What’s New in Thailand…

These past two weeks have been awesome.

Things have finally settled down, I feel at home here.  For the most
part I’ve gotten past the “WOW, THAT’S DIFFERENT” aspect of being in
Thailand, and now can go deeper in relationships.  The women that we
live with are awesome. 

Note:  I said the women we live with. The reason: there are very few
men around.  Most are off in other cities (or other countries) trying
to make money and send it back.  Other times there just aren’t men
because they left.

Prang is the main host, she’s a mother of two: Gip and Giu.  Prang’s
story is awesome.  She’s 33 and became a Christian three years ago when
in Bangkok.  She felt the call to bring Jesus back to her home village
of Buriram, and help girls in the bars return home and have work
there.  So she founded “River of Life” ministries.  The women (mainly
Prang’s sisters right now) here have praise and worship and Bible study
at 8 AM every day. Then move into Silk dying, weaving, sewing, and
awesomeness action.  They make absolutely beautiful purses of various
sizes, earrings, and other pretty female accessories.

Pea Samrong is one of Prang’s sisters and makes us absolutely amazing
food, and does laundry, too! (by hand) (and she’s really eager to learn
English).  She’s awesome.  There are several family children who run
around and play, some are quite too small to run yet, but are still
adorable.  The women run church every Sunday, doing the early church
style of just sharing what Jesus was showing them that week.  No
pastor, no clergy, no choir.  Just children of God.  They invite us to
lead Church now that we’re here, and we do our best to keep in early
church style.  It always ends in massive amounts of prayer for
everything and everyone.  Deep, heartfelt crying out to God.  It’s
amazing.

Prang advertised the Vacation Bible School program in the local schools
that we teach at.  Day 1 = ~20 kids. Day 2 = ~100 kids. Day 3 = ~105
kids.  Day 4 (thundering) = ~104 kids. Some new students showed up on
Friday when we didn’t have it (hopefully they’ll come back), and around
60 came to Church this morning.  Note: This is in a community where
almost no one has even heard of Christianity.  Adam, our leader, is in
seminary.  The teachers at his school asked what he studied in
America.  He said “theology” and “Christianity” aka “Jesus”, they had
never heard of either.  Prang told us that the community does not like
her being there.  They think she’s just there to convert everyone to
Christianity and wants her to be in jail (luckily it is legal to be
Christian here). 

Pea Hop (a 21 year old handicapped young man here) gave his testimony
this morning at Church.  It was humbling.  He accepted Christ three
months ago, and now his neighbors address him as “hey, Christian” (in a
derogatory fashion).  But if you look at him and spend just a few short
seconds with him, you realize Pea Hop is one of the happiest guys
you’ll ever meet, because he has the true love of Christ in him and
permeating from him.  Praise God.

Teaching is so much fun!  Courtney and I are at Sadao school, teaching
5-9th graders.  At first they were all crazy shy, but after the first
week they laugh and smile when we come in the room.  I love it!  A
classroom full of Thai students singing “Na na na na, na na na na, hey
hey hey, goodbye!” is one of the coolest things ever.  We have lunch at
Prang’s aunt’s house right across the street. She teaches home
economics, and her husband is the principle at another school that we
go to on Fridays.  She makes traditional North-Easter Thai food for us,
most of which tastes delicious (‘eroi mak’ in thai).  Other parts make
it feel like your face is on fire, but luckily the fruit is always
there to sooth the palate.

Jesus stuff is going pretty darn well.  Our team is growing closer. 
More random nights of confession and repentance really make us tight. 
We were studying just how important community is for any group of
believers. We’re also learning how hard it is to truly have a strong,
mighty, intimate community, centered around the Cross of Jesus Christ. 
But we’re willing to test it out, get crazy vulnerable, and pray like
woah. The enemy is scared. I love it.

In other news…
1.  I rode an elephant yesterday…
2.  I ate scorpion last week…
3.  Sarah shouted “ERIC. DON’T MOVE” when she saw a crab about to bite off my hand last night.
4.  Silk weaving is ridiculous.
5.  I have much less hair than I used to….

Personal Prayer requests:
1.  Discernment of God’s voice.
2.  Peace, no condemnation.  Of myself or others.
3.  Humility like woah.  Not thinking I know everything.
4.  Deepening of my relationship with God.  True friendship, and conversation.

Corporate Prayer requests:
1.  One Body, One Spirit, One Purpose
2.  Sanctification, Holyness
3.  For Pea Hop to walk.
4.  To plant, to water, and trust God to grow.

In summary:

Thailand is rockin’.

Jesus rules.

Satan’s goin’ down.