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]

cambodia.

Cambodia. A region once covered by guerrilla warfare and landmines. A country still scarred from communism, corruption and mass genocide.

Poipet. The “armpit” of Southeast Asia. Poverty. Street dogs. Trash. One paved road down the whole town. Villages isolated by the perpetual flooding of their dirt roads. Children hocking postcards and talismans in wicker baskets. Men and women pulling carts piled with produce. Red mud spattering on the backs of calves and backpacks, cars, and bikes.

Here, in this town of faded clothes, floppy hats and second-hand wares, there resides a boulevard of casinos. Not casinos like in the movies, with plastered smiles and daring betters and women in stilettos sipping martinis. These are drab places, filled with room upon room of slot machines and tables occupied by empty-eyed people, glazed and numbed. Sitting, staring, heartlessly pushing chips back and forth. The house always wins. There are no sofas for lounging. No comfort, no place to sit but in front of the screens, the tables, the dealers. Piles of chips collect at tables. Each chip a token gambling away

    broken relationships, fights, feelings of inadequacy,
insecurity, fear, unmet expectations,
    pain, past wrongs, bitterness, unforgiveness, conflict,
poverty, suffering, abuse,
    lost jobs and lost investments, lost and broken people. 

They come to escape. For relief. For hope that maybe, just maybe, if they can attain enough money, they can finally gain peace. It is all empty; it is all meaningless.

And yet.

In the midst of the poverty, corruption, dust and destruction of this town, there is hope. There is light. 11 churches planted in 10 years. 700 children who attended an annual Christian camp. Sports ministries cropping up to help bring options and opportunities to those trapped in the cycle. Free clinics started up by the church. Training. Discipleship. Couples who love the Lord and are committed to meeting physical needs as well as spiritual needs. There is work being done. And the Lord has blessed that work with fruit. There is darkness, but there is also hope.

While we were in Cambodia we were singularly blessed to be able to meet some of these families. Families who have set aside comfort, safety and fear of rodents to engage the lost in this region. Some of them survived the killing fields only to meet the Lord and return to the place where over 30 members of their family were slaughtered. That is the power of the Gospel. [click here to read one of these men's, Soeuth’s, testimony]

I wish that I had a camera running during my stay with them, because I know you all would be blown away by the story God has woven through their lives and experiences. While I can't share everything, I do want to share one of the things Syna, Soeuth’s wife, said.

[Paraphrased from Syna:] The corruption you see here is from the top down. Almost every night you can see police in their 60’s showing up at karaoke bars, in uniform, with young girls of 14 on their arms. There is no shame. No conscience. You cannot fix the system. The people are corrupt and the system is broken. But, that isn’t an excuse to ignore the one person you can help. You can still invest and love one person. And that person can invest and love someone else. And it can’t be fixed from the top down, so we start from the bottom and are faithful. 

Praise God for people who are willing to serve both at the top, when it is possible, but also at the bottom, when it’s not. Wherever you are, whatever influence you have or don’t have… start serving there.

[For more details on the specific things we did during our day with these missionaries, see Steph's blog. She did a great job summarizing and photo-documenting our day and some of the ministries we were able to see!]

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.

the last four weeks.

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]. 

[photo credit: Erica Pope]

care package?

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!

Thailand Missionary Wish List:

New additions are italicized.

Please send it! (high priority):
- popcorn: individual sized
- honey nut cheerios
- beef jerky
- boy's underwear (boy's large/pant size 10-12)
- cinnamon chips (like chocolate chips, but cinnamon!)
- 5-8 clif shot blocks: orange
- peppermint extract
- lemon extract
- fruity pebbles cereal
- ground coffee
- pumpkin pie spice
- children's books (picture books for the KT Camp)
- 4 fungi-nail pens (25% undecyclenic acid)
- Aunt Jemima pancake syrup
- 100% real maple syrup

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!