What is in your hand?

A pastor recently quoted what God said to Moses in Exodus 4:2 to sum up his message; "So the Lord said to him, 'What is that in your hand?' He said, 'A rod.'" God used that rod to display Himself to the Israelites and to Pharaoh. The pastor's message was that God wants to use what He has given us to do His work in the world.

When I saw Beth Moore's story again recently about the Lord's direction to her to brush an old man's hair, that message was reinforced in my mind. The old man in the airport had long matted hair and he looked too weak to brush it himself. She at first resisted the Lord's prompting, thinking, "I should witness to him. Tell him about Jesus," but she felt Jesus insist that she brush his hair. Finally she did. As she began working carefully through the tangled hair, she thought, "I can DO this. I've raised three daughters." When his hair was smooth again, she asked him if he knew Jesus. He said he did. Her brushing his hair didn't bring him to Jesus. Yet the stewardess taking him to the plane was crying after seeing this display of love for a stranger. She asked Beth what made her do it, and that was where the witness happened. Jesus was glorified in what Beth did, so her presentation of Jesus to the stewardess had greater impact.

This is how I see what we are doing in Thailand. The Lord has given us health and healthy independent children. He has given us the ability to enjoy a foreign environment and adapt to it. He has given us a source of income so we can be here without having to be paid. He has given us some ability to learn a new language and has given us experience and training that He can use here. Gary has knowledge from his Masters in Business degree and through his work as a business owner for many years. I have some knowledge from my Masters in Teaching degree and from years of experience working with children.

I'm not saying I am the most qualified person to be the head English Teacher at this new school. There are many people with much better teaching experience and ability than I have, but they are not here. All I am doing is giving what I have to teach English to the Thai children in my school and trusting that God will work through me and in me to use it for His glory.

We don't know exactly how God will glorify Himself in this, but these are some of the possibilities we, and others, are hoping for. First, we are trying to help the children in the school to know Jesus and English well so they can become an influence for Him in their country. As I teach, I sometimes I get to say something about God in the classes. Sometimes I reinforce the faith they express. Other times I pray with them in English or join in their Thai prayers. Sometimes I encourage the faith of the Thai teachers, and they mine, as we share about our faith with each other.

Gary and I also meet and talk to other Thai people in our neighborhood and our community. Sometimes we get to say something or demonstrate our faith to them also. We don't know how God will use any of this, but we are expecting that He will. We went to a seminar last week where the speakers explained that the biggest impression we can make on the people in the Buddhist culture is through our demonstration of Jesus' love. That kind of love is missing in the Buddhist faith. Still, we need His help to truly show His love, and we need to give Him the credit for it at the right moments. Please pray for us to be able to do that.

Thank you.

:J

Eating Weeds

One of the amazing things about Thais is they will eat almost anything green which grows in the ground. From an early age they seem to be taught what is edible, and most everything is edible, if not tasty.

This morning I went to inspect the hedge surrounding our yard. I look for weeds. Ok, what I think are weeds. My definition of a weed is: Anything that is not the same as what was planted there originally. A reasonable definition. So I picked out a “weed” I encountered and threw it on the street. Then, I walk to the ATM machine to get some spending money, and when I get back, guess what? I was gone maybe 10 minutes and my “weed” is gone.

I suspect an elderly lady who walks the streets. Why her? I have caught her inspecting the neighbors’ plants around their houses. If they see her and talk to her, she seems to be lecturing them on what they have that can be eaten. I don’t understand Thai but it sure looks like that. I have even caught her picking out “weeds” from the neighbor’s yard across the street. I don’t know how these “weeds” get in our yards but I do suspect the old lady.

Why her? When they were remodeling the home across the street, she took over the front hedge area. Not to plant a hedge, but other edible things. I don’t know what they call that stuff, but she’s there every morning, tending her garden and gathering her rewards.

When we have dinner at night in the neighborhood restaurant, I always get some green leaves in my soup. I have often wondered if any of those came from my neighbors’ yards. Now, when you pull those weeds out of your garden, you should stop and pause a minute. Could this be feeding some starving kid in Thailand?

GP