A lot has happened over the past couple months. Here are some of quick highlights. Brent has been working more at Rajaphat University and overall that has been good for developing relationships but a little harder on family life. Now that we have figured out some of the expectations and needs at the university, family life is balancing. The university provides a visa, which is crucial for our living in country as well as our strong value of entering the community in a way that Thais respect. Next semester I will be doing final preparations for the 6th grade equivalency exam for Thai language, so I will cut back a bit on teaching hours to do some of the final learning for the test. You can pray that Dean and I do well on this test. Because the test covers speaking, listening, reading and writing at a 6th grade level (any of you who have a sixth grader in the house recognize that they have lots of words!!), our brains always need a little more refining. We are getting there, but we need some final prayers and three months of cramming.
Mama Ann and Papa Jack came to visit for three weeks. Can you believe it? We couldn’t either. They were so kind to bless us with their time. You should see the changes in Jak. He received so much loving during that time and his words and character grew as a result. Ben and Kate also were loved on well. Recently, Kate was talking with me about her friend, Oh (that is her name…not an exclamation). She said, “Dad, why is it that Oh’s grandmother (who lives with her) never does anything fun with her? Mama Ann and Nana come here to do fun stuff with us!” I think Kate has a clear understanding about what grandmothering is all about. Those who know Papa Jack are now wondering what he did the whole time with us (Papa Jack has a…a…a…let’s say a high value for work). Through the blessing of internet he was able to keep going with some of his business affairs while working on our lawn and loving on his kids and grandkids. I am truly amazed at how much he gets done.
Mama Ann and Papa Jack flew into Chiang Mai, so we picked them up there and had a few days enjoying Chiang Mai city. Chiang Mai is the largest city in the north and some conveniences that are many years away for our growing Chiang Rai (like Burger King and Starbucks). We also hiked to a waterfall which was so beautiful that in a few weeks Mama Ann probably won’t even remember the pain caused by her sprained ankle. This is one of the three toughest grandmothers I know, the other two being my mom who still takes her daily walks regardless of snowstorms or below zero temps and that grandmother on Columbia sportswear ads (but who knows if she is really that tuff???)
While we were in Chiang Mai, one of our friends who is also one of Papa Jack’s business partners, Steve Mack, happened to be bringing a youth group from his church to work with Robert Reagan at the Payap Student Center Church in Chiang Mai. It was quite a unique opportunity for all of us to meet up and attend this church thousands of miles from their homes in Abilene and Boerne, Texas. I can’t really explain how fun it is to connect with people over here that have been so kind to us over there. It is really kinda weird to be sitting at a dumpy little Thai restaurant eating incredible Thai food for nothing while Steve Mack and Papa Jack explain to Ben the way to “sort through” girls at ACU (our alma mater) in order to find the right one (Ben had a little trouble recognizing the terminology “sort through” as it applies to looking for girls, so it took some explaining). Great things are happening at Payap Student center with Robert and his team.
On the day Mama Ann and Papa Jack were flying out, our pastor, Jamey Miller and another couple, Yancy and Lanette Smith, came as a visiting team from our home church. So we got a little check-up. Mainly they came to encourage us and pray. It was also very helpful to have someone on the outside come in and give us some critical insights. We had a week of this blessing and came out even more affirmed in our present efforts. One specific evening of prayer left each one of us with thankful hearts and high expectations for what God has done over the past year and will do in this coming year.
The best reminder from the trip was their challenge to continue building relationship one by one. When the teaching or team building or Thai language gets busy, it is critical to remember that we came here to build relationships and share Christ. Don’t we all have this same temptation? Sometimes the structures we create to develop relationships are the exact things that keeps us from the relationships. While my teaching is critical to our being here and developing relationships, at the end of the day it is the relationships that come from teaching that will be the thing Jesus uses to share His life and change this city. Considering this, we are thankful for some recent opportunities for deeper connection with students.
3.9.07
He is Pleased With You
During our pastoral visit, Yancy and Jamey prayed for Jesus to give me a greater clarity of God the Father’s heart for me and for the fatherless of Thailand. One need look no further than our dinner table to recognize the significance of this prayer. By God’s sovereign providence Jak sits (at least, sitting is the goal) at a table where he is loved, included and supported by a mother, two siblings and a father. Explicating just cause concerning the merits of our family and our rightful enjoyment of this tan ball of energy is futile. Efforts at logic detailing Jak’s fortunate grafting in to our family tree come up empty. By grace Jak was providentially and sovereignly placed into our family. There is no other good explanation. How else might I say it? God’s sovereign desire was that Jak would have a father who would reflect the heart of his true Father in Heaven. I am almost embarrassed to say it. When Jak is loved, with great joy, by his earthly father, this is exactly what God the Eternally Great Father meant for Jak. And that is God’s desire for each Thai person who has never experienced a father who loves him or her.
But you say, “What about the Jaks out there who remain orphans? What about the Jaks out there with a father who will not or cannot show concern or affection toward their sons or daughters? What about the Jaks who only receive abuse from their fathers?” Just as I do not understand the grace that provided Jak with a physical manifestation of the Father God’s heart, I, painfully at times, do not understand the brokenness that causes so many to experience the lack of a loving father in their home. But this I call to mind… the Father runs to greet the wayward younger son. He also goes out to talk patiently with the indignant older brother. The Father is “always working,” and He comes down to make it clear to the crowd that His son is beloved and a pleasure to his Father. And yes, the Father turns His face from His beloved “first born” so that all His children might experience His merciful, affectionate heart. When Jesus reveals to me His Father, I become overwhelmingly confident in the Father’s plan that all His children might receive His love. And not just through redemption as children of God, but also through the warmth in a home from a physical father.
I often ask kids in the neighborhood about their dads. Some are in Bangkok working, many are dead, and some have just left their families permanently. Probably about 1 in 4 has a Dad that they live with. At first I was just staggered by this statistic. I mean what can you do about this besides weep? Now I am looking at Jak and taking great faith and confidence in the heart of his Father. I am believing that God is graciously working on behalf of these kids and all people in Thailand who feel empty when they think of their father or lack of father. I believe that He is going to use a physical person to come into their lives and show them their Heavenly Father by loving them like their father couldn’t. This is the scariest part…I believe that physical person is going to look a lot like you and maybe something like me! This is plan A; there is no plan B.
Jesus came into a Roman dominated world where major population groups were taken from their homes and divided up into Roman homes as slaves. Children born in these homes were not children but slaves. As slaves, they were treated as property and sent wherever necessary. For this and other reasons, a great portion of the populace in Jesus’ time was fatherless. Enter Jesus. He won’t shut up about His father. Stranger still, he is saying His father is their father too. He makes the audacious statement, get this, “If you have seen me you have seen your Father,” and then reaches out, with a “human flesh” hand, and touches them. He touched them! He reaches out with the Father’s love, and they were never the same. Who could help but sharing the love of their Father?
So I look at Jak, and I see our mandate. Whoever you are and whomever you are with, Jesus wants to use you to be the hand of the loving Father in this fatherless world. “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.”
But you say, “What about the Jaks out there who remain orphans? What about the Jaks out there with a father who will not or cannot show concern or affection toward their sons or daughters? What about the Jaks who only receive abuse from their fathers?” Just as I do not understand the grace that provided Jak with a physical manifestation of the Father God’s heart, I, painfully at times, do not understand the brokenness that causes so many to experience the lack of a loving father in their home. But this I call to mind… the Father runs to greet the wayward younger son. He also goes out to talk patiently with the indignant older brother. The Father is “always working,” and He comes down to make it clear to the crowd that His son is beloved and a pleasure to his Father. And yes, the Father turns His face from His beloved “first born” so that all His children might experience His merciful, affectionate heart. When Jesus reveals to me His Father, I become overwhelmingly confident in the Father’s plan that all His children might receive His love. And not just through redemption as children of God, but also through the warmth in a home from a physical father.
I often ask kids in the neighborhood about their dads. Some are in Bangkok working, many are dead, and some have just left their families permanently. Probably about 1 in 4 has a Dad that they live with. At first I was just staggered by this statistic. I mean what can you do about this besides weep? Now I am looking at Jak and taking great faith and confidence in the heart of his Father. I am believing that God is graciously working on behalf of these kids and all people in Thailand who feel empty when they think of their father or lack of father. I believe that He is going to use a physical person to come into their lives and show them their Heavenly Father by loving them like their father couldn’t. This is the scariest part…I believe that physical person is going to look a lot like you and maybe something like me! This is plan A; there is no plan B.
Jesus came into a Roman dominated world where major population groups were taken from their homes and divided up into Roman homes as slaves. Children born in these homes were not children but slaves. As slaves, they were treated as property and sent wherever necessary. For this and other reasons, a great portion of the populace in Jesus’ time was fatherless. Enter Jesus. He won’t shut up about His father. Stranger still, he is saying His father is their father too. He makes the audacious statement, get this, “If you have seen me you have seen your Father,” and then reaches out, with a “human flesh” hand, and touches them. He touched them! He reaches out with the Father’s love, and they were never the same. Who could help but sharing the love of their Father?
So I look at Jak, and I see our mandate. Whoever you are and whomever you are with, Jesus wants to use you to be the hand of the loving Father in this fatherless world. “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.”
31.8.07
Biking Stories (not for grandmothers)
So Reg Cox requested some biking stories on the blog. If you could care less about these harrowing bike adventures, I will understand if you skip this section. For those of you who read my blog each time and are left wondering why I did not give an update on new bike routes I have tamed, this section is for you. Note that the bland language of other sections of my blog must be traded in for an “edgier” tone demanded by the relaying of bike stories.
Biking Chiang Rai’s mountains is truly a transformational experience after two years of biking the Bangkok streets and heat. Last week we got away with the fam for a long weekend and I took the bikes. We stayed at a hotel in the hills of Chiang Mai, and I spent every morning draggin me and Jak up 20 switchbacks through a ride that a biking brochure in Chiang Mai labeled as one of the best scenic rides in Thailand. The brochure sadly understated the beauty of the ride. Jak was sure to have me up at 6a.m. each morning, so what better did I have to do than put him in a bike seat and add an extra twenty pounds to my Chiang Mai mountainy ascent. (Aside..I picked up this sweet child’s bike seat 10 years ago with Ben and it is continuing to pay dividends. It is kinda sleak as far as bike seats go, and it pops in and out of the rack, which is nice for riding without the boy). Of course after the 15th switchback, I have some choice words for Jak and myself questioning my reasoning about getting on this bike in the first place, but when we reach the peak “we” had to have more. “We” went down the backside for another 5+ kilos (and then, of course, back up steeper than before). Jak can usually handle about an hour and a half without screaming as long as I take some change to buy him a yogurt drink or juice box somewhere along the way. Actually, Jak loves the bike. It has been a year since we picked him up at the orphanage in the south, and I think the first 8 months we probably averaged biking about 4-5 times a week. Jak likes getting out and it has been a great way to corral this child who we regularly catch on top of the pantry (5 feet up). Without these biking outings, I am checked in to the funny farm fer sure. Besides, I do my share of the kid watching on a bike. This would be a good time for some of you to admit how many episodes of Barney you have been watching.
Now I know what you are thinking…biking with a kid equals slow. (I think this would be a good point for my Mom and Mama Ann and aunts and other people to stop reading). To that I respond come on over and ride with us and then after an hour and a half we will talk about slow (this may be bordering on braggin but I am just wanting to ease concern from fellow bikers out there worrying about important stuff like speed).
On Sundays, I am riding (sans Jak) with a Canadian guy, Tim, who moved down the street a few months after we came here. It was weird, no farangs (westerners) anywhere in the neighborhood and then all the sudden they move in about 5 minutes from us (weird). And he bikes (weird). In fact, he is one of those guys we hate. He spent most of his 20s working on his body so now in his 30s he can go a week without biking and still be draggin me along. We generally ride a route that has been affectionately named the “Napa Valley” ride. Dude, you should see it. About a 30 kilo loop of hills roaming through this fruit farming area (pineapple, lynchee, oranges), a lake, and some Thai villages on the outskirts of Chiang Rai. One Buddhist temple that we pass is surrounded by a small reproduction of the Great Wall of China; this is the point that the ride turns a bit surreal. If the hills have been hard on you that day, you might, at this point of the ride, start questioning where this route has taken you…Italy? China? At the end of the hills, where I spent most of the time just trying to salvage my manhood, Tim chimes in with the standard “lets really open it up on these last 10 kilos!” In the hills you are hoping that he is more of a hill guy than a sprinter, and then you find out that was wrong. So, I spend most of the last 10 kilos drafting (staying on his back tire to gain the aerodynamic benefits) him and taking the lead to give him a breather like once so I don’t have to say I drafted him the whole time. Oh, did I mention he rides in flip flops. I mean they are good quality flip flops, but…
I also do a lot of riding just to get around. Julie gets first dibs on the car so I usually bike it to work and to language etc. Most people think I am weird because I end up looking like Reg saying his wedding vows (think sweat big time) by the time I get where I am going, but I consider it my sacrifice for the Al Gore for president campaign. My companions for these rides come along through the aid of earphones and MP3 technology. For the ride to school, I may invite any of the following with me: Mark Driscol (Mars Hill Church Seattle), Tim Keller (Redeemer Presbyterian), Jamey Miller (Christ Fellowship and our pastor), John Piper (Desiring God), Jimmy Seibert (Antioch in Waco), N.T. Wright (Jesus scholar), Garrison Keillor’s Writer’s Almanac, Peter Seller and Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, (NPR news game show and this is probably KR’s fault) NPR 5 minute news summary, This American Life, NPR Story of the Day (I am kinda an NPR junkie and thanks to iTunes I can keep up my habit) and Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing (not to be missed for English Teachers). None of this may interest you, but there is that one person out there who wants to know more about my days.
Only once has a motorcycle hit me… so far. Motorcycles are Chiang Rai’s mode of mass transportation. I have a conspiracy theory here. I believe that the motorcycles in this area cause teenage and 20 something guys to ride with unusual boldness and stupidity. I am theorizing that there is some kind of lead paint issue or something ‘cus once a guy around here gets on a motorcycle, they just tend to get dumber and dumber. One of my Thai friends explained with great “compassion” that motorcycles were Chiang Rai’s method of lowering the population of stupid people. Yikes. Anyway, a motorcycle clipped my handlebars and the bike was quickly knocked over. I somehow ended up hoping the handlebars and running down the street. Kinda looked cool actually. I probably needed to be a little more careful on this certain corner, and now I am. So pray for safety…Mom and Mama Ann.
Biking Chiang Rai’s mountains is truly a transformational experience after two years of biking the Bangkok streets and heat. Last week we got away with the fam for a long weekend and I took the bikes. We stayed at a hotel in the hills of Chiang Mai, and I spent every morning draggin me and Jak up 20 switchbacks through a ride that a biking brochure in Chiang Mai labeled as one of the best scenic rides in Thailand. The brochure sadly understated the beauty of the ride. Jak was sure to have me up at 6a.m. each morning, so what better did I have to do than put him in a bike seat and add an extra twenty pounds to my Chiang Mai mountainy ascent. (Aside..I picked up this sweet child’s bike seat 10 years ago with Ben and it is continuing to pay dividends. It is kinda sleak as far as bike seats go, and it pops in and out of the rack, which is nice for riding without the boy). Of course after the 15th switchback, I have some choice words for Jak and myself questioning my reasoning about getting on this bike in the first place, but when we reach the peak “we” had to have more. “We” went down the backside for another 5+ kilos (and then, of course, back up steeper than before). Jak can usually handle about an hour and a half without screaming as long as I take some change to buy him a yogurt drink or juice box somewhere along the way. Actually, Jak loves the bike. It has been a year since we picked him up at the orphanage in the south, and I think the first 8 months we probably averaged biking about 4-5 times a week. Jak likes getting out and it has been a great way to corral this child who we regularly catch on top of the pantry (5 feet up). Without these biking outings, I am checked in to the funny farm fer sure. Besides, I do my share of the kid watching on a bike. This would be a good time for some of you to admit how many episodes of Barney you have been watching.
Now I know what you are thinking…biking with a kid equals slow. (I think this would be a good point for my Mom and Mama Ann and aunts and other people to stop reading). To that I respond come on over and ride with us and then after an hour and a half we will talk about slow (this may be bordering on braggin but I am just wanting to ease concern from fellow bikers out there worrying about important stuff like speed).
On Sundays, I am riding (sans Jak) with a Canadian guy, Tim, who moved down the street a few months after we came here. It was weird, no farangs (westerners) anywhere in the neighborhood and then all the sudden they move in about 5 minutes from us (weird). And he bikes (weird). In fact, he is one of those guys we hate. He spent most of his 20s working on his body so now in his 30s he can go a week without biking and still be draggin me along. We generally ride a route that has been affectionately named the “Napa Valley” ride. Dude, you should see it. About a 30 kilo loop of hills roaming through this fruit farming area (pineapple, lynchee, oranges), a lake, and some Thai villages on the outskirts of Chiang Rai. One Buddhist temple that we pass is surrounded by a small reproduction of the Great Wall of China; this is the point that the ride turns a bit surreal. If the hills have been hard on you that day, you might, at this point of the ride, start questioning where this route has taken you…Italy? China? At the end of the hills, where I spent most of the time just trying to salvage my manhood, Tim chimes in with the standard “lets really open it up on these last 10 kilos!” In the hills you are hoping that he is more of a hill guy than a sprinter, and then you find out that was wrong. So, I spend most of the last 10 kilos drafting (staying on his back tire to gain the aerodynamic benefits) him and taking the lead to give him a breather like once so I don’t have to say I drafted him the whole time. Oh, did I mention he rides in flip flops. I mean they are good quality flip flops, but…
I also do a lot of riding just to get around. Julie gets first dibs on the car so I usually bike it to work and to language etc. Most people think I am weird because I end up looking like Reg saying his wedding vows (think sweat big time) by the time I get where I am going, but I consider it my sacrifice for the Al Gore for president campaign. My companions for these rides come along through the aid of earphones and MP3 technology. For the ride to school, I may invite any of the following with me: Mark Driscol (Mars Hill Church Seattle), Tim Keller (Redeemer Presbyterian), Jamey Miller (Christ Fellowship and our pastor), John Piper (Desiring God), Jimmy Seibert (Antioch in Waco), N.T. Wright (Jesus scholar), Garrison Keillor’s Writer’s Almanac, Peter Seller and Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, (NPR news game show and this is probably KR’s fault) NPR 5 minute news summary, This American Life, NPR Story of the Day (I am kinda an NPR junkie and thanks to iTunes I can keep up my habit) and Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing (not to be missed for English Teachers). None of this may interest you, but there is that one person out there who wants to know more about my days.
Only once has a motorcycle hit me… so far. Motorcycles are Chiang Rai’s mode of mass transportation. I have a conspiracy theory here. I believe that the motorcycles in this area cause teenage and 20 something guys to ride with unusual boldness and stupidity. I am theorizing that there is some kind of lead paint issue or something ‘cus once a guy around here gets on a motorcycle, they just tend to get dumber and dumber. One of my Thai friends explained with great “compassion” that motorcycles were Chiang Rai’s method of lowering the population of stupid people. Yikes. Anyway, a motorcycle clipped my handlebars and the bike was quickly knocked over. I somehow ended up hoping the handlebars and running down the street. Kinda looked cool actually. I probably needed to be a little more careful on this certain corner, and now I am. So pray for safety…Mom and Mama Ann.
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