not something he ordinarily sees on the sidewalk in front of his home in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Going out in style...

J's last day here was hectic... like most of them were. He started the day by preaching at the 8:00 a.m. service at Immanuel Baptist Church, where he spoke on Nehemiah and the importance of planning, but waiting for God. We went to Sunday School, where he was asked to share his story with the class. At the main service at 10:30, Ah Jan Winit 'interviewed' him before the congregation, leading him through telling his story and about the impact of this trip on him.

After church, he went with me, Son, Ting, Pai, and Nok to Ja Rurat, for his first exposure to the slums. His heart was just broken by the kids and by the conditions they live in. He now understands what I have meant in telling him that you just can't 'get it,' by looking at the photos. We played a game and he taught them a lesson about David. (I'll go on with stories about David for the next few weeks.) After that, we explained to the kids that J works with children at his church in America and that we wanted them to make cards to send to those children, with their names on them and with some drawing.

After Ja Rurat, we headed to Bearing, where the team was mid-way through the English lessons there. He observed some of that and went with us to the farmer's market nearby to get food for supper. After the kids left, the team had supper and a time of worship and he was asked to share one last time, a kind of going away testimony. Son drove us back to my condo, where he showered and finished packing. Ah Jan Vee, who had been gone on a retreat with a class form his seminary, was back and came by with his wife Mhewy and Son to take us to the airport about 11:00 p.m. and we shared one last meal there and said our good byes.

Without a doubt, this will be a life changing event for J. He has fallen in love with the folks here and with the nation of Thailand. He hopes with all of his heart to open doors of cooperation between his home church and Immanuel. It's been an awesome week of watching him experience one new thing after another and of watching him being used by God to impact the loves of others. He's eager to see his wife and kids again, but he hated so bad to leave behind such special new friends.

A young lady visiting church for the first time, Ah Jan Winit, J, me and Mhewy, after church yesterday.

J helps the kids with their drawings.

A little girl named Ice makes a card for Jason.

One of J's photos. The little girl on the right is being raised by an old lady in the slum because her mother is serving four years in prison.

After the slum ministry, the team gathers for supper. J is eating a chicken foot. He also got to try moo hoo, pig ear. Son is next to him. As Son always says, "New experience!"

More dining adventures

J was wanting to try some crazy foods. When the bug cart came through the slums at Bearing yesterday, he was not up for that, but I did buy a small bag of dried frogs and after I ate a couple he got his courage up and gave it a shot.

Yummm... sun dried frogs.

Looks like its trying to escape!

I also found some deep fried duck bills and bought one. No photo proof, but I DID eat it. Crispy and not altogether awful. As Son would tell J, "New experience!"