Whirlwind

Returned a few days ago from a whirlwind tour of the US.
Ron Wilson and I decided that one of us needed to go back and visit some of the churches and individuals that support the ongoing work here in the region. I took Col. Surasak along with me to give a first-hand report of the ministry here in Thailand and to get him some exposure to potential supporters.

Surasak retired early two years ago at our prompting to take the position of Thailand National leader for Cadence Asia. After much prayer and a step of faith he and his wife Wan Pen did exactly that. They are living on his reduced retirement which is able to sustain them with the basics of life but does not allow for them to do ministry.

Ron and I explored several different paths here to raise the $600 a month in ministry monies needed but ran into many walls. There is no precedent that we could find for Thais raising their own support to do ministry. In fact, they barely even provide financially for full-time pastors of churches. We have discovered that it mainly comes down to a cultural issue of loosing face. (Like if someone asks for support and you either, are not able to or are not inclined to, give the you would loose face) So going around sharing the need would be met with incredible coolness and might even damage your relationships permanently. So at this time it is not wise for him to try here.

This is why I took him to the states so that I could be his champion for raising funds (which is still hard for him to accept) and not run the risk of damaging relationships. Surasak did a great job sharing and many responded as being encouraged by our reports on how the ministry is growing and the live that are being changed. We are not sure exactly at this point how well we did on the support side of things but are praying that the needed funds will be committed. We had a great time together as we travelled around California and then to Denver, CO. It was good to get some extended time with Surasak and also to practice my Thai.