Home Stretch

This is Kevin posting:

We arrived back in Bangkok this afternoon, and will be getting up early tomorrow morning to head to the airport to begin our journey home.  It will be the longest Monday ever.

We had a wonderful last few days at a Bible School outside of Pala-U.  It is located out in the country, surrounded by pineapple fields, banana and rubber trees, and mountains.

Lee, Mike, and I slept in a bamboo hut on stilts with no walls.  It had the Swiss Family Robinson feel to it.  Mike will download pictures when we get back to the States.  We all agreed that our kids would be envious.  We kind of felt like kids again in a way, and all agree that this was an experience to remember for a long time.

We had some great teaching opportunities.  I taught the first morning on spiritual disciplines (growing the spiritual root system), Dale followed up on expressing our love for God in the evening service, Lee taught the next morning on relationships from the book of Philippians, and Mike taught that evening on showing our faith through action from the book of James.

Last night we learned that the students are being taught and discipled so they can go back into Burma (hostile territory) to spread the gospel.  They have such amazing faith!!

This morning we celebrated another birthday by having a worship and prayer service followed by cookies and soft drinks.  I love how they celebrate birthdays.

Well, we’re about to go get some supper and come back and get ready for bed.

We look forward to seeing you all!  God Bless!

Thailand Picture Update

Thailand Picture Album

This will be our last picture update until Sunday, Oct 31 since we are traveling to Peleoo where there is no internet.

I have added some picture of a baptism, kevin teaching, the safe house, & ETC.  Hope you enjoy them and look forward to seeing everyone next week when we arrive back in the states.

Peace

Michael Alex Campbell

Pu Tseh

Greetings everyone. This is Lee posting. Just wanted to give everyone an update on today’s activities. This is Monday evening (early morning for you back home). We decided a couple of days ago that we would all leave NanDoe’s together Wednesday morning and leave for PaLaU. There is a Bible school there and Dale knows several of the people there. We will have to take the bus back to Bangkok and then travel a few hours by van to PaLaU. We will spend Thursday, Friday and Saturday and then back to Bangkok on Sunday and home on Monday.

So to tomorrow will be our last full day here in Huay Malai and tomorrow night our last night. We decided that we needed to travel to Sanghklaburi (Sangkla) today to go to the bank and take care of some currency issues (mainly making change). When we returned we had a good lunch along with some fresh fruit we bought at thearket in Sangkla. Afterwards one othe ladies who works in the home taking care of the elderly asked if we would go and pray for her husband who had been sick with a fever for 7 months. He mainly gets sick at night with fever and exhaustion. He has been tested for maleria and HIV both tests were negative. So shortly after lunch we went and prayed for him. He lives just a short walk down the street. Anyway when we got there we found out that he had not yet confessed Christ but had been to Bible study with his wife several times at NanDoe’s. So we talked to him about Christ and preached the cross with Ghanda (NanDoe’s daughter) translating. After a time he confessed faith in Christ and so we took him to NanDoe’s house and baptized him in one of the household cisterns. We prayed for his healing and afterward talked to Ghanda about them. Mike had the forsight to ask them a out their financial situation since he has been out of work fo so long. Sure enough we found out that they are in debt and are stressed about getting it paid off. In fact we learned that they were about to be put in jail for failure to pay. Also they had apparently just this morning asked Ghanda if they could borrow some money for rice. Well, after some prayer we decided to help pay off half of their debt and to help them with about $100.00 worth of food. They were very grateful as are we that God is able to help.

So we prayed for their healing and for their marriage and for their future. The man’s name is Pu Tseh. We would ask that you keep PuTseh and his wife in your prayers. Also pray for Song their 14 year old son. Song believes but has not yet been baptize into Cbrist so we are praying that he will continue to seek out the Lord’s will in this matter.

Well after all that – it was about 4 pm. So shower time, rest, and eat until Kevin leads a Bible study at 7 pm. Talk to you all later. Kepp praying also for more days like today. Hope to have more to post tomorow. Love you all and hope to see you soon.

In Him
Lee

It Was a Wild Ride, Baby

This is Kevin posting:

The Kansas State Fair has nothing on us today.  We had quite the adventure going to church this morning.  It was decided for all of us to go to both villages.  So, we left the house at 10:00 and went to a village that sounds like “Waco.”  There were 18 of us in a Toyota mini truck.  Lee and I rode standing on the back bumper of the truck and held on to a bar that was about chest high.  It was quite a thrill.  Don’t worry, the driver was very careful to dodge most of the potholes.  Dale rode with Nandoe on the motor scooter.

Dale did a great job preaching.  It was a good service, and the people were encouraged that we were there.  They said it was good that though we do not speak the same language and live in the same place that we are still united in Christ.  Amen!!  We were able to pray for a lady who is not yet a Christian and her son, who has a problem with nose bleeds.

At the end of the service, Nandoe and I cut out quickly to head to TeePoCha because we were running late.  Lee and I were supposed to preach, and I was to go first.  I got on the back of Nandoe’s motor scooter and held on for dear life.

We ended up missing the service because they didn’t get the word around that we would start at 12:00 instead of 11:00, so they went on without us.  However, we were invited to one of the houses to hold a second service for the “die-hards.”  Several of the people have such a hunger to hear and learn God’s Word.  Lee and I preached, and then we prayed for the owner of the house, Peeklee.  She is a widow who suffers from heart problems.  She has also lost contact with her sister because of their flight from Burma.  She is the one they built a house for when Dale and Caroline came the last time.  She is such a sweet woman.  Caroline has befriended her, and does a great job encouraging her.  Actually, Caroline does a great job encouraging so many of the elderly and the people at the safehouse.  I can tell why she is a nurse!

Mike got some good video today of the services, so I’m sure we’ll share it when we return.

We got home around 2:00, and spent the rest of the day relaxing (other than hand-washing laundry).  I’m not sure that Mike was too impressed with lunch today – I think it lit up his world.  It was probably the spiciest meal we’ve had so far.  Dale, Vicky and I really enjoyed it.  Lee ate it, but didn’t go back for seconds.  I think I’m getting a reputation for eating anything and lots of it. For some reason, Thai food just doesn’t fill me up like Cindy’s cooking…  I am enjoying it, though!

Other than my family, the thing I miss the most is warm showers…

Okay, enough rambling.  We are looking forward to Skyping with our church body in about an hour and a half.

Blessings to all from the jungle!

Day of Preparation

This is Kevin posting:

I don’t think anyone posted about the birthday party we had the opportunity to attend the other day.  They celebrate birthdays once a month.  This month, they were celebrating the birthdays of three of their daughters.  Instead of a party like we have, they actually have a worship service, to give thanks to God for the lives He has given them and for giving them another year of life. Dale had the honor of being asked to give the message and we were each given an opportunity to say some words of encouragement.  Then, we all ate a great dinner.  It was really neat.

Now, on to today…

This morning, we had our team devotional time, and then sat down to a breakfast fit for a king.  We had porridge and then some kind of heavenly dessert-like food.  It was made from tapioca and had roasted coconut over the top.  I have to admit that I gorged myself.  They don’t make many sweet foods here, but this one was amazing.  The porridge was made of rice and had more of a savory flavor.  It was also very good.

After breakfast, we had a good prayer walk through the village of TeePoCha.  We prayed with a couple of families and then once again prayed over the well, that God would bring all the details together to make it happen.

After lunch, we spent much of the afternoon preparing lessons and sermons for tonight and tomorrow.  It was a scorcher of a day, so we did our best to find cool spots with fans blowing on us as we tried to study and prepare.

After dinner, Lee and I asked a couple of the boys to teach us a game that kids around here play with rocks.  We aren’t so good at it, but plan to practice and show our kids at home.  After that, Lee, Dale, and I went up and listened to the kids sing.  It was absolutely beautiful.  Then, Mike did a great job with tonights lesson out of 1 Corinthians 5.

Dale will be preaching at another village tomorrow, and Lee and I will be preaching at TeePoCha.  Please pray that it will go well for everyone.  I’m still trying to get used to teaching / preaching with an interpreter.  I’m looking forward to this opportunity, though!

Well, I am going to try to Skype with my kids in a few minutes and then go to bed.  I hear the sounds of thunder and light rain…  I think I’m going to sleep well tonight.

Good night, and God bless!

Picture Update

Thailand Picture Album

I have added some more pictures to the teams album.  The pictures added are from: todays village prayer walk, the elderly, the elderly dinner, the children from the orphanage, and of our accommodations here at the house.  Hope all is going well in Hutchinson (I hear it’s 30 degrees today there…it’s 85 degrees with over 100% humidity here.) and look forward to a video call tomorrow with our team during the 10:30am worship hour.

Love & Peace

Michael Alex Campbell

Buddhist Monastery

(This post from Lee)

Were trying something new today. Our plans for the well are put on hold for a few days because Pawlulu had to do some last minute traveling and NanDoe is not feeling well. So instead of sitting around and doing nothing, we are going to travel into Sanghklaburi and go to a very large and very famous (in Thailand) monastery.

We plan to spend the day there and we would love it if you could pray for us. Our prayer is that God will lead us to someone who speaks English and has a heart searching for truth willing to listen to the gospel.

It is a Mon community so very few speak English, but many tourists go through to see the buildings and the grounds. I’m sure Mike will have a lot of great pictures to share when the day is done. But again, please pray for us.

More to come. — FAST FORWARD SEVERAL HOURS. . .

Okay – we’re back. We spent a fruitful day of prayer and moments in the word while we were at the monestary. The place is absolutely empty spiritually, but so full of trinkets and gadgets and buildings and spires and temples. I think there are four different temples there = all of them with statues, idols, monks, etc. all going bout their business.Our hope was that we would find someone who speaks English and we did – but not until it was time to leave. We had only a few moments to speak to “P” and her uncle from Bangkok, but we asked them why they came to the temple. They said they had come to pay respects to the famous monk who is “enshrined” there. (No kidding – it looks like they taxidermied the guy and put him on a throne in one of the temples.) We asked them why they would pay so much respect to someone who was dead. We got two responses. . .

The older gentlman said that he payed respect to the man because he had done so  much for the Thai people. Which of course, lead me to ask what it was he had done. The answer I got from that question was simply that he “teach the people.” We then mentioned that Jesus was our master and teacher – and that pretty much ended the conversation with him. He tapped his watch and walked away.

His niece on the other hand, told us that the reason she was a Buddhist is because her parents were. Now for the funny part of the story. I asked, “Can we pray for you?” and I think she thought I said, “Can we pay for you?” Which is a totally different kind of question altogether! Well anyway, the conversation was mostly over anyway because their bus was leaving, but we ended with a commitment to pray (not pay) for “P” and her uncle.

Altogether we spent about four hours at the Buddhist monastery and temples. It was enjoyable to sing the Doxology in the middle of one of the temples while the Buddhists watched. They pretty much left us alone.

Well, that’s about it for today – from me anyway. TTYL (Lee)

Respect for the Elderly

This is Kevin posting:

Leviticus 19:32 says: “Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God.  I am the Lord.”

Oh, how so many have forgotten respect for the aged.  They still have such wisdom to share and so much to offer.  However, in our fast paced lives, we leave them behind.  This verse says that we show reverence to God when we respect the elderly.

At noon today, we had a big feast for the elderly.  Pawlulu asked them what they wanted to eat, and we provided the funds for her to purchase the food.  We wanted to help prepare the food, but they really had nothing for us to do.  The children and their teacher prepared the food.  Man, can these kids cook!!

We had a worship service.  I shared the above scripture and a few thoughts and Dale gave a great message.  We thanked the elderly for going before us with honor and dignity and for setting the example for future generations.  We told them that we love, value and respect them greatly.

Pawlulu (very emotional) shared that shortly after they moved here, her parents had a stroke and she couldn’t take care of them.  She later had the vision to start an elderly home home to honor those who were like her parents and couldn’t care for themselves.  She prayed about it for two years and sang “God Will Make a Way” everyday.  Well, the dream came true and they have an elderly home right here on the property along with the Children’s Home and their own home.   This morning, the children from the Children’s Home joined us to honor the elderly, and they sang “God Will Make a Way”, and it was so beautiful.  I could hardly hold back the tears as they sang.

This ministry is so amazing.  They give everything they have to care for others.   I can’t say enough for the work they are doing.  It is truly a work of God.  Please pray that God will continue to give them the strength as they are getting up in years.  I will forever be changed because of knowing them and having had this experience.  I have a new and expanded perspective regarding caring for the widows and orphans.

Blessings to All!

Picture Update Oct 22nd

I have added  a few more pictures…feel free to check them out on the picture album.  Hope you enjoy them!

Love & Peace

Michael A Campbell

THAILAND PICTURE ALBUM

Japanese Well & Small Sabbath

Read Kevin’s previous post first! (This post from Lee)

Okay – so I want to take up where Kevin left off. Last night, Kevin, Caroline and Vicky all stayed here at NanDoe’s house to lead the evening devotion while Dale, Mike and I all headed to a house church near Japanese Well, Burma (No, we didn’t go into Burma – its too dangerous). First, we loaded into the truck and headed to Sanghklaburi where we met brother Nelson Young. He leads a project by Mercy Team International in Japanese Well and is also a worship leader and something of a pastor. He is a very good man.

Anyway, Nelson picked us up at te 7/11 in Sanghklaburi (yes there are 7/11 convenience stores all over the place.) It took us about 30 minutes to get to the house church, but we found our way there eventually. As we arrived, we all mentinoned that we had forgotten our umbrellas and wondered if we would regret it later. We did.

So we were ushered inside the small open air home where we sat on the floor, as we used to say in Texas, “Indian Style.” It took several minutes for everyone to arrive, but when they did we had a small church service that was absolutely wonderful. Nelson lead singing and we knew almost every song he lead in English. Then there was a time of testimony where several shared some things that God has been doing in their lives. It was awesome. Then I had a chance to share from the Scripture about the grace of God in Christ. Afterward, the hostess brought out some sweetened sticky rice and some Chinese tea and it was culture to the hilt!

When we left there we went back to Sanghklaburi to meet Pawlulu who was going to take us back home to Huai Malai. When we got there we were loaded intot he back of a pickup truck with 7 folks from the safe house. To say it was crowded in the back of that truck is an understatement. We had no idea where we were going, but we took a short drive to the other side of town where we stopped – all got it – and were ushered into a big restaurant. Surprise – we were invited to a going away part for a woman who is leaving the staff at the safehouse.

So we had dinner there, listened to some Thai karaoke (interesting), and finally headed back to Huai Malai and to NanDoe’s house. Whew! it was a long day and we were very tired.

I did sleep fairly well last night – at least until my brother called me at 1:30 am – having forgotten that I was in Thailand and that late afternoon in Oklahoma is early morning in Thailand. But dont worry – this afternoon at 2:00 pm – 2 am in Oklahoma, I gave him a nice wake up call in return. Yeah – it’s like that in my family.

So that was yesterday (Tuesday).

Today – we took it very easy. Something of a small Sabbath Which, in my opinion, we very badly needed. The fatigue was beginning to catch up with us both physically and emotionally. So we took a slow day and did very little this morning. This afternoon – we did spend a couple of hours at the safe house and taught the gospel of Christ again. Then, Mike, Kevin and I took a walk down to the hospital to see the place. Nothing exciting really. On the way home we had some fun, though. We were walking down the road and came upon a pack of boys who were kicking a soccer ball down teh street so we joined them in a little soccer fun all the way home.

Hot and sweaty. Nuff said. Funny how the Thai kids don’t even break a sweat!

Well that’s about it for now. Later this evening Dale is going to share from 1 Corinthians. Then hopefully we’ll all get to bed at a decent hour. Thank you all for your comments and your prayers for us – we are reading and enjoying them all! We continue to be amazed at how the Lord is working among his people here. Tomorrow, NanDoe will be headed to Kanchanaburi to pick up his youngest daughter who is on holiday from school and he will also buy the well material that we need for the well at TePoChwa. So hopefully, we can begin that project later this week or perhaps early next week. More to come. . . Lee