CQ

Wow! God is so good. I have been blown away by the work that God has done in the lives and hearts of our team and through the power of Holy Spirit in us toward others. 

The highlight of the trip has been the relationships that we developed with the young people at Grace Ministries in Krasang. The young people on our team have fully given their hearts to the twenty four girls and six boys at Grace Ministries. The Thai and hill tribes girls and boys are about the same age as our young people so the connection was powerful. We played with them, taught english, did church together, and we had the opportunity over four days to interview and hear the stories of each girl and boy at the ministry. They all have incredibly inspiring stories that give evidence of the power of God to bring hope and purpose out of pain and despair.

Our kids are sold on this ministry. Sunday night we had a meeting and almost every person on our team was moved by the power of God to a new level of faith and commitment to Christ. I don’t have time to tell all of the stories, but I will share one interaction with a 13 year old hill tribes girl who has been saved from poverty and an uncertain future by Christ through Grace Ministries.

This young girl was born into extreme poverty in the Aka hill tribe of Northern Thailand. Her parents are farmers, and do not have enough resources to sustain their family. That is why she is at Grace Ministries. When I spoke with her through an interpreter I could see immediately that she is a leader with a passion for others. She told us that her vision is to become trained as a teacher and to go back to her tribe to develop the next generation toward a better life in Christ. She sees Christ as the source of her motivation. This young girl has a deep burden for people and is very focused on God’s calling on her life to change her village for Christ. This young 13 year old girl blew me away with one statement that demonstrated the depth of her passion. She said,”I can’t afford to spend time on leisure, because I have seen and must respond to the hurts of others.” These are amazing girls.

The last night at Grace Ministries in Krasang our girls and the girls from the home had a slumber party. We truly made lasting and life long relationships during our time.

We are now in Chiang Mai. We spent the last few days visiting the extremely poor and desperate people of the hill tribes. I will go more into that later. I have not written as much as I had hoped, but have found my time being utilized in different ways on this trip compared to the last one.

Please be in prayer for a meeting we will have over the next few days. We will be visioning with Grace Ministries, Remember Nhu and our Westside group regarding how God is leading us to partner in the future. God has given me much clarity on this trip regarding this very important link. I have felt incredible confirmation from our students, parents and staff regarding the value and impact of this mutually beneficial relationship. The next step is to flesh out what God is calling us to be and do. Your prayers are critical. You response the last post was very encouraging. Please continue to respond in prayer.

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It is currently Thursday afternoon and our entire team is sitting in two internet cafes writing emails. We have had a great day of rest after a 24 hour stint of travel. It is pretty hot and humid, but overcast. Our team is doing really well. I don’t think I have heard a single complaint even though the travel has been pretty brutal.

Our guides were stuck on a train from Burriram and have not arrived yet. We are doing fine on our own and they should be here in a few hours. We will be heading for the train station in two hours and will travel overnight to the small village of Krasang. Grace ministries is located there. We will then spend the next few days connecting with the young people. This is the ministry of Charles and Yokie.

We have a few minor health issues. You can pray for Kelby who is experiencing a minor “stomach issue.” You can also pray for Carly who has a strange rash that started during the flight over.

I read through Col. 3 this morning again and it really spoke to me regarding what is really important.

Col. 3 MSG

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ - that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.

The writter continues to challenge me to dress in what Christ has picked for me: Compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, and discipline. “Be even tempered, content with second place, and quick to forgive any offense.”

Pray that we would seek to be where the action is.

Andy

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This morning a team from Westside is boarding a plane for Thailand for 14 days. To learn more about this trip read through the Thailand page above. Please pray for our team as we seek to be open to God’s leading and that we authentically and appropriately respond to what we encounter. It would be encouraging if you would comment with your prayers. Below is our trip in a nutshell:

Tuesday: Fly from PDX to San Fran San Fran to Narita 15hrs
Wednesday: Narita to Bangkok Crash at a hotel

Thursday: Sleep in - eat lunch at a nearby mall and catch a train for Krasang (NE Thailand) 8 hrs

Friday: - Sunday: Spend time at Grace Ministries

Monday: Morning train to Bangkok 8 hrs - Evening train to Chiang Mai

Tuesday: Arrive in Chiang Mai and head immediately in vans to the hill tribes

Tuesday - Thursday: Ministry to the hill tribes people

Thusday: Evening dinner with orphanage children (Asia’s Hope)

Friday: Briefings from various ministries in Chiang Mai - Evening cultural dinner

Saturday: Cultural Day

Sunday: Morning at Asia’s Hope orphanage - evening debriefing

Monday: Travel by plane to Bangkok - Debriefing

Tuesday: Bangkok to Naritia Narita to San Fran San Fran to PDX

Thank you for your prayers!

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Westside Way Article

Last week I jumped on a JetBlue red-eye for New York City. The Westside choir had the opportunity to sing Handel’s Messiah on Palm Sunday at Carnegie Hall. What an amazing privilege!

If that weren’t enough, while on the trip we enjoyed a few shows, a game, and some sights. The first night was the rhythmic experience of Stomp. The most remarkable moment was when they played a piece with paper bags!  It takes talent and gifting to transform everyday objects into enjoyable music. We also went to a Mets game, The Lion King, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and the Empire State Building. Two locations that were awe inspiring to me were the United Nations Building and the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. These were all amazing experiential learning opportunities.

I have found that active learning inspires and motivates me to learn more. I find that I take ownership of what I am learning when I experience it first hand. I want to ask questions and find the answers to those questions. There were a couple of moments on this trip that I will never forget.

On Friday afternoon we took the bus from our hotel to St. Paul’s Chapel next to Ground Zero. It was here that we met Charlie, our tour guide. As Charlie began to speak I began to realize the unique opportunity that this was. Charlie was on Church Street on September 11 and saw the first plane strike the World Trade Center. As he described the horrific scenes I could see the pain and the reality of the situation in his eyes. Charlie worked for New York’s Department of Design and Construction which led the recovery effort for the WTC disaster. Charlie supervised the effort and is now designing the survivor’s memorial. As Charlie spoke about the impact of the disaster, his eyes welled up with tears and he admitted that he will never be the same.  I will not forget the pain and emotion I saw in Charlie’s eyes and I will not forget how the horrific events of September 11 had a personal impact on the lives of real people. How do people who have experienced such painful trials recognize the goodness of God? 

God’s plan is a little shocking to me. We are the plan. We are his plan to demonstrate the goodness of God to those who have experienced devastating tragedy, injustice, hunger, and separation from God. It is out of the transforming power of Christ in us that we can be a light to the world.

After sensing the suffering at Ground Zero and realizing the comfort that comes in serving a God who understands suffering, I was able to appreciate at a deeper level the magnificence of Handel’s Messiah. I was overtaken by the experience at Carnegie Hall. Bob, Betty, and I were given tickets to the center box in the lower balcony of Carnegie Hall. These were the best seats in the house and I wondered about the historic figures that had been in these seats throughout the years. As the Halleluiah Chorus was sung by over five hundred voices, I rose and felt chills running down my spine. This was a tremendously worshipful moment where I could fully celebrate the God who knows better than all of us the history and suffering of this world.

The opportunity to sing in such a historic venue was remarkable and all the shows and experiences will be memories we will reflect on for years to come; seeds of interest and inquiry were planted as we practiced active learning. There is value in all of this as well as in the beginning of significant relationships between students, teachers, and parents.
Our choir has three goals that Bob is intentional about communicating and developing in our students:

• Sing Our Best 
• Glorify God 
• Show The Love of Christ

I believe we were faithful to these three goals and that we truly sang the Messiah around New York City in word and deed.

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TRIP UPDATE:

Thursday night we went to the production of STOMP. It was amazing! The most impressive part was when they were playing paperbags. Yes….paperbags! It sounded incredible. On our way back we came across a gospel group that was singing in the subway. It was uplifting to stop and praise God with them in the moment. I recorded it the best I could with my phone; you are welcome to listen to a portion of the singing below.

Listen to the subway singing - Praise God!

More Singing…

On Friday morning my guys and I took of for 5th Avenue. I stopped of at St. Patricks Cathedral while my guys did a little window shopping in Saks Fifth Ave. I made them go to the Cathedral after I saw how beautiful it was. We then proceeded down to the very tip of Central park and jumped on a subway toward the hotel. We grabbed a little pizza for lunch. It was great!

Off Fifth Ave - Rockefeller Center

After lunch and while the students were rehearsing I went with a few parents to take a tour of the United Nations. This was fascinating! Below you can seee me in the meeting room of the UN Security Council. Next to me is one of many murels on display taken from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights document. This one captured my eye.

A few of the facts I can remember from the tour:

-6.5 billion people in the world today - half of them live on $2 a day or less
-There are 30 million orphans today as a direct result of loosing parents to Aids
-191 member nations in the UN general assembly
-15 members of the Security Council - 5 permanent members - the others are voted in each year.
-The UN Budget is 2.5 billion every 2 years - the US is responsible for 22% of that budget
-The UN property is international territory and does not belong to the US
-The money ($9 million) to purchase the property was donated by the Rockefellers
-There are 85k UN peace keeping troops in the world today

There was much more, but that is the best I can do for now.

In the evening we took the subway to the Mets game. We had a box all to ourselves. They provided us with a buffet dinner, we saw two home runs, and enjoyed the game in an amazing setting. The Mets guy came to our box to visit.

More to come…

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Tomorrow night I will be jumping on a JetBlue red-eye for New York City. The Westside choir has the opportunity to sing Handel’s Messiah on Palm Sunday at Carnegie Hall. What an amazing privilege!

If that weren’t enough, while on the trip we will get to enjoy a few shows, a game and some sites. The first night will be the rhythmic experience of Stomp. I may not be able to help myself, I’ve been known to break into the the running man at the sound of a beat.

For another evening I will join a group that is seeing the Broadway show, The Lion King. My two year old son will be jealous of that opportunity. We have the “Lion” video and he would watch it multiple times a day if we allowed.

I am also planning to see a Mets game. This will be my second big league game. Do the Mariners count as a big league team? :-)

I anticipate that the most moving and sobering experience will be a visit to Ground Zero. I can’t imagine how it will feel to be at the location that represents such a massive scope of pain and suffering for so many individuals, families and our nation.

I am looking forward to experiencing all of this with our students, staff and parents. The opportunity to sing in such a historic venue is remarkable and all the shows and experiences will be memories we will reflect on for years to come; but I believe this trip will be more than that if we are able to treat eachother and those we meet along the way as Jesus does. 

Our choir has three goals that they communicate openly. Bob (our choir director) is intentional about directing the focus to these three things:

• Sing Our Best
• Glorify God
• Show The Love of Christ

I believe that if we are faithful to those three things we will truly sing the Messiah to New York City.

I believe it is already happening. God is preparing the way.

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This past week we had a few students over to our house who will be traveling to Thailand on a vision trip. The adults who came filmed the students’ reactions to the following questions. It will be fascinating to see how the answers to these questions may change after the trip. I decided to give the questions a shot. This is a long post so you may want to bite it off in chunks.  How would you answer the questions?

1. There is an obvious need for us, who have so much, to help the lost, hungry and oppressed. What makes it so easy for me to let these needs pass by without responding?

2. Put yourself in the place of a parent of children born in the hill tribes of Northern Thailand. Your family has experienced severe illness and without money your entire family will be at risk of hunger, disease, and exploitation. You are approached by a “business man” from Chiang Mai (the big city) who offers to take one of your young girls to work in his “laundry mat.” He is prepared to give you a year’s wages upfront. How will you respond?

3. Imagine your own elementary school experience growing up. What different types of safety surrounded you on a daily basis?

4. What do I have that is of importance to the people in the hill tribes who experience oppression, injustice, poverty and sometimes a lack of hope?

5. What could the people in the hill tribes have that could be of importance to you?

6. What could be considered blessings or accomplishments in our society?

7. What do you think could be considered blessings or accomplishments for those in the hill tribes? 

8. Knowing that today hill tribe children and their parents are facing danger and impossible moral dilemmas, what could be your immediate responsibility? 

9. How does God feel about the oppressed, the hungry and lost? What is his plan to demonstrate his goodness to the world?

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A few weeks back I was in invited to a two-day training in Seattle sponsored by International Justice Mission. It was a test of my courage to respond to this opportunity because I knew I was going to be out of my league. As a result of the training I have committed to becoming a “Justice Advocate” representing IJM in our community.  (If you would like to learn more I would love to talk to you about IJM - They are freeing slaves around the world!)

At the training I was given all kinds of materials including the book Good News About Injustice. In the opening page of this book Gary Haugen states that if he were only able to give his children one gift it would be that they become men and women of courage.

He then goes on to quote C.S. Lewis saying:

Courage seems like an attribute we must have in order to effectively move out and express our faith in action. If I were to add courage to compassion the result would be an active expression of Christ’s love.

Like Gary, I have prayed for my children since they were born that they would have a heart of compassion. I am not so concerned about intelligence, athletic ability or good looks. Instead I have prayed that they would have a tenderness for other people. I think I will add to that prayer, courage. 

Undeveloped Thoughts: 

Compassion + Courage = Active expressions of Christ’s love

Westside Outside - I am wondering if this label could describe a movement within our school to respond outside of the world we are comfortable in. I am also challenged to move outside of a purely self-focused expression of faith. This is not a judgment of our current state as much as a challenge to examine where we are and where we feel called to be. I want to continue to explore this.

Gary Haugen is speaking at Sunset Presbyterian this Sunday at 9am, 11am and 5pm.

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Last night I was very encouraged by a meeting at Westside for parents of students who are interested in the Thailand trip this summer. The more I talk to people the more passionate I get about what God is doing in me and our school. We are being challenged to move outside of our building and ourselves toward meeting the needs of others. There is no doubt something special is happening and people are catching the vision. I can’t wait to see what will happen when we actually go.

Before the meeting Don and I were talking about names for this movement in our school. A few weeks ago in another conversation Rob (our development director) called the movement “Westside Outside.” I will just leave it at that for now. This could mean a lot of things especially if we realize that we can compliment outside with “Westside Inside.” I believe the combination of these two phrases could be used very powerfully to communicate what God is doing in our school on multiple levels. Before I give you my thoughts I would love to know what Westsiders and others think?

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This weekend Steve and I trekked up to Seattle to take part in an International Justice Mission Justice Advocate training program. Through a series of God orchestrated connections I was able to communicate to their Education Program Manager what Westside is planning on doing in Thailand, and she invited the two of us to be a part of the program.

I have been praying for humility for the past six weeks. God is so faithful to bring about that quality in me as I spent a weekend with passionate, humble, yet very gifted lawyers, Ivy League graduates, employees of think tanks, etc. It is inspiring to be around people with a tremendous passion coupled with a humble spirit.

One of the most confirming elements of the weekend was the presentation of scriptural support challenging Christians to act on behalf of the oppressed. Over the past year my eyes have been opened to see the importance of compassion, justice, humility, loving people, seeking truth and working to model my actions after Christ. This weekend my new revelation was primarily the issue of justice. (I will write more about this later)

It is like that experience when you have bought a new car and begin to see how many are on the road. It is not that the car didn’t exist before you purchased it, but you just never noticed. Now I see these issues in my Christian walk around every bend in the road. The following samples of scripture convict and compel me to seek justice, demonstrate compassion, and act on behalf of the orphans, widows, and the oppressed.

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