The End of One Journey and Beginning of Another

 

Cho Family May 2023

It's been nearly 2 years since the last post.  I don't plan on any further updates in the future though you never know.

We are back in Sydney for the foreseeable future.  Lisa is working 2-3 days a week as an orthoptist at an eye surgery and I am 2 days a week in accounts payable at OMF and investment management.  I am also studying a Masters of Teaching (Secondary / highschool) with a view to school chaplaincy and/or teaching science. 

What a journey it was in Thailand for over 14 years.  Thankyou for all your support and prayers.  

Who knows what the next part of our journey will be, but we know where the end destination is. 

Returned Just in Time!

5 days before Rich & our second son's flight was due to depart they received the dreaded call that they had been bumped off their flight.  Fortunately, we were offered another flight.  We did not realise just how fortunate we were until a week later, while in quarantine, when Sydney went into lockdown and international arrival numbers were halved.  We are very thankful to God for his provision as the next available economy flights to Sydney from Thailand are from January 2022!  

It has been great for most of our family to be united again after such an extended period, although we miss our oldest son and he misses us.  Despite the disappointment of Sydney’s lockdowns, our second son has settled well into the rhythm of his new school online. He just wishes he could have a chance to make a start on the guitar he is planning on making in his Industrial Tech Timber class! 

We have begun our final home assignment, which will be completed at the end of this year.  We would love to connect with you, or your small group online, or just via a phone call, until the lockdown in Sydney ends. Please let us know if you’re interested, and send us your number. 

Transitions - Running out ofHhotwater

Since we've been married, we've moved almost 20 times and each time there is a transition process which requires time and effort to get settled again. For example, with our latest house, we have been running out of hotwater. There is a 315L hotwater heater but it doesn't seem enough for 5 of us to have a shower and washing the dishes. We've had a plumber in a few times already now. It seems that we are on an off-peak plan which only heats the water during the night. So if we use all the hotwater during the day we won't have anymore until the next day! I asked the plumber whether we could install the electric hotwater heaters that we've used in Thailand (see photo) in all the houses we've been in. He laughed at me. Doesn't seem like it's an option in Australia. I have seen gas ones through Rinnai but not electric ones as we don't have gas. Now a call to the electricity company to see if we can change our plan so that we can have water heated when needed during the day.

Our moves:-

1. Strathfield

2. SMBC

3. Strathfield

4. Croydon Park(Aidan born - 10 months

5. Enfield

6. Cluney Rd, OMF IHQ -  6 weeks

7. Lopburi - 1 year

8. Lampang - Suksawat

9. Wahroonga - HA 1 (9 months)

10. Lampang - Suksawat

11. Lampang - The Lighthouse

12. Thornleigh - HA 2 (1 year)

13. Lampang - The Lighthouse

14. JOFC - 2 years

15. Chiang Mai - Koolpuntville 7 (8 months)

16. Orchard St: HA 3 (8 months)

17. Chiang Mai - Koolpuntville 7

18. Chiang Mai - Thanawan

19. Eastwood

Go Cho June 2021 - Earlier Return

Rich’s farewell lunch with the OMF North Region 

 

Our March 2021 Go Cho emphasized our need to “hold our future plans lightly, as inevitably there would be twists and turns that we could have never expected.”  This has come to pass, as Rich and Aidan plan to leave Thailand in a few days (God willing).  

A number of different factors led to the decision to apply for a place for Aidan to start in Term 3 in a school in Sydney last month, with his place being confirmed by the end of last month.  

It has been a hectic and stressful time, especially for Rich in organising the sale of cars, motorbike, changing of visas for Luca, flights and packing while still leading the digital media teams and projects (as yet there is no one to take over from Rich).

Aidan is quite sad to be leaving Thailand earlier than expected.  He had a great group of friends and was very much settled here.  This is one of the hardest aspects of missionary life, when you have to move your family around so much.  These transitions are not easy for anyone, but harder as the children grow older and their attachments much stronger.

Luca will remain in Thailand to finish his final year of highschool, starting in August.  Undoubtedly, it will be hard being the only one in our family to remain in Thailand.  We are so thankful for Ross and Eirenee who will be his guardians for at least the next 6 months.

After two weeks of quarantine and a few weeks to settle in, we will begin our final home assignment from August.  We look forward to visiting you at your church, small group or individually and sharing with you of God’s work in Thailand and some fruit of your faithful prayers.

Go Cho May 2021 - A New Wave of ... Students!

Prakhampee Learnnn Website

We were not prepared for the wave of new students who signed up for the 2 Bible courses offered on our Prakhampee (Bible in Thai) Learnnn (yes with 3 ‘n’s) Online Bible School in the last month since we started advertising the courses.  Over 160 students registered and new students were signing up each day.

Now this created a good problem in that we did not have enough mentors for this massive influx of students.  The courses have been set up so that each student is assigned a mentor who will review their answers for each lesson and engage with them with appropriate questions.  The initial 7 mentors were not enough and an SOS email was sent out to all our Thailand missionaries and partners to ask for help in being a mentor to these new students.  This email was passed on around the world to missionaries who had retired or returned to their home countries.  We have been able to more than double the number of mentors within a few weeks with missionaries past and present, as well as Thai staff and Christian volunteers.  

The 2 Bible courses currently available are a “Bible Overview” course and a “Life of Jesus” Course using the Jesus Film.  We are also in the process of preparing courses using the Bible Project videos which provide a background and overview of each book of the Bible.

The vision of our Digital Media and Internet Evangelism Ministries is: 

“From Online to Offline Discipleship” 

We want to begin an online relationship through facebook or through our online Bible School where discipleship can begin with interested and engaged non-Christians, “seekers” and newer Christians.  However, we recognize the importance of connecting these “seekers” to local disciplers and churches so that the discipleship process continues in person rather than stay online.

Go Cho April 2021 - God Provides Unexpectedly (Again!)

Weekly meal with Ross & Eirenee

On 29 Nov 2021, a post came up on my (Rich’s) facebook feed. A young couple from the US were moving to Chiang Mai to work with an expat church and to seek God’s plan for their future.  They were seeking to rent a house and a motorbike from the end of December until the end of July.  I don’t know what prompted me as I normally wouldn’t respond to a random post like that.  But we had an empty guest flat so I messaged them offering it to them if they wanted it.  I was surprised when they took up our offer as our flat was pretty small and basic with no kitchen.  
Ross was in the US marines and Eirenee is a dual US / Thai citizen.  They share Aidan’s love for rock climbing and were able to take him “real” rock climbing (as opposed to indoor) at some cliffs in Chiang Mai for the first time.  Since moving into our guest flat, they have been coming over for dinner once a week and have been a real blessing to Rich, Luca and Aidan while our family has been apart.  
They have grown to love Luca and Aidan and didn’t want them to be split apart with two separate families or places when Rich returned to Australia in August.  This was looking likely with it being very difficult for 1 family to take care of  both boys.
After praying about our boy’s situation and their own plans, Ross and Eirenee amazingly offered to extend their stay in Thailand and look after Luca and Aidan until at least January 2022!  We and many of you had been praying for months for someone to look after our boys and God answered our prayers in such an unexpected way.  Praise God!  Having lived next to us all this year and knowing the boys already will make the transition a lot easier when Rich leaves.
With Ross and Eirenee to look after the boys, the next step was finding a house for them all to rent near Luca’s school.  After looking at a few possible houses, we received an offer from one of the members of our church to house sit from July.  The house is directly opposite Luca’s school!   God had answered our prayer again.
Although our family separation was not part of our plans and caused considerable upheaval to our lives, we have experienced God’s grace and love in many unexpected ways which we are so thankful for.

#43 What’s that burning smell? May 2010

We had only arrived back a few days and our first drama.  We used this extension cord for our washing machine.  I didn’t realise that you had to have an appropriately thick cable for something that draws a lot of power like a washing machine.  Fortunately, I was around when I smelled the burning wires and prevented our laundry from going up in smoke.  The things that you never think of when you live in Australia.  Most electrical sockets in Thailand are not “earthed” so I still get a shock whenever I touch my desktop computer.

OMF Thailand Youtube Channel

Please go to our OMF Thailand Youtube channel and hear stories from our missionaries in Thailand. Some of the stories will make you laugh, other will make you cry. You will be encouraged and challenged as you see and hear how God is working in and through the life of our missionaries in Thailand. We are adding a new video each week so subscribe to make sure you don't miss out on any of the new videos.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYRsB-tduXN4EaCt61lGhgQ

#42 Return to Thailand - May 2010

Our first unexpected home assignment of 8 months came to an end and here we were saying goodbye again to our families at the airport.  The main reason for the early home assignment, speech therapy for one of our children, had helped to the point where we could return.  We would still need to continue daily therapy ourselves back in Thailand with help from video calls with the speech therapist in Australia.  So on to our second term in Thailand and the adventures that lay ahead.

#41 Home Assignment - Rest & Renewal -Fishing 2009-2010

Scotty Lyons Fishing Charter, Mar 2010

Jason with the catch of day with a sizable mac tuna

Our sons first fishing boat trip

It was this home assignment that I really developed a passion for fishing and in particular rock fishing.  I enjoyed fishing before that, but had not fished much at all.  I do remember a few times fishing on family holidays but I had little idea of how to fish.  I recall fishing on a bridge when I was young and getting lots of fish on the line, but as I was pulling the fish out of the water and up to where I was standing the bridge, the line would be cut and I would lose the fish.  I realize now that they were probably whiting and my hooks were too short.

I had a couple of offshore fishing trip trips.  There was a memorable charter with Scotty Lyons with my father-in-law and friends from church, when the bonito were running and Jason Koh latched on to a sizable mac tuna.  Poor Tony’s sea sickness medicine was not up to scratch and his stomach provided a lot of fish food.

But it was on a family holiday to Avoca that I started rock fishing for the first time and was hooked after the rush of catching a bucket full of bonito (type of tuna fish) and the fishing line screaming as the fish pull line.  

Rock fishing is considered the most dangerous sport in Australia as many, mostly Asian fishermen are drowned each year as they are hit by waves and thrown in the water.  Some cannot swim or are not wearing life jackets.

Rock fishing is one of the things I miss most living in Chiang Mai, 700km from the nearest beach / ocean. 

Rest and renewal is one of the objectives of home assignment and fishing helped towards achieving that.

Go Cho Mar 2021 - Future Plans Held Lightly

Beginning of our journey 14 years ago

We arrived in Thailand in April 2007, almost 14 years ago for our first term as missionaries, with a toddler 2 years old and a 6 month old baby.  There was a sense of relief - we had finally arrived, but it was mixed with trepidation - what would the future hold?  As we head towards the end of our final term in Thailand, we never could have imagined the journey that God has taken us on.  

One thing we learnt over that time, over and over again, was to hold our future plans lightly, as inevitably there would be twists and turns that we could have never expected.  But God’s faithfulness was the anchor.

At this point, the plan (which we hold lightly) is for Rich to return in early August.  Aidan will remain in Thailand until the end of 2021, and Luca until mid 2022 when he will finish highschool.

Our final home assignment will be for 6 months.  We will take the month of August for Rich to rest and settle back to Australia.  Then from September we will be available to visit and report back to our supporting churches and small groups until the end of January 2022.  Then we will take a period of long service leave for 3 months which will take us up to the end of April 2020.  

After that point, we are not yet sure of the future.  Rich plans to still be involved in Thai digital media and internet evangelism ministry part-time from Australia with short-term trips to Thailand as needed.  Although we will still be affiliated with OMF, we think we will be self-funded in this work rather than continuing to receive financial support from churches or supporters.

We are so thankful to you and our supporting churches for the partnership over more than 15 years.  God has taken us from pioneering church planting, to teaching and discipling at the James O Fraser Centre, to mission leadership and digital media and internet evangelism ministries.  It has been quite a journey, full of joy and pain, laughter and tears.  It certainly has been a refining process where we’ve been confronted with the depths of our sinfulness and inadequacies, but enabled to experience God in unexpected and wonderful ways.  We approach the end of our time in Thailand, weary but profoundly thankful to God and to all of you.

Go Cho Feb 2021 - Attachment & Detachment

Whether it’s an urban legend or not I’m unsure, but we’ve been told that missionaries used to leave their home countries with a coffin packed as this was how they were likely to come home.  There was little issue of having to detach from your home country as communication was limited to letters which took months to send and receive.    How things have changed from that era of missions.

Today, missionaries face the opposite challenge with social media allowing us to connect with our family, friends and supporters back home in a way that was not possible even 14 years ago when we first left for Thailand.  The problem can be that missionaries remain attached to their relationships back home so it may be more difficult to establish significant attachments in the countries they serve in.

Missionaries are not immune to the dangers of social media or Netflix addiction, but may be more prone to stumbling in this area as an escape from the additional pressures and stresses of missionary life.  Following family and friends lives on social media can lead to discouragement, being reminded of special events which you are missing out on, which increases homesickness. One effect, however, that Lisa has noticed is understanding that this world is really not our home; also that Jesus understands loneliness and isolation too, and is working to bring us full fellowship with others, and with God. 

Missionaries also face the challenge of how to best use social and digital media effectively in evangelism and discipleship, if they are using it at all.  Unfortunately, there are as yet, very few missionaries involved in this field.  

At our OMF leadership meetings last week, Rich shared the vision of one day using Facebook advertising to target possible seekers in the neighbourhood surrounding a local church.  But we pondered whether there was an ethical dilemma when Facebook has been used to manipulate presidential elections and Brexit outcomes, as highlighted in the documentary, “The Great Hack”.

It is not all negative though.  Supporters are given greater insight into missionary life and have greater connection with the missionaries they support.  Prayer can be requested almost instantaneously when an emergency arises.  It has allowed our family to be connected while we are currently apart.

Please pray for us and other missionaries you know in this difficult era in modern day  missions. Pray that God would reign in this area of all of our lives.

#1. Christchurch St Ives, Anglican, Sydney 2007

Commissioning Service at Christchurch St Ives, 2007

I started this series of posts on facebook but I am reposting them on this blog so that it can be accessed on a more permanent basis.

The idea started when I spent a few days sorting out our photos so that I could find images to use for videos that I've been making for my mission agency, OMF Thailand.  Then I had the idea, to make use of all that time spent by making a photo timeline / journey of our missionary journey.  When I started, I had no idea that within a month we'd make the decision for our family to return to Australia.  

So this was the first photo posted on 30 September 2021 on facebook.  It was our commissioning service at Christchurch St Ives. So many memories in the past 13 and half years since that day.

Burning the Oven Top

 

We have an American couple of staying in our guest flat.  He had turned the gas burner, however, he had the glass top cover down (the photo has the glass cover raised).  Then he noticed a burning smell and couldn't work out what was happening.  He called me son who quickly pointed out the obvious problem, the glass cover was down!  The burning smell was the rubber stoppers on the glass that was being burnt.

It is funny how things that are obvious in one culture is not so obvious in another.  I do recognise that there are stove tops that have an electric element that heats on a glass top, so perhaps that was the confusion.  The things that you need to adjust to in a new culture.

Lazada - The Amazon of Thailand

 

People outside of Asia would probably never have heard of it, but Lazada is the Amazon of Thailand.  You can buy almost everything on it (apart from a car or house) and it is generally much cheaper than buying the same item in the shops.  We've bought everything from laptops, freezers, a kids pool, to mouth wash.  I would say that we have a Lazada delivery at least once a week and in some weeks 3-4 days in that week.  This week, my son ordered a hammock and my other son vitamins.  

Before my wife left to return to Australia, she made some Lazada orders knowing that she probably couldn't get the same items so cheaply there. 

Papaya - Wonderful Fruit of Thailand

I had papaya in Australia where I grew up and honestly, I don't remember it being that good.  On my honeymoon I was in the Cook Islands and the papaya there was amazing.  Thailand's papaya is just as good.  

We had a papaya tree growing in our front yard and last year it produced some great fruit.  But it grew too tall and I had to chop it down.  However, I used some of the seeds to plant new tree at the side of our house.  The 3 trees are now producing an abundance of fruit and it tastes great.

Papaya are really sturdy trees and easy to grow, even for novice like me.

Chaff Sculptures @ Huay Tueng Tao Lake, Chiang Mai

 

These sculptures were made from the chaff of rice fields at Huay Teung Tao Lake in Chiang Mai.  They were amazing.  

Thailand Media Network Meetings

 

This is the Thailand Media Network, a Christian network which aims to collaborate and help each other in various Christian media projects.  The network meets once every 2 months in Chiang Mai.  We have the meeting at our different organisations and this time I hosted the meeting at the OMF Mekong Centre.

This month we saw the preview of the new movie, "Soul Prison" which looks great.  It will be released in cinemas in Bangkok and Chiang Mai later this year.

I shared a video from the Bible Project Thai. 

Largest Baptism in Thailand's history

 

On the 6th of September the FJCCA (Free in Jesus Christ Church Association) baptized 1,435 Thai people in Phetchabun. These new believers came from 4 provinces. It was the largest number of people baptised in Thailand's history.

This movement is seeing "hundreds of Thai believers going village to village bringing the light of Jesus Christ to those who have never heard of Jesus". They say that "this is just the beginning of what God is doing in Thailand".

Here is a video from Dwight Martin, a missionary who is helping the movement of the baptism service and a testimony from one of the people who was baptised.

May God continue to protect and use this movement for his glory.

Bible Project Thai

I am the local project co-ordinator overseeing the team that is taking the BibleProject videos from English into Thai.  We have finally been able to launch the first two video after a series of unexpected setbacks some of which may have had a spiritual element to it.

We have a team of 5 Thai illustrators and animators, as well as a language adviser, translators and voice artist team. 

There are 73 videos to complete in the Read Scripture series, 9 in the Luke-Acts Series and potentially others in their 140+ video collection.

You can view the BibleProject Thai youtube channel by clicking on the link. 

May God use these videos for his Kingdom for many years to come.