Oh Oregon.

THESE ARE THE SIGNS THAT I LOVE!!

Originally, i tried to avoid them, hoping for the more authentic taste of Thailand. But "authentic" has occasionally turned out to be not actually what i was going for... more resembling "sketch", if you know what i mean.

For instance, encountering my first Thai massage taught me that "Thai" -at least in this context- is actually code for "a lot of inappropriate touching especially since we're strangers". I believe when correctly translated that's actually what the massage is called.

So you see. Sometimes it's good to go the farang* way.

As I've discovered (or just wandered) so much by myself, I've discovered the art of laughing out loud to one's self, and inevitably, "the look" that closely follows. I call it the "crazy farang" look. I get it a lot. But who could blame me? There has been daily, hourly, sometimes even by the minute! moments that are so random and bizarre and unbelievable, sometimes, that it's comical. So I laugh. Then they do their look. It's like we're each playing our parts, it's so consistent.







*foreigner

Lord Have Mercy.

Last night I made my way to a bar much like this one on a street lit as far as i could see by the glow of red lights. I spent the evening with a lovely girl named Fa. She told me about her sisters who are married, her old boyfriend that used to treat her bad, and how she has to work to support her old thai-whiskey-drinking mother and her nephew that lives with them.


Apparently...
"In Thailand, when you talk about prostitution, you talk about Pattaya. Known around the world as Thailand's number one sun, sea and sex destination, it is home to approximately 20,000 male, female and child prostitutes. Although the registered population is just 70,000, every November to March, about one million visitors crowd Pattaya's over 700 bars and nightclubs, and that doesn't count massage parlors or steam baths."


Visit www.projlife.com and look for TAMAR CENTER if this stuff interests you. My exploring last night was with a few young ladies who live here as a part of TAMAR (affiliated with YWAM) and hang out in the clubs nightly, mostly inviting the bar girls to free english classes. They now run a hair salon, coffee shop, bakery, and card-making business by girls that have come out of prostitution. They are trained in any one of these areas and discipled to go back into the places they've come from and be ministers of Jesus...



It's painful to see so many couples like this... they line the street. Mostly older, usually overweight Western men are constantly flying past on rented motorbikes with gorgeous doe-eyed Thai beauties perched behind them. Most probably can't really even communicate much.

THAILAND'S NEWEST FAN...

Africa has swiftly fallen behind me and my eyes are being opened to new wonders... I'M IN THAILAND, BABY!!

Bangkok has been entertaining me for four days now. my hostel is situated quite far from the main tourist area- i walked extensively yesterday and saw not one single white face until my tuk-tuk pulled into Khoa San St. and i was immediately surrounded by me! masses of young white bohemians- dreads and fisherman pants as far as the eye could see...

my days have been full of walking, smiling, thinking, and so far, only one great conversation since i've arrived. it took place when i first entered my "triple" dorm room:

one bed in the corner occupied by You, a middle-aged Hong Kongian, one empty bed in the middle, and one by the window with my name all over it. As i settled in, You awkwardly cleared his throat and said, "you.... this? you want?.... i no need. one night.... i no need." in his hand he held an adapter. so you see. rich dialoge. very kind people.

also, i've discovered food that's WONDERFUL BEYOND IMAGINING. i had no idea. i feel like i've been in the dark for all these years. WHY DIDN'T WE KNOW???

REDHILL'S MANY CHARMS

"Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together!"

These days Nick + Paula and I are settled happily in the lowest camp of Redhill- the southern-most township on the South peninsula of Africa. Even cooler? Our shack happens to be the lowest in the camp. So, officially, we live in the last shack in Africa.

Here's the family next to our humble abode.

The opposing sides of our shack. We've now hung a curtain next to Nick + Paula's bed to provide a bit of privacy. Trouble is, they don't quite close in the middle. But, you know... it's the thought that counts.

If you happen to be interested in the actual facts of what we're doing, check out http://www.floydandsally.org/. There you can read Redhill's full story.





Here are a few highlights thus far:

+ Paula has been meeting with a woman named Namandla. (Floyd wrote briefly about her- a shabeen (township bar) owner before the fire, she realized that God still loved her when she saw a simple skit that some CPX students did about an alcoholic turning to Jesus.) She's gathered her friends and is excited about leading the bible study! She's had such a revelation of God's grace towards her and is getting a vision to share/pray for her friends and neighbors. Paula meets with her before the bible study and helps her prepare.

+ David, our neighbor whom I quoted above who also has been the township's notorious drunkard, has renounced the drink!! Late last Thursday the Spirit of God spoke to him. We sat with him as he prayed to ask Jesus to help him quit drinking, then exclaimed, 'There will be no more drinking for me!! You will come to my house and study the bible, and soon I will be the one leading it!' God plants his vision in his people.

+ Shepherd, after hearing the story of Zacchaeus and how his heart changed just by being with Jesus, pressed Alexander, 'It seems like there's a difference between believing in Jesus and in following Jesus. Tell me about it.' After presenting the basic gospel, Alex asked if they'd like to consider these things for awhile. Wonderboy said emphatically, 'I need this change in my heart NOW. I don't want to wait until next week.' Shepherd agreed. 'I want to follow Jesus now.'

It's a sweet deal that Paula is not only really cool, but also an incredible photographer. These are just a few of the beautiful faces she's captured.

When it’s all been said and done
There is just one thing that matters
Did I do my best to live for Truth?
Did I live my life for you?

When it’s all been said and done
All my treasures will mean nothing
Only what I’ve done for Love’s reward
Will stand the test of time

Lord, your mercy is so great!
You look beyond my weakness
You find purest gold in miry clay
Making sinners into saints

And I will always sing your praise
Here on earth and ever after
For you’ve shown me heaven’s my true home
When it’s all been said and done
You’re my Life when life is gone

When it’s all been said and done
There is just one thing that matters
Did I do my best to live for Truth?
Did I live my life for you?
Lord, I live my life for you.

I've been kickin' it in Southern Africa for over a month now. In such a short time I've lived in a hut, run on white beaches, wrapped my arms around litte beautiful girls who've been horribly abused, had diarrhea, cooked on an open fire + gazed at the stars, sets some cement blocks on a on a slightly unsettled (and very unsettling) foundation, learned portugese (Onde podemos ir dancar? For the unlearned amongst us, that means "where can we go dancing?" I decided only to learn necessary phrases.), eaten incredible (amounts of) food, cried because of beauty, cried because of pain, struggled with the death of a young handicapped boy that i love, wondered at how we've learned to live without needing to trust God for much of anything, realized that that life is ridiculous and boring next to living with True Faith, and questioned seemingly all of my motives about just about everything. (Hearts are shady + deceptive things.)

Here are some of the difficult words that I've been thinking about a lot lately. It's a big deal to read the bible and think about it, too. I'm trying to do it though. It's changing my life.



"You are my friends if you do what I command." John 15

"Yes! You've kept all my commandments. But you still lack one thing! Go- sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Luke 18

"If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?! And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more thanothers? Do not even pagans do that?!" Matt. 5

"Learn to do right! Seek justice! Relieve the oppressed. Correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless. Plead for the widow." Isaiah 1

"You cannot serve both God and Money. So do not worry about your life, your food, your body, your clothes. Is not Life much more than these things?? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?... Rather, spend the hours that you have whole-heartedly seeking His Kingdom + His Righteousness! He knows your needs. All those other things will be given to you as well." Matt 6

"'He judged and defended the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. WAS NOT ALL THIS WHAT IT MEANS TO KNOW + RECOGNIZE ME?' Says the Lord…" Jer. 22