Good morning from the other side of the world! Thanks all for your prayers while I was traveling. Everything went great, and I am safe and sound here in the Malone's home in Bangkok.
I wanted to briefly share what it's like to step outside and grab a coffee in the city. The first thing I noticed before even leaving the apartment parking lot was a large Buddha shrine. Many of the people on their way to work and school were stopping to place an offering on the shrine and say a prayer. You can see some coconut juice and bananas in the foreground.
I had not walked much further when I saw a pair of monks doing their morning rounds. The monks are supposed to live off of the food offerings they collect from the people each morning. The people kneeling in the picture had just given some food items to the monks. Giving food to monks is one of the ways that Buddhists believe they can gain merit. If they can earn enough merit (good works) they escape the cycle of reincarnation and slip into eternal nothingness (nirvana). Pray that these people will one day know the grace of our Lord Jesus which is given freely and impossible to earn.The last thing I noticed before completing my 60 second walk to the coffee stand was a group of laborers waking from their sleep at a construction site. Phil tells me they are mostly Burmese illegal aliens. The construction companies pay them next to nothing, and that is about all they have from the looks of it. It is expected that the number of Burmese illegals will jump tremendously following the cyclone. Pray that the church here will sieze on this opportunity to reach out to the Burmese people with love and truth.
I did finally get my coffee, and it was delicious.
