The Doctors' Wedding Preview

My first muslim couple to photograph, my first international wedding ceremony to shoot... to God be all the praise!

Hey guys at home, thank you so much for the e-mails you sent me this morning! They really were sunshine to my day. [Haha Cheri -- "your little snookums" -- that made me laugh.] =)

I wasn't feeling so swell this morning, but as the morning went on, I started feeling a little better -- God answered prayer. Not to mention the iced mocha from Lisa gave an extra kick. ;-)

Highlights from today....

• Shooting a wedding ceremony for a muslim couple
• Eating authentic, traditional Indian food for the wedding feast [my first time having Indian food...]
• Meaw and Ouan told me tonight, "I think you're Asian, even though your face is white." :-)
• Giving a testimony in ESL classes about WHY I'm a photographer and how God called me to do what I do.
• Singing and worshiping God through our voices

Ouan is another sweet lady I haven't mentioned yet. She's the tiniest Thai woman, but her heart is so big. I think she said she's 28, and engaged to one of the Thai pastor's here, Ong. Her testimony of how God brought her out of Buddhism and her stories of how God has intervened in her life are absolutely a.m.a.z.i.n.g. God has done such miracles on her behalf. I can't wait to tell you all the stories! [Like the time when she had to live in a grundgy old shack in an alley all by herself, because her family rejected her after she gave her heart to the Lord... and how one night... Well okay, I'll have to tell it in person... it's better that way ;-D] Tonight Ouan and I discussed with each other that she needs to take me shopping before I leave Bangkok on the 10th. :-) [Thai ladies l.o.v.e. to shop!]

Lastly, here's something funny for you to laugh at of all the guys after the wedding today. It cracks me up!

Focus = Eternity

My Mom e-mailed this quote to me. I love it!

“And people who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives… and when the bubble has burst they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted.” – Nate Saint

Have you ever wished you could meet the 5 martyered missionaries? I have, often. Though I'm not sure how exactly accurate the movie, End of the Spear is, I have grown to enjoy it alot. A gripping scene is when Nate Saint is saying goodbye to his family for the last time, or the scene where Nate says, "We don't have two years Betty. ... We only have one chance to reach these people. NOW. This is it." The sacrifice these missionaries displayed is so amazing, and yet, they weren't any more "special" than any of us are. God wants to work in and through us just like how He did through them... because it wasn't about the people. It was about Him and making Him glorified.

Tomorrow morning [in about 12 hours] I'm shooting that wedding for the muslim couple [which reminds me I need to get my batteries charging... ;-D] at the university, and then right after the wedding, I'm going to help teach ESL in BangYai. I'm expecting a great, but busy day ahead. Booyah! ;-)

I was given an official Thai name last night: Nahm Waan. In Thai, it means "sweet."

It's hard to believe we've reached the half-way point of the trip! Time goes by fast when you're havin' fun, huh?

Oh yeah, had time to catch up on my photos tonight, so the photo album is updated.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=97006&id=667946260&l=f6bbcca1c2

Instruments of Your Peace

It's a rainy afternoon here in Thailand - a great time to catch up [:cough: Ahem, I use the word "catch up" lightly... It seems to be foreign vocabulary in my life these days] ;-)

I slept fabulously last night and woke up to a great continental breakfast waiting downstairs ... coffee, green tea, and the whole sha-bang. We went out into the city of Cha-am, split up into teams, and prayed and walked through different neighborhoods. As Lisa [Mrs. Caynor] and I were walking through the market, I thought about the shackles and chains these people are living under - without really realizing it. They bow down to their gods, and give their best offerings at the temples... for nothing. They are blinded! Would God help US to cast down the idols in our own lives and would our hearts and lives be offered up as sweet sacrifice to Him alone. After being outside a while, we got extremely thirsty with the sun just beating down on our backs and the sweat literally dripping off of us -- "dying of thirst" you might say. Then I could help but think -- these people are literally dying of thirst. They are thirsting for something. They want to quench this thirst with something, but they dont even know what to do about it. Maybe if they do good works in this life their 2nd life will be better [so they think]. I kept praying that God would help our team to be used as His instruments of peace. Whether it was through a smile or a kind word, I pray that they could've seen just a glimpse of Jesus.

We came back to the hotel, showered, and went back out to the beach for some swimming and lunch. I went w.a.y. out into the ocean and the water wasn't even up to my neck yet -- quite shallow! But it was fun to ride the waves. The water itself is warmer than bath water... ahh, it felt so good. :-) There's still a Californian kick in this 'ole girl, even though I'm now a Coloradoan... ;-) Erin, I thought of you as I walked along the beach ... it reminded me alot of CA, or a Road to Avonlea episode... it was so beautiful! We enjoyed some delicious fried rice and vegetable Chinese rolls for lunch, and then it began to thunder and rain. Some of us decided not to let the rain stop us, so most of us sprinted back into the ocean. It was a happy feeling ... the rain pouring down on us as we swam in the warm ocean water... u.n.t.i.l. people from the shoreline started yelling, "This is when all the jelly fish come up!! Get back!" [It was rather hilarious watching some of the team RUN back to the shore. =D Some of my team mates saw a couple jelly fish... I however did not.]

I l.o.v.e. this song....

"Lord make us instruments of your peace, Where there is hatred let your love increase, Lord make us instruments of your peace, Walls of pride and prejudice shall cease, When we are your instruments of peace. Where there is hatred, we will sow His love; Where there is darkness, we will shine His light. Where there is striving, we will speak His peace to the people crying for release; We will be His instruments of peace. [Chorus] Where there is blindness, we will pray for sight; Where there is darkness, we will shine His light. Where there is striving, we will bear their grief to the millions crying for release; We will be His instruments of peace."

Update from the coast!

Good afternoon everyone! You all are snuggled up and snoring in your beds, while I'm writing from one of Thailand's coastal cities, Cha-am. The hotel where we're staying doesn't have wi-fi, but you can use one of their computers for 60. baht an hour, so I thought, hey, why not.

Though I'm over jet lag now, I haven't slept well the last two nights, so I was really feelin' it this afternoon. Lisa bought us an iced mocha, so that's helping me stay awake at the present.

The Caynors are moving their ministry to Cha-am here in a couple months, and so they are doing a lot of prep right now. They want to use our team kind of as the "pre-launch" team. I guess you could say we're "cultivating the soil" for ministry right now. This morning we went to the government office and offered to help the community in whatever way they needed... so we ended up helping pick up trash and stuff on the beach with some of the usual clean up workers for a few hours. After being out on the white sand and the sun for a little bit, Lisa wanted me to go back in the shade so I wouldn't get burned again [for those that didnt know, a week before I came to Thailand, I got 2nd degree burns...], so walked back to the car, drank some water and got my camera out and started snapping pictures of the work team from the shade. I DID have a moment of panic however. [Ahem, hold your breath.] I was digging through my Kata Focus Q bag and could not find my wide angle lens [18-55mm] for the life of me! I was like, "O.h. N.O." I knew no one would've stolen it, as my telephoto and 50mm lenses were there, and those wouldn't been the prime targets for theft. Sooo, I looked around in the car and on the floors. Nada. Nothing. I tried to calm down and to my great joy and relief, I t.h.a.n.k.f.u.l.l.y. found the lens in my duffel bag back at the hotel, PTL! Yeah, the 18-55mm lens is really cheap, but it's the only wide angle lens I have. Sorry, I hope this story didn't scare you too bad, Dad. ;-) Other than my little scare this morning, things have gone super so far with all of my gear. =) :grins:

[Haha, guess what I just did? I was typing away and all the sudden I pushed a button and the keyboard starting writing in a bunch of jibberish - aka. Thai. So, I had to go up to the front desk and ask someone to help me fix it back to English. Hehe. Kind of embarressing...]

Yesterday in our devotions together, Rick was talking about how Jesus said that His food was to do the will of God and to finish His work. Likewise so it is for us as believers. We may not always have physical food... or all of our physical wants and needs, but what really matters is that we're doing the will of God for our lives - and doing the will of God is where we'll be happiest. [I had to think of Hudson Taylor and his wife Maria... how there were times when they had no rice for the next day, and then God provided at the last minute.] Rick went on to say that isn't it amazing when we're doing the will of God, sometimes we get weary and tired while we're doing it, and God just seems to give us this special, inner strength and "umph" to keep going, when we feel like we can't go anymore.

Well, it's time to sign off. I'm going to go take a little power nap before supper... ;-)

Thank you all for your prayers thus far! God is indeed working and doing great things. He's even doing alot in my own personal life too -- it's been fantastic. Yesterday I was able to spend some special, quiet time alone in prayer about something specific God has been pricking on in my heart... It was really great. Continue praying that Jesus would be the One living and working in and through our lives. I have been reminded over and again: It's not for us, it's all for Him!

Sufficient Grace

I had a wonderful weekend back in the rural country of Thailand. I experienced taking a bucket shower, swimming in a river in the middle of remote jungle [it looked a lot like the Amazon, I thought], and I managed to survive all the critters and bugs. ;-) I had 2 experiences with gigantic beetles [one decided to crawl up my back] and saw 2 salamanders... Eek! I must say being around lots 'n lots of bugs is definitely not my favorite thing, buuut, who said missionary life was a breeze?

The people I met in the village were all amazing. Something I thought about a lot is how these Thai people are just like you or I. They're just like me... they have real feelings, real emotions, real struggles... and they experience real lonliness. The hardest part about being with these sweet people was that I felt like I couldn't communicate with them in words. Thank goodness a smile is understood by every nation and all people! :-)

Sunday morning I woke up with such feelings of inadequacy. How could I possibily share a testimony about deliverance from fear .... if I was fearful about sharing that morning? Not to mention I was battling lonliness on my own team. I haven't seen the latest and newest movies. I dont know the newest songs. I don't think jokes about Helen Keller and other crude jokes are funny. I felt like a loner and quite the odd-ball. I am a quiet little mouse that doesn't say much. I...I...I. The Thai church started, and as I sat in the back row in the middle of a bunch of Thai ladies, I began to get aggravated. What am I doing here?? I can't understand a word of their language, I have no idea what is being said. Then one of the ladies sitting next to me leaned over and said in her broken English, "He [the pastor] is speaking about Paul and how he said that God says, "My grace is sufficent for you.'" And then it was like something hit me. I closed my eyes and God just spoke to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, Leah. My strength is made perfect in your weakness. Rejoice in your weaknesses [such as being quiet & non-wordy ;-D] bcause that is when the power of Christ will work through you. It's not about you, it's about Christ." Later on in the message, the lady leaned over to me again and said, "Now he's talking about how here in Thailand, we Christians are very lonely because we have to leave all our Buddhist family and friends for Christ." WOW. I thought, "Who am I that I should be sitting here, wallowing in self-pity?? It's not about me, it's all about Him!" From then on, my day was a million times better. Our team got up and sang the song, "Mighty to Save" while Alex played the guitar. As we sang the song, the words, "He can move the mountains" kept ringing in my mind. God can do anything. God can do anything He wants to do. It's because of HIM that I am here in Thailand right now, right here, at this moment.

After the church service, I took my food [btw, Thai food is awesome!] and sat in the kitchen with all the little kids. Though we couldn't understand each other in words, we sat there and smiled at each other. :-) After we finished eating, some of the little kids grabbed my hand and wanted me to take pictures of them. :-)

I met a single, 30 year old girl named Meaw this weekend [her name is pronounced "Meow"]. We picked her up here in Bangkok and she helped us out with translation and stuff over the weekend back in the jungle. She and I had some very encouraging conversations in the truck bed on the drive up there and on the way back. What a jewel she is! We started sharing our testimonies with each other.... and w.o.w., our testimonies are so much alike! She shared with me how she is "fighting" for God's will right now -- she doesn't want to put her own plans into motion, but she wants God to tell her what to do. She shared with me how right now, God is her father and her husband right now. She is HAPPY and content being single right now and she doesn't want to complain if she doesn't have a boyfriend, because contentment is not found in having a guy. Of course if God DOES bring a young man into her life, she will gladly accept that because it'd be what God's will is. She said, "My husband is going to have to be really brave to ask for me, because I won't settle for any typical, 'nice Christian guy.' " We talked about forgiveness and how that it's so easy to become bitter against people that wrong us, but we need to realize that the "wrong-doer" is no worse off or more than a sinner than we are. THE GROUND IS LEVEL AT THE CROSS. We talked about how so often times when we're trying to discover God's will for our lives, we like to ask How? What? Why? When? Where? But the answer is all about WHO! Over and over again, Jesus says in the Bible, "I am." So next time we ask, "God, how am I going to do this? When is this going to happen? Why? Where?", we need to remember that the answer is found in HIM. When Moses was bowing before God at the burning bush, he asked God, "Who am I that I should lead this people? What will I tell them who sent me?" God said, "I am." ...So yes. I love my new friend, Meaw. She radiates with Jesus Christ and I have much I an learn from her, as a fellow sister in Christ.

Some funny things from the weekend:

• I wore a tank top when I went swimming, and a Thai lady saw my really bad sunburn [that I got back in CO] and where the sunburn line stops, and she explained, "Ohhh! You're two toned!" [Haha]
• A Thai little kid asked, "Why are you so small??" [Kristin told the kids that Americans are all tall, and so I confused them that I was so tiny. Haha]

Day four!

Wow, how do you put a fantastic day in very few words? Time is short tonight!

This morning the Caynors had another missionary family over [who work under International Baptist Missions], and I must say I l.o.v.ed. them! Eddy and Darlene are the cutest couple... he's half Thai and half American and extremely tall and she's this extremely tiny filippino lady. [And their testimonies are amazing!] Their 3 little boys are absolutely adorable... I held their youngest for quite a while, and he ended up falling asleep on my shoulder at lunch. :-) Eddy really encouraged us to learn the unexpected from God. So many times we have these expectations and fixed ideas of how God works... and then God likes to blow our minds with his miracles and the unexpected.. it was a real encouragement!

This afternoon we went to some famous Buddhist temples, saw the Giant Buddha [much bigger than what I had previously imagined!], and took a river boat ride down one of the main rivers that runs through Bangkok. We climbed up one of the Buddhist temples... w.o.w., what a steep climb! Each of the steps themselves were as tall as my knees... no joke! Speaking of being short, Cheri, your jokes about me being a missionary to Asia [so I can be with other short ladies] is really being fulfilled! The ladies here are so small and petite -- I really do feel like I fit in. Haha. ;-)

As we were riding in the taxi on the way to the buddhist temples, the Caynor's 14 year old daughter, Kristin, was sharing so many beautiful things God was doing in her heart... I wish I had the time and space to write it all here, but I will say it was so beautiful... I thought, "W.o.w.! I want to have a heart like that!" She is a jewel... and a precious young lady.

I was going to upload some pictures on my album on facebook, but FB decided not to work for me tonight.

I m.u.s.t. pull myself away -- It's midnight here and I need to get up about 6am tomorrow for our truck ride to a very rural village about 4-6 hours from here -- we'll be gone for the weekend! Pray for us, that'd be an encouragement to the new believers here in this village. I was asked to share a testimony Sunday morning with a translator! Never done that before [with a translator], so we'll see what happens! Unless God shows me otherwise, I'm praying about sharing how God has delivered me from the bondage of fear and how I am now living in the freedom of His love... because really, this Christian life is all about love... loving our God and loving His people.