Deported from 2 Countries

I never even smoked marijuana in high school.  But now I’ve been deported from 2 countries!  How’s that for a day’s work and travel?

During our time in the States I had applied for, and received a visa to enter the country from the Lao Embassy in Washington D.C.  Surely that meant we had been taken off the black list in Laos, we thought.

But the bottom line is…. for the second time, the Lao security police have told us they don’t want us.   And we are now trying to figure out what God wants us to do for the next phase of our lives.

Immigration Lockdown

I didn’t realize it at first, but I was being remanded.  After 24 hours of straight travel—across the Pacific, to Taipei, Bangkok, and then on to Vientiane, we didn’t expect this.  “May I go with my wife into Vientiane to help pack up our house?” I asked.  “No, you need to get back on the flight you came on.” So, I went, with Ruthie stuffing cash in my pocket.  I glanced back at the immigration hall to see Ruthie’s dazed look—and those of all the other foreigner’s and Lao wondering what on earth I had done.  It all happened in five minutes.

I thought when I got back to BKK all would be well.  I could return to our favorite little hotel.  But the Thai airlines people kept my passport and led me to the back of the plane.  On the ground in Bangkok someone took me in a special van to the underbelly of Suvarnabhumi Airport, signing me into one office, then out again.  One official pushed a document forward for me to sign…and my eyes fixed on the words “acknowledge” and “expulsion”.  “Do I need to sign this?” I asked—since Thailand had no issues with me as far as I knew…  The head immigration official assured me all would be well.  I just needed to leave the country, according to Thai-Lao protocols.  When I returned to Thailand “I would be a new person,” he said.  So then, the questions was, “How much money do you have?  Where do you want to fly?”  Then I remembered most of our Covenant leadership was in Taipei for the 3-yearly Asia Covenant Consultation, a meeting I had helped organize a short while ago.

I asked my friendly northeast Thailand immigration minder, “So, where will I spend the night before getting on tomorrow’s plane to Taipei?”  “We have a one-star hotel,” he said, laughing.  But when he showed me to the men’s quarters, the beds were full of sleeping African men.  “Would you mind just sitting around in the women’s room?” they asked.  Again I was thankful.  Lots of empty bunks and it was even semi-air conditioned.  Between bouts of fitful sleep I skype chatted with Ruthie and anyone else I could find with a green dot.

Taipei never looked so good

On the flight to Taipei I began to feel like a person again.  I asked for a second cup of coffee to test my new status.  As I waited in the Taipei immigration queue, my palms were sweaty.  I worried that the thermal readers might mistake me for an Ebola transmitter—or that word about me had been sent ahead.  But I was admitted without question.

My two days in Taiwan were so welcome.  I met with our colleagues and administrators.  They provided listening ears and welcome hugs.  Our Executive Minister even gave me a clean shirt.  Our Thai colleagues and friends said, “Now it’s time for you to come work with us in the northeast.” 

The dust is settling

Since I returned to Thailand (and was admitted) Ruthie bopped across the river to join me.  We have had many meetings with important friends and counselors:  Our Lao partners, Regional Coordinator, Thai church leaders in Roi Et, member care expert, Thai-Lao Country Coordinator.  And we have taken a few days to pray in a quiet hotel in Chiang Mai.

I think we are okay. 

We are beginning to see the directions God is leading us.  We are so thankful to our friends and family—both immediate and Covenant.  We have been given space and time to pray and process as our lives have been turned upside down. 

God seems to be pointing us in the direction of working with Covenant churches in Roi Et Thailand for our next phase.  When we visited we were greatly encouraged by the team.  Way back in 1991 we were asked to work in Roi Et, but then plans changed and we went to Laos.  Last week we visited again for a day or two.  We heard their dreams and opened our hearts to God’s leading.  It will be quite different than the work we've done for the past many years, but for this season of life, it seems right.  We plan to just integrate and see how God opens doors.  They have been developing a place and plan for leadership development.  How can we help them do that? 

Still Grieving

This is not to say that we are not grieving--especially for what this closed door means for our partners in Laos.  We are so grateful for their understanding and desire to see this injustice righted.  We are very confident that God has not abandoned them, but also has good plans for them and He will use others to fulfill their dreams and visions. 

The words of the sermon we preached this past fall keep coming back to us:  When we left Laos in 2008 we thought it was the end of our dreams.  But our Lao friends grew and developed even a bigger vision.  We thought we’d be there to help them fulfill these dreams, but once again it seems God has different ideas.  We have yet to experience situations where our plans were better than God’s plans  So we will be waiting to see how His plan unfolds for the projects we were helping to start.

Christmas in CA?

Life has been a bit complicated in terms of visas–not just the rejection from Laos, but also getting long term visa’s to work here in Thailand.  This may involve trips to neighboring countries until we can get some issues worked out.  It seems also that a trip to the States is in the wind.  In order to get the right kind of visa for working in Thailand it is best to start that process from your country of residence.  So, we are now looking forward to Christmas in southern California with our family!  Not a bad thing, we feel. 

Finally, I thought about how appropriate some of the exercises were that we had been given in the  “Deeper in Christ Retreat we’d attended the end of September.  We were given three questions to meditate on:  “Where are you?”  “What do you want?”  “What now?”  We will, with God’s help find our way through to the answers over the next days and weeks.  Please keep praying with us.  

Quite a week

It's the end of one of those weeks....Ruthie and I went in two different directions--she to Chiang Mai, I to Udon and then Roi Et, northeast Thailand.

In Udon I took two of the staff from our fish hatchery / nursery to the Issaan Aquatics Farm to learn more about the process of collecting, incubating, and then reverse-sexing baby tilapia fish.  I spent most of one morning in the ponds learning, again, how to differentiate male/female tilapia (something I learned, what--almost 20 years ago).

 It was strange and poignant to spend the night in Udon again--the place has changed incredibly!  It is a booming city with all kinds of factories and businesses operating there.  Twenty years ago it had the feel of a ghost town, just recovering from the Vietnam war--shuttered bars and wide, empty streets.  No longer!

It has been great to spend more time with the staff there and with Jim Gustaftson in my last couple of trips there.  We are grateful for their help in this new phase of our lives and ministry in Laos.

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Roi Et!  I always get a boost from the team in this lower Issaan region.  They are all self-supporting, bi-vocational ministers,  carrying on the work of church planting, leadership training, and church enablement.  The fish farm is going great guns under the management of one of their key members, Siang.  He rents the ponds, thus contributing to the overall budget, while carrying on a successful business.  He chose the following as his logo for his company and took 3 tries to get it passed by local authorities.  Note what's in the fish!

I also had time with Kristi Byford who is finishing up her Thai language studies in a few months and has decided to join the Thai team in Roi Et to enhance their ministries and outreach into the communities.  Below she shares her decision with the team there.

Cheryl Santello, a newly-arrived short-termer from Alpine Camp in SoCal, also shared her vision to assist in developing both the facilities and the programs of the two Covenant camps in Thailand.  She brings more than 15 years experience in camping to the task, along with a lot of energy and enthusiasm.  Here, Dr. Paul DeNeui (who served in Roi Et for more than 10 years and is currently teaching at the Covenant Seminary in Chicago) translates for her.  Paul also taught one of his favorite subjects--"Who Are We, in the Covenant?", affirming the priesthood of the believers and passing the mike to many in the audience...

Finally, Ruthie and I met at the airport in Udon and returned to Vientiane.  I was anxious to get out to the fish farm to see the progress.  Indeed, it really is taking shape!  The large building behind me will house many fish tanks in which we hope to do our spawning.

On the road again

Anyone who has lived or worked in Laos will understand when we talk about the love-hate relationship we feel with the roads here.  Since we started working here in the early 90's there has been tremendous improvement.  But getting out to villages in remote areas--and even some major roads to province capitals--still present major challenges.

The picture at the top of this page represents 3 hours of fun!  The Lao call it, "kin khao ling"--that is, "eating with the monkeys", an involuntary sojourn in the jungle when its impossible to do anything else.  So, in true Lao fashion... just turn it into a picnic or a party!  

Two large cement trucks, transporting dry powder to one Laos' many dam projects, had totally blocked the road, bogged down in 60 centimeters of red goo.  So, as we waited for a tractor to clear an alternative path around them--and then hook onto each normal vehicle to pull it through the much--we had a party.  Great entertainment.  Tires spinning and sending up smoke.  People pushing and slipping and falling in the mud.  Cheers and shouts of encouragement.  Music coming from somebody's fancy sound system.

Rivers swollen with rain, roads full of mud

Ruthie pointed out a spiritual lesson I could have learned from the incident (she's pretty good at that):  "When you hit a landslide in life, do you fuss and fume, or turn on the music and share the misery with your fellow travelers?"  

I said, "I was mostly thinking about how I could use the empty seats in my van to help out a few stranded travelers."  (Confession time:  I told them they would need to help by getting down in the mud to hook on the cable while I manned the wheel).

Then... the roads in Vientiane!  Once a quaint little town with only bicycles, Vientiane is beginning to look like Bangkok during rush hour.  In some respects, anyway.  Ruthie has confessed to acting like the Romans in Rome.  She has taken to driving her motorbike the wrong way down one-way roads.  She uses the sidewalk, nicely paved with bricks from a UNESCO project, as a bike lane and parking space.

Then, when we cross the bridge into Thailand, Ruthie observes:  "Hey, the roads are much more developed!  We sail along.  We love divided highways and speed.  But we seldom look outside.  We are intent on our destination and accomplishing our goals.  Do we really see what's around us?"

Not all the roads in our life are bad

Of course, driving our Lao van, the steering wheel is now on the WRONG SIDE.  A co-pilot becomes essential if we want to pass anybody.  Ruthie asks, "Do we remember that in life it's good to have a companion to help us navigate new situations?  Do we realize that while we're driving on the left, our car is still a right hand vehicle?  Our perspective isn't the same as a car made for Thailand.  We need to humbly ask for help, we need to realize our understanding, as guest-workers, will always be different..."

Pretty good stuff, Ruthie....  Now, am I clear to pass? 

Mulberries & Livelihoods

We spoke last newsletter about how our relationship with a Lao friend, "Aunt Lydia", has led us to partner with her organization to promote organic agriculture in a district of Xieng Khouang Province.  

That effort is well-underway.  Numerous trips and village meetings have begun to lay the foundation for a long-term project we hope will be an example of community development done well.  

Our project's goals?  To generate income for rural families, begin value-adding to those products, link farmers to markets, and preserve traditional knowledge and skills.

So, we are asking families if they want to join a co-op to begin planting organic mulberry, soy bean, and other crops.  Our goal for this year was  to find 75 families.  After our last round of village meetings we had well over 100 families asking to join us!  But...we will see how that all shakes out as we go through a process of visiting each of their fields, talking in more detail, checking to see if they understand what they are getting into.  

Woman signing up to plant soy bean and mulberry

We have told farmers they can expect several income streams:  Selling soybean, mulberry leaves for tea, silk cocoons from raising silk worms with the rest of their mulberry leaves, and silk cloth, if they choose to weave their own.

 

Lots of women and children in village meetings

This is an exciting time for us!  It's a pleasure to work with a woman and her organization with more than 30 years experience and a passion to really help people.  It's a pleasure to share experiences and values with Lao co-workers.  It's fun to be building again (I love building!)--a combination harvest--silk--mulberry--agro-eco-tourism center.  

Of course, we have only a little money to begin.  But we are believing it's going to come in! We'll keep you informed.    

The Ninety and Nine

The Ninety and Nine

 

While Peter dreams big, my calling is for the one lost on the hillside-or stuck in a lonely prison cell.  I have been coming alongside two women--a Lao and American-who faithfully visit prisoners of many nationalities in Vientiane's infamous Phontong Prison.  Visiting time is limited to 15 minutes per prisoner, one visit a month.  We talk and provide food and medicine. Initially it was overwhelming.  But to see the joy on prisoners' faces and to know that many are coming to know Jesus...  This is a good reminder that even when we make poor choices, God's grace is there.

Besides this, I have been privileged to see spiritual depth and growth in a number of people I have been seeing as a spiritual director or mentor.  Some of these are "Skype" relationships.  Others live nearby, both expat and Lao, whose search for wholeness and balance have brought us together.  I have been humbled and stimulated by the many books I have been reading for my certificate program in Spiritual Direction, a program I will complete in July.  The quote below says much about how I feel.

  

"...Spiritual formation does not occur by direct human effort, but through a relational process whereby we receive from God the power or ability to do what we cannot do by our own efforts. We do not produce the outcome. That is God's business. "

 Life with God, Richard Foster

Roi Et Rop Muang Center

Khamphan (Daeng) Sudcha, the Thailand Covenant Church President, has dreamed and strategized for years about the need to have a larger, more urban, church and training center in the lower Issaan area. While the Covenant in Roi Et has a "center" of sorts in the camp ground that has been established and is being regularly used, that camp is located 20 km outside the city of Roi Et. At one point the leadership rented a house in the city to serve as a church. It was filled with people, a younger demographic than is typical in rural villages. But the landlord raised the rent. It was too crowded. So, they discontinued renting.

President Sudcha's vision is to build a church/training center on the growing edge of Roi Et city. A piece of land will be purchased or rented. Educational programs focused on the community will be anchored, it is hoped, by Covenant expat personnel. A short-term, intensive, model of training, perhaps in concert with the North Park Center for World Christian Studies, will be used to supplement Biblical training acquired elsewhere by a new generation of Covenant leaders.

That's the vision.  It has been Peter's joy to work with Pastor Daeng to brainstorm, clarify, and finally write a project to see this vision get off the ground. Please pray that it will become a reality and our churches in Issaan will be strengthened to carry the vision forward.

Organic Farming, Mulberries & Livelihoods

The first relationship we followed was with "Aunt Lydia". We have known this woman from afar for many years. But when a friend asked if we would be willing to work along side her, we knew what the answer should be. Since that time we have made numerous trips to an area 5 hours north of Vientiane, made recently accessible by a new road.  

It has been a privilege to meet with villagers and brainstorm a new project into existence. Lydia was asked by local authorities to promote organic agriculture tied with cottage industry in this area where many new families are being re-settled and starting over from scratch. It has also been a tremendous learning experience to work alongside Lydia, her team, and extended family. She has a real passion to see rural poverty alleviated in Laos. She is experienced and knows how to get things done in Laos' unique environment. We'll be writing a lot more about this project, you can be sure.