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!