Hello from Thailand! We flew in about midnight two nights ago, and for the last couple of days we've kept ourselves busy. Yesterday we explored the area, found some local grub, picked up some supplies at the supermarket and went to church. I've met a lot of new people, and I'm finally beginning to remember names after a couple of days. I spent most of today in downtown Bangkok with Scott and a couple of Thai guys from the church and had some fun adventures involving tuk-tuks and water-taxis as we explored some amazing temples and palaces. The city of Bangkok isn't very old when you compare it to other huge Eurasian cities, but it is so rich in history and culture that it hardly matters.
Over the last couple of days there have been a few things that have stuck out to me. One is the poverty here. It isn't everywhere--there are lots of people who are well off, with cars and houses and nice clothes, though the standard of living is certainly lower than in the U.S.--but that might make the dichotomy even more disturbing. It isn't a rich country, but how is it that people can live in nothing more than a one-room shack made of sheets and second-hand plywood suspended by nothing more than a few 2x4s over a side-canal that smells of sewage when just down the road is a high-rise condo, probably filled with rich foreigners? Of course I can't and don't expect these foreigners--or even the nationals--to solve the poverty issue so simply, but seeing these things first hand is a little jarring. It carries through everywhere, though, not just in residences. We ate lunch today at a place that was shoddily built over the river in Bangkok, and though it was one of the nicer places we have been to, we ate on cheap folding tables and plastic patio chairs. It just makes you realize how wealthy we really are in the States--and by wealthy, maybe I mean extravagant. Should we expect the kinds of things we do as a part of our daily lives?
The other thing I've been struck with is the incredible amount of spirituality in Thailand. Walking down the soi (that is, the side street), it's common to see little shrines with Buddha images set up every couple of blocks, and almost every one will have recent sacrifices of food or drink. Sometimes you will see sacrifices even without an altar, as some kind of spirit-appeasement. I never honestly thought I would be in a place where household idols are legitimately worshipped, but it is a common practice here. The temples are always busy, with tourists but also with Buddhist devotees and monks. Many say that there is an incredible amount of demonic activity here, and while I'm hardly ever comfortable calling anything demonic or assuming much of anything about the spiritual realm, I cannot help but wonder if it isn't true. But then, so may be the other side of things, the miracles and healings and the movement of the Spirit. A new friend was telling me about his mother, who was not yet a Christian but kept reading the Bible, because it was, in a way she couldn't describe, powerful. Just last night, she accepted Christ. And yesterday I heard a testimony of how God miraculously removed a 9-mm ovarian tumor, which happened within the last week. Faith is a living, breathing thing here, not just a remembered sentiment, and that is inspiring, and perhaps just a little unnerving. Maybe the spiritual world is a little more real than I was prepared to understand, and that which you can't see is always at least a little frightening.
Tomorrow morning is church; Friday night we have our worship service, and Sunday morning is cell groups. Classes start on Tuesday, three days from now; I have two evening classes back-to-back, which may be tiring, but may also make for a very free schedule, which is a good thing. For now, I had better get to bed; I've been awfully tired the last couple days. If you're praying, pray for stamina and energy, motivation, spiritual growth and readiness, more opportunities to connect with community, and that a solid foundation would be laid in my own life so that I can be an effective witness of the love of god to others. This will be a challenging month, but it may be one of the most rewarding times of my life. I pray that I will be able to say, after a difficult and grueling month, "To God be the glory!"
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