Moving Forward, Going Back

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On a side note. I really wanted to integrate more direct journaling during my time. But I found that while I was in Asia, God was working with me very personally and inwardly, and in such a way that it was difficult to express what I was going thru, especially in a blog. Standing on California soil, I find He has healed my brokenness in a way that only he could. I am made new and ready to share with you more on this journey!

Dear Friend

*** letter to supporters***

There’s something I have learned here in Asia. God doesn’t change. The same God we worship in California is the same in Asia or anywhere else. While our contexts and circumstances change from place to place, following Jesus, we are all called to reach for His principles and priorities in our lives. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Spending the last seven months in Asia, I am convinced that His indomitable will is for His name to be spread to all nations and people groups- whether it is in Long Beach, Corona, Riverside, Orange County or in a remote village in Asia.

Today, if you could see my heart you’d see its shape is Asia. I leave this side of the world with more work left to be done- more stories to be written- more Bibles to be delivered and more people to be reached. It’s a New World we live in and I have found the possibilities for connecting believers in the West and East are endless. Coming to the States, my desire is to continue serving the church community. If God is willing to send me back to Asia to do this, I will gladly take the opportunity. I will be in Southern California in early April where I will take time to pray and seek out opportunities to serve.

I would love to share the work here with you all. My friends here who are suffering and persevering for the gospel would appreciate me advocating their struggle on their behalf. I look forward to seeing you in person. May God give us more grace for today.

Sincerely,

EJ

Bangladesh

***vlog***

Busy in Bangkok

***vlog***

Dear Friend

a letter to friends and supporters

During the week, I get up and strap on my running shoes at 6:30 am Bangkok time. I head over to a nearby park where they have a circular track that’s at least 800 meters long. I find running there helps get out the stress and pain I feel from missing home.

Whenever I am there I aim to finish 10 laps.

The first and second laps are pretty easy, but by the third I start to feel it. When I hit the fifth my body is telling me it has had enough and its time to give up and go eat a Big Mac from Mcdonalds.

But somehow, from somewhere I find energy to keep going. Then I find myself on the sixth. On the eighth I don’t think I can go on. I’m gasping for air, just focusing in and pushing forward. Finally on the tenth I have no idea how I’m making it. I’m just going one step at a time and focusing on the finish line. At the end I always stand where I started, my legs feel dead but I’m satisfied that I had met my goal.

Why am I writing to you about my running escapades? Because I’m on what should be the last lap here in Asia, and I’m finding it’s the hardest. Please remember to pray for me as my mind, body and trying circumstances have been telling me to quit; Thankfully, I have been recently reminded that this is one last round I need to finish (we should all thank Jesus for godly mothers ☺).

O how I wish life was as easy as running! ☺ Christians are called to trust God and rely on him for our daily needs. May God give me the grace and his spirit to finish well! I hope to be in Bangladesh (the third highest Muslim pop in the world) next month and then finish my time with ****** at the end of March. I hope you are well back home. Please keep your friend in Asia in your prayers, also please remember the many people here in Asia who still need to hear the gospel.

Sincerely,

EJ

Empowered

***feature***

Thomas gripped his hands to the steering wheel at 10 and 2 o clock. As a man entered his taxicab, he flipped out a small gospel track, turned to the backseat and with a smile, handed it to the passenger. He was a simple man trying to earn a living in a country struggling economically. In the late 80’s Myanmar was ranked as one of the most underdeveloped nations in the world. It was 1988 and for a taxi driver, work was scarce.

He was a Sunday school teacher, taxicab evangelist, and a part time Bible courier to China. He was happy. But with a wife, two children, and another child on the way he needed a better way to provide for his family. With a contact in Singapore, he planned to move his family south where he could find better opportunities.

It seems that God had a plan of his own.

With 15 dollars in his pocket he left his children and pregnant wife and boarded a plane to Bangkok, Thailand. From Bangkok he planned to find his way to Singapore. He was given temporary residence at ***’s mission’s house and office. The rule had been guests could only stay for a maximum of two weeks. He stayed at the house, afraid to open a refrigerator that belonged to strangers. He survived eating peanuts and rice and drinking water from the pipe. He had a talent for fixing things and he made himself useful repairing whatever he could and running errands to the post office. Eventually, the office workers took a liking to the humble Burmese man.

“You can stay here until you find a job,” they told him.

One day he was helping packaging Bibles to be sent to Vietnam. He prayed, “Lord I have never been to Vietnam, but if people become Christians because of these Bibles maybe I can receive part of the reward in heaven.”

It wasn’t long afterward that his contact in Singapore called. The opportunity had opened up for him to go and find work. He went to Sonny, who would later become ***’s International Director, and took him aside. His eyes glimmered with sincerity.

“If I can make two dollars in a secular job or one dollar serving the Lord, I will choose serving the Lord,” he told Sonny.

“Ok,” Sonny said. “Work with me.” He served at the *** offices fixing appliances and managing the facility.

He survived with a salary of 100 US dollars a month, keeping 50 dollars and sending the rest home to his wife
and three children. Until finally, he could no longer go on.

“I can’t go any further,” he told Sonny. “I need to bring my family.”

“Good. You can bring your family,” he answered.

After years working in the *** office, he was trained in the SOW-H program, an all-encompassing discipleship course that covered the essential aspects of Christianity. At the time his English was poor and his confidence had yet to evolved. After finishing the program he found himself empowered by the Holy Spirit and was emboldened to share his faith. He became a teacher for new students and a leader in the local Burmese church. The more he discipled others the more his confidence grew. In 1994, he replaced the senior pastor of the church.

Today, the church has flourished and includes five sister churches with altogether over 1000 regular attendees. Through the years his family struggled financially and experienced barely surviving on a month-to-month basis. Many times he and his wife cried on their knees, praying and entrusting themselves to God. He testifies today that despite financial hardships, since choosing to serve the Lord, all his needs have been met.

“When you take care of God’s business, he takes care of yours,” Thomas said.

Thomas sharing with a church in Myanmar

In January 2009, Thomas received an honorary doctorate degree for his work that has brought so many to faith. He is the respected head pastor of a growing church in Bangkok, a missionary to Asia, and also a loving husband and father.

Twenty years removed from his days driving a taxicab in Myanmar, Thomas has one thing he wants to tell the world:

"I will never regret serving the Lord."

Storehouses

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Nestled deep within the mountains of Laos lays a village in the Luangpraban district. If you can tread the six kilometers of unpaved road to this serene village you will find nearly 100 families living in bamboo houses.

Here in this village the wind carries a fresh scent untainted by the smog and pollution of the city. A gentle stream flowing from the mountain provides sustenance for the people. You watch as village children shoulder gallons of water tied to wooden poles on either ends. Make your way less than one kilometer to the end of the village and you will find a structure, standing over 10 feet tall and filled six feet high with corn stalks. This storehouse is what local Christian workers have come to call a Harvest Center.

Harvest Center in Laos

Beside the Harvest Center is the home of the local pastor. Inside his house, behind closed doors, key Christian leaders sit cross-legged on the floor, encircling a respected pastor. Their eyes remain fixed on their leader as they take in every word of instruction and exhortation.

According to a Laotian missionary named Pastor Paul, Harvest Centers like the one in this village play a crucial role in reaching the Lao nation with the gospel. Harvest Centers provide not only sustenance for the church but also a central location where Christian leaders can meet for training without government harassment.

“We purposely initiated the Harvest Centers to be mission stations where church leaders can be prepared, equipped, trained, coached and mentored,” says Paul.

In Laos’ socialist republic, the constitution allows for freedom of religion. Despite this, government officials incite local authorities to persecute Christians. Because Christian activity is seen as “disruptive”, the government has declared the Christian religion as an enemy of the state. Oftentimes, pastors and leaders traveling on local roads are reported as missing and at later times are never found. Facing the constant threat of imprisonment and even death, pastors and leaders are forced to continue with their work knowing that “there is nothing they can do but trust God.”

“We can not worry about the government. If we worry about the government we cannot work,” says Paul.

Persecution of Christians in Laos occurs in varying degrees, depending mostly on whether or not Christians can maintain good relationships with local authorities. Regional ****** **** missionaries are aiming to equip local pastors with a new mindset.

“[For the] unbeliever their concept is that [everything] belongs to a guardian spirit,” says Paul. “There are guardian spirits in the rice fields, in the plantation, in their house. It is animism or spirit worshiping. That’s why they are in bondage. That is why we want to inform them the reality. We need to give them the right concept. “ According to Paul pastors must be able to show the people a perspective where

“God is the center. Christ is the center and everything belongs to God- even every area of the land.”

In a nation with 49 tribes and 100 languages the task to fulfill the Great Commission is not easy. ****** **** ********** hopes to build two more Harvest Center in the future. Pray that Harvest Centers will continue to empower the Lao people so that the they can find true freedom in Jesus Christ.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. “

Romans 8:1-2 (ESV)

A Moment in History/ And a Brush With Evil

***narrative journal***


It is a moment in history for the United States of America. You have probably heard this many times thus far, but decades from now people will recall this day and say I was here, or I was doing such and such.

For myself, I will remember this day being thousands of miles away from America- in another culture and in another world. I will tell my children that on this day, the world heard a message of hope, but when I walked a Bangkok city street, all I saw was evil. On this day I felt, heard and could almost touch an insurmountable wickedness. On that street in Silom I could almost hear an unvoiced cry. It was a despair that beckoned for something greater than our ability to hope or to carry out human ideologies. It was a kind of despair that drives you to look for a savior...

Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States

****

January 21, 2009 Bangkok
January 20, 2009 USA

Roadhouse Grill on Rama IV road was renowned for serving authentic American food. The three story building stood prominently on the corner of Rama IV road and Surawong road. While the historic event was taking place on a Monday morning in the States it was Tuesday and almost midnight in Bangkok. The Sunday before I had met an expat from LA who invited some friends and I to join in the night’s inaugural festivities.

“Jawt tee nee,” I told the cab driver to stop. I and my German friend, named Timotheus, exited the taxi. Timo was a 23-year old college student who lived just seven minutes from my place. He was German white, and stuck out in Bangkok like a black bean on rice. He actually was born in Thailand and spoke pretty good Thai. In reality, even though I look like I'm Thai, I was more the black bean and he was more like white rice.

We crossed the busy street. We flung open the heavy doors and stepped into a bar-like scene. On a historic day for America the building was filled to well above its capacity. CNN was blasting from the television screens. Obama t-shirts were arrayed around the room and red, white and blue balloons had been tied to the ceiling. Timo and I found ourselves shoulder-to-shoulder in a crowd of mostly middle-aged farangs (foreigners) who had turned the restaurant into a beehive of laughing, eating and drinking and talking politics.

Obama’s speech wouldn’t be for at least another hour. We found our Thai friend named AJ in the middle of the crowd.

“What's up!” I screamed over the noise.

“Hey man!” AJ screamed back. We spent at least thirty minutes trying to yell over the noise. I grew frustrated. I hated crowds and I needed to get some air.

“Its too crowded in here,” I said. “Let’s go get food and come back for the speech.”

We descended down the three stories, out the door and into the street. We had only taken at least a dozen steps when suddenly we were stopped by a man with a stack of tickets shoved into his back pocket.

“Good show!" he said. "No cover! Ladyboys!” My heart cringed. A ladyboy was a transvestite man who, upon first glance, looked very much like a woman.

I took a second to look the man in the eyes, searching for a source of conviction- a drop of reason. His eyes were like glass- empty- this man was acting only on instinct. We ignored him and kept talking about where wanted to eat, but the man kept going.

“Ladyboy show!” he said again, as he moved closer. “Song roi…”

I turned my back to him as he was in mid-sentence. Just the image of men parlaying at a "ladyboy show" gave me a gag reflex. I looked about the soi. The street was crowded and their seemed to be an unusual amount of farang walking about. I was surprised. It was nearly 11 pm but the lights were bright and people were eating and milling about as if it were midday.

On the other side of the street I saw a large, fluorescent sign reflecting blue and green light against the black asphalt. From inside the disco I could hear techno music thumping, reverberating out the entrance and into the street. Inside, I could only see shadowed movement.

Down the street, there was a business called “Health Spa”. Outside a half dozen men were reclining on chairs or lying on their sides at the steps. They shared a common uniform- tight white polo shirt and tiny black shorts. The men’s legs were shaved, their hair was long and dyed, and their eyebrows were plucked to a point. Behind them there was a dark stairway that carried away customers to gloomy, white washed rooms.

I turned away and lifted my head towards the night sky. My stomach and heart seemed to meet somewhere in the middle.

Behind me I could hear the guy speaking rapidly in Thai, trying to entice my other two friends. They ignored him and kept talking to each other. Above me the clouds were floating high above all the bright lights and street bustle. “God, why am I here?” I thought to myself.

“Let’s go this way,” AJ said. We walked up the sidewalk and away from the ticket seller who was still trying to get us to buy tickets. As we walked I looked through the windows of the stores and ignored the street merchant asking us to buy their trinkets. Each alley we passed I saw another street like the one we walked on. The lights and raucous crowds seemed to go on forever.

“Do you know where we are?” AJ asked me as we walked along the sidewalk.

“This is Silom district right?” I said.

“This is the red light district,” he replied. “If you are here they assume you come for sex.”

Right then I looked up and saw a husky Caucasian man sauntering past us on the sidewalk. The middle-aged man had a smug look as he held hands with a petite Thai woman. I could feel a match light inside of me. I remembered a statistic that a friend had shared to my Bible study group just the week before. His voice echoed in my mind: “70 percent of tourists to Thailand are men traveling alone. 70 percent of those men are going to participate in the sex trade.” Around me I noticed even more farangs with more Thai girls and that same smug look.

Timo was hungry. He was standing next to a street vendor and eyeing their display of pork and chicken. From behind the vendor two scantily clad women were sitting cross-legged at a table, looking Timo over as he inspected the food.

“Too expensive,” Timo said. He started walking away, crossing to the other side of the street. The two women returned to their meal.

“Is it always this crowded here?” I asked AJ.

“Yea, its always this crowded. Even at night.” He replied.

Timo kept walking looking for a place to get cheap food. He found soup for 35 baht (1 USD). Satisfied, Timo took his 35 baht bowl and we walked to some plastic tables and chairs set up alongside the street.

There was just only one available table. A Thai woman dressed in a short-skirted dress was sitting alone at a table for four. Timo ventured over and set his food right across from the woman. I was surprised, but then I remembered that in Asia people live in much closer proximity to one another. I wasn’t used to it, but I followed and took a seat at the table.

When we sat I noticed something slightly disjointed about the woman.

She was fidgeting in her chair. When she lifted the spoon to her mouth her eyes would dart left and right, blinking in a rhythm that sent a slight chill down my spine. I tried to ignore it.

“AJ how was your day?” I said.

“It was good man,” said AJ. “We took a three-hour lunch today. Our boss is out of town.”

As we spoke, I could still see the woman in the corner of my eye. She was hunched over her bowl chewing her food and twitching her jaw in that same uneven pace.
Suddenly, the woman shouted out in Thai. It didn’t seem like she was talking to anyone particular. Across the table AJ’s eyes grew large as the woman kept screaming. He barely turned his head as he stole a glance at the woman.

“What is she saying?” I asked as she kept yelling out into the air.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Something about only having 10 baht.”

She screamed into the air one more time and stood up and left the table.

The three of us took a moment and looked at each other.

“I hear stories about women who go to the temples and make contracts with the devil,” Timo said.

“Really?” I said. I told them I noticed she was acting weird.

“I didn’t notice,” said AJ.

We sat silently as Timo finished his food.

“Hey guys I want to pray for her,” Timo said.

We bowed our heads as he prayed for the woman and the people in the red light district. By the time we made our way back to the restaurant the crowd was even thicker. There was a buzz in the air as former presidents began to appear on the screens. From Ford to Clinton to the Bushes there was almost an aura of kingliness. Of course there were a number of “boos” when George W appeared on the screen. Then, looking as solemn and as presidential as ever, Obama appeared, inciting the roaring applause of the people in the restaurant. They applauded and shouted his name. Some even screamed at the top of their lungs, chanting “Yes We can!”. High fives and handshakes and hugs were shared all around.

After Obama was sworn in, he began his speech. As his voice boomed from the television sets, silence swept the three-story building.

“My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation...... as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition. Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.

The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans…”

On that early morning in Bangkok, some cried and some laughed. Whether you hate or love Obama it can't be disputed that this was a momentous occasion in history.

For myself, I’m not sure if this will serve as the marker for America’s rebirth or last hurrah. From that night, I will remember that street in Silom. I will remember the pressing image of evil. And I will remember that I report directly to an authority who holds an office greater than the office of presidency. His term is eternal and I will hold myself accountable to report to him on that last day. Taking the taxi home, I prayed for President Obama- for his safety and the future of our nation.

Years from now I will tell my children that on January 20, 2009 (21st in Bangkok), I was on a street in Silom, Bangkok, when Barrack Obama became the 44th president of the United States. On the streets I saw evil on a day when many were given hope.

"Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

Matthew 6:10

Dear Friends and Familly

**a letter to my supporters**

I spent my Christmas and New Years in the Philippines where I was able to share the gospel with my dad's family in the province. (pictured on the right) I guess if you follow Jesus we are all missionaries and we are continuously called to share who He is with whatever opportunity he gives us.

Here in Bangkok, I have some publications to write and design before our International Conference in March. So it looks like I will be laboring for God from behind the desk! I'll be putting the traveling on hold for a while. Still, I do hope to take a trip to a Karen refugee camp in February and I'm praying to get a chance to work inside China.

Whether we are working hard in California or at a desk in Bangkok, I envision us as one body, laboring together for the Kingdom of God. Thank you for your prayerful support. I am glad to report that here in Asia, God has changed me in such a way that even though I am supposed to be a writer, I cannot find any words to express what He has done in my life.

Thank you for enduring with me until the end. I look forward to be able to write you and tell you what God has in store for me for my near future. Once I discover more, I will be sure to let you know.

" Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."
- 1 Corinthians 15:58

Sincerely,

EJ ********

Obituary for an Idealist

*** an excerpt from my personal journal***

Jan. 1, 2009

I tried to take time to be reflective and write down everything that I’m thankful for in the year 2008. Of course on my list there were the undervalued and often mentioned family, friends and health.

I found within myself a sense of irony, when in trying to reflect upon thanksgiving I found myself drawn to this year's personal failures and disappointments. And there have been many. It is ironic that after having seemingly failed and underachieved in so many aspects in my life that God has brought me farther than I ever could have gone on my own strength. Yes, I can concur that it is only when steel is bent in the furnace of failure that it can be formed into the image of God’s only son. The fire- the torrid flame- is the only passage through a person of haughty countenance can ascend. If failure is the precursor to glory than I can only continue to claim my failures as my utmost thanksgiving.

I realize my own limitations. If I could write an obituary for the death of an idealistic youth, I would. Standing on the cusp of 2009 when I will turn just 23-years-old, I realize that the fallout of youthful idealism is that it is tainted by pride. It fails to realize that our foresight is shallow; we are not invincible, we cannot fly and death is our shared destiny. This is a doorway to adulthood that I have felt most excruciatingly sobering because it reveals the frailty of my own humanness.

I see in my own reflection, limited and finite creation, clinging to the infinite and omnipotent Creator. I confess that as a man, finite and broken, I am limited in my human ability to carry out the divine plan.

In all this I have yet to relinquish idealism in itself and I don’t plan to for as long as I have breath. I have only put it into the hands of One who is greater than I- the One who fights on my own behalf- for the fulfillment of my joy and peace. I can only hope that my personal idealism can be steeped in reality and rooted in God’s willingness to carry out his will for his own name’s sake. Through the years and seasons may he never find me lacking in zeal, but may I be resolved to forget about what is behind and press on towards the upward calling that Jesus has given me. By his sustaining grace may he lead me through every failure, every disappointment, every glory and every blessing. Cheers to 2009.

Lead Me to the Rock
Psalm 63: 1-5
Of David

1Hear my cry, O God,
listen to my prayer;
2from the end of the earth I call to you
when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
that is higher than I,
3for you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.
4Let me dwell in your tent forever!
Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!
Selah
5 For you, O God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.