Last week an Isaan Christian I baptized last year died. Until his death he was sharing the Gospel with his relatives. They were listening with interest. He also clearly said he wanted a Christian funeral, and no Buddhist monks present. But after he died, his relatives immediately arranged for a Buddhist funeral. At the same time, they were very happy for the church to take part in the ceremonies as well. After the monks finished their chanting, and just before the body was cremated, a brother of the deceased invited me to the front. “My brother was a Buddhist. But in the last few years, he added a religion. He also believed in Jesus. And therefore we invite a leader of the church to come and share with us.” Right in front of the monks with their sign ‘There is no resurrection’ I shared the Christian hope of eternal life and resurrection. At the end, everybody applauded.

What happened here? (more…)

After talking about the ideal language student I read some quotes about doing language study. Just want to share some of them with you:

• To learn a foreign language is to take on a new identity. This involves being willing to become vulnerable to a degree not normally requiered in other areas of life. (more…)

Do we have to do a psychological test as well? A dental check-up again? A blood test too….? Another meeting to talk through possible fields? 

We have started the preparations for our new life overseas full of enthusiasm. But our to-do-list became bigger and bigger. We felt overwhelmed and sometimes discouraged: are these tests and checks really necessary? Closing doors to go overseas? Do people doubt about us going overseas?

There are probably all kind of situations to ask these questions. Two things we would like to say about it at this moment: when you’re finally on the plane with all these tests behind you, you know that there are people and tests results that encourage you to go – you look suitable for living and working overseas (but you’re still not perfect J). The other thing is that this process teaches patience, perseverance, faith and trust in God – disciplines you definitely need (in life and) on the mission field.

Getting to know a different culture is difficult. I’m living in Thailand for nine years now, and I still get amazed.

Es, a crippled man from our church, had shared the Gospel by phone with his sister in Japan. She came to the Lord and asked him to visit Deng, a friend of hers, so that she would hear the Good News as well. In times gone by Es had met Deng one or two times, so he was willing to go.

I accompany Es to Deng’s village. When we arrive there, we ask the first person we meet (more…)

Have you ever wondered what’s required to be the ideal language student? Go through the list below:). Remember… even if you miss out on some one of the points, you can still become a missionary:).

A good language student:

1. Takes and creates (more…)

I was on the way to teach an evangelistic home group, when I was told the people would not be at home. Instead, I ended up chatting with a man who did not stop asking questions. Why do Dutch cows give so much milk? What (more…)

The bible clearly teaches that we need to become like a child when we want to become a Christian. If you struggle with becoming like a child you should come to Thailand and do Thai language study. It’s a humbling experience, but thankfully it’s a lot of fun as well. I’m studying module (more…)

Serving God brings great joy. I would not want to exchange it for anything in the world. But sometimes the old man rears his ugly head. A few years back I had a moment like that (well, actually, I have these moments daily, but (more…)