2 weeks.

Today marks the 2 week point until our departure to Thailand for a year! June 11th has seemed so distant for so long, and now it is right around the corner... I need to pack and weigh my bags, move out of my apartment, sort through and consolidate the things that won't be going to Thailand, wrap things up at work... But everything that must be done has been completed! We have our visas, our tickets and paperwork completed (praise God!). So, rain or shine, June 11th we'll at IAD departing to BKK via Heathrow and Singapore. Thank you so much for your prayers and for partnering with me on this journey!

[Copied from John and Ruth Lapos' Newsletter Update]

e-day [part iv]

It's time for some good news!

This is my final installment of the "e-day" series because... we have our visas! After some consternation and much prayer, our visas arrived in the mail today.

Thank you for praying. I'm happy to say that in 21 days, we will be boarding the plane with all of our necessary paperwork. Praise God!

How many lives would your sin cost?

I am currently reading From Buddha to Jesus in preparation for Thailand. (Did you just click that link? Good. Now add it to your Amazon cart!) The author, Steve Cioccolanti, was born in Thailand, and born again in Thailand. He has a unique perspective on what it means to be a Thai Buddhist, and how believers can fruitfully engage discussions with Buddhists in Thailand.

The chapter I read earlier this week was on reincarnation, and how reincarnation is actually "one of the best teachings found outside the Bible." Isn't that a shocking assertion? Karma (synonymous with "sin" or "death") is so weighty that it cannot be paid in one life.  Cioccolanti states that the "fact that you are born, according to Buddha, is proof that you are a sinner" (135). The practical problems that Buddhists run into, though, is that "every time you are born, you sin some more, so you're adding sins to your account. You're in constant deficit... You can try to do good deeds and 'make merit' all your life just to service your karma, but you will never quite win this catch up game. You are trapped inside an endless cycle of sin and suffering" (136).

Cioccolanti then relates this idea of "one life" not being enough to pay for the price of one's karma with the parable that Jesus told in Matthew 18:23-35.

In reading this parable, most of us would surmise that we are the man who owed the 10,000 talents. Our application of the story might end with the lesson that we should forgive others of their debts. That, unfortunately, misses one of the greater lessons of this parable, which is, that we have a terrible debt.

Cioccolanti states that if we were to owe God 1 talent for a single sin, we would owe God 6,000 days (164+ years) of labor's wages (1 talent=60 minas, 1 minas=100 denarii, 1 denarii=day's wages for a day's labor). However, in the parable the man is not guilty of owing 1 talent... but rather 10,000 talents. That is 60 million denarii. That is equal to working a full day of labor 7 days a week, from the day you're born until 100 years old... for 1,644 lifetimes. (And in working 7 days a week, you would violate God's 4th Commandment, thus trying to "pay off" sin by sinning more, and incurring an ever-increasing debt. See how this cycle works?) This truly is a debt we cannot pay, not for ourselves, and certainly not for anyone else.

"What is Jesus saying to us? Exactly what Buddha was teaching. It is impossible for you to rid yourself of sin by your own good works. All you can do is fall at the Master's feet and say, 'Lord, have mercy on me, because I have not enough to pay and am going straight to Hell'" (144).

So where does Jesus come in? How did Jesus' death make "payment" for us? How could he ransom, not just me, but all of mankind from so great a debt?

This is where it gets exciting. Cioccolanti uses an example from business to flesh it out. He poses this question,

How come the CEO makes $200,000 a year while the salesman works just as hard and only makes $40,000 a year? Different positions. The CEO has a higher rank...Because of his position, his time is worth a lot more... And so God said, 'I am going to send the Lord of Heaven Himself.' Hebrews 7:26 says that Jesus is 'Higher than the heavens.' You understand, of course, that the Owner of Heaven is worth far more than Heaven itself. So Heaven and earth did not have enough to pay. But the Lord of Heaven and Earth came down to earth and said, 'With my time, with my life, I will pay for all your sins... In fact, I'll overpay' (147).

Wow.

Jesus could pay for all sin for all mankind at once, because of His great worth.

Pastor Doug has been talking recently about how at the crucifixion, God turned His back on Jesus- and because of that, we don't need to have any fear that He will turn away from us. We have been accepted and forgiven because of Christ's finished work on the Cross. That is cause for worship!

So, how many lives would my sin cost? More than I could ever hope to pay... No amount of "being good," even if that was possible, would make up for my grievous sins against God. So, praise God that He "did not treat me as my sins deserved" (Ps. 103:10) but instead made a way through Jesus Christ for me, an enemy of God (Col 1:21), to be brought near to God and be adopted in his family (Rom 8:14-16).

How NOT to Get a Visa*

1. Get into lively discussions on the way to DC. There's no recipe more proven than a discussion on relationships to assist you in missing all your turns (or at least the important ones).

2. Arrive after 10am (and forget your quarters!). After 10am, all the parking garages increase their prices exponentially... and there probably won't be any street meter-parking left.

3. If you happen to get there before 10, be sure to park front-end-first in the street parking slots. Even if you're only there for a couple minutes, you will receive a ticket. Street parking is back-in only.

4. Have a third-party do your background check. If it's not done by the State Police, the Embassy won't be interested in your app.

5. Leave your cash at home. They only take cash or money orders... so no cash, no visa.

6. Come during their lunch break-- anytime between 12:00-2:30 works.

7. If you aren't successful with #1-#6, and the Embassy does issue you a visa, you have one last hope! Don't look at your visa when you pick it up. Don't check for signatures, don't check to make sure all the fields were filled out correctly, if you're lucky, they may have left some things blank-- making your visa invalid.

But, if you decide that you DO want a visa... just follow the inverse of the above steps, and also take note of the following:

- DO bring your own prepaid flat-rate mailing envelope for the Embassy to mail you back your visa (otherwise, you get gouged by paying $20 for theirs)

- DO make sure you have all the correct information and paperwork, so you only have to make one trip! 

- DO have the contact # of someone in the country you are visiting in case you run into trouble and need advice 

- DO take a picture (or write down) where you parked if you choose to brave a parking garage

Anyone else have advice on the Do's and Don'ts of Visa acquisition? Leave them in the comment section below.


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* This information is tried and true and has been fully disclosed for the purpose of assisting any aspiring travelers, missionaries, or expatriates attempting to acquire their Thai work visas in DC.

Tie-land

I spoke with the K class in September about my short-term trip to Thailand when they were learning the letter "T", but on Wednesday I shared with both chapels about my upcoming long-term departure to Thailand. The K class decided to write me little notes, complete with pictures. It was so sweet... and I wanted to share a couple of their pictures for your enjoyment also!

The airplane to Thailand

I guess this is where they think I'll be living while I'm there? 

I am taking my class to visit the local gators...

...& I'm not sure about this one 

Maybe the most accurate of all the pictures!

"TIE"-land... (note the ties and the crosses at the top of the ties!)

Following my Father

My dear friend and co-worker, Tamra, asked me to guest post about Thailand on her blog. Click here to read my post.

Financial Update

I want to share with you how God has shown Himself (yet again!) to be Jehovah Jireh in my life-- He has already provided $3,500 for my year in Thailand... that is incredible! A year in Thailand is about $6,000 and airfare home is approx $1,000-1,500. So the total cost is: $7,000-7,500. That means that there is less than $4,000 left to raise!

Through monthly sponsorships, $1,080 has already been pledged... leaving only $240/month left to be raised in monthly sponsorships. (That's 8 people committing to sponsor me for $30/month, or 4 people giving $60/month, or a combination of monthly and one-time donations.)

And. Above and beyond that, $800 has also been given to help cover my pre-trip needs (visa, airfare, laptop, etc.).  Praise God!

To each of you who has given sacrificially to help be a part of sending me to Thailand, thank you so much. It is a blessing and a responsibility to have you supporting me. My prayer is that God uses me as a worthy investment of your resources, and that I am a useful and faithful vessel for Him. Thank you for supporting me, for praying, and for following along on this journey.

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." -Eph 3:20-21

Strollers and Backpacks and Dishes, oh my!

For the past week my parents have been working tirelessly to aid Claire and I in collecting, sorting and pricing items for the Thailand Fundraising Yard Sale which culminated this morning on the Lisco's driveway. After having made multiple trips the day before, the next round of packing started promptly at 4:00 am this morning. (Shout-out to my mom and dad... who are awesome: The whole basement was covered in "to-sell" items that all found their way to the yard sale by 6:00 am. All those military moves paid off in yard sale set-up efficiency!)

Arriving at the sale-site at 6:00am, my mom, the Pezzutos, Mavrick, Krystle, Samantha and fellow Thailand sojourners, Zac and Abby proceeded to assist in sorting and staging load after load of "to sell" items. There were a ton of families and individuals who donated to the sale... and the final result was incredible!

The Lisco's driveway... transformed into a shopping alley!

Families, strollers, and yard sale sharks came ready to bargain, wheel and deal! It felt like Thailand all over again... "Five dollars?? How about I give you three." "Deal!" It was also great to have the opportunity to explain why we are going, and how their purchases were supporting us. "I can eat 6 more meals in Thailand because you bought those $7 speakers! Thank you!" A lot of people even made donations to support our team. It was such a great (albeit exhausting) morning. We left with our skin a little sun-burnt, our backs a little sore, but with $606 raised! Praise God! This money will go to support Claire and my trip to Thailand and also help support a couple members of the Short-Term August team from Spotswood!

A huge thank you to everyone who gave us their stuff to sell, their time to set-up/tear-down, their donations and their driveway! This yard sale was a bigger undertaking than I ever anticipated... and there is no way it could have been pulled off by my effort alone. Thank you for partnering with the Claire and I... and the Thailand Team.

Abby, my sister, and future sojourner to Thailand, manning the  front tables!

Favorite Quote of the Day:
There was a flock (yes, a flock) of kids who were browsing our wares for over 30 minutes. They found the "free stuff" box*, and also made a few purchases. As soon as they would discover or acquire another toy (or piece of a toy...) they would start shouting, "Just because it's broken, doesn't mean you can't use it!" Over and over and over again. They were cracking us up, especially when they came back to re-shop three more times! We gave them some "loyalty buyer" incentives for all their support :)

Favorite "oops!" of the Day:
...When my mom sold my sister's pair of sunglasses by mistake. Yard sales should come with a warning: Unattended belongings will be sold.

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* The "free stuff" box was perhaps the most entertaining box at the yard sale... a magnetic dartboard with no darts, half of a model of the USS Enterprise, some Highlights and American Girl magazines, a headband with unusual ribbons coming out of it, etc. The kids loved it. And couldn't get over that everything in the box was theirs for the taking... and take it they did! It was empty before the end of the day.

e-day [part iii]

Thank you so much for your prayers regarding our visas! This post is the third installment of the "e-day three-day adventure." Claire and I drove to the Thai Embassy yesterday (trip #2) to acquire our non-immigrant type B visas... with great success! As soon as we walked in the Embassy, we were warmly greeted (such a different tone than last time) and were immediately assisted. They even offered to expedite the process for us, as Claire needed her passport back by this Friday for her trip to Mexico.

It was so simple. We handed them our paperwork; they looked over it; we left. They told us we could come back in 24 hours to pick it up. So, Claire took an extended "lunch break" from work today and traveled (trip #3) to the Embassy to pick up our visas. There was a little mix-up, which, to steal Tamra's phrase, may result "blog fodder" for a future post tentatively titled: "How NOT to Get a Visa"...

But, despite some of the mishaps and mis-communication along the way, there have been so many moments of God's hand working. He is still in control. He is a good Father... who not only calls His children out of places to new places, but also is there with them throughout every step. At the end of this month, I will have a lot more to praise God for because I am more acutely aware of all the little things and big things He has worked out.

Thank you for your faithfulness to pray for Claire and me-- I am excited for the progress (little by little!) that we are making to wrap up things here in America, and prepare for Thailand. T-38 days until departure!

Matt 7:9-11

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"