"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain
Explore. Dream. Discover.
Oh the things I get to see, places I get to visit and people I get to meet. I am overwhlemed with the sights and the life stories people share with me here. The best moments in life are when God uses people and or situations over here to remind me HEY I am here with you and I love you! God has sent me so many people to speak life and encouragement into me, he has sent me people from all different cultures and walks of life that ultimately have come to the realization God is Lord of all! It is amazing to see people from Hindu background, Islamic, Buddhist and even those that once believed in nothing come to know Christ.
The cry is still for the overwhelming Buddhist community here. Buddhism is not only a religion but it is tied into the Thai culture. Families believe that Buddhist define who they are and are apart of their history,so it is difficult in most situation to even get someone to listen to you talk about Christ. This is when intense prayer begins for the Holy Spirit to lead, guide and have his way.
Buddhist believe that salvation is within you. You must let go of all desires and personal wants and needs to reach nirvana( which is not heaven neccessarily it is simply a good place to be) and it is all credited by merit. How much can you do? If you did little in this life you will return to Earth again as someone or something else until you do good enough on Earth to reach the "good place."
Thankfully with Christ it is not by works that we receive salvation but it is freely given by his Grace and Mercy when we believe, have Faith and accept Christ as Lord and Savior into our hearts.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God Ephesians 2:8
The concept of salvation and eternity in Heaven is FREELY given is difficult to communicate to a Country that believes you must work in order to receive the ultimate prize. Most will flat out tell you..you are lazy, Christians are lazy and just want things handed to them. In some aspects I believe we as the Church are lazy and we are the ones that believe in the one true God so why are we not out in all parts of the World screaming it from the mountains, rooftops and hills? BUT in terms of Salvation I try to explain that because we are merely humans made of sinful flesh we have no right to even think we can do something that would be worthy of entering Heaven. But Praise be to God he sent his Son to die for us and be the final sacrafice and take that sin away from the human race. GRACE!:)
Cool Story and then I am done and will post travel pictures promise.
A boy volunteering at BCC(Bangkok Chrisitan College where I am a Second grade teacher) opened up to me in a way that did not leave me the same. He and his family like most Thai families are devote Buddhist. He traveled to Australia and while there committed is life to the Lord and is now a Christian. When arrived back to Thailand he was filled with fear about telling his family because they would be furious to the point of shunning him. When I asked him why he decided to convert, I was given such an amazing answer that would help me to reach out to the Buddhist community in a completely different way. He told me that he would continue to ask people "well what exactly do I have to do to get to Nirvana? How many merits do I need to receive?" And everytime he asked these questions NO ONE could give him an answer. This discouraged him because he needed what we like to call Hope! Who doesn't want to end up in the "good place?"
When hearing about Chrsit and salvation and how it is given freely and that there is NOTHING we can do as far as receiving merit he was drawn by the Holy Spirit to listen. He thought "I want to be in the good place!" And from then on he committed him life to the Lord and is a firm believer. The prayer is still for courage with his family(which he has been given and is being more open than before) and that they will see a difference in his life and that would be witness enough!
READ Crazy Love by Francis Chan if you get the chance.
Now Floating Market(Market on water, it is how they used to get around in Thailand and they would buy everything they needed on water) Each boat had different things like food, drinks and material. A part of Bangkok kept this way of doing things to keep the Culture and History alive.
Lumporri Temple: monkies galoure. people come here to play with and take pictures of the street monkies. It looks like Planet of the Apes. I have played with street monkies before but now that my hair is longer it wasn't as fun because they kept pulling my hair out.
Zoo crazy: I have laid with tigers and held baby tigers, held and played with monkies, took pics with a baboon, rode on elephants and was in a show with one.
Temples: obviously I do not believe in bowing to false gods so I did not but the detail in the carvings and culture was amazing. Taking our shoes off reminded me of when those called by God and were talked to by God had to remove their shoes because they were standing on Holy ground. this was not Holy ground because it was a false god and simply an image. but we did have to remove our shows to go into the temples.
China town: madness, tons of people, tons of food and shopping. But I love Chinese writing!
Yes I did dress in authentic Thai apparel and perform for the entire school. That was fun and interesting
Koh Chang--largest island in Thailand. Means elephant island. saw elephants, learned how to drive motorbikes and toured the island on them on our own. Hiked and went to the largest waterfall. It was beautiful
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