First Update Video from the Field!

Encountering Push-back

"Keep Thailand Buddhist and leave your God in the good old USA :("

That is the comment that was posted not even 24 hours after uploading our update video onto Vimeo.  As we send out our first update video, we have also become increasingly aware of the resistance the Gospel will receive (and consequently, we will also receive).  

Satan knows that Jesus is pouring out His Spirit, and Satan will do all he can to hinder that work.  Please pray fervently for the Lord's work to prosper in this country.  

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So, we had fun filming some shots from our everyday life here... we thought we'd share with you our first video update from the field!

Bookhamer Update Video Feb 2013 from Phil & Kate Bookhamer on Vimeo.

The Testimony of a Lifetime

Some people just have incredible testimonies.  I always wished that mine was more exciting, but I guess there are blessings in having a boring testimony, too.  

Long bus trips apparently bring out the best in us...

Worship at Singburi Market Church

 Phil and I started going to a small church in Singburi, a town that is 15 miles away from our town.  Although 15 miles doesn't seem like much by American standards, it still takes us an hour to get there by bus.  Even though the Market Church, as it is commonly called, is fairly small, it's got a lot of passion; even charisma!  

But this post isn't about the church itself, it's about the man who came to speak last Sunday.  He looks white on the outside, but he is perhaps just as Thai as the nationals.  He doesn't speak much English, so some of the "hows" and "whys" and "whens" are a bit foggy.  But here are the snapshots of his testimony that we know...

His mother passed away when he was young, and he was abandoned by his father into a Thai orphanage where he was raised.  

Some time later, he discovered a mass on his throat.  I'm not sure if it was cancerous or not, but we know it was serious.  This medical issue took him to a hospital where he was treated by a doctor who was also a missionary.  

This man has now lived a fruitful life as a missionary among the Thais, bringing the message of healing and salvation to the people he loves.  

Isn't it amazing that the Lord used a very serious health issue to bring this man to salvation?  And that the Lord is still redeeming what must be one of the most painful experiences of this man's life, being abandoned by his own father.  Had he not been raised in Thailand, he would not have such insight into the culture, nor would he have the linguistic fluency of a native Thai speaker.  

Praise the Lord that He is a God of healing and transformation.  Please pray for this man to continue being a living testimony of the Lord's redemptive work.  

A Time of Suffering

       We enjoy sending photos and stories about the good times, but this post has taken me a long time to write.  I have tried to write again and again.  It seems so discouraging sometimes that I have had to ask Kate to do most of the writing.  To be honest, if it were not for the Lord and Kate, I think I would have left Thailand a few weeks ago.
       I anticipated that suffering would come as we moved to Thailand, but I imagined it in different ways.  I thought it would be mainly physical.  The reality has been physical, spiritual, emotional, and psychological attacks.  These have pushed me to the point of saying, "Lets go home.  It's not worth it.  It is not worth loosing sanity, friends, health, our lives, or our marriage."  Times like these are when we are really tried and we have to reach the conclusion that the gospel of Christ is worth it all.  When we give our all, he alone will sustain us.  He will keep our sanity, lives, marriages, friends, health and everything else in the palm of his hand.

       Through all this I will say that I rejoice that this past month has been rough because it has truly strengthened my walk in Jesus, my love for God, and my love for Kate.  When Scripture says that suffering produces perseverance, character, and hope (Romans 5:3), it is deeper truth than we can realize.  Although spiritual attacks have come, Jesus has been using them as a refining process in my life.  In part, I wish it would have come in a different way, but I am thankful because it has caused me to really cling to Christ.  I have learned, more than ever, that we have victory in Christ Jesus alone.  Jesus has given us the victory in him over sin, death, and everything else that tries to pull us away from him.
       I have gained new insights into his word and what it is to be free in Jesus.  The Lord has shown me grace and mercy, and his word has been more active and alive in my life than I can ever recall.  I rejoice and praise the Lord that he allows us to suffer for a short time that we may see his glory and know that he is truly the way, the truth, and the life.
       God is good.  Seeing Christ through Kate has given me a better understanding of the grace and mercy of our Lord.  So, to end this somber post, times are tough and it is tough to rejoice, but we will because God is faithful always.  We will fight with all we have for our lives and the lives of others, for the gospel and salvation that is in Jesus Christ.  He is worth it all.  Persevere in the faith.

Slaves to Christ,
Phil and Kate

The Missionary Survival Kit

"How do missionaries survive life on the field?"

Just in case this question has been plaguing you lately, we thought it would be useful to give you a picture just a few of our field survival strategy.  

"Reliable" Transportation (a.k.a. Bikes)

Pest Control: Ant Chalk

Pest Control: Bug Zapper

Ants... to keep us thankful

A vicious guard dog... 

Protection (a.k.a. Slingshot)

Lots of naps!

Repair Kit: Glue, paint, twine...

Creativity (a.k.a. Pinterest)

A Few Additional Items: 

A WORN OUT BIBLE

• "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." -2 Corinthians 4:17

LOTS OF PRAYER

GOOD SENSE OF HUMOR

AND GOOD MOTTOS

• "Tie some twine around it... that makes anything look better..." -Kate
• "May pen rai" -Thai for "No worries"

Today We Grieve | Counting the Cost

Today we grieve with some of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Two families have lost loved ones on the Thai mission field this week.  Two car accidents, three lives claimed.  We do not personally know these families, but our hearts are close as we have been called to minister to the same nation.  

One family lost two children in a car accident.  The other family was hosting the wife's parents, and a separate car accident claimed the life of the wife's mother.  

We cannot begin to comprehend the depth of their grief, but we are in awe of their strength.  This is a link to the most recent prayer letter of the family who lost two children... it is powerful to read.  


Please lift these families up in prayer in order that we may bear some of the burden of their grief (Galatians 6:2).  


I am not as strong as they are.  After two days in a row of hearing stories of missionaries who have lost loved ones, I asked Phil if this was worth it.  I find myself counting the cost and, sometimes, not sure if I am willing to give it all.  It can be so easy to say, "Yes, Lord!  I surrender all to you!  Take my life!"  But when life gets tough, when you watch people giving everything, and it hurts, sometimes you question.  

As Phil and I were praying for these families today, the Lord gave me a new perspective on sacrifice in my earthly life.  The Lord showed me again why the Gospel is worth my all.  

The message of salvation in Christ is worth everything I have to offer and more, because an earthly life in exchange for an eternal life is like ashes for a crown of beauty (Isaiah 61:3).  It is an unfair trade is the most glorious way.  I have been given life and salvation freely, and I choose to give my life back to the Lord to be used in whatever way brings the most glory to His name.  Amen.  

In Psalm 39, David says, 

“Show me, Lord, my life’s end

    and the number of my days;
    let me know how fleeting my life is.  You have made my days a mere handbreadth;    the span of my years is as nothing before you.Everyone is but a breath,    even those who seem secure."

Death seems to put life into perspective.  Let's live with the realization of how fragile life is, and let that knowledge change how we spend the precious days we are given.  

 

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!