Lent

I've never celebrated Lent. In fact, I don't even know if that's what you call it - celebrate? observe? participate in?

I haven't ever really known the purpose of Lent. For as long as I can remember, it's been my understanding that it's a time before Easter in which you give something up, sacrifice something, as a symbol of the sacrifice God made in sending His Son to earth and the sacrifice Jesus made in giving His life for us. The things that I'd seen people give up were things that they didn't really need, wouldn't really miss, & wouldn't know they were missing anything had they never had that thing in the first place.

I'm still not sure if I fully understand Lent, but this week, I've seen the purpose of Lent in a new light - a time in which you give something up for the purpose of drawing closer to God. This (drawing closer to God) has been weighing heavily on me lately. In fact, for the past five mornings, I've woken up with this song playing in my mind:

These past four months in Thailand, I've gotten better at managing my time to include time daily to spend in God's Word. However, this time has evolved into exclusively Bible study time. I think for lack of know-how & maybe a little fear at what He might reveal in me, I've turned the time I set aside to just be with God into a time where I'm studying & reading the words of other people about His Word. I'm not at all saying that studying the Bible is a bad thing - I need that just as much, but I've let it overtake my time with Him.

I think this heaviness that I've had lately is God wanting to draw me back to Him - just to Him - not to spend all of my time studying & reading the words of other people. To just be still in His Word & listen to Him. To pour myself out each day so that He can fill me. To ask Him to reveal to me where I need to change, what I need to let go of. To just be with Him.

I don't think it's a coincidence - the timing of what God has put on my heart and the beginning of Lent. So, I've decided to give something up for the purpose of drawing closer to Him.

That something is facebook.

I know to some this may be a trivial thing to give up, but for me, this is about the only way I have to stay connected with everyone at home. But, right now and always, I need God more.

(This isn't to say I don't want to stay in contact with everyone at home - I do! You'll just have to reach me through e-mail or my blog. :) )

So, how am I feeling about this?

Excited? Yes! I'm excited to see where God will take me during this time.

Anxious? Yes! I'm anxious to see what He will reveal in me - areas where I need to change & let go of things.

But mostly, I'm fully anticipating the joy, the peace, & the contentment that will come from just being with Him.

A Day Full of Gifts

I want to start teaching the kids in English class about sentences. We've learned quite a bit of vocabulary words that I think they should have a good base to start learning how to make sentences. In preparation for this, I thought a week of review would be good...and what better way to review than with games! We played hangman and pictionary. The kids hadn't heard of either game, so explaining it so that they understood was a challenge in itself. They had it figured out, though, after the first "example" game. I think I finally found something that will hold the attention of the older kids & younger kids & that both age groups can learn from!



They were really concentrating during the first real game...

They were looking through all of their notes from class trying to figure out which word they were supposed to be guessing!

Even the little kids got in on the action & loved it!

 By the end of class, they were REALLY getting into it...standing, running around, & yelling! :)

It was such a gift to just stand back and watch them use what they had learned and have SO much fun at the same time.

Another gift was that they are finally opening up to me. Rarely have they asked me directly a question & if they did, they were very shy about it. Today, they were very open!

And then...

After class, we were sitting around the table having snack, when Mary came in with a Lisu picture book of many Bible stories. Up until now, I've been trying to figure out when & how to introduce & incorporate Bible stories & lessons in class in a way that the kids will understand & in a way that, when their parents find out, they won't keep their kids from coming back to class.

After today, I no longer need to worry about that.

As we were sitting around the table, Mary began sharing Bible stories with the kids using a Lisu picture book. 

My first thought, as the sinful human that I am, was "This is what I'm supposed to be doing." I wanted to be the person to share the Gospel with them...that is, afterall, why I'm here. In the next moment, I realized, it doesn't matter who shares the Gospel with them, but that they hear it at all.

And, Oh!, the looks on their faces as they heard of His love for the first time...

I feel like God was giving me a gift in not being the one who told them these stories first because I could watch their faces as they heard of Him for the first time!

(It still takes my breath away as I'm writing to you now...)

And this little boy... 

It was his first time attending class. He was so enthralled in the stories & asked so many questions. Truly amazing!

Yes, today was a day full of gifts for us all from Him.

By Your Side

This morning, I attended church at The Gathering, an international church with an English service. Every time I've attended church here since I've been in Thailand (not even a handful), the message is exactly what I needed to hear on that day. Today was no different.

The third song of the service brought me to tears. Have you ever heard a song that felt like it could have been written for you in that moment? This was that song for me today -

Just singing these words would have been enough, but God didn't stop there.

The sermon was about discouragement and 2 Corinthians 1:1-11, the "God of all comfort." This has definitely been something I'm learning by experience in being here, but was re-affirmed & re-enforced through the message.

There were three main points pointed out from this passage.

First, remember who God is - the Father of compassion and God of all comfort. It's in discouraging times, trials, emptiness, etc. that we meet the God of all comfort. This doesn't mean that everything will work out OK immediately, it may or may not. It means that God is always there by your side throughout the whole time. He always is - in good & bad times.

Second, my trial, suffering, etc. may not be about me at all, but about how God will be glorified through that trying time and use it to reach others. One statement that really jumped out at me was "it's tempting in these times (trials, suffering, etc.) to make it about me & to stop becoming a channel of His grace to others"! This is where Satan really works on me - pity parties! I constantly am reminding myself of Who brought me here & why He did.

Third, imagine what God can do in you through this trial. Verse 9 says, "this happened that we might not rely on ourselves, but on God." How true this is - God brought me halfway around the world to learn how to completely depend on Him! And how I have had to! I'm learning that the big changes and shifts that God works on the inside of us come through trying times.

As I was reflecting on this message, I also had a thought that trials bring about communion. They draw people together in prayer and thanksgiving and through that draw people closer to God.

This is what I learned today. I wanted to put it here so I wouldn't forget it and for anyone else who needs to hear it.

As I look back on the two and a half months that I've been here, I can see the many ways God is working in me - changing me & shaping me into the woman He created me to be. If he can do this amount of work in not quite three months, I'm SO excited to see what He will do in two years! It may be (probably will be) painful, but SO worth it!

Serving Him,
Alicia

New Year's Eve Service

On New Year's Eve morning, we had a church service here at Stephen & Mary's. It was a service to thank God for all of the blessings of the past year and to look ahead to the New Year. There were around 100 people that came from Chiang Mai & different villages. There were four languages spoken during this service! This always amazes me when different people groups come together as the body of Christ to praise & worship Him! Even more amazing is that even though we can't understand each other, God understands & knows every language & every heart!

Seating in the outdoor classroom...

...and under the carport!

This little girl started the service with a special song - so cute!

In addition to the hymns that we sang together throughout the service, there were many songs sung by each different village that came, in their respective language.

A song sung in Lahu

A song sung in Thai

A song sung in Lisu

Another song sung in Thai

Chris, a man from Australia, preached the sermon with Stephen translating into Thai. (After the sermon, a man translated the whole message into Lahu, then another translated it into Lisu.) His message pretty much summed up everything that I had been thinking about & reflecting on the previous week! I LOVE when God does that. :) He talked about reflecting on where we are with Jesus - looking back to see where we've come & where we now stand, but not stopping there, growing deeper in our relationship with Him & looking ahead to where Jesus will take us. A great place to be going into the New Year!

Chris preaching & Stephen translating

After the service was over, we all enjoyed lunch together. There was A LOT of food! (Sorry, I didn't take any pictures of that.) After lunch, everyone slowly left to go back to their homes. I had a small clinic and saw six people.

It was a great day thanksgiving, praise & worship, reflection, & looking ahead! 

May God bless each of you in 2012!
Alicia

Christmas in Thailand

My first Christmas in Thailand is over. It was definitely an experience I won't soon forget! Christmas isn't a holiday that is widely celebrated in Thailand, but for the Thai Christians, it is. Every year, a different village hosts a Christmas Convention. This year it was held in the village Nafu in Chiang Dao province. It was about a 2 hour drive - not too bad. Stephen, Mary, John, & I left on Friday, the 23rd. The Convention runs from Friday through Monday, the 26th, but we just stayed through lunch on Sunday. I'll tell you about my experience through the pictures below.

This is the house where we stayed - it is the home of Mary's cousin, Mali.

This is where we slept.

On Friday, there was one church service in the evening. There were three services on Saturday & three on Sunday. I'm not sure how many services there were going to be on Monday. Each service consisted of singing hymns, then each village that came would have a group sing a song, then a different preacher would preach the sermon at each service. Each service lasted anywhere between 2-3 hours.

This is the stage of the convention - it was a platform built off the side of the church.

They go all out with decorations!

This is about a quarter of the seating area for church services.

This is the group from Nafu singing, who were also some of the cooks for the Convention.

Stephen preaching on Saturday.

The services were done in the Lisu language, so I never knew what was being said, sang, or preached. I asked Stephen after the services what the sermon was about. Friday night a preacher from Burma gave the message. Stephen said about 6 or 7 of the points in his sermon were Biblically wrong. After Saturday morning's sermon, Stephen said he didn't really know what the message was - the man was just talking & talking. Mary heard many people discussing that they didn't know who or what to believe because everyone was saying something so different. This led to a discussion among the three of us about the direction of the Thai church. It is growing in numbers, but the people have a very shallow knowledge-base, even the elders & leaders of the churches. This is something that Stephen is trying to help through the Asia International Seminary that he has started here, but it is something that is going to take a lot more resources than what he currently has for AIS. Please join us in praying that God would provide the direction & resources (financial, materials, teachers, etc.) to help the Thai church grow spiritually, more than just in numbers.

I'm not sure of the exact number of people that were there, but I think it was in the thousands. It took A LOT of work to feed that many people three meals a day!

This is the prep area where they cut & prepared the food to be cooked.

This is where the servers would refill their pots to serve each table.

On the left (the silver rectangles) is rice being steamed & the garbage cans on the right is cooked rice.

The ladies washing dishes.

Tables where each meal was served.

Mary, her sister, & friends in Lisu dress.

Mary in formal Lisu dress.

Me & Mary waiting for a service to start.

Throughout the area where the Convention took place, there were many booths set up selling food, toys, clothes, & games for kids to play. It was a lot like the atmosphere of a carnival. There was also a dance every night after the last service until almost midnight. This led to another discussion about why the people come to the Christmas Convention - is it to worship & learn & praise God, remembering the birth of his Son, or is it to get together with friends & family & have a good time? Another thing to be praying about - that this Convention wouldn't continue down the direction it's headed, but become once again focused on Christ.

Overall, this was an experience I'm glad I had the opportunity to have. I was able to learn more about the state of the Thai church, areas it needs help, & the needs it has that I can be praying for & ask others to pray for. 

This experience also put into perspective for me how I normally celebrate Christmas. It made me think - Are my priorities in order? Do I spend enough time & focus on celebrating the Reason for Christmas? Do I get so wrapped up in the feeling of Christmas & family & traditions & running around & making sure everything's done just right & in time that I get worn out & just wish for it all to be over?  These are just some of the questions that I've been wrestling with this week.

I hope that I never forget this experience & the lessons I learned & am reminded of it every year as the Christmas season comes around.

Serving Him,

Alicia

Christmas Party

Last Sunday, December 18th, we had a Christmas party for English class. The previous class, I told the kids that there was going to be a surprise & I guess they told their friends because instead of the usual 8-10 kids, there were 16!

We normally have class on Saturday, but many of the kids were going on a field trip during the week & wouldn't be able to come on Saturday. They asked if we could change the day because they wanted to come. That made me feel like I'm doing a little something right! So, we set class time for 4:00pm on Sunday.

When we got home from church a little after 1:00pm, all of the kids were sitting outside already! So, I quickly set up everything & we started class around 1:20. I began by telling the kids we were going to learn about a holiday that is celebrated in America & many other places. (There are a few decorations here, so I know that some people know a little about Christmas, but not much.)

When we start with new material, I always start with vocabulary words. So, for this week's new words, I printed out the shapes of the words & the kids colored them in & wrote each word. I also made a power point slide show with real-life pictures of each word. I think they like this way of learning & it helps them to remember each word.

All 16 kids getting ready to learn about Christmas

Vocabulary shapes worksheet

After the kids learned the new words, I had them decorate a little Christmas tree. Everything that we used was a vocabulary word, so the first person that yelled the correct word helped me put that item on the tree. Then, they each got an ornament to hang. They really enjoyed that!

The finished tree!

After decorating the tree, the kids played Christmas Bingo. A few had played before, but most had not, so it took a bit of time to explain it in a way they would understand. They had a good time playing & shouting out "BINGO"!

After Bingo, we moved to the outdoor classroom for a snack & story. They had butter cookies, no-bake cookies, & chocolate milk. I had explained to them that some of the words that we had learned earlier would be in the story. I also explained that while some of the characters we learned about earlier were made up in the stories that were written about them, the story that I was going to tell them was a true story, something that really happened. I read to them a kids' version of the Christmas story out of Matthew & Luke. While I read, Becky translated, & Johnny held up pictures for each part of the story. It didn't start out too well as the kids were really excited about the snack & didn't want to stop talking & pay attention, but after a few minutes they quieted down & were really paying attention. After I finished reading, I explained to them that this is the reason I celebrate Christmas.

Kids listening to the Christmas story

After reading the story, I passed out gifts to all of the kids. They were really excited! The looks on their faces were priceless! They stayed until around 5:30 playing with their gifts with each other.

Waiting in line to get another snack - loti, an Indian pastry

Overall, I think the kids had a great time! This was the first time that I really introduced Jesus & any part of the gospel to them. Most of them have never heard of Him, so it was a great opportunity to share some of my culture while at the same time introducing them to the Savior of the world as a baby!

As I was watching the kids play, I was overwhelmed with love for each one of them. It breaks my heart to know that they had never had an opportunity to know of Christ & His love for them. I am so humbled & immensely grateful that He chose to use me to reach these kids for Him! As they left one-by-one, I silently prayed for each child that they would personally come to know Him & grow in Him. I can plant the seed, but only God working in them will bring about the harvest.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Serving Him,

Alicia

A Breakthrough of sorts...

This past Saturday's English class was the first class that:

• all ten kids attended at the same time!
 
• the kids opened up & yelled the words they were learning & seemed to be having fun!
 
• I felt like I actually did something right & that the kids left knowing more English than when they came in!  

This has definitely been an area where I've grown personally. Jumping in to this area of ministry right away has forced me to fully depend on God. As I've mentioned before, it's the area that I'm the least prepared for & the most apprehensive about. Besides the fact that I can't communicate with these kids without someone to interpret, I don't know what English they already know, & their ages range from 4 to 11, which makes it difficult to keep everyone on track.

In the first 4 classes, we covered ABC's, numbers & counting, greeting, colors, and food. We started the 5th class this past Saturday with a review of everything. I think it helped because everyone had missed one class or another.

After reviewing, we took a break & the kids played a game. It was like duck, duck, goose, but with a towel.

After their game was finished, it was back to studying. We learned the names for different family members. This was really confusing for them, but I think was straightened out a little bit when we made family trees. This was the first time that I could find a hands-on activity and all of the materials for it to help learn the material we covered. I think it really helped, so I'm going to try to be a lot more creative with each class. (Prayers for creativity & materials would be much appreciated! :) )

(I'm also trying really hard to learn everyone's names. I wasn't very good with learning American names, so Thai names has been a struggle! I wrote them all down this week, phonetically, as I heard them.)

Aditep, Thun, Chaiwan, Vichai

Somboon, Waypahn, Kampahn

Hom Nuan, Suay

Everyone with their (mostly) finished Family Tree!

Next weekend, class will be on Sunday evening. It's normally on Saturday mornings, but the students are on a field trip all week & wanted to be able to come, so they asked if we could change class time. We're having a Christmas party! Please pray that it will be a fun time, but more importantly that the true meaning of Christmas will be well received.

Serving Him,
Alicia