This Christmas I was blessed by friends and family with some great presents.  I realized right away though that I needed to do some rearranging and cleaning out of my closet and pantry to make room for the new presents.  Are you in that situation too?  When I lived at home, I remember conversations between my mom and dad about Christmas presents:

“You want what?”

“A leaf blower.”

“Where are we going to put it?”

“In the garage.”

“WHERE in the garage?”

“Oh it’ll fit.”

“Ok, well YOU get to clean it out.”

“I’ll use the leaf blower.”

Every year, we have to make room for our new Christmas presents, clean out the old stuff that we don’t use anymore (and probably forgot we even had), and do some rearranging of the stuff we keep.

This year, maybe you’re making resolutions, maybe you’re not.  A friend asked about mine, and I said I forgot all about it.  Her list was impressive, several big areas to tackle this year.  So after our conversation, as I was trying to shove my Christmas present into the pantry, I realized:  I have to make room.  This year, in all your activity and work and play and life-living, make room for Jesus.  If you’re a resolution-making-type, make a resolution to fit Him into your life in a bigger way this year.  If you’re not a resolution-making-type, determine that for your own good and the good of all those around you, you will need to make room for Him too.  This’ll look different for different people – perhaps spending more time in prayer; perhaps putting your heart into service to others; perhaps doing more diligent and focused spiritual reading and application; perhaps working with a small group at your church or workplace.  Ask Jesus to help you make room for Him this year… let’s clean out the old clutter, and rearrange our lives around Him.  Because really, He was the best Christmas present we ever got anyway.

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“My soul is trying to awaken and discover again the beauty of penance. I am ashamed of having so many confessions of my faults in the monastery with so little sorrow and so feeble a hope of doing better. I want to say, over and over again, that I am sorry. I do not know how I can go on living unless I convince you, Jesus, that I am really sorry. The psalms say this better than I ever could. I am sorry that it has taken me so long to begin to discover the psalms. I am sorry that I have not lived them.

“I am sorry for having let myself become so stupid and so torpid, thinking more of myself than of what I owe to your Love—and I owe You everything. Forgive me for paying so little attention. Without compunction and deep sorrow, contemplation is likely to be nothing more than a kind of idolatry. How can I love You if I do not know who I am and who You are? And how can I know this without sorrow? Jesus, I no longer want to have anything to do with love that forgets that it was born in sorrow, and therefore forgets to be grateful. Otherwise I will only go on lying to You, and I want to be done with insincerity forever and forever.”

Chiang Mai experienced flooding the last days of September and the first days of October.  The affected areas were by the river and the lower areas surrounding the river banks.  Water did extend for several kilometers to the east of the river, and a little less than that to the west.  Here are some photos posted online by Chiang Mai Mail, a local weekly English-language publication.  You can find CMM on Facebook here.

The municipality of Chiang Mai delivers help to flood victims.

Above is a picture of the river in front of the US Consulate.  The water in the picture on the right is still very high compared to normal.

And an intersection near my favorite Mexican restaurant:

You can also watch a video here.  I didn’t take it.

Ayutthaya, a city in central Thailand near Bangkok has been flooded for several weeks, and many provinces in central Thailand have had flooding for two months or more.  Now, the waters are threatening Bangkok, and have already entered parts of the city.  The government is making huge efforts to save the city.

And that’s where the clear information ends.  We do know that hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost, over 300 people have died, and acres upon acres and acres of rice crop has been destroyed.  We don’t know what will happen if/when Bangkok floods.  Journalists have tended to sensationalize the news (surprise) and the government has tended to respond with positive statements like, “We will not allow the flood to enter Bangkok” (surprise).  Political groups and everyone else has joined in the blame game to point fingers at others and away from themselves.  Some blame the water management people for keeping too much water in the dams for too long, and then having to let out so much water to let the rivers flood all at once.  (My guess is that the same people would blame the water management people if there had been drought and there wasn’t enough water in the dams.)  Some blame the weather department for using old and faulty prediction systems and for failing to predict how much rain we would have this year.  (See the next paragraph – we had a lot of rain.)  Some blame the current government for not working on flood prevention (they’ve been in power since August… but were in power in 2005 when the last huge floods went through Chiang Mai and other parts of Thailand).  Some blame the previous government for not working on flood prevention.

Chiang Mai Mail reported on the rainfall for this year:  September is usually the wettest month of the year in Chiang Mai, when about 11.5 inches of rain falls over 18 days.  This year, the total rain in September was 320mm, 28% more than an average year.  Until the end of August, Chiang Mai had 1,372.5mm of rain, making the total 1,692mm from January to September.  The average yearly rainfall is 1,185mm.

So, we’ve had a lot of rain this year….  And the above-average rainfall has been nationwide, not just in Chiang Mai.

Meanwhile, Bangkok prepares for the worst and authorities are in disagreement about what will happen and how bad the damage will be.  You could look for more information on Bangkokpost.com or try searching CNN or BBC.

Please pray for the Thai church to rise up and help flood victims, and have a great opportunity to share the good news and hope we have in Jesus.  Pray also for the thousands and thousands of people who have lost loved ones, jobs, homes, crops, businesses, and possessions.  May God use this tragedy to bring many people to know Him!

Today there’s something going on in the square.  A small stage is set up, with a disproportionately large sound system, and a backdrop of red with peoples’ faces on it and graced with a few Thai slogans.  Two large floral arrangements of white and pink decorate the otherwise empty plywood stage.  Next to it there are two tent canopies set up, with a few more Thai signs, a pile of water bottles and a pile of rice, two tables, and a huddle of Thai people wearing red shirts in the shade, waving paper fans in each other’s faces, looking slightly warm and more than slightly bored.  A few mill around, trying to look busy.  The speakers are blaring Thai folksy-country music, occasionally interrupted by a man making unintelligible announcements into an off-stage microphone.

I watch the faces of the tourists walking by — some bother to look, and I know the two thoughts they are thinking: 1) “What is that for” and 2) (and perhaps the more important) “Why are they playing that annoying music so loud?”

To the person familiar with Thai language and culture, it all makes sense:  the signs say “Donate to help flood relief in the Ayutthaya Province”, and the red theme shows that the project is backed by the current government, coincidentally the political party of choice in Chiang Mai and much of Northern Thailand.

Right message, wrong delivery.

If the signs were in English and the speakers were blaring Lady Gaga and Black Eyed Peas, I wonder how much more money they would receive.  (Not that Lady Gaga has anything to do with flood relief, but I doubt the music they’re playing does either.)  I haven’t seen anyone, Thai or foreigner, walk up to donate anything.  Besides being set up in a foreigner-infested area of town, it’s the middle of the afternoon–a time when Thais aren’t really out roaming around in the sunshine.

But, move this whole shebang to a village just outside Chiang Mai, set it up in front of the Buddhist temple (a.k.a., the center of the community) and next to the morning market, and they’d probably make a killing, music and red shirts and all.

While it’s easy for me as an outsider to see why this method isn’t working, it’s probably harder to see from the inside. My guess is that the volunteers feel like they’re doing their part, making their own merit, building up their own good karma, and so they’ll come help tomorrow, even if they don’t bring in so many donations today.

And I am reminded of the church.  How many times do we “do our thing” and try to reach people for Christ, but it comes across so foreign and strange-sounding that people write it off as stupid, incomprehensible, and just wish we weren’t disturbing their otherwise quiet afternoon?  Yet we continue to do whatever it is we have always done, because we feel like we are doing our part, it makes us feel good on the inside, and God will see and reward our efforts, no matter how much fruit is actually gathered.

Right message, wrong delivery.

What can we do to make our right message more relevant and hearable?  This is the continual question of contextualization–how to make our message desirable, how to make the Good News really and truly good news in our environment.  The people collecting donations for flood relief need to ask this question, but the church must ask it all the more.  And I am asking myself as I sit here listening to the reverberating tunes of Thai folk music.  Will you ask yourself right now?

Once a year I have to renew my visa at immigration.  Today was the day, and this is how it went:

7:10am – Leave home.  I had planned to leave at 7:00.  At least I get three consecutive green lights on my drive. Thanks, God.

7:22am – I arrive at immigration, and write my name on a list. I am #25.  They start calling names at 8:00. This list is the list they call to give you a “real” number.

7:23am – I go to 7-11 to pay my electric bill and pick up a pack of tissue.

7:34am – I come back from 7-11, take a bathroom break (free toilet paper! I am trying to find all the positive things I can today), find a table and chair outside and set up shop for the day.  I work on my quarterly report, entering expenses and mileage.  I work on my monthly report.  Another positive thing: the immigration office now has free wifi.  Nice.

8:20am – They have started calling names.  I go inside to wait for my name and number to be called.

8:27am – I am called! I receive #215.  The 200 line is the line for renewing longer-term type visas.  There’s a sign on the wall that says #201-217 will be serviced before noon, and #218 onward will be serviced after 1pm.  At least #215 is in the morning and I don’t have to come back in the afternoon… but it’s going to be a long morning.

8:28am – I go back to my desk and chair outside.  The air conditioning compressor is blowing on me, so it’s kinda like air conditioning outside.  I work on my monthly report.  Another positive thing:  it’s a nice cool day today, so sitting outside isn’t miserably hot and sweaty.

8:40am – Some older American guy sits next to me and starts asking me about my visa and how old I am.  Slightly creepy.  The chair next to me is against the wall next to the desk, so whoever sits in it is face to face with me.  Also slightly creepy.

9:03am – His number is called so he leaves.  They are on #203 in my line. Hooray.  I do some more work.

9:10am – Fiona, an Australian AG missionary, comes up to me and says hi.  She’s here for a re-entry permit (which I’ll have to get after I renew my visa), but it shouldn’t take too long.  A group of Japanese workers are in the seats behind me.  Their Thai assistants explain to them in English what lines they’ll have to wait in today.

9:14am – A very old man sits down where the other guy was sitting. This one has flip-up sunglasses, striped pants, and purple and white shoes that match his shirt.  Chiang Mai collects all kinds of people.  They are on #204.  Good thing I have a lot of work to do.

9:26am – #205 and 206.

9:29am – Striped pants man moves to another chair.  I snack on a few crackers.  Believe me, I have come prepared today!

9:32am – Another old guy sits down in the seat next to me.  He looks familiar, probably from a previous trip to immigration.

9:43am – #207, almost halfway there!

9:56am – #208.  I smile at the cute kid standing on a chair inside on the other side of the window.

10:01am – #209, getting closer!  There are two desks that call the 200 numbers.  One has been stuck on #203 since it was called, and the other one is the only one that’s moving. Hm.

10:12am – #210 – and at the #203 desk! Hallelujah!

10:26 – #212.  #211 was a few minutes ago, I missed it.

10:30am – #213.  Maybe I will get out of here by noon after all.

10:40am – #214. Time for a bathroom break and move inside!!!  I eat an apple, and I still have time to throw away the core and wash my hands.

10:50am – My number is called!  I go behind the counter to the 200 desk where a lady takes my paperwork, circles a bunch of things, copies some pages, asks for my signature, stamps some things in my passport, and takes my money.  After sitting there for ten minutes, she tells me to wait in the room for my name to be called.  I find a seat and read.

11:22am – My name is called, and I am handed my passport, a receipt, and my change.

11:23am – I receive a queue number for my reentry permit – I’m #45.  Right now the counter is at #40.  I’m not sure if I’ll get out before noon, when they close for lunch.

11:40am – My number is called!  My form is not filled out completely (oops! New visa numbers, forgot to put that in), so I have to fill out some things and make copies.  The man who is telling me what to do has probably had a long morning too.  He stamps my passport with a few different stamps, and tells me to pay and sit down.

11:45am – I pay the money and sit down to wait for a receipt.  I read.

12:08pm – The guy behind the counter calls my name, has me sign a paper, and gives me my passport.  DONE.

And so I may legally stay in Thailand until September 28, 2012, at which point I get to do all of this over again!

I had to get a doctor’s certificate to prove to them I wouldn’t drown (which entails about a half hour at the hospital and getting my heart beat checked, telling them I do not have any diseases, and paying 100 baht), and bring a copy of my passport and two passport photos.  The nice part is that a one-year membership is 40 baht!  Then every time you swim is 15 baht.  I can handle that.

So I went at the time to swim, did my paperwork, and got ready to swim, and Surprise!  I had to have a swimcap to swim. They wouldn’t let me in without one.  BOO.  At least there’s a mall next to the park, so I had to go buy a cap at the mall next door.  When I finally got back in to the pool and they let me in, I had a really really really great swim and it was like a gift from God to be able to swim in this Big City.

My low point was being so frustrated when I had jumped through all the hoops and then didn’t have a cap.  Shame on me.  I am still learning about patience, and about not getting frustrated when things don’t happen the way I want or the way I think they will.  God, forgive me for being too hot-headed and too hot-hearted to smile and take the opportunity to display patience and show Your love.  May I do it better the next time!  And thank you for the opportunity to swim in Bangkok – teach me to have an attitude of thankfulness instead of frustration and impatience.

I love the way languages have their own ways of describing things.  In English, we call the ruts on the side of a bowling lane “gutters”, while in Thai we call them “pipes”.  There’s an idiomatic phrase used to refer to getting a gutter ball, which translated literally is “clean the pipes”.  When we got to church the next day, the first question was, “Was bowling fun?”  Yes!  The second question was, “Are the pipes clean?”  Yes, very very clean!  In my opinion, that sounds so much more positive than getting a gutter ball.