Father's Day

In Thailand, December 5 is King Bhumibol Adulyadej 's birthday. The king is celebrating his 88th birthday. He has reigned since 1946. It is also considered Father's Day. All over the nation people are honoring their king; most whom have only known him as the king. He is highly revered and loved. He is truly adored as a father who has proven to care for his people; dedicating much time and energy for the improvement of the country and his people.

Quite coincidently today I remember the day of my father's passing. It was 10 years ago the Lord decided it was time to bring my father home to be with him. Though it has been so long, the feeling and longing is still strong. There is still heartache and times where I can't breath from missing him so.

He never saw his grandchildren. Something that I knew he waited for so long. There are moments when the kids do something special or funny I catch myself wishing he could be here to see it.
When I was little, my father always took time for me. He would take me to the park or play games with me. Even in his busy schedule, he would make sure to be present for all major events like school concerts or church pageants. He loved to get down and dirty with me to dig up for bugs or run out and help me ride my bike. I know he would have done the same with our boys.
I love my mother very  much but I am a proud daddy's girl. In my father's eyes I could do not wrong. Sometimes, when people ask whether I wished our family had a daughter, I jokingly answer that I was so spoiled by my father that I can't imagine having to share the title of the only princess of the house.
I have heard many times that people say their perspective of God the father is reflective of how they perceive their own father; some as a hard and unforgiving or some as weak and soft.  I can agree with that at some level. Even though my father wasn't perfect, and there were times we really conflicted, overall I adored my father. I always strived to please him and knew he loved me so much. Before my husband, he was the man I would run to if I was in trouble. As a little girl, if I got hurt, I would run into his arms. I can still remember his embrace and smell.
And that is how much I adore God. I wasn't perfect. I made many mistakes, but God was always on my side and I knew He loved me. If there was any trouble, I could run into our father God's arms.
This is also what drives me to share about God's love in Thailand. Sadly there are many who have never experienced this unconditional love; Lives empty or shattered. My heart burns to show them the father's love. To tell them that even when all seem lost there is hope and a love so beautiful and healing. Accepting you and inviting you.
So today, I remember my father and I hope I am making him proud. I am also asking Father God to continue to burden my heart for the Thais and all people to know of His great love for us.
Would you kindly say a prayer for Thailand and for our family to continue to be faithful to God's calling to us? Thank you dear friends.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

One after another. We have shared at several missions conferences, churches, small groups, and with many individuals by now. It is easy to lose sight that it is about connecting God’s people with God’s heart for missions, and not just another event to attend. It is easy to wonder whether the message is getting through and whether there will be lasting impact.

However, I (Dave) was reminded of God’s goodness and faithfulness in the midst of our perseverance through a recent Facebook message I received. Over ten years ago when I was still a single man, working as a civil engineer, God had given me the privilege to meet up and disciple a group of students at the University of Maryland.  Week after week for about four years, I would commute to campus right after getting off work, and lead a bible study with the group of guys in their dorm room. After they graduated, we parted ways and I didn’t feel like much really resulted from my efforts. Unfortunately, I did not keep in touch with many of them either, except through being friends on Facebook.

About three weeks ago, I received a Facebook message from one of the young men in that group. All he wrote was, “Thanks for making those long commutes out to College Park, Dave!” And right under the message was a link to a testimony he wrote for a Christian website. You have to understand that he was the only non-Christian in the group at that time. In fact, he shared in his testimony that he was furious when confronted with the existence of hell and the exclusivity of Jesus as Savior and Lord in one of our bible studies. He even exclaimed that he would rather be in hell than believe in our kind of God. But along his spiritual journey, he came to believe in Jesus Christ by God’s grace through the Alpha Course, and is now a fourth year graduate student at Westminster Theological Seminary.

So what is the point of sharing this story? Ministry is not always easy. Sharing God’s heart for missions is not always effortless. Many times we may not see any immediate fruit. Yet, the bible says, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58). We thank you for partnering with us in this “work of the Lord” through your prayers.

Gazing heavenward ~ Dave, Lila, Caleb, Caden & Corban



 

NST Full Gospel - Building Dedication

Our family had the privilege to be invited to a  new church building dedication in the city of Nakhon Si Thammarat. Full Gospel church of NST also had the distinction of celebrating 46 years of being a church. It was a wonderful sight to see churches and church leaders from all over the area come and celebrate this occasion. There is a very small population on believers in Thailand and even smaller numbers represented in the South, so  it can easily get discouraging to see how small the groups are compared to the whole population. That is why  Christians in South Thailand will always take the opportunity to join other believers so they can be mutually encouraged. We took members of our church to join in the celebration. What blessed me was that you had all churches, no matter the denomination or distance come and join in praise and worship. Bethlehem church is another church in the city that has been there for over 100 years. When their senior pastor spoke during the service, he praised God for Full Gospel sharing in the work of spending the gospel to the Thais. What a wonderful sample of heaven, when we can all come together and praise our God.

The full of the church.

Dedication

                                                               

Some of the members of our church with the Italian Catholic Priest that has been serving in Thailand for over 30 years.

Good Friday and Sunrise Easter Service

A favorite tradition Pak Phanang Church has is meeting for Good Friday as well as  having Sunrise Easter Service at the beach.

This year, the church members met at one of the leader's house to observe Good Friday as well as spend some time of fellowship. The time was filled with songs, share scripture and eating together.

 

 



 

Though the beach is only about 5 minutes from our home, it is quite a production to awake our family as well as go and pick up other church members. But it is so worth it when we finally get there.

We come when it is still dark and later are greeted with a beautiful sunrise.



Again, we gather to sing songs and share scripture.  It's a beautiful sight to be worshiping Jesus's resurrection with our small church on the beach. I will definitely miss this next year when we are back in the States.

How long are you staying?

When my family first moved into our house, we would be asked this question frequently. It perplexed us a bit wondering why they would ask such a question. Back in the U.S., where we were originally from, if you were to move into a new neighborhood it would be considered quite odd for someone to ask you that.
We then realized it was a question asked because they will determine, based on how long you plan to stay, whether it is worth building a relationship with you or not. Relationships are quite important in Thai culture. If you have not grown up with them or lived around them for a long time, it is not automatic that you have their attention or trust.
So the next time we were asked this question, we would answer that our term has us in the area for three years but our hope is that we will be here for our whole life. You would be amazed what doors opened up when they heard this and was delighted to see we were here for the long term.
And now, as we finish our first term, the question we are being asked by our neighbors are "How much longer before you leave?... When will you be back? Are you going to live here when you do?" These questions both saddens me as well as gives me joy because I know they are asking not because they are wondering whether it's still worth keeping a relationship with me and my family but they have become so close to us and opened their lives to us that now they are also sad to see us leave. And I am sad as well that it will be a while before we see them again but our neighbors have become like family and we will keep these ties for the long term.
I have come to realize that God wants us to share His name, yes, through sharing his words, but also by sharing his love through opening up our lives and making connections. Would you pray that we will continue to make the best use of our remaining time to share the good news with them and also continue our relationship afterwards for the long term?