From Buddhist to Baptized!

Many of you reading this blog prayed for, and financially supported, me while I was in Thailand. In those ways, you became an active part of the work the Lord did through me while I was there.

Jum is one of the Thai women God gave me the opportunity to build a friendship with while in Bangkok. Even though I'm back in the States now, we're still able to keep in touch. (3 cheers for the internet!) She accepted Christ my last week in Thailand and, on March 30th, I was blessed to be able to skype into her baptism!

[I'm on one of the phones in the crowd!]

Jum has been working on writing out her testimony, and I wanted to share some of it here with you (with her permission, of course). Your faithfulness to give to missions and pray for missionaries and for Thailand has been fruitful! Even though I am state-side, please don't stop investing in the international Great Commission. (If you don't know who to support, you can join me by investing financially in the ministry of The Rossies or Ruth!)

But, back to Jum's testimony, in her words... Be blessed.

It is difficult to start my testimony because it is a long story.  My interest in religion began when I studied in international classes. My friends came from different countries. They were different religions so sometimes we couldn't understand each other well. I believed that the problem came from their culture and their religion. Once I observed my friends from different religions pray I asked why they said the same word "Amen" at the end. They shared about what they believed. 

Then I started to learn English at the BSC. I had chance to meet missionaries and we talked about the history of Christianity, I tried to search the internet about the history and doctrine of this religion. I found a different between Buddhism and Christianity in how they view "Love."  One believes that love makes suffering and the other one believes that love makes peace. Then I want to know more. "How does love make peace?" I started to attend one of their small groups. I learned more about the Bible with the missionaries. 

One of them, Liz, talked about the Holy Spirit is work in the story of Jonah, Jonah went to Nineveh and the people of Nineveh believed God. She said that 'The Bible also it can work by itself when you read it, because of the Holy Spirit." When I started to read,  I didn't want to stop. I almost finished the New Testament in 3 weeks. I still wanted to know more about God. I started to understand and compare the doctrine of Buddha  and Christ. I could see  the different attitudes of Christians (from USA) and Buddhists (from Thailand). For a while, I thought both religion were good, but I must to choose and follow only one of them. It was a difficult time to make a decision....

I accepted Jesus. About 3 weeks later, I began to understand it that God wanted to teach me about the love of God and His grace give the eternal life for us. I couldn’t understand well but I still search the answer by learning from missionaries, reading the Bible and praying... I haven’t done it well now, but I feel happy more than in the past... Thank you my parent and my sister for accept my decision. Thank you Khun Tim, Khun Jill, Ann, Meleah, P’Pom, Jai, Liz, Luke, Dylan, Alli and Matt for telling the Gospel to me. Thank you brothers and sisters at church for helping me didn’t feel lonely when I choose to follow Christ and I think this is important for new believers for continuing on and growing to the next step of Christianity. 

[Matt and Jum]

21: thanksgiving

Almost five years ago, Spotswood hired a new college pastor. As I was one of the lone college students, he wanted to meet with me to talk about Spotswood's college ministry (which was pretty non-existent at the time) and the possibility of serving as a student leader to help reach out to the UMW campus. 

At the time, I was involved in a couple para-church Christian clubs on campus. Through our talks, this pastor (who we all now know and love... Pastor Doug), explained to me the importance of being invested in the Body. He asked me to pray about being fully committed to serving in and through the Church, instead of trying to split my time and waffle between commitments to different groups. At first, though reasonably presented, his request sounded odd. Being in many Christian clubs was very much a part of the college Christian culture I was in. However, as I prayed about it and talked it out with my mentors, they affirmed the decision I felt God was leading me towards, which was this:

That someday (quite soon), I would be graduating. My relationships with those clubs and groups was short-term at best. But, my relationship with the Church is eternal. As a believer, I am a part of the Body. I can either start owning that, and be an active member, or not. It wasn't just about my time or about choosing to be on leadership. For me, it came down to this decision: Am I going to love the Church? I chose yes.

Since that decision, God has given me a huge heart for His Bride. As my view of the Church changed, so did the way I viewed and did ministry and missions. Being a part of a local Body of believers became non-negotiable. Finding ways to use my gifts in the Church became a joyful challenge. Fast forward to 2012. My first month in Thailand, Claire and I were asking the pastor of LifePoint, David, about joining the Church. Why? 

As I was reminded again today in my NT reading, we are a part of one Body. There is both a responsibility and joy that accompanies connectedness. In the past five years, there have been many times when I've been able to witness the diversity of God at work within the Body of Christ. And it is beautiful. We're a messy broken people, but we are also dearly loved. It has been my greatest joy to serve the Lord, not on my own, but through the partnership and Body of Christ. I am so thankful that God saw fit to place us and grow us in the context of a Body.

1 Corinthians 12:14-20, 23-27

Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 

Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 

...But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

Today marked my second Thanksgiving* in Thailand (we figured we're already 12 hours ahead, why not 5 days?). Throughout the whole evening I couldn't decide if I wanted to laugh or cry. It was an it's-so-perfect-it-hurts kind of nights. There we were, 16 Americans, doing what we love best: baking, playing games, watching Christmas movies, eating turkey..., as family. I'll always be a part of the universal Church, but it is also a singular blessing to have been able to spend the last year and a half involved with LifePoint (my local church). I am looking forward to the day when all my spiritual family will be able to join and feast together at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb! What a happy, happy eternity that will be.

And speaking of feasting, here are some pictures of our tasty food... to get you motivated to start thawing that turkey and stocking up on stuffing! (And because no "Thanksgiving Post" would be complete without gratuitous pictures of food.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

---

* For more details on our Thanksgiving, check out Steph's blog! [click here]

hua hin.

When I was asked to help teach at an English camp for University students, I immediately agreed. What could be more fun than English on the beach?? Especially when the timing bumped up perfectly with the annual LifePoint staff retreat… at the same beach! God is so good like that :)

Our staff retreat was Monday through Wednesday, and was absolutely wonderful. It was a great balance of relaxing, team building and discussing and praying for the future, Thailand and each other. My favorite part was hearing everyone’s testimonies and seeing how—though we all came from different places—God brought us all here and made us family through the same process, salvation.

[Relishing in a fancy American meal, compliments of our church. Yes, there was bacon!]

Wednesday we transitioned hotels to where the English camp would be held. It is full of character (and I mean that in the most genuine way!). It used to be a music school/studio and has been turned into a creative music-themed hotel. Complete with instruments… everywhere! A drum for a table, a piano mounted on the wall and turned into a bookshelf, a guitar neck serving as a door handle… We’re staying in the “Jazz wing” where each room is a different musician/band complete with artwork and playable instruments!

[View from our balcony]

[Beach time with the VanDykes, Steph and Julia!]

 The students (44 students, plus their professors) arrived today, Thursday, and so far it’s been a total blast! The theme for the camp is “English for fun” and today definitely lived up to that. Even fining the students when they spoke Thai (20 Baht per offense) became a fun joke! We ended up collecting 300 Baht by the end of the day… haha. We also played Catch Phrase, Jeopardy, Telephone Charades, and other games. Really, this is my dream camp. English, games, and opportunities to build relationships.

[Telephone Charades]

[My team for the day... Orange Team]

[The most difficult game of Jeopardy... ever. I only knew two answers.]

Please pray that we would be able to build strong relationships with the students here, so that we can have entryways into sharing the Gospel. We’ve already been able to share little pieces with some of the students, but we would all love to share more. Pray that they would see something Someone different in our lives, and that we would be discerning enough to see those moments and brave enough to seize them!

I’m excited to share with you at the end of the week what God does through your prayers over the next two days!

out-of-bangkok.

This past week Steph and I both wrapped up teaching all our Term 5 classes (our penultimate term at the BSC... and my last time teaching on Saturdays!). And tomorrow begins our Out-of-Bangkok experience. Over our break we'll be spending some time in Hua Hin, me for a LifePoint staff retreat and Steph as the childcare aficionado. Then we'll both be helping at an English Camp (also in Hua Hin). After that we'll be heading to Mae Sot to spend some time with the lovely Karen children I was able to meet this past summer. As this is our last break before returning to the States (can you believe it?), we're trying to fit in all that we can. As busy as it sounds, we'll have plenty of time to rest on our long bus rides ;)

Please be praying for us, both for our health and stamina, but also that we can continue to be a blessing and take the Gospel with us wherever we go, despite being "on break".

Please also pray for the LifePoint staff retreat:

- that we would get to develop and build deeper friendships with each other
- that God would use this time to bring increased unity and vision to our team
- that it would be a refreshing time for us as leaders
- that we could be encouraged as we hear more of the work God is doing through His people 

guest post!

While I (Liz) process and compile all my thoughts and experiences from our recent visa run to Cambodia, I’d like to share with you a beautiful guest post from my dear friends, Alli & Sandy! If you have been following my blog, you know that they came three weeks ago to spend 9 days with me in Thailand. Instead of me reporting everything we did, I thought it’d be neat for you all to hear about their time here through their eyes. So, without further ado, here you go:

There are so many troubles and trials that come in the mission field, however, none may be quite as challenging as temporarily relinquishing control of one’s blog.  This is precisely what our friend Liz has done.  For nine days we were not only given an adventurous vacation in Thailand, but we also received a short glimpse into the life of a missionary serving in the heart of Asia.

We, Sandy and Allison, have been long time high school friends of Liz, so when she invited us for a visit, we jumped at the chance.  Our adventure began in Bangkok, where we were introduced to Liz’s apartment, unloaded bags of goodies sent over with us, donned our tourist attire and set out to the famous Wat Arun (an elaborate temple)  and Baiyoke Tower (the tallest building in Thailand).  We were fascinated with how foreign and exotic everything seemed.

[Wat Arun]

[Baiyoke Tower]

The excitement of a culture so different than our own was overwhelming and exciting; however, the newness of it all started to turn into familiarity as Liz introduced us to each ministry she and other members of her church were involved in.  A visit to her church, LifePoint, and time with her fellow servant Stephanie at the BSC allowed us to not only see these missionaries at work, but also allowed us to meet the people that God put in this specific mission field.

[Zaida, a wonderful woman who works with the Karen refugees in Mae Sot, Thailand]

[Liz's small group and friends on our trip to Asiatique]

A midweek three day jaunt to Chang Mai in the North of Thailand put us back in tourist mode, but also allowed for some much needed relaxing and quality time with our friend.  Catching up and refreshing our friendships seemed to be just the encouragement we all needed.  However, playing with elephants, zip lining, seeing a waterfall, and shopping didn’t hurt either.

[At the Elephant Nature Park]

[Flight of the Gibbon: Ziplining!]

Back in Bangkok, our trip took a more serious turn as we began our day with a prayer walk through the red light district to the Rahab ministry. This particular ministry reaches out to women involved in Bangkok’s infamously seedy nightlife. Here we got to spend the afternoon helping Liz teach an English class and visit with the women.  We were surprised by the lack of effort exerted to hide or mask the dark sin that lurked there; everything was out in the open.  It was when this blatant defiance against the Lord was put so plainly in our faces that we understood the urgent importance of international missions.

The different missionaries we met, whether at the BSC who teach with Liz or who were all working together at LifePoint church, all represent different church congregations, but are all from Christ’s church and all need our continued support and prayer.  It does not take much to encourage them; even a new pack of properly fitting underwear will make a little boy’s day whose parents are in the mission field.  We’d never seen a kid light up over new underwear before!

As exciting and adventurous as this vacation was for us, we left with not only a renewed insight into the life of missions but also into the importance of blessing our missionaries.

We’d like to extend a big thank you to Rahab Ministries and LifePoint church for their welcoming hospitality.  And a huge thank you goes out to Liz and Stephanie for planning this adventure, hosting us, and giving us one of the best adventures of our lives.

You all are in our prayers and thoughts, and may God continue to bless your daily sacrifices and continued devotion to His calling on your lives.  The church loves you, is supporting you in prayer, and has not forgotten you.

talent show.

Every other Friday evening we have a program at LifePoint called "Unite: BKK". It is a fun outreach event that is meant to facilitate relationship building between us and those in the community. This last Friday, we had a Talent Show... and (wow!) there are some talented folks in our mix. From singing, dancing, dub step, science experiments, cooking, magic and memory tricks to Steph and my "talent" (looking ridiculous on the fly!)... It was a memorable night :)

This month has been chock full of non-traditional blog posts, and today's is no exception. Here's our improv sketch titled: "Helping Hands: Making the Ultimate Sandwich". Enjoy!

Credits
Voice and body... Liz
Hands and arms... Steph

liminal space.

Liminal space is "a state of ambiguity or disorientation that occurs in the middle stage" between two seasons, or places in life. I think that this middle ground is the hard stuff of transitions... When you are no longer where you are, but not yet where you are going.

As I am wrapping things up here in America, my body can sense change coming... I'm trying to plan and prepare while also being "in the moment" and treasuring these last three days with the people I love. I still have bags to pack and people to see. Monday morning I'll depart with Steph for our long journey back to Bangkok. I think that's why I can't sleep... I don't want to miss anything.

A lot of people have asked where my heart is at, what I'm feeling and processing about returning to Thailand for 6 more months. Am I excited? Am I nervous? Am I sad? I think the emotion that I'm feeling needs a new label, because it's a conglomerate of a great many things.

God is doing incredible things at Spotswood and I have been singularly blessed to have been able to jump back into life here these past few weeks. It's so encouraging to see the new faces and changes that the last year has brought! For this brief window, I've been able to serve and observe... I love that. I have also been able to reconnect with friends and have face-to-face/heart-to-heart conversations that have watered my soul. And yet, as good as those things are, they also make me a little sad to leave because I know more acutely what I am missing.

At the same time, however, I am excited to go back to Thailand. I know that Bangkok is where God has called me for the next six months. I'm excited to help Steph adjust to life/ministry, picking back up with tutoring the girls at Rahab (and meeting some new faces!), serving alongside the dozen college interns coming for Mission Training School at LifePoint, meeting new "family members" at the Community House and teaching classes again! It'll be a busy start to the term, but an exciting one... and I'm looking forward to jumping in and picking up where I left off.

For all of you who have continued to lift me up in prayer, thank you. It has been a crazy-wonderful-whirlwind year... and it's not over! I still very much covet your prayers as I enter into this new chapter, which, though similar, will be a different season with different lessons. I still don't do transitions as smoothly as I wish I did, so please keep me in your prayers as life wraps up here and as God prepares my heart to return to the work He has prepared for me in Thailand. I'm thankful that God is the God of every season... even the weird in-between liminal ones! :)

At risk of being a little sentimental, here are a couple pictures/moments from my time in the US of A.

[My first trip to Chipotle with some of the UMW gals]

[The only thing sweeter than time with grandma is time with grandma at Sweet Frog!]

[Visiting some dear family friends]

[Spending some quality time with one of my college roomies!]

[Hiking Old Rag] 

[Highlight: Every time I got to hang out with this girl.]

[Uhm. I have the cutest niece ever. The end.]

[Catching up with the newest Mrs. Keaton!]