Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger and he who believes in me will never thirst.” John 6:35

By now, if you get our newsletter, you know that Kevin has been appointed the DS of Cambodia. Months before this appointment came, we began attending the bi-monthly leadership meetings in Cambodia. We met with them in December and in February. In December we actually went to the meeting on behalf of Work & Witness. We wanted to see what W & W teams could do to help in Cambodia.

They asked for the most simple things in the world. They told us that their most pressing need was for water. In Southeast Asia there are 3 seasons: hot, dry, and rainy. The hot season, which we are coming up on, is hot and muggy. The dry season, which they sometimes call “cool”, but is really just hot and windy. And the rainy season is—rainy, and still hot. The agriculture is built around these seasons. They depend on them. But unfortunately, there has been less and less rain over the past several years. The reservoirs, rivers, and streams don’t fill up as much as they used to and so the reserves are low during the hot and dry seasons.

Villages with good wells can access clean water. Those without cannot. In fact, sometimes it’s not a matter of not having clean water, but a matter of not having any water at all.

Can you imagine having to travel to purchase water on a regular basis? The number of people who suffer from dehydration is astounding.

The second request they made was for Bibles. Each church had about 2 Bibles. Could they have more? And would it be possible to get song books as well?

Digging wells is a big deal, it takes planning. We know first hand, because we just finished a well project at the Maetang Children’s Home.

But, purchasing Bibles just takes money and we found out we have a fund for that! Just a few weeks ago we were able to hand a stack of Bibles, hymn books, and a children’s Bible storybook to a representative of each church.

We encouraged the family of God to use the Bibles and to give them away. If needed, we would get more. The excitement over this gift of Bibles filled the atmosphere. Before we left, one of the guards at the hotel showed us that he had one of our Bibles. A church had given it to him. Was it okay if he kept it? He would read it to the people in his village. Before ever returning home the people of of God were giving away the Bread of Life.

Bread and water. Essentials. It’s exactly what Jesus offered: living water and the bread of life. The correlation between the physical and spiritual in Cambodia is so striking. There is physical poverty: hunger, thirst, and the depravity that accompany that. But it’s such a clear picture of the spiritual condition of the nation. They are thirsty for the living water, hungry for the bread of life. They need Jesus. Only Jesus can transform and when he does, he transforms from the inside out.

Jesus never ignored physical needs; he knows how we are formed. But He always accompanied physical provision with spiritual provision. He offered forgiveness, mercy, love . . . Himself.

As we work with Nazarene Compassionate Ministries to see wells built, and work with the local churches to find ways to provide physically for the people, let us do so in love, never forgetting that the most important thing we have to offer is the living water and the bread of life. The best gift we have to give is Jesus.

What began in March of this year has finally come to a close. Our first Home Assignment is over. What, you ask, is “home assignment”? It is the time every two years that we are sent back to our home country to tell the Church what God is doing here, where we are living and working. Usually, you go home for 3 months and then come back. But sometimes there are variations… and we had to stray from the norm a bit this year.

We began in Oklahoma, drove to Texas, then to Kansas and back to Texas. From Texas I (Jeni) flew to Idaho for a day, while Kevin and Caleb drove back to Oklahoma, we then all flew to Utah from our respective locations, after which we all flew to Boise, drove to Eastern Oregon, and then back to Nampa, Idaho.

In Nampa we got to witness our daughter’s college graduation from Northwest Nazarene University. She is now an RN and works at the VA hospital in Boise. Yay!!! Immediately following graduation, we flew back to Thailand with our first Work & Witness team. From that point on, we were with teams in Thailand and Cambodia until flying back in August to drop Caleb off at NNU for his freshman orientation. He’s loving it, by the way, and doing great!

After bidding a teary-eyed farewell to our baby, we started the second half of home assignment which included 31 churches, 6 states (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, and West Virginia—technically we drove through Ohio, too, but we didn’t stop, so I’m not counting it) 1 retirement center, 3 universities for meetings with 5 potential Work & Witness teams, several meetings with churches and individuals regarding upcoming teams, more meals out than I care to count, and I don’t know how many miles.

It was wonderful.

Each time we thought we were completely spent, God sent brothers and sisters in Christ to refresh us. We were welcomed like family everywhere we went. We drove thousands of miles without incident by the grace and protection of God. We met strangers in Christ who are now our friends, and connected with long time friends in a way that only the Holy Spirit can orchestrate.

All I can say is that God is good and the Church, His body, is beautiful.

We are now back in Bangkok and will be headed north in two days for 2 weeks of Regional conferences. Are we tired? Yes. I think God is not allowing us to get over jet lag too quickly just so that we will slow down a little and get some rest. I still can’t keep my eyes open past 9 pm, but each night we sleep one hour longer.

If you are reading this and we had the privilege of visiting you and/or your church, please know that we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and were blessed by you and your fellowship. If you were one of the saints who opened their home to us, again, thank you so much! God used you to refresh us. If we didn’t make it your way this time, let’s make that happen next time. We missed you.

At the end of the month, we will be back in Bangkok and it looks like we will actually get to live in our place for about 2 months! It’s been a long road, but it certainly is a grand adventure!

When people come to Thailand, or go on any missions trip for that matter, they often leave with a sense of how wealthy they are in comparison to those in other parts of the world. It’s hard not to compare. We visit remote villages in beautiful areas, but the day to day living conditions are worlds away from what we have back home. Escape from the heat equates to shade and maybe a fan. Bathrooms are not equipped with flush toilets or even with toilets you sit on. Showers are a luxury and often bathing means pouring water from a cistern over yourself. Insects are everywhere and the food, while good, is pretty much the same at every meal.

The team that just left was from Point Loma Nazarene University in Southern California. They came to Thailand to offer health education and basic health checks to marginalized people groups (immigrants and refugees) and people in remote areas (hill tribe people). Thailand actually has great health care. People from all over the world come to Bangkok for both elective and non-elective medical procedures.

However, not everyone has access to the healthcare they need. Some live too far to go in to the doctor for every little concern and so they just don’t go. Many just don’t have the money to get regular check-ups. This team took blood pressures and checked blood sugar. They talked to the people about taking care of their bodies with good nutrition, hydration, and proper rest. They emphasized dental care. We had a nurse practitioner on hand to talk to patients about what was bothering them and to give sound advice. The team also prayed for each person who came in.

On the last day, we talked with the team and told them how much of a blessing they had been. We invited them to come back and serve and encouraged them to serve right where God had them, right now. We also talked about what they had experienced and seen.

They acknowledged that they feel so wealthy in comparison to what they had just seen, and they are. It’s true; Americans have a lot. But our true wealth is not related to our standard of living; the true disparity lies not in our possessions or even in our education. Our true wealth, our real treasure is Jesus Christ.

This may sound like a trite soundbite in Christian vernacular, but in our context it is a vital truth that must be acknowledged every day. We have the knowledge that the God who created he universe loved us enough to die for us. That He paid for our sins, not because we were sorry or had done anything or showed ourselves worthy of being saved, but because He loves us. Because we are His.

We have the knowledge that we do not have to earn our salvation and we don’t have to work to be good enough or do enough good things to keep our salvation. We know that we need only remain in Christ and in His love.

We know that God takes what has been distorted, broken, torn apart, desecrated, and ruined in us and remakes, repairs and restores us. He recreates us in His image; He makes us holy. We have a treasure that can never be taken from us, never be destroyed.

We have absolute assurance, true hope of heaven. Our debt, our ransom has been paid and by believing in and trusting in Jesus Christ, we are in. We have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to one of light. It has already been done and we can live in that freedom, in that knowledge. We can live as holy people. We belong. In Christ the answer to every promise God ever made is “Yes!”

The people of Thailand do not have this knowledge. They live in fear of evil spirits and of karma. They work to be good enough to hopefully not have a next life that is worse than this one, to hopefully move up. They strive to appease any evil spirit that might harm them and to earn merit and make ransom for their sins. They have no knowledge of a God who created them, knows them, and loves them. They have no assurances of eternity. They are trapped in a system of checks and balances, a system that says “maybe.”

We can’t fix poverty. Redistribution of wealth has proven ineffective time and again. We can care for people and be generous and give what we have, but it won’t fix the true poverty; we can offer medicine but it won’t touch the real illness; we can feed the hungry, but it won’t satiate the root hunger in the world.

However, we do have a treasure that can be shared, one that truly meets needs and yet is never depleted. When we share Jesus, it doesn’t reduce our treasure, in fact it increases it. The more we give this away, the more we have. And this treasure actually leaves the recipients with exactly the same wealth we have. As soon as someone receives the good news that Jesus died to pay for their sins and believes the Word of God, trusting in God alone for their salvation, they become citizens of the Kingdom of God. Each child of God is granted unlimited access to a relationship with the Creator of the Universe, forgiveness of sins, freedom from and victory over sin, the ability to live in love and holiness, and we have wisdom and guidance through the Holy Spirit who is our deposit guaranteeing our future with God in Christ Jesus.

How is then that we manage to keep this treasure to ourselves? How do our friends and neighbors not know? We love being Work & Witness Coordinators. The “work” is fun and feels rewarding, but it’s the “witness”, the giving away of your most precious treasure, the hope you have in Christ is the gift that will really change the world.

I had hoped to get this blog published when I wrote it a few weeks ago, but things have been seriously busy and our WiFi access a bit spotty. However, I still wanted to share this part of my journey with you…

We are now stateside. Since arriving back in Thailand on May 13 with a team from NNU, 5 teams have come and gone. We said farewell to a great group from Point Loma Nazarene University on August 20, the day before we flew back to the US for the second half of our home assignment. It’s been an amazing whirlwind of a summer.

Currently we are back at NNU. This time we are just here for personal reasons. Our youngest son, Caleb, is starting school. We are so proud of him! He’s here to follow the call of God on his life by studying Christian Ministries. We know he will do well and thrive here; he’s doing what he’s meant to be doing.

But… we are faced with a new reality—a household without children. We are the kind of parents who pretty much included our kids in everything we did. Don’t get me wrong, we prioritized our marriage, went on dates and even took trips without the kids occasionally. But, so often we would find ourselves on those trips saying, “Oh, the kids would love this! We have to bring them here!” Our three kids were included in our ministry and even in our decision to move to Southeast Asia.

This morning, I’m sitting here at the mission house in Nampa. Thanks to jet lag, I am up at 5 a.m. (after having gone to bed after midnight); my son spent the first of many nights in his new dorm rather than sleeping under the same roof we are. My recurring thought is “Lord, I don’t know how to do this!”

My fantasies wander toward living in the states in a big house where they can all frequently come home to, within an easy drive of all of my children. This really is a fantasy since we have two in Idaho and one in Illinois… no such place can even exist. I know this. I’ve struggled so much with feeling that my heart is not being faithful to God’s directive to go to the ends of the earth.

I cry out to the Lord, telling Him that I don’t know how to do this, that I can’t help wanting to be an ongoing part of my children’s lives, to know them as they grow, to know the people they come to love, to get to participate, even in small ways in their day to day life, to watch their activities—to walk this journey with them.

I’ve told the Lord, time and again how sorry I am because I just don’t know how to let go. I realize the relationship has to change and grow, I know they need to follow what God is calling them to do. I just want to be able to hear about it daily, to see it and enjoy their company. I don’t know how to not do that.

His still small voice answered me... I know exactly how you feel. That’s exactly how I feel about my children—all of them. I want to be a part of their lives every day, to walk with them, to hold them, to hear them, for them to know and hear me. I want to be close. And I don’t know how to let go either. It’s why I pursue them. It’s why I sent you to tell them, to help me bring them home. I know this pain you feel, I feel it too. I’m not a God of division and separation; I’m a God of communion and restoration, of togetherness. My calling will not destroy the family I’ve blessed you with. Trust me.

Isn’t that amazing. God understands. To have His heart is to know His pain. My heart is not betraying me, it’s beating as His does, with unending, unyielding love and desire for relationship with my children. It’s okay to feel this way. But having God’s heart also means doing what He would do with it. I don’t have to let go, I can hold onto those relationships, but I have to seek what is best for those I love.

I also need to trust God with my children and with my relationships. In a way, He is trusting me with His children, with those who know Him and those who have yet to turn and acknowledge Him. I’m part of His pursuit of His children. I’m part of His care of His children.

So while this hurts, and I’m not really sure I can do it, I will walk forward. I will finish out this weekend, hug my baby, hold on a little longer than I should and watch him walk toward his future knowing he is held by God. Then I will walk toward my future, seeking out the children of God who need to know Him, those who need to be brought into the family. I will follow His heart.

We love our Work & Witness teams, every one. They are all unique and we are unbelievably blessed to be able to meet brothers and sisters from all over the world. We’ve met some amazing people from many from varied walks of life who are all seeking to be used by God and to serve others in love. Serving in this way is a huge privilege for us.

This week, we said farewell to a team that left a lasting and profound impression on us. The group was comprised of members from two different churches, one from Lubbock, Texas and the other from San Paulo, Brazil. The leaders of the group, Jake and Mimi are the common factor that brought the two groups together. Jake serves as an associate pastor at the Nazarene Church in Lubbock. His father, Michael, is the senior pastor. Jake has had a passion for missions that, 15 years ago, led him to Thailand and eventually resulted in him serving as the missions director for a university in Arizona, where he met and eventually married Mimi. Mimi is from Brazil, where she was raised as a pastor’s daughter.

The two had a vision for a joint missions trip and as that vision was shared, it grew, and blossomed into this amazing team. The team in Lubbock even raised extra money to contribute the travel costs of the team from Brazil. As a result, we were able to meet and serve with a group of dynamic, passionate, and faithful people. Their stories and backgrounds were diverse: a single mom semi-retired who owned and ran a language school, a salesman, a school teacher, an architect, two pastors, students, and young adults. They ranged in age from 18 to 60-something (not including Jake and Mimi’s 2 and 4 year old). They shared their stories, shared with us how they saw God at work here, and intently sought what God was doing and saying to them.

One of the things this team did really well, and I mean really well, is pray. They started off their time in Thailand by praying, prayer walking through the city of Bangkok and sharing with anyone who seemed interested, and they didn’t stop praying the entire time they were with us.

We have a new church plant in Bangkok who just found a place to hold Sunday services. On Saturday, we brought the group there and they helped get it ready by smashing concrete, washing walls, painting, and cutting down and pulling up weeds. We also worked together to prepare a meal. On Sunday, we worshiped with this new congregation and felt the unity of the bond of love and experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit. We heard from God as Jim (a layman) shared an encouraging word from the Lord.

After church and praying over this new work, we headed to Korat. In Korat this team worked on Duan’s farm, taught English and shared love with two schools, and shared the Word of God with children at Baan Jai Di. While we were there our district superintendent, Pastor Lamp, presented Duan with her first district license. Another pastor, who was present to see and learn from the work Duan is doing, also received his first district license (usually these are given at District Assembly, but there was a snafu). With this team, we were able to lay hands on and pray over these precious servants of God. Thiago, one of the Brazilian pastors also anointed and prayed for healing for Tom, Duan’s husband, who suffers from kidney failure.

The presence of this team and others has had a tremendous impact on Korat and on the work at Baan Jai Di. Aside from being a tremendous encouragement to Duan, Tom, Phoebe and Bi, who work tirelessly to share Jesus with everyone there, bringing in Work & Witness teams builds relationships and opens doors.

We were given the opportunity to share the gospel and healthy parenting methods with the parents and teachers in the village. Many of those in attendance wanted to know more and had questions for Pastor Lamp and Duan. Pastor Lamp was able to pass out Thai Bibles to those who came. While there, we also found out that this particular village school, where we have taken 4 teams so far, scored 20% higher than any of the other schools in the area of English. While we can’t take credit for their dedicated teachers, the director of the school thanked us for helping make English instruction a fun priority and for bringing teams to help support their students. Our visiting teams also help to connect students to Baan Jai Di, where they get help with school and learn about the God who loves them more than anything and wants them to come to Him.

When I think about people from all over the world working together, praying together, giving together, coming together to reach out to those in need, to those who don’t know Jesus, when we work in unity despite language differences and cultural barriers, my heart swells with love and pride and I can’t help but think perhaps Jesus feels the same way: That’s my Church.

The Lord has recently given me a tremendous and priceless gift. Each Monday I now get to begin my week with five beautiful women, diving into, sifting through, and feasting on the Word of God. These five women were introduced to me by a dear friend and fellow missionary. She began this Bible study about three months ago, but is now on her way back to the U.S. to live and serve while her husband completes his Doctoral work.

The ladies told her they wanted someone to replace her, to lead the study, and so two weeks before her departure, she invited me to join them and they invited me to be a part of their fellowship.

All of these women are Christian refugees who left Pakistan because of intense, life-threatening persecution. All of their stories are different, but each is here, some with family and some alone, waiting for what God has in store. They did not know each other before ending up living in the same building. Some have Catholic backgrounds and some Protestant, all are faithful Christians seeking, clinging to, wrestling with, cleaving to their Hope: Christ Jesus.

We always begin our study with song and then sharing what “gifts” God has given us during the week. They sing in Urdu and I worship as I listen. My heart sings even though I don’t know the words. We rejoiced together as Slomi shared that her husband, who has been working in South Africa, was finally granted a visa to come and visit her. This totally resonated with me; my husband was in Cambodia for 2 weeks; his absence was definitely felt, and I can’t imagine being separated for as long as they have to be. Of the women, only Rehana is in country with her husband. And only one is unmarried.

This week, we began by laying hands on and praying for each of the women. They regularly suffer from medical issues, some stress related. Rahat had just shared that her gift was that she was able to praise the Lord in song despite struggling with a sore throat and cough. Rehana has been struggling with pain that radiates up and down the left side of her body; Amber, a diabetic, struggles with kidney infections and the resulting pain. Mary has just been feeling ill. When it was her turn to be prayed for, she asked me to pray especially for her laziness. I thought I had misunderstood, but no, she said “laziness–I know what I need to do, but I’m just not doing it.” My mind immediately went to the passage in James that says, “confess your sins to one another so that you will be healed.” Mary wanted healing, so she confessed before she asked God for anything. And our Bible study was just getting started.

As we opened the Word and asked God to speak to us, to change us, the expectation was palpable. We were all there to be fed. And what a feast. We began our study of Romans by reading 1:1-17. In those first 17 verses, we talked about what it meant to be a servant or a slave, what being called meant, the definition of an apostle and how that differed from a disciple. We discussed the gospel—what it was exactly that Paul felt compelled, indebted, obligated and the same time eager to share with Greek and non-Greek, wise and foolish. We delved into what it meant to be obedient and how and why our obedience comes through faith. We discussed who Jesus is and how Paul describes Him. And of course, we discussed the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes and the resulting righteousness, the right-ness, the restored relationship we get to have with the One who created all that is and yet still loves us. And we talked about faith, the difference between belief and faith. We rested in a salvation and a righteousness that are by faith from first to last.

One passage in particular made us smile. It was Paul’s declaration that he really wanted to come preach to them, have a harvest among them and strengthen them, and also that they would be mutually encouraged. The faith of the believers in Rome, faith that was strong enough that it was talked about all over the world, encouraged Paul, not because it was a result of his ministry, but because it was proof that what he was giving his life to was real, active, living… it demonstrated that he was not alone in this work or this faith. Rahat smiled and said, “this is like us… mutually encouraged.”

At the end of each lesson we end by sharing which verse or concept really spoke to us that day and then by praying in response to the Scripture, responding to what God is saying to us. Each woman had a different insight. Slomi was taken by the idea of servanthood and that when Christ’s blood bought her freedom, she was able to use that freedom to choose Him, to choose servanthood, a choice she made out love. Amber was full on the feast of God’s word, the way the gospel, spoken to us, strengthens us the way a nutritious meal strengthens our bodies. Rehana loved a simple verse that reminded her that Grace and Peace come only from God. Rahat loved the idea of being encouraged by teaching and was filled with eagerness to share with others what had been shared with her. Mary reveled in a right relationship with God based on faith, His faithfulness which merits our faith in Him. Mona, Rehana’s daughter, boldly stated that we did not need to be timid or ashamed when we share the gospel, we should be proud to be believers.

For me, I saw Paul in a new light. I saw a man who had been enlightened, taught, gifted and called out to serve. I saw a servant who relied entirely on His master. His only job was to obey, to proclaim what God had called him to proclaim, and to do it where God had appointed him to go. I saw a man whose obedience came through faith. He obeyed because He really believed, trusted, knew that what He was proclaiming was true. I saw a man excited and eager to do the work He was called to do, not worried about the details, knowing that Christ had gone before Him and was taking care of them, a man who was happy that his life and worth, from beginning to end, were not his responsibility. His only concern was obedience in/from/with faith. I saw a righteous life.

I sat with righteous women, hearing from a righteous servant and the Spirit of Truth.

And I was encouraged.

We are currently sitting sitting in a Starbucks near the King’s Palace waiting for this team to finish their tour. This smaller group of eleven from Olivet Nazarene University has been a real treat. This is a team of all girls who travelled with us to Korat, Thailand in Isaan (the eastern and most unreached part of the country) to work at Baan Jai Di, Children’s Center.

Baan Jai Di was started in the home of Duan, a wife, mother, and teacher in a small village in Korat. Her dream is to reach her unreached village and the surrounding area for Christ. She is doing this through providing after school tutoring and English teaching to children in this rural area. Children in Thailand almost always seek extra help with school, especially with English, since how well they perform in school largely determines how many opportunities they will have for success later in life.

Duan works with the children and gets to know the families as well. She often helps provide food and necessary items for those who are in need. All the while praying for those around her and sharing what Jesus has done and is doing for her. Her husband Tom, who suffers from kidney failure, is also instrumental in both supporting this outreach and in ministering to the adults of the village with his own testimony of faith and perseverance.

These past two weeks, the team from Olivet represented Christ by teaching English and sharing the gospel in the village schools and by spending time with the children at Baan Jai Di after school. They also spent an evening working on Duan’s farm helping to plant corn (by hand) that Duan will then sell to make money for Baan Jai Di. Her goal is to build a covered area in front of her home so the children have more room and so that she can accommodate more children.

The Thailand DS, Ajaan Lamp, also joined us for three days of our time in the village to love on the children and to help us pass out “the shoe that grows” to the children of Baan Jai Di. This team of girls had a great time getting to know Duan, Pastor Lamp and Pi Bi as they worked and served together. They ate food that was very new to them, worked very hard in the heat, and kept smiles on their faces and love in their hearts the whole time. Jesus’ love really showed in the lives and services of these young women.

We were asked several times why we were there, why we would come to a place like this little village in Korat. We were able to answer that we were there because of the love of Jesus. While there, a young woman named Pok Pok, expressed a desire for her young daughters to be raised Christian. She herself is still learning what that means, but she sees that we have hope, and joy and life and she wants that for her daughters.

Today is our last day of this trip and we are spending it touring Bangkok before they fly out late tonight (technically early tomorrow morning). I’m ready for the rest (we get eight days before the next team), but we have loved every minute of serving with our brothers and sisters in Christ and introducing them to this part of the world and the beautiful people our Savior gave His life and conquered death for. We will hold each visitor in our hearts and treasure the time we’ve spent together.

If you would like to help support the work at the Baan Jai Di Children’s Center it has just been added to the list of Approved Specials online at http://www.nazarene.org/global-missions-project?project=3030

We hit the ground running on our return from the first leg of our home assignment in the States with minimal jet-lag. Praise the Lord! (And thank you all for your prayers!!). Kevin flew back with our first team, the Northwest Nazarene University Choir & Orchestra, while Caleb and I followed the next day. We had the great privilege of working with this 64 member team for two weeks, beginning our tour in Bangkok and wrapping it up in Chiangmai.

The purpose of this team was praise, prayer, and witnessing. This team performed concerts for blind children with disabilities (in an area where we would love to plant a church) and to children and a community in an extreme poverty area, in an international church, in two Thai churches (one a new church plant) and spent an afternoon prayer walking in addition to visiting the largest outdoor market in Southeast Asia, all in Bangkok before boarding an overnight train for Chiangmai.

In Chiangmai, the students fit in some sight-seeing, elephant riding, night market shopping, and waterfall climbing. They headed up to Maetang to spend time with, teach, play with and sing for the Children’s Home and neighbors in Maetang and to perform for the Maetang High School. On Sunday the group split up and worshipped and shared their music with two different hill tribe churches before performing their final concert on Sunday night at the Chiangmai International Church.

This group was adventurous, flexible, and so much fun! They represented their school, and more importantly Christ, very well as they served, prayed for and loved the people of Thailand. Many of the people with whom they interacted were not Christians and didn’t really know much of anything about Christianity. The NNU UCO’s praise and witness planted seeds and opened doors for ministries in Thailand and we are so grateful they came.

Kevin and I personally, loved getting to know the students and the leaders of the trip. We are blessed to have new friends and to see how God is working the lives of those who ministered to us through song and prayer.

As Kevin wrapped up their time with us, I (Jeni) flew back to Bangkok to meet the next team at the airport.

Life is busy, but God is good!

I can hardly believe it’s been long enough, but here we are on our first home assignment. We have now been in the US for almost two weeks; jet lag is gone and we are beginning to get our feet under us. We started out in Oklahoma… Bethany, Oklahoma, to be exact and this was the perfect place to start. Our first Sunday we spoke at Lake Overholser Church of the Nazarene which is pastored by none other than Pastor Rick Green. Pastor Rick was our Senior Pastor in Brookings, Oregon and he and his family are like family to us. It was so good to get to see them. His kids, who were teens when when we met, are all grown up and have careers, families, and kids of their own. Our kids, who were babies, are either in, soon to be in, or graduating from college. We are all a bit grayer, but they are still the wonderful people who mentored, ministered with, and supported us.

I can honestly say it feels great to be back in America. Everyone speaks English; we don’t feel like giants; the air is clean; we can drink water from the tap or water fountain (they actually have water fountains here); everything is so spacious; it’s not weird when you make eye contact with strangers or speak to them. People aren’t just polite, they are friendly. I understand what’s going on around me. I get the nuances, the facial expressions, the body language, the jokes. It’s so… easy.

And yet… it’s not. We drive by church after church (I think there is literally one on every block in Bethany, OK) and it’s nice to see churches rather than wats. It’s nice not to stand out while for praying for a meal. It’s all very nice. The churches are very nice. Very Nice. Stained glass windows, monuments and plaques dedicated to those who’ve given money or served faithfully for a long time. Enormous buildings used for preschools, multiple Sunday school classrooms, Bible studies, small groups, recovery ministries… all great stuff. Lots of stuff.

It’s hard not to compare. When we moved to Thailand, we did a lot of comparing there was a lot of , “well that’s different!” And we expected that. What I didn’t I expect was to experience it in reverse, especially when it comes to the Church. I didn’t expect to see and be so struck by the contrast between the churches here and the churches there. We walked into a kids Sunday school room that was larger than the open air “room” where we taught 65 people in Cambodia, larger than most of the places where our churches meet. We learned of remodeling projects and building projects, money poured into the facilities, sanctuaries with countless seats, multiple services to suit various worship preferences, church plants started by multiple families… it’s all very good, very nice.

In Southeast Asia, the churches that do have buildings usually have one room. If there is more than one, the rest is probably living quarters. Most churches meet in someone’s home which is encouraged because before the church becomes too big, we hope and pray another church or two are birthed from that house church. The idea of quarreling over what songs or what style of song to sing is odd and completely foreign. They are thrilled that their young people are willing to get up and worship. The adults applaud the more modern songs and the kids learn the old hymns. The kids dance to worship music and it’s a joy to watch. Tithing and giving are expected and accountability is public (I’ll share that in another post). Giving thanks and testimony are a regular part of worship. And a Building is often a burden rather than a blessing.

During the next 2 months we will be sharing in a lot of nice buildings to a lot of wonderful people. We will be telling about what God is doing with small things… few people, almost no money, little education, and mustard seed faith. We will share these things in the hopes that our brothers and sisters here in these lovely churches will catch a vision to offer God everything they have, to be obedient, and join us.

The differences between the U.S. and Southeast Asia are vast, but our God is the same here and there. He still works through small things and large things. Through the humble obedient heart, He is still glorified.