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Saturday, October 27, 2007

Camp Revival Meeting 2007








October 19-21 was a very special weekend for Thailand United Methodists, Pradumri Church sponsored a large camp revival meeting with inspirational worship and lots of games and good fellowship. Both Pradumri and Bowin churches participated in this large event with enthusiasm.
The leaders at Pradumri church had to seek special permission to allow us to come to the camp meeting because it was held at a retreat center at the Thai Royal Naval Base in Sattahip. We were very glad to be allowed to attend because we did not want to miss out on this blessing.
Thai United Methodists truly savor their fellowship with each other and they worship with passion! This camp meeting was truly a revival, because the altar was filled with people rededicating their lives to Christ. We are seeing the spiritual fruit already in the lives of these Thai Christians in their zeal for serving the Lord and telling others about the good news of Christ.
A highlight of the revival was that 17 people were baptized, 10 from Pradumri UMC and 7 from Bowin UMC. There have been a total of 33 people baptized this year and almost all of them adults. It is wonderful that the people coming to Christ and being baptized are of all ages from 8 to 88. The good news of salvation in Jesus Christ is reaching all generations here in Thailand and Christians here believe there is a new openness to Christ in a way that did not exist before in history. We want to see the Thai people worship the Lord Jesus Christ and experience His eternal and abundant life!

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Long Live The King

Please pray for the King of Thailand, King Bhumipol, who is almost 80 years old and is the oldest living monarch in the world. The king had a stroke four days ago and is recovering in a hospital in Bangkok now. Please pray for his full recovery.

King Bhumipol is beloved in Thailand for the care and acts of mercy he gives to his people. Although there is a great amount of political division here, all people love the king, and he serves as a uniting force for the Thai people. King Bhumipol has also been a staunch advocate for religious freedom which is enjoyed here in Thailand.

Our prayer is the same as the Thai people, "Long live the king."

Monday, October 15, 2007

Blessed by showers and showers of blessings

We are near the end of rain season in Thailand and it is going out with a vengeance. There has been torrential rains for the last several days. For us, this is a great blessing because it has made the weather much cooler.

We came to Thailand to assist Thai Christians in planting churches, training pastors and leaders, and starting mercy ministries. We came to be a blessing to the Thai people, but we are deeply blessed by Thai Christians who go the second mile in helping us. Last week, Pastor Wirot of Li, Thailand took 3 days out of his very busy schedule to navigate meetings with government officials in the process of trying to obtain visas so we can remain in Thailand to do our work here. When we seek to thank him for his hard work in our behalf, he says the classic Thai phrase "mai dtong krengjai", literally meaning,"no need for consideration". This however, is not a good translation, because "krengjai" really has no English word or phrase that sufficiently describes it. In Thailand, when a person has krengjai, they try to impose upon another person as little as possible. Krengjai is involved in everyday life, including asking for a drink of water. When asking for a drink of water, a very polite Thai person will say. "May I have a small amount of water can I" By asking for a small amount of water, they are trying not to impose on the other person. Another way that polite Thai people seek to express krengjai and not impose on others is by taking very small portions of food. Thai people never fill their plates with food when they are at a person's home. They take small portions and will go back for more after each small portion is eaten. It is their way of trying to not impose and be a burden on others. So when a Thai host or hostess says "no need for consideration", it is their way of saying "please make yourself at home, eat all the food you see for there is no need for small portions because we are all friends and family here." When Pastor Wirot sacrifices his precious time for us and then says "no need for krengjai", he is saying that there is no need to express a large amount of appreciation for his efforts because we are all friends and family here."

This week, we were blessed by Peter and Nuc. Peter is a first year student at Phayao Bible College, and is training to be a pastor. His wife Nuc is our Thai language teacher and they are close friends of ours. Recently we purchased a pickup truck because our duties require extensive travel here. Peter and Nuc spent all day with us sitting in government offices to get the vehicle inspected, registered, and insured and then helped us get the vehicle to a mechanic to have some work done on it. Every time I tried to express our deep appreciation for their sacrifice for us, Peter and Nuc tell us "This is God blessing you. God loves you very much and takes care of all your needs". God has blessed us through the love and devotion of our Thai sisters and brothers. It has been very humbling, that even after being here for almost a year, we are very dependent upon our Thai sisters and brothers for doing almost everything we do here. We have come to Thailand to be a blessing but we find we are being blessed more than we can ever give in return.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Burning chilli sparks terror fear


We read this article on BBC news online that tickled our funny bones. Everyone who experiences Thai food that is prepared in the Thai way know how spicy the food can be. But we never imagined something like this would happen. But then again, this saying is true: "Truth is stranger than fiction."

Here is the BBC news article:


"A pot of burning chilli sparked fears of a biological terror attack in central London. Firefighters wearing protective breathing apparatus were called to D'Arblay Street, Soho, after reports of noxious smoke filling the air. Police closed off three roads and evacuated homes following the alert. Specialist crews broke down the door to the Thai Cottage restaurant at 1900 BST on Monday where they discovered the source - a 9lb pot of chillies.

The restaurant had been preparing Nam Prik Pao, a red-hot Thai dip which uses extra-hot chillies which are deliberately burnt. But the smell prompted several members of the public to call the emergency services. Alpaslan Duven, a Turkish journalist based in the restaurant's building, said: "I was sitting in the office when me and my chief start coughing and I said this was something really dodgy.

"I looked out of the window and saw people rushing and then we heard the sirens." Supranee Yodmuang, the restaurant supervisor, was above the restaurant when she received a phone call from her boss. It was about 4pm when I saw the police who were closing off the roads but I didn't know why. My boss rang me and said I had to get out of the building because of a chemical attack." She added: "Because we're Thai, we're used to the smell of chillies."

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "The street was closed off for three hours while we were trying to discover the source of the odour."