Thanking God for Ants...

Phil thanked God for ants tonight... 

I definitely didn't see that one coming.  

I wasn't feeling very thankful for them myself.  They entered our house by the thousands when it rained the other day, and then decided to make themselves at home.  Before I am able to shower each morning I have to wash hundreds of them down the drain!  They are constantly on our kitchen table and on our bed.  Whenever you sit on the couch you find at least 3 or 4 crawling on you.  Not my idea of a praise report.

The shock effect of Phil's prayer got me thinking though.  It's very easy for me to pick out the nice things in life and thank the Lord for those.  And if I think positively enough then it makes all the other, not-so-nice, things more bearable.

But maybe that's not the right attitude.  

Perhaps the Lord is trying to teach me to be truly thankful for those things that are hard, uncomfortable, and inconvenient.  This concept doesn't make sense from a human perspective, but Paul understood it,

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  ...That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  2 Corinthians 12:9-10

 When I go through difficult situations, it reminds me of my own human frailty and causes me to rely on the Lord more fully.  In light of this new perspective...

here is my list of praise reports from the field:

I'm thankful for... 

• Toilets that have to be flushed with a bucket of water
• Cold showers
• Diarrhea 
• The latch that falls off our door every time we open it
• Language barriers
• The curtains in our home (they're really ugly)

All of these things, although uncomfortable or inconvenient, remind me where my strength is from and in whom to place my hope.  

And, most of all, 

I'm thankful for a husband who thanks Jesus for the ants.  

Loi Krathong | "Festival of Lights"

It's amazing how beautiful the darkness can appear when light is added.  The moon illuminates the night sky with it's pale reflections of the sun's light.  Manmade fireworks are a brilliant display of colorful brightness.

Tonight we attended a Thai festival called Loi Krathong, which translates to "Festival of Lights".  Always celebrated on a full moon, this is a time for people to make offerings to the spirit of the river, asking forgiveness for polluting it's waters.  Small boats are made out of banana wood or bread and elaborately decorated with live flowers.  A candle and incense are lit on each one and they are sent, floating down the river, as a sacrifice.

Reflections of Light
How amazing that even amid the blackest darkness there can be a ray of light!  Pale reflections of the Truth finding their way in among the lies of this world.  The Thai people who participated in the festival tonight recognized a need for forgiveness in their lives.

God is gracious to love each of us while we are yet sinners (Romans 5:8).  Although we are thankful that the people tonight know that they have sinned, we are also sad that they seek forgiveness from one without power to forgive.  Christ alone has that power (Mark 2:6-12).

Perhaps this is a good starting point for ministry - finding some truths within their culture and introducing Christ from there.  Beginning with the light that is reflected into their lives and showing them the source of that light...  Jesus, the Light of the world (John 8:12).

Please Pray

• That the Lord would bless us with relationships in which we can be salt and light;
• For Thai Buddhists to come to recognize Jesus as the true Light of the world... 
• ... that they would find true forgiveness in Him!  

p.r.a.y.i.n.g...c.r.e.a.t.i.v.e.l.y.

Last Monday was a day of hard work, and we have nothing tangible to show for that work... for now. Oswald Chambers once said, “Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work." On Monday, that is exactly what we did, but it may not have looked as you might expect.

To be honest, when I saw that the entire day on Monday was set aside for prayer, I had to mentally prepare for a loooong day.  What a pleasant surprise it was to find out that no one had the intention of sitting around in a circle praying through a bullet-point list.  Not only did we spend hours praying together, but we were also creative, artistic, and laughed quite a bit!

Worship started and concluded the day.  Throughout the day four people shared reflections from Matthew 4, the temptation of Jesus.  Each of these reflections was followed by a unique time of prayer.  (See photos below)

There was time to visit each of the prayer stations and pray silently.  In another room there were tables set up with paper flames to write out prayers for whatever country or issue was on our hearts.  These flames were then displayed together to show the power of prayer.  

The white board made up the Thailand prayer station with photos, a map, and prayer points--
all things that symbolize the Thai culture and needs in society.
The Philippines prayer station is the table on the left.  

The Indonesia prayer station, again with photos and
items symbolizing the Indonesian culture.  

Prayer station for South Korea and Japan

The next prayer activity that I participated in was modeling our prayers with clay.  This could be depicted in abstract or concrete designs.  Below are some of the prayers that resulted from our group...

A prayer for those in Islamic nations to experience the presence of the Lord and be freed from Islam.

Person praying, connected by a chain of prayer to the Bible.
Depicting confidence in the Word of God, and the desire to be
more faithful in prayer.

Coin in open hands with dual meaning...
1. Everything we have we give back to the Lord
2. Our hands are open to our Father who meets all our needs and provides for us

A prayer to flourish in whatever place and situation
the Lord places us in.  

A prayer for the various denominations in a specific country
to be unified through the Holy Spirit, calling out with one
heart in prayer, growing and reaching out to those around
them, with roots growing deep into Christ.

M&M prayers - take a small pack of M&Ms and pull them out one at a time.
Each color corresponds with a bowl filled with prayer requests.  Take a
request to pray through and then either place the M&M on the paper or eat it!  :)  

As much fun as this day was, I believe that there are some important take-aways.  

Relationships in our day-to-day lives are often filled with fun.  We do all kinds of fun things with our kids, friends and family members, but we are not usually creative in our interactions with God, the Creator of fun.  These photos are very exciting to me... I truly believe that our relationships with Jesus could be richer if we spent fun and creative time with Him.

I love the verse in Exodus 35 when Moses is explaining how the LORD has filled and gifted Bezalel,

"Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel... and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts."  (Exodus 35:30-33)

This is a great illustration of how much our God values creativity.  I'd like to encourage you to go out on a limb and revamp your time with Him - especially if you're feeling spiritually dry. 

Being creative in time spent with the Lord takes work for me.  I have to really think of activities that would enrich me spiritually.  But I want to encourage you... "Longdoo!"  That's the Thai word for "try"... try being creative with the LORD sometime, and let Him surprise you by how He moves.

The Colors of Singapore

We've now been overseas for more than a week without updating you.  Yes, we're alive!  Here's a glimpse into our lives at the moment.  


**If you're going to skim, don't miss the "Humorous Highlights" throughout and the photos at the end**

Kate's Take: 

It's official: I love the tropics!  

Singapore is very hot, humid, and tropical (see photos below).  Little geckos run along the walls and small ants claim the floors.  There are beautiful botanical gardens across the street from where we are staying.  The plants seem bigger than life; we even came across some large lizards (3 feet in length) in the gardens!  

This sums it up well.

Being that this the rainy season here, we've had rain most days.  Usually not lasting more than a couple hours, the rain is often accompanied by thunder and lightening.  

Humorous Highlight: We were given a lesson in "Lightening Safety" in one of our courses because Singapore gets more lightening than almost anywhere else in the world.  

Back in Class

Our time here with OMF has been a time of transition, fellowship, and education.  Every morning begins with candidates and staff gathering together in worship and prayer for various fields, departments, and individuals.  Sharing testimonies is highly valued as well.  

We gave our testimonies Tuesday morning in front of candidates and staff. We are the only missionaries in the current Orientation Course that are headed to Thailand, so our testimonies were met with much enthusiasm.  Many staff members, who used to be missionaries in Thailand, came up to us with encouragement, stories of their time on the field, and helpful insights.   

Humorous Highlight: In one of our medical sessions we learned that we will be required to go through a "de-worming" process every six months while on the field.  No worries though, visitors are free of this obligation!  

Singapore... is that a city or a country?  

Singapore is a very modern city (city-state to be exact) and is fairly westernized in many ways.  English seems to be the most common language, which is nice for us as we explore.  There are lots of fun things to do and see.  

Humorous Highlight: We have gotten lost numerous times now simply trying to cross the road.  Some streets do not allow pedestrians to cross at street-level, forcing them into a maze of underground tunnels which lead to any number of places (i.e. shopping malls, subways, and other streets).    

Lessons in Culture

We have had many cross-cultural experiences that are fun enough to mention.  We are joined at OC (Orientation Course) by many from the UK and Australia.  Apparently, American English and UK English are considerably different.  There's been quite a bit of laughter as we discover each others' home cultures and get a taste of the culture here...

• Tea Time: Every day at 10:40 AM we have tea time (which I love).  We've been introduced to "Milo," a powdery substance much like hot cocoa mix.  Add some cream and sugar and it's a fantastic tea time drink (or "cuppa" if you're an Aussie).  
• Roti: There is a small Roti-Prata cafe' within walking distance of OMF HQ.  Roti is an Indian dish that can be served as a meal or a dessert.  It is one of Phil's favorite desserts from his time in Thailand.  We've been frequenting this cafe'.  
• China Town: We got the chance to explore China Town with some other "OMF-ers" as we are called (see photo below).  We all had a good time ordering at the food vendor carts.  Thankfully, someone pointed out to us the sanitation ratings on the front of each cart (we were only supposed to order from "A" and "B" rated carts).  
• Dessert was very interesting... multi-flavored, shaved ice on a bed of jelly cubes and red beans.  I'm still not sure what I think.  

Humorous Highlight: Those from the UK and Australia do not know what a baby stroller is; they refer to them as a "pram" or a "buggy."   

Also: pants are "trousers"; flip flops are "thongs"; and a woman's slip is a "petticoat" (which will made someone blush if you bring it up in conversation).  

Photos

Although the weather has been quite grey and rainy, we did manage to get out to snap a few photos for you.  

In-Culturating

We had dinner in China Town (which is close to Little India) during the Indian Deepavali festival.  

Phil thought this was funny because it said "No Tooting."
Turns out, it says, "No Touting," which is equivalent to "No Soliciting."
Sorry Phil. 

Botanical Garden

The Botanical Gardens across the street from us.  

Miles and miles of gorgeous flowers and various tropical plants.

We need to invest in a tropical plant identifier :)

There are many orchids in this part of the world, I think they are a favorite of mine.

Congrats if you made it all the way to the end of this blog post!  I know, it's a long one.  Hopefully you enjoyed a brief taste of Asia.  We love you all in Christ, and really appreciate your support!  

In Him,

Kate