In Daddy's Shoes

Pamela at 38 1/2 Weeks

Watch those gas stoves

This past week, we arrived in Bangkok to await the new baby. Pamela was trying to use the gas oven. The fire went out, so she reached down to relight it. Unfortunately, she didn't realize that the gas had been on, even though the flame went out. What resulted was a burnt arm, burns on her face, and even her feet. She screamed, and then ran for me. I put her in the shower, sprayed her off, pulled out all the singed hair on her head, commented on her missing eyebrow (she didn't care much for that), etc. The day after was miserable for her. That day and the next day she couldn't go anywhere without putting ice on her burns, especially on her hand (where she was lighting the stove). After a couple of days now, the pain is more like that of a sunburn. She's feeling a ton better, and looks almost normal, except for missing some of her left eyebrow. We are thankful to God that she wasn't in worse shape than she was.

In Prison

A few days ago we came into Bangkok to wait for the baby to be born (still have a couple of weeks). With some time to spare, I met a man who does ministry in many of the prisons in Bangkok. He works along with a church thats focus is this ministry. Today we went to a prison for drug dealers. Many have already given their lives to Christ. I had the opportunity to help teach about 10 or so of these young men, who were about my age. Some people had been in prison for 2, 3, 5, and even 7 years; however, God has gotten a hold of their lives. One man from the church who helped teach was a prisoner himself years ago, and was saved through Christian teaching in the prison. Now, he's thinking about going back to the Isaan region, which is where he was born, and starting a church. In a country where response to the Gospel is often slow, its neat to see that God is working in a mighty way among these troubled people.

Up Close and Personal With a Cobra

The other day in our village we came across someone with a big cobra...seemed like a good pic for the blog.

A baby dedication service for Nuhy's baby

At a nearby church this past Sunday, our friend Nuhy expressed her desire to raise her child in the ways of the Lord.

Encouragement from Elderly Thai Christian

On Sundays, we drive about 20 minutes to a small Thai house church. In our area of Thailand, there are only a few churches, and just a few believers scattered around. In America, we are used to driving 10 minutes, 15 minutes, maybe even 30 minutes to go to church...its normal; however, most Thai people in our area don't have vehicles, and have to rely on public transportation (occasional bus-like vehicles that drive down main roads). I was really impressed this morning by the devotion of an elderly lady, Sa-Lee. As the only Christian in her village, Sa-Lee had no ride to church, so she had to walk from her village to the nearest main road to get a bus. This elderly lady, worn down by years of working in the rice fields, walked over a mile in the Thailand heat just to get to the bus stop, and then made her way on to the church. Lets all be encourage by Sa-Lee, and her devotion to God and to her Church.