Joel Soi, Part 2

What we thought was going to be a normal Tuesday became a tense, busy morning filled with moving the washer and dryer into the house, bailing water, and putting the computer and first floor books upstairs. With rainy season comes flooding. As you may know from facebook, we are experiencing this for the first time, so it's been disarming, kwim? Never knowing if the rain will slow down enough to allow the water to drain off...Will we have to move the refrigerators?...

Anyway, our kids went out to visit their friends and Aasha,the always curious investigator, visited around to neighbors. She was so upset because everyone we know is flooded.

We are particularly concerned for our next door neighbor, T, who I just met and chatted with on Monday, who has 4 dogs and some cats. We think she's alone.

So at 4 this morning we woke up to more lightening and thunder, but it stopped after 30 minutes. It's draining really slowly. We have learned since moving here that Bangkok is slowly sinking so the water has nowhere to go. That's why we are bailing water again today. And checking on T. Thanks for your prayers.

Outsider in the Land of a Thousand Smiles

Thailand is known as the land of thousand smiles but the culture here is more closed than in India. Family units are tight and it takes more than a notion to penetrate these social circles. Our previous country (India) had many English speakers and was a British colony for hundreds of years. India was a divided group of cultures and languages that the British tied together for wealth and power. Thailand has never been colonized and the Thais are a proud people who love their King.

 

So although Bangkok has modern malls with American fast food and coffee shops, i.e. McDonald's, Dunkin' Doughnuts, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, etc., you still feel like an outsider. Yes, it is time to learn some Thai.

 

We can only guess what is hidden behind the everyday smiles we see.

 

Ministry here is not crusades and mass evangelism, but building solid houses of friendships one brick at a time. It is not easy being an outsider but Golgotha was not easy either. We can only hope that our small efforts will be acceptable to the One who was truly an outsider.