Lets Play Catch Up!

Hey beloved ones,

    We are officially out of our "immersion" experience and technology fast, so we will be updating this blog much more frequently, yay! Bekah and I hope and pray that you are well and sitting at rest in the grace of God.

    Here is my (Josh) journal entry from Christmas:
Merry Christmas!! A child is born that will redeem the world. Jesus who was with God, with a courage unknown to any, left heaven to come to earth and set in motion the reconciliation of men- what a good God! The method in which he came was so upside down. The God of the universe chose dirty hay as his triumphant entry. 
   Much has happened this past week. Time flies here. Christmas has come and gone with all of its excitement. We have done outreach and we have celebrated Jesus. 
   Oh Christmas Eve, we went out Christmas caroling throughout many of the districts where prostitution is ramped. It felt awkward and awesome at the same time. It was awkward to sing carols to random people who had no idea what all the commotion was about, or what Christmas is really about. It was awesome because they loved it even though they had no clue what we were singing. (Thai folks are very welcoming.)

  As we caroled, we handed out presents to some of our friends who beg on the street. What a beautiful process-to bring a little hope on Christmas to those whose only hope is the cup they stick out to beg with. Our caroling mission had another purpose, to invite the street kids to the community center to have a Christmas party. This was a bit nerve-racking since most of our Cambodian street friends had been picked up only days earlier and deported out of the country. However, our friends made their way back into the city and on the day of the Christmas party nearly all of the families showed up at the community center to celebrate. 

   The Bible says, when you have a party, to invite the poor which can not repay you, and that's exactly what we did. The first thing that struck me about our friends is that nothing separated us from them. We were all wonderfully human- hungry, happy, playful, funny, excited and the list goes on. Often times folks romanticize about serving "the poor" as if they are different from us. But they are not... our friends were beautifully the same. They need Christ as much as I do and they need love as much as I do. They are not different and God used this truth to move my friends deeper into my heart.
   Maybe that's why God wanted us to have a party with the marginalized. He wanted us to see our solidarity-we are created the same. We are not set apart. They are not our "good deed," or our "ministry," they are our fellow humans! They are loved as much by God, in need of God, and sinful like we are. They are not the "poor," they are us.
  The Christmas party was a blast. I connected so well with many of the kids. They were so unassuming and childlike, playful and energetic. It was the perfect day.
   Although it was such a great day, the night held different plans. I really didn't see it coming. Reality has a way of cutting the legs out from underneath you sometimes. Although our friends are unequivocally just as human as we are, their lifestyles couldn't differ more. The reality is this, my friends are poor, or sometimes even homeless. So where I spent my childhood with weeks of time off in preparation for Christmas, these kids had no time off.
   Let me explain this further. A week or so ago, we bought one of our friend's a night of temporary freedom by buying her bouquet of flowers so that she didn't have to stay out on the streets all night. We bought the flowers for $300 baht ($10 U.S. dollars). Her job is to beg or sell flowers to make a buck for her family. Her vocation is located in one of Bangkok's red light districts. Her grandmother will not allow her to return home until all of her flowers are sold or until morning arrives. She heads to work around 10:00pm so she literally stays up all night (by herself) sometimes, and by purchasing her flowers she was able to go home early and have a decent night's rest.

   Like I said before, the kids have no time off. Families began to leave the Christmas party around 7:00pm. I was surprised they would leave so early. Then I saw a sight that would punch me in the gut and also thrust these kids further into my heart. Everyone was gathering their belongings to head home when out of the corner of my eye, I saw my friend grabbing her bouquet of flowers. The truth hit me like a pro boxer. Our friends were not heading home to spend Christmas with family, they were heading to the streets to work and beg! No time off for my friends.
   While watching my friends head to work, I experienced a hurricane of emotions. The same parents I shared a Christmas dinner with and smiles, were the same parents that would, moments later, send their children to the street to beg. So instead of presents, joy, and family time it was a dirty street filled with men looking for sex and a hope that if I sell a dozen roses by midnight, I can go to sleep at a decent time.
   Not all is a loss though, this day was a huge success. So many families showed up to our Christmas party, even the some of the dad's came which was new for WordMadeFlesh Thailand. God is growing these relationships. Tim and Amy were so encouraged to see trust and safely grow with these families. It is only a matter of time before Christ loosens the bonds of poverty and spiritual darkness.

            Jesus is working, as usual, in hearts not wallets.