Update: Four Posts
02.21.12 - Last Full Day
03.03.12 - First Week Back
04.04.12 - Gettin' Started
04.10.12 - Engagement
Where to Give Vids
Last Full Day
February 21, 2012
Today is officially my last full day in the U.S. before I disappear back into the heart of Thailand. It's been a refreshing 4 1/2 month "visit". I'm thankful to have had the opportunity, & now ready to get back. Nice to have last year's worth of experience in Thailand under my belt. Going back, I have a much better gauge now of what exactly I'm getting into. It'll be nice to not be as clueless this time around :)
I'm also very passionate about my going back this time around because of what this & hopefully upcoming years will contain as far as missions go. The ministry I've linked up with has me going to one of the poorest & most unreached areas with the gospel in all of Thailand. And I don't say that hoping to get sympathy. Rather, hopefully a reason for you to be excited for me. There's no reason to pity those leave who leave some of the familiar comforts of home to follow Christ in foreign places. Those who go & are gauging their situation rightly would call themselves privileged. The apostles "left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name." Christ puts purpose behind hardship/uncomfortablity that is endured for His sake. I'll leave you with a quote from David Livingstone who, "gave his life to serve Christ in the exploration of Africa for the sake of the access of the gospel." He says:
"For my own part, I have never ceased to rejoice that God has appointed me to such an office. People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa....Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view, and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now & then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences & charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in & for us. I never made a sacrifice."
love you all...
love you all...
lonely sparrow
First Week Back
March 3, 2012
It's great to be in thailand again. getting settled into my first week back. spending the next two months here in Chiang Mai, trying to really hit this language hard, & then I'll be moving to a city in Northeast Thailand called Kalasin. Been talking with the Pastor I work with, walking through what ministry down there will be looking like. Ultimately, the hope for the culmination of our work in Kalasin is church planting/discipleship. It is one of the poorest & most unreached(gospel-wise) areas in Thailand. I've committed to the next three years living & working there with a Thai Pastor & a small missionary team. There's no reason why there can't be a gospel explosion in this country, and particularly in this region. We've all heard stories of what God has done/is doing in China; I'm believing for a revolution. The good news of the shed blood of The Son that turns sinners into saints & makes God's enemies His friends is the answer for this country. For this world. Christ is the universal cure. The importance of this message cannot be stressed enough. I love how Spurgeon put it when he said, "..if I was saved by a simple gospel, then I am bound to preach that same simple gospel till I die, so that others too may be saved by it. When I cease to preach salvation by faith in Jesus put me into a lunatic asylum, for you may be sure that my mind is gone."
lonely sparrow
*If you would like more information about what I'm doing here in Thailand or how you can support financially, please scroll down to previous blog entries.*
Gettin' Started
April 4, 2012
So, I've been back here in Thailand for about a month & a half now, and more specifically, Chiang Mai. This has mainly consisted of alot of reading, language study, meetings, hanging with local kids, etc. The first two months of my being back were/are a preparation time for what's coming in 2 weeks, which is the move to a city called Galasin, about 12 hours southeast of here. I'll be going down there with my friend Derrick where we'll be helping a local pastor doing church planting. This past weekend we got to go down there and check it out, meet with the pastor, rent a house & really just start to get ready & get a feel for what's going on down there. Discipleship, teaching at house churches, youth ministry, equipping worship leaders, teaching English are some of the pratical ways in which we'll be engaging those in the area. 1,000,000 people with around 700 believers. Definitely lots to be apart of. There really is something special about worshiping Christ with believers in that setting, when you know how few in the area are doing the same thing. And so hopefully our efforts can be used to spill the fragrance of Christ & spread the aroma of His gospel to many in this region. Prayers are very much appreciated, and if you'd like to help support financially, there are links below in previous blogs that explain how you can do that. Thank you all...
lonely sparrow
Engagement
April 10, 2012
Coming up on a year ago, I saw a video on youtube of a youth ministry in southern thailand with a girl on there named Oy, talking about the Lord & her involvement with that ministry. I shot her message & not too long after that we started writing back & forth. And over time it became phone, skype, meeting in person & then eventually dating. And from that has come our plans for engagement & marriage. I know typically in western culture that most of us are used to the wedding obviously being planned but the engagement usually coming as (at least somewhat) of a surprise. But here in Thailand, the custom is to do a type of ceremony for the engagement & the wedding; so that's what we're planning on for the 23rd of this month, with the wedding being the 12th of June. I'm so excited & thankful to the Lord for this opportunity that's on the horizon. It's something I've anticipated & tried to prepare for for quite some time, it's hard to believe that it's becoming a fast-approaching reality.
And what's beautiful is that the girl I get to do this with is such a gem. She's so precious to me. I'm really looking forward to spending the rest of my life following Christ with Oy & hopefully being very much like Christ to her as well. I'd be lying if I said I don't have fears when it comes to the realm of marriage & leading a family, but stepping up & answering the call to man up is possible by the grace of God. I plan to draw every ounce of it that I can from The Lord.
I would really appreciate your prayers, especially now as Oy & I step into this new season & learn what it means to become one as we set our sights on The Lord & walk this thing out together. Also, if you'd like to support financially, the are links below on previous blogs that can direct you where to do that. Thank you!
lonely sparrow (no more!)
Thailand 2012 & Beyond...
loving thailand. raising support.
