Invited

Invited

John3:1-21

Afraid and Alone but NIc speaks out…
Nic came to Jesus alone and under the cover of darkness. There seemed to be a light on in Nic’s heart and mind, ...'if Jesus can give sight to the blind, make the lame walk, cure people with leprosy; make the deaf hear; cast demons from people and raise dead people, then all this must be proof that Jesus is from God!' NIc's mind was alight with this possibility-'Jesus came from God'.

Nic’s generation lived with little hope. In 400 years there'd been no genuine prophet form God. Sure they'd been some fakes, but they were soon exposed like all fakes. The zealots pushed the Roman government too far and they were killed. And all this proved that neither the fakes nor the zealots were from God. God simply wasn't talking. Nic lived in the days of silence. As far as we know, God hadn't said 'G'day’ to a single person in 400years.

But there was an emerging light in Nic's mind, 'Jesus comes from God?! If this is true, we're going to get back on track. Will he be a warrior like Joshua or David?; or a wise man like Solomon?; a Super Prophet Man like Elisha...then again, he's got a background in wood work, perhaps Jesus' is going to be a BIG BOAT builder like Noah!’

Most of Nic's friends laughed and strongly disagreed with his insane ideas and radical hope... 'Nic your an idiot! People sent form God don't heal the sick on the Sabbath, which makes God angry; they don't make friends with tax collectors, prostitutes or sinners; and we don't have any real evidence that when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead that Lazarus was clinically dead.

Our cities' most able teachers, doctors and psychiatrists all agreed that Lazarus was just in a coma. Nic, all the above is against you! Yeah, yeah NIc, it's true that Jesus cast out big old demons from people and they were healed, but again our brightest and best said that Jesus is using Satan's power to do that! So it's all explained Nic. Just shut up and get on with life...'
Nic was under a lot of pressure, that's why he came at night. He couldn't trust any of his ‘friends’, that's why he came alone.

What about Us?
Have we ever stood against the criticism of our friends, family, work mates or best friends?
Maybe our stand is for Jesus being the only way, truth and life. Many people today believe Jesus is just one of history's good men. People say all religions are the same...just different paths.
Perhaps our belief in ‘sexual abstinence’ is against our friend's ideas of sex on demand! We believe the gift of sex is reserved for marriage life. But our friends are screaming 'that's a lie...its all about you and your life now. Your body so take it on, everybody else is!'.

Have you ever felt afraid and alone? Nic was alone in his hopes. At least amongst his personal peers. Yes, Jesus had many followers, but amongst NIc's mates, he seemed largely alone.

Jesus invites Nic…
Jesus is full of hope for Nic and Nic's ready for more knowledge about God's kingdom. He's a bit afraid but Jesus can see that he's taking risks to get answers. His friends, his family, his culture...are all screaming at him, 'Nic don't believe, don't get too close to that Jesus freak'. Jesus embraces Nic's mind and heart and neither Nic or Jesus waste words.

Nic states why he believes that Jesus came from God- 'you can perform miraculous signs...this proves God is with you v2. Nic is seeing miracles and he’s asking questions!!! But Jesus replies indirectly to Nic's belief in Jesus' miracles, ' the truth is, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again' v3. You can almost hear Nic, ‘Ha…why don’t you affirm my belief in your miracles Jesus. I’m raising support here!!!

God's miracles are signs that God is here. Yes, yes, Satan can also do miracles so there needs to be discernment. But with this issue aside, miracles are supposed to stir the hearts of men towards belief in the power and possibilities of God now! Jesus made if very clear to Nic that though he had a belief in miracles and in God, just believing that God exists and has power won't get him into God's kingdom.

Delightfully, miracles bring healing, relief and joy on earth now. But the miracles of God were and are supposed to build interest and point people to God's kingdom. God wants to reveal physically and spiritual healing, now and for eternity.

Jesus goes onto say that entering into the Kingdom of God happens through a spiritual birth. We are all born from flesh, but God has another birth for us- in the Spirit. And Jesus Says that ‘unless you are born of the Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of God.’

Jesus is leading NIc to John 3:16. I’ve never seen the text in this way before. I’ve always seen ‘John 3:16’ as a stand alone statement. But Jesus speaks this truth into the life of a young man who wants something more out of life.

Jesus starts with mystery and metaphor and then invites Nic to believe in who He is- the Son of God; the Savior of the World.

'For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son and who ever so believes in Him shall have not perish but have eternal life...But whoever does not believe in HIm stands condemned already because he has not believed in the Name of God's one and only Son.'
Nic took risks that night. He came with a lot of questions and he left with a lot more. Wonderfully though, Nic left an invited man.

With all Nic’s growing convictions and faltering questions, Nic is invited into the kingdom of God.

Street Basketball…hip hop and hoops

Street basketball in Vientiane

Vientiane has an English news paper called, ‘The Vientiane Times’ (TVT). It is part of the English News Paper network in Asia. The Straight’s Times in Singapore is also part of this network of Asian papers. The news in the TVT is largely local. Occasionally you find out what David Beckham is up too and other riveting stuff. The paper always talks about how good the government is and how much it is doing for everybody. It is just like Singapore’s Straights Times!

Anyway, I buy the V.T. to find out what’s happening around town and in Laos. The other day I saw an article about a Street Basketball competition. The article explained that it was the first time Lao basketballers were coming together for
‘3- on- 3 matches.’

I’m currently helping to coach the junior basketball side in Seth’s school. I’m helping one other dad from the Philippines. Both our sons are in the team and we meet on Wed arvo from 4-5.30pm. The boys don’t play competitively at the moment or against other schools. We meet up to have fun, exercise, develop skills and build character.

The two ‘Basketball dads’ decided to take their sons to watch the ‘3 on 3 game’. The games were ‘supposed’ to begin at 8.30 and go through until 5pm. Everything was going to happen in the city car park.

The organisers set up several large speakers and a stage in the carpark. The half size court was sectioned off and eventually they rolled out the goals.

There were lights, sponsor and banners. The largest banner was “LAO COFFEE”. I was so glad it wasn’t ‘Lao Beer’. The Lao Coffee crew happily served free iced coffee in ‘Starbucks’ style cups. Sigh, the free bees didn’t last long. I felt the choice of venue was great as they were able to grab the attention of locals and tourists. There was a good crowd and a carnival like atmosphere.
Unfortunately, when we got there at 9am the organisers were still assembling the mobile Spalding basketball ring. The entire ring and stand had been delivered in a box, which was still in pieces on the ground in the middle of the car park. The sun was getting hotter by the minute and there was a need to push the day’s plans back. We chatted in the shade while the ring was assembled. Seth and CJ (Seth’s friend) threw stones at a swarm of dragon flies and other boy stuff…

The comical relief came via the 8 to 10 guys in the middle who screwed, banged and hammed the goal post together. They huffed and puffed as they erect the goal post upright. They were armed with nicely chromed spanners and a small English ‘how to do it’ manual.

The growing crowd patiently waited for 2 and ½ hours. The excitement level hit a peak when they erected the posts! I tried the “OZZIE OZZIE OZZZIE” but it didn’t work; neither did the Kallang WAVE…oh well.

While we were waiting I managed to have a conversation with a couple of the players- Bee and Sai. They are both Lao boys around 19 years old.

Bee studied Chinese in Beijing for four years and is currently studying marketing in a Vientiane College. Sai studied Chinese in Vientiane and is currently studying international trade in Vietnam.

I was blown away to learn that Sai can read and write Vietnamese and Lao and can speak Chinese and English. I was so impressed. We used English and Chinese. My Lao is still only ‘noi neng’ (little bit).

I noticed dried blood and a cut on Bee’s ear. Being the big nose that I am I asked him about the cut. He and Sai laughed. Sai explained that Bee’s girlfriend got angry with him and smashed a bottle over his head the previous night. Sai said ‘she was really angry’. Bee nodded in agreement but went on to explain that he will make up with her soon…He admitted that sometimes he’s ‘a bit stupid’.

I gathered that Sai was some sort of ‘Youth Ambassador’ in Laos. He had just come back from a trip with 28 other youth to 6 Asian Nations. The trip was sponsored by an NGO. Sai had visited Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Brunei and Japan. He said it was a good experience and he had learnt a lot.

Our conversation was drowned out by thumping hip hop music…and there was a string of ‘colorful’ words I’d never think of teaching in my English class!!

HIP<>>>
The day was getting really hot. When the teams gathered together in the middle of the court there was an overwhelming level of ‘testosterone’. On a testosterone meter I’d put it at a ‘very dangerous’ level. Many of these guys were wearing the latest NIKE and Adidas tops. All of them had their long NBA shorts. Their hair styles would rival anything coming out of Buggis or Hip Hop fashion in L.A. The HIP HOP girls were there to tell us that US culture is alive and well and everybody seemed to be ‘lovin it’.

These funky, styled, educated guys were pumped to play their first 3 on 3 street basketball comp. The crowd and the hip hoppers were on their side. They screened nicely, shot long three-pointers and several even managed to slam dunk regularly. Seth and I left quite satisfied with the spectacle.

That night we drove by the spot at about 8pm and they were still running, jumping and having fun. The HIP Hoppers were no where in sight. I asked God…’what can I do encourage the enthusiasm and perhaps make the game more accessible to non-hippy hop, style-o-milo type Lao youth? I wonder….



ian

our jumbo look alike...

we spend a lot of time at this little shop eating 'fir'. That's like really nice noodles! We stumbled across it one day and keep going back.

They don't have the Koppee C kosong but you know...can't complain. If anybody sees Aini please send her our love...we really miss the jumbo community.






The money here is called 'kip' pronouced 'gib'...U 1$ will give you 10,000 gip! so yes, our life 'ambition' to be millionaires has come true...everytime we change 100 we get a million...we will need big when we go buy our Bug...We've found something and they want '1,300 US...We're getting it checked out and praying . So exciting to be getting 'our own' Bug...

we're back online...for a while at least

This little piggy went to the market and didn't make it...happy CNY.

Sorry we've been out of action for a while...we 'exceeded' our sending limit at work- which is 1gig. So wow...we really appreciate 'unlimited' in Sing...we are trying to get hooked up at home so we can keep closer through mail and skype...love you all.

Travelling in Laos...

we can travel many ways here...you can move in the latest Toyota Hilux...or you can fit '4' on a bike (can you see the little hand...there's 4 on that bike!)

Or you can jump on the big thumping BMW side car...Cecilia actually contemplated us buying a side car!!! I'm not cool enough for that...and SEth doesn't like to eat dust!

you can also move around in this little French mobile...or in the trustie tuk, tuk..that whiz in and out of lanes, buses and whatever...



but i must say we're getting pretty hooked o the bug...

Hey CARL, you want to apply for SAles manage at Toyota Laos? Good perks mate and you can see us ever day!!!

We're actually thinking of buying a bug. There's a guy you does em up.... If we can buy one for 1k then we can afford to do it up a bit. The parts are cheap too. We're still praying about it...

Chilli from our well watered garden....shiok!

CC DROVE THE BUG ALL ON HER OWN AND LIVED TO TELL IT ALL!!

Yes! I did it! I can proudly say that I can drive in Laos now. It was quite an interesting experience to drive it on my own. The bug is quite a smallish car so getting it into the small lanes & manouvering it in and out of traffic is not too tough. I just have to remind myself to keep to the right side of the road.

Believe me that is not as easy as it seems. And it is no fault of my own either. The Lao motorists (car, tuk tuk, motorbike, bicycles and pedestrians alike) always seem to cut into your lane in the opposite direction. I found myself wondering (half way down the road) if I was the one going the wrong direction.

One thing I did learn real quick, I must say, was the use of my right hand to change gears in the car. It's amazing how quickly you get the hang of it when your left hand keeps winding down the window instead of changing gear in the car. And you only need to turn on the wind screen wiper enough time to know is now on the left hand side of the steering wheel instead of the right. Phew! What better way to learn than to dive right into it all and just trust & do it.

Did I it?? Yes! I felt such a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that this is an other challenge I have been given grace to overcome. What next??? Or should I ask?? It is a very nice feeling to be able to move around a bit more independently other than taking the tuk tuk and not quite being able to communicate the actual location to the driver. Walking has been a great form of exercise for me and I intend to walk to pick up the kids everyday (a good 20 minutes walk) and also to the market to make small food purchases (10 min there & 10 min back). But for bulky & heavy things driving will definitely be the way to go.

So now that I've lived to see another day, I shall now leave you to go for staff devotion.

A bug on a Lao Road

A Bug on a Lao Road…

I can remember the first day Cc and I rode our bikes on a Kunming road. Crossing the Kunming intersection was the third scariest day of my life. The second scariest day was when I helped dig out a 4Wdrive that was stuck in a muddy creek. Half-way through the dig I realised that there were crocodiles on the other side of the bank. I obviously lived to tell the story.

Without a doubt the scariest day of my life was my wedding day. It was much better than digging out the 4Wdrive, but on the whole it was scarier! It didn’t help that Cc was 30 mins late. I later found out that she and the bridal party were stuck behind a 10 foot gate. Anyway, the fourth scariest day of my life was the day I drove on a Lao road in Bug.

First I gotta think ‘right hand’ side of the road. Then I gotta think left hand drive steering wheel; and right hand side gear shift. And all this even before I brave the woes of Lao traffic and pot-holed roads.

ARDA has graciously loaned us the VW Bug to use as transport until we get ourselves settled. She is a1960s edition; carefully and splendidly created about the same time as I was. The bug is yellow and sounds like a small tank. As I was passed the keys, my mind flashed back to the time I was a passenger in Bug many years ago.

I was going to footy (aussie rules) with my mate Nick. He was driving. We were only 17. He drove so fast around the corner that the bug titled over on two wheels and somehow he managed to keep it from tipping over. It must have looked like something out of ‘Herbbie Rides’ again. He was turning into a right corner which meant that I was on the same side as the wheels in the air and looking down at the driver!

I snapped out of it and took the keys. I didn’t drive for two days but my buttocks was regularly in the car practising my right hand gear changes. Then one day I went down the street. The main road was jammed up with cars.You can’t avoid the main road between our place and ARDA.

You need to look out for motor bikes going down the wrong side of the road. They often do this…Then there are the cars. They don’t indicate much and are forever pushing their nose out from side streets. It all seems so confusing at the moment. The idea of ‘everyone’ merging at the same time and in the same direction is something I’ve gotta learn. The rule seems to be is the biggest vehicle wins. I’m a bit of a timid sort of a guy so I’ need to look big on the road, I think.

I’ve been driving for more than a week now and the altogether ‘merge’ thing is still the tough one. I’ve only gone down one ‘one way’ street the wrong way. I take the kids to school on my way to work. Shanae calls the Bug her ‘school bus’. I’m the bus Uncle and dad!! Yeah….I didn’t let Cc drive at first. I wanted to get the hang and then help her along.

A couple of days ago she had her first drive. She’s an amazing gal! She drove quite well. The gears crunched in second a bit, but it is a tough change. I think that’s the nature of Bug driving. My sis had a bug and her gears crunched a bit too! Long live the BUG. Please keep our driving and ‘everybody’ elses driving in prayer!!!

Oh…Cc’s just gone out in the bug for the first time by herself!

How do you tell a ripe Jackfruit?

What’s better guarded than the Queen Mother’s jewels and was a ‘passed over’ question on Singapore’s Brainiest Kids?

‘How do you tell a ripe Jackfruit without opening it?’

It is a secret that’s descended with Jackfruit Growers (JFG) worldwide. If you are a JFG descendent, you would know the secret. Alas, the Dierdens in England and Australia never gazed on a JF before they lived in Singapore, let alone grow one. Seth, however, has become a descendent of a JFG. My elevated status comes with our new home. I’m the proud ‘renter’ of two Jackfruit trees and two mango trees. Even though we rent, that still makes me a grower!

When the JF ripens they smell ‘strong’. They also grow large. Sometimes they grow up to 5-10 kg. But smell and size are not the secret factors to understand when JF ripens.

The telling factor of a ripe Jackfruit is this: it falls from the tree and onto the ground! It must be a God thing. The sound is quite loud when JF falls. It goes something like this, ‘boof’ (perhaps much like a small child falling to the ground).

We have a fence round our house so we don’t have to compete with others to pick up ripe JF. Last week our first JF fell to the ground. I heard the ‘boof’ and I ran to the tree. I yelled to Cc and the kids, ‘Jack has dropped his fruit…I’m going to get the uncle’. I was quite excited.

I went next door and got uncle Lian. We played charades (he speaks no English and I speak no Lao) but couldn’t do the Jackfruit falling out of the tree thing…(not very easy lah). He looked totally confused so I motioned to him to come over to my place!!! He came over and his eyes opened wide when he saw Jack’s fruit on the ground.

I gave him the chopper. He cut through the skin and there they were- big, orange pieces of fruit!! We realised later that your hands get real sticky and gooey when you rip out the fruit. All hail to the fruit sellers and uncles down stairs in the koppi shops who do the cutting for us…JF was sweat and had a steady texture. Like we say in Sing land, ‘shiok’.

So there ya have it…How do you know when Jack’s fruit is ripe? It falls to the ground. The secret is out. Tell the world.

Sunday 21st Jan

Yesterday Andrew spent the entire day helping us move into our new home. Andrew was very kind and took us to the Chinese markets to buy kitchen appliances. We managed to get the fridge, washing machine, stove with oven, micro and fans all in one shop. We even manged to barging in Chinese as the owner was Chinese Lao.

After a long day of moving stuff, Cecilia wanted to go back to the guest house for the night and make the ‘bodily’ move Sunday. So that’s what we did. The first thing we did when we got to our new place was have a short devotion on the front steps, almost under our ‘mango’ tree. I read from Psalm 67...

‘May all the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you…Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us. God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him’.

‘Let your face, shine on us and the world will know you live, all the heavens shout your praise, beautiful is our God, the universe will sing, Alleluia to you our King…’

I had plans to go to the evening fellowship at ARDA in the evening but in the end I decided against it. By late afternoon I had realised that the kids needed both Cc and me to encourage their emotions, hopes and dreams into our new home.

You see it was the first night Sarah was going to ‘sleeping alone’. At first it just seemed all very exciting. Sarah is now a ‘big girl’ and is moving into her own space. Shanae is also taking a step towards ‘little big girl’with a move into her own bed with ‘gorh gorh’.

We’ve been talking about Shanae having her own big bed since Perth. It dawned on me that our girls are making small moves into bigger life. It’s exciting for them and for us. But when it came down the move, they were both reluctant to step into something bigger.

As the sun retired behind the Mekong, Sarah wanted to retreat from ‘big girl’ status. She said, ‘If only I could wind time back dad, I’d choose to sleep with Seth again’. The reality of sleeping with Seth’s company wasn’t as bothersome as she made out sometimes. She had grown to enjoy Seth space. Seth had grown to enjoy Sarah space.

But their room wasn't just ‘a space’. The walls of their small room had provided a safe, simple space for common life- cupboard space; sleep space; wall space; hundreds of Bible devotions and “Little Ian Stories (stories I retell about my life as a child). They shared hundreds of prayers times and worship songs. Their room had been a refuge from the difficulties of school life and a space to ‘look into your heart’. Their beds had been slept on, cried on, jumped on and rolled on. And for Seth he’d rolled off his bed many times and slept on the floor.

So when Sarah said, ‘Dad I’m scared to sleep alone. Can I sleep with Seth?’ She was afraid that someone from outside would come in through her window. Her request told me that she had also been sharing her fears with Seth. Wow! I hadn’t realised how rich their block 20 #10-310 room had been to them.

We spent time talking about our fears. Sarah was surprised to discover that dad has lived with some sort of fear all his life. I explained that fear is a healthy emotion. Fearing things is part of being human. We spent some time reading about the disciples’ fears in the boat one stormy night. Their knuckles were white and stuck to the sides of the rocking wooden boat. In the end they got so worked up that they screamed at Jesus to ‘get up and save us’. So Jesus did just that. He saved them from their fear, many times.

We had a good chat about what we should do with our fears and how Jesus does not think we’re silly to ask him for help. We prayed and ask Jesus to give her peace as she slept.

It was a precious moment. We’ve not had to address fears much in Singapore- except at exam time for Sarah.

Sat, 20th
‘Dad, all we’re doing is shopping anyway…?’

We shifted into our new house yesterday. Yeah!! Within 5 days of arriving God has given us a place to live, explore, play and sleep; a school for the kids to further their education and find great friendships...

Andrew helped us for most of the day. We used the ARDA truck to cart our stuff. We packed up those carefully carried boxes and our own luggage and drove 10 mins to our new place. We'd arranged for some girls from ARDA's skill Center to help us clean the house. They came shortly after we arrived.

Nang opened the home and we packed our stuff inside the front door. We walked through the house and talked about bits and pieces. I realised that I'd taken the wrong contract. Nang was happy to come back in the evening.

We left our friends cleaning (great to have Christian community support) while we drove down to get some more stuff- washing machine, fridge, etc...Andrew and Karen have explored many places and narrowed them down to a few.

We picked up some electrical plugs and adaptors from one store easily enough. Then we drove into China town to get the bigger things. Andrew had one store in mind that gives the 'best price' up front. They don't want to haggle. Neither do we. We picked out, washing machine, fridge, microwave, fans, and oven with plate burners on top. The price was good.

We discovered that the boss was Lao Chinese and so we haggled a bit in our language, but she didn't budge much. It was 'fun' to see how Chinese was being used in Laos. The other night Cecilia was in a shop Lao less, trying to order food…then she said something to the girl in Chinese and she spoke with a Beijing accent!

I too discovered a Chinese Lao uncle in the stationary shop. He was reading a Chinese news paper in the corner. The counter staff were taking the money over to him and dropping it in a box next to him. I figured he was the retiring boss; the son must have been out of town somewhere!

I said hello in my best Chinese and his eyes lit up. We chit chatted for a while and said good bye. I thought maybe next time he'd invite me to speak at the next over seas Chinese Clan meeting or something!

Anyway, back to the shopping...we got the stuff and the shop guys promised to deliver it at 2pm. We left thanking God. We decided to grab a bite to eat before we went back. Shanae lost the plot completely and screamed and yelled all the way through lunch. Shanae seems to be struggling with the transition. We pray that settling down into our place would help her mood and tantrums.

Seth is always good with a clarifying the issues. 'Dad, we came to Laos to tell people about the J road, but we've not told anybody about this Road yet... all we've done is shop, go to school and find a house'. I said, 'that's a good point mate. But we're finding a house to invite people over for dinner and a play time. Then we can tell them about the J Road. We're going to school to learn and make friends. We can tell them how to find the road too!! 'Oh, ok, now I understand'.

Fri 19th

Today Cecilia set off with Choy Leng on an important and partly joyfull assignment- shopping in Thailand (Udon Thani)! Now most girls Cs's age, when they hear the phrase 'shopping in Thailand', they go...'ooh, so nice' because they are thinking new hand bags; shoes and dresses. My darling wife is not the ordinary garden variety Singapore gal. She goes 'ooh so nice' when there are things to buy for the kids, the house and her darling husband! She is just awesome. But that's another story.

The assignment took all day- 7.30am till 5pm. They came back with a truck load of soap, mops, plastics and other home goodies. I asked Choy Leng how the trip went. She said 'your wife is a good shopper'. I said, but you good too right? Her reply was that of defeated Singapore woman, 'Cecilia beats me'!!!

Ha…ha….that's my Cc!
Cc slept well knowing that Udon Thani was not far away....just across the fence.

Ethical dilemma and God protects our backs...

Tuesday 16th

It was an awesome day...because it became the day we had to face our first ethical dilemma. I can't say much more here. I'll send the story out in our soon to come our 'Stickyfinger Times'.

Wed, 17th

Our first miracle happened today. I rang Nang and she said her parents agreed to our conditions of 350 plus the one year in advance.

Thurs, 18th

The kids are in the second day at school. They had fun on wednesday. Sarah didn't get any homework, she was happy.

God's protection behind us

We ate breakfast- eggs and congee again- and set off for school. The road drains are currently under repair so we walked partly on the road and partly on the side of the road. I noticed Sarah stop a short way outside a gate and observe a mother dog. Her teats were hanging down. It looked as though she recently had pups. The mum looked like a Rhodesian Ridgeback. Sarah started walking up the street again, this time out on the road.

I turned around and kept walking then I heard Sarah screaming and a dog growling. One dog came out of the house and attempted to savage Sarah from behind but it stopped short. It stopped a few cm from the back of Sarah’s legs. It was snapping and snarling. At this stage Sarah screamed over passing trucks! I ran back a few paces and grabbed her then stood between her and the dog. The own of the house came out and stood in the open gate. I yelled at him to keep his gate closed. I could now see that he had 4 dogs. He motioned something to me but I didn't understand. He may have been asking as if Sarah was ok. I didn’t know. But that calmed me down. I motioned and asked him to 'please close the gate'.

I was recently reminded that we 'must not show anger because Lao people are easily offended with anger, particularly if it is directed at them'. The thought of Sarah being bitten, the fear of rabies already in our family conversations, was all a bit much for me. I got angry. I think this is appropriate anger.

What I do know is that God protects our backs. I believe an angel was there defending the dog off Sarah. Without the protection of God we will always get bitten. I'm not flippant about our need to stay alert. We learnt some physical and spiritual from this incident.

I was reminded that God has angels guarding our backs! We need not be overwhelmed with fear, we must keep walking on the streets. Our second lesson is alertness. We shouldn't stop at gates when there are dogs. Although Sarah didn't provoke the dog, and she was well outside the gate, a house with dogs is to be avoided completely if possible. The dog seemed to be 'protecting' its gate. Thirdly, if a dog attacks again, Sarah knows now to use her school bag as a shield against a dog attack and not to run blindly down the street screaming.

Thank God our backs are SAFE.

It’s been difficult to talk to Seth dogs. He has a fear of dogs with rabies. Every dog he sees now he asks if they have rabies. Do keep my little mate in prayer.

The first day...

mon 15th Jan

I woke up around 8am. The first thing Seth said was ‘Dad, I woke up at 7.10’. We rolled out of bed and down the steps before the eggs and ‘congee’ (an Americanism for Jiok’) were turned off. No coffee just the 3 in 1! Yuks...they had real stuff just 2 years ago. Don’t complain Ian….
Cc wanted to check out the school so we walked down. The main road drains were being relayed both sides. It was a mess. It was dusty and dangerous to navigate. Apparently the Japanese gov financed the job. They hired Chinese and Cambodian workers. I was told that 'Lao workers are too lazy to do such a job'. Sounds a little unfair to say that. I see many Laotian people work quite hard. I don’t know why people say that…perhaps I’ll learn more.
We found our way down and met Jackie the school principal. She is an amazing lady. She took us through the school and we briefly met our kid’s teachers. Seth's teacher is a Filipino lady who's here with her husband. Her son is Seth's age and his name is 'CJ'. He put his arm around Seth and said, 'come on Seth, I’ll show you around your new class' and off they went. Seth said 'ok'.
Sarah's teacher’s name is Miss Katherine. She's an Aussie from Melbourne. I'd say she'd be in her early 50s. I spoke to her on my last trip. She is here to teach but seems like she’s also on a personal journey. That’s my impression. She loves to teach but is looking for a job that gives her personal satisfaction. The money the school pays her is around 1k U.S. per month. She said this meets her needs in Laos.
Katherine explained that her class will be focusing on science this semester and told Sarah ‘it should be a lot of fun’. She said the right words- ‘fun’. Fun keeps Sarah going around. Some of the girls in the class kept smiling at Sarah...many of the kids looked like they were all from 'bi-cultural' marriages. Hee…best marriages on planet earth, when they working well. That’s my opinion but then I’ve only been married once!!! And that’s the plan!
Shanae was the last to see her class...She was bursting to see her teacher. She talked about her bag, her lunch box and school uniform...her teach is an Indian lady. We didn't have to say much to encourage Shanae. She just said 'ok..ok..'.and shook her head violently.
We went up to Jackie's room and Shanae lost it....she wanted this and that. Nothing seemed to please her. But each time she wanted something Jackie would stop the conversation and see if she could help us. At no time were the kids overlooked. Jackie interacted with all of us over the entire time in a personal and yet understanding way.
Jackie shared with us about her struggles to fit into Laos when she first arrived. Things got better over time as friendships grew in the community. Her husband is a Chinese Lao. He speaks Mandarin. They own several businesses around town. One of which is a printing shop! My ears pricked up, so does Ccs dad! By the sounds of what they print, they are about 30 years behind in technology.
We chatted a bit more and left feeling that God had gone before us in many ways. I could see how Cc could get on like a house on fire with Jackie. Cc's candid humor and 'mum knowledge' is infectious.
We rocked up to ARDA and meet some newbie teachers. We ate lunch at the local Lao restaurant- it was slightly up market cause they had guys on semi acoustic guitars playing and picking in the background. My thoughts were to invite myself to join their team and learn something from them. Mmm...maybe later.
We left the place and set off to bank our money draft. One of the ladies we ate with ran down to the car and handed me my 'video cam'. OOpps...i'd left it on the chair in the restaurant! My guardian angel was 'Lao'. He passed it on to her as we walked out the door. Thanks Lord for covering our mistakes and blunders.
By the time we arrived at the "Malaysian Public BAnk' Shanae was asleep in my arms. Cecilia filled out the forms and deposited the American Drafts. Apparently, it will take up to 45 days to get the money back into our new account. The draft physically travels to Bangkok and is then sent onto NY...cleared and then sent back to Bgk and Laos. What we should have done to open an account was TT the money from Sing to Laos. We were told that after….hee.
We came back to base and Karen took us house hunting. We looked at 4 houses. Two were scheduled, two were not. Most of the homes were subdivided blocks. The Lao people live at the back or front and rent the other part. Land is getting scarce in the city and pushing up prices and making rentals more competitive.
We knew from the outset that securing a house was to be our 'greatest' challenge. Some of our boxes were/are piled up in a corner of ARDA and across two rooms in our guest house. We’re getting very tired of living out of suitcases. I’m teaching next week. Karen our house hunter buddy is busy next week...so off we went full of hope and 'unrealistic' expectations that we'd find something. And we did!!!
All the places we saw were all fine and we could live in any of them. But the one we stumbled across stood out because it had space for the kids inside the front yard and space under shelter. It also had 4 large bedrooms. These were the major differences between the other homes.
The young lady who walked us through the home was Nang. It was her father’s home. She won an Austudy scholarship and spent two years in Melbourne studying communications. Nang returned to Laos and now works for the Ministry of Health. Her current project is assisting with the Avian Flu Research.
Her parents were asking 500 US dollars per month. This was beyond our budget. We looked through the home and felt it was over priced. I asked if they could come down. I explained we had a budget of 350 US. She asked me if we can move up to 400. I said I need to speak to my wife. We made arrangements to meet the next day.
Cecilia was very happy with the place. She had a good feel and could see the potential in the place. She could see Lao kids coming over playing out the back...a garden flourishing and everyone enjoying the space and the home.
We retired for the night, grateful and tired.

what a send off!

Thanks so much to all who came to send us off!! Those who sent cards, letters and calls...We really felt loved. Thanks friends. The kids were really glad you came too. They said, 'why did so many people come to the airport?' You made a difference. I must admit inside I felt like not going...did you see me drop my passports and stuff as we walked passed the police? That was my nerves...I was going trying to get my camera out too...in the end I thought we just take a picture in our minds. I got you all doing the 'Kallang' wave on my video. If anybody has pics of the send off we'd love to have a copy!

Quick update!

No pictures yet. Will do so soon once we get a little more organised. At the moment we are still staying at the guest house, and sad to say that their breakfast menu has not improved much since 2 years ago. Sigh!! Well, at least they are consistent!!

We have found our "home". In fact, we went house hunting on Monday and this was the 4th house we saw. I fell for it at first sight. It has 4 big rooms, a huge lounge area, dinning area and a 'quirky" kitchen. Plenty of outdoor area for play and even a mango tree right outside the front of the house. Yummy!!! Each room has an ensuite with a huge bathtub. Sarah most probably think she has died and gone to heaven. She has always wanted her own bathroom and I think God has given it to her to cushion off her settling down period. But then I did have to burst the bubble a bit though. I told Sarah & Seth that since they now have their own bathroom, they also have the responsibility of cleaning it themselves if they want to enjoy this very special privilege. There's always a catch!!

There are 3 bedrooms in the house itself, and the 4th room is actually on the side of the house. Just perfect for guest who might want some privacy. Seth had even prayed for a fence and a gate for the house and guess what?? It's well fenced up and has not 1 but 2 gates. We even have a security guard living in the front house. He has been paid by the owner to look after the other house just at the front of our property (same owner) which is also up for rent. This place is only about a 15 minutes walk from the kid's school and ARDA (where we are teaching). HE always provides just what we need at the right time and once again HE has shown His faithfulness. The rental is also exactly what we had prayed about and although the owner had asked for US$500, we were able to negoiate it down to US$350. Praise God. Indeed it is His favour once again. The owners seems like very nice and accomodating people and we look forward to building a relationship with them in the near future.

Of cos' little Shanae has charmed her way into the heart of the owner's wife already. Kids are all in school (as of wednesday). VERDICT???? They all love it very much. Sarah is preparing for a school camp in a few weeks time and is really excited about it. Her 1st camp. And to think that when she left Aust and S'pore, she felt rather sad that she will be missing out on all the camps kids her age normally get to attend. God is good??? YES! All the time!!!! We can see the negativeness in her towards this place slowly melting away. She already has a handful of friends in her class she gets along well with. Seth is still his "cool" take it easy self. Think he has found 1 or 2 boys he is happy with and still checking out the type of ball games the boys play over here. Shanae is adjusting really well in school. Went to pick her up yesterday and she was quite reluctant to leave. Can't believe that my baby is at school now. But it is so lovely to see her interacting with other children her age, and just enjoying herself so much. We have already seen less tantrums in just the last 2 days since she started school. Keep praying people with us and for us. Our concern is the health of the family. It is extremely dusty here and Sarah's eyes are reacting quite a bit to it. Please pray for her.

Well got to go for lunch now. Will update again soon.

Grass pitches who needs em... We got LOVE

(unfriendly powerpiffed gals...) (with me mate...we both foreign talent )



friendly powerpiffed girls...

(Seth unknowingly holding testimonial boy up straight)

On Sat the 6th of Jan Chris Yong and Daniel (one of our 'soccer dads') organised a 'testimonial’ soccer match for yours truly. You know, like for one of those 'famous retiring soccer' guys. I think they did it for Madonna (bet you didn’t know she played) they will do it for Mr Hairstyle himself Beckham (did you know Man U signed him @ 8 years old?

Anyway…that’s the trivia part.
I think the word got out from Sri lanka that I had a huge kick out from the goal line. It is true (ha, ha). But it was just a remnant from my 'Aussie Rule footy kick' days. Yes, yes, when Singapore Police wore shorts...and there were no 711s on Sentosa!

My soccer career began when I came to Singapore in 2001. Geylang United wouldn’t pay me enough money so I never signed on. Since then I’ve had the ‘privilege’ in Singapore to played on a couple of ‘grass’ pitches and on the void deck with Seth and a few Malay boys. So the mystery of my ‘talent’ will remain in Sri lanka and the corridors of gossip.

As will the day I taught 12 Singaporeans how to play cricket in 5 mins before we walked out into the middle of a cricket pitch only to get whacked around by 9 Sri lankan lady teachers! Anyway…

Mr Christ Yong was as busy as a 'Man U' water boy on a hot day as he tried to secure a grass pitch. Unfortunately the grass pitch fell threw. We settled for a street soccer pitch at Chris' condo. It was in good shape and half the size- that made me a little happier cause the full pitch running would be demanding on my 'bigger and better' shape, err...but then I was intending only to be goalie!!!

archie books, scrabble and soccer

See Ainsley's big right foot...

Uncle Daniel helped us get the game going and brought down some drinks.Sue-Anne and Vicky's powerpiffed cheer team came armed with ARchie Comics, rattlers, good humor and scrabble. My Sarah (Pastor Vincent's Sarah was also there) got into the ARchie and was particular loud and happy when Vicky and Shin-Yee came.
Seth was a bit sullen that day. He'd just come back from Cricket country. Vikram was the only other who knew how to play the game. ...but in the end we couldn't find a tennis ball to hit around...sigh.
Dan the man (one of the 12), was later found happily playing scrabble with the soccer groupies on the sidelines. Shao Wei was also on the sidelines snapping madly with his ‘tele' lens while trying to avoid misdirected balls (with his tele lens he can capture unwanted nose hair and teeth scrap). Aunty Juliet, Chris' mum, was her ever helpful self serving drinks.
The games were 10 mins long with the winner staying on. We had lots of fun. There was some real talent; some pretended talent (me) and some signs of 'historical' talent long ago (Adrian has great legs).
In true Christian game spirit, nobody got sent off with a red card. Sheng Wei had the marks of a big sliding tackle on his legs but it was 'all part of God's plan'. I missed a spectacular header against Shannon the goal keeper...you 'SHOULD OF SEEN IT’ it would have been the talk of the match had I pulled it off...shucks!!

Penalties

One game came down to a kick off between myself and Pastor Josh. I later heard that Jimmy saw Pastor Joshua eyeing the left corner...it was a 'dummy' look and PJ poked it into the opposite corner. He did it twice.

I managed to get one through Maverick the Man but the second one I skied it over the goal. Being a 'good' sport pastor josh let my team play back to back games...errr. Like we weren't fit enough for that so we got whacked 5 luv from some impressive English play.

The powerpiff girls came on later in the afternoon and Noella should have got sister of the match. At one point Sue Anne was the goalie and wanted the 'shady' side. I muscled in with my 'testimonial' power and she played on the sunny side. I used the excuse that SEth would be the goalie the other end- in fact we shared the posts!

'At the end of the day' ( i just hate this phrase, can't believe i'm using it- don't ever use this!!!), who needs grass pitches!. And as for the school just down from our Church, they can go for funny runs around their 'hallowed be thy Name" fields for all I care. From hence forth they shall never be allowed to waste so much of Chris' time. We had loads of fun simply because we came together to play the 'beautiful game'.

And the game didn’t end there….

Later that night, waiting in Singapore Poly were tables of delicious food carefully laid out to be ‘devoured’. Uncle Dan and others generously treated all the soccer players to a luscious meal. Five youthful and hungry tables (50 people) munched their way through King size plates of pork chops, bbq chicken, prawns and a little bit of salad.

With a little help from my magic wand, I was hoping to turn the muchers into prayers and troopers for the next Laos expedition. The spell didn’t work but I did get a chance to share with them some things about Laos and our coming trip.

To my surprise they gave me a trophy!!! Not because now they have a friend in Laos, but because I have the biggest kick out in the youth ministry (with perhaps the exception of Maverick). Back in the church I showed it to Pastor Rennis. He laughed said he could see it as ‘a trophy for kicking youth back into fellowship with God…well done’. Wow…that’s neat!

By the end of the soccer day and night Seth and Sarah were stir crazy…affected by the day’s sun, the Archie books, red cordial and our nomadic lifestyle...I couldn’t control them. We pushed an undisclosed number of youth and kids into the Church van and drove slowly back to Dover Road club rooms. I carefully hung my boots up and went to bed a satisfied, contented youth pastor.

Thank you for the great day Chris, Daniel and all who took part in small or bigger ways. It is locked into our memory banks and photo albums.