Japan on the Radio

One of our MTW missionary's speaking about their relief effort on KLove Radio. Click on this link.

Japan on Radio

More about the relief effort can be found at www.mtw.org and MTW on Facebook.

Q-T's

Baby's Got My Back

I have heard a new belief that some Thai people have concerning dolls. If they have a baby doll or stuffed animal of some kind in the back of their car, sitting up there by the back window, it could have more meaning than cuteness.

Explained by an English student, the owner of the car believes that if he gets in an accident, the injury will fall on the doll and not on him. It kinda sounds like voodoo or something in some ways. We passed a car with 10 dolls in the back yesterday. That person may be being very certain that he will be safe while driving.

Girls' Small Group

Why were you searching for me? Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house? ----(12 yr old Jesus speaking to his mom in the book of Luke 2:49)

Praises:
-All four girls showed up again, including T's young sister.
-We read Luke 2:41-52 and they are getting better at reading hard Bible words
-We played a silly dancing game after the study.
-I got to hear good stories about times they got lost. This storytelling time made me think that a good way to share with them about Jesus deeply will be through my own testimony.

Prayers:
-Pray that trust and respect will grow in our small group.
-Pray for love for God's Word to grow in the hearts of the girls.
-Pray that the message of the Gospel will be expressed each week.
-Pray for my Thai language to improve.

Helping Our Neighbors

This morning at language school, my Japanese classmate wasn't there. Many Japanese students were not there. I felt like the knowledge of the tragedy hit me again and even harder thinking about it from my classmate's perspective. All the staff and students that were there came together and prayed for Japan.

Mission to the World is accepting donations and raising up a group to go help, "the Minute Men." As for now, the Japanese churches are responding. To help, support, and read updates, follow this link.

MTW's prayer requests as of 3 days ago were:
-Praise for the safety of all MTW missionaries
-Love and comfort for grieving families
-Rescue for those who may be trapped
-Safety from aftershocks, which have been quite large
-Shelter for those whose homes are destroyed
-Wisdom and clarity for MTW regarding our response
-Restoration of power and communications

God in the Present

Our church sang "Amazing Grace" yesterday, which was my grandmother's favorite song. Yesterday also happened to be my grandmother's birthday. When we started singing that song (in Thai), I almost cried. Amidst everything else God is doing on the planet, he reminded me he knew what was in my heart.

Our sermon series on 1 Thessalonians was coming to a close as well, and we read from chapter 5. Right after the sudden tsunami and earthquake hit Japan, our sermon directed us to have a faith that is ready and prepared, and not being surprised by sudden catastrophe. That passage especially spoke to our hearts since Thailand knows first-hand how sudden tsunamis can come.

I praise God on how he speaks right into the present of our lives through his word and his church. There are no coincidences.

Expecting Goodbyes...

There's a lot of transition all the time on the mission field....people going, people coming. This transition can be hard because I must be okay with investing in friendships that may not last long. Yet my desire to have deep friendships here still drives me to make friendships even if just for a few months or a year or three years.

My friend Angela, from language school, heads off to serve in the northeast of Thailand soon. She's been a good friend for my season of language school and has been there to listen when I need someone to talk to. I will miss her friendship in Bangkok. Please pray for her transition.

Our team is preparing for a lot of transition this summer as well. Two families will be returning home for their "home assignment" time and four "new" missionaries will be coming this fall to serve. Please pray for our team through this transition. And pray for my heart to invest in the now.