Today I was pleasantly surprised when La and I arrived at church this morning to see a large crowd of people sitting outside waiting for Sunday School to start. The house church members from Khorat, which I visited last September, all came to join us at Concordia Lutheran in Phong Phet. Apparently everyone else knew about it, but anyway it was great. Another thing I didn't know is that the reason they came was for the baptism of 4 people in their community! 
Wow! Currently they don't have a pastor, so our Pastor Taweep visits them periodically to bring communion and in this case they came so he could administer baptism! What a blessing it was, not only to be in worship again with them, but also to witness the baptism's of these 4 special people and to welcome them into the Christian family. Everyone who came you could tell were wearing their best of the best clothing. For some, they have 1 outfit only, that they wear to all special occasions. This helped me to recognize some of the people I met when I went to Khorat with our team. I sat in the back so Goi could translate for Seth and I (the only 2 English people). As I looked around at all the people there, I couldn't help thanking God that he has instilled such a strong faith in these people. It radiated off their very being. They are hard laborers, some of the older people you could tell that time had taken a toll on their bodies from years of working in the rice fields, til they got to the point where they were permanently hunched over. Yet they still came rejoicing. 
(Just so you know, Thai's don't smile for pictures usually, so even though they look unhappy, they really aren't :)
Wow! Currently they don't have a pastor, so our Pastor Taweep visits them periodically to bring communion and in this case they came so he could administer baptism! What a blessing it was, not only to be in worship again with them, but also to witness the baptism's of these 4 special people and to welcome them into the Christian family. Everyone who came you could tell were wearing their best of the best clothing. For some, they have 1 outfit only, that they wear to all special occasions. This helped me to recognize some of the people I met when I went to Khorat with our team. I sat in the back so Goi could translate for Seth and I (the only 2 English people). As I looked around at all the people there, I couldn't help thanking God that he has instilled such a strong faith in these people. It radiated off their very being. They are hard laborers, some of the older people you could tell that time had taken a toll on their bodies from years of working in the rice fields, til they got to the point where they were permanently hunched over. Yet they still came rejoicing. (Just so you know, Thai's don't smile for pictures usually, so even though they look unhappy, they really aren't :) When the 2 adults that were baptized went to sit down, there were such big smiles on their faces. It was almost like, even the Thai's unique ability of maintaining composure couldn't withhold their joy. 
Then the 2 children were baptized, and I couldn't help but think of the power of God, that the faith God gives us doesn't depend on our understanding it. The power rests solely in Him.
Then the 2 children were baptized, and I couldn't help but think of the power of God, that the faith God gives us doesn't depend on our understanding it. The power rests solely in Him.Every once in awhile, I get discouraged in life thinking, how long do I have to wait to be rejoicing in heaven, because often life can feel like it's dragging me down. The epistle for today was from 2 Corinthians 5: 1-10 and it talks about how we long to be with the Lord because the burdens of this world often seem hard to bear. It made me understand that I am normal, that we are all normal who feel this way, but that we find our hope in the Lord. And it's days like today that encourage me; then I understand what God has called us as Christians to do in this world. We are to be witnesses to the hope that is within us, given to us in our baptism.
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