Hi from the year 2562. Yes, you read that correct and we have not gone crazy. The Thai people still hold to their dating of history from the establishment of their dynasty. So we currently are living in the year 2562 of the Thai people. So, we are sure you are dying to know what the year 2562 looks like and what God is doing in us here! Glad you asked!
We have set up shop here in Thailand in a small city you have probably never heard of, Bangkok. Here is what it looks like:
Ok so we lied, it is by far the biggest city that either one of have every seen yet alone been to! It is miles and miles and miles of skyscrapers and malls and city life. Quite overwhelming at times but yet such a fun place to meet and love people!
To accurately tell you what our ministry looks like this month we must tell you and amazing story of what God has done already (and still doing so often).
A few days ago we gathered together in the morning as a team and were praying about where God wanted us to go for the day. We had the idea of hopping on the boat ferry (it is a popular form public transportation in Bangkok as there is river that runs right through the heart) and striking up conversations with whoever God laid on our heart. There are around 15 numbered piers (stops) that we knew of so we asked God together for a number that He had for us to get off at. A few of us got the number 7 pier so we planned to take the boat ferry around 11:00am and see what God had for us. When our boat was approaching our #7 drop-off it completely flew by it… Without notice or warning it went straight to the #6 pier. So, we decided to be flexible and get some lunch together and then make our way to #7. It took us about and extra hour and a half (including lunch) to get to where we felt God was leading. And then, we were there. Staring at the pier. What now? God lead us to walk inland a little bit and then take a left and the intersection. As I (Matthew) walked a little ways down the street I saw a small 8 seat bus stop and I felt the Lord tell me to sit down. When I first arrived there were two people there sitting on the opposite ends. One was a friendly old man who knew no English and the other was an 18 year old man who knew very little English (Thank you Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for your gift of Google Translate). His bus arrived shortly so I only had enough time to share with him a few words of hope and encouragement about how he is never alone. As his bus drove away and we shared a smiled filled wave, I thought, “Ok, what next?” I felt the Lord whisper, “Stay here in this seat.” So, I leaned back and mentally prepared myself for the long wait that I was sure was to ensue.
And then, God.
A young man in his early twenties comes strolling up and sits down leaving only one seat between he and I. When he sat down we meet eyes and did the little head nod of acknowledgment that us men do. I struck up a conversation asking his name. He excitedly responded, “Bom.” I then repeated it back to him a few times to ensure I had not misheard and told him I liked his bag (it was a pretty cool bag). From there we began to talk about life. I love talking to locals about what life is actually like for them because when you are in a touristy place it is often hard to know what it is actually like for a native. He began talking about his life and I asked him about his faith. He is Buddhist. This is 9.5 times out of 10 going to be the answer that you will get from a Thai person as it is the largest Buddhist country in the world at, given the math above, nearly 95% of the people claiming it. So we continued talking and he taught me so much. He then asked me about what I believe and I shared about the truth and beauty of forgiveness. To my total surprise, he said I have heard much about your religion. I am a philosophy and religion major at my university. He said, “In Buddhism we have no God and you believe in God, I have so many questions.” Bom then proceeded to ask questions about the Tower of Babel and the Garden of Eden and even Satan. And of course, why would God not destroy mankind and start all over (that one is popular). He had heard so much in the class but was confused. As we read the stories in the Bible together and talked about the accuracy and even the historical proof of the Bible, I saw the wheels turning. We discussed the radical love and forgiveness of God and His existence as judge and Saviour in Jesus. And the we came to a defining moment. I asked him, “If God is real and there is a God in heaven, do you think he would speak to us.” Bom stared up to the sky in thought and responded, “I am not sure, maybe.” So I asked in response, “Do you know why I am sitting here?” No reply. I am here because God spoke to me. I told him the story of how just this morning we asked God where to go and he told us pier 7. I asked God where to go and he said sit here and wait here at this bus stop. “I am here Bom because God spoke to me and he loves you so much that he sent me here to help answer your questions and tell you about forgiveness and hope, why are you here?” This was a question I was dying to know because we had been sitting here for an hour plus talking and countless buses had gone by and he never flinched a muscle or even looked at one as if he was going to hop on. He said, “I am not sure I just wanted to sit somewhere before walking to the boat I need to take home.” As the light bulb went off in his head, he looked down and said, “This is very interesting.” He wanted proof and now he had it. After praying with him and sending him some websites that further explained the truth of Christ as real, we shared a long embrace and parted ways. We arrived at that bus stop as both people who were seeking and we left as people who had found!
This month we have no ministry host. We are doing something called ATL which translates “Ask The Lord.” See we believe God speaks but we must learn and make space to listen. Ministry is not always an organization. In Jesus time it was never an organization. It was a body of believers asking the Spirit of God together what He wanted and then having the obedience to go.
We have heard God speak to us to adopt a coffee shop down the street and we have been there almost every day playing games with the staff, getting to know them, talking about God, and truly investing in their lives. Kalyn has been KILLING THIS. This is her element and it is SOOO evident! She was able to do Soularium a girl named Khim. Solarium is something she used a lot in CRU but it is essentially using pictures to share the gospel and find out what a person believes. Khim was very receptive and open and she invited us to come over for a movie night.
We have heard God tell us to go to a random sports store 2 miles away so we walked there and prayed for them. I (Matt) have even been working out in the park and talking to random other white people and taking them to dinner. This young man I met in the park was from London and had never heard about the good news of Jesus. I had the joy of sharing the Gospel with someone who had truly NEVER heard it. People who have never heard the good news are all around us and they don’t look like what we expect. Being in a tourist town is really cool because you get to meet people from all over the world! It reminds us a lot of Bali and one of the reasons we loved Bali so much was that you could sit in a restaurant and hear 5 different languages going at once! Small taste of what heaven might be like! 🙂
See, The Kingdom of God is not an organization but a movement so this month (and the next few months as well) we get the joy of less organizing and more moving! We love that and so does Jesus! Though our desire is to find a movement that is local that we can partner with (which we are believing and asking God for) we get the everyday adventure of asking, receiving, and going!
SO why is this titled Over/Under?
Because we are learning that Thailand is a place that God’s hand is over and in order to be a part of what He is doing we must be under His control. Submission is the way to be a vessel and a tool! So our challenge to you our fellow Christ followers is to remind you that there is nothing you cannot do under His control. Ask, receive, and go!
