Take My Breath Away!

Today is Sunday, and just like every good, bible believing, Holy Spirit empowered Christian, I went to church. It was at the carpark beside Royal Benja Hotel, 14th floor. The service was in Thai, but we had english translation. This service was interesting. I mean, I have been to hundreds of church services, but I noticed a few things that I've never seen before.

I've had my name written on sticker as a first time visitor in other churches, but they also gave me a notebook that has the pastor's family portrait on the cover, presented in a paper bag with a welcome message from the pastor. Plus, they gave me a little flower candle in plastic wrap, tied up with paper flower, and a welcome message from the church: Hope of Bangkok Church, Sukhumvit. And the winner: a mini curry puff in airtight plastic wrap. I'm sure you've never had it before. What a way to say that they care about me.

After the preaching was over, I immediately turned my head to the right, and I was surprised to see a table already prepared with food on it, and chairs neatly arranged around it. Apparently some groups would arrange to have lunch in the hall. Someone bought all sorts of local food in bulk and distributed to the groups.

I joined their bible study, with a group who are sold out for World Mission. I happened to sit beside a pastor who will be studying at a bible college in Melbourne, starting in July. Now, that's too much of a coincidence. I've been contemplating whether to go to that bible college, because it's a bit far, and I don't know which course to take. But if someone from Bangkok WANTS to go there, then what's stopping someone from Melbourne?

I ended up joining a second service, designed to train up those who will be involved in world mission, so that they can practice running a service in foreign language. It was a humbling experience, seeing how ordinary people put in their best to serve God.

And of course, God loves to reward His children with great food on Sunday evening. Especially today =D I went to Sam Yan, a restaurant on a market near Chulalongkorn University. Oh boy, it's the climax for my Thai food feasting! No more Tom Yum Goong, but all the 5 stars dishes! If you don't mind some baby roaches crawling on the table occasionally, then I strongly recommend this place!

After dinner, I went to Suan Lum Night Bazaar. Rumours has it that you can't go there in the future cos someone will convert it into condominiums. I like this market, it's much cleaner than Chatuchak market. There's a restaurant offering a puppet show. The market is divided into several building blocks. It looks like a cross between shopping centre and flea market.

I suppose that concludes my adventure in Thailand. I would like to thank everyone in Thailand for making this trip such a memorable and fruitful experience. I love you guys so much that if I don't leave tomorrow, I might consider spending the rest of my life here.

Tomorrow forecast: I will fly to Singapore at 7.45am. I hope I don't miss the flight. I only have 12 hours to spend in Singapore, and there's a lot of things to do!

Weekend Market

I arrived at Kamphaeng Phet MRT station at 3pm, and I couldn't believe my eyes! Chatuchak market is huge, probably the largest market that I've ever been to. Victoria market fades in comparison. I can't stress enough how big this place is - you'd be better off doing a quick search on google.

What I found interesting:
Puppies of exotic breeds for 1400 baht each. A little boy around 4 years old playing traditional musical instrument. Another boy playing musical instrument like bass guitar, but only 3 strings. A teenager playing rock music through a speaker, and pretending to play an electric guitar made of styrofoam. A young girl dancing like Britney Spears. A guy juggling soccer ball in all sorts of positions (raising funds to go to Europe for a competition). Hello kitty ice cream stall (the ice cream girls were wearing hello kitty ears). A guy dressed up as a high school girl, thick white make up, and singing weird songs. Lots of offensive/aggresive T-shirts. Plants and pots, and matching decorations. Beautiful celebrity selling clothes and collecting donations for AIDS victims (the patrons were more interested in taking her pictures than buying from her). Lots of jewelleries, antiques, local delicacies, clothes, home decor, books, toys, mobile phone pouch and accesories, car accesories, Thai ornaments, silk clothes, and many more that I can't explain with words or simply/intentionally forgot (I'm exhausting my vocabulary now).

I've tried feasting at Fuji Restaurant and Zen, so tonight I concluded my Japanese feastathon with buffet at Kuroda. We had countless rounds of fresh salmon sashimi, and I know that many of you are jealous already by now, so I'll just finish by saying that my friends couldn't finish their desserts.

Beach Thing

I didn't think I would ever end up in Bang Poo. What's that? Well, that's a place outside Bangkok. There's a beach, more like a swamp, and there's a restaurant on it. We had superyummilicious seafood, courtesy of brother Nui and his family.

I'm even more touched by the story behind the scene. 17 years ago, there was a boy and a girl who dated in this romantic place. Then they got married. Fast forward to present day. They have 2 daughters, and they never brought them to this place. But Nui and his wife Su happened to sit beside me during Thai Camp, and they just wanted to bless me because they just wanted to. So they chose this place, which they already forgot for a long time. They were not even sure if the place still existed. All they remembered was that seafood restaurant on the beach that would bless me.

Of course, today the place has changed a lot. From the traffic jam caused by the industrial growth on the way there, to the site itself. The original building was demolished, maybe by a mini tsunami. I think they must be affected by global warming, because there's a large flat surface that looks like wet sand. We couldn't go down to the sea.

We still enjoyed sharing our lives throughout the trip. I love the scenery, and seeing so many crabs running around on the sand like Tuk-Tuk.

Today I made another discovery: there's a fruit in Indonesia called duku, it's round, yellow, and the meat is white and sweet. In Thailand, there's a similar variant, but the meat is sour! So amazing, God is so clever :)

Man of Vision

At first I didn't think highly of this brother (Joseph/Ong)who waited for me at the lobby this morning. He was supposed to pick me up and escort me to Ascension University, one of the most glamorous university in Bangkok. Seriously, it looks like another Vatican!

On the way to the uni, we shared about our vision, and guess what? God has brought us together miraculously. He didn't know my vision, and I didn't know any better. I thought that he was just another student leader. But I learnt that God has called him to use business to impact the world through a vision fund.

We spent the whole day in local and international mini church. The idea is to provide persecuted students a church on weekdays, at the same time giving non-believers a taste of sunday church. In between sessions, we shared deeper about the plans that God has laid in our hearts. The result is a refining of our vision, and a refreshing of our call. We talked about practically anything, and we couldn't stop talking. I think we talked like 2 aunties who has not met each other for 20 years, gossipping about everything, non-stop.

God brought me to Sampan, a drummer, a new believer. He is so cool, like my dear brother Billy Simpson in Melbourne. Very talented in music, even though he's young. He loves Sonic Flood, Planet Shakers, and Hillsong. He's got a good artistic nature, especially in story telling and song writing. I love the way he dress up, very relevant for reaching out to the youth.

I was pleasantly surprised to see sister Pern preaching on the international mini church. It was her first time preaching in english.

On the way back, I dropped by a Pad Thai stall outside my hostel, it was supposed to be the best Pad Thai because they won stir frying competition. I knew about them from Google Earth. How convenient :) The food was allright. Worth winning a competition.

Apostolic Businessman

In 2003, God called me to be an apostolic businesssman. He gave me the calling to use businesses as a way to help missionaries gain access to other countries and fund their mission and church planting work. Some businesses will be used to fund community work, such as orphanage, senior homes, community centres and hospitals.

In the past few weeks, God has refreshed this vision. I visited a language school at Sri Sa Ket, set up by a foundation to finance orphanages in Thailand. In the last few weeks, I've read a book about the efficiency of financing native missionaries. Today I visited a businessmen care group near my hotel. Some members own a business, some are managers, some have business background, but may be serving in church or at home full time. They told me about their regular activities. Now the pieces are starting to make sense.

By the way, I had some inside information that if your church wants to be effective in Vietnam, you can consider having a native english speaking pastor. They will love you.

Another central theme for today: The end of the world is very near. You don't only learn about this from movies, but also from the signs of the end times. Many pastors are confident of reaching every nation by 2050, and even 2015. I hope that you will catch the urgency of the hour.

Holiday in Disguise

In the past 2 days, I've been out sightseeing, shopping, and eating. There's not much to elaborate, nothing too exciting about going to temples, grand palace, boat museum, scattered markets, chinatown, and a few restaurants such as MK Restaurant. I've had yet another REAL Thai massage. The technique is a bit different in every place. Yesterday I visited the prayer meeting for working group, tomorrow I'll visit a care group.

I have taken every type of transportation available in Bangkok, and possibly in Thailand. Boat, land transport (Tuk-tuk, bus, underground train, sky train, ute, sedan), and domestic flight. There is a common attribute in all the transport systems: they seem to be very effective. Somewhat efficient. They are willing to trade the law to complete the job.

I've made a few friends at the HoStel. They are very interesting people, mostly angmoh. And I've been attracting more insect bites.

This trip to Thailand is very meaningful. There's a lot of things that I have to digest when I get back to Melbourne. God is faithful, He will provide everything that I need.

Back to Bangkok

This morning we had 2 services at Hope of Ubon Church. The kids loved me so much, they didn't wanna let me go. I had a chance to share with the worship team as well. They have a 17 yrs old music genius, a cat playing drums, and good leadership. They are good discipler of worship teams in daughter churches too. Tonight they are going to the church at Surin to teach them how to play instruments.

Hope Ubon really left a big fingerprint in my heart. They are so loving, this mission trip feels like holiday for a king. I hope that they are blessed too. They gave me a sash that looks like Laos design and many uncountable blessings. I survived with lots of insect bite marks on my hands. I sat at the back of a ute a few times, and Ubon drivers are not the most law abiding. But it's well worth it. If I stay for another 2 weeks, I may end up staying forever. I already felt like at home. It was so easy to assimilate to the church.

Took a flight with Air Asia to Bangkok. I dunno why, the pilot doesn't know how to land properly. Felt nauseous. I've taken dozens of flights, this one ranks as one of the worst.

But the suffering ends there. I was greeted by 2 lovely angels who took me out for dinner and sent me to a hotel with capital S, a.k.a. hoStel. Yeah, no glamour in that. But it's better than my previous nights. I got cheaper rates because Hope Bangkok blessed me. I share the room with 7 others, but they have lockers, laundry, and unlimited internet. They have shared cold shower bathroom and toilet. The sign says Gents, but girls went in there too.

Tomorrrow's forecast: Grand Palace :)

Relaxing At Ubon

In the morning we went to a coffeeshop to have breakfast. We ordered eggs with lup cheong and pork shreds. It's very fragrant, and they serve with chinese dough. And guess what, they have Bandung - rose syrup milk! I've never imagined they would have it here too!

We visited a local park for a light walk. It was beautiful, they had a statue of an important person posing like Raffles in Singapore, but he's got a sword, and he's surrounded with large decorated worms (serpents), horse and elephant statues. And he's got cute miniature animals as well. Unlike Raffles, he receives daily honour of flower rings.

It's so amazing! 2 hrs Full Body Thai Massage for 200Baht! Feels like heaven on earth! You only can get it at Ubon :) Just another blessing from Hope Ubon. To top it all, we had a luxurious welcome lunch after a good round of massage. It was so good, we couldn't ask for more ;)

In the afternoon we went to a nearby park. It was raining heavily, and we prayed for the rain to stop. It did stop just before we went there. But when we arrived, under shelter, it started pouring again. This time, we knew what to do. We shared to everybody who took shelter with us. It was such an enjoyable time, singing songs, sharing the gospel, giving out tracts, and fellowshipping with our Ubon family.

Dinner was unbelievable! I've never seen this before - steamboat and hotplate combination on charcoal! Instead of using gas, they have holes in the middle of the table to fit a bucket of coal. Then they put a curved hotplate on it. So we barbecue meat in the middle, and soup for vegetables around it. The food was quite normal, but I was amused by the concept. Had to order fried rice to survive.

At night, we went to night market opposite a large shopping centre. The guys watched soccer while the girls went shopping. That's a brilliant combination! We were tired, but we had a fruitful day. Praise God!

I'll be flying to Bangkok tomorrow after church service. FYI, Connect Journal on the book of Matthew is out now. Get it while stock lasts. The last round, the book on Proverbs, ran out very quickly. Many people couldn't get their hands on it.

Thai Borders

Today is a very special day. We went to Chong Mek, also known as Laos Border. I found the oldest Hope member: 98 years old lady, she had cancer in her mouth, and God healed her. Now she's a fervent evangelist. The church there has about 10 members. We distributed tracts in that area. They sell a lot of cheap fruits and clothes. 10baht for 1 kg of mangosteen, where else can you find it?

We visited a dam nearby. Ps Sumet from Hope Ubon claimed that he usually stayed there for 20% of RRP, cos the director is his good friend. It's really a luxury place!

In the evening, we visited Hope Sri Sa Ket, then we went to english schools run by our members: JS English Center and Thai American School. Thai American School is run by House of Mercy Foundation, who use the profits from the learning centre to fund orphanages in Thailand. I know why God brought me to this place, to see that it's so possible to use business to bless the nations directly, just as He had revealed to me.

The Thai hosts always cook up a banquet for us. Tonight is no exception, and I really enjoyed the dinner. Thai green curry. Local vege dish. Cakes and fried dough. Pineapples, rambutans and mangosteen.

I learnt that Ps Sumet is a genius. He contributes a lot of ideas to the government. He planted 14 churches out of 25 districts in Ubon in the last 16 years. The main church has 3 services, total about 200. He also has 14 churches out of 22 districts in Sri Sa Ket, 6 out of 17 in Surin, and 3 out of 7 in Amnad. Altogether 37 churches out of 71districts in 4 provinces of Northeast Thailand. Thailand has 76 provinces. He shared that once a church reaches 30 members, it would start to plant a daughter church. Isn't that awesome?

Eugene shared that Hope Singapore has just paid off their debt in 5.5 years! They started fundraising in 2001, in 3 stages, and God has provided. I believe that Hope Melbourne City Centre will be blessed too, because God has laid the seed of faith in us :)

Warming up in Ubon

This morning we had local breakfast, then we visited Jum, a local Thai sister who can speak english. Then we went to another sister's house to encourage her relative to rededicate his life to God.

We attended a funeral. Great authentic Thai lunch, and I had the privilege to meet a believer who received Christ when she was 18, now she's 87. Talk about persevering in faith!

At night, we attended a local care group. Again, more home cooked meals. At first I thought it was stew pig, but later on I noticed that it was actually chicken porks. We had an interesting time of sharing and overcoming language barrier. Our team led a praise song, then Robert and I gave a testimony to encourage them.

Arrive at Ubolratchatani

I got bitten by bed bugs! so itchy, cannot make it already.... must be the bed at Bussarakam hotel room 334!

Today we finally cleared the last day of Thai Camp: A Peace Filled Church. I learnt a lot from the organisers. Everything is so excellent. The worship team is so energetic, and the worshippers really give glory to God with all they have!

Arrived at Hope of Ubon church. Ps Sumet picked us up form the bus station. The church is 4km away from the station. His wife welcomed us with 8 course dinner. Well, there's eggs, pork spare ribs and vege soup, and beef vege dish. Plus fruits. But still a lot. We barely managed to finish all the dishes, couldn't touch the fruits.

Seems like we only have cold water. And the toilet facilities are a bit lacking. We'll see how we can overcome these few days.

Once Upon A Time In Bangkok

Arrived in Bangkok safely, but not soundly. I think the pilot must be new. The plane swayed side to side as he landed, and there were long periods of quick descend resulting in stomach tickles. First impression: Waah, the airport is so much nicer than Jakarta! The structure looked a bit like Southern Cross train station in Melbourne. As I came out of baggage claim area, I was expecting a group of people waiting to be picked up at the meeting point. Lo and behold (pardon my old english), I saw my name printed on a piece paper, held by a beautiful girl! She was standing at the front line, along with other people holding white papers with foreign names on it. For a split second I felt like an ambassador coming to negotiate a peace treaty. This is as good as it gets, I'm too young for red carpets and flower rings.

Yeah, I can hear you giggling. We took a taxi to Rompo Mansion. For once, I felt the reality of Crazy Taxi. He picked me up at a zebra crossing, with a traffic police beside the taxi, asking him to leave. There were dozens of cars waiting behind. On the road, he frequently swerved, cut lanes, and accelerated in the wrong directions. I was struggling to counter the centrifugal force. By now, I started to feel dizzy. This is culture shock. Worse than Jakarta drivers. Thank God, we finally arrived at the motel. The feel of the city is similar to Jakarta. Only a bit less advanced.

As expected, my name wasn't on the list. We've had a bit of issues because I registered late, and I applied for extended stay. Now, I came with 1000 baht. In just 10 mins, I had only 150 Baht left (AU$6, or 15% left)! I need better budgeting, cos I still need to eat dinner, get a SIM card, and take a bus to MBK tomorrow morning. I went up to my room. More shock: There's no fridge, no TV, no telephone number, no slippers, no bed. Oh yes, I saw the bed. I went down again to get the phone number, and a Singaporean guy talked to me briefly. I think he could be the owner of this motel.

I went up again, and decided to explore the room in more details. There's 2 bottled water included in the package. No water boiler. Pink carpet and curtain. There is a chair with broken spring. So dodgy. How can I survive? Even for a night. I can only imagine what will happen in the next few days... at least they have toilet paper and aircon. It's interesting to find 6 power outlets in the room. I can only dream of the former glory of this motel.

More praying for peace for this nation. Currently there's a lot of unrest. Political and religious.Seems like they haven't had enough.
I managed to get to MBK today. It's a HUGE shopping mall, quite prestigious too. There are lots of stalls selling clothes and shoes nearby. And I conquered Fuji Restaurant! Starting with chawan mushi silk tofu dish, then moving on to 5 sashimi set, california roll, soft shell crab sushi, green tea milk shake, calpico drink, egg ball thing, fried mushroom, garlic fried rice, and tuna tempura with cheese centre. Oh, can't imagine how full I was... and everything was only for AU$40! Bought some clothes and fashionable tie as well.

Tonight I had a good time of sharing with 6 ppl from Hope JB. Very lively bunch of people. I hope to get to know them more in the next few days. Seems like each of them has a story to tell, but it was getting late already, so we had to call it a night. Tomorrow I have to check out early too. Thank God for everything He has done for us. Really appreciate it.