When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He answered with this in Matthew 22:37-39: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” I read this and think to myself “okay, I do my best to love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I fail in some way, shape, or form daily but I am still giving it my all. But it is hard to love my neighbor as myself.”
And so I read what the Word says in Luke 10:30-37: 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
Among the tidal wave of things that I am experiencing here in Bangkok, there is one that I keep having small encounters with and I think about them everyday. I see, in some way, shape, or form, someone on the side of the street begging. Now, it’s not so much like America where someone walks up to you on the street and tells you some story about how they got to this point in their life and then hits you up for some money for “food”. It’s also not like the man who was blunt with me back in Nashville who plainly told me that he wanted my money to buy beer so he could satisfy his addiction. Unlike those I just mentioned, the people I see are always sitting on the ground and at least 50% of them have a baby in their arms or sleeping on a blanket. Some of them are people with diseases.
Most people walk around them, while some either put money in the cup they are holding or have their child go do it. Every single time I see this, I think to myself “what should I do? I obviously can’t give to every person I see like this. I can give to this person, but I want to more than give them a few baht. I want to help them with their situation.” By the time I have thought all of that I have passed by an not given them anything. I know they haven’t been beaten and stripped of their clothes, but still I walk away feeling like the priest and the Levite.
I think I should give them some baht, and I will. But I don’t want to end there. Just giving them some money seems a whole lot like a religious deed. “Give them money and not concern yourself with the state of their soul… check”? That might be an exaggeration (though, it may not be as well) but that is was it can quickly become. Just like the people who go on mission trips to third world countries and throw candy out the window to only see children swarm and snatch it up like animals. This does nothing for the state of their soul! I want to show love and share Jesus, and that is much more than giving a few bucks here and there. I just hope, when the time comes, I truly do LOVE them.
Okay, this is going to be mostly just an informative post about my time here in Bangkok thus far.
Lets start with the trip here, shall we? It was long. Really long… and uncomfortable. I DO NOT look forward to getting back on a plane again. But that is okay. I made it and did so without any major hitches. And for that I am very thankful!
Now, as soon as I got through customs and found Kyle, Seth, and Tamm at the airport, we found our pick-up that was complimentary with where I was staying and Kyle rode to the guest house with me while Seth and Taam took their own taxi. Steve Vandyke was already back at the place waiting on me to get there. Once I got back and put my things in my room, Kyle and I headed to His apartment to get some of his things and He stayed the night in my room since we had a meeting later that day. By the time we went to bed it was 4am here. I have no idea what time it actually felt like to me. We got up 4 hours later and got ready to go to the all staff meeting and that meeting was 6 hours long. For lunch we had the best fried chicken I have ever had, and I usually don’t like fried chicken so that is a lot for me to say! After the meeting I did a lot of walking with Kyle and we went all around the city. We went to Seth and Taam’s to get Seth’s guitar so I could play guitar with Kyle in the morning at church. Then we practiced at Kyle’s and I walked home. I think I made it back by 12am that night. Needless to say, I crashed when I got back.
After such a long first day, I had to get up and get ready for service the next morning. Surprisingly enough, jet lag was that big of an issue for me. I think it helped that I spent a lot of time walking outside the first day and didn’t go to sleep at 3pm like I REALLY wanted to. So we Kyle and I lead worship that morning while Seth brought the message. This was where I would meet my first few Thai friends. To be honest, as I write this, I am realizing that a lot of things are a blur… I digress. The rest of that day was spent hanging out with Chris, Riki, Kyle, and my new friend Bakery at this place where you can play board games and card games and things like that. It was a lot of fun. I was able to just get to know Bakery a little that night and break down any barrier there might have been. This is very easy because of Bakery’s kind spirit.
The next day (Monday) would be the day I started working at the BSC helping out with Conversation Corner. I met with the guy who has been here for 12 years and is pretty much the man in charge and after talking with him and getting and introduction to what I would be doing, I realized just how faithful God is. He prepared me 100% when I was at Wherry by having John Key give me the opportunity to teach ESL. My four days at the BSC have been so smooth and FRUITFUL because the Lord tilled the soil before I even left and made me such an easy fit into everything that being done there! I can’t even describe how good it has been.
The sessions that have I have been a part of have brought so many chances to not only get to know and help Thais, but they have already began to allow discussions on matters of the heart. God opens small windows for seeds to be planted and I can’t wait to see what He does with them! It seriously humbles me to see God work things together like He is doing.
I Have so much I want to say but I am literally dozing off between sentences while some Thais watch a soccer match on TV. I am working on another post that I hope to post soon.
Oh! The Lord placed a word on my heart this week that I want to share. Acts 26:17b-18 which reads “to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” Please, pray for the people here. Pray that they turn from the darkness to the light. Pray for eyes to be opened to who God is.
It seems as though has given me another tool to glorify Him. I was blessed by Nathan Westerfield when he sold me a film camera for $20! All I can think about is how I will be able to take photos when I am in Thailand!
Here are some of the of the first of many shots I will be taking with film:
I am thankful! Thankful for a Lord like Jesus who is constantly with me. I am thankful that God has created music and musicians to make it. I am thankful for the band Gungor and their love of truth and creative expression for the love of God. Tonight was my second time seeing Gungor live and hopefully not my last. As they made beautiful music with instruments that ranged from electric guitars to mandolins and banjos to a string ensemble, The Spirit of God permeated throughout my body and soul. The songs painted a picture from the entire Bible of the creation of everything, the relationship of Adam and Eve with God in the garden, the fall of man, the coming/death/resurrection of Christ, and the call for the Church to be what it should be! The night ended with everyone in the room singing “Here I am Lord. All I am Lord. Here I am Lord. I am Your’s” over and over and over while the entire group walked of stage minus the lead singer (Michael Gungor) who kept singing while the audience laid the foundation for him to sing over. Amazing.
Oh! And they had a poest who came out and spoke three or four times and she was incredible! I will post a video at the end of this of one of the poems she read as the band played behind her. The Spirit moved when she spoke!
As amazing as all that was, its not the most memorable thing from the night. The people I went with and I decided to go to a local coffee house for something to drink. They had never been there before and I thought they would enjoy the “indie” vibe it tends to have. We parked the car and made out way to the coffee house. As we were getting close we saw a man sitting on the curb and I have been downtown enough to know that this man is going to approach us and more than likely ask us for some money. As we are about to pass him he reached his hand out and said “Can I ask you guys a question? Are any of you homophobic?” First let me say, that is not at all what I expected to hear. But, we all replied with a “no” and he continued “Okay. I am going to be honest with you. I am gay and I am HIV+ and I am homeless. I’m also an alcoholic… a functioning alcoholic, but one nonetheless. Now I am being honest, I don’t want food or water or anything like that. I just want a drink.” He then asked if we wanted to hear a joke and maybe if we thought it was funny then we’d be likely to help. The joke was dumb, but we laughed anyway. And He then asked us again if we’d help him get a drink.
This was my first chance to really say anything other than a “yes” or “no”. I had been thinking and processing the whole time was talking and finally my response came. “Sir, I am a follower of Christ and I really appreciate you being so upfront and honest about yourself. However, I don’t think that I…” He interrupted “If your answer is no then just go ahead and say “no” and be honest.” “Okay” I replied. “No. But can I tell you why?” He answered with a reluctant “sure” and I continued “When we first approached you and you told us some of your story, you said you were an alcoholic, no?” “Right” he said. “that is why I can’t give you money. I can’t help you…” Again, he interrupted “Okay okay, you said you are a believer. Are you a firm believer?” “Yes sir” I said. “I believe in Him too. And let me tell you why. Every night, after everyone has gone to bed, what do you think I hear at around 4am once everything else is quiet?” I immediately thought birds, but this guy tended to not let you say too much (thus from here on I will leave my one word responses out). “Birds!” he said. “And God is the only one who can make those birds chirp. When the winter comes and you feel that stiff wind hitting your face, you don’t see it but you know it’s there. It’s the same thing with God. Though I don’t see him, I know he is there. You know what the Bible says about helping those in need? Jesus said “I have no place to lay my head” and to help the least of these. Whether you met someone who was homeless, a drug addict or even a prostitute and you could help them, then you should. You need to be reading your Bible more. It says that once you give, let it go and don’t tell someone what to do with the money you gave. That is my decision, not your’s. If you are going to give with that heart, its better to not give at all. I’m not trying to offend you (he said this a few times throughout) but you are reading the Bible wrong if that’s what you think and you need to go back to your church and talk with your preacher because he is teaching you the wrong things. You probably think i am going to hell because I am homosexual right?” “I DO NOT think that at all sir” I mentioned. He continued “I guess since I was honest with you about wanting a drink then the next person I ask I will lie to them and say its for food so they wont ask questions, but if I ever see you again, I know not to ask you for help (again he made sure he wasn’t offending me, which he wasn’t). You all have a good night.”
Needless to say, I knew he wasn’t open to hearing what I had to say. So I asked for his name. He asked “Why? What does it matter?” I said “Well sir, I would like to be praying for..” “I don’t need you to pray for me” he interjected. Then he said something to the effect of “I know Jesus and He is with me and I pray every night. So why do I need your prayers?” I tried to tell him that though I pray myself, I still ask others to pray for me as brothers and sisters in Christ but, he wanted nothing to do with us since we weren’t going to help him get his drink. He said “I hope I didn’t offend you. Have a good rest of the night” and we shook hands.
I’ve ran it over and over in my head: “Should I have given him money?”. And these are my thoughts on it all. If someone asks for money and says its for food or gas or a bus ticket/taxi fare, I would give it. Even if I thought it was for alcohol or drugs, I would give because I can’t assume that every person in need is lying. But, this man told me first thing that he was an alcoholic wanting a drink. All I could think of was how alcohol was an idol for him. He wanted his drink so bad that he was very upfront about why he wanted money. It’s usually the opposite. Usually there is some story about needing food and then you watch someone buy liquor or cigarettes. But this guy was straight with us. As much as I wanted to help this guy, I could not help him worship an idol. I couldn’t help him feed an addiction that is more important than God to him. But all he heard was no. In the same way, I would not help a prostitute find someone to have sex with for money. Nor would I help a drug addict buy heroin or whatever they wanted. I want to help them, really I do. But helping them score their fix isn’t truly helping them. I want to help them run to Jesus when they are in need.
I left that interaction with him with a sad heart. It hurt me to hear him use the word the way he did to try to show me that I was wrong for not helping him the way he wanted. I was sad that he, an HIV+ homeless alcoholic, thought he didn’t need prayer. I was sad that moments later, he had a 40oz beer. BUT, I am also happy that the Spirit led my entire side of the conversation. I am glad that the Lord chose to show me things through that. Regardless, I am praying for him.
Thoughts?
Oh, here is a video of Amena Brown, the poet from tonight’s amazing show!
Bangkok, Thailand. The set of The Hangover 2. Home to some of the best food in the world. Also the place a lot of people vacation to and a lot of men visit because of how easy it is to find a woman for sexual pleasure. I know that’s quite disturbing to read, and perhaps you didn’t want to read that here. But it’s the truth. The stuff that might come to mind about Thailand isn’t always good, as it is with any place in the world really. What you might not know is that of the 116 different people groups, only 64% of them are unreached. 85% of the population is Buddhist while about 1% is Chritstian. The sex trade and drug networks are very prevalent and will remain so as long as they are profitable. And there is a huge number of people who have fled to Thailand from their country due to persecution, specifically the Karen and Karenni from Myanmar (formerly Burma). I have heard firsthand stories of people losing wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters in murderous attacks from orders put forth by the government. All of this is heartbreaking to see.
God, however, is in control and He is already doing great things there. While I have been in the thick of God’s plan for the people of Thailand from America by being heavily involved in a local community (Wherry Housing) that is heavily populated by Burmese refugees, I am heading to Bangkok very soon to join in on another part of God’s plan. LifePoint Church has a campus there and a team of people that are already working among the Thai people. I will be sent as an intern and will serve as I seek confirmation on my calling. I will submerged in the Thai culture, helping teach English to Thais wanting to learn and be hopefully be visiting a Karen refugee camp since God has obviously put that people group on my heart! Whatever the Lord has for me to do is what I want to do! Just be obedient.
God has something for all of us that He calls us to. To some things he calls ALL of us. Yet, He also calls us to specific things that are as unique as we are. God will lead you to some strange, crazy, and exciting places as long as you are willing to FOLLOW!
For some great stories of how one of the team members over in Bangkok has seen God work go to Seth Hood’s blog.
To say it has been a privilege to serve and live at Wherry Housing through Community Servants Inc is a massive understatement! I know all the interns and volunteers feel the same as I (Brandon Tomlin) feel. Living in a community and investing in people for God’s glory is guaranteed to stretch, grow, and refine you. Simply put, my faith has been (and is still being) tested every single day. Being obedient to God, no matter what He calls you to, brings forth good fruit! For the interns here, that call has been to live among a community of families and SERVE and LOVE them. For others of us, the call is to go to our work place and invest or perhaps go across the world and serve people. Regardless, investing is a vital part of truly loving others. And God does reward you while this is happening by blessing you with beautiful relationships that break through the boundaries of culture and language and beliefs.
I have been so blessed with the opportunities I have had this year to be a part of God’s story. Wherry has been my training grounds for the place God has me going next. I have worked with a small team of interns to show the love of Jesus to those in and around our community. And to be straight forward, it has been easier to work with some more than others. That is real though! That’s how life is always going to be. Summer days in the oppressive heat working with teams to clear out homes was hard. Teaching kids to LOVE one another is tough mostly because, even as an adult, we all struggle with it. But, if everything was easy I wouldn’t have learned nearly as much, right?
God has me on this journey. I know that it ultimately ends in Heaven spending forever with Him, but other than that I only get a glimpse from time to time of where I am going. I know right now that Thailand is where I am headed and that’s all I know. I don’t know for how long or where to after that but I know that God has me headed there and that’s what I am working towards. I have to remain faithful to His plan because there are others in this world that do not know about Jesus and the loving sacrifice He made. “Go and make disciples” He said. And that is exactly what I work for today, tomorrow, and until I die.
So, as I said. Thailand is where I am headed, but I need help getting there. I am selling some sweet T-shirts as a fundraiser. This is the design they will have on them You can purchase one at and that will help me get there! Thanks!
“May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. Amen.
May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace. Amen.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection,starvation and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. Amen.
May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen.
And the Blessing of God, who Creates, Redeems and Sanctifies, be upon you and all you love an pray for this day, and forever more. Amen.”
This was shared with me by someone whom I look up to and love and I wanted to share it.
When do we start living out the truths that the Word says? Is it when we can control ourselves? Is it only when people are looking?
2nd Corinthians 5:17 says that if we are in Christ then we are a new creation. A new creation! The things of old are gone. The sinful lifestyle that we all lead is no longer how we live. Constantly seeking our own pleasure. Letting our flesh rule us. Wanting OUR will to be done. All of it gone! Christ in us has the power to completely and radically change everything about us. He can change what we seek and how we seek it. He can change who and what we obey. He can change the way we see things and the way we view opportunities that are opened up to us.
What this requires is submission. It requires submission to God and His will. We see in Romans 6:16 that we will always submit to something.
“Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?”
We are all slaves to something. Some are slaves to sin and live a life denying and looking for ways to not do the will of God. Their life is marked with an extreme high and extreme low pattern. One second they have all want and they are happy and they may even say “thanks God” from time to time. Then, when things are low, they are miserable. They wonder what happened to the life they were enjoying so much and they try to take control of everything and “pull themselves up by their own boot straps”. They are slaves to sin, and that ultimately leads to death, the separation from God.
Others, are slaves to obedience. They here the call of Jesus to follow and obey his words and they do it. This very act, the act of obeying the commandments of Jesus, is in fact, the very essence of their faith. Without that obedience, they have no faith and with out the command from Jesus, they have no opportunity to obey. Take Peter for instance, he saw Jesus walking on the water and said “Lord, if it is you, then bid me to come to you.” Jesus told Peter to come to him on the water. When Peter did so, he showed his faith in the words of Christ. He walked on water. He knew, though, that he could not do so without the command of Jesus to come to him. Peter was a slave to obedience, and that leads to being right with God.
Its hard, I know, to continuously be a slave to obedience. We are guaranteed to royally screw up sometimes and completely do fail to submit to God. We, however, have grace. And a costly one at that! And Peter is a testament to that very grace, for though he was obedient to Christ, he still denied Christ three times. But that sweet grace was shown to him and Christ built the Church on Peter just as He said He would.
May you and I come to terms with the reality that if we are in Christ we are NEW creations. And so live accordingly.
That even though I haven’t written anything in almost a year, I can come back to it and write.
To say that things have changed since I wrote back in December of 2009 is the understatement of the year. I can’t begin to describe all the things that Jesus has radically changed in me. So lets just go with one thing…
In May I moved out of my parents’ house for the second time to Wherry Housing Community to serve as a volunteer intern. This place has had such an affect on my life and understanding of the Gospel. Wherry is a community of low income families and 13 of those families are Karen people from Burma/Thailand. They are refugees.
Since 1948, the Burmese government has attacked the Karen people by burning down villages, laying land mines, raping and murdering these people, and forcing them to flee for their lives. There are over 3 million refugees in Thailand refugee camps and 1 million displaced people still in Burma. There is a family that lives next door to me that consists of a mother and father and four boys, and lets just say that I love these people very dearly. I visit their home almost everyday and learn new words in their language and play with the boys or help them with homework. They are such a huge part of my life daily and God is showing me so many new things about cross-cultural living through them and all the other Karen families.
Lately, I have been focused on thoughts of Thailand and moving there to serve Thai people and share with them the saving power of the Gospel! I get to make a visit to Thailand in January for a short time. This is going to be a huge step for me as I have never stepped on Thai soil before. This is something I need to do as a confirmation of my call to live there. This does not come without needs however. A round trip ticket is not cheap in least bit. I am now raising support in order to be able to afford the flight there and back along with a passport and other things.
