A Clean, Fresh Slate . . .

The other night Bill and I went out to dinner, to celebrate my Birthday. My parents had said they would treat us to dinner, and that we should find a nice restaurant. We went to a wonderful restaurant right on the beach in Hua Hin. The restaurant was carved into the side of a steep hill, with two terraced levels with tables and chairs. Each table was set with woven place mats, a napkin and utensils, as well as fresh flowers and a candle.

As we sat overlooking the beach and the ocean, we watched the sky change to include hues of pink and deep blue . . . and then it was dark. We are still surprised by how quickly the sun sets here in Thailand each evening.

After we ordered, we sat quietly enjoying the sound of the waves from the Gulf of Thailand rolling in and out. Each wave lulled us into feeling of relaxation and peace. In the background playing quietly we could hear soft English speaking songs, which was a nice surprise.

As I looked at the sand in the fading light, I noticed that there was hardly any undisturbed sand. Everywhere I looked I saw footprints going in all different directions, the remnants of sandcastle works of art, and random holes dug for who knows what purpose.

The Lord started to speak to my heart . . . if I were to come to the beach tomorrow morning what would I see? Would I see the disheveled beach of the day before, or would the beach look like a clean, fresh slate, free of footprints and sandcastles, and holes to fall in? This Bible verse came to my mind, “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.” Lamentations 3:22-23

Each morning. Wow, not every once in a while. Not once a year, but each morning God's mercies begin afresh. How awesome is that?! (And I reserve the word awesome for God.) Just as the beach would be clear of the disarray each morning, so too are our lives a clean, fresh slate each morning.

Thank you Lord for Your great mercies! Thank you for the clean, fresh slate that you gift us with each morning. All praise and honor and glory be to You, oh Lord!

Seeking to serve HIM in all that I do!

By April

Thanks for the Encouragement. . .

As I have said before, working with the Youth Group has been a blessing, but to be perfectly honest sometimes I wonder just how much they are taking in. After all, almost every week we have youth from 3 different countries. As we play games, fellowship, and study God's Word it is obvious that the non-Americans are not seeing things as we do in America. At times we are laughing our heads off, and the others in the group look puzzled. So, imagine my delight when one of the Thai youth accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior the other night. . .

Bill and I walk everywhere we need to go, as we do not have a car or motorcycle. So, the other night Bill and I were walking home from the mall when all of a sudden we heard one of the boys from Youth Group yell “Hello.” We looked around but did not see him. He spoke again and we looked through the slats of a fence of the house we were passing. Sure enough there he was, sitting with a Thai girl from Youth Group. He cut right to the chase, “How would you describe salvation to her?”

Okay then. . . We were taken a little off guard, but we were thrilled that this young girl wanted to know more about having a relationship with Jesus. The young man explained that he had come by to visit her and that she had gone right into her house to get her Bible. She immediately started to asked questions about salvation, and now he wanted us to jump in and help explain things to her. Through the fence I explained the plan of salvation to her, but the young man said that she still did not understand.

Bill and I left, and walked the short distance home. I kept praying that God would show me how I could reach this young lady. We put our packages in the house and I grabbed a dry erase board, a marker and an eraser and headed back to the girls' house. I went around to the gate and entered the yard. The young man seemed relieved that I was back, but started to laugh when he saw my supplies.

The young lady was immediately intrigued and listened intently while I told her about God and Jesus. I told her that God was the creator of the heavens and the earth, and each one of us. I said that he loves each one of us, but that he did not want us to love Him because He put a gun to our head or something. I told her He did not want robots walking around saying “I love you Lord. I love you Lord.” Then I grabbed my dry erase board and gave her an illustration about how in the beginning we were in harmony with God, but then after we sinned we were separated from God. God then offered His only Son, Jesus, as a sacrifice for our sins. When we ask for forgiveness of our sins, give our lives to the Lord, and ask Jesus to come into our hearts, Jesus then becomes our Lord and Savior. It is as if He holds a hand out to us and a hand out to a Holy God, and when we take hold we are united through Jesus.

I am so thankful that this young lady accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. I am so thankful that the Lord encouraged the heart of the young man that had been talking to her about Jesus for over 4 years, and our hearts, by helping us to see the fruits of our labor. Praise God!
“in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:12-14

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:8-9

By April

Christmas Presence. . .

In case you are wondering. . .Yes, I do know how to spell. :-)

In the days leading up to Christmas I was so excited. About presents, you might inquire? But the answer would be 'no'. I was excited to see how the Lord's Presence would affect people here in Hua Hin, Thailand where we are currently serving as missionaries.

I heard many people around me talking of gifts they hoped to get, or about the gifts they were giving. But as we approached Christmas my eyes were on THE GIFT, JESUS, and I looked with anticipation as to how that GIFT would be received.

In the weeks before Christmas, Bill and I received and saw many others receive Christmas Presence.

Several weeks before Christmas, a woman at church came up to me and said that she did not feel that she has ever really embraced the Lord as her Savior. She said that although she had been going to church for years, she felt that she had a huge hole in her heart. She said that she sensed something different about me and wanted to talk with me about her lack of faith. She and another woman decided to come to our home to talk and for prayer. The Lord was so faithful in giving her HIS Christmas Presence. The Lord gave me just the right words, to speak into her heart. She gave her life to Christ and we hugged and cried. Praise God for Christmas Presence!

Then there was the Youth Group Christmas Presence. The Youth Group baked hundreds of cookies to be used as part of our outreach. It was so great to see the care and concern the youth put into making and baking the cookies. We went caroling at a local hospital and open air restaurants around town giving out cookies, tracts and information about our church services. The youth did such a wonderful job.

The Youth Group also packed backpacks with school supplies, food and toiletries to give to needy mountain children. We prayed over the backpacks and for each of the children that would receive them. We drove a little over an hour to meet the children and give out the 78 backpacks. As we got in the truck to head home, the youth said that we had to come back, and we started talking about what we could do for them next time.

Bill and I walked and walked and walked, around neighborhoods and along the beach (hey, somebody had to do it ;-) ) giving out information about our Christmas Eve service, Prayer Time and Bible Studies. We distributed over 500 hundred fliers throughout the area.

Another Christmas Presence occurred on the beach. We were walking down the beach with fliers in hand, when a young Thai woman said “Hello”. We stopped to speak with her, and she opened her heart saying that she was sad and feeling depressed. We spoke for quite a while and then we prayed with her, leaving her with a flier. I am still praying that she will come to church, because you see, she was depressed that she could not find a job and I found someone at church who thought they could hire her. I am hoping that as the Lord continues to work on her heart, she will find the courage to come to church. I believe she will be blessed in many ways.

On Christmas Eve we had a church service followed by a time of fellowship. The Pastor invited people to stand and say Merry Christmas in their native tongue. It turned out that we had people from 15 nations attending the church service. People stayed around for quite a while talking and munching on cake. Bill and I had gotten two cakes from a local bakery. One said Merry Christmas, and the other said Happy Birthday Jesus. It was such a blessing to fellowship with other believers from around the world.

Thank you Jesus. . .for Your Christmas Presence. I look forward to seeing them throughout the year!

Praise God and thank You Jesus!

“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us." Matthew 1:23

“Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his face always.” Psalm 105

By April

Are You Prepared?

Below is an excerpt from the sermon, “Are You Prepared?” that I gave at All Nations Christian Fellowship International Church on December 6th, 2009. It’s a little different than most sermons as I presented it from the viewpoint of Forrest Gump, with the best rendition of a Forrest Gump accent that I could muster. I hope you find it both heart warming and meaningful.

Earlier today, Li’l Forrest asked me when we were going to start to get ready for Christmas. He wanted to make sure we had everything we needed to be prepared for Christmas Day. I think li’l Forrest was concerned with making sure we had the typical things that many people throughout the world associate with Christmas. Like having a Christmas tree, havin’ the house decorated, makin’ sure we had Christmas cards to friends and relatives written and mailed, gettin’ gifts for all the relatives, bakin’ Christmas cookies, and havin’ our stockings hung with care, as Santa will soon be here.

I tried to explain to li’l Forrest that while these things are all fun to do, we need to be prepared for Christmas every day, not just during Advent. Li’l Forrest asked me what I meant by that. I told him that Jesus told us in the Bible, that he is coming back to earth again one day and that while no one knows when that will be, except our Heavenly Father, we need to be prepared for his second coming or we will not be able to spend eternity with God in Heaven. We also have to be prepared that in the case that we die before Jesus returns, that we are ready to go to heaven at a moments notice.

I explained to li’l Forrest that people make and break a lot of appointments – doctor appointments, dentist appointments, appointments to have their hair cut, and to get their cars fixed. But there is One appointment that we are All goin’ have to keep. Doesn’t matter who you are, or what kind of name you have in this foolish world. Everybody is go’na show up for this appointment. From the richest woman in the world to the poorest man in the world. From the wisest man in the world to the biggest fool in the world. From the most famous man in the world to the most obsure and unknown woman in the world. The best lookin’ man, your daddy, to the best lookin’ woman, your momma, everybody is going to die one day and face judgment day. I recently read the between 150,000 to 300,000 people keep this appointment every day now. Mama always said, dying was a part of life. I sure wish it wasn't, but it is.

27Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Hebrews 9: 27-28

Li’l Forrest said to me, “But Daddy, I’m a good boy, Jesus will look upon me kindly on Judgment Day won’t he?” I said to li’l Forrest, “Yes, you are a good boy. You don’t steal, and you don’t lie very often, and you say your prayers each night before you go to bed, but that is still not good enough. We are all sinners in one way or another, even you li’l Forrest. I asked him if he knew what the greatest commandment in the WHOLE Bible is? He stared at me and said “What is it Daddy?” I told him that Jesus said this in Mark, Chapter 12:

29"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.[e] 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'[f] 31The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[g]There is no commandment greater than these."

I asked Li’l Forrest if Jesus was the number one thought in his head? Did he wake up with him on his mind? Did he seek to do God’s will everyday? Did he worship Him? Did he keep his commandment of loving him and loving others? God wants us to Love Him and he wants us to want to spend eternity with him.

By Bill

Puppy Like Passion. . .

A little over a month ago we got an auburn colored toy poodle puppy. Because of her coloring, we named her 'Sweet Pumpkin Spice', but we call her 'Pumpkin' for short.

When we got Pumpkin, we had to teach her how to get up the stairs to reach our front door. Before we got Pumpkin we had decided to combine our yard with the neighbors (our ministry partners) so that they would have more room for their sons to play. So at that time we moved the 2 foot high chain link fence very close to our house to protect their dog from getting in our driveway and accidentally getting out our front gate.

We soon found that when we are on the other side of the fence, Pumpkin has a deep desire and almost a desperation about getting to us. In the beginning she taught herself to climb the chainlink fence, dangle on the top, and then push off dashing over to us.

To keep her from climbing the fence Bill attached plastic fencing to the chainlink so that she could not get her paws in the links to climb it. We thought this did the trick . . .

Well, the other day, Bill and I were on the other side of the fence talking with our neighbor and Pumpkin was crying on our side of the fence. The next thing we knew, there was Pumpkin at our feet wagging her tail bouncing from Bill to me. We laughed and picked her up, then carried her back to our side of the fence wondering all the while how she had gotten over the fence. Before we were even back to where we were standing and talking, Pumpkin was already at our feet again wagging her tail and bouncing around just thrilled to be with us. Her whole countenance just oozed joy. The neighbor said that she had climbed a large flower pot in our garden and then flung herself onto the fence where she dangled for a moment before pushing off hitting the ground and dashing over to us. I have to say that our hearts were full seeing how much Pumpkin wanted to be with us. She would not let anything deter her. She just had to be with us. She wanted us to pick her up and hold her, all the while she covered our faces with kisses.

The next day we were planting some vegetable plants in our garden. (Let me just say that it has been interesting for us to try and plant a garden in Thailand. Seeds that we took for granted in America, are very hard to find in Thailand. We bought some tomatoes and ate all, but the seeds which we planted. We did the same with watermelon seeds. :-D )

Pumpkin stood crying on the other side of the fence as we worked in the garden. She has been known to pull out plants so we could not let her in the garden with us. We talked to her as we worked. We told her it is okay, we will be with you soon, etc. Well, in her mind, soon was not soon enough. She wanted to be with us now! Before we knew it she was in the garden with us. We scooped her up and again wondered how she had gotten over the fence. We placed her back on the other side, she immediately scampered to the corner where the house and the fence came together at an angle. She then pressed her back against the house and proceeded to press her way up and over the fence. It was amazing! This puppy was so excited to see us. Yes, we had just been with her, but it was not enough. She wanted to be with us all of the time.

The Lord spoke to my heart, asking me what would our lives be like (that is the lives of Christians) if we had the same passion to be with Him that our puppy had to be with us. How would our lives be more rich, how would we bless the Lord if every morning we woke up and said “Yes, I get to be with Jesus.” What if we did not let anything get in the way of being with the Lord. Not our busy schedules, not chores, not family or friends, not work. Nothing.

Oh, I pray, that my heart would have the passion and desire to spend time with my God and Savior above all else. To get to know Him better. To rest in His warm embrace. To listen to the still small voice that whispers in my heart. Never feeling the I have spent enough time with my Lord, always thirsting for more time with Him. Always joyful and passionate about spending time with God.

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:9-14

By April

Is the Brake On? . . .

Yesterday, Bill and I went with our neighbor and ministry partner, Mark, to Bangkok for a Pastor's meeting. Mark drove his van, and we left at 8:00 a.m. for the noon meeting. Traffic actually flowed nicely and we made it to Bangkok a little early. The meeting, lunch, and prayer time were really great.

After the meeting, Mark offered another pastor a ride, as we were all going to the Sky Train. We pulled into the parking lot and started searching for a parking spot. The pastor we had given a ride to, called out that he saw a spot one row over, so we went down and around and started up the next row. He stated that it was the third spot from the end. We all craned our necks to see the approaching spot. I looked in disbelief, well yeah, there was an empty spot, but there was a vehicle double parked completely blocking the spot. As Mark slowed the van, the other pastor jumped out saying that he would move the car that was blocking the spot. I got a knot in my stomach as I imagined the car alarm going off as he pushed it, or worse yet, that the owner would approach indignate that we were moving his car. To my surprise, the car moved with ease. No one came running to yell at us. In fact, another man wondered if we needed help moving the car?! Hmmm, I am trying to imagine this scenario in America. :-)

I had heard that it is common practice for drivers to put their vehicles in Neutral when parking someone in, but experiencing it was another thing altogether. As far as the emergency brake goes, they do not use it because they never know when someone will have to move their car.

In Pennsylvania, we always put our car in Park, the emergency brake on and set the car alarm.

The Lord started to stir in my heart . . .

Oh how our lives can be like a parked car. When we decide to do something, do we leave ourselves in Neutral with the emergency brake off, in case we need to be moved by the Lord or by someone else? Or, do we dig our heals in 'putting ourselves in Park, with the emergency brake firmly in place, and our alarm set' just in case someone tries to change our course?

There are of course times to stand our ground and dig our heals in. That is when the Lord has clearly told us to stay the course no matter what. But, what about when the Lord tries to get us to change our direction? How willing are we to release the brake, turn off the alarms, and allow Him to move us? Yikes, this sounds like we have to leave ourselves vulnerable to change. Sometimes it can seem so logical to follow the plans that we have made.

However, I have found that in order to be in the Lord's will, I need to 'leave it in Neutral, the emergency brake off, and the alarm off' so that I can be movable enough for the Lord to use me.

Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)
Place Your Life Before God
“So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”

By April

Ping Pong . . .

So, we are trying to get a youth group up and going here in Hua Hin, Thailand. The Wimble boys, Bill and I have met and have many ideas on how to reach the youth of Hua Hin.

Bill and I decided to buy a Ping Pong table to use under the carport (it is not like we have a car or anything). The table is actually in two pieces so we can use it as two tables for events at our house. Such as, this past Sunday the Asian Summit was being held in Hua Hin, and we were unable to have our church service at the Hilton as we usually do. Okay, so the question was where can we have church – we were only given one week's notice. Did someone say “How about the Reeser's house?” We decided we could probably fit the average number of people in our house for church. Then someone suggested we have lunch afterward. Our new ping pong table and the chairs that we bought for the church service worked wonderfully for the luncheon after church. There was lots of fellowship as people ate and got to know each other better after the service. What a blessing.

Well, we have been praying for months for the Holy Spirit to go before us and open hearts and minds to hear the Good News of Jesus. We have prayed that our lives would be a testimony to the Lord and that people would see a difference and be drawn to us.

The other night, two of the Wimble boys asked if they could play ping pong, so Bill setup the tables. They had been playing about ten minutes, when four neighborhood boys stood outside our gate, asking to come in and play. I welcomed them in and laughed to myself as one boy displayed his own ping pong paddle. The boys all took turns playing and they all seemed to be having fun. As I watched, I prayed that the boys would come to know Jesus as their Savior. After some time one of the boys suddenly looked at his watch and they all dashed home.

One of the Wimble boys and I started to play ping pong when all of a sudden two more boys were standing at the gate wanting to play. I invited them in and as they played, I prayed.

Wow, Lord you are so amazing! We were trying to think how to reach out to the youth, and instead you brought them to us. We wanted the church to grow into a more cohesive group and they did. Praise God!

Do you know that the boys have come back each day wanting to play some more? What an opportunity! Thank you Lord!

How wonderful that the Lord could see so much potential in the purchase of a ping pong table.

“Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!” Psalm 47: 1-2.

I am humbled again by His might and creativity!

By April