A.LIVE || Tom and Tuu

Tom & Tuu : May Newsletter 2011

2011-05-22T02:01:00.006+07:00

To our family and friends, we pray you are all keeping well. This newsletter was written in Australia, but just moments before I was set to send it our laptop died... never to wake again. Therefore, sending it had to wait until we arrived back to our desktop computer at home in Thailand. If you don't have time to read it maybe have a quick look at the VIDEOS.

Peace and blessings,
Tom, Tuu & Ataiah

A Little Faith and God's faithfulness!

Our 5 weeks in Australia were really special, full of many blessings. While there I spent some time reflecting on God's faithfulness, which to be honest I find absolutely impossible to comprehend. The 'big' things that God has done in our lives, we have had little part to play. In fact the miracles God has done in the past two years have been right when our faith was at its lowest. These were times when we had forgotten God's promises or were even close to giving up, that's when God came through! Surely God only rewards the faithful? Yet he has chosen the bless us!

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalms 107:1
"Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me." Psalm 103:2

We have been so blessed as of late, though our income decreased with Tom only doing 3 half days of paid teaching per week, we have seen God provide for us things we never thought we would have, and he has provided for all the extra costs that come with having a new addition to our family. We Praise God for his faithfulness to care for us, and thank you for being apart of that.

Currently Tom is taking on more responsibility with YWAM Korat, helping them with Communications, Worship Leading, and teaching English twice a week as a part of their university ministry. Apart from that we are discipling Tuu's aunt & sister, and studying the Bible at our house. Amongst all that we are still seeking God for his timing and plans in regard to further ministry with the young people in our village.

Lives in Korat and God lives in them!

Just before coming back to Perth, we took some time to record our family speaking on video. Both Tuu's sister (Boom) and Tuu's aunt (Naa Noiy) talk about how God has been their help in times of trouble, and they are trusting God to keep working in their lives and the obstacles that lay ahead.

Boom is preparing to go to DTS next month, but she has only 15% of the fees needed to be paid on the first day. This is very much her first big leap of faith, and we believe God is going to do something great!

We appreciate your prayers for both of them, and we believe you will be greatly encouraged and challenged by their simple and genuine faith shared in the videos. To watch just click on the links below, or alternatively we can send you a DVD (let us know by email if you're interested).

Miracles on Holiday because God is at work!

We came to Australia to catch up with family and friends, to relax a little, to share a little, but we never expected the miracle that God would do in our midst. Two years ago, we met a young lady named 'Angie' in Korat with a serious brain tumor. At that time I, Tom, felt I had heard clearly from God that there was something special about this girl, that God would one day reveal himself to her and use her life in an amazing way. Over a year we were able to spend time befriending her, sharing with her, and praying for her. We had also asked others to pray for her too. After that year she moved to Bangkok and we lost contact with her for a while. I would sometimes think about what God had told me that day and wondered if it would ever happen. I was unsure whether I had even heard from God at all. One of these times I felt this was while we were in Australia, and within just a few days Angie emailed us from the Gold Coast (not knowing we were in Perth at the time) asking if we could help her find a place to stay. She was flying over to Perth, but had no where to go. All the guesthouses & cheap hotels she had contacted were full. She was coming to Perth to visit an Aussie friend she had met in Thailand, but once she called him from the Gold Coast he avoided any contact with her. Full of despair she was considering just returning home... but you see, God had her in Australia for a reason!

The fact we were here and were able to give her a place to stay, was just one of the many miracles God did for her. Others included Angie getting an Australia visa in the first place (impossible unless you supply many supporting documents, which she didn't) and being allowed into the country without any contact details or solid plan for being here (they did keep her at immigration for 8 hours though). As we spent time chatting with Angie here in Perth, she told us about all the "coincidences" (which I call Godcidences) that she has had in recent years. Friends she had made in the US that had told her about God, friends in Thailand that had told her about God, even just as recent as the week before in the Gold Coast, an Indonesian lady at the guesthouse she stayed at told her about how she loves traveling because she has Christian brothers and sisters wherever she goes. God has been trying to get her attention for a long time ... one day she will write a book about it I'm sure! Through the week, God gave us many great conversations with her, sharing with her, and loving her.

Another miracle was the fact that when we asked her to come to YWAM worship meeting on Friday night, she said 'yes', even though she REALLY REALLY wanted to watch the Royal Wedding on TV. She came to YWAM and sang along with the worship songs, as she did God worked in her heart. Afterwards we introduced her to our Thai friends, and instantly God started to use 'Narong' to speak into her life and before I had finished my piece of cake she was praying a prayer of repentance and being apart of the real ROYAL wedding. How fitting it was that she was wearing her new all-white dress that she had just bought in Perth.

Please pray for her that she would find a great place to fellowship in Bangkok as she heads back to work. Please pray for her family who are extremely anti-Christian (long story...). Please pray for her continued health as the tumor she has can never be completely removed by surgery alone. We believe the miracles have only just begun in Angie's life. Praise God He works even when we're on holiday. Praise God He remembers his promises even when we forget them. Praise God this special girl has an extra-special God.

Our Little Boy and God's perfect timing!

Ataiah 'TaiTai' Beckingham arrived into this world on the 17th of November, 2011. Two weeks late by the doctors calculations, the doctor was getting concerned that Tuu would need to have a C-section. We prepared ourselves for the fact that the natural birth we were hoping for may not happen. Getting close to the doctors deadline, we wrestled with our faith and were getting close to giving in to doubt, but God did exactly what we prayed for... in His perfect timing.

God had in fact been speaking to us about his timing for some time. Soon after we found out Tuu was pregnant God gave the Hebrew name "Ataiah/Athaiah" to us, which in fact means "God helps" or "God's timing". Every moment from Ataiah's conception until his birth God was in it, God had helped, and He had helped in his perfect timing. We now see the amazing perfection in God's timing every day of our lives... and because of Ataiah we will never forget it. His nickname also holds special meaning, because 'Tai' means 'free'. TaiTai is going to have a special role to play in leading God's freedom to those that aren't yet truly free.

Are you a beggar?

2009-11-27T02:16:00.003+07:00

Its quite a sad situation in Thailand (and other countries) that there are many beggars who were forcefully crippled or disabled by their owner, sometimes even their parents! Its an extremely horrible thing. They have to beg, but whats worse they don't even get to keep what they get. It all goes to their master.

Today, I realized that there is in fact a parallel in the spiritual world, even amongst Christians. Many Christians have been seriously hurt and wounded by the slave master of this world. They are crippled, and beg, but what do they beg for? They beg for sympathy, they cry out for people to see the hurt that has been done to them, but what do they get for it? Nothing! All the glory goes to the enemy. Just like the evil slave master he is, he takes everything and leaves the beggars with nothing! Its a sad and hopeless place to be in.

The truth is, there is Healer, he came to set us free and make us whole again, so that we wouldn't be crippled any more, so that we wouldn't have to beg anymore, so that we wouldn't be robbed by Satan anymore, so that we wouldn't be enslaved to this slave master's purposes and we wouldn't be his source of glory any more. Why do so many people choose to live the begging life then? They could be healed. They could be set free, but they opt to stay with their evil slave master. Maybe because its familiar, maybe because it gives them an excuse for inaction.

I don't mean to belittle anyone's hurt, and I don't profess to understand everyone's experience. But I have seen people close to me hurt. One of the most inspirational and influential people in my life, had their wings broken, they were crippled by "church", but in time they allowed God to heal them. They no longer wallow in self-pity begging for "glory" for the fallen one. I've seen them soar higher than they could possibly soar merely on their own wings.

This is my earnest cry for those that have been hurt that they would be healed in Jesus name. I know my Redeemer lives. This Reedemer takes the broken and restores them. He takes the enemies plans and throws them back in the enemies face. He stands proud and says "look at my child now!" He gives instead of takes. He builds instead of breaks. He will never forsake us or wrong us. He will forever be the Good Shepherd!

Getting excited

2008-12-18T17:10:00.002+07:00

I'm feeling a bit like Big Kev right now ... well not dead like Big Kev... but excited like he was.

"Excited about what?" you may ask... well If I was to put my current feeling into words it would be something like "I'm excited about having a purpose in life"
Having a vision, having ideas for the future, dreams of the crazy and "impossible"
Sometimes its easy just to look as the current situation, the surroundings where nothing seems to be happening, a job which takes up your precious time and energy, and forget that God is going to be doing something in the midst of it all.

For the past few months here, things have been busy, things have been going ... well just going, nothing really bad, nothing excitingly good... or so I thought. But really something good has been going on. God has been teaching Tuu and I ... thats gotta be good! God has been preparing us for whatever he has for us...thats gotta be good! God hasn't forgotten the plans for He us, even if we have... thats gotta be GREAT!

Now I'm just starting to realize again (hopefully not to forget it as quickly as last time) that God's got something big in store. What?! I'm not a 100% sure. When and How ?!?! I don't have a clue.
The one thing I am sure about is, its going to be great. Thats what I'm excited about.

Right now we're still getting pulled up the first climb of the rollercoaster... looking around just waiting for something to happen, but before we know it we'll be flying headfirst into some exciting turns, some exhilarating heights, and some down right scary "death-loops".
Man I can't wait!!!

Merry Christmas - Thai Style

2008-12-17T16:14:00.003+07:00

Here is a special Christmas Carol for you all... very special =)

and for those that don't know what Tom Yam Gung is check this link

HP Magic Giveaway

2008-12-14T21:42:00.001+07:00

This is my entry for the HP Magic Giveaway Entry on the Living in Theory Blog

it is a bit of an essay really =)

If I were to win the HP Magic Giveaway, I would give it away to a whole community, by using it to build an E-learning centre, where the children of this farming community in northeast Thailand could come and learn for free.

The truth is though that this farming community is not exactly a remote community, in fact it is only about 20 minutes drive out of Korat, one of the biggest cities in Thailand. In the city, most children get the opportunity to go to good schools with well-trained teachers. They have great English programs and up-to-date computer labs. Even the poorer government schools still provide the kids with the basis they need in order to “go far” if they study hard. The situation out here though, is a much different story. There is a small primary school; in fact, it is directly opposite my house. Most of the teachers walk into the class, put on a teaching video and then walk out again. While the teacher is gone, the students just cannot resist the urge to change the channel over to something a little more interesting. It is a shame though, because watching cartoons and soap operas is not going to be enough to get them into university. In fact, a mere handful of these kids will even end up starting senior high school.

My wife and I moved to this village this year. It is where my wife was born and raised, and where we are planning to raise our kids in the near future. When we moved out here, we really wanted to give to the community. To really be able to impact this community, we knew we had to start with the younger generation. By teaching them English, we could improve their chances of completing a higher education, and provide them a stepping-stone to obtain a decently paid job in the future. The way Thai society works is that, once a child is working and earning an income, he/she gives a percentage of that back to their parents and family. It is essentially their social security system. If the young of people of this village were to go on to earn a reasonable income, then they would channel that money back into the community, thus lifting the standard of life for the whole community.

Right now, our home is ALREADY an English learning centre. My wife decided to paint a sign one day, she hung it out the front, and within a few days, our living room was transformed into a small classroom. My wife and I currently teach English six days a week, to kids between the ages of six to fifteen. I also have a paid teaching position in town during school hours, in order to provide an income for our family and to enable us to give to the community.

When we were making the move here from Australia, I had a crazy thought “wouldn’t it be cool if we could set up some kind of E-learning center!” I thought about all the different possibilities of using software and educational games to teach the kids English … for free! Research already shows that putting children in a multi-sensory environment like a computer lab accelerates the learning process. Apart from that, it would just be plain FUN. A great number of Thai children do not like to learn English, because they perceive it as too difficult. If you got these kids onto a computer though, they would have such a great time that they would forget they were even “studying”. In addition to teaching English, I would also be able to teach the children many other things, whether it was as basic as using Windows, Microsoft Word & Excel, Photoshop, creating a website or maybe something more advanced. The closest thing that any of them have come to computers is for the few that have played the odd game or two at an online-gaming café in town. Recently I have come across several skilled Thai programmers / developers / graphic artists online. My favourite J2ME twitter application – jibjib – happens to be developed by a brilliant young Thai guy. Whether the kids that come to the E-learning centre end up becoming developers like him, choose a profession where they must use a computer on a daily basis, or merely simply had the opportunity to enjoy learning, it would be worth it.

After a little while dreaming, I eventually resigned myself to the fact that it was not really a possibility… well for the time being at least. There was no way I could afford the hardware to set it up. Then, I saw this competition, and I was inspired to rethink the idea. So whether or not I win this prize thank you for re-inspiring me again. I know that even if it took me a while, I could in fact build up a small E-learning centre, and it would be worth the time and effort. If I were however to win this awesome giveaway, then the dream would become a reality overnight. The package has everything we need to make it happen – minus a few English teaching programs and some headphones. The number of computers in the package is perfect, as the average size of our classes is four children. The fact that they are all relatively compact portable computers is absolutely ideal too, as we have limited space. We could not fit four or five desktop systems and desks into the current living room / classroom even if we wanted to. The possibilities and ways to use the touch screen in the classroom are endless. I would just love to see the look on a kids face as he/she interacts with the characters on-screen. Another huge bonus would be the printer, as I have been intending to buy a printer for a while now, in order to print out worksheets for the students. Taking the files into the print shop in town can be a hassle, not to mention the extra step of wiping my USB thumb-drive clear of viruses every time I come home.

I do apologize for this entry being so long, I am not even sure if you will be still reading this at this point, but a big thanks to you Living in Theory, Microsoft and HP for the great competition. I have uploaded a few pictures of our English centre in its current state.
First picture – me teaching, my wife’s Grandmother is on the left. She comes in from time to time to just to watch this strange white person speaking an even stranger language.
Second picture – is of my wife participating with the kids in a skit / drama to practice their English.
Third picture – is our current implementation of technology in the classroom. Where would I be without my trusty old iRiver h340!
By some great miracle were we chosen to be recipient of this amazing giveaway, I would definitely send you some more photos of the new E-learning English centre - in use - as soon as possible.

A blessed and safe Christmas to you,
Thomas Beckingham

kingdoms crashing

2008-10-13T14:00:00.003+07:00

Right now kingdoms are falling. Treasures such as superannuation funds, once highly demanded stock, and expensive houses are all dropping in worth to the extent that they're as good as trash. It wasn't that long ago that I preached a sermon about trash or treasure, and only now am I starting to realize how much more I hunt for trash than treasure.

Right now, we have the privilege of witnessing God's promises come true, prophecies are becoming fulfilled before our very eyes. For many people, including myself, we expected that when God said he would make the poor rich, and the rich poor, he was simply talking about in heaven, or simply in some spiritual sense. But God is actually doing some of that right now. The rich really are becoming poor.

I wonder how some of my friends from school are feeling now, those that have spent the last 10 years investing in properties and other things. Some of them I know have done quite well for themselves, now it seems their kingdoms are crashing. I don't profess to know the mind of God, but surely he is trying to get peoples attention. Maybe the only time they will notice God, is when they have nothing left... maybe God wants to give them so much more.
They're thirsty but they just don't know it."
We've all heard the saying "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink". Well I heard a Thai pastor say the other day. "you can't make a horse drink the water simply by pushing it head into the trough, but you CAN put lots of salt in its mouth so that it will take a drink." Sounds true enough! Could it be what God is doing now? So many people refusing to drink from the well of life, from the water that quenches our thirst once and for all!! He has to put some salt in their mouth, for them to realize how much they need a drink. We know that there are a lot more hard-to-swallow things to come. the Bible calls them tribulations.

The weird situation that I find myself in now, is that God has placed me in a full-time position for the next year. I didn't like that idea at all, I resisted and I still slip back into times of unsureness about my job. But really the unsureness comes from being scared of falling into the trap to build up earthly treasures. I'm not sure if I will be able to practice what I preach. If I build up my comforts will I forget to listen to God... God knows though.
God you placed me in this job, I pray that You would not let me fall into temptation.
If I go to drink from other wells, strike those wells dry. If I bury the blessings then cause them to fade away. Lord thankyou that you're destroying the earthly kingdoms so that yours would be established. SO BE IT

Aus v Thai

2008-09-26T13:54:00.001+07:00

Fine!! your Amazing!

2008-09-23T13:11:00.002+07:00

you're good, is that better?

2008-09-23T13:10:00.003+07:00

sure, you're OK

2008-09-23T13:09:00.004+07:00

not too bad I guess

2008-09-23T13:08:00.003+07:00

Hello Cheeseburger

2008-09-23T13:07:00.002+07:00

August Newsletter

2008-08-30T21:37:00.002+07:00

We have been rather busy, and don't have an always on internet connection so it can be hard to blog, so here is our last newsletter, and there should be a new one soon.

momentum
in the swing of things

Its been almost 2 months since our last update. The past 2 months have been jammed-packed full of good things. God keeps opening doors here, and we always seem to be doing something. We've been in Ratchaburi for 3 months now, and we love being a part of the ministry here. We're learning so much, and getting inspired to use English teaching as a way to impact the lives of young people in Tuu's hometown. When we go and teach English we're able to give so much more. They want to know why we're different. Praise God that in the places that we go regularly we have complete freedom to share a great deal about Him, and praise God in other places as others learn more about us doors keep opening. In just one month we will be heading back to Korat, and will be trusting God to show us exactly what he wants us to be doing there in the future.

fun
changing attitudes

Our leader, P'Noiy once "hated" English. He failed continuously and skipped class any chance he could. He was sure he would never be able to learn English, yet today he speaks English confidently and competently. What happened? God changed his thinking towards English. After spending some time with foreigners he realized that English can be fun. There are many kids in Thailand that feel the same way as P'Noiy. "It's too hard", "I can't speak it", and " I don't understand." It is those students that we have a heart to help the most, to help them to overcome the mindsets that are holding them back. A method we use to help the students to enjoy English is to run English camps. So far since being here, Tuu and I have been involved with 3 English camps which the kids just loved so much.

The first camp we ran we had almost 500 students, and there was only 5 of us to lead the whole day. Because of unseen circumstances we were forced to cram 500 kids into one hall, which meant when divided into "rotations" there was 4 of us rotation leaders all competing with our voices, not to mention the 500 noisy kids. It was tough, and it didn't help that Tom was dealing with a nasty bout of tonsillitis. Praise God though we got through the day with His strength, and it was a huge success, with the head of Education here in Ratchaburi giving us free reign to do camps whenever we want. Our next English camp will be very different as it in is for adults, in fact many of them will be around the age of 60 year olds!

slum
burmese community

We have also had the opportunity to go and share in a poor Burmese community that is located close to P'Noiy and Bronwyn's house. They had been previously with teams to play with the kids and outreach. Just a few weeks ago we decided to make an effort to go there on a regular basis. We sang songs, played games, shared about what Jesus has done for us. The adults were all hiding off to the side watching and listening to everything.

About a week ago we did an open air outreach in the middle of their community. We invited everyone to come along including the adults, many of them decided to come as they saw we had brought things to give to them.. We played, sang, and shared some more. We gave out daily essentials such as toiletries and cooking ingredients to help them. After P'Noiy shared his testimony, he asked if there was anyone that was serious about knowing God more, and wanted to follow Him.

There was a great response from the kids and amazingly almost all of the young men raised there hands too. Praise God that so many were prepared to to take that bold step, not worrying how "uncool" they might look. P'Noiy is now meeting the adults every Sunday afternoon to spend time with them, to disciple them, to listen to their questions, even to teach guitar so they can play worship songs. Tuu and myself are running Children's church for the kids for the next month. We have only met them a few times, yet we have been able to make a big impact on them. I heard today from there teacher that they're always talking about P'Tom and P'Tuu, and the things we've taught them. Please pray that God will send someone else here to continue the work with these special kids after we have gone

at hot pot

2008-08-28T17:54:00.002+07:00

Befriended

2008-06-17T11:15:00.001+07:00

lyrics by Matt Redman

Befriended, befriended by the King above all Kings
Surrendered, surrendered to a friend above all friends
Invited, invited deep into this mystery
Delighted, delighted by the wonders I have seen

This will be my story
This will be my song
You'll always be my Savior
Jesus You will always have my heart

Astounded, astounded that Your gospel beckoned me
Surrounded, surrounded but I've never been so free
Determined, determined now to live this life for You
You’re so worthy my greatest gift would be the least You’re due

This will be my story
This will be my song
You'll always be my Savior
Jesus You will always have my heart

heavens opening

2008-06-08T13:43:00.002+07:00

The other day I snapped this shot. It looked even more amazing in person, the clouds were breaking apart, and the bottom of the cloud formed a rainbow. I was just waiting for the rider on the white horse to come through.

Salty

2008-06-03T09:34:00.006+07:00

I love food ... especially food that is full of intense flavors, whether it be Somtam (Spicy Thai Papaya Salad), or Sushi with a load of punishing Wasabi. Something though that I miss from back home is a good dose of greasy salty chips (thick cut fries). Its REALLY dissapointing though when get some food and it doesn't come with the full flavour you were expecting... its just not what its supposed to be... its a letdown. Chips just don't taste any good without salt. One time I ordered chips and the cook must have had a real moment and had put sugar on instead of salt. It was disgusting... I mean it just wasn't salty. That batch of perfectly good chips had been spoiled forever.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm not salty, after all we were called to be the salt of the earth. We were supposed to give this earth the flavour that it needs. Are we being salty or are putting other flavours into the recipie. Sometimes we feel like adding something we add it, sometimes we feel like doing something we just to do it. but what this earth really needs is salt. Guess what we as believers are called to be that salt... but how... maybe by going and helping the poor , or standing up for what is morally right ... well maybe. But when I was reading Mark 9:50 I realised that we can't be salty "out there" until we're salty with each other.

Mark 9:50 Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other.

We shouldn't go slagging off at our Pentecostal or Catholic brother one day and try to share the love of God to someone at work the next... it just doesn't work.

You know why I think we're supposed to be salty, because when you eat something that is salty it makes you thirsty!
We as salt should be making others thirsty for the living water, REALLY THIRSTY for Jesus Christ, not just leaving a bad taste in their mouth.

Eph 2:4-6

2008-05-30T01:22:00.001+07:00

But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us
(even when we were dead in sins) has made us alive together with Christ (by grace you are saved),
and has raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.

Upcoming Newsletter

2008-05-29T02:43:00.001+07:00

We'll be sending out another email-newsletter soon, but there are many of you that might not get it as we don't have your email. Please let us know if you'd like to receive a newsletter with our updates. You can let me know at my hotmail address. nearlyasian@....

Tom

Rejecting help

2008-05-17T18:13:00.001+07:00

There has been a whole lot of outrage as of late with the Burmese government rejecting help from the outside world, the obstacle has been the military government's pride to accept help from the "outside world". While they won't let us in, lets pray that the people will let God in. We might not be able to break through the walls of hard-hearted military regime, but God's love can, the Holy Spirit can, the Gospel can.

After all it wasn't long ago that we had set up barriers in our heart, we were too proud to let anyone help, but God's love broke through!

when not perfect is perfect

2008-05-02T19:01:00.001+07:00

I will agree with anyone when they say we should give God our best. But sometimes we just get things around the wrong way, we're so wrapped up in making our praises perfect that by the time we give them to God there's nothing really of substance left... it might look good, sound good, but the heart is gone.

One of the key pioneers of the 24-7 prayer movement, went from getting her friends at school into drugs to getting them into Jesus. She started up a gathering at her school, and it was described like this.

The music was terrible, the teaching was worse, the meeting was way too long, and people just kept becoming Christians.

It doesn't really make sense ... but that's God!
Would we give up our professional music, articulate messages, and 1.5 hour services?

Tom's haircut

2008-04-30T17:19:00.003+07:00

Tom's new haircut, Tuu's was cheap but not as cheap as Tom's seen as he did it himself. The heat called for drastic measures.

Tuu's haircut

2008-04-30T17:14:00.003+07:00

Tuu's new haircut. It was mostly to get rid of split ends, but the treatment also brought back her lovely natural waves.

Child of God

2008-04-28T22:08:00.000+07:00

3 days ago Tuu and I heard a squeaky little "meow". After following the calls, we saw the head of a little scrawny kitten poking out from under the door of the upstairs storage area (Its like an attic). A little bit later I went up and found it hiding away up there in another room. It was so shaky on its feet, and extremely scared of me. It was so small maybe a little malnourished, we figured its mum would be back to get it soon though. Later on that night we heard the repetitive squeaking noises again. There were no lights up there so I used my phone light, all I could was its little head peering out to see who these strangers were. We opened the door incase the mum had been trapped out and hoped by morning that its mum would have rescued it. The next morning however it was still there by itself. It looked so hungry we got it some milk, I had to put some milk on my finger to get it to try it. He was still quite scared of us, but eventually hunger got the better of her and she started to lick it up. It had enough milk to last it till yesterday, but today with no milk left it ventured down the huge steps. So we made her a little place to stay with a comfortable bed. She was so funny though. She looked kind of weak and dirty, and she couldn't go very far from her little spot she stayed. but with no mum we couldn't help but care for her. By the end of today she had grown quite attached of us, as we had of her. Whenever we'd go over to where she was she would wobble towards us to get some attention, then as we walked away she walk give us those sad eyes, as well as whining meows, which made me feel bad about leaving her, I must have checked up on her 15 times today. She was small, she was helpless, she was weak, she was lonely, she was cute.

And then something happened that rocked both Tuu and myself. Tuu's dog which is a rather large dog, crushed this little things head, it wasn't a pretty site, in fact it was really disgusting. But even more than that it was sad was because it was so helpless and hopeless, it had no mother to rescue it, we were the only ones that could have, had we known. It hit us hard, we felt intense emotions such as sorrow and pain, seems kind of silly for a little kitten we'd known for 3 days. As Tuu and I cried we saw God soften our hard selfish hearts. In the midst of the sorrow we asked God to teach us something. We realized that this kitten was God's little baby, He had created it, it wasn't an accident, even though it had been abandoned and it looked funny, God still loved it. And if this is how special a kitten was to God, then how much more is each individual human life He created. If the death of a kitten made us feel this way, then what huge sorrow God must feel every time someone dies without knowing him. He loves them so much!

God doesn't want to helpless to die. It is not his plan that the weak be crushed, It is His will that they would have a Father. And I realized tonight that unless I wake up from my current state, I might be the reason why one helpless soul dies without having a rescuer. Because He wants to use US to rescue weak, to care for those that have no one to take care of them. We've been too busy doing our own things worrying about our own problems, which I'm too embarrassed to even call problems now. He wants us to intercede on behalf of those that the enemy wants to crush, but I've been too busy conquering the world in a computer game. Lives are too important, in fact all of sudden these lives seem like the only thing that is important.

I believe one way or another God sent that little kitten to us, and this was the wake-up call we needed. To realize how precious the children of God are, to realize that there's no time to waste because the enemy is prowling ready to snatch those that are helpless. For the kitten that was once without a name, we have called her "luuk khong prajaw" which is Thai for "child of God". We're sorry that this poor defenseless "child of God" had to die, for us to learn these things, but I don't want to see a helpless human "child of God" die without help, before I realize what this life is all about.

LIFE WORK

2008-04-18T15:39:00.001+07:00

I've been thinking a bit lately about where God is taking Tuu and I, and the plans that he has for us. When I look at what he has told us so far, I feel like that we're not very missionary like. I mean we don't have a specific ministry, we don't have a specific target group such as orphans or prostitutes, "working" whether paid or unpaid will make-up most of our efforts for the next year or two. I have even been wondering whether we deserve the titles of missionaries ... we might not be doing that much in Korat except for spending time with Tuu's family and teaching English.

I realized though that YES what we are doing really does make us missionaries, in fact its the type of missionary that God has called us ALL to be. When we hear that we're ALL missionaries we know its true, yet it is something that is hard for us to really believe and live out. The problem is that we've made the equation and qualifications for being a missionary way too complicated. MINISTRY + TARGET GROUP + MONETARY SUPPORT = MISSIONARY. God's equation though is LIFE = MISSIONARY. The truth is that God's presence and glory are with us wherever we are. That is all we need to be missionaries.

Rob Bell puts it this way in his book

"This is why it is impossible for a Christian to have a secular job. If you follow Jesus and you are doing what you do in his name, then it is no longer secular work; it's sacred. You are there; God is there. The difference is our awareness"

Tuu and I really believe that God has a specific ministry for us, and one day we will have a target group. We may or may not have a regular support commitment from multiple churches, but these things don't make us missionaries, having God in our lives and being aware of it is what makes us missionaries. It is our hope to live as Paul encourages us "Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus."

In whatever we do here in Korat or Ratchaburri or wherever we are, our mission is to LIVE LIFE in the name of Jesus, so that all may see His glory.
It's all about His GLORY

wonderous mysteries

2008-04-10T17:48:00.005+07:00

God is awesomely mysterious ... and mysteriously awesome.

The things I thought as going forwards really were going nowhere, and the things I thought of as going backwards really are going forwards.

I'm realizing that being safe in my faith is actually a very dangerous place to be.

Its been a long while since I've desired to be challenged in the way I think, to have my world shaken up a little bit.

Normally I really enjoy hearing a sermon that fits my ideas and doctrines, it makes me feel good ... well I can't be that far off the mark if other people think the same way I do. Its been nice to read books where I feel like "they're right on the money". Mysteriously being comfortable has lost its appeal again. Just knodding my head and "Amen'ing" everything a pastor says without having my boat rocked doesn't get me anywhere except maybe build my pride.

What good will it be if I keep reading books that are "safe and easy"
I had forgotten what it felt like to be hungry for understanding, but I'm getting a glimpse of that again. Its strange but I actually desire to find out that some things I accepted as correct are in fact not. Its better to find out than to be ignorant and wrong all my life.

I long for more mysterious, so I can wrestle with them and be stretched as I attempt to grasp the ungraspable. Its like for a while I've been trying to flex my faith muscles and then I see just a fingerprint of the Almighty One and I'm put back in my place. But its the scare I needed to realize there is an infinity amount of mysteries that I'm yet to grasp about God, about his greatness, about his love.

Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell is the book that God has used to bump me out of my rut a little, and to give me a passion to wrestle again, even to lose in order that I might win.
God's mysteries are worth the chasing even if my uderstandings of Him get battered and bruised.

The rabbis even say a specific blessing when they don't understand a portion of the text. When it eludes them, when it makes no sense, they say a word of thanks to God because of the blessing that will be theirs someday. "Thank you, God that at some point in the future, the lights are going to come on for me"
The rabbis have a metaphor for this wrestling with the test: The story of Jacob wrestling the angel in Genesis 32. He struggles, and it is exhausting and tiring, and in the end his hip is injured. It hurts. And he walks away limping.
Because when you wrestle with the text, you walk away limping.
And some people have no limp, because they haven't wrestled. But the ones limping have an experience with the living God.

pp. 68-69 Velvet Elvis

I don't need the instructions...

2008-04-09T22:30:00.003+07:00

Tonight in our discussion at small group, our focus was on faith, which also led to talking about controlling our lives. Derek made an interesting point that for Aussie blokes it is quite tough for them to give up control of their lives to another, because we love to be in control and to be right.

At first I thought he might of made a bit of a generalisation, but actually it is very true... us guys, especially us Aussie guys just love to think we can do everything ourselves, we don't need any help. When it comes to building something we don't need to read the instructions, we know how it goes together. When it comes to directions we don't need the map, we've got it all sorted out. When it comes to how we should live our lives, we don't want to be told by anyone that we're doing something wrong, whether it be by our wives or by somebody else...
Our pride says that we can do it...

I pray that we don't let that pride stopping us from letting God control our lives,
I pray that we don't neglect to seek God for instruction, because we think we know best how our lives should be put together.
I pray that we don't forget to consult God for directions, because we already know where we should be going and the way to get there.
I pray that God turns our Aussie male stubborness into determination, grit, and stickability that he will use for his Kingdom when give him the reigns to our lives.

Full of Excuses

2008-04-05T09:56:00.007+07:00

Sermon preached on 30 March 2008

FULL OF EXCUSES

Like the guy in the commercial, we're all full of excuses. When God calls us we have excuses why we can't, why we shouldn't, why we won't do what he's called us to do. Jonah ran away, his excuse being God would ruin his reputation. When Jesus called a couple men to follow him their excuses were, they had stuff to do, family commitments etc. There's 1000's of excuses and God's heard them all. However, when Jesus was called by God to do the biggest, toughest, greatest thing in all of history, he did not make an excuse. His response was "not my will but yours be done" Surely we can learn from him. When will we stop making excuses?

INSPIRATION
Leeland - Opposite Way Click to Listen

TEXTS
Jonah, Luke 9:57-62, Luke 14:15-20, Mat 26:36-44

LISTEN
Online
Download

Trash or Treasure

2008-04-05T09:07:00.011+07:00

Sermon preached on March 3, 2008

TRASH OR TREASURE

We all are after treasure, all you need to do is look at Antiques Roadshow to see that - the joy and excitement of those that are told by the evaluator that they own treasure. However there are many pieces that dont make it to air on TV, because they're trash. There will be a day when we too meet an evaluator, and we will be told whether we have trash or treasure. Thankfully Jesus is pretty clear about where real treasure is. Why would be have trash we can have real treasure?

MAIN TEXT
Matthew 6:19-33

ADDITIONAL TEXTS
Hebrews 12:1, Philippians 3:13-14, James 5:3, Ezekiel 7:19, Matthew 13:45

LISTEN
Online
Download

THE WEDDING VIDEO (Part 2)

2008-04-03T06:55:00.004+07:00

THE WESTERN CEREMONY

THE WEDDING VIDEO (Part 1)

2008-04-02T07:53:00.008+07:00

THE THAI CEREMONY

THE WEDDING STORY (Part 2)

2008-03-16T21:02:00.016+07:00

Sorry to everyone that was waiting for the rest of the wedding story, I guess the day-to-day rush got the better of me.

EVENING GATHERING
The party at night was a little tiring as it had already been a long day, but it was still was an awesome time. Its quite different to what a "western reception" is like. There were seats and tables behind Tuu's house for 300-400 people. Tuu and I spent the first 2 hours of the night standing at the front of Tuu's house welcoming everybody that came. Being on our feet that long after already being on our feet for most of the day was quite a challenge. We just kept smiling though as we greeted everyone, it was good to see so many people coming to enjoy themselves. Some fo them would sit down, eat and leave before others would even get there. People come and go, not like a western wedding where everyone is expected to be there at a certain time. After we had finished out the front we were called straight up on stage to answer questions and do speeches. We had our friends P'Noiy and Bronwyn help us by doing interviews/game/translation. It was especially an amazing effort from them as Bronwyn was 7 months pregnant and they had only a couple hours of sleep the night before because of the long distance they had to travel.

I think it was about 9:30 by the time things started wrapping up, which felt like 12:30 to us. Tuu and I were happy as we could finally get off our feet and eat the yummy food that everyone else had been eating. Normally a wedding party would've run for another 2 hours or so, but as the King's sister had recently passed away, the country was in a period of mourning and there was a ban on having louds music / parties, so this meant that there was no entertainment for the Thais to party-on into the night.

It was an awesome day it really was, we have to thank God for his goodness, in helping us firstly get to the day. Some things we just couldn't see how it would work out, but God knew! and a big thanks to everyone else that was involved in our wedding...those that came so far to support us simply by being there, and those that were at home praying for us. It really gave us so much encouragement and joy!

HONEYMOON
Tuu and I decided to go somewhere other than Thailand for our honeymoon, even though the south of Thailand does have some of the nicest beaches in the world, we wanted to go somewhere outside of Thailand, so we decided to go to Penang and Langkawi. I had already lived in Penang for 3 months so I knew my way around, especially the great places to eat and shop. So we flew from Bkk to Penang and had one night in the luxurious E & O (thanks to Jared, who gave it to us as a wedding gift). Its a very flash hotel with an a long history. It was very cool, but almost too much, I felt rather weird having our own personal butler.

After that we went across on the ferry to Langkawi, and spent a few days there in a pleasant resort called Mutiara Burau. This resort was on a nice beach where there weren't lots of other hotels, so we were quite happy about that. it was a big difference from coming from a 5star hotel to this, but we both liked the atmosphere and the surroundings. It had everything we needed... oh and it fitted into our budget ;) But honestly we'd recommend it to anyone. The pool was nice, and the service was excellent, so definitely worth a look. One day we hired a car and went for a drive around the island, that was interesting but still there isn't a whole lot on the island. The highlight though was going on the cable car up to the top of the mountain, the photo just doesn't do the view justice.

THE WEDDING STORY (Part 1)

2008-02-02T14:18:00.002+07:00

Its now been 3 weeks since that wonderful day, and we've both had time to think and reflect about how good God was to us. I will try to fill you in on as much as possible. It was a day that didn't necessarily follow our plans exactly, but better than that it followed God's plan.

Just getting to the wedding day itself was a real challenge, there were many things, such as not being able to find someone to do the Western Ceremony, but God had the perfect person in mind, we asked the people we thought might be able to help but no one could. Even when had given up looking, God still had someone specifically in mind, the father of a very good friend just happens to work in Thailand and I had met him a few times before. I felt like I should ask him, after him and his wife praying about it they agreed to come. I'm so glad they did, I couldn't have thought of it turning out better than it did. Other people that we needed such as translators / MC's, we struggled to find in our own strength but God had it all in control. Once the day arrived we had everything we needed, all we had to do was enjoy the day.

11-Jan-2008
3:00am - Tuu woke up nice and early, to begin getting ready and to go get her makeup done. She only slept 2 hours because of all the excitement. I, Tom, woke up at around 5:00, I really could have slept longer except I was just too excited so I just got up and got myself ready. Proceedings were set to start at 7:39 (not a typo, but that was the time is auspicious). I was ready long before then, and had to do something to stop me from worrying so I played a couple games of Winning Eleven soccer with some mates.

THAI CEREMONY
7:30am - all my family and friends rocked up at the house where I was staying, we waited for the Khan Mark (different items given as gifts) to be prepared, then when everything was ready we proceeded to make a loud noise as we walked to Tuu's house. It wasn't a long walk as the two houses were next door to each other. There were three gates that I had to pass through before reaching Tuu, each gate was a thin chain or necklace held by a few of Tuu's relatives, who I had to give money to before being allowed to continue. After the 3rd and last gate, then I finally got to see Tuu, she washed my feet and then we entered the house. We sat down while the elders counted the sinsot (dowry).

What happened next was a little unexpected for both Tuu and I. We had already talked over how the wedding would go with Tuu's parents. Praise God there were many things that they agreed we would not have to have, even though a traditional Thai wedding would have them, such as monks present at the wedding. They had also agreed that when they did the ceremony of offering gifts to the ancestors and telling them of our marriage, that we would not have to be present. However on the day someone else made sure that it happened while we were all sitting there along with my family and friends. At first Tuu and I were not really happy with what was going on, but we knew that we should just trust God that he was in control. Then what happened next was what I would class as one of the highlights of the whole wedding ... all of my family and our Christian friends started to pray for us, our marriage, and the household. It was AWESOME, God was right there with us. I don't know how long it will before that many Christians gather in that house and pray together again, its something that was really special. If it had gone according to our plans, the wai phii (praying to the ancestors) would have happened secretly while everyone was eating breakfast. I believe the enemy thought he could disrupt our wedding by throwing this at us, but instead God totally used it to bring about his plans, and his plans were PERFECT.

Next we both were lead upstairs to Tuu's room where we sat on our new bed, and we had to eat some plain rice with banana, We didn't necessarily understand much about that part of the Thai ceremony, but we just followed instructions and knew God was with us. After returning downstairs everyone ate lunch.

When we came back from lunch it was time for the rest of the morning ceremony. First we had this string placed around our heads, which symbolised the connection we have a married couple. Then came the water blessing, where everyone came one-by-one and poured water on our hands as they gave an encouragement or blessing. This was the longest part of the thai ceremony, so I was really glad that we were sitting down for this. Our hands ended up looking like raisins by the end of it. Then there was gift giving where Tuu and I gave presents to our parents and grandparents, and they in return gave us an envelope with money in it. Still after this there were a few other things that stopped is from finishing the ceremony, such as waiting for one lady to tie our wrists with "special string". At first it was frustrating because we just wanted to be able to leave and get ready for the Western ceremony, but we just had to stop being impatient and trust God again that he was still in control. The ceremony finished at about 11:30, and then Tuu rushed off to get her makeup done and her changed ready for the Western Ceremony.

WESTERN CEREMONY
1:00 - Everyone, including me, was at the hotel ready for the Western Ceremony ... we waited and waited, and wondered if the bride was ever going to arrive ;) But Tuu had about an hour less to prepare than we originally accounted for so we knew she would be there eventually.

1:30 - The wedding began, started by the lovely bridesmaids walking down the aisle, followed by the even lovelier bride with her parents next to her. There was a Bible reading, and 2 worships songs. The English song we chose was "You are my strength" by Reuben Morgan (My favorite Hillsong songwriter). Through the whole of the wedding process God really was our strength. There were many trying and testing times that we couldn't have got through with him. As we sang that song while we were up on stage, the truth of the song hit me again, God's goodness was undeniable. His greatness was untouchable. His strength was unbeatable. His love had reached us.

It was the first time that Tuu's family had heard anyone worshipping God, so I praise God for that opportunity. Then we had a slideshow, and I also washed Tuu's feet. God had spoken to me about doing this a few months back, I really felt that I should do it following Christ's example. I wanted it to be clear to everyone that I wanted to not only lead Tuu, but to also serve her - quite opposite to the way of the world.

Finally there was the vows, pledges, ring giving, and the charge. During the vows many of Tuu's family and friends were brought to tears, not because we had come up with some really special words, but because they saw the love we had for each other, the love God had given us. Above anything else, Tuu and I wanted God to be given the glory in "our day" because really it was His day, we know that if it wasn't for his goodness we wouldn't have each other, nor would have been able to get married. Though we haven't been able to talk to everyone, we have heard reports from many how they were really impacted by the wedding, we PRAISE GOD for that. We pray that God will keep using our lives to impact people, keep using the love he has given us to touch others. And we will always need Him to be our strength as we go through every new challenge

Next post: Evening gathering & Honeymoon

The Wedding Pics

2008-01-26T08:22:00.001+07:00

Here are a selection of pictures from our wedding, be sure to hover over the "notes" to find out what was going on at the time. You can also browse those pictures here if you find that easier.

The Memories

2008-01-25T08:16:00.000+07:00

Add to My Profile More Videos

This is the slideshow we made to show at our wedding with some memories of our childhood and also some pics of when we were getting to know each other =)

Married

2008-01-21T07:20:00.001+07:00

Praise God we're married ... in a week after I'm home hopefully I'll have all the pics up as well as all the details

Thanks everyone for their prayers and best wishes and everyone that was there to make it so special.

Its beautiful

2007-12-22T19:59:00.001+07:00

Its beautiful, you can turn mistakes to miracles. The way that you still love me after all, Its beautiful.
So help me God forbid I never take for granted this endless love you give.

This song from eleventyseven encouraged me when i made a mistake that hurt someone else, but i God is bigger than my mistakes.

On a bus

2007-12-16T20:04:00.001+07:00

Just riding on a bus. Across Thailand, its been more than 7 hours i think there is another 6 to go. Its good though, its the first time i've felt like i've had time to just stop and reflect. Things have been hard preparing for the wedding, but God has got us through so much of it. Yet it seems there are still a couple big road blocks seem to be present. Our bus today had to creep through on coming traffic, as the road had been blocked off. But eventually we got through with several near misses. Feels a bit like the current situation. But i know God will get us through even if its not the route we had expected. Praying for some miracles.

on my way to get beaten

2007-12-12T10:45:00.001+07:00

I'm off to ChiangMai tonight which I'm looking forward too, as I haven't been there for a while, and its the place I feel most at home in Thailand, will be going there to meet the Sepak Takraw team which I was a part of starting in Perth, Australia. They have been touring Burma, and I'll be joining them for the rest of the tour of Thailand for the next ten days.

Then will be back to Korat to finish preparing some more things for the wedding. Then off to Bangkok to meet up with my family. Shane and Kim will be down from ChiangRai. Mum, Dad & Sis will be here for Oz. Then its not long till the wedding after that. Things have been pretty crazy busy with that, thus the reason for the lack of updates, also no high speed internet where I am is also another big reason.

Anyways thats all for now...

Fw: His ABSOLUTE protection

2007-12-07T11:18:00.000+07:00

This is the email, that i received from my mum about what happened to my sis just a few days ago. God is good

Hi family.
Thought I'd fill you in on how the accident happened (as far as I understand, anyway)
It had been raining, the car slid across the road, starting spinning, and then heading backwards. The only thing that stopped it rolling down the embankment was a very large tree stump that the car crashed into. The car came to rest on its side. The back was pushed right up to the front seats.
After some difficulty and confusion, Camille and Erin got out of the car. There was no phone service in that area, and they were not able to call the emergency services. Everything seemed against them, except for one thing - God is on their side!! Camille heard a car, so she rushed up the embankment to wave it down. The driver caught a glimpse of her arm waving, and of course stopped. He administered first aid, and then sat with them for about an hour while others tried to get phone service to ring an ambulance. When this didn't happen he took them to a hospital, about an hour away. They stayed there the night. Camille had 2 stitches to her forehead and was treated for concussion. Erin was treated for a broken collar-bone. They are both now back home. Camille is bruised and a bit sore. Erin is still in a lot of pain and will need further treatment. I know she would appreciate prayers for her recovery.
Both girls definitely have experienced God's protection in this situation, and for this we give Him praise. He showed me today that it is His ABSOLUTE protection that He offers us. God is good!

Love,
Mum xoxox

DSC00152

2007-11-30T12:16:00.000+07:00

My eat

2007-11-22T16:32:00.000+07:00

My favorite donut ever. It has a marshmallow topping

2007-11-22T09:43:00.000+07:00

2007-11-22T09:41:00.000+07:00

2007-11-22T09:33:00.001+07:00

P Benz + P Golf

2007-11-22T08:52:00.000+07:00

P Benz + P Golf

DSC00042

2007-11-22T08:51:00.000+07:00

DSC00030

2007-11-22T08:29:00.000+07:00

Random grad pic

My girl at a friends graduation

2007-11-22T07:44:00.000+07:00

My girl at a friends graduation

2007-11-21T13:03:00.001+07:00

From my phone right now. Well yesterday anyways

My girl

2007-11-21T12:54:00.000+07:00

My girl

Test

2007-11-21T12:38:00.000+07:00

Test

DSC00014

2007-11-21T11:58:00.000+07:00

2007-11-21T11:32:00.001+07:00

out of control

2007-08-28T16:33:00.000+07:00

I hear the brakes screaming, I feel the car swerving ... I wake up and instantly I feel my world spinning, it appears as if I'm about to crash, *how stupid I am to have fallen asleep while driving* ... I'm panicking ... I'm helpless ... everything is out of my control and all hope of getting through this time seems to have gone!

then I take another moment to process whats really going on, its not that bad. Its not scary anymore ... the reason being I realize I'm not even the one driving the car, I'm the passenger and the person who made the car is driving. They know the car inside out. Even better than that this driver is also the same person who paved the roads we're driving on.

Why was I scared?

helpless, but not hopeless

2007-08-23T22:44:00.000+07:00

I feel so utterly helpless right now, there are way too many things out of my control ... weddings / lack of finances / lack of time / lack of understanding / too many trips to pay for / too many things to organise / too many unknowns.

If I do the maths, it leaves me with negative time, negative money, so it doesn't look like it should work out... and I know I cant make it work... but there's a power greater than mine at work.

God I'm helpless, but thankyou for not leaving me hopeless.

I've had questions, without answers
I've known sorrow, i have known pain
but theres one thing, that i'll cling to
you are faithful, Jesus your true

when hope is lost, i'll call you saviour
when pain surrounds, i'll call you healer
when silence falls, you'll be the song within my heart

lyrics by Tim Hughes

livejournal

2007-08-22T20:13:00.000+07:00

Revelation:

Its amazing what you can achieve for God, if you don't care who gets the credit

Prayer:

God all that is good in my life it comes from you, I have nothing to boast in but you. May all know how great you are! Let your strength, beauty, and love shine through my weaknesses.

Soundtrack: Oceans Above - Love break me

Love, break me now
Strip me down
May Your beauty
Deep inside of me resound
Through me be found
Come break me now
Guide me in Your truth
Mold me in your nature
Birth in me a hope
To hold on
Show me how to wait
Teach me how to listen
Be in me the strength

Calendar

2007-08-21T10:53:00.000+07:00

The next month is a busy but exciting one

Aug 28 - to Bangkok
Aug 31 - see my darling
Sept 1 - to Chiang Mai
Sept 4 - to Chiang Rai
Sept 8 - brothers wedding
Sept 10 - to Korat
Sept 13 - engagement ceremony
Sept 24 - to Singapore (with Tuu)
Sept 25 - to Oz for a couple months

Unfortunately we only have 20 hours in Sing this time around, but I still want to catch up with as many people as possible, maybe stay up all night drinking kopi and chatting =)

One at a time:

2007-08-19T18:03:00.001+07:00

ONE of the MANY
Photo by Kati*

We have a directive from God... a command from Jesus to go out into ALL the world. When you look at that in the light of the current state of the world it can be pretty disheartening, in fact the sheer enormity of the task almost makes you want to give up before you've begun. Its hit me before, even just thinking of Thailand itself I wonder what on earth I can do. Its a mission field, which traditionally has been very hard to see any visible fruits to one's efforts.... Its disheartening sure, but after being encouraged by God its even more exciting! to see God break through! After the past year God has AGAIN dramatically changed my ideas of missions, and even my priorities. It also seems he is continually refining my vision, giving more details as I walk along this path.

I'm convinced that even if I saw just one person come to know God's love during the time I spend in Thailand, even if its a lifetime, it would be all worth it. Jesus came to change the whole world!! but how did he do that? He didn't become a TV evangelist, He decided to impact this world firstly by reaching individuals, by meeting people. In one of my favourite books called "Authentic Relationships" the authors note that we dont have to love everyone! meaning that we aren't called to love, serve, admonish, or share with everyone. Its something we can do for one another, and it works when apllied to one individual at a time. Jesus wants us to demonstrate love freely in the moment with the people we're with.

Ever since meeting Tuu's parents, I've had a desire to spend some time with them. Even live close to them. I see more clearly now the reason God placed that desire on my heart was because God wants us to be able to serve them, to share with them, and to love them. When I think about the possible obstacles in the way it seems like a tough ask. But its not impossible, and I already see glimpses of what will happen when Tuu and I serve in whatever way God asks of us. I know that the impact will be far-reaching, far further than simply the four walls of Tuu's house. The timeframe is unkown to us, the methodology is unkown us, the difficulties and obstacles are yet to appear fully, but at the moment I'm happily ignorant just having to trust in God. If I knew the details I honestly doubt I pursue this crazy idea that we can make a difference in Tuu's house, in her village, in her district, in province of KORAT, and in her the country of Thailand.

I dont believe this is an ambitious hope, its heaven's reality that is just yet to be realized here on earth. Mat 6:10 "May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done here on earth,
just as it is in heaven". We are ALL part of that reality, dont be discouraged by the tasks at hand, dont focus on just what appears to be, but rather on what can be. Place your faith in a God who intends to CHANGE the world, and who intends to us to spark flames wherever we may be.

There is a familiar story of an old scientist lamenting over a large group of starfish that had beached themselves on the shore at high tide. Shocked by the immense need, he stood paralyzed on the beach until he noticed a little boy grabbing starfish and throwing them back into the ocean. Spying on the old man, the boy rushed over and pleaded "Mister, you have to help me, we've got to get these starfish back into the ocean before they die." The boy went over to pick up another one and tossed it back into the waves. "Do you see how many of them there are out here?" the scientist asked scanning the shoreline. "What difference can we make?" The little boy looked down at the starfish in his hand, thought a moment, and finally said, it makes a difference to this one" Then he threw it into the ocean and reached down for another.

Perth Kangaroos

2007-08-12T15:05:00.000+07:00

Our takraw team is coming along, we will will be going to Burma and Thailand at the end of year. We hope to be able to do as much as we can while we are there. As far as we can tell no western team is gone to do what we will be doing. Learning their game so we can go and share God's love.

Click the pic to see our team myspace

A song for my girl

2007-06-30T00:45:00.000+07:00

...which she can't watch yet as YouTube is blocked in Thailand

For those I haven't told

2007-06-11T20:31:00.001+07:00

Its been public knowledge for a while, but for some reason I neglected to blog about it ... IM GETTING MARRIED ... yay!!!

Tuu and I will be having a Thai engagement ceremony in September, the week after my bro gets married in Chiang Rai. At that time I will present half the dowry and all the gold to her parents / grandparents.

After spending a bit of time with her family and organising wedding plans, we will both come back to Australia, so that I can work for a while longer and attempt to save money for the rest of the dowry... saving that much money in a short time doesn't seem possible, so we'll just have to trust God for the impossible.

That will be Tuu's first time to Australia, and I think I'm look forward to it more than her .. hehe. She's a little nervous about the strong Australian accents she will encounter, but I know she will be fine. She can just do what I did when I went to meet her parents and didnt have a clue what they were saying... I just smiled =)

Then after two months Tuu will go back to Thailand, and I will follow shortly after so we can make the final preparations for our wedding which will take place in Korat, Thailand on January 11th 2008. The amount of things that we have to do before that day seem a little bit scary, things get a little more complicated when half the ideas I had about weddings are thrown out the window because of the difference in cultures. Thats ok though it means the wedding be even better, and it is our earnest hope that our wedding will be a reflection of God's goodness to us, and the diversity of the wonderful cultures He has created will shine through. Please pray that God will give us wisdom and favor with Tuu's family as we discuss with them issues such as not participating in the Bhuddist rituals normally associated with Thai weddings. We wish not to offend them, but neither do we want to compromise our beliefs. Praise God He has the answers =)

We were made for this

2007-06-10T22:18:00.000+07:00

We were made to be givers not takers. No matter how much we get, no matter how much we take, we will never be satisfied. Something still seems to be missing. That's because God is a giver, not a taker. And because we were made for God, we too are made to be givers, not takers. And that seems flat-out backward to this world of self (Jones, The Backward Life)

Clinging To The Cross

2007-05-02T21:24:00.001+07:00

My soul is weak
My heart is numb
I cannot see
But still my hope is found in You
I’ll hold on tightly
You will never let me go
For Jesus, You will never fail
Jesus, You will never fail

Simply to the cross i cling
Letting go of all earthly things
Clinging to the cross
Mercy’s found a way for me
Hope is here as i am free
Jesus, You are all i need
Clinging to the cross

Even darkness is as light to You, my Lord
So light the way and lead me home
To that place where every tear is wiped away
For Jesus, You will never fail
Jesus, You will never fail

Simply to the cross i cling
Letting go of all earthly things
Clinging to the cross
Mercy’s found a way for me
Hope is here as i am free
Jesus, You are all i need
Clinging to the cross

What a Saviour, what a story
You were crucified but now You are alive
So amazing, such a mystery
You were crucified but now You are alive

Simply to the cross i cling
Letting go of all earthly things
Clinging to the cross
Mercy’s found a way for me
Hope is here as i am free
Jesus, You are all i need
Clinging to the cross

[Tim Hughes & Brooke Fraser]

sensible or silly

2007-04-30T18:43:00.001+07:00

Isa 55:8 "My thoughts are completely different from yours," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

Question....

2007-04-23T01:26:00.000+07:00

Why is "I" the only pronoun in English that is capatilized mid-sentence.
Is it coz I am more important than him or her, or even you!
I know I am important and special, because God made me that way ... but he made you important and special too ... so why the difference ... it bugs me a little.

Tears of the saints

2007-04-16T00:21:00.001+07:00

This song is amazing, its hard to listen to this song and not capture the heart of God for the hurting.

Click --> LISTEN HERE

Tears of the Saint
by Leeland

There are many prodigal sons
On our city streets they run
Searching for shelter
There are homes broken down
People’s hopes have fallen to the ground
From failures

This is an emergency!

There are tears from the saints
For the lost and unsaved
We’re crying for them come back home
We’re crying for them come back home
And all your children will stretch out their hands
And pick up the crippled man
Father, we will lead them home
Father, we will lead them home

There are schools full of hatred
Even churches have forsaken
Love and mercy
May we see this generation
In it’s state of desperation
For Your glory

This is an emergency!

Sinner, reach out your hands!
Children in Christ you stand!
Sinner, reach out your hands!
Children in Christ you stand!

And all Your children will stretch out their hands
And pick up the crippled man
Father, we will lead them home
Father, we will lead them home

Thinking Backwards

2007-04-16T00:06:00.001+07:00

What if high self-esteem was the curse and low self-esteem was the gift. High self-esteem fuels confidence in ourselves, but low self-esteem propels our need for God.

When we accept that we cannot love God and others on our own, we free ourselves from the struggle, allowing God to rip away any dependence on self (or self-help) and expose our desperate need for God-help and God's powerful love. By faith and dependence on God, he fills us, empowers our love for him, and overflows love for the others. As the apostle John said, "We love because he first loves us"(1John 4:19)

quotes from The Backward Life by Jarod Jones

THE JOURNEY IS WORTH IT - PART 1

2007-03-20T20:01:00.001+07:00

These are my sermon notes from last Sunday night, this is the first part and there will be more to come.

journey
1. a traveling from one place to another, often taking a rather long time
2. passage or progress from one stage to another

The journey is basically what happens between leaving somewhere … and arriving somewhere. We take journeys all the time – ferry rides, flights, train trips, bus rides, even walking. Not all journeys are alike. Some of our journeys are interesting, some not so interesting … some short, some long … some exciting, and some exhausting.

In my travels in Thailand and Asia, I’ve had some very interesting journeys. Probably the craziest of them all was in a tuk-tuk. Those things can be scary at the best of times, but this one was exceptionally nuts, as our tuk-tuk driver was drunk, and he decided it would be quicker and easier to weave between the oncoming traffic on the main streets of Bangkok. It was good though, I definitely had a better understanding of God’s protection because of it. There were some fun journeys too, like riding on an elephant… well until the pain set in that is. Oh and there was another journey where I was so sick along the way that I lost control of my bowel movements (but I don’t think I’ll tell you about that one)

As different as all journeys can be, there is something that binds them together, a thread of commonality that runs through them all.

FIRST - All journeys have a purpose, whether it is to have a holiday, or to experience something new. Maybe the purpose of the journey is simply to get somewhere. All journeys have a purpose. If there was no purpose then what would be the point in taking a journey in the first place? It just doesn’t seem worth it, a waste of time, a waste of energy, a waste of fuel, a waste of money.

SECOND - Just as all journeys have a purpose, they also have a starting point and a destination. The destination may not always be what we expected. There might even be times where we get really lost and end up back where we started, but still there was a starting point and a destination.

THIRD - It might seem obvious, but it is important that in order to reach the destination, a journey must be taken. Unless we attempt the journey we have no chance of getting there. We can’t blink and just arrive, besides we would be missing out on the journey then. I love travelling because often the journey is really interesting, especially the people that you meet along the way. Eliminating the journey would mean missing out on something. Many have even said that the “journey is more important than the destination”.

OUR LIFE
Our life is often referred to as a journey. We call it our Christian walk, and the author of Hebrews even calls it a race. I love the term journey, it really fits. Our life has up and downs, bends and pit holes, jet streams and tubulation … it’s got it all!

The three points that are true of all journeys are also true of our lives
1) It has a purpose
2) It has a starting point and a destination
3) We can only get arrive at the destination via the journey

PART TWO to come: BIBLICAL JOURNEYS

Technorati tags: Sermon Journey

There comes a time

2007-03-18T22:51:00.001+07:00

well this is that time... where I will break through the blog drought and make a blog post.

Quick update.
well after getting back from Thailand a month back I ended up with killer tonsilitus that kept me out of action for a while, since then been working alot (for my dad), preparing a sermon (which I gave tonight at church), and playing a bit of Carcassonne (awesome board game)

Home-alone
Shane and I were home alone for a week, while mum and dad were away, we survived on microwave pizza, pies, and other easy to cook things. Although he did cook up a mean bacon, eggs, tomato brekky. During that time we also had our German friend Sonja (http://sonjajesusfreak.blogspot.com/) and her brother stay with us. That was lots of fun. They've been travelling around WA.

I've got lots more to write... but I should try not to overdo it seen as its been so long.

the ONE ...

2007-02-12T10:30:00.000+07:00

Today is a special day, as marks the ONE year anniversary of the day which I stumbled and fumbled over my words as I confessed my love to the ONE I had been praying for, and then after a moment -- seeming like an eternity -- she broke the awkward nervous silence with words to the effect of "mmm I've been wondering... because I feel the same way about you".

On that day we decided both to prayerfully continue our relationship seeking God together for what he had for us as individuals and as a couple, that He would guide and blossom our friendship... and ONE year on from that ONE day I thank God for that friendship, I thank Him for the ONE that He placed in my life, the gorgeous precious angel named Tuu (or Tuli... or Rungtiwa Noonpolkrung). I love you! Happy Anniversary sweety!!

Bits & pieces

2007-01-17T21:15:00.001+07:00

thought it was time I gave a bit of random update about things that have been happening in my life.

My last Semester results

I hadn't mentioned anything coz I didn't want to boast, but I realize if I do boast I'm boasting in Christ.

With my last semester at University I did really well. Thanks to God's help and also giving me a new passion for study, I ended up with 4 high distinctions... I also just found out that placed me in the top 1% of all students at Curtin which got me onto the Vice-Chancellor's list. An unexpected blessing!

Meeting the parents...and the dog

well I came to Thailand just before New Years to spend time with Tuu and her family. It was a good time getting to know Tuu's mum, dad, 3 older sisters, and her MANY relatives. It was good going around New Years because there were plenty of parties with lots of food.
After that then I spent about a week learning how to clean and bundle vegetable so Tuu's mum could sell them at the early morning market.

In the end the family wasn't too scary, except for the dog. The dog doesn't like strangers and everyone in the village is scared of him, I was just a little bit too strange for him and he bit me... on the butt. Praise God that the wound wasn't deep, and that he gave me the wisdom to turn around as I saw him coming otherwise the damage would have been worse for sure. I've had 8 injections... and counting. Praise God also that the anti-rabies shot are around $10 each instead of $100 which I think they cost back in Oz.

A Free ride

the other day Tuu and I were trying to get to the market by the usual method ... hitch-hiking. We didn't have to wait long before I saw a red-truck and thought that looks like a good one to try, the truck pulled over after flagging him down... it was a COP ... he was friendly and was only happy to give us a ride. Pretty much anywhere else in the world, and that same situation might end up resulting in an expensive ride to an undesired location ... I LOVE THAILAND.

That day we also decided to goto a waterfall, and really were amazed as God blessed us through other things, like first of providing us a lift to the waterfall with a foreign couple we met just outside of the cafe. The walk is fairly tiring and we've done it a few times, so it was cool to not have to walk this time as I was feeling quite weak that day, getting over some sickness. The strange thing as when they got to the waterfall they decided not to go in and they just turned around and went back to the road, so really there only purpose in going to the waterfall ended up being to send us. Also God absolutely blew me away when we went to pay for the admission and they decided to let me in for Thai price 20baht instead of the foreign price 400baht. Other times I've been there the least I've paid is 100baht. God is good.

ok thats enough for now ...

learning how to pray...

2006-12-21T21:38:00.001+07:00

"Only he who is helpless can truly pray"
A Norwegian theologian Ole

Mine!!

2006-12-09T19:52:00.001+07:00

Sometimes we can be so possessive of our dreams and plans, just like this dog won't give up his ball. Its just a ball, but its all the dog has ever known so he's not giving it up. If only we weren't possessive, we could give up our old ragged plans to allow God to give us new and better ones.

everday is a good day

2006-11-24T15:06:00.001+07:00

... but this one was even better!! PRAISE GOD for his blessing in my life.

Today two big milestones reached

I handed in my last Uni assignment, which means I will graduate this February from a BA (Asian Studies - TESOL Major). I really believed that this year God was calling back to study to finish what I had started, and though it was a tough semester God really helped me through it. The new focus and vision I gained during my time in Thailand really helped too. Thanks to Tuu for her patience and understanding when I unable to call more often than the times I was able to. Love you! and thanks to all my family and friends for your support and prayers.
I sat the practical examination for driving license today, I didn't feel that confident as I was really tired and hadn't much time to focus on practicing lately, but by God's grace I passed (He must have softened the instructor's heart).

then when I got home I received an email with my marks for a big assignment that I had done comparing Christianity and Taoism. I couldn't believe it, I got full marks for. God is good!

So many things to look forward to now, having free time, enjoying my first Christmas with my family for 4 years, going to Thailand before New Year's to spend two months with my sweety and meet her parents.

Excuse me a moment while I jump up and down PRAISE GOD!!

I don't deserve to be so blessed, but still He blesses me...

Holy

2006-11-22T21:59:00.000+07:00

This song always challenged me. I find myself asking how much am I prepared to give up for God. And when he asks, will I complain or will I just say "Holy is the Lord, Holy is the Lord ... and the Lord I will obey, Lord help me I don't know the way"

Holy is the Lord by Andrew Peterson

(Click the little green arrow when it appears to play)

Last assignment

2006-11-20T23:12:00.001+07:00

I'm currently doing my last Uni assignment for the semester, year, degree, and maybe my whole life... its a wierd feeling, but its mostly good. This one seems to be the hardest to complete for some reason. Its due Friday, which is also the same day I go do my driving test. For those that didn't know I'll be off to Thailand after Christmas to spend some time with my lovely girlfriends parents, we'll spend 2 weeks with them. I will also get to go Tuu's graduation ceremony. We'll have 2 weeks in ChiangMai, and then a month teaching English in BKK. Its not often that the parents get to have all the kids at home at once these days.

Those were the days

2006-11-18T20:12:00.000+07:00

This was how we were able to convince mum to play NINTENDO all day ... oh yeh!!

Pattaya Praise

2006-11-14T15:49:00.000+07:00

Pattaya often known as the "sin city" of Thailand, is taken over every year by God's people praising him. Apparently the event was great this year with all the churches coming together to BLESS the city. Here is a video with some pics of many familiar faces (to me at least and probably anyone else who's been involved with YWAM Thailand).

Chinlone

2006-11-11T18:04:00.000+07:00

An amazing video of a game called chinlone ... similar to Sepak Takraw of Thailand / Malaysia / Indonesia ...etc.

Chinlone is the traditional sport of Myanmar (Burma). Its is a combination of sport and dance, a team sport with no opposing team. In essence chinlone is non-competitive, yet it's as demanding as the most competitive ball games.

For a slightly clear version (loads longer) and other info on the movie and chinlone then see http://mysticball-themovie.com

Good excuse ...

2006-11-10T10:17:00.000+07:00

Well the reason for not blogging in forever (and for the next two weeks) has been the amount of studying I've been doing. Its made me a bit of loner, but in just two weeks it will all be over. PRAISE GOD!!

Actually I have blogged alot lately, except just not here ... I have a secret blog ;)
http://languagehub.blogspot.com/

It's called THE LANGUAGE HUB and it was a project for Uni

DISPONDENT??

2006-09-16T15:31:00.000+07:00

Hows this for the start of a book ...

"Everything is meaningless," says the Teacher, "utterly meaningless!"
What do people get for all their hard work?
Generations come and go, but nothing really changes.
The sun rises and sets and hurries around to rise again.
The wind blows south and north, here and there, twisting back and forth, getting nowhere.
The rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows again to the sea.
Everything is so weary and tiresome! No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

Being told everything is meaningless is not always the way to start off your day, but today it was what I needed. I have been pondering and complemating what I will do after I finish University this November, but I realize that is all meaningless... the worrying is meaningless, but also what I do is meaningless if it is merely to achieve my own goals and my own aims.

I really would love to save money, but if I work towards saving money just in order to do make possible what I want to do, then before long I will be feeling just like the author of Ecclesiastes. After so long doing his own thing, working so hard but not considering eternity or his Creator, he was full of dispair. He felt like everything that he had done in life was meaningless he felt like life itself had become meaningless. If I worked all year when its not where God wants me to be, and I continued in vain to speed up the process, or to take out some of the "uncertainty factor" of having to rely on God to provide, then I find myself saying "Everything is so weary and tiresome!"

As much as I want want to get into a rhythm, a pattern, a cycle just like "The sun rises and sets and hurries around to rise again." I realize that God has called me to more than that, that he has a life full of meaning, a life full of challenges, and a life having my expectations blown away.

In the final chapters of Ecclesiastes the wise old teacher, who has lived his life now with some regrets passing away too many days with no consideration of his Creator he urges others not make the same mistake. Don't waste away the prime time God has for you to fulfill his awesome will for you.

Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don't wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well.
...Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person.
God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.

Mai chai mai chai

2006-09-04T16:16:00.000+07:00

I've discovered what a great range of Thai karaoke youtube has, this is the first Thai song that I ever knew ... well even just the chorus too!

It was a hit on the 2000 Thailand missions trip
and haven't been able to get it out of my head since!

and then the next time we went back it was this catchy song on thai karoke vcd that got me Yok yai
The translation of 'Yok yai' can either mean shake ... or evacuate. I'm pretty sure the lyrics of 'yok yai bun thai' mean shake your butt not evacuate your butt

another great song is a song by Doobadoo and the video pretty funny. WATCH OUT FOR THE COP!!

Free books

2006-09-01T00:09:00.000+07:00

Even in this digital age, I much prefer to read a book than I do an e-book... but this one is well worth a look. Its not only free but its worth a read.

Its called e-sword http://www.e-sword.net/ Its free Bible software. The installation comes with KJV version of the Bible but there are dozens and dozens of other translations available along with commentaries and dictionaries ... ALL FOR FREE. There are heaps of other languages too (Thai, Indonesian, Chinese)

Even great books are availabe for free download:
Fox's Book of Martyrs (John Fox)
The Practice of the Presence of God (Brother Lawrence)
The Pursuit of God (A. W. Tozer)
Tortured for Christ (Richard Wurmbrand)

A great resource to have!

2006-08-28T16:50:00.000+07:00

Stuck on a rock and in a hard place

2006-08-21T23:46:00.000+07:00

No the above title is not a poor attempt at a well-known cliche or a mistranslation of it found somewhere. Its been very true for me lately, actually it is always true that being firmly planted on the Rock is the best place to be when you find yourself in a hard place.

A recent hard place for me was the predicament I found myself in at university, where I was required to study a unit called Asian Mind, Health & Spirituality as part of my degree. I wasn't too sure about its content, but I knew that it focus on the practices and faith of Asian religions. I was a little afraid that I might be asked to compromise my faith during the practical workshops. The first day I wasn't reassured at all, when the lecturer told the class that if anyone was a Christian it would be most beneficial for them if they were to put Christianity aside for this subject. Even amongst the inner turmoil I felt like God said he would be my rock in this hard place, and that he wanted me to complete this unit.

Its only been a few weeks in but I can thank God placing me in this class, and for being my firm rock. The things I am learning have only served to make me more certain that He is the only ONE. God has revealed alot to me. The most frequent thing I am seeing is how the enemy has taken a truth and just twisted it ever so slighty, which has lead to whole groups of people being led away from the true God. God using this class to grow in my heart an even greater desire to see people set free from Satan's lies and deceptions.

Taoism seems to have alot of wisdom and some of the quotes even seem to be parallels to verses in the Bible. They can seem right, yet have wrong meanings. There is a Taoist saying that says “Be still like a mountain and flow like a great river” For us to really be strong we need to be still and allow a great power to work through us that sounds Biblical. Psalm 46:10 says "Be still, and know that I am God" and in John 7 the Holy Spirit that lives within us is referred to as a living stream / river. It almost seems to fit... but it doesn't. The reason is their idea of God is 'self', and they believe the power that comes from within, must come from oneself. If only they knew where true power comes from, if only they knew where the true living waters flow, then God's living waters could flow mightly through them.

The past two week have been spent looking at Hinduism, and its quite complex. Many schools of thoughts exist in Hinduism, but amongst them there are also many common strands. They have a saying that says "this life is only a bridge, don't build your house on it" The principle of not storing wealth here on earth is a good one, but the problem is that they don't know where they are going (where the bridge leads) and they don't know how to get there (who will lead the way). They're heading for nothingness, when they should be heading for fullness, and they think they're taking the bridge of reincarnation, but in reality there is only the one way, the one known as THE WAY. Unfortunately they will achieve a state of having nothing.

One of six main schools of thoughts in Hinduism is Yoga. Some people have differing views on yoga, some Christians like to take part in the practices of yoga if it is done by a Christian yogi (a Yoga devotee and teacher). It was eye-opening for me to learn of yoga's place in Hinduism and what the word yoga actually means. Yoga is a Sanskrit word that means "to yoke" or "to bind", and the practice of yoga is the process of uniting ones "individual self" with the "greater self". Binding our wills to God and what he wants us to be is a good thing, but binding our will to that of the Hindu gods does not sound like a good idea to me. Taking time out, stretching, exercising, relaxing, breathing are all things we should do, but for me at least there is no way I'm doing yoga (yoking & binding).

Phaonmneal

2006-08-21T14:09:00.000+07:00

Believe it or not you can read this:

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg.
The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch taem at
Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a
wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in
the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it
wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by
istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Such a cdonition is arppoiately cllaed
Typoglycemia :)

Amzanig huh? Yaeh and yuo awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt.

taken from another website

Brunei Darussalam

2006-07-15T14:40:00.000+07:00

Bunei Mosque
Originally uploaded by AlbinoAsian.

This picture was taken in the Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam. I had the chance to stop over there on my last trip to Thailand with Royal Brunei Air. On the way to Bangkok I just hung around in the airport and tried to catch up on some sleep. Probably the safest airport in the world to sleep in that I've been too. Its like the chairs are designed for people wanting to sleep in between flights, they get alot of transit passengers there.

On the way back from Bangkok I had a day and a half in Brunei, I decided to skip the organized tours as I didn't really want to spend much money and just cruised around myself... Most of my time there consisted of eating. the cuisine is very much similar to what you find throughout Malaysia, ate a couple meals of Roti, made me miss being in Penang.

Brunei is not a really big place, but the people are extremely friendly. They will go out of your way to help you and everywhere I went people wanted to chat, some people said if I came again that I could just stay with them.

At the airport in Brunei before coming home I had a few hours to kill again so I was sitting down listening to my iRiver and a few people came and sat down... two of the ladies were Thai who had lived in Brunei for several years, because their husbands work there. I had only been out of Thailand for a couple days, but it was great to speak Thai again. After a while of chatting it turned out that one of the ladies is from Korat, the place that Tuu comes from, and the second lady was from Kantharalak in Sii Sa Ket which happened to be the place way out in the middle of Isaan where Shane had done outreach. It was all a bit of a spinout.

... for just a moment

2006-07-10T23:55:00.000+07:00

Together at Park 1

It was only a short trip to Thailand this time, but 2 weeks was still a huge blessing for many reasons.

I got to see my brother graduate from his DTS in ChiangRai.
I got to eat some of the foods I've been craving for the past few months.
... and I got to spend time with my beautiful girl friend. I haven't talked much about her on my blog before, so for those that I haven't had the chance to talk to here are some more details.

Her Thai nickname is Tuu, most foreigners call her Tuli, and normally I just call her "honey" ;) all of those are easier for me to pronounce than her full name (Rungtiwa Noonpolkrang). She turned 24 on June 28th. She's from Korat, Thailand. She studied the last DTS which I was a staff on, and we were on the same outreach where we had a good opportunity to get to know each other, the thing that seemed to draw us together was our love for photography. However it still wasn't until "after DTS" that God led us together. Little did either of us know that we'd been praying to God about each other during the DTS, but didn't want a relationship to take away from what God was doing in our lives, so both of us had committed it to God and didn't actually think anything would come of it, but God had other ideas. It was so good, it was like we were both staring at God and asking what he wanted for us, looking to Him, and then we kind of bumped into each other... just love the way God works.

Its been 5 months now since we had the "chat"... and once again I was glad I didnt have to try to make anything happen, God just led our conversation ... and I just bumbled my way through ;)
Of the 5 months we've only been together in the same place for less than 3 weeks, but thats cool.

Wasn't sure what a long distance relationship would be like, but I can honestly say the 5 months have been awesome, rewarding, and callenging ... and it makes the time spent together even that much greater... goodbyes are the worst, but thats fine because there will always be another new "Hello" around the corner. Don't always know how long those corners are ... but we're just keeping on eyes on God and before we know it we'll bump each into each other again.

Praying that one day there won't be so many goodbyes...

call to endure

2006-06-10T10:22:00.000+07:00

Click for SOUNDTRACK: Take my hand by Shawn McDonald

Hebrews 12:1-3
STRIP off weights. RUN with endurance. KEEP eyes on Jesus. THINK about His endurance. DON'T give up!

Romans 5:1-5
RIGHT with God. PEACE with God. LOOK FORWARD to His glory, REJOICE in trials, TEACHES endurance, STRENGTHENS character + expectation. NOT dissapointed. God LOVES us, gives HOLY SPIRIT. Hearts FILLED with love.

In Loving Memory of Luke Askwith

2006-06-09T15:37:00.000+07:00

In a time where many are still grieving the loss of a young friend who had so much energy for life, so much love for others, and what seemed like so much more to give, I needed to hear something from God, and He gave me 2 Corinthians 4:14-18 to quiet my anxious soul.

We know that the same God who raised our Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself along with you.

All of these things are for your benefit. And as God's grace brings more and more people to Christ, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.

For our present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever!

So we don't look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.

LUKE WE LOVE YOU MATE, and we'll see you again once our present troubles pass, as we are raised to experience a new life and a great joy, a joy that that outweighs all the trials of this world.

Your Lips and Your Life

2006-06-06T15:59:00.000+07:00

From Relevant Magazine Website
Author: Lynzee West

Everyone worships something or someone. Whether it is a career, possessions or one's body, no one can escape it. I discovered one Sunday at church that I had begun to worship the music. You see, I attend a mega-church where the music is phenomenal every Sunday without miss, until one Sunday when the music director introduced a new song, and I became irritated. I thought to myself, “What is he thinking? We don’t sing this song!” I’m afraid within all of the debates concerning "praise and worship" music styles that we have forgotten to answer one important question: What is worship?

My worship of the Father had become confined to one location (church), to one day (Sunday) and to one function (music). While music and singing are acceptable to God, this is only one facet of worship God desires from His children. Through study in the Scriptures, I believe God is looking for two kinds of worship: that which is expressed by our lips, and that which is expressed by our lives.

Numerous Psalms command us to sing praises unto God, to bless His name and to speak well of the Father. This is our lip service. We worship the Father by declaring with our lips His goodness and faithfulness, because He truly is an awesome God. Our worship does not stop here though. Because He is good and faithful, how do these translate into our everyday lives? Consider Luke 4:8:

“Worship the Lord your God and serve him only” (TNIV).

In this verse the verbs "worship" and "serve" cannot be excluded from each other. Therefore, our lip service to God should reflect our life service to God. He not only deserves our adoration, but our very lives as an offering of service to be used by Him and for Him. Read the plea Paul gives believers in Romans 12:1:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship” (TNIV).

This is an image of a lifestyle of worship lived out daily in the life of the believer. Because we live and move and have our being in God (Acts 17:28), we can offer everything in our lives as a form of worship unto the Lord, whether it is taking care of an elderly relative, ministering out on the mission field or working in a job that is not all that exciting!

So, the next time you are at church singing your favorite song (or not), worship the Father with your lips because He is worthy to be praised, but when you leave, make sure you are worshipping the Father with your life.

Psalm 95

2006-05-31T20:56:00.000+07:00

Listen to This Psalm

1 Come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us give a joyous shout to the rock of our salvation! 2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving. Let us sing him psalms of praise. 3 For the LORD is a great God, the great King above all gods. 4 He owns the depths of the earth, and even the mightiest mountains are his. 5 The sea belongs to him, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land, too.

6 Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker,
7 for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the sheep under his care. Oh, that you would listen to his voice today!

A page at a time

2006-05-29T17:44:00.000+07:00

These days it can take me along time to get through a single book, its not because I don't like reading, neither is it because I'm lazy... well ok maybe it does have something to do with it, but its more that when I read good book I need to take it real slow in order to take it all in. Some books are so life-changing that if I read more than a couple pages at a time then I'm sure to miss something.

One book that I'm reading at the moment at a rate of about 3-5 pages a day is Red Moon Rising by Pete Grieg and Dave Roberts. God used Pete to start an awesome movement called 24-7 Prayer, and Dave Roberts to help launch the Worship Together concept.

In the third chapter of the book Pete Grieg recalls when God was starting to stir something inside of him. He was apart of a great youth church, but still he was lacking something. He was hungry for God to speak to him but it seemed as though God wasn't speaking. His journal entry at the time reflected he was at a point of desperation, where all he wanted was God.

Then what he wrote in his journal about a week after that really encouraged me.

"I feel like God is waiting to see if I am waiting. If he just flooded in with answers and guidance right now, I would not have changed, I would not have learned to wait and trust without the answers and without a roadmap for the future. So I'm glad that God was silent, because I actually want to wait...
I don't necessarily want ease and instant anything any more. I want to be be different before I do anything different. So I'm waiting for God, and God is waiting for me to see if I am really waiting for him, and not just wanting things from him."

I think many of us can relate to the waiting game, sometimes I just give up waiting and I go and do my own thing, but there's something more I know it, I can sense it, and I have to take a chance, a chance that in the end will pay off. And I have to patient, coz God wants to shape me in order that he use me.

The Amazing Walk

2006-05-25T22:09:00.000+07:00

I don't watch too much TV, but there is one show that I watch every week and thats the Amazing Race. There's something I love about the show, if I had a chance I would definitely go on it, probably with my bro! maybe we'd be like the hippies, coz they're kinda like YWAMer's ... just love those hippies, they're great guys.

One of them Tyler did something crazy before he ever came on the show. In 2004 he walked the whole length of Japan. How nuts is that! but its awesome!
you can check that
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3067683435545761102&q=Kintaro

God's marble benchtop

2006-05-15T21:01:00.000+07:00

googlemap
Originally uploaded by AlbinoAsian.

was looking on Google Earth, normally its I always look at Asia, Australia, and that side of the globe, but I decided to swing over to Africa... and it landed on Western Sahara & Mauritania and was amazed at what I saw... looks a bit like something we'd cover our kitchen benches with, seems as though God had one before anyone else did.

Amazing ...

Our God Reigns

2006-04-27T23:34:00.000+07:00

When the Holy Spirit imparts something to your spirit, and you receive it and agree with it, it doesn't matter what else is happening around you, what you see with your eyes, or what others tell you that might seem to contradict it... you know its true.

Listening to a song called "Our God Reigns" by Delirious just reminded me of this. No matter what is happening in this world, the truth is OUR GOD REIGNS. As I listened to this song my ears and mind were drawn to the tragedies depicted and I felt burdened, but as I heard the truth... that Our God Reigns, I couldn't help be lifted up and encouraged. We can praise God no matter what the circumstances! Our spirit just longs to cry out in praise to God.

40 million babies lost to Gods great orphanage,
It’s a modern day genocide and a modern day disgrace
If this is a human right then why aren’t we free?
The only freedom we have is in a man nailed to a tree.

100 million faces, staring at the sky,
Wondering if this HIV will ever pass us by.
The devil stole the rain and hope trickles down the plug,
But still my Chinese take away could pay for someone’s drugs.

Our God reigns, Our God reigns,
Forever your kingdom reigns.

The west has found a gun and it’s loaded with ‘unsure’
Nip and tuck if you have the bucks in a race to find a cure.
Psalm one hundred and thirty nine is the conscience
to our selfish crime,
God didn’t screw up when he made you,
He’s a father who loves to parade you.

Yes he reigns, yes you reign, yes you reign,
For there is only one true God,
But we’ve lost the reins on this world,
Forgive us all, forgive us please,
As we fight for this broken world on our knees.
Written by Delirious? ©2005 Curious? Music UK

Not just prosperity

2006-04-24T20:17:00.000+07:00

There are certain things that God places in our worlds to give us a glimpse of what He is like, who he is, how he responds to us. I believe that God originally created everything to infact point to Him, to point to His goodness and to reveal to us more of who God is. Today though we may struggle with that idea seen as the Satan has done his best to mar this! In every sphere of life that God intended to show us more of Him and to glorify Him the enemy has tried to distort the image of God.

An area of my life that continues to show me God is my family. I am blessed beyond description with a wonderful loving family. Though neither they(nor I) are perfect like my God is, they do show me many aspects of what God is like, as I see God in their lives and able to relate to them.

I was actually sitting on the bus today worrying about something i wanted,and I felt like God challenged me not to ask my dad for it. I wanted to know something would be sorted out but I quite oddly felt God prompt me to just not worry about it. That I could trust my dad and that I didn't need to worry, and I didn't need to make known my 'need' which was really more of a 'want' (wants can so easily be labelled as needs when all I think about is myself).

As God told me to trust my Dad, I was able to, because I knew he loved me and that he had the best for me... that I didn't have to be looking out for myself and making sure I got what I wanted. This love that he has for me he has displayed to me and my family so many times through his unselfish sacrifice. No matter how many times we nagged him that we needed something, that we needed this latest bit of computer hardware, that we needed this or that, and Dad always wanted the best for us. This didn't always mean we got what we wanted like spoilt little brats, however we were extremely blessed to have a Dad that would sacrifice so much in order to give us more than we need. As I thought about that on the bus I couldn't help but think of Luke 11:10-13

For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks. "You fathers – if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him."

I felt exremely challenged that if it is possible to trust my dad, that he will always have the best for me, then surely I should be able to trust my daddy God 100% that he will all give me all that I need. And surely the Holy Spirit is so much more valuable that anything we could ask for. Plus if we have the Holy Spirit then we should have the faith that God will never let us down, because He has placed His 'seal' on us, His stamp that we are His.

After all that running through my heart and head I hopped off one bus and hopped on another, to hear a phone call from my dad, he had sorted out everything, the thing that I felt like God told me not to ask, not to worry, just to trust.
My dad had already worked it out. I didn't have to worry, and I didn't even have to ask... he knew... and he wanted the best for me.

And I'm sure that as my earthly father is always making sure I have what I need and more, that my HEAVENLY FATHER will even more!!

2006-04-10T17:05:00.000+07:00

THE VISION

So this guy comes up to me and says "what's the vision? What's the big idea?" I open my mouth and words come out like this…
The vision?

The vision is JESUS – obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus.

The vision is an army of young people.

You see bones? I see an army. And they are FREE from materialism.

They laugh at 9-5 little prisons.
They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday.
They wouldn't even notice.
They know the meaning of the Matrix, the way the west was won.
They are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations. They need no passport.. People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their strange existence.
They are free yet they are slaves of the hurting and dirty and dying.
What is the vision ?
The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes. It makes children laugh and adults angry. It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago to reach for the stars. It scorns the good and strains for the best. It is dangerously pure.

Light flickers from every secret motive, every private conversation.
It loves people away from their suicide leaps, their Satan games.
This is an army that will lay down its life for the cause.
A million times a day its soldiers

choose to loose
that they might one day win
the great 'Well done' of faithful sons and daughters.

Such heroes are as radical on Monday morning as Sunday night. They don't need fame from names. Instead they grin quietly upwards and hear the crowds chanting again and again: "COME ON!"

And this is the sound of the underground
The whisper of history in the making
Foundations shaking
Revolutionaries dreaming once again
Mystery is scheming in whispers
Conspiracy is breathing…
This is the sound of the underground

And the army is discipl(in)ed.

Young people who beat their bodies into submission.

Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms.
The tattoo on their back boasts "for me to live is Christ and to die is gain".

Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes. Winners. Martyrs. Who can stop them ?
Can hormones hold them back?
Can failure succeed? Can fear scare them or death kill them ?

And the generation prays

like a dying man
with groans beyond talking,
with warrior cries, sulphuric tears and
with great barrow loads of laughter!
Waiting. Watching: 24 – 7 – 365.

Whatever it takes they will give: Breaking the rules. Shaking mediocrity from its cosy little hide. Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs, laughing at labels, fasting essentials. The advertisers cannot mould them. Hollywood cannot hold them. Peer-pressure is powerless to shake their resolve at late night parties before the cockerel cries.

They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive

inside.

On the outside? They hardly care. They wear clothes like costumes to communicate and celebrate but never to hide.
Would they surrender their image or their popularity?
They would lay down their very lives - swap seats with the man on death row - guilty as hell. A throne for an electric chair.

With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days,

they pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them.

Their DNA chooses JESUS. (He breathes out, they breathe in.)
Their subconscious sings. They had a blood transfusion with Jesus.
Their words make demons scream in shopping centres.
Don't you hear them coming?
Herald the weirdo's! Summon the losers and the freaks. Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes. They walk tall and trees applaud, skyscrapers bow, mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension. Their prayers summon the hounds of heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden.

And this vision will be. It will come to pass; it will come easily; it will come soon.
How do I know? Because this is the longing of creation itself, the groaning of the Spirit, the very dream of God. My tomorrow is his today. My distant hope is his 3D. And my feeble, whispered, faithless prayer invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking great 'Amen!' from countless angels, from hero's of the faith, from Christ himself. And he is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner.

Guaranteed.

from http://www.24-7prayer.com/

Fresh bread

2006-03-30T22:44:00.000+07:00

Reynald's Bible
Originally uploaded by lil aNNa.

If you are hungry then there is not much else more satisfying that some fresh bread. If its just been cooked then I'll eat it without even putting butter or anything else on it

Food is something we need, but its also interesting and exciting, its something to be enjoyed. Jesus must of thought it was important as he did several miracles with food and wine. There are also many accounts of Jesus meeting with others around the dinner table. Still Jesus' own words show that there is something much more important that food.

"People need more than bread for their life; they must feed on every word of God." Matthew 4:4

As much as food is important to our survival, the word of God is even more important! The living bread is crucial to our survival. We will die unless we're getting fed. When we're hungry and starving, it doesn't take us long to remember 'oh I didn't eat breakfast this morning' and go and get some food. But for some reason when we get spiritual hunger pains, it can take a while before we do go and feed. We don't need to be force feeding ourselves, we just need to realize that this bread is interesting and exciting. God's words aren't any old bread, no matter how old they are they will never get stale. They will always be fresh! How cool is that!

For myself my consumption is still more like nibbling, but really I'm starting to get more hungry. I'm also realizing different things in my life, are in fact hunger pains telling me I need to eat more.