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.