2: 25 hours

25 hours from now we're going to be in a truck, headed to the airport, heading back to America. For those of you in the DC/Reagan area who would like to come to the airport for Steph and my arrival... here's our flight information:

That's 9:00pm EST on Saturday, December 14th. And! Since we'll be going through customs in LAX, we should be out of the gate fairly promptly.

< All are welcome to come! >

For those of you who can't make it to the airport, we'll both be at Spotswood on Sunday, December 15th. We'll be the ones bundled up looking very, very cold. I will be going to the 8:55am Service, 10:15 Encounter, and 11:30 YP. Steph will be going to 10:15 Encounter and 11:30 Service. Looking forward to seeing you all in just a few short days!

Also. Please pray for my packing. It's turned into quite a disaster, despite all my efforts to plan ahead and stay on top of it... Thanks! :)

6: jum

Matt took over leading small group this evening and it was a great evening discussing Jesus. After group finished, Aom and Jum stayed after to talk for a while. I joined them, and I have some news I want to share with you all (with Jum's permission).

Many of you have been praying for Jum as she reads through the Bible-- that it would be transformational in her life. Well, God has heard your prayers! Through reading the Word, being involved in small group, going to church (with some of the IMB folks who help at the BSC), conversations and relationships-- God has been revealing the Truth to Jum.

Tonight she shared with Aom and I that over Father's Day, she went to her hometown and talked to her parents about her desire to become a Christian! Her parents (praise God!) were both receptive. They said that whatever she decided was okay with them. This is a huge praise, because in Thai culture, changing your religion from Buddhism is sometimes seen as disrespectful to your parents (because they believe your parents accumulate more "good karma" for having good Buddhist children).

A couple from the IMB (Jill & Tim) has been very involved in investing spiritually in her for the past few years as well. She said she wants to talk to them this week and then "officially" become a Christian. (I say "officially" only because she is waiting to pray with them... and she considers that time to be when she will officially commit to be a Christian. But she has already expressed her intent and confessed that she believes that Jesus died, was buried and rose again.) And I just can't wait until it's "official" to share the good news and implore you to keep lifting her up in your prayers.

On Aug 18th I wrote, "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!" I can say with confidence that that woman was Jum. If getting to build that relationship and spiritually invest in her life was the only investment I made while here, it was worth it.

To see her journey from being a staunch, devout Buddhist to being softened by the Word has been incredible. John MacArthur said that, "The Bible is like a Lion. You don't have to defend it - just let it out of its cage. It can defend itself." I feel like when God is working on the hearts of His creation to draw them to Himself, the best argument for Him, is His Word! Jum has been tearing up the Word. Before tonight, she had texted me a couple times expressing that she can't put it down and every time she reads it she believes more and more about God. Praise God for the power of His message and Word. And Praise God for all your prayers! Don't stop!

[Our after-after small group this evening. Love these ladies!]

8: titus women

Today was a full day of baking cookies and cooking quiches for LifePoint's Unite:BKK Christmas Party this evening! As much as I love baking sugar cookies, what I love even more is getting quality time with Tiffany (and occasionally Steve). 

Claire, who was working on a seminary paper, recently brought up in our conversation the passage in Titus where it talks about older women teaching younger women. It reminded me how blessed I've been to have godly women want to invest in my life. The first person who intentionally "mentored" me (besides my mom) was Gina. She didn't meet with me and tell me "how to love my (future) husband and children, how to be self-controlled, pure, busy at home, kind, submissive..." (Titus 2:4-5). Rather, she invested in our relationship and lived transparently in front of me. As she modeled, I learned.

I learned about what it means to be a good wife, and what submission looks like in the good and difficult seasons. I learned to make choices not based on what is easiest, but on what requires more faith. I learned that sometimes, we just have to "do laundry as unto the Lord." I learned these things because, as Doug says, "Quantity time breeds quality time." Praise God for older, intentional, women who are willing to spend time with (and impact!) us young'uns for the sake of the Kingdom and for the glory of God!

[Tiffany prepping the tomatoes for Unite]

Gina always told me we should always try to have a "Paul, Barnabas & Timothy": someone investing in us, someone shoulder-to-shoulder in the trenches sharpening us, and someone we're investing in. I'm thankful that I've been able to have all three while here in Thailand. Tonight was an encouraging affirmation that God is growing fruit in the relationship investments I've made over the last year and a half. And, it was also a good reminder of how much so many people have invested into my life. Thank you.

[Christmas caroling] 

[Delicious sugar cookies... my mom's recipe!]

[L-R: JJ, Me, Aom, Isabella, photo-bomber: Matt]

[L-R: Me, Chao and Steph]

[L-R: Putt-Putt, Me, Pepe, Steph]

[L-R: Kabil, Mark, Me, Joshua]

[L-R: Nat, Me]

Also, for those who have been praying about my foot-situation, my results came back good! The doctor wasn't sure what's causing the pain in my foot (his theory is my running shoe?), but he said while my bone is irregular and therefore weaker than the others, I don't have a visible fracture and there's no tumor. So, that's good news! I'm going to try resuming some light running and see what happens... Thank you so much for all your prayers in that department :)

9: father's day ii

Thank you, Anonymous, for your comment on my post yesterday. (You rescued everyone from a series of disastrous haikus!) I need a little time to mull your question over... so, the answer is: coming soon.

Today was Father's Day in Thailand. For more information, you can read my post from last year [click here] for details on the traditions and history of the day. It's crazy that I'm getting to experience holidays twice! Below are a couple pictures from an evening excursion to the park with some church friends... which included com-roi (floating lanterns), candlelight singing, and fireworks!

[Rama IX Park]

[1 kg of baby oranges for less than a dolla'!]

[And! The orange peels made perfect wax-guards]

[photo credit: julia biasi]

[L-R: Me, Tseka, Julia, Steph // photo credit: julia biasi]

[Lighting candles and singing/humming the King's anthem // photo credit: julia biasi]

[Beautiful fireworks]

[When people were done with their candles they just stuck them to rocks, surfaces or in the dirt. Still burning. It was beautiful, albeit dangerous]

[Lighting the lanterns! // photo credit: julia biasi]

[photo credit: julia biasi]

[L-R: Me, Erica, Tseka, Steph // photo credit: julia biasi]

[White lights everywhere!]

[Our "Father's Day at the Park" group! // photo credit: julia biasi]

[For more photos from tonight, see Steph's post by clicking here]

And... a quick matter of prayer!

A few weeks ago, post-runs, I started experiencing acute pain in my left foot. I finally was able to go to the Orthopedic center today and have an X-ray and CT scan done on it. The doctor thinks it's either a stress fracture (which, is my opinion) or a benign bone tumor. I go in again tomorrow to find out the results from the CT scan. (Shout-out to my awesome parents who woke up when they got my text at the doctor's and helped give me good counsel!) I'm thankful that I am in a country where I can get good medical care-- but it was a hard/emotional morning. Making medical decisions alone is not easy, especially when every decision comes with a price tag attached to it. However, I am glad that I'll soon know what is wrong. Please pray my appointment in the morning goes well and that I can start taking steps (pun intended!) to help my foot mend.

Also, if you can pray specifically that God would steady my heart and help me to find balance in the midst of all the craziness of wrapping things up-- farewell events, unexpected medical appointments, teaching, ministry commitments etc-- I would greatly appreciate it. I want to finish well and as a real person (as opposed to some frantic sleep-deprived basket-case).

Thank you so much! :)

10: TEN

I would love for my readers to reply in the comment section of this blog post with questions/topics you would like answered/discussed in my Countdown posts. Because, some days, like yesterday and today, are pretty normal. Teaching. Dishes. Laundry. Etc. So, I'd love some new ideas to keep these daily posts exciting! But, in the meantime, I'm on my own for being creative. So here is an acrostic of neat things God has been doing/praises/things you can also pray about! (So really, there's no theme in this acrostic at all... I'm not even sure if you can have acrostic-paragraphs... acrostagraphs?)

The "New Thru 30" NT reading plan is almost finished! -- I'm currently in 1 John. Despite having a rather large daily reading load, and despite it taking me 3x as long as it should have, I've really been enjoying it. Reading deep has value (of course!), but reading scope (to see the Big Story) has also been really good. I think it has helped me keep perspective because I'm not bogged down for months in the same book.

Engaging in the Word -- One of the women in my small group has committed to reading through the Bible on her own. And she's doing it! Pray that the Holy Spirit does His work as she reads... that He softens her heart to the Truth and helps her to understand more about God.

Notes from students -- I love being able to hear back from students about their experiences in my classroom. But more than wanting them to like me (which, let's be honest, I want), I want them to leave having a better understanding about the God who made and loves them. I know I haven't done that perfectly (or even close!), but I pray God uses this last week to really help them to see that the difference in my life is Christ.

(People: please leave me something, anything in the comments-- so I don't have to resort to haikus tomorrow!)

14: blessed

Occasionally, I have fleeting moments of guilt when I have experiences ripped straight from the pages of National Geographic or the Lonely Planet Guide. Here I am, half-way around the world, a missionary (admit it, you just imagined a mud hut and bucket shower)... But in this journey, I have also been given singularly incredible opportunities to revel in God's magnificent creation.

Yesterday in my quiet time, I read the following verse from 1 Timothy 6:17b, "...Put [your] hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." I think that as long as God is in His proper place, as the giver and provider of the beauty in His creation, it's okay to enjoy it. In fact, he wants us to! Pastor Doug used to always pray that "God would enjoy watching us enjoy His creation." Well, enjoy it, we did!

Today I had the privilege of spending the whole day with three of the folks in my small group and one of their friends in the Lopburi province.

[L-R: Jum, Jo, Aey, Thep and I]

The day started off visiting an area famous for their beautiful sunflowers. We found out upon arrival that we were a week early... but some of the flowers had bloomed, so we took advantage of them in our photo op!

After that, we had lunch on a canal... actually on the canal. 

[The "bridge" to our floating lunch]

[Jum, Aey and her husband, Thep and I]

[Finished... and full!]

After that, we went to a dam, where I purchased some fresh sunflower seeds (if you come to Spotswood on Dec. 15th, maybe I'll share!). Then it was off to our unplanned dayscursion adventure at... Monkey Temple! I'm not sure why "give a monkey a piggy back ride" never made it on my bucket list... (what was I thinking!??) It's now there and checked off.

The highlight of my day was definitely the wonderful company I was with... but the monkeys were a close second! ;)

[The Guardian of Monkey Temple] 

[Jum and the baby monkeys. They were in search of new friends... or more food!]

[Jo and the monkeys]

[They were everywhere... on the streets outside, climbing poles, in apartment windows, crazy!]

[I was taking a picture of some of the monkeys when this one jumped on my leg!]

[Monkeys got the memo, free rides for all!]

Can I just reiterate how happy I am that God made monkeys? What a lovely lot of creatures. I am so thankful for the sweet friends God has given me here, who treated me to such an incredible day. I am so blessed.

Prayer Request: Our entire small group will be going to spend the afternoon together tomorrow (Sunday). Please pray that God would open up conversations about Himself, and that He would continue to bind us together as a group. I am hoping this trip will really help them to connect with Matt and Alli, as they'll be leading once I leave.

18: politics

The political situation in Thailand is not great at the moment, and we could really use your prayers! While I don't understand everything that is happening (or why), I have been trying to read a lot to gain a better understanding of it... and it's complicated. A pretty accurate article was posted yesterday which overviews the more recent developments, you can read it here.

[Tens of thousands of protesters gather at Democracy and Victory Monument -- source]

Some articles are a little fear-inducing with phrases like "deteriorating fast", "rising tensions", "increased security", "riot police", and "toppling the government". But, as I keep having to remind myself, God is in control of this, too. Being on the ground with all the political energy steaming from the streets, it'd be easy to work up into a frenzy. But despite the news, the hype and the sheer number of Thais wearing red, white and blue and sporting whistles... they are choosing to remain (with only a few small exceptions) non-violent in their protesting.

The good news is, you always know where they are by the noise! When I got off the BTS at Phaya Thai yesterday, they were marching past the BSC. I took the video below from the BTS platform. The BSC is behind the trees.

However, as of yesterday, the protesters have now begun occupying government buildings in an attempt to force the current prime minister step down, and to establish a new government. This has caused them to set up in all of Bangkok what they call ISA: Internal Security Act (think: martial law), to help contain the situation. It's currently in effect until December 31st.

There is no real threat to foreigners, especially if we avoid rally sites and marches (which, we are doing as much as possible). The plan is for these protest/rallies/occupations to be resolved before the King's birthday (Dec. 5th). As exciting as it is to be on the front lines of history, it would be best for the nation for this to be resolved as quickly and diplomatically as possible.

[Marches throughout the streets hold traffic at a stand-still.] 

[Some of the marchers and "whistle-blowers" -- source]

So, how can you pray?

- Pray for safety. Not only for the foreigners, but also for the Thais protesting, and the riot police and officials working in the occupied government buildings.
- Pray for a peaceful resolution and compromise.
- Pray that God would bring stability and justice to this country.
- Pray that the airport will remain open (in 2008 the protestors shut it down) so that we can fly home on December 14th!

27: racing along

Today feels like it's stretched forever... but that may be because it started bright and early at 2:00am this morning! That's right, this morning was my second Standard Chartered Half Marathon. It was, to the date, my one year mark from my first Half Marathon-- which I did in order to help the Kelley Family Adoption. That was actually the reason I started running. As many of you who've known me for a while know... I never ran in America. Unless it was in a pick up game of soccer or frisbee. But running for a reason, to help support this lovely family, was totally worth it! And, God has blessed and taught me so much through running. [Shameless plug: if you're ever looking to be a part of someone's adoption story, you should check out their blog.]

[before]

[over halfway!] 

[finished]

After the race, it was a quick trip home, a much needed shower and an hour nap before church. Tonight we had small group and finished up our 3-part discussion of Jonah. Almost every week God brings new people to our little group, and tonight was no exception! I love that people are comfortable inviting their friends. I was feeling pretty tired before group... but God gave me the energy I needed and made discussion go smoothly. Praise Him!

[L-R: Me, Aom, Jum, Alli and Dol]

After small group, us girls went for a picnic at Peace Park to see the Loi Krathong festivities (& we kidnapped Steph for the occasion). We had a delicious dinner, compliments of Jum, had fun with some sparklers and enjoyed community time. 

[I love picnics!]

[Jum & I -- photocredit: Steph]

[Love me some fire!]

Thank you for your daily prayers-- God is giving me favor in relationships and opportunities to share about Him. He is also giving me strength and stamina. He is showing me how accomplish my tasks without neglecting Him. And He is doing much more than those things as well! Thank you for not giving up praying in this homestretch. Not to bring it back to a racing metaphor... but... I want to sprint my way home to America. Exhausted, perhaps, but exhausted for the glory of God!