CTS Retreat - Taking Care of Children

This weekend, Cathy, Jinny, Grace and I were invited to help at a retreat for Chiang Mai Theological Seminary (CTS). (Photos @ Facebook)

I've put up some pictures of the beautiful resort. I really really want to come to Thailand for my honeymoon...in 2012 (cross my fingers)...ahahahaha. It was nice having a hot shower for the first time since STEM left, but of course I had to get the one with the clogged drain, forcing my feet to bathe in two inches of my dead skin cells.

Not gonna say Holy Spirit came with tongues of fire or the sound of a rushing wind nor will I say revival came and all these people were saved. The retreat was for seminary students and graduates so hopefully they're all saved already. And my job was to take care of children with Cathy, Jinny and Grace using very limited Thai. But I love speaking Thai with kids cuz they can't use hard words and I can almost talk to them now. Hurray for speaking at a 3 year old level!

As I shared somewhere before, the theme of the retreat was "Spirit Filled God's Servants." I think the adults learned things about why the second baptism is wrong, what the Spirit's characteristics were like and how the Spirit works in our lives. And I think before every session the adults would bring the children to the front of the meeting room and pray for them, their welfare and spiritual lives. Usually when I teach children of non-Christian backgrounds or sing Christian songs with them I get this immensely sad and depressing feeling when I realize this could be the only time in their lives they ever sing praises to Jesus (even if they don't understand the words). But I didn't feel that way with these children whose parents were praying for them and would continue to pray for them. I think I just knew that God would see the faithfulness of their parents and have mercy on their children. It also reminded me of how my mom used to pray with me before I went to sleep. The two main things I remember is that I used to pray in Korean (I knew enough Korean to pray in Korean!) and we prayed a lot when my grandmother was sick and eventually passed away. But what a blessing it is to have parents concerned for the spiritual well-being of their children!

Speaking of children, I read a quote about God from G.K. Chesterton that is pretty interesting:

“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, ‘Do it again’; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, ‘do it again’ to the sun; and every evening, ‘Do it again’ to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”

Just some food for thought.

I think E-College is having its ministry-wide Daniel Fast tomorrow. Last year I think I lost 10 pounds or something and seeing that I've lost around 15 pounds here already and the difficulty to cook meals for oneself, I decided to cut out internet and soda. I'll still be checking my e-mails so if you need to contact me just give me a holler. Or we could make Skype appointments if we haven't talked in long time and you're dying to talk with me. But I'm not that fun haha. I'll also continue to blog any insightful things that God reveals to me during this time of fasting. I recommend everyone do it! I've written in my STEM testimony before but the Daniel Fast was what led me to my confirmation to come to Thailand. God really does answer prayers when we ask, knock and seek, and He will be found by those who seek Him with all their hearts.