12,600 Monks

We are in Chiang Mai, Thailand right now. Every six months we have to leave India, so we use it as a time of vacation also. We come visit friends, go shopping, and have massages. Sounds like an easy life, huh? Well, when massages cost $4. you can’t pass it up.

Today we were woken up by the sound of someone talking in a loud speaker. It was 5 am. Way too early for people to be talking outside, into a microphone. We ignored it until we got out of bed. Then I looked out the window to see what the noise was all about. It was the gathering of the 12,600 monks. A stream of bald men in orange sheets wrapped around them were walking down the street. And many more people in white who were worshiping or serving or something.

We are in a hotel and we get a breakfast buffet with our room. This morning it was crowded with people in white and a small table of monks. There were no glasses, no cups, no plates and no silverware. Micah was a bit perturbed by that. I just got a small salad plate and put my morning fried rice on it. Eventually there was a cup for tea. There never was a bowl for cereal for Micah.

12,600 is a lot of monks in one place. I’m not sure where they all came from. Could that really be all the monks in Chiang Mai??? I asked a man if he knew what it was all about. He is a Christian Thai man who use to be a monk, so I figured he would know. He explained that because of the recent flooding many people believe Thailand is under a curse. So this gathering of monks is an opportunity for people to give their offerings and offer prayers (or whatever Buddhists do) in order to remove the curse.

I wonder what we do in America when we have large calamities like this flood. Do we think we are being punished by God? Do we seek forgiveness? Or do we curse God for sending it? I sure wouldn’t blame God for punishing America for turning from Him. I would love to see America seeking forgiveness and taking just one day to come together to seek God. Or even just 12,600 of us.

Communication

I just tried to order pizza on the phone. This can sometimes be a tedious feat. It was tonight. Here was my conversation.

"Hello Domino's.. would you like to try our gabalygook pidally poop something or other special blahdi blah blah?"

Me: "Hello? My phone number?"
"Yes, go ahead"
Me: "Nine seven"
"Nine double"
Me: "one double seven"
"one double double"
Me: "four seven"
"four double"
Me: "eight four eight"
"Is this your first time calling?"
Me: "No"
"Give me your number again"
Me: "Nine seven"
"Nine double"
Me: "No, nine seven"
"Nine double"
Me: "No double, seven."
"double"
Me: "No double. Let me try again. Nou sath (trying my Hindi)"
"Nine seven"
Me: "ek sath sath"
"eight seven"
Me: "No, Hindi mai (in Hindi) ek, ek"
"eight"
Me: Is there someone else I can talk to?"
Silence
Me: "Let me try again. In Hindi. Nou sath, ek sath"
"nou sath, eight sath"
Me: "No, in Hindi. Ek! One!
This went on like this for a few more painful moments until finally she handed the phone to a guy who got it right the first time.

Saved a Life Today

Well maybe not.... but I might have. I gave blood today for a friend who has Dengue Fever. She needed my platelets. So in a way, my platelets are helping to save her life. Therefore, I am a hero.

This is the first time to donate blood in India. It turns out that all my experience donating plasma in America really paid off. It was just the same.

A friend and I went to the hospital to donate for another friend. First we filled out a form and they asked us questions, then we did the finger prick. For some reason, my friend's veins weren't good enough to donate plasma or platelets, so she just donated blood. We really didn't ever find out why she couldn't give platelets too, but whatever. We just go with the flow, not completely understanding what is going on.

The nurses were really nice to us. One sat with me the whole time. And when I got hungry, she went and got a small pack of cookies. And she fed me. She put the cookie in my mouth. So sweet.

It is different to donate plasma (platelets) when you know the person who will be receiving them. She and I will be blood sisters. A part of me is in her. And it is really special if it helps her get better. This has changed how I feel about donating. I am more willing to donate blood or plasma now because I really see the benefits to a sick person. I wonder how many people are walking around with little bits of me in them.

Teaching 3-5 year olds

One Sunday a month, I get to teach the 3-5 year olds in sunday school. This past Sunday was my turn. Thankfully there was also a guy who was my helper. I have been by myself before and it isn't a pretty sight.

This weeks lesson was pretty lame as far as the material goes. It was about Jesus teaching in the synagogue. There weren't any games with the lesson nor was there much of a story. So after doing the lesson I still had a bunch of time with the kids. They can get pretty restless.

The kids played a game of "Find the Bible". We took turns hiding the Bible, and then trying to find it. This age is funny. They always run to the same place that it was hidden the time before. And what is funnier is that it is often there. Then the kids started jumping on me to try to get the Bible after I said we were done playing that game. One kid was so hyper that he put his head under my shirt. He was trying to climb up me on several occasions. Since there was a guy in the room, I felt a little bit odd having a kid under my shirt. So I got him out and picked him up because he was trying to lift my shirt up again.

It was communion sunday, which means the service goes longer. Oh boy! SO even after the "Find the Bible" game, we still had lots of time. So I had kids doing push-ups and sit-ups and jumping jacks. Then I told them about Bakari Eid, the Muslim holiday that was on Monday. Then we went through the lesson again and I told my lesson on Jonah. I asked simple questions and got some good answers. Usually I try to have the answer to the questions be "Jesus". There is usually a kid or two that answers "Jesus" to every question and I want them to get some right.

Finally parents came for their kids. I'm thankful for the help and I am thankful this is only once a month.

That's Not Fair!

This week, I spoke at the chapel for the elementary kids at Micah's school. I thought I could talk about selfishness. Here is kind of what I said.

"Sometimes my family will order a pizza from Dominoes. There are three people in my family. A large pizza has 8 slices. So that means that two people will get three slices and one will just get two. Do you think that is fair? Do you ever get upset when everyone gets a big bowl of ice cream and you get a small one? Or how about when your brother or sister gets to stay up later then you do? It's not fair!"

So then I gave the kids situations and they got to yell, "That's not fair!"

Then I read from James 4:1 "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?" And I explained that we fight with each other when we don't get what we want. It is our selfishness that is causing these quarrels. Then I read from Phil. 2:3-4 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." I talked about how we should think of others as more important and to be thoughtful of the other person's interests.

Then I said how sometimes God is not fair with us. And I told the story of Jonah quickly and got to how God did not give the people of Ninnevah what they deserved. And how I imagined Jonah sitting under his tree saying "that's not fair!"

I then read Psalm 103:10-11 "he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth,so great is his love for those who fear him;" I explained that we do bad things and we deserve death like the people of Ninnevah did. But that God had mercy on us and he gave us a second chance (like he did for Jonah also). Our second chance is Jesus. Jesus was punished for everyone's sin. He could have yelled out on the cross "That's not fair!" but instead he did the most unselfish thing and said, "Father, forgive them."

We prayed, thanking God for the second chance and asked Him to help us to think of others first.

One of the things I had asked during the talk was "Who knows what selfishness is?" Several kids raised their hands and I called on one or two. One boy kept his hand in the air until the end of my talk and then I called on him. He gave his definition of selfishness. I thought it was funny that he kept his hand up the whole time and then gave his answer as if I had just asked the question. Kids are funny.