schoolboy

school again . homework...papers...it's been a while. in a lot of ways, i feel like i'm in dts all over again. christian staff and curriculum far from family and friends...and constant reminders of how far my heart is from God's for the nations. it's still so hard for me to care about anyone besides myself...

and yet, i'm not the same. this time, i didn't come alone. i can't be nearly as selfish as i was back then. i remember praying, pleading that i wouldn't forget the things i was learning, and that i wouldn't return to the same life i'd left (God really answered those prayers in His timing!). now, i'm more worried about forgettin what the Lord taught me back "home." worried about gettin' lost in the busy-ness of school and married life, livin' for the weekends. i can never forget why i'm here. i gotta keep growin'...not backsliding...not stagnating.

and there's so much opportunity here:

there's a slum of sorts basically in our backyard, where people live in houses made of tin. we've been prayin' for opportunities to just show 'em Christ's love. last week we finally made first contact (lyd baked some of her amazin' cookies, and we paid 'em a visit). we're prayin' for wisdom on how to continue building a relationship with them.

we've been gettin' to know a few people playin' basketball once or twice a week (lyd runs around the track nearby). we'd like to invite 'em over sometime, but our place isn't real hospitable (it's kinda like a dorm room).


it's hard living in tight community here at the school. hard, but good. there's a lot of opportunity for misunderstandings, frustration, and selfishness. but, there's also so much opportunity to show love!

we've also started a relationship with an older YWAM couple (named Jeff and Jean!! our pre-marital counsellors' names were Jeff and Jane!!!). they're really cool, and we look forward to fellowshipping and learnin' from them.

God's been speakin' a lot to us through His word, sermons at church (yeah, we finally settled on an international church called the Christian Outreach Center. it's got an australian flavor, and worship rocks! yup, very hillsong-ish, as you can probably guess), pictures, movies, video clips... we've been really encouraged as well as challenged!


not everyone's excited about God's work in our lives, though. the devil is attacking us fiercely in areas ranging from our health (we all got pretty nasty food poisoning last week) to our marriage (attitudes towards one another at times). we've heard that some of the strongholds in thailand include miscommunication (there's this seal that thais wear on their uniforms that signifies the god of miscommunication, or somethin' to that affect) and apathy (buddhism).

but we know the One who's in us is greater than the one who's in the world, and nothin' can stop Him from pourin' out His blessings on us! it'd be great if you( readers) could pray for love and wisdom as we build relationships with our neighbors, for me to do a good job on my paper, for obedience to God's leading, and for us to have joy as we grow closer to God through all these changes! kahp kun krahp!

food 4 thought

well, it's a beautiful day (got a little bit of rain, but it is the rainiest part of rainy season). as i type, we're chowin' down on some "seafood mayonnaise" chips (Lay's). yup, they have some crazy flavors here (we know some of you live for flavor diversity). just for starters: seaweed, sweet basil, spicy squid, barbeque spareribs, and hot dog flavored cheetos. pretty good stuff...

our stomachs have shrunk considerably from when we were in the u.s. (i'm pretty satisfied after a thai meal portion now!!). some of you (our fellow die-hard fans of the stuff) will be happy to know that we have been consuming ice cream almost every day! in fact, they sell something a little unusual here. there's this dude who sells it from a cart, announcing his presence with the ring of a bell (we can hear him from our classroom). what is it? why, ice cream sandwiches, of course!

"umm...so what's so unusual about ice cream sandwiches," you say? well, hold yer horses now...let me explain...(sheesh, so impatient):

about six or seven scoops of vanilla and cocunut ice cream are shoved into a plastic bag between two pieces of--get this--white bread! a scoop or two of sticky rice with sweetened condensed milk get in there somewhere as well! finally the whole thing is doused in some more sugary condensed milk goodness, and topped with chocolate sauce and peanuts! mmm...gives a whole new meaning to "dairy bread," doesn't it?

...huh? what's that? no, i ain't gonna just talk about food the whole time (some of you are disappointed)! God's been speakin' to us like mad! a few weeks ago i was shootin' hoops with walter (the student from vanuatu) and he twisted his ankle. he told me later he heard two pops. i've twisted my ankle many times, and i knew what was comin': at least a week of hobbling pain and regret. we prayed for healing at walter's suggestion. and when he prayed, he prayed with such faith! i was impressed, and, most likely because God has been answering so many prayers in our (lyd and i) lives miraculously, i believed! the next day, walter was walking completely normally! God is awesome, and i'm thankful for a brother like walter.

well, there's a lot more to what God's been doin' here in our lives, but i'll write more later! got the major portion of a big paper due next week, so i guess i'll do a little studyin'!