For those of you who read my last post have been praying, thank you! The tests went well, the cath found no arterial blockage (yay!), and she ended the day saying it was a "piece of cake." To all that, I can only say, praise God! The doctors have decided it would be best to go ahead and proceed with the heart surgery, which has been scheduled for September 11th.
Please keep her, her heart, and my family in your prayers. Thank you so much for all your support!
Meet my grandma: fondly known in my younger years as "Grandma with the white hair." :) I always say that she is the "quintessential grandma," and if you've been blessed enough to meet her, you probably agree with me!
[Grandma, or as some know her: Gertrude Metz, and I]
She, and my family, crave your prayers. Before I left to come back to Thailand, she was having some increased difficulty with a reoccurring health problem. The weekend I left to come back to Thailand, my mom drove up to Indiana (where my grandma lived) to be with her, and help her though the operation and the recovery. However, during that time, the doctors realized that she was also suffering from congestive heart failure.
My mom helped pack up my grandma, and she immediately moved into our home in Virginia. Since then, my family has been helping her set up doctor's appointments and figure out what the next steps should be... this Monday (Aug 26th) she will be going in for tests to see if a mitrol valve replacement would be a viable option or not. The tests will check for blocked arteries, through doing a heart cath and TEE (an ultrasound of the heart via the throat). If all goes well on Monday, then sometime this next week she will go in for open heart surgery.
I am so glad that my grandma is able to be with my family during this season of her life, although it is hard that I can't with them also. I'd love to be able to support them with my physical presence, but that is not where God has me. So I will pray. And I would ask that, as so many of you faithfully pray for me, that you would also pray for my family, specifically my grandma during this time. Thank you in advance for your prayers for us, and for her!
I think praying is underrated. I, myself, am often guilty of mentally quarantining prayers into trite corners of my faith. I don't do it intentionally. In fact, it's directly opposed to what I say I believe! But somewhere in my sin nature there is a disconnect between what I know to be true about prayer and what I act to be true about prayer. What do I know about prayer? That it's not a last resort, nor is it a cop out for action. Prayer is waging war in a spiritual battle. Prayer changes things, and it changes us. It is communicating having access to our Creator, our Father and our "very present help in time of trouble." You'd think I could remember that.
Today I was reminded again of the spiritual battle that is afoot here, and worldwide. How Satan must have a play-day toying with and badgering believers who are completely unaware of his attacks... myself, I'm afraid, frequently being one of them.
There are days here that I am terribly productive (like, pull-out-the-horn-i-need-to-toot-it productive). And then there are times when I feel like I got hit with a giant brick of anti-productivity. Call it a funk, call it getting up on the wrong side of the bed, I'm not so sure it's all a "me" problem anymore. I think there's more at work than just "me" having an "off" day. Now, I'm not one to blame everything on the devil, but, I've begun to notice an uncanny parallel between the advancement of Kingdom work and physically negative side effects. And, after talking to many of the other missionaries here, I don't think I'm alone. In fact, I'm beginning to think that if you're feeling ill, you must be doing some good work for the Name of Christ! (Not that you can quantify your effectiveness by number of trips to the hospital... although there have been scarce few missionaries who have walked away from the last 2 weeks unscathed by illness.)
Anyways, all that to say, I have been reminded, (yet again!) of the importance of active and aggressive prayer. I know that many of you reading this get it; you understand and practice the power of prayer. Our pastor, David, shared that "Satan wants to keep us busy fighting battles that don't matter." Praying is a way to engage in a battle that matters, the one being waged by God for the redemption of His creation. I am so thankful for those of you who plead on our behalf. Prayers from our Church family back home truly do encourage and lift us up so much. It reminds me of how Aaron and Hur held up the arms of Moses during battle (Exodus 17)... Their partnership with Moses lent him strength and victory. Thank you for joining in prayer in the war that's waging for the hearts of the lost!
I love being able to write to you and share what is happening here through the Lord's work (and your investment) in my life. I wish I could sit down and write each of you individually, or better yet, just have you all come to Thailand to glimpse what you are a part of! I guess we'll just have to wait until we're with the Lord to have that moment together. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your relentless prayers for both me and the Thais that God has placed in my life.
I just wanted to update you all on a new development in my life here, and ask for your specific prayer. I have started leading a LifePoint small group and we meet at Phaya Thai on Sunday evenings. Tonight was the first night, and while only two girls came, I truly believe it was exactly who God wanted there. I have been praying for God to place an unsaved Thai woman in my life for me to invest in... and I think He may have answered that prayer!
We will spend a few weeks discussing "Who is God?" and then move on to "Who is man?" "Who is Jesus?" and "What is our response?" (Sound like the Gospel? Haha... good!) I don't know what God will do, or who He will bring to this study.... But as long the Holy Spirit keeps teaching, it will be an incredible next few months.
Please pray for my heart and relationship with the Lord to remain the priority- that I will not become so caught up in being a Martha that I stop being a Mary. Pray that the Holy Spirit would speak through me... and would continue to encourage and convict and teach these girls, even after they leave small group. Pray for the friends they want to invite (one of the girls is planning to invite her Muslim friend next week). And please pray, above all, that the Name of God would be lifted high, and that His light would continue to shine brilliantly in this dark place.
Aside from my recent exciting weekends that I posted about [here], normal life has been faithfully moving along for the past five weeks. I know that sometimes it is hard to understand updates from people on the other side of the world... because, let's face it, the things I mention seem foreign, most of you don't personally know the people I talk about, and many times, have no framework or context to organize the information dump that, often (but unintentionally), are my posts.
So, to rectify this disconnect, my goal in this post is to include some faces and weekly activities that I'm a part of to help you imagine better "what exactly I'm doing in Thailand."
Who are these interns I keep mentioning? You know, the ones I do "MTS" with? Here they are! Four days a week, four hours a day (at least), I get to see their smiling faces!
[Anderson and Dani (left) are from a church in Brazil that LP partners with]
Classes at the BSC began July 8th. I am teaching 12 classes this term (Term 4). Five classes are level 5 students, two are level 7, one is level 8, three are one-on-one tutoring sessions, and one is a general conversation class. Needless to say, they keep me pretty busy! Here's an inside peek into one of my classes and the woman who makes the BSC run:
[Khun Noo is an all star. She's one of the BSC staff members who helps me manage and juggle my schedule... and every other teacher's schedule!]
At least once a month, we (LifePoint) have a Friday night program in Klong Toey. It is a slum near our church which we fondly call "Community 110." Here are a few shots from my most recent trip there!
My weekly time tutoring these women is such a blessing! The past two weeks we've had so many new girls join in... which is incredible! This past Tuesday, our lesson was on baking... and what better way to learn baking vocabulary than kinesthetically?? So, we made chocolate-peanut butter no-bake cookies :) This may be why there was such a good turn out...
And speaking of baking... Baking on Thursdays for the Cafe ministry has been such a blast! One of the guys who works at Cafe Boly (named Dillon) is Chinese and not a believer. We've been able to have some good conversations (ranging from spiritual, to cultural to culinary) and he's even started some of his own baking endeavors. I know I've said this before, but it bears repeating: I love how God can use something as simple as baking as a bridge to the Gospel!
Thank you so much for taking the time to be invested in the work that the Lord is doing in my life through your prayers, giving and faithfulness. I am so humbled to have this opportunity to share the love of Christ with the people I interact with here... and truly, my ability to serve here is a direct result of God's provision through your support. Thank you.
So, my lovely friend and Bangkok sojourner recently sent out her 1st monthly e-update, and I realized just how remiss I've been in posting this past month-and-few-weeks... and not for lack of things happening! The past four weekends have been red-letter weekends! So, this post is dedicated to them.
Weekend 1: On July 13th, Steph and I went to Asiatique to hang out with one of my previous students, Toon. She invited her cousin and sister, and we explored, ate, and went on a fantastic ferris wheel!
Weekend 2: On July 21st, Steph and I braved our way to Koh Larn for a two-day respite from the city and to enjoy our long holiday. We got to see some monkeys, nap on the beach and enjoy some time together catching up (and swimming!) away from our concrete jungle home.
Weekend 3: Then, our third weekend (July 27-28), LifePoint had a church retreat in Amphawa. I'm not exactly sure how they swung it, but for less than $20, we had transportation, meals, and a lovely resort room to sleep in. In addition to being in a beautiful location (near the floating market), it was also a wonderful time to connect with and meet new people! While Buddhists are often hesitant about coming to "church," they will sign up for a "trip" without batting an eye. And so, we ended up having quite a few Buddhists come who, in the process, heard the gospel. One girl heard about Jesus for the first time! We had breakout sessions, regular worship times/sermons and plenty of fellowship time. It was so neat to hear, and be a part of, so many of the Spirit-led conversations that happened that weekend. Praise God for the work He is doing drawing hearts to Himself!! Below are some pictures from our excursions in Amphawa.
Where are we now? Weekend #4? Well, this past weekend I spent in Mae Sot. You can read a little about my time there in my last post. Here are a few teaser photos that didn't make it! You can read the whole post by clicking [here].
I have some exciting news that I'm bursting to share with you all...
Are you ready?
My dear high school friends, Alli and Sandy will be coming to Bangkok at the end of the month!!*
[L-R: Alli and Sandy!]
Here's where you come in:
They have offered to be a blessing to Steph and I, as well as many of the other missionaries here, by muling gifts, treats and care packages over to us! They'll have approximately 100 pounds of free checked baggage that they won't be needing...
SO! After talking to the Mae Sot orphanage, cafe/cooking ministry and fellow missionary friends, Steph and I have compiled a "wish list" of items your international siblings would love to have sent over. If you feel so led... donations can be dropped off in the Encounter building at Spotswood Baptist Church, passed along to my mom (Melanie), or mailed straight to Alli (please contact me for her address).
Once you buy an item on the list, please email me: lizswauger@gmail.com so I can cross it off below!
It'd be nice (mid-priority):
- 1 can of non stick spray olive oil (generic)
- tums: orange cream flavor
- brown sugar
- 2 packs of beef sticks (not spicy) - skittles
- reese's pieces
- 2 bags reeses's unwrapped minis - jolly ranchers
- 2 salt stick deodorants
- 2 cans canned pumpkin
- marshmallows
- honey maid graham crackers
- great value granola bars
- clif bars: white chocolate macadamia nut
- cheese-itz
- Neutrogena grapefruit face wash
- york peppermint patties - cookie dough bites
Now we're asking a lot (low priority):
- mint m&m's - peanut butter m&m's
- m&m's
- mint oreos
- crystal light drink mixers (or generic version)
- bath and body works candles: sweet cinnamon pumpkin
- betty crocker frosting (chocolate and/or vanilla)
- costco salsa: medium or kirkland's salsa: medium
---
* They'll be here for a little over a week (Aug 29-Sep 7) to visit me! That's right... one full week of wonderful adventuring, fun, and ministry. As they've had a role in supporting me, it will be fun to get to introduce them to some of my friends here, take them to church, and have them tag-along in my regular life. The BSC has graciously allowed me to off-set the start of my classes for Term 5 so that I will not have to teach the week that they are here. Needless to say, I've already started planning for their arrival!
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go with the LifePoint interns to Mae Sot, Thailand for a 3 day trip. Because of the continued conflict and minority persecution in Burma (Myanmar), many of the minority groups (including the Karen people: pronounced kuh-WREN) have found safety across the Thai/Burma border in areas like Mae Sot.
The trip there was about 7 hours in the van with a minor delay due to rainy season flooding the Moie River... and road.
[The boat that was being used to shuttle people, motorcycles and food through the waist deep water across the road]
[A truck braving the flooded road]
[An army truck let us jump on back and shuttled us through the water and to our rendezvous point!]
Here's a video of us crossing through the river in the army truck (and the view of the regular truck in front of us)... The water had gone down quite a bit by this point. If you are reading this in an email, you may need to go to the actual post: [click here] in order to view the videos.
While we were at the Shekinah Children's Home (or as they sometimes refer to it: KT camp), we led a day long "VBS-style" kid's camp for all the children... complete with games, songs and crafts! However, the sweetest part of the trip for me, was having the opportunity to encourage a wonderful woman named Zaida who has been serving there for over three years. As someone who has been "on the field" for a little over a year, I know the potential that teams have to either energize or drain the long-term folks. A lot of work goes into being able to host a team, especially a team as large as ours was (11 people)! I wanted for our time to not only be a blessing to the children, but also to her-- because she is the one who will keep on working and serving long after we leave. I loved getting to hear her story and have the opportunity to see the children's home through the eyes of a woman who knows it well.
It can be so easy to jump into a short term project and think you see and understand what is going on... and miss it entirely. It's easy to see the smiling children, accept the hugs, and never think past that. Or to see the dirty walls, the lack of a "proper" kitchen and the mattress-less bunks where the children stay and be moved to "fix" things... without actually stopping to learn and ask the right questions.
[The church/ multi-purpose room/ school]
I definitely am no expert on the plight of the Karen, or even every detail of what takes place here at the KT camp. But, through my conversations with Zaida, I left encouraged. The Lord is working and doing an amazing healing in the lives of many of these children. Most of the children are practical orphans, if not actual orphans. (Because of the conflict, not all of the children know whether or not their parents are still alive.) Some of the children were soldiered. All of them have suffered. And yet: there is still hope in their eyes and smiles on their faces.
In many ministries, the primary need is financial. As much as we'd like that it wasn't this way, money is a necessity. I won't say it's impossible to do the Lord's work without any money, but it sure would be hard. Because of that, I try to always ask ministries that I visit what their needs are. Perhaps so that I can meet that need specifically, but also so that I can raise awareness and share that need with the body of Christ.
So, you can imagine my surprise when Zaida's answer was not money. She said that the ministry's greatest need was long-term people.
[Breakfast time!]
Zaida expressed, with sadness, that she only has two arms for hugging, and it's not enough for the 60+ kids who visit and live at the camp. Here is a woman who is pouring her life into some of the forgotten, and "least of these", and her main desire is not for new buildings or new equipment, but for more people to come to better love the children who are there.
[Some of the girls singing "Jesus Loves Me" in Karen]
Our time at KT camp also coincided with Zaida's 40th birthday and overlapped with her father's visit. As she is from Mexico, her and her father decided to throw a traditional "birthday fiesta" for the children. It consisted of her father serenading her, a couple of candy-filled pinatas, and plenty of cake to go around!
[Zaida and her father's grand entrance... decked out in their Mexican garb]
[Singing a traditional spanish song to his daughter on her birthday]
[The boy's breaking open their pinata!]
However, despite all the learning, information-gathering, and craft-leading... the part that touched my heart the most was getting to spend time with some of the girls. Whether they were teaching me a new game (these kids were game-gurus!) or a new song, they always had plenty of hugs and smiles to share. On the last day, many of them slipped a note into my hand that they had hand-written... As if goodbye's weren't already difficult enough!
[MoMoA and TeeKayPah]
[AePioh and MoMoA]
[AePioh gave MoMoA and I matching braids!]
[MaJee]
Sometimes you meet people who, for better or worse, indelibly mark you. Your life will never be the same because of their presence in it. I know that my time with these girls has opened up my eyes once again and given me a glimpse into a world and a problem and a people that I was blind to before Thursday. I would have told you, of course, that helping refugees was important. I would have even told you that I knew their situation was dire. But after having spent 3 days with children who are, really, in the best situation (living in Thailand, fed, clothed, cared for and loved), and then to drive past the sprawling refugee camps where people are trapped with no livelihood and hope... I see more clearly. Not perfectly, but I have faces where before there were only numbers.
[Sunday morning worshipping with our Karen brothers and sisters]
If you are interested in serving long term (over 2 months) at the Shekinah Children's Home, but have questions... feel free to send me an email at lizswauger@gmail.com. I'd love to share more with you about specifics of my experience there!
