Unorthodox Joy

A few days ago a question was posed to me: "When are you the most joyful?"

I thought about it for a few moments, and the answer I responded with was a little less than orthodox:

-I'm snowshoeing somewhere deep in the outdoors of the Colorado wilderness. I've just come into a secluded but open area surrounded by trees and mountains. It's snowing, but not so hard that I can't see. Rays of sunlight peek through the snow clouds blanketing most of the sky. I'm standing still and listening to the silence, the falling snow canceling all noise from the otherwise busy world. The elements freeze time and all is in an awed hush...and that's when I hear Him whisper, "I love you. I love you. I love you!""

-Or I'm sitting in a coffee shop near a window with a half-finished cup of coffee. The place isn't crowded but isn't completely empty either. My Bible is laying open next to my journal and I have my headphones in listening to songs by Hillsong United and Desperation Band. There's an unfinished sentence on the freshest page of my journal as I take a moment to look out the window and notice the rain splashing against the pane. And that's when I hear His praises being sung, electronically transmitted from a heart that matches my own; "You hold it all...together. You hold it all...forever. You hold it all. You started it all. You are my all in all!"
And my heart begins thumping, not because of the bass drum or the beat of the song, but because if I don't worship with my emotions; hands trembling, tears rolling and spirit weeping, I'm almost positive that the rocks and trees outside are going to start screaming His glory!

God forbid we should ever forget these moments! Rather, may we only add more and more to them until the day they become the daily norm; yet far from mundane!

What awesome moments of experiencing His presence and joy have you been given the privilege of participating in lately? Not so recently?

(Song: You Hold It All - Desperation Band)

Location:Huai Kaeo Rd,Chang Phuak,Thailand

Six Months!

It's been just barely over 6 months since I left the states; since the first blog was written about the beginning of the "Thai Adventures" upon landing in Los Angeles. So here's a quick re-cap of the initial time spent here with a little more detail on the most recent month.

September-November: Arrived in Chiang Mai on September 2nd, met up with the Parkers and the 6 other "interns" who had just flown in from the States in the previous few days. I spent a lot of time teaching English to the staff and working on different work projects: (ie. wall painting, gravel spreading, planting, etc.). We did a lot of different games and discipleship things with the girls in the evenings and on Saturdays. Had time on Fridays to take a day off and explore Chiang Mai via hopping a Songtaew or TukTuk to get us around town, meet friends, eat American food, etc. Also took time to visit the Northern villages near Chiang Rai, explore a little bit of Bangkok, and finally debrief with a week of respite in Phuket and Koh Phi Phi. It was an awesome time for reflection, exploring and seeing what God really had for me/us as far as where in the wide world I/we fit.

December - After a quick run across the border to Vientiane, Laos (12 hour busride one way), and coming back with a new Thai visa I got to work on setting some roots. I was able to purchase a scooter instead of just renting one monthly, got all the stacks and stacks of paperwork for the work permit accomplished. (Thanks largely to the awesome translating skills of Chat Chai). And then was able to help with different projects around the Christmas season.

January - School. This month sticks out in my mind as the hardest one so far. Mostly because if it weren't for the girls' free Saturdays, soccer with friends from church on Sunday mornings and an random invitation to an Ultimate Frisbee tournament I wouldn't have had any life at all outside of school. Every weekday morning from 9-12 was dedicated to studying and mastering the "art" of reading and writing the Thai language. Once that was finished for the day I'd "scoot" (pun intended) back to BHJ, have lunch, and then teach English to the staff for the next 2 hours. Once finished with class I'd have just a bit of time to get stuff done before the girls came home and things like homework or bible study would begin after dinner. January was a good month setting roots and making good friends with Thais and Farang through church, soccer, and a Thai campus ministry called The Light. Also after just having gone through the hassle of getting my Work Permit, I helped several other people get theirs with a lot less brain damage and much more quickly. This in itself might turn into a big ministry asset in the future of being able to help other missionaries stay in the country and not always having to leave for new visas every 3 months.

February - This last month was a little more even paced with days beginning to see a good rolling average of routine. I've set up a structured teaching schedule so that its not too fast for me or the staff, having a day in between English classes where I can go to Thai tutoring and they can do their own work related activities in the mornings. This schedule has allowed me to manage teaching/learning at a more reasonable pace for everybody, and then thus opening up slots of time devoted to the liaison part of my job description. I've been working on keeping the sponsors in better contact with their girl(s) and vice versa; therefore uploading more recent photographs and bios of the girls as some of our sponsors haven't heard new information since they began supporting them several years ago. Big problem in our mind. So I've been working on making things run a little more smoothly and less of the "well I hope they're using the money I'm sending them."

So there's a quick 6 months in a nutshell. As always, I'm extremely grateful for those who have helped get me here and who continuing to keep me in this part of the world. Now that I'm past the initial 6 months "touristy" phase, really excited about the long-term fruit that is only viewable from the extended stay!

Reading with Yada

Here's a short video taken by Matt on his phone of Yada attempting to test my Thai reading abilities with the Thai Bible...lets just say I still have a ways to go before I'm reading Thai novels for fun. :)

Success Story

This past weekend I got to be a part of a success story...

...Last Satuday morning found Matt, ChatChai, several of the older girls and I crammed into the van heading towards a part of the city that the girls hardly ever travel to; the side where multitudes of young men and women throng the many internet coffee shops, cheap eateries and hang outs wearing their matching uniforms that identifies them as college students.

This side of town isn't secluded, nor is it hard to get to; yet the girls from BHJ rarely see this area solely because its not part of their world...yet.
Amporn was one of the the very first Breanna's girl to come here and live outside the walls she had known for many years previous.
Likewise she was the very first to wear the uniform,

first to walk the procession,

first to bow to the headmaster

and

first to receive the intricately written, stamped and signed DIPLOMA.

And as I watched, trying to pick her out of the large crowd of graduating students, I realized something...
I COULD'N'T!
I truthfully couldn't pick her out from the girls who had come from rich families, decent families, broken familes, or no family at all.

However, later on when I finally did pick her out and the buzz of cameras' clicking started anew, I could see something different; and that was her Smile.

She had the biggest smile of anyone around; and all we could do was smile too. Sharing the happiness and joy of this mile (or kilometer) marker was nothing other than the divine moment that a great God had seen coming long before any of us were involved. And I'll bet that it made Him smile too.

How in the world...?!

It hit me today, as I was sitting in a YWAM coffee shop talking to a Thai friend named Nok Noi (นกน้อย), a thought that caused me to stop conversing mid-sentence.

"How in the WORLD did I get here?!"

Not literally of course, I had just ridden my scooter from the Thai Immigration office after several hours of pure bureaucratic bliss complete with queue lines, crisp documents and finally the satisfying THUD of a stamp on passport pages specifically designed for such purpose.
But as I just described I knew how I got to this conversation with Nok Noi while I waited for photos to upload to the site I was working on.

But I really stopped speaking so abruptly and pretty sure I had the kind of face that makes most people give the sideways cock-of-the-head shock and awe, quizzical look that says "are you ok?" (No exception here, 'cept she did it in a more Thai-ish way adding the phrase "mee aray?")

It took me a second to respond, because first of all I couldn't quite explain it to myself in English much less take the extra step to translate into Thai. But here's what I came up with after a few moments pause:

-About 12 months ago I got an email from a former youth pastor inviting me to come on a 3 month internship/mentorship/decipleship trip. To which I immediately deemed unworthy of a response. (Thanks but no thanks, I'm not interested in short-term...especially in Thailand!!)

-However God wouldn't let me drop it; He continued to bring up the issue and keep my attention from random people talking about different ministries in SE Asia and how they could use a guy like me, or God tugging on my heart whenever mention came up of trafficking or prostitution. He just wouldn't quit bugging me!

-after 3 months of stubbornness on my part, I finally consented and responded to the email with words along the lines of "I'm mostly doing this to get God off my back and I doubt the offer is still open but...if it is I'm open to explore what God's up to. But one question: if I come, can I stay long-term?"

-To which God of course had already known Matt would reply "Yes. Let's talk". After a several hour meeting with him I went to my parents' house and told them about all that was starting to unfold. I took another month to pray/seek/whine/give in and tell Matt that I was in.

-Then the fun part began! I began researching tickets for flights to the last place on Earth I had ever seen myself going and really curious how God was going to make this all happen...because as I forgot to mention, with all my seeking/praying/whining I really felt an uneasiness about raising support for the first 3 months that seemed more of a vacation/respite with missions mixed in rather than full-on gritty missions. Long story short; God is God and I most certainly am not...because when I found an amazing deal on a one-way flight ($600 talked down from $1200), He sent me the work bonus and extra pay period the exact day (and for the exact price) I had to book the flight; essentially allowing me to still pay all my bills at the end of the month.

-Summer came and I worked at Camp Kivu in Durango, Colorado as a counselor, rock climbing guide, backpacking guide and just about anything else they needed. As my third and final summer with them I had a blast with great friends and resting in the Lord while hanging out with kids from all over the world just trying to show them how awesome our God is. (Not hard to do when you are playing in Colorado and Moab).

-August came quickly and the last month to get all my money together was drawing to a close quickly. Problem: Camp ended early and so my paycheck wasn't as large as I had expected, so after several very uncertain days of what was going to happen God allowed me to sell my car for the exact amount I needed to pay for the initial 3 months.

-Now 5 months and a whole lot of stories/memories/passport stamps later I found myself in a coffee shop a complete world away from my original plan...whatever that was anyway!

I didn't explain it to her in that many words of course, English Major she is, but she got the idea. I can't speak for certain for her but I sure left that cafe with the freshest feeling of "God is absolutely God and I am absolutely not!"

I'll never get tired of that feeling.

Location:Mueng Chiang Mai, Thailand

So...Yeah

Many of my friends and family hear me say the words "so...yeah." When I can't think of what else to say at the time. That's the phrase I usually employ to break the awkward silence.
And since I haven't written a new blog update in so long I feel like there has been an awkward silence between us. (Between whoever is reading this blog and I)

So...yeah.... I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up to date as much as we'd both like but here's what the past month has looked like and can give a few clues into why it's been so long; (I promise I'm going to get better at this updating thing)

If I summed up this last month into one word I'd prolly say "SCHOOL." Lots and lots of school! Here's why:

-the last month I've been taking a class called Intensive Thai at Payap University just outside downtown Chiang Mai; so for the last month every Mon-Fri morning I'd wake up around 7, eat some breakfast, have some time with the Lord, hop on the scooter and drive the 20-30 mins to class. Sounds like a typical day of heading to work or college for the most part; except here's the catch...I'm learning how to READ. I still feel like I'm a 5 year-old trying to "sound-out" words and phrases with the teacher standing over me correcting my (many) mistakes. And for 3 hours every day we'd drill over the Thai alphabet; 44 consonants and the 18 vowels. (And you thought 26 letters total was a pain!)
I first described it as "trying to read an art class" because literally the letters ก ข ค ย ะ ๊ ็literally look like squiggles or something you'd doodle when bored in class.
But thanks to God and the perseverance and ability to learn languages he's given me, I can honestly say that after a month of intense studying and lots of homework I can read/write Thai. (We won't go into details of how many words per minute that means.)



The title of the book is "How to read and how to write"

-The other reason is because after Thai class I'd drive back home, eat lunch with the 6 Thai staff (plus Lydia the precious 2 year-old), then teach English classes for 2 hours.



(We're working on commands in the beginner class)

By the time English classes are finished it's usually around 3:30 or 4 o'clock. With the remaining hour or so before the girls get back and dinner happens I'd squeeze in some emails and maybe run a few errands if it were possible.

-After dinner I help out with ChatChai's devotionals by playing guitar every once in awhile and leading worship with a few English songs they know and then we all hit the homework. Its pretty awesome that I have so many Thai experts to help me with my homework and then they come to me with their questions on their English and math homework.

So there's this month, well the weekdays anyway. In between the busy school days and nights God has been blessing me incredibly with community! I've been hanging out with friends I've met on the Southern side of the city and going to their home church on Sundays after playing soccer in the mornings. I've also been able to go to a night of worship that happens once a month and also randomly found out about an annual Ultimate Frisbee tournament in which over 60 people came and had a blast at! God's been blessing me extraordinarily with all these things and allowed me to make friends (both westerners and Thais) and continue to invest in the different relationships and have begun to have real accountability with a few guys.

All in all I can't get over how awesome God has been this month! It's been a lot of work and I'm always exhausted by the time Saturday finally rolls around but always ready to hit it again by the time Monday morning's alarm goes off.

One of the major responsibilities included in my job description is acting liaison for the One Girl sponsorship program we've launched. We're trying to get the sponsors more connected with their "adopted" girls with updated photos, videos, bios, etc. rather than the one photo they received when they first signed up to be a sponsor. This is a major undertaking but seeing real fruit come of it ready.

Well that's it for this month, next month should be a little less fast-paced as far as school goes because I'm done with the Thai class and will start taking private tutoring every other day or so instead of EVERY day. Thus enabling more time to work on the projects going on at BHJ and stuff happening this summer.

As always thanks so much for the prayers and support, one big prayer request that you could life up on my behalf is roommates. I'm looking for a place near BHJ but a little closer to the city as to be able to still go to tutoring and community things. I've found such places at extremely affordable prices, the only problem is roommates. I'm having difficulty finding other guys in the city looking for a place in the same area as me. But I'm not too concerned, just need to be patient.

Location:Nong Pa Krang Soi 3,Nong Pa Khrang,Thailand

Year 2010 Wrap-Up

Alright, here's an attempt at wrapping up all that has happened here in the last month of December which I've hardly written anything about...

I had just gotten back from Vientiane, Laos with another 90 day visa thanks to a lot of prayers, research and filling out the correct forms. I had about a day to unpack from the previous travels and settle in before BHJ's founders Uncle Bill and Auntie Mary Lee flew in for about 10 days. They spent the first few days adjusting to the time change and visiting with the girls, while I did a little scooter shopping. With extreme thanks to very generous supporters I was able to purchase a used Honda iCon scooter with which I am extremely pleased. The price was right and even came with a 1 year full guarantee and free maintenance work. So from then on I was mobile and able to go to meetings, start making and visiting friends and basically stop relying on the staff or Matt to get me into at least Songtaew (local taxi) or TukTuk range of where I had to go. (Imagine the excruciating several months before you turned 16 and got your license when everything REQUIRED you to drive and then the glorious days after your birthday when you were ABLE to go to the grocery store or visit a friend by yourself without bugging your parents or older sibling to take you there.) Hence the feeling of immense accomplishment that soon followed the signing of the dotted line.


Ok, so back to Bill and Mary Lee; they had come to really grind out some big plans and goals for the ministry as a whole in the future and spent a lot of time typing up job descriptions and future aspirations and restructuring the board of directors a bit. This involved me a little because Bill offered me a full-time position rather than just an intern with the ministry and am now "officially" connected with New Horizons Foundation (not like I wasn't beforehand; it just wasn't on paper). The several days with them I continued teaching English to the staff, acted as translator and chauffer for them a few times and eventually said good-bye when they headed back to the States.

One week followed which would have been somewhat of a respite, however with the new visa I had obtained and also thanks to the funding I received, Chat Chai and I met up with a paralegal and began the immense task of filling out all the required paperwork for getting a Thai Work Permit, which is basically my ticket to staying in the country indefinitely. Without which I would have to be border hopping every 3 months (and losing quite a bit of money with each trip), and never being able to have a set foundation in this country. So fast-forward past all the mundane trips to the office supply store for more printer ink, back and forth emails between previous employers, tedious translating of resumés and trips to passport photo shops (thankfully extremely affordable at 100 Baht ($3) for 4 photo compared to $10-20 for 2 in the States), we finally got the paperwork together and submitted the application to the Government.

By the time this was finished another 8 days had passed, just in time for two long-time and basically co-founders arrived from Washington state. Uncle Scott and Auntie Rosalie came to spend time with the girls and enjoy Christmas with everybody out here. With Matt having his parents staying at his house, I spent most days teaching English in the morning and then enjoying the company of the two visitors. We spent time with the staff and running errands into the city and back; in the end we put together a great celebration for Christmas complete with a new thick blanket for each girl and even a new TV to watch their favorite shows on the weekends! (Imagine the squeals and screams when the secret got out!) Scott and Rosalie went back home on the 26th.

The last week of the month was spent with a little rest for everybody; all the staff took a day to stop all the errands completely and breathe for a minute before the next holiday happened. New Years Eve was spent on the lawn outside cooking over small fire pots and shooting off home-made fireworks. (Literally made out of grass and gun powder!)



Now the holidays are over and this mon
th things are gearing up for a lot of different things but at a slightly slower pace. The Parkers and I are heading for Thai class, I'm continuing to teach English to the staff and helping out with the every-day errands, and all in all its a pretty good start to the year 2554, or 2011 rather.