Thursday, June 30, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Adoption Into God's Family
Last Friday, June 24th, CCP and COT staff went to visit an orphanage in the city of Khonkaen. The facility was very nice, colorful, and welcoming. We arrived for morning snack (which we provided-thanks supporters!). We sat with them as they drank milk and ate crackers. Of course they speak no English and hardly provided their names when we asked.
Then we took the children (ages 2 1/2 to 6) outside to play on the playgrounds. The girl I was holding took off so I just ran around with a few and took pictures. Then I went with the toddlers to another playground. I picked up one boy (we called him Dino because of his dinosaur shirt) because he was crying over his spilled snack. I carried him to the playground and had him sit on my lap while he ate. Another little girl climbed onto my lap. After Dino finished he eating he climbed down, I continued to hold the little girl (we'll call her Mai because she said "mai" a lot which means "no"). I played with her on the playground for awhile but then she just wanted to be held. Every time I tried to put her on the ground or on the playground equipment, she would scream "mai mai mai!!!" I knew it wasn't going to be pretty when we left. Sure enough she screamed bloody murder when we started to leave, even when I took off her shoes to go in the building. I tried to put her on the floor but she clung to me and screamed and cried. When I pulled her off my body she writhed on the floor as if she was in pain. All I could think was "I am totally messing you up for life kid. You have major attachment problems." I absolutely loved her and it broke my heart to leave. I wanted to scoop her back up and take her home. It saddens my heart to think that she is still there with dozens of other children without a mother and father. In Thailand, mothers are allowed to bring children to the orphanage if they don't want them. However, the mother can come back and get the child. Therefore, it is very hard to adopt in Thailand. Still, when the time comes, I would love to adopt from Thailand.
I left the orphanage thinking of how I am adopted as a son into God's family. And I say "son" because I can receive the full inheritance of a son.
"But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons...So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir." Galatians 4:4,5,7 (NIV)
"I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord God Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:18 (NIV)
"In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will." Ephesians 1:4b-5
"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ..." Romans 8:15-17a
God has chosen me! The beautiful thing about adoption is that the parents chose the child. God chose me, even before I was born. God has pursued me and LOVES me as His own daughter. I am fully accepted by Him and can be secure in this.
I pray that the children at the orphanage will also be chosen by earthly parents and that they have been chosen by God to know Him. Please pray that prayer with me.
Week 5 of ministry has begun. We are meeting with several girls each day. We have met over 100 girls and we have established relationships with 20 of those girls. We have been sharing the gospel with a few of them and growing closer and closer to them each day. Please pray for time to hang out with them and for us to find "entry gates" to share the gospel.
In Christ,
Christine ><>
Then we took the children (ages 2 1/2 to 6) outside to play on the playgrounds. The girl I was holding took off so I just ran around with a few and took pictures. Then I went with the toddlers to another playground. I picked up one boy (we called him Dino because of his dinosaur shirt) because he was crying over his spilled snack. I carried him to the playground and had him sit on my lap while he ate. Another little girl climbed onto my lap. After Dino finished he eating he climbed down, I continued to hold the little girl (we'll call her Mai because she said "mai" a lot which means "no"). I played with her on the playground for awhile but then she just wanted to be held. Every time I tried to put her on the ground or on the playground equipment, she would scream "mai mai mai!!!" I knew it wasn't going to be pretty when we left. Sure enough she screamed bloody murder when we started to leave, even when I took off her shoes to go in the building. I tried to put her on the floor but she clung to me and screamed and cried. When I pulled her off my body she writhed on the floor as if she was in pain. All I could think was "I am totally messing you up for life kid. You have major attachment problems." I absolutely loved her and it broke my heart to leave. I wanted to scoop her back up and take her home. It saddens my heart to think that she is still there with dozens of other children without a mother and father. In Thailand, mothers are allowed to bring children to the orphanage if they don't want them. However, the mother can come back and get the child. Therefore, it is very hard to adopt in Thailand. Still, when the time comes, I would love to adopt from Thailand.
I left the orphanage thinking of how I am adopted as a son into God's family. And I say "son" because I can receive the full inheritance of a son.
"But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons...So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir." Galatians 4:4,5,7 (NIV)
"I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord God Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:18 (NIV)
"In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will." Ephesians 1:4b-5
"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ..." Romans 8:15-17a
God has chosen me! The beautiful thing about adoption is that the parents chose the child. God chose me, even before I was born. God has pursued me and LOVES me as His own daughter. I am fully accepted by Him and can be secure in this.
I pray that the children at the orphanage will also be chosen by earthly parents and that they have been chosen by God to know Him. Please pray that prayer with me.
Week 5 of ministry has begun. We are meeting with several girls each day. We have met over 100 girls and we have established relationships with 20 of those girls. We have been sharing the gospel with a few of them and growing closer and closer to them each day. Please pray for time to hang out with them and for us to find "entry gates" to share the gospel.
In Christ,
Christine ><>
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Self-forgetfulness
The biggest thing that God has shown me thus far in the summer is my sin. The root of all sin is pride according to C.S. Lewis. Looking at my life, it really is the cause of all of my sin. Feeling superior to others, feeling inferior to others so acting to counteract that feeling, wanting to feel superior, comparing myself to others, and countless other sins that are caused by self-exaltation. We listened to a sermon this week by Tim Keller called “Humility: Blessed Self-forgetfulness.”
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4, “I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me” (v. 3, 4; NIV).
According to Keller, pride is an overinflated, swollen, inflamed ego. However, the heart is empty. You have built your life around something other than God (self). Pride is busy! My ego is constantly comparing myself to others and boasting; it is trying to fill its emptiness. “Pride by nature is competitive” (C.S. Lewis). Our ego is also fragile because it is overinflated. It is “puffed up and not filled up.”
If we look at the life of Paul from 1 Corinthians 4, we see that he thinks this: “I don’t care what people think about me. I don’t care what I think of myself. I only care about what God thinks.” And the awesome thing about that is that God looks at us like we are perfect because we are covered with the blood of Christ! Why should we care about what others think of us or what we think about ourselves?
Tim Keller calls this self-forgetfulness. Have you ever just forgotten yourself? Just completely forgot about your feelings, pains, emotions, how you are looking to everyone else and focused your thoughts on other things such as the Lord and serving others? When do you feel your toes? Only when they hurt. Otherwise you have forgotten them. I’ll admit that I rarely even think to try to do that. I’m always caring about how I look (to others and myself), how I behave around others, and how I can impress people. Notice a common theme in each phrase? What can I do for me. Why not how can I be serving others through my words and actions right now? How can I be praising the Lord and bringing His name glory right now?
Since hearing this sermon and discussing it with other girls on our team, it has made me really want to forget myself. I’ll tell you, it really is a freeing feeling to not care about how I look here in Thailand. I have been trying to focus on how I can serve our team instead of how I can impress them with my ministry. But it has been so hard.
God is revealing so much sin in my life and it really hurts. My ego has taken a hit because I haven’t convinced myself that it only matters what God thinks of me and He sees Jesus in me. It’s amazing for me to see how I am here to share the gospel but I am not seeing it in my own life.
As for ministry on campus, week four has begun along with a new chapter in our ministry. Now that we have made over 100 new contacts (praise God!), we are slowing down to follow up with girls that we had a strong response from. Last week we went to Wan Wai Kru which is an event where freshmen make elaborate gifts for their teachers out of banana leaves, flowers, and ribbon. They were so beautiful! While the students spent countless hours making these gifts, we were able to sit down with them and get to talk with new students and with girls that we already knew. It was such a great night!
I have gotten into deep conversations with girls, especially about Buddhism, and have been able to talk to them about the Lord and share the gospel! It is such a reaffirmation of my faith to share it with others! Please be praying that we can continue to hang out with these girls to grow in our friendships with them in order to establish trust to share the gospel.
Thank you for being supportive with your prayers!
In Christ,
Christine ><>
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4, “I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me” (v. 3, 4; NIV).
According to Keller, pride is an overinflated, swollen, inflamed ego. However, the heart is empty. You have built your life around something other than God (self). Pride is busy! My ego is constantly comparing myself to others and boasting; it is trying to fill its emptiness. “Pride by nature is competitive” (C.S. Lewis). Our ego is also fragile because it is overinflated. It is “puffed up and not filled up.”
If we look at the life of Paul from 1 Corinthians 4, we see that he thinks this: “I don’t care what people think about me. I don’t care what I think of myself. I only care about what God thinks.” And the awesome thing about that is that God looks at us like we are perfect because we are covered with the blood of Christ! Why should we care about what others think of us or what we think about ourselves?
Tim Keller calls this self-forgetfulness. Have you ever just forgotten yourself? Just completely forgot about your feelings, pains, emotions, how you are looking to everyone else and focused your thoughts on other things such as the Lord and serving others? When do you feel your toes? Only when they hurt. Otherwise you have forgotten them. I’ll admit that I rarely even think to try to do that. I’m always caring about how I look (to others and myself), how I behave around others, and how I can impress people. Notice a common theme in each phrase? What can I do for me. Why not how can I be serving others through my words and actions right now? How can I be praising the Lord and bringing His name glory right now?
Since hearing this sermon and discussing it with other girls on our team, it has made me really want to forget myself. I’ll tell you, it really is a freeing feeling to not care about how I look here in Thailand. I have been trying to focus on how I can serve our team instead of how I can impress them with my ministry. But it has been so hard.
God is revealing so much sin in my life and it really hurts. My ego has taken a hit because I haven’t convinced myself that it only matters what God thinks of me and He sees Jesus in me. It’s amazing for me to see how I am here to share the gospel but I am not seeing it in my own life.
As for ministry on campus, week four has begun along with a new chapter in our ministry. Now that we have made over 100 new contacts (praise God!), we are slowing down to follow up with girls that we had a strong response from. Last week we went to Wan Wai Kru which is an event where freshmen make elaborate gifts for their teachers out of banana leaves, flowers, and ribbon. They were so beautiful! While the students spent countless hours making these gifts, we were able to sit down with them and get to talk with new students and with girls that we already knew. It was such a great night!
I have gotten into deep conversations with girls, especially about Buddhism, and have been able to talk to them about the Lord and share the gospel! It is such a reaffirmation of my faith to share it with others! Please be praying that we can continue to hang out with these girls to grow in our friendships with them in order to establish trust to share the gospel.
Thank you for being supportive with your prayers!
In Christ,
Christine ><>
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
King Cobra Show
Matt's view of the show:
My view is to come!
Team Trip - King Cobra Village from Matt & Erin Francisco on Vimeo.
My view is to come!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
End of Week 1
Our first week of ministry is now complete. It was an awesome experience to see God working on the campus of KKU and to see events unfold that only He could orchestrate.
Our ministry team (Bo, Laura Ruth, and me) met at least 30 girls this week! We talked to them in the complex, a cafeteria where mostly freshmen go for lunch. I won't lie, I was uncomfortable most of the week. I was tired of eating Thai food, hot and sweaty (no AC), and the language barrier makes communication exhausting. But when I would have a breakthrough with a student, when she would look at me with begging eyes, wanting a friend. When they would laugh, either out of awkwardness or at our attempt at Thai. When they would light up when we saw them again. It makes it worth all the discomfort.
Right now we are just getting names and numbers of girls. In the afternoon, Bo calls the girls we met and asks if they want to hang out with us that night. So far, all of them have been busy or have cancelled on us. This week was the first week of school so the freshmen had a lot of activities going on. Please pray for opportunities to hang out with at least five girls this week. In these hang out times, we will have an opportunity to go deeper with them, really get to know them and earn their trust. From there, we pray that God will open doors to share the gospel.
Me and Nil, an extremely joyful and encouraging Christian
We learned during training this week that we should be looking for analogies to use when sharing the gospel. The Lord gave me one that the freshmen can definitely relate to. We went to the freshmen cheer last week which is where the freshmen are packed into the stadium and forced to sing the university song over and over. Sophomores were on the field directing them. Every time they messed up (the song had to be perfect), they had to start over. After so many times that they messed up, the sophomores were punished. They had to lay on the grass or run laps around the track. I started to think about sin and the gospel. The students could not get the song right. The song had to be perfect but they kept "missing the mark" (sin). Instead of them being punished, the sophomores were punished. In our lives, we can't be perfect; we are always "missing the mark." But, God, being rich in mercy, sent His Son to be punished for us. (Of course Jesus had to suffer more than running laps.) Whenever they messed up(or sinned), they were asked to start over. That's how forgiveness is; you get to start over. But of course we are never going to be perfect. The day we are perfect we will be in heaven. When the students got the song perfect, there was a big celebration and they were accepted into the university. When we finally are sanctified, we will be at a huge celebration in heaven.
God taught me so much as I watched these events. I pray that I am able to share this analogy with at least one student this summer.
Please pray for these things for us:
1. that we will continue to grow together as a team and cooperatively serve together.
2. that our team will solve conflict biblicly.
3. that my ministry team can meet 30-40 girls this week.
4. that we are able to spend time with at least five girls this week.
5. that the Thai Christians will continue to grow in the faith and walk alongside us during ministry.
Thank you for your prayers!
Me holding a python at King Cobra Village
Our ministry team (Bo, Laura Ruth, and me) met at least 30 girls this week! We talked to them in the complex, a cafeteria where mostly freshmen go for lunch. I won't lie, I was uncomfortable most of the week. I was tired of eating Thai food, hot and sweaty (no AC), and the language barrier makes communication exhausting. But when I would have a breakthrough with a student, when she would look at me with begging eyes, wanting a friend. When they would laugh, either out of awkwardness or at our attempt at Thai. When they would light up when we saw them again. It makes it worth all the discomfort.
Right now we are just getting names and numbers of girls. In the afternoon, Bo calls the girls we met and asks if they want to hang out with us that night. So far, all of them have been busy or have cancelled on us. This week was the first week of school so the freshmen had a lot of activities going on. Please pray for opportunities to hang out with at least five girls this week. In these hang out times, we will have an opportunity to go deeper with them, really get to know them and earn their trust. From there, we pray that God will open doors to share the gospel.
Me and Nil, an extremely joyful and encouraging Christian
We learned during training this week that we should be looking for analogies to use when sharing the gospel. The Lord gave me one that the freshmen can definitely relate to. We went to the freshmen cheer last week which is where the freshmen are packed into the stadium and forced to sing the university song over and over. Sophomores were on the field directing them. Every time they messed up (the song had to be perfect), they had to start over. After so many times that they messed up, the sophomores were punished. They had to lay on the grass or run laps around the track. I started to think about sin and the gospel. The students could not get the song right. The song had to be perfect but they kept "missing the mark" (sin). Instead of them being punished, the sophomores were punished. In our lives, we can't be perfect; we are always "missing the mark." But, God, being rich in mercy, sent His Son to be punished for us. (Of course Jesus had to suffer more than running laps.) Whenever they messed up(or sinned), they were asked to start over. That's how forgiveness is; you get to start over. But of course we are never going to be perfect. The day we are perfect we will be in heaven. When the students got the song perfect, there was a big celebration and they were accepted into the university. When we finally are sanctified, we will be at a huge celebration in heaven.
God taught me so much as I watched these events. I pray that I am able to share this analogy with at least one student this summer.
Please pray for these things for us:
1. that we will continue to grow together as a team and cooperatively serve together.
2. that our team will solve conflict biblicly.
3. that my ministry team can meet 30-40 girls this week.
4. that we are able to spend time with at least five girls this week.
5. that the Thai Christians will continue to grow in the faith and walk alongside us during ministry.
Thank you for your prayers!
Me holding a python at King Cobra Village
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