Pastor Aaron here...
It is Friday morning, our last full day before we leave for home. Today we will be returning to the poor community of Mahatai to finish some painting we began last week but were unable to finish.
Here are some different impressions I've had while here.
Thai People
Perhaps the greatest blessing of the trip has been interacting with the people of Thailand, both Christian and non-Christian alike. I think the entire team would agree that the Lord has brought us to a greater love and concern for these people than we previously had.
Based on what I've observed, I would characterize the majority of Thai's as being very Buddhist, and very secular/worldly at the same time. As America has its church on every corner, Thailand has its temples. Most homes have "spirit houses" placed out front for protection from spirits and evil. Even in the highly westernized areas of downtown Bangkok, you will find many, many Thai bowing to honor the golden Buddhas placed at shrines throughout the city. Seeing families, young children and all, bowing repeatedly to honor an idol is very disturbing and very sad. The need for the gospel is great.
It also seems that much of the secularism and worldliness that pervades our own country is prevalent here. As many of you know, prostitution in Bangkok is big business. Cross-dressing men are a common sight. Boyfriends and girlfriends live together. People live solely for themselves and whatever pleasures they can find. Again, the need for the gospel is great.
We have had the joy of meeting a number of Thai Christians - and despite cultural and language differences - the spirit of God working among them is clearly the same spirit at work among Christians everywhere. The Thai church has been meeting here for about 5 months now. Although small in number, their worship in song is powerful, their prayers fervent, and their love for the Lord palpable. They are praying for a pastor.
The Missionaries
Another great joy has been getting to know the various full-time MTW missionaries. As I've watched the daily sacrifices and challenges that they face because of their love for the Lord, I've been reminded that God himself truly is our ultimate treasure - a treasure so great that to give up everything in order to have him is really no sacrifice at all.
The missionaries are very deliberate in their evangelism and interactions with Thai nationals. They are indeed always prepared to give an answer for the hope they have in Christ. Every ministry that they are involved in, from teaching English to mercy ministry in the Mahatai slum, is done with the goal of sharing the gospel and establishing a church in the Reformed, Covenantal, Presbyterian tradition. The church now exists in seed form - and we pray it will grow as more Thai's come to know the Lord.
We praise God for the 7 teenagers who recently became Christians. It is possible that these young people will be the foundation for a strong church as they mature in age and faith.
Perhaps one day we will have the joy of sending missionaries from our own church to join this work here.
Our Short-Term Team
Everyone has really been great. We've had long days, lot's of hard work, lot's of rice, lot's of heat, and everyone is still going strong. I think each of us has a much better understanding of life on the mission field.
Our ministry and work has varied greatly. We've poured concrete, painted, made various crafts, played soccer and basketball, preached, taught Sunday School, prayed, and helped at an outreach event. As we've worked and played with the Thai people, the MTW missionaries have been able to make more personal contacts and invite a number of people to church.
It is clear that working alongside of the Thai's is one of the best ways to show them the love of Christ and reach them with the gospel. Generally, guys here don't sit down over a cup of coffee to discuss spiritual matters. But, if you sweat alongside them mixing concrete, doors are opened. Through our work here a number of men in the Mahatai slum have come to the MTW ministry center for the first time, helping us paint.
We continue to be thankful for your prayers and support. We are all looking forward to this last day of ministry - and then being home with our families.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
June 19th and 20th
The finished joy kids room! (yes these are out of order)
During the painting of the Joy Kids room! (sky blue)
Before starting to paint the joy kids room!
The amazing slushie! (blueberry shown here)
The Highlight of Monday touring in Dawntawn Bangkok
During the painting of the Joy Kids room! (sky blue)
Before starting to paint the joy kids room!
The amazing slushie! (blueberry shown here)
The Highlight of Monday touring in Dawntawn Bangkok
This is Lynne and Heidi finally taking their turns blogging. These past two days we arose earlier than usual, it was required, and somewhat tough! Heidi will be the one typing, since i'm alot faster than Lynne....
Anyway, we have been the shopaholics of the trip, rachel seems to be afraid to go anywhere with us because we stop at almost every stand in the market to view their goods, and she isnt much of a shopper. we've spent alot of baht.
we cant get used to the smells. They have food laying out everywhere, with a large amount of it being fish! We eat at the same vender everytime we eat at the market. the owner's name is Awe. she's a very nice woman, and she makes the BEST SLUSHIES EVER!!!! Depending on which flavor you choose, (all types of different fruits), it is made with fresh fruit mixed in. We have had pineapple, coconut, watermelon, and banana. these are the only ones that lynne will order. Strawberry is my absolute favorite, with bluberry coming in second. I cant imagine how good they would be if my 2 actually had fresh fruit in them! wow would they be amazing... i bought slushie mix to bring back to the states. :) i hope i can make it as good as they do! The market is very unique, and our favorite dish from Awe is the Cashew chicken, it's very delicious! We've eaten almost every meal at this market.
These past two days have been painting, painting, painting! We've accomplished alot, even though the first day was somewhat difficult, trying to get into the swing of things, and there was a large amount of ''help'' which we were greatful for, but it created a large sum of people in one area, making a big crowd with lots of stuff in our way. It's tremendous to see the effects the painting on all the walls, it is such a great change! the cream colors and the sky blue in the Joy Kids truly bring a warm, yet ''cool'' feeling to this building. The building was built in 2000, and hasnt been painted since, so this is a very nice ''face-lift''. The ''New Community" as been in the building for 2 years now. Dave, the group leader, along with his son Jonathon and a few men from Mahatthai are bravely painting the outside of the building, keep them and their safety in your prayers! the building is 5 stories high.
The Thai people are very friendly with alot of smiles. we're both amazed at the niceness we've been shown. Not many people know any english, so it makes somewhat difficult to manage, but we're thankful for the MTW team that has spent much time to learn the language, it is very difficult to speak and even read, especially with the different alphabet. Almost every word even has 4 different tones to it, each tone changing the meaning.
Tonight we went to the park after our hard day's work. We enjoyed the very cool weather, especially in comparison to these days that have been over 100 degrees at peak times! We walked and played with PJ a bunch. Rachel was invited to play soccer with a few young boys, and they were very impressed with her skills, they used the little english they knew to tell us that she was ''very good!!"
Well it's getting late and we're tired, hope you're happy to finally here from us! Keep our safety in your prayers!!
Monday, June 18, 2007
Monday, June 18
Greetings my fellow Calvineers! This is Rachel, back by popular demand!... well not really, everyone else was just too tired to write so I volunteered because I'm a the good kid of the bunch.
So today was our much anticipated day off, and you would think that a day off would involve sleeping in until ridiculously late hours...but no. It was quite the opposite actually as we left the Henry's house at 7:30 am which is even earlier than we usually do. This initially seemed utterly pointless and completely annoying... I mean, why do we we have to rush sight seeing? But then it became evident that we needed to get a jump on the long traveling time to and from downtown Bangkok in order to get any touring accomplished. Just hailing a taxi was time consuming. And even after that, it took a good bit of time to get anyway where, not only because the roads are bad and the traffic patterns insane (mostly due to the suicidal motorcyclists that greatly out number any type of car), but also because as we found out Monday morning rush hour traffic is definatly something not unique to the United States.
Once we had reach our destination in the actual city of Bangkok, we moved on to a different form of transportation... elephants! HAHA, just kidding ( i got u all excited there didn't i?) From there we traveled on the the Sky Train, which I imagine to be on the cool scale a step below elephant transportation, but it was still cool none the less. By taking the Sky Train, we were able to take a quick tour of the city in seeing things that we would not otherwise be able to see... such things as huge mansions, very tropical parks, and even the run down shacks that the lower class reside in. Once we got off the Sky train, and as we were strolling along the sky walk (sidewalk type of area above the streets that is used for walking and for loading the Sky Train), we observed that down on the street level, there was a huge shrine to Buddha (as seen many places, just not nearly as large) located next to this mall facility. And as the air around us smelled of smoke from the incense that the many Buddha followers were burning as they worshiped a golden version of their "god", we all silently prayed for their hearts to be convicted and to some how find the one true and living God.
Following that, our group loaded up on what seemed to be a river bus... it was a long boat that sat rather low in the water, with a canopy roof and open sides, and it sat about 50 to 75 people. And this boat took us to our main sightseeing attraction of the day... Wat Po. A Wat (haha, my joke was constantly asking "A Wat?!?") is basically a Buddhist temple, and this one looked every bit of one to be found in the orient. They are difficult to describe, but I'm sure there will be pictures later. One of the biggest attractions (literally actually) was this great big Buddha in a laying down position, made of what looked to be copper, and Buddhists hold this idol in such high regard they actually do not allow people to wear shoes in the building (which is typically a custom only in private Thai homes). There were also these very odd triangular looking structures called Cheddys (I think I'm using the right word here) that also resembled a giant fancy Hershey Kisses, that were scattered around Wat Po... it was said that within these Cheddys they contain the remains of monks and other seemingly scared pieces of Buddhism.
And I'll write more on our day of touring hopefully tomorrow morning (this evening to yall back in Pittsburgh) but it's 10:02 pm here...I'm tired... we gotta get up early... and I'm the only one still up right now and just a moment ago I got a little scared when i heard this noise just outside the window behind me that sounded like a cross between a monkey, a tiger, and bunny... a potentially very frightening creature! So I'm off!... more to come later so don't despair
************************************************************************************
Okay.... as promised, I'll finish up my post now! and I'm gonna do a speedy job of it because Lynne wants to do her post in a few minutes... so I'm gonna give yall the less detailed version of the rest of our story, which will be a GREAT challenge for me.
ANYWAY, after seeing Wat Po we got back on the lil river bus, and went back to where we had started and then proceeded onto the Sky Train again to go a couple of exits in an effort to transport us fast to our lunch destination called The Loft. The Loft was a food court in the top level of one of many malls in Bangkok and required the scanning of a ticket in order to "purchase" food at several different vendors in this confined location.... it was pretty Americanized and it was a nice change from our typical Thai food.
Then we got on the Sky Train once more and traveled to our shopping destination. This place was as big as a mall, but laid out much like a flee market that involved a very confusing maze of different vendors selling anything from Buddha idols, to silk, to T-shirts, to purses, to wall hangings... they had it all! So this made it the best location by far to do our souvenir shopping. And the best part was that on the bottom floor (which is where i did all my shopping) we were able to bargain with the vendors... I was too timid to talk any of them down more than 50 baht (there are about 35 bahts in a US dollar) less than what they were asking for any given product, probably because I'm not too skilled in the art of bargaining and I didn't want to make any of them angry... course that's not the Thai way to get angry at all! they are really quite pleasant people... but Heidi, being the big time shopper that she is, was an expert at talking down prices!...i envy her skill at this even though it is pretty useless back in the States.
So once we got our shopping out of the way we stopped for dinner at a McDonalds, which isn't that different from the McDonalds back in the States except they don't have certain menu options such as the quarter pounder.... because they don't use pounds here! headed back to the Henry's humble abode, which again took a good bit of time due to the unrelenting rush hour traffic.... course traffic here is pretty crazy all the time and most of the missionaries with MTW do not have cars and if they do, they hardly ever drive just because the traffic is so nuts! BUT for it being our day off we were all exhausted from rushing around the entire day... yet we were not too exhausted to compare all our purchases once we got back...it was like Christmas time!---except we um, bought our own gifts.
So that was our day off... i guess i really didn't need to type so little detail (well not as much as i would usually include anyway) because i think lynne isn't actually going to blog tonight anyway. it probably doesn't matter due to the fact that today wasn't an exciting day at all... all we did was paint! But thank you for all the nice comments!.... me and Paul were in a competition to see who could get the most comments and I won big time! HAHA victory is MINE!
~Rachel
So today was our much anticipated day off, and you would think that a day off would involve sleeping in until ridiculously late hours...but no. It was quite the opposite actually as we left the Henry's house at 7:30 am which is even earlier than we usually do. This initially seemed utterly pointless and completely annoying... I mean, why do we we have to rush sight seeing? But then it became evident that we needed to get a jump on the long traveling time to and from downtown Bangkok in order to get any touring accomplished. Just hailing a taxi was time consuming. And even after that, it took a good bit of time to get anyway where, not only because the roads are bad and the traffic patterns insane (mostly due to the suicidal motorcyclists that greatly out number any type of car), but also because as we found out Monday morning rush hour traffic is definatly something not unique to the United States.
Once we had reach our destination in the actual city of Bangkok, we moved on to a different form of transportation... elephants! HAHA, just kidding ( i got u all excited there didn't i?) From there we traveled on the the Sky Train, which I imagine to be on the cool scale a step below elephant transportation, but it was still cool none the less. By taking the Sky Train, we were able to take a quick tour of the city in seeing things that we would not otherwise be able to see... such things as huge mansions, very tropical parks, and even the run down shacks that the lower class reside in. Once we got off the Sky train, and as we were strolling along the sky walk (sidewalk type of area above the streets that is used for walking and for loading the Sky Train), we observed that down on the street level, there was a huge shrine to Buddha (as seen many places, just not nearly as large) located next to this mall facility. And as the air around us smelled of smoke from the incense that the many Buddha followers were burning as they worshiped a golden version of their "god", we all silently prayed for their hearts to be convicted and to some how find the one true and living God.
Following that, our group loaded up on what seemed to be a river bus... it was a long boat that sat rather low in the water, with a canopy roof and open sides, and it sat about 50 to 75 people. And this boat took us to our main sightseeing attraction of the day... Wat Po. A Wat (haha, my joke was constantly asking "A Wat?!?") is basically a Buddhist temple, and this one looked every bit of one to be found in the orient. They are difficult to describe, but I'm sure there will be pictures later. One of the biggest attractions (literally actually) was this great big Buddha in a laying down position, made of what looked to be copper, and Buddhists hold this idol in such high regard they actually do not allow people to wear shoes in the building (which is typically a custom only in private Thai homes). There were also these very odd triangular looking structures called Cheddys (I think I'm using the right word here) that also resembled a giant fancy Hershey Kisses, that were scattered around Wat Po... it was said that within these Cheddys they contain the remains of monks and other seemingly scared pieces of Buddhism.
And I'll write more on our day of touring hopefully tomorrow morning (this evening to yall back in Pittsburgh) but it's 10:02 pm here...I'm tired... we gotta get up early... and I'm the only one still up right now and just a moment ago I got a little scared when i heard this noise just outside the window behind me that sounded like a cross between a monkey, a tiger, and bunny... a potentially very frightening creature! So I'm off!... more to come later so don't despair
************************************************************************************
Okay.... as promised, I'll finish up my post now! and I'm gonna do a speedy job of it because Lynne wants to do her post in a few minutes... so I'm gonna give yall the less detailed version of the rest of our story, which will be a GREAT challenge for me.
ANYWAY, after seeing Wat Po we got back on the lil river bus, and went back to where we had started and then proceeded onto the Sky Train again to go a couple of exits in an effort to transport us fast to our lunch destination called The Loft. The Loft was a food court in the top level of one of many malls in Bangkok and required the scanning of a ticket in order to "purchase" food at several different vendors in this confined location.... it was pretty Americanized and it was a nice change from our typical Thai food.
Then we got on the Sky Train once more and traveled to our shopping destination. This place was as big as a mall, but laid out much like a flee market that involved a very confusing maze of different vendors selling anything from Buddha idols, to silk, to T-shirts, to purses, to wall hangings... they had it all! So this made it the best location by far to do our souvenir shopping. And the best part was that on the bottom floor (which is where i did all my shopping) we were able to bargain with the vendors... I was too timid to talk any of them down more than 50 baht (there are about 35 bahts in a US dollar) less than what they were asking for any given product, probably because I'm not too skilled in the art of bargaining and I didn't want to make any of them angry... course that's not the Thai way to get angry at all! they are really quite pleasant people... but Heidi, being the big time shopper that she is, was an expert at talking down prices!...i envy her skill at this even though it is pretty useless back in the States.
So once we got our shopping out of the way we stopped for dinner at a McDonalds, which isn't that different from the McDonalds back in the States except they don't have certain menu options such as the quarter pounder.... because they don't use pounds here! headed back to the Henry's humble abode, which again took a good bit of time due to the unrelenting rush hour traffic.... course traffic here is pretty crazy all the time and most of the missionaries with MTW do not have cars and if they do, they hardly ever drive just because the traffic is so nuts! BUT for it being our day off we were all exhausted from rushing around the entire day... yet we were not too exhausted to compare all our purchases once we got back...it was like Christmas time!---except we um, bought our own gifts.
So that was our day off... i guess i really didn't need to type so little detail (well not as much as i would usually include anyway) because i think lynne isn't actually going to blog tonight anyway. it probably doesn't matter due to the fact that today wasn't an exciting day at all... all we did was paint! But thank you for all the nice comments!.... me and Paul were in a competition to see who could get the most comments and I won big time! HAHA victory is MINE!
~Rachel
Sunday, June 17, 2007
(Sunday Worship in Bankok)
Hey there, this is Reid writing. It is 9:50 p.m. Sunday evening here in Bangkok Thailand. Today was truly a blessing to me as I am sure it was a blessing to our entire Calvin team. This Lord's day was truly special because we worshiped in spirit and in truth as one body giving praise to God Almighty in different tongues and representing different nations. Every Sunday at New Community Church, there are two worship services. The English speaking service is in the morning and the Thai service is in the afternoon. Pastor Aaron was given the opportunity to preach for both services and was a true blessing to all of us as he talked about Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4:35-41. Here is a rough outline of his sermon: A. God really does deliver us from the Storms of life. But what happens when Jesus doesn't deliver us? This question is answered in Romans chapter 8 where Paul says, "In all things God works for the good of those who love him" and specifically in verse 35 asks the rhetorical question, "Who then shall separate us from the love of Christ? B. Jesus is Lord over even nature and creation. Jesus commands the storm to "Be still" and the storm stops. Jesus has power to sustain us in every aspect of our lives. C. We need to turn to Jesus in prayer for our sustenance and protection D. the disciples were young in their faith. They didn't even realize God himself was in the boat with them. The disciples showed their lack of trust when they woke Jesus up and said, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" It was like they were saying, "What about now Jesus? What good is all your preaching and hope if we will all drown now? They didn't trust in God and didn't know or trust in Jesus' authority as God of all things. E. Jesus had an interesting response to the disciples. He doesn't relieve the disciples' fears. They are even more terrified after he calmed the sea. Only God can calm a sea. They then show their complete fear and awe of Jesus in saying, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" Now instead of fearing the storm, they fear Jesus. They realize they are in the boat with God himself. Jesus challenges them to a deeper faith. They will face storms in the future that they will not be delivered from. F.Peter eventually confessed Christ as Lord. It was tied to Jesus telling Peter, "people will take you by the hand and take you where you don't want to go." Peter learned to go through hardship without fear. G. God is challenging us in our faith. God never promises that it will be easy. H. James - "consider it pure joy when you are persecuted for the faith" I. Paul - "Nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus." He has saved us already from the bondage of sin and death." After Aaron preached we were blessed to "eat of the bread and drink of the cup" with the members of New Community Church. What a true blessing it was to be unified in this way! After the formal worship service, we split up into groups to pray with and for each other. This was just a wonderful way for us to share with each other real needs and desires of our hearts and then lift them up to the Lord in prayer. After the Thai worship in the afternoon, Paul led us in adult Sunday school. He focused on the character of Stephen in the book of Acts as he was persecuted. Paul emphasized to us that Stephen was a righteous man before God and we looked at his response to his suffering while dying for his faith. The passage described Stephen's face looking like that of an angel's. Paul then challenged us with some questions. How do we respond as Stephen did in the midst of difficulty in our lives? Do we immerse ourselves in prayer and the reading of God's word? Do our faces show Christ to others on a daily basis? Do our co-workers, bosses, and families see an angel's face when they see us? Paul did a great job of challenging us to trust in the Lord and find great joy in him in difficult situations. It was moving to hear Paul challenge us in this way especially since he and his family just went through a difficult time with the situation with Eliab right before we left for the trip. Paul mentioned the fact that he and his family felt God's presence and our church's prayers through this time and I think we all had a tear in our eyes after hearing such a wonderful example of how we can trust in God and take great joy in him even in difficult situations such as a little baby having surgery. God was faithful to all of our prayers and he showed his healing hand and awesome faithfulness to the Eichelberger family in the progress of Eliab's health. What an amazing God we serve! One thing that really impacted my heart during the English service is that God is the same in Bangkok as he is in Pittsburgh, and his people worship him in truth in Bangkok like we do in Pittsburgh. What a wonderful common ground we share with this church half way across the world!. It was wonderful to experience the Unity in Christ's body between Calvin and New Community Church. After the English service we all headed to the market where we spent time in meal and fellowship. The Thai worship in the afternoon was also a true blessing to us. One thing that really was meaningful to experience was the Thai people praising and worshipping God in their own tongue and with their own music. What a testimony to God's sovereignty and reign over all creation. We were again reminded that there will be a day when every tongue, tribe, and nation will bow before the King who is Christ Jesus our LORD. What a blessing it was to worship God together with the Thai believers! By the time we were finished praying in small groups after Paul Eichelberger led us in Sunday school, it was late afternoon and time for us get some food. While the rest of the team gallivanted to a local pizza place, Paul H. and I played basketball with some of the university students in the area. This basketball ministry has actually been an important ministry for Paul to take part in since it has given him a chance to form some relationships with some of the Thai university students who love to play basketball. Recently he has been meeting regularly to study the Bible with a young man named "Mi". Mi has not professed faith in Christ and is the main focus right now of Paul's attention in the afternoons. I had the privilege of talking and interacting with Mi on and off the Basketball court this evening and I feel encouraged that this young man is not too far from God's grasp. Please pray for Mi's heart to soften to the truth of the Gospel and for Paul to continue to be able to meet with him regularly. That's all for now from team Calvin in Bangkok, Thailand. Wow, now it is 11:00 p.m. I better get to bed! :-)
Aaron preaching in the Thai service thru the translator, Dave Veldhorst
Aaron preaching in the Thai service thru the translator, Dave Veldhorst
We discovered three floor tiles that make very distinct sounds if you hit them right
Andrew and Becky Bronson - They're halfway through their two year tenure here in Thailand. Pray for them as they decide whether or not to stay after these two years.
Logan and Melissa Keck - They've been here for a month and they leave this coming Tuesday. Pray for their safe travels and future mission work in South Africa.
This is Yu. She's the first Thai person we had any interaction with. She works alongside the MTW team and is a devoted Christian and wonderful woman. She has just begun to disciple two young girls that have recently professed faith in Christ. Pray for Yu's ministry to them.
the work day....
This is Dan. I don't really want to do this, but Aaron's forcing me..... Contrary to popular belief, he really isn't a very nice man. Just because someone is a pastor doesn't mean that they're a good person. Yesterday, I dripped paint on the floor and he beat me with a bamboo rod....
Ok, none of that was true and I apologize. I hope you smiled or laughed at least a little bit. Well, actually, one thing was true - this really is Dan. I'm here to tell you about our day on Saturday.
Just like every other day, we were up pretty early, had a breakfast consisting of toast, cereal, and fruit. I don't know if anyone else mentioned this in any of their blogs because I didn't read them, but they have some whacked out fruit here. It started when they gave me an orange. It was green, like a lime. Naturally, I gave it back because eating a paradox can't be good for you. They have these crazy little things that look like strawberry sea urchins. I don't know what they're called. I call them Ramadans, like the Jewish holiday, cuz it sounds similar to that. Also, there are mangosteins. Inside the hard shell is a supple, fleshy, and delicious center - my favorite. The bananas are pretty weird too. They're all like, half-sized and sort of creepy.
So yeah, after breakfast, we did our normal devotion thing and set out for the office. At the office, we were going to help out with Joy Kids, a children's ministry that meets every Saturday from 10:00-12:00. I didn't get to experience too much of Joy Kids, cuz the men were called upon to perform manly acts of brute force and extraordinary strength. I know that Joy Kids is much like our Wednesday night children's ministry. It consists of singing, a bible lesson, a craft and some recreation time which always exceeds the control of the adults.
As I said, about 15 minutes after Joy Kids began, the men went to do fun things like pouring concrete and painting a building. So we left the office, jumped in the back of the nearest pickup truck (which happened to belong to a missionary) and journeyed to the slum known as Mahatthai 3. Upon arrival, we discovered that the indigenous folk had already begun to mix the concrete. Excited for the opportunity to do some real work, Reid, Paul and I eagerly ran to the concreting area and got all sweaty. Aaron went to clean. We nearly finished the concrete in a very short period of time, so we decided to let the Thais finish the last little bit of sidewalk and we went inside to help Aaron. By the time we got there, the building was pretty clean, considering the fact that it is a sort of lean-to with no doors or anything. When we saw the shimmering cleanliness that Aaron had achieved in this building, we set out to ruin it with a light blue colored paint. We painted the walls, the ceiling, each other, and unfortunately, the floor. We had a good time and aside from the blistering heat and suffocating humidity, conditions were pretty decent. By 5:00 we had done about half of the building and most of the floor (which was not supposed to be painted). We didn't go at it alone though. We had help from 3 Thai kids and I'm probably going to butcher the spelling of their names even though they're short. The kids who helped us were Fert, Ferne, and Tong. The floor looked as if it had been splatter-painted. When we painted the ceiling, the paint would drip down everywhere. Our fearless leader, Dave, said that there was no need to put down tarps because paint would come right off the rubber floor. He was not right. Meanwhile.....
The women were back at the office doing Joy Kids and making flowers and other things of that sort. I didn't experience much of that firsthand, but they tell me that it was awesome to see the Thai kids singing praise songs and worshipping God in the same way that our children do back home. It really is amazing to come here and interact with people that live half way around the world and to see that the one thing we have in common is the love of God and the desire to praise Him. That common ground has already given way to the forming of many relationships. Anyways, back to the women and their flowery things. Now, I've seen these flowers they made and they're actually pretty sweet. I have no idea how they do it, but they take this material and just fool around with it until it looks amazing. I actually asked Rachel to, if she has the extra time, to make some for my girlfriend. I'd do it myself, but I have no artistic ability and the men would never let me hear the end of it. I'd be shunned. Make sure you ask the girls to show you their flowers when they get home. They're really cool.
After these afternoon activities, the guys went back to shower and then picked up the girls and headed out to the park. The plan was to hang out in the park, meet people, and then have some dinner. When we got to the park we split up. A lot of the longterm missionary moms went to get dinner ready and everyone else made their way to the soccer court. Most of our team had no intentions of playing due to extreme exhaustion, but that didn't really last long. Reid, Aaron and I all played in the very first game as well as a few after that. Paul was the only one who stood strong and fought the urge to further abuse his body. Three soccer games and one huge blister later, we made our way over to the little picnic area that had been prepared. We sat and ate and just enjoyed each other's company. There was a wicked cool sunset that I'll include a picture of at the end.
The busiest day on our schedule drew to a close as we made our way back to the Henry's house, had prayer time and then crashed.
Have a good day!
In Christ,
Dan
The sunset picture - as promised.
Ok, none of that was true and I apologize. I hope you smiled or laughed at least a little bit. Well, actually, one thing was true - this really is Dan. I'm here to tell you about our day on Saturday.
Just like every other day, we were up pretty early, had a breakfast consisting of toast, cereal, and fruit. I don't know if anyone else mentioned this in any of their blogs because I didn't read them, but they have some whacked out fruit here. It started when they gave me an orange. It was green, like a lime. Naturally, I gave it back because eating a paradox can't be good for you. They have these crazy little things that look like strawberry sea urchins. I don't know what they're called. I call them Ramadans, like the Jewish holiday, cuz it sounds similar to that. Also, there are mangosteins. Inside the hard shell is a supple, fleshy, and delicious center - my favorite. The bananas are pretty weird too. They're all like, half-sized and sort of creepy.
So yeah, after breakfast, we did our normal devotion thing and set out for the office. At the office, we were going to help out with Joy Kids, a children's ministry that meets every Saturday from 10:00-12:00. I didn't get to experience too much of Joy Kids, cuz the men were called upon to perform manly acts of brute force and extraordinary strength. I know that Joy Kids is much like our Wednesday night children's ministry. It consists of singing, a bible lesson, a craft and some recreation time which always exceeds the control of the adults.
As I said, about 15 minutes after Joy Kids began, the men went to do fun things like pouring concrete and painting a building. So we left the office, jumped in the back of the nearest pickup truck (which happened to belong to a missionary) and journeyed to the slum known as Mahatthai 3. Upon arrival, we discovered that the indigenous folk had already begun to mix the concrete. Excited for the opportunity to do some real work, Reid, Paul and I eagerly ran to the concreting area and got all sweaty. Aaron went to clean. We nearly finished the concrete in a very short period of time, so we decided to let the Thais finish the last little bit of sidewalk and we went inside to help Aaron. By the time we got there, the building was pretty clean, considering the fact that it is a sort of lean-to with no doors or anything. When we saw the shimmering cleanliness that Aaron had achieved in this building, we set out to ruin it with a light blue colored paint. We painted the walls, the ceiling, each other, and unfortunately, the floor. We had a good time and aside from the blistering heat and suffocating humidity, conditions were pretty decent. By 5:00 we had done about half of the building and most of the floor (which was not supposed to be painted). We didn't go at it alone though. We had help from 3 Thai kids and I'm probably going to butcher the spelling of their names even though they're short. The kids who helped us were Fert, Ferne, and Tong. The floor looked as if it had been splatter-painted. When we painted the ceiling, the paint would drip down everywhere. Our fearless leader, Dave, said that there was no need to put down tarps because paint would come right off the rubber floor. He was not right. Meanwhile.....
The women were back at the office doing Joy Kids and making flowers and other things of that sort. I didn't experience much of that firsthand, but they tell me that it was awesome to see the Thai kids singing praise songs and worshipping God in the same way that our children do back home. It really is amazing to come here and interact with people that live half way around the world and to see that the one thing we have in common is the love of God and the desire to praise Him. That common ground has already given way to the forming of many relationships. Anyways, back to the women and their flowery things. Now, I've seen these flowers they made and they're actually pretty sweet. I have no idea how they do it, but they take this material and just fool around with it until it looks amazing. I actually asked Rachel to, if she has the extra time, to make some for my girlfriend. I'd do it myself, but I have no artistic ability and the men would never let me hear the end of it. I'd be shunned. Make sure you ask the girls to show you their flowers when they get home. They're really cool.
After these afternoon activities, the guys went back to shower and then picked up the girls and headed out to the park. The plan was to hang out in the park, meet people, and then have some dinner. When we got to the park we split up. A lot of the longterm missionary moms went to get dinner ready and everyone else made their way to the soccer court. Most of our team had no intentions of playing due to extreme exhaustion, but that didn't really last long. Reid, Aaron and I all played in the very first game as well as a few after that. Paul was the only one who stood strong and fought the urge to further abuse his body. Three soccer games and one huge blister later, we made our way over to the little picnic area that had been prepared. We sat and ate and just enjoyed each other's company. There was a wicked cool sunset that I'll include a picture of at the end.
The busiest day on our schedule drew to a close as we made our way back to the Henry's house, had prayer time and then crashed.
Have a good day!
In Christ,
Dan
The sunset picture - as promised.
Soccer at the park.
Pouring concrete in Mahatthai 3.
Joy Kids in action, singing praise songs.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Our work has begun!!!!! (Friday Update)
Hey Y'all, this is Paul (I know, a poet and he doesn't know it) coming at you this time around. After breakfast and group devotions, we were scheduled for free time, which some took to rest, others-"The Men" went shopping, yeah that's right, the men went shopping. We went to an authentic Thai Mall which by the way looks and feels like Walmart. Okay it wasn't an authentic Thai Mall. We rode in a "song towel" (not how it is spelled) which is a small pickup with bence seats and a roof, which is their version of a large people mover. After lunch, we met back at New Community (the building in which MTW Thailand is housed) for preparations for game night. This night was scheduled for the English students to come as well as their family and friends. Earlier, we had prayed for many to come because the month before no one showed. Our prayers were answered with a full house!!! Standing room only. I'm not much of a game person, but I have to confess, I had a blast! Here's the scoop, I along with 6 other Thai students are participating in a scavenger hunt that takes us out into the Thai night. Their fine, I'm just hoping I can keep up because if I stray too far and get separated, well you know. So down this street, thru an alley, down another street, to one of our teams apartments. Most of the items on our scavenger hunt list we found here. I did not get lost! We returned in our alloted time, as well as the other teams. The night was filled with food, fun, and interaction. The students were able to practice on us "Forang" (don't quote me on any of the spelling) which means foreigners. It will be a memory not forgotten! Earlier in the afternoon, the ladies got together with Kieow and Yu, two workers at New Community, to make flowers out of stocking like material, that was of different colors. They turned out beautiful, as you will see. The guys went to Mahathai village to prepare areas for concreting. A sidewalk, probably about 30 feet in lenth and 3 feet wide, was the major project at hand. The sidewalk is need due to this village is built in a marshy area that floods when it rains and this sidewalk will allow people as well as the children not to walk thru water on their way to school or when they leave the village. The water being a combination of runoff and sewage! Dave, head of the MTW staff, was in charge and we all said 'this guy is Randy Morris thru and thru', no project unattainable, a great character trait! We were to form these areas this day. A few more areas popped up while there to concrete, so those were formed as well. Just a note, Mahathai village is a poor area also called a slum. Most of the homes have 3 walls with a roof, open in the front and built out of materials found here and there. These are a proud people but not so proud that they won't accept help and friendly too! Dave has a special ministry and calling for this area, as he is always working here when he can. Our prayer for this area is for the Lord to soften hearts, build relationships thru the team, and bend the knee to Christ! Pray for our perseverance and boldness to strike up conversations with the Thai people, for our physical strength, and focus of the trip. Thank you for your continued support!!!!
Building a frame for the concrete pour tomorrow.
Building a frame for the concrete pour tomorrow.
Flower making in the Mahatthai slums.
Reid still isn't happy.
English party at the office.
3 children from Mahatthai that helped with the work.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Travel and Our First Two Days (Wednesday/Thursday Update)
Hello Calvin ! This is Rachel speaking, coming to you live from Bangkok, Thailand!...Sorry, news anchor moment.
To give you an update on our mission trip to Thailand, it started off pretty boring on a very long and drawn out 19 hour flight that expanded over the course of 3 planes and about 8 hours of layover. It was pretty exhausting but the Lord was good to us as we arrived in Bangkok safely at 11:45 pm on June 12... and all our luggage even came safely through as well. PRAISE JESUS! Once the Henry's picked us up from the airport they took us back to their house which is also a guest house (it used to be a dorm of some sort) for short term mission teams such as ours. Paul gave us the grand tour of their home, taught us how to use the toilets in their guest bathrooms (which are either squaty pottys or a western toilet that require the pouring of water into the toilet bowl in order to flush), and gave us an over view of our schedule for the coming day. At that, we all crashed and went to bed at 2 am.
The next day was our first full day in Bangkok. After we got all our things together, we made our way to the MTW office, which is in walking distance from the Henry's, to begin several hours worth of orientation provided by several members of the team here. To start with, we were informed of the various ministries of the MTW Thailand team including their Vision: MTW Thailand exists to establish healthy and reformed covenantal churches, led by indigenous Christians, seeking to transform through word and deed ministries the city of Bangkok, the provinces, and Southeast Asia through the gospel of God's grace. We were also told how the MTW team goes about doing this, which involves four important forms of ministry: Church and worship, New Community (which is what they call their office building and the ministries that occur in and through there), English schools, and campus ministry. The goal for all of these activities is to build relationships with the Thai people, in prayerful hope that it would eventually lead them to a relationship with Jesus Christ. We were also given information about the life and culture of Thailand and how to respectfully interact with the Thai people. For instance, we were told not to talk negatively about Buddha or the Thai king as both are thought of very highly here and and any spoken words other wise are viewed as very offensive.
Also with orientation during our first day, we were given a tour of Ram 2, which is the name of the targeted area of ministry for the team. There is definitely not enough space in this blog to describe all the sights, sounds, and smells that we experienced just walking around Ram 2... this place is so far removed from anything I've ever experienced and it is incredible! Also included in this tour was taking us to the market for our meals (which is also where we'll be getting the majority of our meals throughout the duration of the trip). The food was a bit spicy but very tasty... no complaints here!
On our second day, June 14, we did a little more to get our hands dirty in terms of ministry here. Once we met at the office, the men and women broke up into two groups to go on a prayer walk around Ram 2. It was spiritually moving to walk down streets, praying for the people that lived in individual houses and their battle against the enemy. We also prayed for idol worship to be broken, the various ministries and missionaries of New Community, the lost souls of the local university, the conviction of prostitutes, the workers in the market to realize that hard labor does not lead to everlasting life, and various other needs of this area.
Then in the evening, we had the joy to experience ministry at the Mahhathai Park. This park contains a large pond, a nice walking trail, a unique (to Americans anyway) playground, several small football (soccer) courts, and volleyball nets that are used to play this sport that involves kicking a ball over the net (very entertaining). Many Thai congregate here, especially in the evenings when it is cool, so it is a favorite place of the missionaries to try to meet and build relationships with the Thai people. People here may be soft spoken and seemingly shy, but they are very friendly and kind, so they are very open to talking to new people and inviting people they've never met to play soccer or basketball with them which of course opens many doors to minister to them. Some of the women went to the playground area with Crystal and her 2 sons and interacted with other women and children there, while me and all the guys watched and played some football with the nationals. Paul Eichelberger had some meaningful conversations with a couple of Thai men that knew a little bit of English which was a real blessing.
Well that is all for now... I apologize for my spelling and grammar error as it is 10:15 pm here and I am tired! But we are thankful for your continued prayers and we'll up date you again soon. ~Rachel
To give you an update on our mission trip to Thailand, it started off pretty boring on a very long and drawn out 19 hour flight that expanded over the course of 3 planes and about 8 hours of layover. It was pretty exhausting but the Lord was good to us as we arrived in Bangkok safely at 11:45 pm on June 12... and all our luggage even came safely through as well. PRAISE JESUS! Once the Henry's picked us up from the airport they took us back to their house which is also a guest house (it used to be a dorm of some sort) for short term mission teams such as ours. Paul gave us the grand tour of their home, taught us how to use the toilets in their guest bathrooms (which are either squaty pottys or a western toilet that require the pouring of water into the toilet bowl in order to flush), and gave us an over view of our schedule for the coming day. At that, we all crashed and went to bed at 2 am.
The next day was our first full day in Bangkok. After we got all our things together, we made our way to the MTW office, which is in walking distance from the Henry's, to begin several hours worth of orientation provided by several members of the team here. To start with, we were informed of the various ministries of the MTW Thailand team including their Vision: MTW Thailand exists to establish healthy and reformed covenantal churches, led by indigenous Christians, seeking to transform through word and deed ministries the city of Bangkok, the provinces, and Southeast Asia through the gospel of God's grace. We were also told how the MTW team goes about doing this, which involves four important forms of ministry: Church and worship, New Community (which is what they call their office building and the ministries that occur in and through there), English schools, and campus ministry. The goal for all of these activities is to build relationships with the Thai people, in prayerful hope that it would eventually lead them to a relationship with Jesus Christ. We were also given information about the life and culture of Thailand and how to respectfully interact with the Thai people. For instance, we were told not to talk negatively about Buddha or the Thai king as both are thought of very highly here and and any spoken words other wise are viewed as very offensive.
Also with orientation during our first day, we were given a tour of Ram 2, which is the name of the targeted area of ministry for the team. There is definitely not enough space in this blog to describe all the sights, sounds, and smells that we experienced just walking around Ram 2... this place is so far removed from anything I've ever experienced and it is incredible! Also included in this tour was taking us to the market for our meals (which is also where we'll be getting the majority of our meals throughout the duration of the trip). The food was a bit spicy but very tasty... no complaints here!
On our second day, June 14, we did a little more to get our hands dirty in terms of ministry here. Once we met at the office, the men and women broke up into two groups to go on a prayer walk around Ram 2. It was spiritually moving to walk down streets, praying for the people that lived in individual houses and their battle against the enemy. We also prayed for idol worship to be broken, the various ministries and missionaries of New Community, the lost souls of the local university, the conviction of prostitutes, the workers in the market to realize that hard labor does not lead to everlasting life, and various other needs of this area.
Then in the evening, we had the joy to experience ministry at the Mahhathai Park. This park contains a large pond, a nice walking trail, a unique (to Americans anyway) playground, several small football (soccer) courts, and volleyball nets that are used to play this sport that involves kicking a ball over the net (very entertaining). Many Thai congregate here, especially in the evenings when it is cool, so it is a favorite place of the missionaries to try to meet and build relationships with the Thai people. People here may be soft spoken and seemingly shy, but they are very friendly and kind, so they are very open to talking to new people and inviting people they've never met to play soccer or basketball with them which of course opens many doors to minister to them. Some of the women went to the playground area with Crystal and her 2 sons and interacted with other women and children there, while me and all the guys watched and played some football with the nationals. Paul Eichelberger had some meaningful conversations with a couple of Thai men that knew a little bit of English which was a real blessing.
Well that is all for now... I apologize for my spelling and grammar error as it is 10:15 pm here and I am tired! But we are thankful for your continued prayers and we'll up date you again soon. ~Rachel
The Henry's live on this street.
This is a temple in the immediate area. They don't allow close up
pictures, so this is as good as it gets,
In the immediate area of 1 square mile, there are roughly
50,000 people. This shot was taken from the roof of the MTW
office building.
This is Rachel playing with the Henry's youngest son, Calvin.
This is a billboard written all in Thai.
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