I love this stuff !

Whew. Another great weekend. But what else is new, right? Anyway, here's a recap...

Peace, who is home from seminary on semester break, spoke at the early service this morning in being prepared to serve anytime you are called to do so. Good job, Peace!
OK, here we go. You'll remember that last week, we taught the kids of Ja Rurat to recite John 3:16 from memory, and I promised the kids that anyone who could recite it for me today would get a special surprise. The first person ready to go? My gal Fern! Here, she stands before the group with Nok and quotes the verse, word-perfect. My heart was so full.

Next up, was Ice. She's younger than Fern, but so bright. She nailed it also.

At the conference earlier this week, I came across a vendor selling little Christian jewelry items and I picked up some small silver chains with silver crucifixes. That what I gave Fern and Ice.

Ice, sporting her new necklace.

Oh, the difference in Fern over the past few months has been amazing. And this photo, I will keep forever. God is so good.

The younger kids at Ja Rurat worked on the letter 'C.'

While the older kids had more advanced English and a lesson on obeying your parents.

On to Bearing (Sukhumvit soi 107). Anyone for a banana?

Boyd has started going with us and working with the kids. He was also added to the staff at church this month, and will be working with the church youth, as well.

The older folks work with Jenny on their English.

Mhewi and Sunit teach the younger kids.

It was threatening rain all day and the ladies headed to the local market to get dinner, so Sunit decided to improvise a rain bonnet, just in case.

I worked with Ting and Son and Boyd in planning a drama they will present at church the next time I speak, illustrating the point of the sermon. I think it will be great.

As we finished the day up, it was men's night to do the dishes. I just wanted photographic proof we had actually done it.

How in the world do you beat a weekend like this one? I love working with these kids and with this team so much. I am so very, very blessed.

Road Trippin' with Ah Jans Winit and Vee

At church last night, Ah Jan Winit said he and Ah Jan Vee were going to Pattaya today, to a retreat being held by a Presbyterian church here in Bangkok. They had rented out facilities at Thammasat University and had invited Winit to be their guest speaker for the day. Winit asked if I could join them. I have learned not to pass up road trips with either of these two, so I eagerly agreed. As usual, it was a great day.

Not a big crowd, but they were very attentive and enthusiastic throughout the day.


Winit gives me a pep talk before the first session. He had asked me to share with the group at the end of the first and third sessions and Vee spoke after sessions two and four.

Winit spoke from Luke each session. He was especially good today, and was very well received by the all the people there..

Vee sharing his testimony. Hard to believe just eight or nine years ago, he was a heroin addict. In fact, to meet Vee now, you'd be stunned to learn he had EVER used drugs or alcohol.

Ah Jan Winit, as always, serving as my interpreter.

We'd been told before we began this morning that there were several non-believers in the group today. After lunch, we were introduced to this man and told that he had committed his life to Christ this morning after the first session. You think today's trip was worth it?

Birthday Boy

That's right... my buddy, Ah Jan Vee turns 31 years old today. The geezer! I am so blessed to have a friend like Vee. He challenges me to life my faith to the fullest.

No chilli's in the birthday cake, at least.

Vee's better half, Mewi, helping out with the cake.

The 7th Evangelism Congress

David Johnson is a good friend, my Sunday School teacher, and an elder at Immanuel Baptist Church. Since today was a holiday in Thailand (Coronation Day), he invited me to ride up to the northern edge of Bangkok with him to join others from church at the Evangelism Congress. This is a meeting of pastors and leaders of nearly 700 churches throughout Thailand. Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity. It's a week-long event, and we'd only join them for one afternoon, but I was eager to see this gathering of believers.

I did manage to be responsible for David getting a traffic ticket on the way up, for not wearing my seatbelt. Here, they take your license and you have to go to court and pay your fine to get it back. Sorry, David!

David, in front of the arena at Thammasut University, where we met. Already I could tell this was going to be a bigger deal than I had expected.

Probably 1,500 or so for the daytime session. In the evenings, lay people from nearby churches will come and the place will be filled. On thing I learned today was that the Thai churches' own figures are that the population of Thailand is only 0.51% evangelical Christian. And the numbers wold be worse except for the northern provinces, which have many more believers. I also learned that there are something like seventy districts (Thai provinces are like US states, and districts are like counties) which have NO Christian churches. THAT was unbelievable.

The goal is to plant around 150 new churches this year. Sounds do-able since you're talking all of Thailand, until you realize that would be averaging one new church every two and a half days. Yikes!

The banner emphasizes this group's goal. To reach a point in Thailand where everyone in the country personally knows at least one person who is truly living for Jesus.


These girls came out to some loud rock-style music and danced before a session. Those aren't traditional Thai dancing costumes, unless they are starting a new tradition, but I love the fact that there is room in this group for all manner of expression of love for Christ.

I caught up with my buddy, Ah Jan Vee and his wife Mhewi.

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!

Tiang Aahaan (lunch!)

At least twice a week, Momo and I eat lunch at a little dive just a few doors from the Fenix Building where I work. A lot of the farangs (foreigners) consider it a little TOO authentic for their tastes and won't eat here, but I love it! Yesterday I had rice with sauteed green peppers and squid in a black pepper sauce that was terrific... for about a dollar and twenty cents.

Only six tables or so in the main area.

But we often eat upstairs. Now, it IS hot as all get-out up here, but it is fast, the food is good, it's cheap, and we get back to work very quickly.

Once a week I have mama. Pretty much, it is Ramen noodles supreme. They start with a package of Ramen noodles just like you can get at any grocery in the states for ten cents a pack or so. (Some of us at a LOT of this in college!) But they jazz it up by adding bean sprouts, diced pork, pork sausage balls, some green onion and a veggie a bit like boiled turnip. I add a spoon of crushed red pepper and lunch is served for one dollar American. This place serves a full menu of Thai foods, but Momo and I both like mama and have it, like I said, once a week at least.

Souvenir vendors

Many of the streets here are lined with vendors selling everything imaginable. Clothing, souvenirs, knockoff Rolexes... you name it. And you bargain for everything. You just have to tell yourself that if you feel good about what you paid, the you got a good deal, because you seldom know if you paid too much or not. I felt bad last week after buying one thing and an American lady was watching me bargain and after I agreed on a price, she told me she had paid twice as much for the same thing the day before.

Looking down from the Skytrain station on a vendor selling tee shirts, sunglasses and assorted other items.

Handbags R Us!