Sunday, June 19: I’ve
been in a large conference for pastoral trainers in Bangkok for the past 3 days.
It has been nonstop morning to night and I have not had the energy to write
anything until today. What a blessing to be here with 3,000 or so men and women
from over 100 different countries. It has been amazing to worship with
believers and workers from so many different cultures. It has been a foretaste
of heaven when people from every tongue and nation will give praise to Jesus.
I have had brief encounters with many people from dozens of
different countries and many extended conversations as well. I have been
praying that I would meet and connect with the people that God sovereignly
designs for me to meet. At times, it has been amazing, like when I sat with two
men, one of which lives 10 miles from me in Colorado and does pastoral training.
His colleague went to college with a man from my home church from whom I rented
an apartment when I went to college. All these encounters while I am here on the
other side of the world with 3000 others in the room. Another man I met in line
for lunch lives 60 miles from where I lived in Iowa and said, “I came here to
learn about pastoral training, I would like to get involved.” I invited him to
sit with us to eat and he is interested in joining our training in Iowa in
August. I could mention many other such encounters. I have also met several
people I knew who I did not know would be here. It was a joy to reconnect with
leaders from LRI, the organization that helped us get our start in training,
and discuss with them common challenges and our efforts to improve.
One man I have seen every day is from a large country in S.
Asia that is often in the news and is not one that I would have thought we
would ever visit. He leads a seminary there and is very interested in seeing
how to use our training in the school and to reach out to students who cannot
attend. We may end up visiting this country, which is perhaps a bit more dicey
as far as security than any we have visited before.
I will leave on Thursday for our usual visit to a S. Asia
country where I will survey on new city for future training, and conduct a
training in the capital. There Edie will join me, and then we will travel south
to where we trained before to encourage the brothers and sisters there. One of
the men there is training in many different places and he will join us for
training in northern Sri Lanka. I have had “chance” encounters with several
from that country who are interested in helping us connect with new pastors in
the South. We are still working on our schedule although I now know I will be
preaching in a Baptist church there on Sunday and a meeting with pastors on
Saturday. I am not sure what Monday will bring, hopefully we will connect with
the large seminary in the capital.
I am making progress with jet lag and thank you all who
remember to pray for Edie and me as we travel.
Al
No comments:
Post a Comment