Stirring up my faith.

Last month I had the opportunity to go to a seminar here in Chiang Rai hosted by a Christian agriculture foundation that invited Luka and his staff to attend. The conference was about "Following Jesus," and was led by an American man who was formally a pastor in America as well as a missionary in Burma. There were about 20 people in attendance who were Thai, Filipino, American, Lahu (another hill tribe people group), and Akha. The seminar focused on teaching us seven basic characteristics of who Jesus is, scripture memorization, how to share our testimonies, and how to replicate this seminar to others around us. Honestly, when I was preparing to tgo I was feeling rather cynical about it, and was surprised at how much I got out of it and was challenged. It was such a refreshing and rich reminder of the reasons as to why I have chosen to serve Jesus, and the life that comes from reading the bible. Normally the word "evangelism" makes me cringe with all the ideas I associate with it. My first thoughts take me to someone forcing Jesus into a conversation that feels unnatural, or the man I remember in Seattle who would hand out tracks on a street corner in Capital Hill wearing headphones listening to a game and a shirt saying, "Turn or Burn"...all of which make my stomach turn. 

After this conference I was reminded of how simple the gospel is...and reminded that it is not our goal to lead someone to Jesus, but to instead bring them closer on the spectrum to knowing Him. The speaker shared that the average person needs to hear the gospel or about Jesus on average 8 times before they are ready to follow Him. Though it could be 4 times, or 44. But our role is to share Jesus with them in our daily lives...to love Jesus with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength and from that same love we are to love our neighbors. Simpler said than done...but there was something about the simplicity that drew me closer to Jesus this week.

The distance factor...

I'm writing this morning feeling grateful for the visitors we have had lately. The hardest part of living here in Thailand is missing close friends and family.  I am so thankful for the friendships we have here with Libby, Luka and Ghan, Ae and Joe, Gi and Blah, and my Thai teacher Jan and her husband Barry. We really have so much to be thankful for. 

Recently we had two visitors Molly and Eric who were here for one week sharing their gift of photography with the foundation here and insight on working with non-profits. It was really refreshing to have them here, to learn more about them and their personal dreams for the future and we were sad to see them leave. Then last week we had Chad and Becky Dale (from Seattle) here for the week and had so much fun connecting with them. Two people who are incredibly gifted in the world or business and marketing who are also searching for a way to use their gifts in ways that feel more meaningful on a day to day basis. 

One thing that we have to get used to living here is connecting with people as they come through and then realizing that if those relationships are going to be maintained, they will need to be done so through long-distance communication. And something about that sucks. And something else about it helps me to realize that it was a gift to have them here at all-- to be able to meet and interact with people that inspire me and cause my perspective of the world shift. 

All this to say, I have much to be grateful for and many relationships that I still hold very dear--even from afar.

Kid's Day

Yesterday we celebrated "Wan Dek" otherwise known as "Kid's Day" here in Thailand. This involved us loading up all of the staff from the Akha Youth Development Center and about 95 kids into a bus and three trucks and driving into town. First we went to the Army base where we consumed lots of coconut ice cream and fried rice, and the kids were able to participate in games. After that we loaded up and went to the Chiang Rai International Airport where we stared at a plane for a while then continued eating more food. Following the airport we stopped by Big C (the Wal-Mart of Thailand) to seek out one more uncomfortably crowded place and then finally headed home. It was a fun day spending time with the kids and watching them have fun, but I was ready for a little space at the end of a crowded, slightly claustrophobic day, with 5 kids fighting to hold my hand and pull me in different directions! The other tricky part was keeping track of all the kids. One little guy in my group thought it was so much fun to run off and hide from me behind clothing racks! Days like this frighten me to ever enter into motherhood! The evening ended with me making popcorn in a giant pot for all the kids and us watching a movie together. Exhausting, but special day.

Hello out there?

Just wondering who is reading this blog out there? If you are could you please comment and let me know? Also, am I writing a bit too broad and general rather than stories of life here? Just wondering....