This Day in Thailand

Sunday, September 25, 2011

On the border

This is the day that the Lord has made.  I will rejoice and be glad in it.

So far we have spent four 12 hour days working on the building.  Work is going slower than expected but still at a fast pace.  We’ve taken on an incredible task, but I am convinced that the Lord wants this work to be done, so it will be done.  We’ll have to extend the working part of the trip a bit longer, but that was a great decision to make because of what we were able to do today - honor the Sabbath.

The Sabbath was given as a day of rest for us.  (If you want some good Scripture to study, go to Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus 20:8-11, Mark 2:23-28).  It’s interesting that when the Lord gives the Ten Commandments, He spends the most time discussing the Sabbath.  Most other commandments are one-liners but the Sabbath gets an entire dialogue complete with explanations and methods for application.  It’s almost like God understands how difficult it can be to keep the Sabbath holy.  That was the dilemma our team was at yesterday as we surveyed the work that still needs to be done.  Thoughts of working a half day on Sunday began to circulate.  Thankfully it was resolved not to work on Sunday and instead stay an extra two days.  God definitely had His hand in that because He had some great things to show us today on our Sabbath day.

Local transportation

Today after starting with a service of prayer, reading, and worship, the team headed out for the Thailand-Burma border.  We hired a boat and headed up the river to a refugee camp inside Burma.  I’m not sure how things work politically, but this particular camp which is home to 7,000 refugees remains marginally safe from attack from the Burmese army because it is a public enough and large enough place to cause a huge uproar in the world opinion if the Burma army attacks and destroys it.  That could change at the drop of a hat though, but these people remain in the camp because they aren’t allowed to register for refugee status in Thailand (weird gap in the bureaucratic system).  Once inside the camp, we walked around and met the people.  We couldn’t talk much but had a good time playing with a volleyball and random stuff.  It was really just a great opportunity to step foot into the realm of the conflict and see some faces of the people living under the threat.  I’ve been praying that God would give me a heart for His people worldwide, especially those who are oppressed and suffer.  God is good and these people have a light and life that God gives freely all over the world.

Karen school with Scripture on the board

As we were heading back ‘home’ God placed it on my heart that there are great opportunities to share the gospel even with some people on the team.  There are two people who I believe have yet to experience the light and life that only Jesus gives.  God spoke a lot of things to me today, but as I was reflecting on some Scripture out of 2 Corinthians 3-4 here are some phrases that stuck out to me.

“Such is the confidence that we have in Christ toward God.  Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant.”

“Since we have such a hope, we are very bold... But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.”

“Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.  But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways.  We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.”

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not us.”

This is the day that the Lord has made.  I will rejoice and be glad in it.

Getting to Thailand

So my team made it all the way to Chiang Mai, Thailand, and tomorrow we are headed to the site!  There's a ton of work to do, but I'm so excited to be a part of something that's much bigger than myself or my team!

I was thinking this morning - Our lives are eternal in scope but not duration.  We are a brief moment in time on this earth but that can reach into eternity.  We're so blessed to be surrounded by the love of God and love of others - I hope everyone knows that!  Will you allow God to lead you to the places you never thought you would go?

So here it is, the trip so far.......

Flying into Korea - the airport is on an island (I think) 

...at the airport in Seoul - he's a king somewhere!

The Riverside Inn - our home for two days in Chiang Mai

Morning devotion with people from FBR and JSoM

Going over the plans with the team

Our transportation was legit

Materials shopping at the local HomeDepot!

Doing to mock screens and tests and such

This EMI team is partnering with Free Burma Rangers (FBR) and Jungle School of Medicine (JSoM) to design and build a refugee home for the Karen people.  Further designs could include one for a clinic where they educate and prepare teams to render aid to the people being attacked by the Burman armies.

Here's a video about FBR (Caution because it is GRAPHIC at times)

Gospel

Dear YOU,

In the midst of a crazy busy week where I’m tired and unprepared for the work ahead of me and off my guard, susceptible to ordinary temptation - as I am poured out this week to be filled spiritually before I head to Thailand with a team that humbles me - as I survey the massive list of to-dos and get-dones, I need to spell out the Gospel for myself.

I need to be brought into the throne room.

Who among us is without sin.  No one except Christ.

Oh Lord how far-reaching, how radical, how relentless is your loving grace!  I am counted as righteous for your sake, your glory.  I am shamefully sinful and woefully wicked but you desired me more than I desired you.  You desire me SO THAT I would desire you.  How marvelous is that kind of love!

A love so great that while I was still dead in my sin, you gave me life at the cost of your Son’s.  He was without sin but punished more severely than we will ever know - he spared us from the cup of wrath.

Jesus came to earth to know me, so I could know him, so I could know you!  Jesus consumed death and conquered hell so I would not be bound by either, so I could eternally know you.  A generous, full measure of life has been gifted to me by Christ, for your eternal praise.

But I still fail.  I am often overwhelmed, afflicted, foolish, selfish, and ignorant, and I sin.  This temple you have created of me, I tend to ruin.  It’s never perfect, but it is being perfected.  Your love endures forever.  Your love endures forever.  Your love endures forever.  Forever God is faithful.

After the exile, when the Temple is being rebuilt, people begin to shout for joy.  They are so excited for the work being done, looking forward to a holy future.  At the same time people are shouting for joy, others are weeping loudly - so loudly in fact that Scripture says the sounds of rejoicing and the sounds of weeping were indistinguishable (Ezra 3:10-13).  Amidst the joy over what is to come there was also serious lamenting of what had been lost.  Maybe that’s how God feels about us - with the same mouth that issues Him praise we also defame Him.  His joy over us remains in the righteousness He has given us, but His grief and pain over us comes from our struggle to remain in His love, abiding by obedience to what is True and Life-giving.  

We’ve already been given the Good News, the Gospel.  I find an incredible amount of comfort in the fact that God knows our struggles - He expects it - He paid the price for it.  That struggle is not eternal though - I find rest in the age to come.  “Ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun.  I’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when I first begun.”

And I’m still singing.

The God-given Task

What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.

I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.

Ecclesiastes 3:9-15

God created each of us for something, but what is that something?  If eternity is written on our hearts, each of our lives must reach farther than just this terrestrial place.  It’s more than physical and tactile, it’s spiritual and ethereal.

When I begin to view my life from an eternal scope (as best as I can), I begin to understand that less and less of what this earth values actually matters.  Justice matters.  Righteousness matters.  Relationship matters.  Politics, possessions, preferences, particulars - those things matter less than we give them credit for.

Not convinced?  Then look at Job’s life.  Everything but his soul was stripped away from him.  Once a prosperous and faithful man, he became a poor and faithful man.  In the midst of his struggle and frustration, God did not answer as to why everything had been taken away.  God answered with this:

“I am the Lord, your God.  Am I enough for you if you have nothing else?  Am I enough?”

That’s a heavy question to answer.  When God becomes enough to you, nothing else matters.

Paul said in his letter to the Philippians “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him.”

Eternity was written on Paul’s heart, so much so that he only desired Christ.  In success and suffering, Paul rejoiced in God.  God gave Paul a heart for the Church and for the unreached.  His ministry stretched him physically and spiritually and had him face death on multiple occasions.  Paul forgot what personal ambition and security felt like for the surpassing pleasure of knowing God faithfully.

My God-given task is the same as yours.  It’s to know and trust God, enjoying the blessings that he graciously gives us and enduring the sufferings he lovingly pulls us through.  It’s all to His eternal glory.

Yes, God is intimately invested and interested in you, but you’re not the only one.  There’s a world full of people who have not yet come to know the one true God.  So God is also radically moving towards them by extending love their way, even through you.  You are God’s ministry to the unloved and unreached.

Let’s sit with the last paragraph of the passage from Ecclesiastes for a bit...

I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.

Whatever God does endures forever.

God has done it, so people would fear before him.

God seeks what has been driven away.

So be it Lord, Amen.

WEEK1 eMi

First hike of the week...

And then we went rock climbing... gonna have to do more of that!

Volleyball for fun points!

Last hike of the week... crossroads??

Okay, God is good.  Really good.  All-the-time kind of good.

It's hard for me to figure out how to say THIS IS AWESOME as I sit and think about the amazing people that Engineering Ministries International is sending out into the world.

My first week in Colorado was joyfully spent with all the other interns as we hung out during orientation, learning about each other, ourselves, and eMi.

The best part of the week was seeing the level of Christian devotion from the bottom to the top of this great organization.  We had a lot of fun too.  Lots of time enjoying these beautiful outdoors!  Hiking, Ultimate Frisbee, Volleyball, Rock Climbing, S'mores, Hot Tubs...

Before I ramble for too long, I want to spend some time in scripture.

Luke 10

In this passage, Jesus sends out a bunch of followers (72 to be exact) ahead of him to cities that he planned to go.  He didn't send them alone, he sent them in pairs, telling them they'd be "sheep amongst wolves."  They went out penniless, trusting the Lord to provide.  They went out with the gospel.  While on their journey, they met opposition and oppression, but they triumphed in Jesus' name.

Then they came back to Jesus rejoicing in the work that had been accomplished.  "Even the demons submitted to your name" they exclaimed to Jesus.  Jesus' response to them was encouraging, but it redirected their joy.

"Behold, I have given you authority... Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."  (Luke 10:19-20)

hmmm...

Each of us are given authority to carry Jesus' name.  I am given authority.  Each eMi intern is given authority.  You are given authority.  Just don't be so focused on the authority that you lose sight of heaven. Don't' lose sight of your destiny.

I rejoice in the Lord.  

I rejoice that He has led me in a wonderful and strange way to be in Colorado this Fall with eMi.

I rejoice that I can't piece together the puzzle that has led me here, because it gives me confidence that the Lord will continue to lead me.  I have no worry for my future.

I rejoice in heaven.

I rejoice in the Lord.

Psalm 37:5

Commit yourself to the Lord.

Trust in Him, and He will act.

What an incredible team

I'm in Colorado!

Drove by this abandoned barn on the longgggg drive through Kansas.  This was the most interesting thing I saw...

My host family's house sits on top of a hill and overlooks the mountains... yeah, I know!

Here's my bedroom - it's more space than I've had in four years haha... also, that window over the desks looks out toward the mountains!

I made it to Colorado!

I've been anxious about this transition but God has comforted me and reminded me that He's in control and always providing in some incredible ways!

As I'm writing this, I'm getting ready for a week long orientation with eMi.  I'm excited to meet all the other interns.  It's been great getting to know my roommate Mike, a Mechanical Engineering intern on the project in Sierra Leone.

What am I excited about most?  The opportunity to see and meet people who are combining ministry with engineering.  I have a definite heart for ministry, so we'll see where this goes!

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear from you - even though I'll be meeting a lot of people, I am definitely not leaving you behind.  Keep me encouraged and keep praying for me, as I am for you.

Here's my mailing address:

Seth Carlton
4577 Whispering Ct.
Colorado Springs, CO  80917

The Church

        I have been blessed by the Church.

After the fire I was immediately surrounded by family and friends and supported in a way I’ve never experienced before.  There is so much I want to say and so many things to be thankful for that I’m finding it hard where to begin...

There’s this crazy thing that God does - He sets people apart.  Set apart.  From Adam and Eve to Noah to Abraham and onward, God is pursuing a people who are devoted to Him.  In the Old Testament we had prophets and kings and messengers to tell us about God.  Jesus came and told us about God directly and then he mobilized his disciples and told them that there was work left to do.  He sent them out and they reached as far as they could, sharing with as many people as would hear.  The message spread like a wild fire.

Before long these followers of Jesus earned a nickname - “The Way.”  They were following the way, the truth, and the life, and they were experiencing the power of God.  It was the power to change them and to change those around them.  Two thousand years later, nothing has changed.

God’s grace and love are seen powerfully in the church.  Whether it be leading missionaries across the world or changing the life of a repentant heart right here at home, God’s love is redeeming His church and empowering them to stand together as a people “set apart.”  The Church is a city on a hill, a great light in the midst of darkness.

There are many things wrong in this world, but we have the power to make things better and to shed some light and truth to even the darkest places.  If our relationships with God were only meant to be personal business we would lose the Christian community.  But since we have been commanded to love others and share God’s love with them, we can form that Christian community everywhere - there are no boundaries - it’s for everyone everywhere!

The support I received this week was an extension of Christ’s love.  It’s as simple as that.  When I was in need, you supported me.  I am unspeakably grateful.

I think there must be some bit of blessing in every bit of suffering.  God won’t waste a struggle if you respond to what He is trying to do with you.  Treat everything as an opportunity to be faithful.

Because of the FIRE, I learned that nothing is as valuable as a soul.  It’s the only thing we keep with us and our treasure in heaven far outweighs our trinkets here on earth.  God provides for us here but He is always drawing our gaze heaven-ward, back toward Him.

Because of the CHURCH, I have been reminded of how good God is.  It’s the truest form of love when you look to others before yourself.  It was hard for me to accept some of the help I was given this week.  I don’t like admitting that I’m in need.  I wanted to give something back (but only because I didn’t want to feel like what I was receiving was unmerited).  I will always give back to the Church, to the people, whenever I can, but this was a time for me to receive, and that was difficult at times.

Why is it difficult to receive such generous help when I’m in need?  I think the answer may be the same reason I can struggle to accept God’s grace - It’s unmerited and it was given to me without me choosing it.  In the end, I needed it and it was given in faith.  Just as God is always faithful, we extend His love by practicing our faith.  It takes faith to give but it also takes faith to receive.  That’s what I learned.

Thank you for the love and support you’ve shown me.  That fire was nothing compared to your love, to God’s love.  The love you showed me will never be forgotten.  Our treasure is always in heaven.

I pray you’ll be encouraged.  Treat everything as a chance to be faithful.

Don’t just go to church.  Be the church.