After ridding along a winding red dirt road we arrived at the farm in Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Kanchanaburi, a small village of about one hundred thousand people, tucked away in the river valley of Thailand’s majestic mountains. The golden steeple of the local temple could be seen in stark contrast to the lush green mountain peaks. Our tree houses over looked fields of banana trees, and the noise of cow bells could be heard ringing as the herds grazed in our backyard pasture. My favorite time of each day was enjoying a vibrant array of colors dancing through the evening sky as the cool air rolled in with the setting sun.
The schedule for a typical day was as follows. In the morning Arun had us weeding. My first thought was weeding?….this would be no problem. That assumption was quickly challenged, when I realized weeding a lawn in suburbia America is very different than weeding a hundred acre lawn in the depths of jungle of Thailand. In Thailand “weeding” really means cutting down small trees with hand held machetes. Our arms were covered by scrapes and bruises from chopping throne bushes the size a small Asian elephant. And do I dare say the “S” word. Snakes….where to even begin? For all my readers out there that do not know me well, we can start by addressing my issue with snakes. I fear snakes. In fact the statement “I fear snakes” would be quite an understatement. I hate snakes, with all the hate my little heart can muster up. Also, I must note that I really believe it is wise to face fears. However, let it be said, I am perfectly ok never facing the fear of snakes. Not now, not tomorrow, and not ever. However, this week I had to face my fear of snakes head on. Paul commands us to “pray continually.” That become very real, as I stepped in snake holes big enough to encompass the entire width of my right foot. As the guys on our team say it best, the snake situation was “no bueno, no bueno at all.” In addition to the snakes, the sun was scorching, and I was able to wring out buckets of sweat from my dirty clothing. Dre and I jokingly remarked, in “weeds” up to our shoulders, that nowhere in proverbs thirty-one did the author include machete usage or snake smarts as ideal qualities desired in a woman of God.
Our afternoon’s work was a little more light hearted. We had the chance to teach English at the local school. Teaching held is own challenges. On the first day of teaching, the students asked for Dre and I to sing and dance for them. Don’t ask my why, but in the hurriedness of the moment we chose to sing “Silent Night.” So, if you could imagine, there we stood. Singing in front of twenty five Thai children, the worlds most off key rendition of “Silent Night” complete with hand movements of us rocking little baby Jesus. It was humorous to say the least.
When its all said and done I was thankful for the opportunity (and Thailand now has some well weeded banana fields). The week was a blessing, and the slow pace of farm life allowed me to breathe a little bit deeper. Our team has spent the last few months in the craziness of city life. Ho Chi Mihn City is moto-mania land, and in Phonom Penh the sweet smell of urine can be enjoyed on every street corner. The mountain air was
literally a breathe of fresh air. Each day I walked in step with the heart beat of God’s mighty creation. On our last day, Mia, a endearing white pit bull (who I have decided to adopt as our new team mascot) and I marched ourselves on a two and a half hour walk through the winding dirt roads.
literally a breathe of fresh air. Each day I walked in step with the heart beat of God’s mighty creation. On our last day, Mia, a endearing white pit bull (who I have decided to adopt as our new team mascot) and I marched ourselves on a two and a half hour walk through the winding dirt roads. At one point on the trail the trees cleared and the mountains majestically rose on both sides of the the river valley. The sapphire blue sky radiated as a cool breeze blew. My Ipod hummed Bob Dylan’s classic song “Blow’n in the Wind.” In a lyrical master piece , Dylan pounds out some of the world’s and life’s toughest questions.
Blowing in the Wind
How many roads must a man walk downBefore you call him a man?
Yes, n how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, n how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before theyre forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind,
The answer is blowin in the wind.
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, n how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, n how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind,
The answer is blowin in the wind.
How many years can a mountain exist
Before its washed to the sea?
Yes, n how many years can some people exist
Before theyre allowed to be free?
Yes, n how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesnt see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind,
The answer is blowin in the wind.
With each new day on the race and with each new country on the race, God personally hits me head up against many of life toughest questions?
Why is the Catholic church killing and harming Christian families in Mexico?
Why are thousands of children born with birth defects abandoned by their parents at birth in Vietnam?
Why are women abducted and sold into sex trafficking?
How can a man be so enslalved to sin that he rapes a women?
Who is going to address the emotional and physical and spiritual pain that results in a woman after being raped?
What about poverty? And the millions of children that die each day as a direct result of lack of clean water?
Why do men worship golden statues?
Why do men worship trees, when the One true Living God reigns?
Why do men worship ancestors? Why do thousand of spirit houses exist in Southeast Asia?
Why did the Khmer Rouge occur in Cambodia? And why is a genocide occurring today?
What do you do with corruption in government? What do you do when police officers are trafficking drugs into Penom Penh?
What do you do with corruption in government? What do you do when police officers are trafficking drugs into Penom Penh?
What about natural disasters? Hurricanes? Tornadoes?
Or car accidents killing million of teenagers in the states each year?
Why are there gangs walking the streets of Mexico City? And Ocotal, Nicaragua? And Brooklyn, New York?
Who is going to tell the man involved in a gang, that there is a good God who forgives and loves him?
What do you do when a gang member who has murdered a three year old girl, sits in church weeping?
Why are there orphans? Who is going to love them and raise them and tickle them and hug them?
Why do so many people choose sin? Why do we choose evil? Bitterness? Unforgiveness?
Why have we denied God? Jesus Christ? Truth? Why do we deny Jesus the one true source of hope in a world that is dying?
Dylan is saying that the answer to all these questions is right in front of us, yet we do not see. All the answers are there, we just decide not take hold of them and turn our heads again. But the answer is there?
“How many times can a man look up and not see the sky? There is a sky up there to be seen. You may look up ten thousand times and say you don’t see it. But that has absolutely no effect on its objective existence. It is there. And one day you will see it. How many times must you look up before you see it? There is an answer. The answer, The answer, my friend, is not yours to invent or create. It will be decided for you. It is outside you. It is real and objective and firm. One day you will hear it. You don’t create it. You don’t define it. It comes to you, and sooner or later you conform to it-or bow to it. That is what I heard in Dylan’s song, and everything in me said, Yes! There is an Answer with a capital A. To miss it would mean a wasted life. To find it would mean having a unifying Answer to all my questions” John Piper Don’t Waste You’re Life.
