A Wedding and Church at Beulah

On Saturday afternoon we were invited to a wedding at Beulah Christian Church. It was not a normal wedding, even by Thai or Burmese standards, because the couple was being restored to the church. The ones inviting us to the wedding kept saying something about a Family Prayer Service, and finally we understood that the couple was asking the church to come together to pray for them as they get their lives right with God.
They already had a child a month or two ago, but in this service they were confessing their sin to their brothers and sisters in Christ and asking for their forgiveness. The whole church family was part of the healing process, and the ceremony included special music and a very good message by Pastor Pichai from Genesis 1 and 2 and Ephesians 5.
Jon had to get a ride from the hotel to the church on his own, but the hotel staff didn't seem to know how to arrange for a taxi. Then they said their driver could take me for 100 baht. We got in the hotel pickup truck (a nice, new one) and took off down the road as fast as the driver could go in heavy traffic. After a few minutes, I realized he didn't have a clue where he was going, even though I had given him the address and shown him on a map where the church is located!
We finally took 50 minutes to get to the church when the trip is usually no more than 10 minutes away. We only got there after the driver had called someone else for help three times and then stopped to ask the help of bystanders and a policeman an additional three times. Thais are not known for their map-reading skills. For quite awhile, it seemed the driver thought that if he drove fast we would get their sooner! There's a parable there somewhere, isn't there!

On Sunday we participated in the morning church services at Beulah. Simon Percy gave the offering prayer and a greeting from his church and family, some of the Barefoot Doctors sang a special song, and David Tucker preached on the example of Caleb from Numbers 14.
Yes, I WAS paying attention to David's sermon! It was about the only part of the service that I knew what was being said! Besides, when he came down into the congregation acting out the story of Caleb and the Spies in Canaan, he made me and Amin and Jung's son play the part of the Giants in the Land. We were the three tallest guys in church today.
One of the blessings of coming to Thailand several times is the friendships/partnerships the Lord begins to form. Four years ago this young man, Chai Rot, participated in our Carpentry Class. He is on staff at FLC and one of the church leaders. Today I got this picture of him and his family.
These two boys are new friends I have made this year. The older one is Lopah's son. Lopah and his wife are in charge of the agricultural land the mission has and the new Abundant Life Center, a home for children and young people. The other boy pictured here is one of those children. I am planning to visit the Abundant Life Center one day this week. Be watching for that story.
Here are some of the many children running around the Beulah church. We had lunch together after church today, and the children knew there were ice cream treats waiting for them at the end of the meal. Here they are looking at the poster that shows what kinds of treats are available.
Tomorrow David and I will be doing the teaching, and I will finally get to start my lessons on I Peter. Simon will be back to team teach with me on Tuesday, then Jung Dangshing and I will finish out the week together.
Thanks for reading our blog.
Jon