Family Thais: March 2015

So I heard someone refer to Thailand as a Godless country, which at first glance may have merit due to the fact that roughly 95% of the population practices Buddhism. I worried before we came that my kids' spiritual growth might be stagnant, though I realize Jason and I share most of the responsibility for raising them with Christian values and fostering a love for the Lord. But what would I do without an AWANA program that instills the importance of hiding God's word in their hearts, or a thriving children's program on Sunday morning where countless volunteers teach Bible stories applicable to their daily lives, or a shepherd group where they can develop relationships with other children whose parents share the same values we do. How could my kids actually grow in Christ in a land, though it's coined the "land of smiles," where temples, prayer houses and shrines honoring Buddha, dot the landscape as prolifically as Starbucks cafes do in the US? Or where the call to worship can be heard multiple times a day from the local Mosque (yes there is a very small Muslim population). The answer is that no matter what the major religion is or how few Christian "programs" there are, God is Everywhere. That realization has come to me as I see that God's presence in our lives cannot be thwarted unless we allow it to be. Here's a glimpse (and this is just a minuscule piece) of what God is doing in our little neck of the woods (prevalently made of palm trees) here in Bangkok:

We've been blessed to find a church, Chaengwattana Community Church, right in our community that has provided a venue to continue to grow with a fellowship of believers.

Camryn's Baptism
Who knew that Camryn would come all the way to Thailand to be baptized? Truth be told, she is very shy, and though she made a personal decision to follow Jesus before we actually moved here, she was extremely hesitant to be baptized at our church back in the US because she had to make a video sharing her favorite verse and stating what being a Christian means to her. This terrified her, which I can certainly understand. I too was very shy and avoided answering the altar call as a kid in my Southern Baptist church. Walking down the aisle in front of all those people to the hymn "Earnestly Tenderly Jesus is Calling. Calling Oh Sinner Come Home!" was a little intimidating for me. Camryn was baptized in the pool behind our church in front of the congregation. Though our pastor did the speaking, Jason had the privilege of actually baptizing her.

Teaching ESL classes

ESL classes where we teach the Thai community English, is one of the many ministries of our church that engages with the surrounding Thai community. In many cases, Thai maids and drivers can earn a higher salary with English speaking skills. Pastor Wanchai also shares the gospel with them before class. I sure wish I could understand him, but it's in Thai :) I have really enjoyed teaching the English 1 students.

Encouraging Women Bible Study:

This semester our women's group is studying various women in the Bible using the book Twelve Women of the Bible: Life-Changing Stories for Women Today.

We all meet in a large group to watch a video introducing a woman from the Bible. One of our own ladies then shares how she personally can relate to this woman. After we've completed our study during the week, we meet in small groups for discussion and reflection. This year, a new group was formed as an option for women whose primary language is not English. I can't imagine studying the Bible in another language, yet these women are so persistent and desire growing their faith and knowledge of God. I have so enjoyed facilitating this group which includes ladies from Thailand, Korea, Japan, and women who are American but have lived all over the world for most of their lives.
We have made a special effort to meet for lunch or coffee outside the group as a way of fostering our relationships. I admire one woman in particular who is not a Christian, but wants to learn more because she sees something in Christians that she wants. We have had some wonderful talks, and her sincere questions certainly challenge me to know the Bible better so I can have fruitful discussions with her.

Disciple Now Weekend: Middle School Retreat

I remember participating in a DNOW weekend when I was in middle school, though we called it intermediate school in those days. I'm sure I gained some spiritual truths from it, but honestly the only thing I can remember aside from the fact that we stayed in someone's home, was that our host used this strange tool to curl her eyelashes on the way to church Sunday morning.

Fast forward many decades to Thailand 2015... The theme of the weekend was The Pause: Learning to Seek God. The weekend was packed with fun games, a fantastic main speaker, lively worship and small group time. The kids also had to make a 2 minute video encapsulating the theme and main verse of the weekend which was Psalm 119:9-11 "How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."

I hosted the 7th grade girls, and though I was quite anxious about it since I didn't know any of them and haven't interacted much with teens in over 10 years, I had an absolute blast and can't wait until next year! Though the girls made me feel young again (somehow having little ones aged me and I feel like I'm just starting to get my energy back), I will admit that leading a small group at 9 pm was a bit of stretch since I usually mentally check out by then. The girls were a delight and all got along beautifully, which is a big deal for girls with varying backgrounds and social circles. A wonderful side benefit was that Camryn had a great time interacting with them and even rode her bike with them to church Sunday morning (the kids had to bike back and forth to church for large group sessions). I did the unthinkable and allowed her to stay up with them until midnight with them. Though Carston and Austin were freaked out about a bunch of girls spending the weekend in their house, using their towels, they had a good time too, despite the fact that the girls "stunk up" their playroom, and when I say stunk up, I mean it smelled like a field of fragrant flowers, which was a scent not at all appealing to the boys.

Though this may appear to be a drinking game, they are actually putting the books of the Bible in order.

Passport to Purity Weekend with Camryn

Camryn and I had a Girls Weekend where I used Dennis Rainey's Passport to Purity curriculum (including a CD set) which helps parents talk about "becoming a young woman" in a Biblical context. In Camryn's words, we talked about following Jesus and lots of weird stuff like the "S" word (the "s" word is actually sex). Despite talking about "weird stuff", we had a fantastic weekend!

And what's a weekend without indulging in a few simple pleasures?

Bowling at Mega Bagna Mall in Bangkok

Visiting the Train night market before dinner

Enjoying a delicious smoothie

She ate the entire piece of salmon (minus the vegetables)!

Since it's almost April, I thought I'd share some highlights of our Christmas in Bangkok. I handled it pretty well since in my 40 years, only twice did I not wake up Christmas morning at my childhood home. I guess it was time to grow up.

Nichada (our expat community) definitely gets into the Christmas spirit. Cardboard Santas line the street, Christmas music plays in the local grocery store, and there is a Christmas house tour in the community. As I told my sister, it's just one of those activities for we ladies of leisure to attend.

Only in Thailand would you see Santa driving a decorated tuk tuk.

Some people go all out and decorate one part of their house with a gingerbread storefront.

This house decorates each room in a different color. You may not be able to tell, but I'm in the purple room.

At one point Austin thought we couldn't celebrate Christmas because it was hot here. I quickly corrected him and made a mental note that we needed to review the true meaning of Christmas (i.e.: Jesus is the reason for the season!)
Since we weren't expecting snow or anything close to it, we visited a place called Harbin, which is a room with ice sculptures and slides.

We also went ice skating. It was Camryn's 2nd time ever, and Carston and Austin's first time. The boys eventually got the hang of it. Though Austin hugged the wall most of the time, he eventually broke away from it to do a pair skating routine with the penguin. Carston is our most persistent and determined one. Check out the video of him doing a tap dance on ice.

In keeping with the true meaning of Christmas, the children presented the story of the birth of Christ at our church one Sunday morning. We attended the Christmas Eve candlelight service. And we took part in a community outreach called the Orange Drop. We packed bags with oranges and a track that shared the gospel in Thai. Then we headed out on our golf cart to deliver bags to guards, store owners, street vendors, or anyone walking along the street.

Decorating bags for Orange Drop

That's a lot of oranges!

Delivering bags to the community

On Christmas Day...

Austin asked for a Tickle Machine for Christmas. After searching Amazon and Walmart sites to no avail, I thought I'd make one.