Quick trip back to Lampang

Dinner with Lampang friends at the Lampang Resort

Last week I made a quick trip back to Thailand to renew my visa and work permit. You might think that it is a long way to go to just renew my visa (from Australia to Thailand) but it took me 6 months to get my visa. If I didn’t renew it then I would have to start the whole application process again. Unfortunately, I can only renew my visa in Thailand. However, this gave me an opportunity to make a quick visit to Lampang and visit our friends there. It was a whirlwind visit with lots of meeting up with people and eating. It was great to be back in Lampang and catch up with people and our friends in Lampang want The Lighthouse to open again as soon as possible.

The Princess is coming to Lampang

The Princess of Thailand is coming to Lampang on Friday. Above is the huge sign announcing her coming outside our son’s school. She will be opening one of the new building at our son’s school as well as visiting other places such as the School for the Blind. Our school is undergoing large changes to how it looks, with large banners purple and white draped everywhere. Parking at the school has become near impossible when dropping off and picking up our son. Fortunately I can zip in and out by motorbike. Today at the end of school we get a letter saying that the school is closed for the next 2 days in preparation for the Princess’ visit.

Thammasart University Lampang

 Playing Blokus

Perpetual Commotion or "Dutch Blitz"

For the last 3 days we have been at Thammasart University, Lampang Campus with the Dutch Team to teach English. Thanks to Judith and the other English lecturers for letting the team do activities at the university. I was able to bring some board games to the Self Access Learning Centre (SALC). SALC is used to encourage students to practice their English. We hope to be back there in the future sometime.

Visit to Orphanage

James 1:27
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

This week our team had an opportunity to visit a local orphanage in Lampang. The temple where our team members teach English on Sunday afternoons was being used for the national elections so we couldn’t teach there. So it was suggested to our team that we go visit the orphanage instead.

It’s hard to believe but I’ve never been to an orphanage before in my life. That really surprised me. Why haven’t I ever visited an orphanage? It’s not as if it’s hard to miss the Bible’s emphasis on caring for orphans (or the fatherless).

It was hard to imagine these beautiful children not having a mother or father. My heart went out to them. I’ll be looking to make more opportunities to visit this orphanage in the future and hopefully adding a little to their lives for the brief time we are there.

Churches in Lampang

Kelang Phantakit Church, Lampang

Motana Church, Lampang

In the last month we have started visiting churches around Lampang, partly to see what the churches were like and partly to hear Thai Christian Language which will be important for our Thai language exams.  So far, the 3 churches we've been to have been welcoming and it is nice to be able to understand much more than we did a year ago.  Also we are thankful we haven't had any major incidents with the behaviour of our children (although my language teacher who goes to one of the churches, informed me that my son putting stickers on my face would be a complete no no for a Thai child - you should never touch a Thai person's head).  For me it is has been interesting to see the Pastors who I'd met playing soccer last year at their various churches.  

Here is the service outline of Kelang Phantakit Church which we went to today.

Prelude

Call to Worship Ps. 117:1-2

Hymn TH#11

Prayer of Praise & Confession

The Lord's Prayer

Responsive Reading Mal 1:6-14

Pastoral Prayer

Music

Choral Response

Scripture Lesson Mal 3:6-12

Hymn TH #140

SERMON

Offering - Offertory Prayer

Hymn TH #239

Benediction

Closing Response

The service outline looks pretty familiar doesn't it.  It would be typical of the other two churches we visited also (excluding the Choral response).  Of the sermon I had a chance tolisten to and understand, the preacher seem to be advocating that everyone should be tithing 10% from a passage in Joshua.  

Around Lampang

Local shop selling shrine down the road from where we live

Taxi! This is the equivalent to a taxi in Lampang (A Song Theew)

I recently bought a new mobile (cell) phone with a camera on it so that I could take snap shots of Lampang without having to remember my camera.

More recently the focus of the blog has changed to more theological thoughts I've been wrestling with rather than a photo blog. I don't know whether you like the change or not. Feel free to comment on where you like the change or you preferred the posts of the past.

Dogs spoil the day again

Wat (Temple) Chedi Sao

Tuesday is our designated day off as the Lighthouse is open on Sundays (as the weekends are the days when most non-Christians are free). So we try to go out as a family during the day. Today we went to visit one of the famous temples in Lampang, Wat Chedi Sao. We were all excited as we got out of the cars. The kids and I started playing hide and seek in amongst the 20 shrines. I had finished counting to 10 and started off trying to find our two boys when suddenly I heard lots of barking dogs in the direction of where the boys were hiding. I quickly found the boys and saw about 10 metres away a pack of about 10 stray dogs surrounding a man and barking aggressively. Lisa with our baby daughter made steps to help the man, but I ordered her back to car and I was pulling our two boys in the direction of the car. As we were heading back I saw a monk coming to help the man and chase away the dogs. One dog came in our direction as we were retreating back but stopped. We got back into the car and Lisa was in tears. I didn't have to ask her why. There are very limited places we can take the kids for fun in Lampang and just when we'd thought we'd found another place it's ruined by a pack of dogs. There is no way we are going back there again with the kids.