Thailand Team: 1 Ministry Day to Go!

The team is probably just about to wake up on Sunday morning in Thailand, ready to push through their final full day of ministry before a day to enjoy Bangkok as "tourists" before heading back to the states on Tuesday. Here’s a quick update about the past few days they’ve had:

The team spent most of Thursday making the 10 trip back to Bangkok from Chiang Mai. After the long trip, they met with Immanuel Baptist Church’s "Young Leaders" group (a group of 20ish year olds that meets with TErry Collins for regular Bible study, accountability and fellowship). Friday they were able to sleep in a bit and then did some shopping before heading to the Erawan Shrine and then some parts of the city that were affected by this spring’s "Red Shirt" rioting. Friday night there was a revival service at Immanuel Baptist where Brad was able to preach.

Saturday morning Adam and Brad got to teach a leadership workshop at Immanuel before heading out with the rest of the team to the Wisiwa slum later that afternoon. There, the team hung out with some of the kids that live in the slum. They played games and performed the Freedom Drama, after which Lauren and KElsey gave their testimonies to those in attendance. Several kids and older adults prayed and entered into a relationship with Jesus! During a Saturday night service at Immanuel, some of the kids got to perform a skit for the congregation.

Some praises from the past few days:
Several people prayed to receive Jesus as their Savior at the Wisiwa slum. Many of our students on the team have grown in their own spiritual journey, which has been a huge joy to see! The team has bonded well and formed some great new friendships.

Some prayer requests:
Gina got pretty sick on Friday. She couldn’t go out of the room at all on Saturday, but has started to feel a bit better. Pray for the young leaders group at Immanuel Baptist Church. They are going to be losing some folks from their group to college and other "adult" commitments. Pray for the team to strong on their last full day of ministry in the Bangkok area. Finally, some of our students are feeling as though the Lord is calling them to some specific commitments. Pray that they would have clarity and discernment about what it is that the Lord is doing in them and what He wants to do through them as they continue on in their relationship with Him.

Sunday is the team’s final day of ministry, then they will do some sight seeing on Monday! I’ll send any more information that I may get, but let’s begin praying for the team’s safe travel back to the US on Tuesday!

 

Thailand Team: Chiang Mai Recap

The team is back in Bangkok after having spent four days or so in Chiang Mai, about 10 hours north of Bangkok. I recently heard from Brad, and here are some of the highlights/insights from there time at the Imjai House orphanage in Chiang Mai.

Tuesday during the daytime the team visited an Elephant Camp and a waterfall! It was a much needed and well received relaxing few hours of downtime. That night they had a program with the kids at the orphanage where they presented the drama, played games and just hung out with them. There are 30 or so kids who live at the orphanage, most of whom were orphaned due to the HIV/AIDS virus.

Wednesday they spent the morning at a school and played games, sang songs, and presented the drama for about 190 kids. The team knows that many of them heard of Jesus for the first time. They are (and ask that we will be) praying that the Spirit will cause that seed to grow. In the afternoon they also visited the handicap center where one of the guys from Imjai House works. Wednesday night the team hung out with the kids before and after dinner, then the kids from the orphanage presented a program to our team about the history of Imjai House.

The kids have been great. Lyndsay, Joel, Shawna, Rachel, and Aaron have all given testimonies and Aaron led our devotion for the team this morning.

Here are some praises:

• Tiffany’s grandpa came through a potentially life-threatening surgery very well! You could tell it was a relief for her
• Everyone is in good health and great spirits. According to Brad, typically at this point in a 2 week trip people are going through some conflict, but this group has been great!
• Kramer (son of Terry Collins’ coworker) is receptive to the gospel somewhat and joining us for all of our meetings.

And some prayer requests

• The left for Bangkok at 5AM this morning, their time. Safety for the trip and everyone to get some rest as they end the trip with a lot of ministry opportunities
• Brad is speaking at revival services Friday night at Immanuel Baptist Church
• Brad and Adam are doing a leadership workshop for Immanuel Baptist Church Saturday morning
• Adam is speaking at the early Sunday service and Brad speaks at the 2nd service Sunday
• We have just one more full day with Kramer. Pray as we try to minister to him and build a relationship with him that will continue when he comes back to the U.S. next month

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support! Brad said that his next update would come from Bangkok. I’ll be sure to pass it along when I receive it!

 

Thailand Team Weekend Update

Hey All!

I got some more detailed information from the team that’s now getting settled in to Chiang Mai after their first full day of work there. What follows is a summary/update from the entire weekend!

Sunday the team had a great time of worship and fellowship with the Immanuel Baptist Church family. Brad preached and Adam was able to give his testimony. In Thai church culture, listening to a person’s testimony is a very powerful experience, so for Adam to get up and do that was an AWESOME thing for their church body to hear. Once church was over, the team headed to the Ja Rurat slums to play with some of the kids that live there and to present the Freedom Drama. Immanuel Baptist has an on-going ministry relationship with the slum, so for our students to be able to come alongside, support, and further, that ministry was a blessing not only to the kids of Ja Rurat, but also to Immanuel Baptist Church. About 60 parents and children came out to spend some time with our team. After the Freedom Drama, one of the Thai ladies from Immanuel Baptist got to lead 30 or so Thai children in praying to receive a relationship with Jesus!! At the end of the day, as they have been doing daily, the team spent some time together talking about and reflecting on what the Lord has been doing in them throughout the trip. These times together at the end of the day have been very refreshing and encouraging to the students and leaders after long days of ministry.

Monday morning (Sunday night for us), they left at 5:30am to make the 10 hour bus ride north to Chiang Mai where they will spend the next few days serving the children of an orphanage within the city. There are about 30 kids there that our team will have the chance to love on. The team has safely arrived and is looking forward to the work they’ll get to do there over the next 3 or 4 days.

Some praises:

• 30 Thai kids accepted Jesus as their Savior. If that’s not a praise, I don’t know what is!!!
• Everyone on the team is healthy, energized, and doing a great job.
• As a result of our campus ministry the other day, Jim (the IMB missionary) has developed a small group of 8-9 guys and found his first believer on the campus (that is a big deal to him).
• Many people within Immanuel Baptist Church were moved by Adam’s testimony.

Some Specific Prayer Requests:

• Tiffany Still has some things going on within her family here in the US that she could use some prayer for.
• The team took a young man named Kramer who is from KC to Chiang Mai. He is the son of one of Terry Collins’s co-workers and not a believer. They are very excited to hangout, talk, and serve with him for the next few days.

Thanks guys! I’ll continue to keep everyone updated as I receive information from the team!

 

Thailand Team Update

Hey All!

Internet is spotty for the team right now, so I apologize for the lack of updates over the weekend. Here is what I know (and I will pass along more as soon as I receive it!):

The team got up early today and made the 10 hour trip north from Bangkok to the city of Chiang Mai. The arrived just fine and are excited for their four days of time at the orphanage there. They will be doing various activities – including the Freedom Drama – with the 30 or so kids at the orphanage.

Yesterday, they did some work in one of the slums around Bangkok. From what I can ascertain, about 30 kids from the slum prayed to accept a relationship with Jesus after hearing the Gospel message through the Freedom drama!

I’m sorry that this is so brief, but I once Brad is able to send me more information, I will get it sent along to you all! Thanks for your prayers!

 

Day Two: Campus Ministry

 

Day Two: Campus Ministry

 

Thailand: Day 1 Recap

The team was able to survive their first full day of work in Bangkok despite being quite jet-lagged and tired. I received an update from Brad at about 10:30 this morning (10:30 pm in Bangkok) and will do my best to fill it out for you all so you can have an idea of what the team did today and is planning on doing tomorrow!

They were able to take a water taxi around to various places within the city, including a couple of "wats" (temples) and the Grand Palace. While there, the team was able to absorb and begin to understand what Thai-Buddhist culture looks like. They also were able to do some prayer walking during this time. After that, they met with the director of the orphanage in Chang Mai that they will visit later in their trip. They learned that the orphanage has 33 kids, most of whom were orphaned when their parents died of AIDS. During this time they were able to get a better idea of what exactly they will be doing during their couple day stint in Chang Mai. The team also found some time do some final rehearsing of the Freedom Drama which they present for the first time tomorrow. Their day of ministry wrapped up with time of Bible study and fellowship with a "Young Leaders" group from Immanuel Baptist Church. The group is led by Terry Collins who you may or may not recognize as a long time PVBC member. A few years ago Terry felt led to Bangkok and took the opportunity to move there with his work. Since doing that, he has plugged into Immanuel Baptist Church and was instrumental in putting together our team’s trip.

On the whole, the team is doing great! Though tired, they’ve been incredibly hard-working and attentive. They’ve began to engage with the Thai people and are doing a great job trying to observe, learn, and understand Thai culture. Here are a couple of things that you can be specifically praying about for them:

1. Jan had a pretty bad migraine yesterday and was sick into the evening. Be praying that rest will help to relieve some of those symptoms.
2. The team is going to be outside much of the day tomorrow. They get a later start and the chance to rest a bit in the early morning, but then will spend the day passing out fliers on a college campus, inviting students to a party being put on by Immanuel Baptist Church where our team will present the Freedom Drama for the first time. This will be an awesome opportunity for our students to not only begin building some relationships with some Thai people, but more importantly, to present the Gospel. Pray for God to be working on the hearts of the Thai people and to speak powerfully through the team’s drama presentation.
3. This weekend at Immanuel Baptist Church, Adam will be speaking during Sunday’s early service, while Brad will be preaching Saturday night and during Sunday’s second service.

Thought the team has only been in the country for about a day and half, they’re already hard at work and God is on move! Thank you for your prayers! I think it’s safe to speak for the team when I say that they appreciate them a ton!

 

Thailand Team Arrive in Bangkok!

We all made it fine and to our rooms around 1:15 this morning. Not much sleep last night, getting ready to meet Terry and get some food. I think we are all hungry for sure! Today is a shorts day as we get culturally acclimated to the Thai people. As we do that we will be praying around the Grand Palace and different wats. We will also meet the director of the orphanage in Chiang Mai and get the lowdown on what we will be doing there. We will also get a chance to practice the Freedom Drama a couple of times and meet with the young leaders group tonight. There will be from this point forward an "Aaron Currence" rule that says you may NOT eat the shrimp on any flight. Poor guy was sleeping and woke up throwing up all over himself and his seat, etc. He is fine so it must have been the shrimp. I will send an update tonight after the day’s activities.

 

Lessons from the farm continued…

Nothing will humble you more than thinking you are in control.

I remember when I first started to ride a 3-wheeler as a kid.  It started slowly and then as I got more comfortable came higher speeds, jumps, turns, etc.  Then it was on to the dirt bike and starting the whole thing over or some other learning experience.  I learned a hard lesson through many different experiences on the farm.  The 3-wheeler is one-I can remember riding at dusk one night after I was pretty comfortable.  Comfortable enough to drive with one hand going fast and not paying close attention to what was going on.  Then it happened.  Right before I drove in front of my grandparents’ wrought iron mailbox there was a mini-swarm of bugs that got in my eyes (really, I swear!) and I swerved and took out the mailbox, did some damage to the 3-wheeler but miraculously evaded any injury except pride.  My grandpa was so mad.  I visited my grandparents this past week and I brought that story up-my grandpa just shook his head and laughed which was a much better response than the real time one.

There was also the time when I had gotten extremely good at riding the dirt bike around the farm and decided to go chase my brother in the 3-wheeler while I was on the dirt bike in shorts…bad idea.  As we went around a corner, I took it too sharp and the dirt bike went down with me on it in shorts.  I will mention now that the muffler was extremely hot and to this day I bear the scar of stupidity on the inside of my right leg where the muffler fried my skin.

I share these because I have found other instances in life where I have gotten too comfortable with something.  There have been times where I have been comfortable leading in ministry or my family and all it does is give me the false illusion that I am in charge.  King David declares in 1 Chronicles 29 that “everything in the heavens and the earth is yours O Lord, and this is your kingdom.  We adore you as the one who is over all things.  Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything.  Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.”

I am really not in control like I think I am-and you aren’t either.  At some point, our comfort in life feeds us the lie that we are in control and at this point, we are primed for a fall back to humility.  Enjoy it.  Learn from it.  Realize God is in charge and you and I are not.

 

Lessons from the farm #3

Finishing well always pays off-it feels good too.

I love starting something new.  I like the adrenaline and the momentum behind the “new” along with the sense of adventure when starting something.  For me, it might be a new book, a new TV show, trying to run , a new ministry initiative, speaking on a new series, a new project around the house, etc.  However, the newness wears off at some point and then comes the chore of finishing what you started.  Many times that is more of a chore than at others.  One of the cool things I remember about growing up on the farm is the renewal of spring.  There were fields to be plowed, crops to be planted, new baby animals being born, gardens to be plowed, etc.  This was also the time my brother and I would identify a steer to show in the summer’s livestock shows.  There was something about picking out with the help of my grandpa a 200 pound steer knowing that by Labor Day we would be selling a 1500 pound steer that would make a lot of nice steak for someone that was a sense of adventure and the unknown.  Some years our calves would not develop like others and we wouldn’t have a good showing.  Other years we would do much better.  One thing was always in common though.  By the time July came around, I began to dread the process of taking care of this steer and getting it ready to show.  I was beginning to check out mentally and it showed.  Instead of walking my steer (yes, just like walking a dog) 5-6 days a week, it dwindled to once a week.  It got old-the newness had worn off.  However about the time that school would start in late August I would get a second wind so to speak and be excited because I saw the finish line (meaning paycheck).  The last fair was always Labor Day weekend and it culminated with a livestock sale where local farmers and merchants would bid on your steer.  At the end, you would load your steer up into someone’s trailer, say good-bye, and then collect your check.  It was a bittersweet time of emotion-you just spent the past 6 months investing physically and emotionally into this animal, and payoff-oh happy day!

Over time I have had a chance to reflect on this aspect of finishing well.  One thing I learned was that finishing well was 90% mental for me.  I had to stay engaged and not check out too quickly.  The end result did not always correspond with how I perceived I finished which means that the “feel good” part is tied to my efforts and sometimes the redefinement of success.  I’m thankful that the times I wanted to quit-whether it involved showing livestock, wanting to drop band when I was a freshman, or any other time, my dad made me stay in the game.  He would say that I needed to finish what I started.  Now there were definitely times when I didn’t finish well.  For instance, my last quarter in high school after I knew my class rank and I couldn’t get any higher I went from an “A” student to “C’s” and “D’s”.  I thought my dad was going to kill me!

I have had many chances to practice this lesson and also to pass it on in my adult life.  When I knew my job with Shell was coming to an end and I saw lots of people “mailing it in” as it got closer to our last day, I remembered to do my best to finish well.  I have also seen in ministry where people did not finish well and the big takeaway that hit me as I have watched this lived out is that how you finish can make up for how you start but how you start will never override how you finish.  People always remember how you finish over how you start.  Look at the apostle Paul.  He started by killing people who were followers of Jesus.  He ends in 2 Timothy 4 where he says he has fought the good fight, he has finished the race, he has remained faithful, and he is awaiting the prize.

If you are reading this, do yourself a favor.  Finish today well.  Then take each day as its own journey and strive to finish it well-you will do better some days than others but you will feel better and you will be able to look in the mirror at the end of each day and ultimately your life and say that you gave it your best shot and you finished well.  It is worth it.