We had a long day yesterday. Our friends were having problems at the airport with added baggage fees, which are becoming notorious here in thailand for missionaries to deal with, (and locals of course).
So despite what the travel agent said about Orient Thai airways, they joined the party and hiked their baggage fees up as well. We had to take a detour from our bus terminal and go over to help our friends at the airport. They had to borrow some cash to pay, as they don't get paid until next week up in Chaing Rai.
We had a good time in the morning getting a free breakfast from the bed and breakfast place. Then we went for a quick walk to the big mall. Pedro liked my idea of getting the guitar and having him play at the corner and allowing us to share the gospel, in that context. So we sat down over on the skywalk right in front of the big mall MBK. Many people walked by, and I even saw a kid with a "Living Water" shirt, with scripture from the Gospel of John. I said something to him, but I don't think he knew what the shirt meant! So I told him a short spiel. Then there were some students from Singapore Polytechnic. I wanted to mention to them I was an engineer and I studied at California Polytechnic, but I bit my tongue. It turns out they were listening to the music as Pedro played christian songs. They came over closer, and I approached them and said hey listen to this music, it's from brazil! They said, hey, that other song was christian? I said yeah, how do you know? Are you christian? one girl said yes, the other was not yet (she was buddhist). So after some lovely songs from Pedro, Elisha and Tammy and I shared with the non christian student. And she looked very open to the Gospel, especially since her friend was christian. Later I told them why we were here, and about the water store, and that I was an engineer. They said, Oh! We study water engineering in Singapore!!!! WOW!!!! Another God moment. They had a bunch of other friends that came, but they had to run off to the airport back to Singapore. I know the seeds planted, will continue to be planted in their friends through their sharing.
It was cool because we intended to take Pedro to have ice cream for his birthday, and so we surprised him by getting the pack of singaporean engineers to sing him happy birthday.
God bless. Please pray for us as we redirect our efforts on wednesday and thursday. No students at the university. We may start teaching Suchia engllish in her restaurant, and I probably start working on more stuff for history, archaeology, science stuff that we can prepare in thai for the university students. Tae asked me if I'd be willing to build him a website (he's not happy with the current one). And all the while I'm dwelving into a lot of Water Engineering articles that are quickly expanding my expertise in the subjects outside of Reverse Osmosis. These are articles I downloaded while i was part of the American Water Works Association, and while I attended the AMTA conference. All these cool things that I never had time to completely dwelve into while I was working for Hydranautics because our expertise had to be just the Reverse Osmosis, not the other technologies. So this is great because if the Lord directs my steps into this line of professional career, in some shape of fashion, I'm definitely going to be a more qualified candidate. The scriptures says seek the Kingdom of God first, and all else shall be added unto us. I don't know how He does this, it's just a testimony to His surpassing greatness and sovereignty, but the Lord truly has held my life in His hands despite all the free will He gives us. I was refelecting on a scripture me and Tammy were studying yesterday. The scriptures if from Ezekiel 36.
Ezekiel 36:25-29 (New International Version)
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you.
There's so much in these 4 verses to marvel at. Something I personally get from these verses is the difference between striving in a religious manner to be "good" or striving to be "obedient" versus what God does in the relationship He promises for those who are reborn of the Spirit. He moves us, or in another version causes us to walk a certain way, when you have chosen to ask Him to lead your life, and it's done in the most non religious way, and the most natural, unstriving way, but is actually quite supernatural. And He does provide for those who choose to allow him to save them from their uncleanness. But what spoke to me today on top of marveling at what the Lord can cause you to walk in, is that in the case of the Jews who ezekiel was speaking forth the message to, was in the context of their obedience, the fruit would be blessing. (There's plenty of times in Ezekiel, the reverse was promised where disobedience and a cold heart towards the Lord would lead them towards problems). Verse 29 was personally encouraging for me, knowing even if i'm currently on a track that seems like a non profit endeavor, and in a worldly sense a profit eating endeavor, that God's hand is upon us.
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| God doesn't make trash out of us! In Matthew 10:28-31, Jesus says we are very very precious to God the Father (and to Him!). Matthew 10:38 says it's not a waste to live your life for Him either! |
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| So we're moving forward with resolve, with a smile on our faces, and all joy. Following where the Lord is leading, but not charging before Him, but chasing toward the goal He sets before us, to finish this race. |
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