water water everywhere

so i got baptized for the first time today: april 18, 2010 (i realize that the post is not ‘today’, you caught me, i was a few days late on clicking the publish button). now i will tell you why…

give or take a week, thailand celebrates songkran, or its new year, as a water festival every april 13-15. traditionally, thais go back to their homes and bless one another (and the local buddha) with an anointing of water. according to wikipedia, “the most obvious celebration of songkran is the throwing of water”—this is an understatement:  if you are driving along on a motorbike, you will most assuredly be broadsided from the sidewalk with a bucketful of water in your face, regardless of the speed you are going; if riding along in a songthaew, whether dressed in your business suit or bikini, you also will targeted and arrive at your destination completely soaked. for the thais, there is no malice involved in this general dousing of the population, rather, smiles and dancing accompany both the blesser and the blessee. my first few days of the festival were spent in my bathing suit on the island of koh chang, throwing water and dancing on the sidewalk and then throwing water from the back of my trek guide’s truck. then i spent a day participating in a friend’s city on a much larger scale, fully clothed and dripping for our hour trip back to pattaya. and finally on the big, last day–the nineteenth–we all walked down to beach road and played in water, clay and suds until late into the evening. stages with traditional music, reggae bands, and street dancing all led up to the main stage where hoards of wet ones were covered in a steady stream of h2o coming from hoses up above the crowd. it was fantastic–water parks have nothing on this holiday–and now i am well ready to be dry and have un-pruny (i think that is the technical term) skin.

and so there was water.

a week prior to this, as i set my head down on my pillow ready for a snooze, God seemed to say, “now is the time.” and so i rolled over and promptly said to jessica, “i think i’m ready to be baptized.” amidst a time when all others were celebrating blessings and cleansing for a new year, i dunked into a cleaner season of blessed new life. though i ‘asked Jesus to come into my heart’ at the ripe age of six, baptism was always presented to me as an added option, never an requirement tacked onto my salvation (thank you, mom and dad, for ‘keepin’ it real’). for years it never became a desire of heart, and thus always represented a religious ritual in my mind, and i did not want to partake of it until my heart asked. it started making mention of such about a year ago, on my first trip to thailand. and all that i have experienced since has slowly built up to this climax–of praying for a way to show publicly what God has done privately within me–i want the world to know that i am His. it is an action of accepting my consecration to Himself, to complete abandonment of myself to His will, and one that reflects my being ‘seized by the power of a Great Affection’. i do not want anything to hinder my steps, i want to run free in spirit as well as in body, and now i am assured (if the baptists turn out to be right) that baptism of my body is pushed aside. this leaning back into the waves also symbolizes my accepting His human creation, me, cleansing it from all sin and walking in this reality (with fear and trembling, to be sure).

and so, already drenched in water from the songtheaw ride over to the beach, i stood together in the late afternoon with three thais and three foreigners who prayed over me–and then walked into the waves with ying and jessica, and took the plunge. it seems fitting to mention here, as you are all imagining a rather pristine and romantic scene, that this water is possibly the dirtiest stretch of ocean i have come into contact with yet: brown instead of blue, and trash of all sorts floating above the slimy bank (not to mention i peed in it as i waded in). nevertheless, today it was the holiest of waters, and i hesitated not to be covered in all its goodness. i would like you all to know, dear post readers, that the most difficult part of the ceremony was not having all of you there with me…to share in the celebration. but like all other events that have occurred on this side of the globe, i know that your spirits play with me, and love is not bounded by country lines.

“i have decided to follow Jesus; i have decided to follow Jesus; i have decided to follow Jesus; no turning back, no turning back…”

out of the mountains, down to the coast.

five hours of winding down out of the hills on a motorbike with my karen friend; a day in chiang mai; sixteen hours on a over-air conditioned bus where my seat refused to recline and the dutch boy to my right let me listen to his holland hip hop; an outrageously expensive songtao ride to my friend’s home, and i am have arrived in pattaya.

then to indo…the very next morning.

two hours via bus to bangkok airport; another two hour flight to malaysia, where i would spend the next nine hours: loosing all my cash to airasia, waiting in lines only to discover the atm’s do not like thai bank cards, hugging a wailing indian woman, scrounging just enough money to purchase my fist meal of the day at 6pm (at mcdonald’s–because at least that place reliably serves the same set of fries worldwide) before heading to the gate of my uber delayed plane and befriending a swedish fellow (who would later loan me some dollas to gain entry to indo), along with a crazy dutchman who sells large snakes; another couple hour hop to bandung, indonesia, where i would finally get to lay my head down at 2:30am; awake again two hours later to stumble out to a taxi serenaded by the morning call to prayer and head to the jakarta airport with my new friends, karen and beth; again, a couple hour flight (i am beginning to realize this trip consisted of multiple legs of two…i wish there was some overriding significance to this observation…nope) to land at our first destination point: banjarmasin, south kalimantan; and thus the trip to indo begins.

this week excursion all existed because of an email to my best friend’s aunt and uncle, who i was told i had to meet (and as it just so happens, i agree-i just had to meet these two). they recently moved out to indo and are beginning to gather together a missionary team with pioneers in order to reach the muslim community here (for those of you wondering, this country is predominately muslim, with the exception of the lone hindu island of bali). and after another few emails and phone chats, i had been paired with a girl (beth) surveying the different ministries in indo to join alongside her and see what God is up to on these islands. well, though no less mighty, this is where God goes undercover. still fresh off the plane from my stay in a buddist country–who is open to any and all religious chatter and peaceful with most all religious bent–entering into a place where evangelism (perceived or actual) is grounds for arrest and deportation came as bit of a jolt to my senses (all five of them, as well as my sixth). spiritually, the air hangs thicker and the hairs on the back of your soul are constantly at attention–your angels hover attentively closer. colloquially speaking, common talk converts into acronyms and substitute phrases for buzz words such as ‘christian’, ‘muslim’, ‘church’, and ‘missionary’. the missionaries here work on tiptoe–not in the i’m-afraid-to-be-heard-by-anyone sort of way, but rather as-a-ballerina-moves-so-gracefully-across-the-stage-so-too-am-i-moved sort of way. these people have such a passion for the unreached people of indo, they speak excitedly of prayer rooms shared by both muslims and christians, signs and wonders beginning to occur, christian radio stations and deep english class discussion groups, raising leaders to go back in and minister to their brothers and sisters. though this place may be closed, the spiritual realm is very much alive, and moving with great expectation.

i find it difficult and nigh impossible to effectively summarize this trip…but i will attempt to give you an overview by introducing you to the people i met along the way, and what each of them showed me:

• karen (and husband): moved from the usa almost a year ago to begin language study and is now almost fluent (she’s wicked smart); guide extraordinaire and planned the entire trip for beth and i–spent a few nights up real late together in deep discussions inspired by bad movies
• beth (aka elizabeth…and that’s not the only thing we had in common): an alabamian in her mid twenties en route to joining pioneers, had a rad time sharing our trips together and our desires to see God move through us all over the world; a divinely-given friend who i expect to keep in contact with for some time to come (maybe we will actually get to surf in indo together someday…)
• dave and karen (and two little awesome boys): just moved cities after completing language study and are beginning  ministry with an unreached muslim group; showed us around their town and had some local students come over to their house to video record us for an english class project; their spirits are so infectiously full of joy and enthusiasm, rejoicing in everything (even though they moved into their home a few days before we joined them, they still opened up their lives to us and shared meals with us on the dining room floor); i wish they could live next door to me wherever i go, two days with them was just not enough
• area directors for pioneers: now live in a gorgeous home in bali, but began as missionaries in papua new guinea with an indigenous tribe (grass skirts and everything) for years; these two are seasoned followers of Jesus (they’ve had a full gamut of experiences) and had a wealth of wisdom to pass down to us youngin’s
• liz (aka elizabeth…two in one trip, ridiculous i know): australian lady who lives in a little city home crammed in among indonesians (and loves it); i got to stay the night with her where we spent time discussing how we want to be crazy and all out for God, just letting the Holy Spirit move us into the most absurd and awesome experiences; she introduced me to many of her neighbors and i had a really jolly time under her care
• jeff and constance: what to do in your fifties after your children have grown up and flown the coop? move to a new country, learn the language, and plant churches as missionaries. life does not end until your dead, and until then, God calls us to keep abandoning and surrendering to the Holy Spirit’s guidance. i have met a few couples who sit together on a special pedestal within my mind, and these two just squished in beside them–i took as many pages as i could out of their book in the short span i spent at their home. after laughing and chatting with them over lunch, we sat down in their living room, where jeff walked through the scriptures to encourage me to discover my specific role in the church, practice my spiritual gifts, and then together they prayed over me and passed on prophetic words God has spoken; and then did not hesitate to drive me to and from the airport at ungodly times at night…

and after a very smooth trip back to the thai town, i am ready to begin the next two months of my journey in an insulated house, rented motorbike transportation, and paved streets; though still feeling much like aesop’s country mouse adjusting to a faster and more convenient lifestyle…

ode to an ocean

to acquaint again with your gracious awe,

to travel with my pupils to the horizon,

and know there is still more of you

i did not forget your sounds, your lulls, your crash–i still may sit at your feet and wonder.

the trees kept me busy and the river, preoccupied with gurgles and rushes;

but nothing can separate us–you and i–for you are the edge of adventure and the moments of peace and all that i need

to be happy.

i am welcomed again to the shore.