Beautiful family

Three times last week I got to do street outreach with the same family.  They were great to hang out with.  The mother is kind, warm, and deeply loves her children.  Her oldest son is so small for his age, but learns so quick - just in the span of three short lessons we went from not adding digits in the right order to being able to consistently and correctly add large two-digit numbers with carrying.  The middle daughter is super cute and loves to color.  And the baby stumbles around making cute faces and throwing things.  They've been friends of WMF-Thailand for a long time now, but I only first got to meet them last week.

I can work on math with the boy and keep the baby occupied for stretches, do a little coloring, go down to 7-11 and get treats and water, and even ask a simple question here or there.  But it was a greater joy to see our Servant Team Coordinator, Amy, communicating and sharing in her friendship with the mother.  They were very happy to see each other last week and talked for a couple of hours while we played with the kids.  They are Christian but only know a little, and when the son expressed interest in a Thai picture book in our outreach bag Amy explained the crucifixion and the resurrection in Thai.  Then the mother was able to share a worship song in her language with us, complete with hand motions and clear joy.  It was good to be with them last week.

The family has needs that we have the capacity to meet, and we had ambitious plans to help them meet some of those needs in the coming week.  But this Monday we went to visit and could not find them.  Tuesday they were nowhere to be found again.  I am concerned for their well-being, and if we cannot get in touch with them by today then all our plans may go out the window.  Please pray for this family, that God may be sheltering them as we speak and that His will may be done in their lives.

Good people

The other night we were sitting on a pedestrian overpass with a family we know well.  I'll share more about these friends and others soon, but something else is on my mind right now.  As we were sitting with the family, talking to the mother and playing with the kids, three Asian (but not Thai) men walked by.  One could not help staring at us, and as the others passed he stopped and said, "Excuse me, what you are doing is a very good thing. Very good thing.  You are good people.  God bless you."  Then he turned and left.

This isn't the first time this has happened, though it is rare compared to other reactions.  Most people just stare in apparent confusion as they continue walking.  A few (mostly motorcycle guys) laugh at us.  Many others ignore us completely.  Occasionally someone stops and gives food or money to the people we're with.  But to stop and say anything at all to us is quite rare.  When someone has stopped, it is always to tell us how nice it is that we're doing what we're doing.

They mean well.  But we are not "good" people.  We are sinners like everyone else, weak in many ways, and I personally struggle with my weaknesses and faults as much or more in my service here as anyone I know.  There is little difference between us and all those (whether they're here or in America) who walk right on by the homeless, the hungry, the orphan, the widow, and the stranger every day.  The only reason we're out there is that someone (be it a friend, author, preacher, or the Holy Spirit) helped us to realize that loving and befriending the poor is an absolutely central part of Christ's message (see Matthew 11:2-6, Matthew 25:31-46, Luke 10:25-37, Luke 14:7-24, Luke 16:19-31, Hebrews 13:1-3, James 1:27-2:26, 1 John 3:11-18), and we realized that we had no reason not to do it.  There are many, many people who follow Christ much more faithfully than I, but something about modern culture has hidden this particular part of Christ's message from the eyes and ears of many of those who otherwise give so much to God.

God is a friend of the poor, and calls us to befriend them as well.  I thank God that He has led me to this service.

Lighter glimpses of life in Thailand

Little moments that help define my life here so far:


Hearing "How long have you been here? You speak Thai so well!" after speaking 1 or 2 words in Thai

Getting teammates to pose behind huge monitor lizards

Watching Thai students (from a shy 12-year-old to rambunctious 14-year-olds to a very sweet mute woman in her 50s) jump up, clap their hands, or run in place at our command

Being desperately grateful to get a seat on the bus, or at least a standing spot close to a fan

Having our resident two and three-year-olds switch from "Rose" to "Rosey" after hearing me say it so much

Getting our portraits done on a whiteboard by a young friend who sells roses on the street

Running a 61-story high "vertical marathon" together as a bonding experience

Knowing why "I have lots of fans", "Go home, it's better", and "PEPSEEEEE" are all funny

Bumping my head on everything

Playing Bingo in Thai to practice our number comprehension skills

Having that one 25-minute period where our most consistent and most difficult student does all his math with me perfectly, praying that it could be a small step towards stability in everything else in his far-too-turbulent life

Some words on hospitality

There He was, homeless. Would a church take Him in today -- feed Him, clothe Him, offer Him a bed?  I hope I ask myself that question on the last day of my life.  I once prayed and prayed to God that He never, ever let me forget to ask that question.  -  Dorothy Day, reflecting on Matthew 25

be meek, sympathize with the suffering, bear the weak; and on this occasion of the concourse of so many strangers, and needy, and suffering people, let your hospitality and your good works abound. - Augustine

Therefore, whatever man you meet who needs your aid, you have no reason to refuse to help him.  Say, "He is a stranger"; but the Lord has given him a mark that ought to be familiar to you, by virtue of the fact that he forbids you to despise your own flesh (Isa. 58:7).  Say, "He is contemptible and worthless"; but the Lord shows him to be one to whom he has deigned to give the beauty of his image.  Say that you owe nothing for any service of his; but God, as it were, has put him in his own place in order that you may recognize towards him the many and great benefits with which God has bound you to himself.  Say that he does not deserve even your least effort for his sake; but the image of God, which recommends him to you, is worthy of your giving yourself and all your possessions. - John Calvin

How is it something that has been so important in Scripture, in the early church, and among foundational figures of the Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant churches is so rarely spoken about or put into practice today? How often do we welcome strangers into our homes, invite them to our parties, give them food and rest in our churches, visit them (strangers, remember) when they are sick or in prison? Why isn't this a constant practice in our lives, rather than a maybe-once-in-a-season-if-we-have-the-time practice? And what will have to change for this to become real in our lives?


Those quotes and those that follow come from Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition, by Christine Pohl. I highly recommend it to everyone, because I think that it is a practice that we are all called to, and if we listen to Pohl's challenge and act upon it I do not think we could help but be drawn closer to God.

When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all of the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.  And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.  Then the King will say to those on His right hand, "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me....Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." - Matthew 25:31-36, 40

God Himself is in our home, is being fed at our house, is lying down and resting - Martin Luther

[Some ask] "what does it avail to feed or clothe men's bodies, if they are just dropping into everlasting fire."...whether they will finally be lost or saved, you are expressly commanded to feed the hungry, and clothe the naked.  If you can, and do not, whatever becomes of them, you shall go away into everlasting fire. - John Wesley

Then He also said to him who invited Him.  "When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.  But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.  And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just." - Luke 14:12-14

I know that many wealthy and devout persons by reason of their weak stomachs carry on this work of mercy by the agency of others, and show mercy with the purse, not with the hand.  I do not blame nor do I by any means construe their lack of fortitude as lack of faith.  But while I excuse their weakness, I extol to the skies the ardent zeal that perfect courage possesses. - Jerome

The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. - Leviticus 19:34

The stranger requires much attendance, much encouragement, and with all this it is difficult for him not to feel abashed; for so delicate is his position that whilst he receives the favor, he is ashamed.  That shame we ought to remove by the most attentive service, and to show by words and actions, that we do not think we are conferring a favor, but receiving one, that we are obliging less than we are obliged. - John Chrysostom

Why do we not observe that it is their benevolence to strangers, their care for the graves of the dead and the pretended holiness of their lives that have done most to increase [Christianity]?.... For it is disgraceful that, when no Jew ever has to beg, and the impious Galileans [Christians] support not only their own poor but ours as well, all men see that our people lack aid from us.  Teach those of the Hellenic faith to contribute to public service of this sort. - Emperor Julian

Mistakes there were, there are, there will be....The biggest mistake, sometimes, is to play things very safe in this life and end up being moral failures. - Dorothy Day on Catholic Worker hospitality

Yet another reason to pray

Another setback today, completely unrelated to the previous one. Not too much to do other than pray, practice patience, and try another route.