"Those People Love Us"

Tomorrow, June 28, we will buy lunch and eat with the maintenance staff of the apartment where we are staying in Bangkok. Four of the ten people we will be eating with speak Khmer, and the other six speak exclusively Thai. The Lord put this idea on my heart a few days ago, and I am praying that this time of fellowship will help us cultivate a good relationship with all of these people, and that it will help prepare their hearts for the time that I will, Lord-willing, speak to them about Christ.

Waiting in Bangkok

The grey building in the very center of this photo- with the bright green writing in the building's top, left corner- is Sumitivej Hospital, where, Lord-willing, Emily Faith will be born in just a few weeks. This picture was taken from the roof of the apartment building where we are staying.

Our current situation is not what I would have picked for our family. Because Linda is showing signs of a premature delivery, we have come to Bangkok, Thailand to receive proper medical care for Linda and the baby in the case of premature birth. Because of airline policies, we would have had to fly here one month before the baby's due date even under normal circumstances; but under doctor's orders, we have come about three weeks earlier than originally planned. As we wait for the arrival of our third child, I cannot help but think, "I was sent to Cambodia to work, not to wait."

We Can Talk!

For the past week, I have been constantly frustrated because of my inability to converse with Thai people.  It's enough to make me pull out what little hair I have left! I'm not frustrated with the Thai people; I'm just frustrated with the whole situation. I wish I could just learn enough Thai to at least discuss some of the shallower things of life. Of course, my heart's desire is to learn enough to speak with them about Christ; but just to speak with them at all about something simple would be a great start!

Homesick

I remember well my first visit to Cambodia. It was June of 2006, and I was within months of beginning my senior year at West Coast Baptist College. When the plane touched down at the Pochentong International Airport of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, I had not the faintest idea what to expect from this strange, distant land. After getting my visa and gathering my luggage, I walked out the doors of the airport and I breathed my first breath of Cambodian air. Within moments, I had the feeling that I was in a completely different world. It was anything but home.