my first love.

the thais love their fellowship time...whether it's eating, singing, playing sports, or fishing, they love to laugh and have fun together. last weekend, we took a trip to a lake in thailand. now, as everyone knows, i LOVE the lake...but i wasn't sure what to expect from this trip. i must say i was very impressed. i'm not quite sure why i doubted in the beginning...everything i've experienced thus far in thailand pertaining to the outdoors has been magnificently beautiful. we stayed on a house boat...not what you would typically think of. this was literally a house on the water. we fished, played swimming games, and sang karaoke. i'm not gonna say i wouldn't have liked to have seen a slalom ski or wakeboard lying around...guess it wouldn't have been much use behind a longtail boat though. it was nice to watch the thai staff relax and rest a little from their nonstop ministry schedule they keep.  also, it reminded me of the weight my first love carries in my life. there's just nothing like it. lake thailand = two thumbs up.

roses are red, violets are blue

Well, I hope the "month of love" was as good to you as it was to me. While it did not include any flowers, chocolate, or candlelit dinners, there was still a romance to it that I've never given as much thought to before. Could there be a more romantic story than the one that tells of Christ's death for us, love for us and never ending pursuit of us? 

I've yet to encounter one. 

As this has been on my mind, so has service. Is there a better way to summarize what Christ's love, life and grace is all about? Serving others, no matter what the cost. I'm thankful for the opportunities afforded me this month to serve, and my hope is that we never forget the most romantic idea that any one man ever carried out: a love fo you so strong that it cost Him his life. 

it's good, it's good...

one of my favorite things to do is to go to the "talat" or market and buy fresh, cut "sapporot" or pineapple. i've realized that i eat healthier when it's cheap and convenient. the pineapple is precut and is only 10 baht for a good sized package...10 baht is about 30 cents. if i could walk into walmart and but a package of fresh, cut pineapple for 30 cents, i would! anyway, i enjoy the market for fresh fruit.

serenity

the thing i love most about thailand is its natural beauty. this pic was taken just down the street from where we live. there is a bridge over the water and as we drove over it we knew we had to stop and turn around to get the shot. i wonder how someone can experience something this captivating and not believe?

soft as a baby's...

thai magazine advertisement for baby wipes

very special people...

Another addition to the special people in my life in Thailand, View. I met View at our first campus outreach. She's a truly awesome student. She is the best english speaking student I've met. She does a lot of MCing for the university events. We have so much fun together! View is Buddhist and I hope to share the gospel with her soon. Please be praying that she will be open to hearing the Good News and that Christ would begin to break her heart for him now.
This post is an addition to the people I've introduced thru this blog. Bang and I met thru my other friend, View. We've had some chances to hang out outside of campus such as at her apartment, at night market, and at a few of the outreaches she's been able to come to. She's so funny...one day when I asked her if she liked my new shoes she said "No, not really". We laughed about her honesty and compared it to the "polite lie" that many people tell just to be nice. We've chatted about the gospel, Jesus, Buddhism, her mom (who is Buddhist) and what life is all about. Buddhism has very strong ties to not only a person's culture, but also to their family. Many times students tell me they are Buddhist because their parents are. My desire is that they hear about my Father and then make their own decision about where to place their faith. Please be praying for Bang, that she might continue to be receptive during our talks, and that God would open her heart to Him, regardless of what her family says.

more adventures in bangkok

McDonalds is EVERYWHERE.

This little girl, BeBe, was runnin the streets alone, challenging strangers to games of peaknuckle...if you lost to her, 

you had to pay her 20 baht (a lil less than a dollar). She was quite the hustler, needless to say, I lost to her. :)