Baptism Sunday

And this is a picture of baptism, which now saves you by the power of Jesus Christ’s resurrection. Baptism is not a removal of dirt from your body: it is an appeal to God from a clean conscience.
1 Peter 3: 21

Two weeks ago was Baptism Sunday, where students who have committed their lives to the Lord show the rest of their peers how serious they are about their relationship with Christ by being baptized. It’s an amazing moment where a child’s faith is proven to be their own, true, and real. It’s also a reality check for others around them because they’ve realize Jesus isn’t just another god added to the list of gods to appease, He is their only God they believe in and it’s proclaimed to those around them.

Praise the Lord!

I am so thankful this is the second year I have been able to witness my family grow in numbers. We had twelve children baptized, eleven boys and one girl. A Buddhist neighbor near the children’s home offered their pool for us to use so we could baptize, which was also an opportunity to share who Jesus is with the community and why Christians are baptized.

After the children were baptized, they were lined up to receive certificates, flowers, and of course a photo shoot. The Thai’s love to takes photos of any event going on. The rest of the children lined up to welcome each child baptized into their Christian family.

Later that afternoon, some children were playing a form of double dutch, minus the swinging of ropes. The goal was to snap it with your feet, or maybe jump over it, I’m not sure. I just saw a bunch of girls not touching the rope when they went over, so I thought, “Hey, I can do that too!”

I could not. The next morning my knees felt just fine (thanks to rubbing tiger balm on them the night before) and we got some good laughs out of me making a fool of myself, which is not at all uncommon. I’m happy I don’t feel as old as I really am.

That same evening, I decided to go to the Sunday night market, one of my favorite markets to saunter around. There are a couple of used book stores along the way that I always go in to because bookstores feel so familiar or because I have an insatiable appetite for books, who knows why I’m always drawn to them. I have an uncanny ability to build a library where ever I live. However, that night, on my way home, the songtaew took us through the red light district. The red light district in Chiang Mai is not at all as big or inescapable as the ones in Bangkok. In Bangkok, there are taxi and tuk tuk drivers who are paid to suggest taking tourist to these areas full of night clubs and bars specifically designed with the western male’s sexual interests in mind. They advertise that all girls and boys are available, any race, any age, any sexual preference, any desires. Whatever you’re into you’ll find it there. It makes my stomach turn just to think about it.

In Chiang Mai though, the advertisement isn’t as publicized as it is in Bangkok, which I am thankful for. But it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Since I’ve lived here, I have tried to avoid going to the red light district, mainly because the work I am involved in this time around is prevention, not rescue. But driving past the clubs and bars, seeing women sitting out front on stools, waiting for customers to walk by broke my heart. Wasn’t it just that morning that twelve children accepted Christ into their hearts and now that evening, I watched over double that amount on the streets, possibly clueless to who Jesus is and what it means to live safely. It was a sobering drive home. It’s not all hopeless, all the time. I have a friend who has had a desire to work in bar ministry, working with prostitutes, and she tells me stories about relationships she’s building with the different women she meets. There is hope, there is a possible future, and there is a possible escape for these women and children who think they have no way out. Our God is a great God. Our God is a God of the impossible.

So now, February is the last full month of school for our children. This month will be full of exams to go on to middle school, high school, or graduation from high school. Pray for our students, for upcoming exams and their future.

Thank you for your support and prayers. You are the reason why I am able to do the work I am doing.