As I was thinking about what to blog, I didn't want to just go over what I've been doing the past three months because there is just too much to write about, so I'll just stick with reflections over each of the past three months. If you really want to know what I've been doing, you can always check out my newsletters which is linked on the left side of the page. So here we go...
September
Had the opportunity to work at Grace International School as a volunteer, but I had teaching responsibilities as I taught ESL on an individual basis with kids. To say that I wasn't overwhelmed in the beginning would be an understatement. As the month passed by though, it became easier and I felt more comfortable teaching. I really enjoyed working with both elementary students and secondary students. Most of all, I loved the environment at GIS. All the teachers and administrative staff were a pleasure and it was truly blessing to be able to work with Christians from different denominations, and backgrounds. I mean I worked with a Canadian-Filipino Christian who was charismatic, a conservative Texan Christian, Thai Christians, New Zealander Christians, an Englishman Christian (not British, got to make that differentiation because British can also mean Welshman, or at least that's what the Englishman told me...lol) and so on. The great thing about it all is, regardless of where we come from, they all were focused on two thing, offering an education for missionary kids while being Gospel driven, and helping these kids take ownership of their faith. People working together for Jesus, that's an awesome sight to behold, and here it was refreshing to see people being united in Christ, even if people were different in some ways.
Aside from school, in the month of September I got to go out to Payap Christian Zone Church for their cell group, and I got some much needed fellowship. Praise the Lord! It's a Thai church, planted by American missionaries, so most of the congregation speaks both Thai and English. I ended up going to their cell group because a lot of the staff I work with at GIS go to that church. What's been great about hanging out at this church is that it is thriving. God is using this church to spread the Gospel to the college kids in the area, and people are coming to know Christ. When I see a church like this, it gives me hope that even in a nation where less than 1% is Christian, God is working here using Thai people to reach their own. Even better the Jasper Kids Foundation was able to partner with Payap to run an English Camp, so we had a local church helping plant seeds of the Gospel in Wiang Pa Pao, again collaboration for the Kingdom work! In the month of September, God has been showing me the importance of collaboration with fellow Christians. We're in a spiritual war, and we can't be going off fighting alone.
Pictures from English Camp & no pictures from GIS because I wanted to be sensitive to the missionaries who do work in hostile areas and who's kids go to GIS, if you catch my drift.
Some Grace teachers and Payap church members
Playing some Family Feud
High School kids
Elementary kids
On a more personal note September has been a good month. I started listening to Pastor Soosang's (pastor of my home church SJNH) messages again after a summer hiatus, and it has been good. I felt like I was being spiritually fed, after a long time of not feeling like so. Nothing wrong with attending Thai worship service, but I could only go so long hearing a message in Thai and not understanding and leaving it at that. Anyways, I've been listening to these sermons and God has been using them to break me down! To elaborate, I've never felt or realized the deep sense of urgency of the Gospel to be spread until September. One thing I always struggled with throughout my walk with God was I had a hard time loving the lost. Whether it was volunteering at a family shelter in San Jose, or going on missions in Uganda, Africa, my heart was hard. Not that I didn't care for the plight of peoples, but I guess it didn't reach the deep recesses of my soul the extreme need for the Gospel for broken people. I definitely had the head knowledge as to why the Gospel was needed, but it didn't sink down completely to my core.
Then on one Sunday afternoon in September at the Jasper Kids Home, God showed me his heart. I had an opportunity to give a message to the Jasper Kids, and to make a long story short, I preached on the history of missions beginning in the book of Acts, and at the end I challenged the kids if they were going to be a part of God's kingdom work. As I closed in prayer, I mentioned how we were fortunate to be saved by Christ's blood, but there were plenty of others in Thailand who did not and were broken. At the utterances of those words, something clicked, something resonated, and before a crowd of kids, I wept (bear in mind, I don't cry during prayers and I hate bringing attention to myself this way, so this was a huge surprise) because of the mere fact that there are people who are broken out there and not saved. At that moment I understood the urgency of the Gospel, people are living broken lives, they turn to this and that for answers, but only the Gospel can give hope and salvation. Since then, I've been looking at my surroundings in a different light. We live for this Gospel and it needs to be shared, and it rings true for me more than ever. God has been good in the month of September!
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