Serving The Lord in Thailand

Hello my name is April and I have been married to my wonderful husband Bill for 23 years, and we are missionaries in Thailand.

Four years ago Bill and I were living in Pennsylvania, where Bill worked as an attorney and I worked for a municipal government in the Finance Department.  We were busy with work and serving in many different capacities at our church.

Back in 2005 God had placed it on our hearts to sell our large home (we were thinking Christian Bed and Breakfast, but God had a different plan.)  So we sold our home and started to rent a small bungalow.

Bill and I both felt that the Lord wanted us to serve as fulltime missionaries, but we did not know where or when.  So, we just kept praying.  We started to feel that the field had been narrowed to Australia or Thailand.  (Let me just stop and tell you that our claim to ‘world travel’ up to this point had been that we had traveled into Canada, several times.)  J  We really wanted to serve where the Lord wanted us to serve, so I kept praying that God would make it SO obvious that even I would get it.  And He did!

One day Bill and I were in New Jersey.  We had just gone to church down in Ocean City, and we decided to go for a drive.  We were driving in our Prius, when all of a sudden the GPS started talking.  It said “Your destination has been set!”  We were truly startled when the GPS started to talk.  We had not programmed it, and to be honest, we really had not used the GPS other than to look at the screen that shows where we are currently driving. 

We both turned to look at each other, and Bill tried not to drive off of the road.  Bill looked at my hands to see if I had pushed a button or something, and I looked at his.  But, neither of us had touched the GPS or any controls for that matter.  Just then, the GPS started to speak again.  This time it said “The Point of Interest will now show all Thai Restaurants.”

The screen did not show anything, but from that moment on we knew without a doubt that Thailand was where He wanted us to serve.  We had such a peace in our hearts from that time on.

So, we left our jobs, our families and our friends, got rid of our stuff, and moved halfway around the world to Thailand.  From the time we landed in Thailand, we have felt at home.  Okay so there were things that we had to adjust too: Like not being able to speak with most people, because we did not know the language; Not having the luxury of going to a bookstore to buy a book written in English; Dealing with the fact that a simple Thai Bible costs nearly $30.00, which puts it way out of the reach of the average Thai person; Geckos crawling on the walls inside and out; Washing dishes and clothes in room temp water; and Hot weather all year long.  The list could go on.  J

God has really given us a heart and a love for the people here in Thailand.  I really like the Brandon Heath song “Give Me Your Eyes”, and that is what I pray daily, that God will give me His heart shaped eyes to see people the way He does.

When we came to Thailand we did not know exactly what the Lord wanted to do through us, but in the two years that we have been here He has used us.  Praise God!  We have helped start two churches.  We opened a Youth Center and where we have Bible studies, games and dinner for youth between the ages of 10 and 18.  I teach Ladies Bible study every week.  I started to teach Ballet and Praise Dance about a month and a half ago, and the girls have danced in two churches and for church gathering of 200 people.  We have taught English at church and at an orphanage. . .

Everyday is a new opportunity for us to reach out, serve and love like Jesus.  We are so humbled that He would use us in this way.

People here ask me about my joy, which is a wonderful segue for me to tell them about Jesus.

When people ask me how I am, I always say “I am blessed!”  This too leads into conversations about the Lord.  Yes, there are potholes in the road of life.  There are challenges and hurts, but I know through everything that I am blessed because the Lord is always with me.  Loving me, and loving through me.  Guiding me, and helping me guide others.  Giving me wisdom, discernment, and encouragement, and helping me to teach and encourage others.    

So with a grateful heart I serve the Lord with my husband, here in Thailand.  I feel blessed and honored to serve the people of Thailand.

Giving all the credit, all the praise and glory and honor where it belongs, to the Lord of Lords, and King of Kings, Jesus, my God and my Savior!

Blessings,

April

Gifts and God ‘incidences. . .

We are back in America for a month and God has blessed us with many gifts while we have been here.

The gift of wonderful hugs from family and friends, warm my heart and soul.  As I joyfully enfold myself with people I treasure, I know I will cherish each and every hug, and remember those hugs when we return to Thailand.

In coming back to America, we choose to enjoy foods that we have missed during our time in Thailand.  One day we decided to go to Cracker Barrel to enjoy some of those foods.  As we stood waiting to be seated, up walked a dear friend with 3 of her granddaughters.  When we locked eyes neither of us could believe it.  With a startled shout, we grinned and hugged.  We stopped by their table and enjoyed talking with her husband, finding out that they now live about 6 miles from where we were staying.  We are staying with Bill’s brother, and he lives about an hour from where most of our friends live, so to run into a friend out near where we are staying is really surprising.  What a joy!  This was definitely a God ‘incidence.

I know that some people would think of this as a coincidence, but I can definitely see the hand of God in the situation.  I think of a God ‘incidence as being an occurrence or divine appointment that God orchestrates, rather than what many may call “a coincidence.”

While we are here, I have been running around trying to get all of my paperwork together to get my Visa for our return to Thailand.  One of those items meant that I had to go to the doctor to have him complete a form.  As Bill and I sat in the waiting room, I looked up and to my amazement there was a wonderful friend looking at me in the same stunned way that I looked at her.  We hugged and laughed, and then I was called in for my appointment.  Bill continued to chat with our friend, and she left as I was paying my bill.

Bill and I chatted as we walked outside and were surprised to see our friend still there, talking on her cell phone.  She waved when she saw us, saying that her husband wanted to make sure that we got together with them soon.  We said we would definitely have to get together, and then we drove off.  Several minutes later we got a call from our friend, asking if we were available to come over right away.  We were available. . .  In fact, we had dinner with them; stayed overnight at their house; went to church with them at 4:00 am to see and pray for the youth as they left on a mission trip; and then we had breakfast with them and another couple.  What a gift from the Lord; another blessing of a God ‘incidence.

With a grateful heart I awaken each day, looking forward to seeing God’s hand in my day.

Blessings,

April

A Clean Sweep. . .

Sometimes as I sweep up the floors of our house, or sweep the tiled outdoor area that surrounds our house, I get frustrated.

“Frustrated from sweeping?  Huh?!”  It is true.

You see, in America I always had long handled brooms with stiff bristles to sweep with, and here in Thailand I have a broom with a handle half the length that I am used too and the bristles are wispy.  In other words, the harder I try to sweep the less effective I am.

As a missionary living in Thailand I have learned to watch how the local Thai people do things, and this is what I learned about sweeping:  It is almost like a dance. 

Ah, like a dance. . .I used to be a ballet dancer, now that is a language I understand!

So, as I watched the Thai’s sweep with the short handled brooms, I noticed that they held the broom lightly in their hand as they took a step and gently with a fluid motion brought the broom forward.  The dust was encouraged forward as it softly wafted into the air and settled to the ground in a location in front of the brooms arc.  The dirt just seemed to obey the gentle prodding of the broom, and continued to move along.

Never have I seen a Thai using a Thai broom in a harsh or rough manner.  Which I can tell you, from experience, is a good thing – because it does not work.  Lol!  I have tried to wield my short broom in short, staccato type motions to hurry my sweeping along, all to no avail as the dust basically refuses to obey.

So, I have figured out that I can fight the dirt and dust by trying to make it comply to my way of sweeping, (pushing, brushing fast, with the bristles pressing and scraping against the floor), or I can sweep in a light, encouraging, arcing dance like motion and finish my sweeping without frustration.

Fortunately, I have chosen the wise way of working with the broom the way it works best, and I have found my level of frustration with sweeping completely diminished.

When I think about how the Lord works through the Holy Spirit with me, I see that He gently encourages me and gently admonishes me if I need it.  I am so grateful that the Lord teaches with love and encouragement. The Lord does not usually use the “2 x 4 method” (hitting me on the head with a piece of wood) unless I am stubborn, like a sticky spot on the floor that a gentle sweeping motion just won’t get.

As we work with youth of varying ages at the Youth Center, we nearly always find that encouragement, and a gentle word works best in teaching them.  They are always more inclined to obey and to act in-kind to each other.  So rather than forcing lessons or speaking unkind words, we use the balm of gentleness and encouragement to help them grow into the young people that God wants them to be.  (I actually find this approach works with people of all ages.)

Most people thrive when taught and helped with soft, encouraging words and actions.

I pray that each of us would speak wise words that uplift and encourage, not words that injure and teardown.

Proverbs 31:26 – “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”

1 Thessalonians 5:11 – “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”

John 14:26 – “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

Psalm 143:10 – “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!”

Blessings,

April

Now that is Generous Giving. . .

Bill and I have the privilege of being involved with an orphanage here in Thailand.  We teach English at the orphanage each week, and they come to the Youth Center for Youth Group for games, food and Bible study.  We ask often how we can help more, but they are reluctant to tell of their needs.

A while back we wished twin teenage girls Happy Birthday during Youth Group.  A few days later, after we finished teaching English at the orphanage, one of the teenage girls started to give me a hug.  Suddenly she pulled back, saying that she just remembered something, and asked if we could wait a minute.  I told her we would wait, and to take her time.

She ran off to the small room that she shares with the rest of the girls that live at the orphanage.  She emerged a few minutes later with two beautiful bracelets in her hands.  She explained that they were for the twin girls that had just had a Birthday, and that she wanted me to give them to the girls.  I told her that they were beautiful, and asked her why she didn’t want to give them to the girls herself.  She just insisted that I give them to the girls for her.  I finally agreed and said I would.

I then asked her where she had bought them, because I really thought they were gorgeous.  She looked confused for a moment, and then told me that she had made them.  She had made each one specifically for each of the girls, based on what she thought they would like.

I was amazed, and awed.  Here was a young lady, who was living in an orphanage, she had just started college, and she worked to provide money for the orphanage and for school.  And yet out of her generous heart she had made two bracelets that she would normally sell, and she gave them to two new friends.

She was not reluctant in giving.  She was actually beaming (and yet shy), as she handed the beautiful bracelets to me.

Her giving was not about her.  She did not call a press conference, so that everyone could see how generous she was.  She did not even want to be the one to give the bracelets to the girls.  She just wanted to give the gifts.  For her, the time that it took to make the bracelets, was just part of the gift, and it gave her joy.

Wow!  That all of us that have given our lives to Jesus would give with such a humble joyful heart.

We hugged and I promised that I would give the bracelets to the girls.

When I gave the bracelets to the girls, and explained who they were from. . .they were stunned.  I could see how moved they were, by the generosity of someone who has had so little in the way of possessions and yet sought to share what little she had.

How humbling and grateful I am to see God’s Word in action in the life of a beautiful Thai teenage girl.

Mark 12:41-44 “And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.  And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.  And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.  For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.""

I don’t know about you, but I am feeling very challenged to live more generously. 

My prayer for each of us is that we would honor and glorify God with our generous giving, and that our giving would reflect our heart.

Blessings,

April

Water, Water, Everywhere. . .

On Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, September 28, 29, 30 and October 1st it rained. We had huge thunder claps and lots of lightening to go with the rain, but on Saturday, October 2nd, everything changed.

On Saturday the rains came as a deluge. Soon the streets were flooding as storm sewers and water canals overflowed. The waters just continued to rise throughout the morning.

Our home is up a number of steps so we were blessed with just getting water below the steps, but our hearts were saddened to look out our back windows and see people walking through the streets with water up to their knees. As we watched, four people came down the road pushing a floating car.

However, that was not the worst. The road that goes out perpendicular to our house slopes downhill as it goes away from our house. The homes on the streets in that direction used to be level with road, but they had flooding problems in the past so to try and alleviate the flooding problems they raised the road surface. . .3 feet. Well, as you can imagine with the road now 3 feet above the homes, and the gravity feed of the water, the homes now flood completely when there are heavy rains.

On Saturday, the water on the roads in this area was above my waist. Our hearts went out to all of the people who were trying to get their soggy belongings out of their homes. We helped people lift appliances off of the floor onto tables to try and keep refrigerators and other appliances dry. We carried people’s belongings blocks and blocks away to waiting trucks on higher ground. It took so long to walk through the nearly chest high water with our arms filled with as much as we could carry.

(Oh by the way, the water was not clean. Evidently septic tanks had given way and there was raw sewage everywhere. Gross just seems too mild a description.)

We were to have Youth Group at our house at 4:00, so we put out the word that all of the streets around us were flooded and that they should not worry about not being able to come. Well, we had 16 youth show up at our home. (I have talked to people from churches that have not come out to church because it started to rain.) I am so proud of the youth for forging through waist deep waters to get here for Youth Group.

At one point during the flood I looked out our back window and was astonished to see a fisherman with his fishing net over his right shoulder ready to cast. As he waded through the two foot high waters on the street behind us, it was just like watching the fisherman that I spoke of in my blog Casting Our Nets. He walked slowly with great patience looking into the water for just the right time to cast his net to catch fish. I later found out that a fish farm had flooded into the streets and the fish were out there for the taking. Later in the afternoon I saw some women and girls with nets on poles trying to catch fish in the street in front of our house.

The Lord laid it on my heart that even during disasters He can draw people to Himself, when we are willing to serve hurting people with the love of Christ.

Fast forward two days, to the Woman of the Word ladies Bible study at our home on Tuesday afternoon. The waters in the streets had mostly dissipated, except for a few really low lying roads. As we gathered for Bible study we talked about the flooding and about how so many people were forced out of their homes by the flood waters. At this time my good friend from the resort where we held the Youth Retreat, said “You will not believe this. One of my staff said that she saw my friend with the long hair, on Saturday helping people whose homes were flooded. In fact she said my friend had helped her husband move their things out of their home, before the flood waters damaged everything.”

I was amazed. I was amazed that this woman even recognized me because I had my hair tied back in a ponytail wrapped around four times, and I was standing in water over my waist, so that fact that she recognized me is incredible. Trust me I did not want my over 3 foot long hair dragging through the filthy water. Obviously, the Lord was doing a work.

The woman who saw me helping her family is a Buddhist, and knowing that I am a Christian and that I was willing to help the flood victims really seemed to have an impact on her heart.

The Lord is so amazing. To be perfectly honest I did not know the families that I helped, but it is awesome that the Lord worked through the situation even though I was oblivious to what He was doing.

Well, Bill searched our refrigerator and cabinets looking for food to share with the people from our flooded community. We had invited the displaced people into our home, but they declined. So, we fed the Youth Group, and then asked them to take all of the food outside for the flood victims, police and firemen that were congregating outside our front gate. Bill had set up the ping pong table that we have outside, and we covered it with vinyl table cloths and the youth placed the food out on the table.

After a little encouraging, the people started to come into our yard and eat. (They still refused to come into our home.) They were so grateful. Over the course of the evening, we must have had 30 people come and eat, get some soda or water to drink, or have an ice cream cone.

Thank you Lord for casting Your nets in our community during a time of trials.


Hebrews 13:16 NLT - "Don't forget to do good and to share what you have with those in need, for such sacrifices are very pleasing to God."


Luke 10:27 NLT - . . .`You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, `Love your neighbor as yourself.'

Matthew 25:35 NLT - "For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home."



By April