put on the full armor of God

I've been studying Thai with a new Thai teacher for the past month.  I really love her.  Her name is Nui and she is a sweet Christian lady, about my age, probably a little younger.  She actually grew up Catholic so she's taught me a few things about the Catholic church here in Thailand.  Many similarities to what I know of the Catholic church in the States but there are also differences.  Nui is a Christian and so the days when I meet her don't feel like I am in language study but rather that I am meeting up with a friend, who understands my heart.  It's been such a blessing to me.  

We've been studying different Buddhist ceremony practices and vocabulary.  There are some hard words to learn and remember but by God's grace I am learning...and remembering!  

After class today I walked to the church office in Ram 2 and chatted a bit with some folks there, got my first ever care package(!!!) and then headed to a copy shop to have photocopies made for the children's Sunday School class.  I got to a shop, entered and asked if I could get copies made.  The lady, about 50, quickly got up from her seat (she was watching a station similar to National Geographic).  I told her what I wanted done, 5 copies per each page (turned out to be about 200 copies) and so we had some time to chat.  She had many questions for me...where was I from, what am I doing in Thailand, how many children do I have among others.  As I answered I mentioned that we will be moving to Southern Thailand.  She got a look of concern.  She asked where and I told her.  She said that it's pretty there, but we need to be careful.  There are many ghosts there especially since the tsunami.  She asked if that scares me...and I said, "No, I'm not scared because I know God and He's more powerful than the spirits."  She didn't want to hear that...she went into a story of a time when she saw a ghost/spirit. She thought I didn't think they existed, but I told her no, I believe there are spirits but my God is greater.  She still went on about how scary it is.  In those moments I was asking myself, am I afraid of ghosts? Am I afraid of spirits?  I really believe that I answered truthfully, I know my God is greater and therefore I shouldn't be afraid.  He is able to protect me and keep me and yes, He may decide to allow me to go through something horrible, like Job, but it will be for His glory, for the FAME of His name and for my ultimate good.  I hope to visit this lady again when I need copies made.  She was so easy to talk to about everyday life and it was amazing to me how easy it was to talk about the spiritual world with her.  Please continue to pray for us as we listen to and desire to share the gospel.  Pray with us against the spirits of this world, as the spiritual forces of darkness are real and we are keenly aware of the battle we are in here.  Pray for our continued language ability, for us to understand what is being communicated and pray that we can, in turn, communicate the hope we have in Christ!  Pray for many Thai people to see that they are made in the image of a loving, good and holy Creator and not a result of some cosmic accident.  Thank you for standing with us in prayer.