Austins in Thailand

I write this as I look out at my garden filled with flowers. There is a small - very small - yellow bird flitting around the green, red and white of the garden. The rainy season has just begun here in Thailand and moisture clings to everything. After 5 long, dry, and recently very hot months, the rain is falling again, sometimes with great force, sometimes with gentleness.

Sometimes, especially in March after 4 months with no rain, I start begging God for rain. I remember the green of November, the raging waterfalls and sky filled with rain. I remember the rice fields filled with water and the clean fresh air. The memory gives me hope.

For 400 years the Israelites toiled in Egypt. It was a long time of suffering. But God heard their cry and led them out of slavery. Over and over again in the story of Exodus God directs his people to remember. Remember you were once slaves. Remember, God saved you. Remember who you are, where you came from, who loves you. Remember.

Exodus is our story. Like the memory of the green of November, our memory of God’s saving actions give us hope in the troubled times. We were once slaves in Egypt. We were once dead in our sins. God saved us. God broke the power of Egypt and the power of sin. There is nothing God cannot do. It may be dry and hot - but the rain will come. We may be suffering now - but God will rescue us. Remember.

Remember.

My wife Natelle teaches 1^st grade at Grace International School. It’s a Christian school with mostly Christian students, but there are some Thai kids who attend that are Buddhist. A couple of weeks ago Natelle was teaching the regular Bible story when one her students blurted out that she hated Jesus and loved Buddha. Her classmates weren’t too happy about this told her so which made her cry. Natelle comforted her and corrected the student’s behavior. Since then Natelle has continued to be a sensitive, loving teacher and has continued to tell stories about Jesus. She has also continued to pray for her students that don’t know Jesus.

Recently, because of Holy Week, Natelle has been telling stories about Jesus suffering, death and resurrection. The little girl who said she hated Jesus and loved Buddha has listened and has been affected by the stories. She’s even cried during some of them. I don’t think she hates Jesus anymore.

One life changed at a time. This is what it takes. In Thailand the going is rough. Obstacles are huge. Sometimes there seems to be so little hope, but then people change – God breaks through. There is hope in being able to touch one life at a time. Natelle is touching more than one life - she is spending an entire year with twenty or so 1^st graders and is teaching more than math and reading. By her witness, her love, her patience she is making room for little boys and girls to love Jesus.

Recently I was sharing a meal with some Thai friends. We were in the country, surrounded by beautiful mountains. I was admiring the view when I noticed that wild fires were starting to spread on several of the mountains. I was alarmed. I asked my Thai friends what was happening, if we should alert someone to put out the fires. They just shrugged it off informing me that people set fire to the forest this time of year in order to help the mushrooms grow.

Then I remembered one of our Thai pastor’s dream for Thailand, “. . . Churches springing up like mushrooms.�

I put the two together.

In order to have mushrooms, the old and dead must be burned. It’s violent. It’s dangerous. Does this apply to church work as well?

I believe it does.

Please pray that God will set fire to Thailand. All the old, useless things must to go: old ways of doing things, past sins, old mistakes. God needs to come prepare the ground by cleansing it and purifying it and lighting fires in our lives and hearts.

Yes, it will be dangerous. But we are at war and war is costly.

Pray also for our protection. We want churches springing up like mushrooms, not homes and lives ravaged by wildfire.

Thailand is fertile. Mushrooms are everywhere. This is what we want for the church. Churches everywhere.

This is a great story:

In the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand long ago, an invading army approached the gates of the city ready to make war. But before the war began the king of Chiang Mai and the king of the opposing army met and agreed to a contest to decide the fate of the city. Each army would chose a champion to dive into the water of the moat. The man who stayed under longest would decide the outcome of the imposing war.

The two men dove into the water.

The invading army lost the contest.

The man from Chiang Mai never surfaced.

He had tied himself to a branch deep in the water. He gave his life to save his people.

C.S. Lewis writes that the incarnation of Jesus is like a diver who dives into the water, finds a great prize, then surfaces with this prize. The prize is us. The water is this mortal life. Unlike the great man who gave his life for this people in Chiang Mai, Jesus rose again victorious.

God’s grace and love permeates everything. There are stories everywhere that point the way.

This year it is cold. . . well. . . cool. When you go to the store they are playing “Jingle Bells” and “Joy to the World” but most Thai people understand songs about Jesus as much as they understand songs about snow. December 24 and 25 are no different from any other day of the year here in Thailand. People go to work. Children go to school.

In many ways Thailand is similar to the world to which Jesus came. There is a powerful religion which holds most people captive. There are enormous, crushing issues that are destroying lives and creation. There is also a hunger for salvation.

Jesus came long ago, and Jesus is coming again - now - into our world of need. Jesus comes this Christmas to bring hope, healing and joy to a people lost to fear and suffering. Jesus comes to us all, every language, every color, every need.

Please pray this Christmas with the songwriter: “O Come O Come Immanuel and rescue captive Israel . . . and Burma and Thailand and Laos and Cambodia and . . . .”

And we rejoice!

I haven’t posted anything for over a month now. Why? I’ll explain and you’ll get some insight into our little world here.

We had an internet service which was satelite based. ADSL was not available until recently, so satelite was the way to go. However, it was expensive and whenever there were clouds it stopped working - grrrrr. When we had the coup a few months back it was cloudy at the time. I had no idea if we needed to run for our lives, or just enjoy living in a state of armed crises. Well. . .

Finally, I learned that ADSL was available - faster and cheaper. So I cancelled the satelite when the phone company assured me the ADSL would be connected. 5 weeks later I now have ADSL.

FIrst they attached the ADSL to a non existent line - then charged me to switch it to the existing line. Then the right hand didn’t know what the left hand was doing, so they didn’t turn on the two new lines in their office. Then they turned on one but not the other. Meanwhile my Thai IT friends are going crazy and I’m trying to keep smiling, because you always have to smile here in the land of smiles. . .

One of my favorite thai works is, “Lambak!” it means, “what a bother!”

Well, I’m up and running. Visit again soon. . .

There are soldiers with machine guns not far from my home. They are young. They look bored. But they have machine guns. I’m thankful there are no tanks!

The coup in Thailand has not affected us much. There is uncertainty. There have been promises. There is hope.

Not too long ago the lady cutting my hair commented on the politics of her country. She stated, “I’m not worried. My king is on the throne. He is our father and he will take care of us.” She was not talking about God, but about the good king of Thailand. But that attitude of trust in another has not only given Thailand great stability, but it points beyond this world to another.

Our world is at war. There are forces poised to tear us apart. There are weapons of war far deadlier than machine guns and tanks seeking us out. Do we have the confidence of a Thai hairdresser? Are we at peace because our father is on the throne?