Thursday, November 13, 2008

Cooler weather in Bangkok!

Well it's about time! Beginning last Monday, we've had cooler and dryer weather. As they say back in Oklahoma...Yipeeee!

Since we've been in Thailand (since late August), the weather has been hot, humid and with a fair amount of rain. But, it now appears we are in a different weather pattern; dry, mostly clear, lower humidity and with moderately warm day time temperatures with cooler nights. Awesome!

I've actually worn jeans in the day time rather than my typical uniform of a T-shirt and shorts.

...stay tuned later for more weather updates from your on the ground foreign Asian meteorologist...
...reporting from Bangkok, Thailand for the Bangkok Weather Network....Gary Walthall

Meeting with Aaron and friend; an answer to prayer

I'm having lunch tomorrow with a young man (Chinese) that I met at a our "small group" from church. His English name is Aaron (or Yibing).

Aaron is a fairly new Christian (about a year ago). God used his wife (Nink) to bring him to the Lord when they met in London. It's amazing how God works to reach people. Aaron, being from China, was an atheist, but now he proclaims the name of the Lord!

I've met with him before over lunch and explained what BSF is all about. He's really thirsty to know more about God's word and has indicated he wants to be apart of BSF when it starts. He's also apart of our Planning Committee to help us get a men's BSF class started in Bangkok.

He called me today and wants me to meet him for lunch and he also wants to bring a friend (co-worker) with him so I can tell him about BSF.

We (our group of BSF employees in Bangkok) had just prayed today that I would continue to connect with new men so that I could tell them about BSF. In fact, I voiced the prayer concern, and before we actually prayed, Aaron called me. I didn't immediately take his call, but silenced it until after prayer. So, when I called him back after prayer, Aaron told me he wanted to have lunch and to bring a friend so I could tell him about BSF.

What an answer to prayer!

God is good!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

"Stupid hat day" in Bangkok, or Halloween Bangkok style


This is what happens when you have too much time on your hands. Claudia and Caitlin talked me into doing this picture...against my better judgment. Oh well, it was good for a few laughs. These are some Chinese hats that Claudia bought at the Chatachuk market to actually use as wall decorations, but instead were put to some unintended use. Actually, the hats are multifunctional as they also can be used as a Halloween costume. Trick or Treat!
Sa-waa-dee!

FIRST MEN'S PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING

We met Monday night at Calvary Baptist Church for our first Planning Committee. Not including Mike and I, we had 9 of about 24 who have said they want to be a part of the planning committee. We will meet twice per month (1st & 3rd Mondays) through May, 2009. Our purpose is to build this core group of men so that when next September rolls around, we can begin the Pilot class phase by registering men for the class.

It's too early to tell who is really going to be committed on coming regularly, but we are encouraged by the number of men so far. Last night, the men who attended are all living permanently in Thailand with the exception of one man (standing next to me) who is doing ministry work in Bangkok and his home is in New Zealand.

The nations represented (excluding Mike and I) in this group are Japan(1), USA (1), Philippines (1), China (2), Thailand (3) and New Zealand (1).

Our prayers are:
God will increase our numbers
God will hold us together as a group
Each man will capture the VISION for BSF in Bangkok and will help us achieve that goal.

thank you for your support and prayers

Gary