For those of you who don’t know: Christy and I are having a baby boy! Our son is due in mid-November. Stay tuned for further details. I hope to set up a baby news blog/website at some point in the near future.
April 12, 2008
I had the honor of speaking to my parent’s church a couple of weeks ago. You can watch that message by clicking Here. Click on the link for the 3-30 service once you get there. The sermon begins at around the 26 1/2 minute mark.
Peace…
March 19, 2008
Writing to Myself
Posted by tableguy under Church, Day to Day, Education AffiliationLeave a Comment
At this point, I’m probably just writing to myself. It doesn’t look like I’m actually going to be able to maintain the discipline of blogging anymore, but I will try to check in from time to time to give a brief update and respond to any comments that may filter in.
Here’s the latest:
- Things at Wilshire are good. Christy and I both like the church and enjoy what we do there. We have found it to be a unique and wonderful community of faith.
- I was recently accepted to a Doctor of Ministry program at Fuller Theological Seminary. I hadn’t intended to begin coursework until the Fall, but have been given the opportunity to go ahead and take their “gateway” course this Spring. The course officially begins on March 31.
That’s the latest. Of course there are more details to be shared, but if you want those you’ll have to ask.
Peace,
Jason
February 19, 2008
Some people have asked where my sermons can be read or heard. Click Here to access our church sermon archives. You will have to select 2008 or 2007 sermons to find mine. There are no audio recordings available for the ones preached at our Vespers services.
It usually takes a couple of weeks for the audio to make it to the web, so you might have to wait for the Feb 10th message.
That’s enough about that. As for my lack of posting…. I can’t say that I’ll do better in the future, but if there is something you’d like to know…something you’d like to be caught up on… let me know. I’ll try to post an update.
Peace…
November 9, 2007
Hey there. I don’t have much time to write these days, but just in case your one of the three people who still check in on me every now and then…I just wanted you to know that I’m still around.
Christy and I have had a nice transition back into life in the States. We’ve both been serving on staff at Wilshire Baptist Church since early September. We love our new church. If you’re ever in the Dallas area, come check it out.
If you’re interested in catching up, give me a call or shoot me an email.
If you just need something to read, click HERE to read a sermon that I preached a few weeks ago:
It was the first one in a long while…
Peace to you
August 21, 2007
Part I, by Jason
Almost six years ago I picked up a packet of information and brought it back to my Baylor Apartment. On the outside of the packet was the picture of a five year old girl from Thailand named Sirinya. I filled out the required information, I wrote that first check, and then I placed it in the mail. It all began with the urging of a friend that believes in an organization called Compassion International. I have always retained a bit of skepticism toward organizations like Compassion, wondering where the money really goes. Those thoughts are long gone. I have letters, I have the drawings from a sweet little Thai girl, and now, I have the memory of a smile that I will never forget.
In early June, Christy and I traveled with a guide to Chiang Rai to meet the child that I have sponsored through Compassion for 5 1/2 years. Days after meeting her, thoughts of our visit still consumed my mind. In a few hours years of sponsorship and letters became real, and Sirinya took a piece of my heart. I’m sure I should have expected this, but it came as a bit of a surprise to me.
We have been working with marginalized people in this country for over 10 months now. The experience of meeting Sirinya, her grandparents, her schoolmates, and the Compassion project workers was educational, but understandably, nothing that we saw was shocking. We have grown accustomed to the people here and to the poverty in which some of them live. Stepping into the reality of a village or a family in need is simply something that we do. Still, Sirinya’s smile, her beautiful personality, her world, her story, and our shared history of scattered letters filled my heart. It was like meeting a daughter that I didn’t know I had. The meeting was brief, but when we left there was a feeling that I could not quite understand – it didn’t make sense to me. Weeks have passed now and I think I have the words – it’s love – love for someone that we barely know, but still – its love
Part II, by Christy
I imagine it was a day of both heartache and joy. A woman breathed her last as the cries of her newborn surged in to fill the void in the room. A family of 11 now became a family of 10. Who would care for this baby? What must it have been like for my friend Wah to hold her baby sister as she stood so near the lifeless body of her mother?
Wah describes this time in her life as, “tiring.” In the face of grief, this slight teen looked at her sister, gripped her faith, and accepted her responsibility. She continued to attend school, yet struggled to stay awake as she rose every few hours each night to care for her sister.
In the face of such opposition, it must have been tempting to step away from her education to take on the role of mother, but Wah persevered. Her family lived simply and did not have money for luxuries. She told me recently that when she was a child she did not eat eggs or snacks because there was no money in her village for such things. When I asked her to recommend a nice gift for a child who is in a similar situation, she smiled and said, “Clothes!” When she was young she dreamed of having beautiful new clothes.
I have never heard Wah utter a complaint about the hand she was dealt. I attribute this to her strong relationship with Christ. She was introduced to faith at a young age, and one of the strongest Christian influences in Wah’s life was Compassion International. Wah was a Compassion child. God worked through Compassion and Wah’s sponsors to provide her with an education and the hope of a bright future.
Nearly a decade has passed since Wah received her final month of sponsorship. She is now employed at UHDP as the Office Manager. This is her “official” title, but she cringes every time it is uttered. She does not consider herself a “boss” or “manager” but strives to be a servant to everyone around her. She is succeeding. I have lived numerous places and have known many people, but I have rarely been in the presence of one as generous and kind as Wah. Most evenings, she invites Jason and me to eat the food she has prepared. She shares her time and her love with us. She does this because she loves people and she believes this is what Christ would do.
Too often we enter into this thing called “mission” with the hope of changing those around us. We pack our bags with clothes and education, and head into the world intent on transforming those in our path. What a beautiful reminder it is to step back and recognize that in the midst of our pride, God does in fact transform. He transforms us. He has used Wah to transform me. Her service, her smile, and her kindness have reminded me what it means to be the hands and feet, the incarnation, of Christ to another. This, my friends is mission.
August 21, 2007
We lived and worked on a farm in Northern Thailand…
Posted by tableguy under Life Events, Reflection, Travel, cultureLeave a Comment
A Reflection from Christy
I love the rainy season. After months of suffocating heat and parched lands the rains bring refreshment in every way. The space around us has changed from shades of brown to bright hues of greens, reds, yellows… Thailand is a beautiful country.
It is hard to imagine that the seasons have come and gone and Jason and I have been here for a year. When I reflect upon the calendar that has passed I see faces. I see the face of my beautiful friend Wah who has reminded me again of what it means to be a generous servant. I see the mischievous grin on our friend Ajan Tui’s face. He has set the example for what it means to selflessly advocate for at risk children more than anyone else I’ve known. I see the weathered face of a Palaung village headman sharing about his journey from Burma to Thailand. I can still see the pain in his eyes as he recalled the day his son was shot in the conflict. I hear laughter, and in that laughter I see the faces of beautiful children who have endeared themselves to me.
I journeyed to Thailand a year ago with a suitcase full of clothes and books and a heart full of hope. In just a few short weeks I will be repacking that suitcase. Mixed in with the same clothes and books will be a multitude of memories and lessons learned. I have been reminded of what the Gospel is about. There is beauty in salvation – salvation beyond this life as well as within it. Salvation from poverty, from injustice, from racism…and as Christians we are called to share this salvation with others, no matter the geography. From the hills of Northern Thailand to the skyscrapers of Dallas, TX my passion and desire is to share the hope and love of Christ to those who are hopeless. As this chapter of my life closes, I look excitedly to the one opening. I can only hope that I will be faithful to live out the lessons that I have learned with the grace that I have seen among my kind and loving neighbors here in Thailand.
A Reflection from Jason
My friend Susan lived in South Africa for two years. She recently shared with me that when she returned to America her schedule was so busy that it didn’t really set in that she was back. However, a few months later at her mission debriefing she slowed down and began to process everything. In a moment, her experiences came crashing in and she began to cry. “I lived in Africa for two years!”
People keep asking me what I’ve learned from our time overseas. I have a few pages of notes on that subject in my hand right now. I could bore you with them, but the truth is I’m not sure how to answer that question. I can’t tell you what I’ve learned, how I’ve changed, or what I will miss…I have a feeling that those truths will come to me over time as they did for Susan – in slow, unexpected moments. Susan said that one of the most difficult things about returning to America was that there was this new part of her story that others could listen to, but that no one could really envision or understand. There will be moments like that for me. Truth will come rushing in as I realize how I have changed. African immigrants and Burmese refugees are now a part of my story – they have affected me in ways that no other person, except perhaps Christy, will be able to understand.
I hope to be faithful. If I return to America and leave behind the lessons that God has taught me through the French, the African, the Sri Lankan, the Thai, the Palaung, the Karin, and the Lahu, I will have chosen unfaithfulness. Volunteer groups often come to UHDP for one or two weeks and leave knowing that they were served by others much more than they served. I stand with them in that knowledge. Our friends around the world have challenged and changed me. They have been my teachers.
These years have been truly transformational. In the midst of surprise, joy, wonder, and much transition, you have been with us – praying, writing, giving, and serving. For this, we thank you, we love you, and we hope to see you all very soon.
