Leaving Thailand

Bangkok to Chiang Mai to Mae Seriang to Phuket; our time in Thailand has been eventful and wonderful, to say the least. I just remember as we were leaving India, we really had no idea what our time in Thailand would look like and really what we were going to do. Matt Parker had emailed us a tentative plan we could follow but it was more of an outline to look to if nothing else came up. He encouraged us in emails to really allow the spirit to lead us in our time here. However, in his original itinerary, he did not include the fact that he was going to be joining us in Thailand. When we arrived at our first nights hostel in Bangkok, Matt Parker came walking down the stairs to greet us. It felt unreal, like a dream almost. As strange as it was, seeing him was like a breath of fresh air.

The time spent with him has been so encouraging and he has spoken wisdom into all 3 of our lives. Asking God to lead us through our time in Thailand really meant completely giving up the itinerary that Matt had already put together for us.

So after a good night's rest, we got up the next morning and checked out of our hostel. At this point we had no clue what we were doing but we headed for the bus station anyways. After taking a half day to get across bangkok and reach the bus station, our idea to travel to Mae Sot (northwest thailand on the border of Burma) was not in God's plan. We felt like we were supposed to take a train to Chiang Mai. That evening we hoped aboard a 16 hour train ride to the north. God's plan for our time there was not even close to what we thought we might do.

Matt had previously been given some info on a pastor that lived in the area and so through our quiet times, Matt felt really pressed to call him. His name is Pastor Lu. What was so cool is that Pastor Lu had already heard about Matt from a mutual friend back in the states, and earlier that morning Pastor Lu had been thinking about and praying for Matt. Matt contacts Pastor Lu and we arranged to have dinner with his family that evening. We really had no idea who this guy was but we soon found out.

After sharing a meal, we learned that him and his family were Burmese. They now lived in Chiang Mai and were the head directors of an orphanage there. They had also been doing relief work in Burma where a tsunami in May 2008 had taken over 600,000. Pastor Lu and his family were currently discipling over 200 Burmese people, including Buddhist monks that had converted to Christianity. The next day, we visited his house and he talked to us more about the kinds of things he does. He showed us pictures from the tsunami damage, and it was devastating. Everything was washed away. But at the same time, there was hope. The Burmese people were very open to the Gospel and peoples lives were changing as they chose to follow Christ. That day we told him that we came to Thailand with not much of a plan and that we just wanted to follow after the Spirit. He encouraged us to visit some of the local villages in the mountains more or less to get a glimpse of the way of life in this part of the world. We would have loved to go into Burma, but we would have needed to contact Pastor Lu a while back and that is not where God wanted us in this time.

The next morning, we boarded a bus and that afternoon arrived in Mae Seriang; a small mountain community near Burma. On the bus we met a couple from Germany named Olaf and Anita. We ended up staying in the same guesthouse that evening and decided to go on a 3 day trek through the jungle to some of the rural mountain villages together. As we were leaving for the trail head the next morning, we were joined by another westerner from Quebec named Sara. So the 7 of us, plus our guide 'Kiddy' were on our way. Other than seeing the jungle and all its beauty, we had a great time with our new friends from around the world. We spent 3 great days hiking through the jungle, sharing stories, talking about lives, talking about God, and riding elephants! Please pray for those relationships built with those people that they continue to grow even being apart now.

To back track a little, some of you may be wondering, "How did Matt Parker get in the picture?" Well, back in November, our families and a few friends suggested that Matt meet up with us in Thailand for 2 weeks. The point was really for Matt to talk with us and help us figure out what life was going be like as we got back in the States. So, when we left Mae Seriang, we headed south to the beach. We wanted a relaxing, peaceful place to be able share and learn from Matt, and plus, we all love the ocean! So for the next 3 days, we swam and saw God's beautiful creation. Each of us individually met with Matt and shared with him what God had really shown us over the last 5 months. He helped us figure out how to take what we've learned and apply to life back home. It was great to have Matt help us get clarity with what things will look like.

On our last day at the beach, February 22, I (Christian) was baptized. I had been praying about being baptized for a while. I knew that I wanted Matt Parker to be the one to do it, but I also wanted to do it while on this trip. I felt like I was probably going to have to choose one or the other. Well when Matt shows up in Thailand, I knew that was God's way of saying, "Here's your chance, take it." So that evening, out in the ocean, the 4 of us stood by some fishing boats and Matt baptized me. It was sweet. I look back at when I became a Christian in 2001 and my life was very different. I was not devoted to Christ and kept the fact that I accepted Christ very private. My baptism was really a redeeming time for me. It was public and I had 3 brothers to witness.

Now we are back in Bangkok. Its been 2 weeks since we arrived and we fly out for New Zealand today. Our prayer coming into this was that our time would be led by the Holy Spirit and that we would continuously be in God's will. Looking back on the last 2 weeks, we know that we have done what God called us here for. We are looking forward to New Zealand and sad to see Matt Parker go back home.

Thanks for following us and reading about our experiences.
Christian (v-team)

A Couple of Pictures

The Team, at the hostel in Thailand, getting ready to hit the road. Look! Christian's backpack has a halo.

We met up divinely with pastor Lu, whom was connected with Paul Kreuger in Woodland Park, Colorado. Thanks Paul! We went to Pastor Lu's house and learned more about his ministry- and how we can pray for him. please pray for pastor Lu- he is really involved with neglected myanmar, china and parts of india and thailand. (In Picture, Matt holding a pix which shows Paul and Peri Krueger with Pastor Lu/family).

Evan, in a thoughtful pose, with Ronald.

Chang Mai

2-13-09
We are thrilled to be in Thailand to say the least. We arrived in Chang Mai and searched like mad men to find a suitable hostel. Thailand is such a tourist-friendly place, especially Chang Mai. So it wasn't too difficult to walk around and find a hostel. After finding aplace that has a lot of westerner's called "Julie's", we settled inand went to see what was next. Even before food we got thai massages,one hour for 150 baht ($4.25). AMAZING. We headed over to get somelunch to discuss what we felt God was leading us to do for the rest ofour time. Chang Mai was really just put in front of us and we went forit. We began our quiet times and individually we were floored. Matt felt led to get up and call the owner of an orphanage. He turned out to be an asian Billy Graham. After some time we got all set and met up at the hostel. Lounging in the "garden terrace" that was oh-so-thaiand-relaxing, we discussed how matt felt led to meet up with PastorLu, the asain Billy Graham.
As there were clear instructions for the man in the front desk to notify us at his arrival, we waited where we were supposed to. Time passed as we checked multiple times to see if we had missed something, but it was clear that we were not even tried to be contacted of his arrival. Feeling attacked by the enemy and that we were being fought,we asked God to send His angels to army and that if it was His plan for us to meet with Pastor Lu -- He would make it clear. We just walked down to the end of the road, and stood there. Lu is Thai, so we had no idea where to start. We prayed again that if God wanted us to meet with this man like we had thought, He would make it clear. That He would make His way plain to follow. We stood there in this big city simply waiting. About 2 minutes later, a man walked by with a woman and at an impulse asked him (only the third man we tried, and the first two were white, not Thai), if he was Pastor Lu. He said yes and relief filled his face. He had been searching for us for an hour -- andwas given very wrong directions. The man at the front desk gave him wrong directions, and we felt the enemy's attack long before we found this out. He said he was very confused, but felt led to continue searching no matter what. We told him immediately that the enemy wasabout and knew God had a plan, and tried to thwart it. God had victory.
We sat over dinner hearing this man's vision and passion for missions. Hearing how he was the head of pastors that led people by the thousands -- leading them and teaching them, we didn't know what we were in for. He speaks a Hindie (Indian), Chinese, Thai, English, Burmese. He is a connector for revivals and movements in Myanmar and these other countries. He has a huge heart for orphanages, churches and empowering people. He was talking about how he lived his life for Christ, and was awaiting us. He woke up today thinking about matt. Matt was heavy on his heart, and once we were in touch, he feels led to work with us for the next few days. Our tentative plan was to stay in Bangkok for a few days (2 maybe) and reach the red light district. God hadn't given us favor, and it was clear that God wanted us to pray together later on, but we He didn't ask us to be there. Feeling odd about that, we understand now that God is planning everything and has tomorrow taken care of, so why try to understand everything along the way? We are looking forward to touring his orphanage tomorrow and seeing whatever God has for us in Southeast Asia on this wild goosechase. it was obvious how we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Clearly, that God is bigger than all the denominations and culture andsuch, and He was with us as we were one with each other and with Him.We shared nothing in common with these people but this: we were here in Thailand to serve God, others and bring God glory.
God has made this place ripe with opportunity. We just know that everything is divinely planned out, and this is all apart of a huge scheme, something way bigger than us. We aren't sure we understand this completely, but we just know God is leading us and following us,that He loves us and is letting us take part in this adventure, andthat He has a marvelous plan that we don't deserve. God is good.

Fueled by the Spirit, alive with consuming passion we headed home fast in a "tuk-tuk" -- a three-wheeled beast with an advanced Kia Sportage engine, that feels like it is going to tip ...