Orange Power!

The thing about pastors or any Christian clergyman in general, is that
even if they wear some sort of robe or distinguishing dress, it falls
into the color palate of “neutrals” or “shades of black.” Revered men
in Buddhism however, are most commonly found in the unmistakable fall
colors of a beautiful ripe Halloween pumpkin, with touches of saffron
and crimson here and there. (OU fans can be monks occasionally I
guess...) They are of course unmistakable when seen this way as well
as bald headed, barefoot and constantly have people prostrated before
them or offering food. I am apologetic when I say that in the last
seven months I have remained in a state of suspicion and dismissal
when it comes to this large population of men I am not allowed to
touch.


























Something funny happens to those who fear God, as He enjoys taking the
very thing that makes them uncomfortable, and transforms it into an
opportunity for them to be reduced to nothing but love without
prejudice. So, here is a quick account of a March weekend for you.

As I have begun visiting the office of Partners (I won’t describe
their work in more detail as I want you to go yourself to their
website and hopefully be as compelled by their work as I was
www.partnersworld.org), I was invited on an allusive trip to a place I
couldn’t remember to do some task that I wasn’t really sure about.
(I’m pretty sure that is exactly how I described it to my dad and
anyone else who asked me where I was going) I ended up the morning of
in a van with five others driving up to Mae Sai which is a town on the
Thai/Burmese border which I was endeared to up until this point only
for their super cheap DVDs and a coffee shop where one of my Thai
friends works. We arrived at a temple/monastery and encountered a
classroom with seven robed men sitting on the floor awaiting wisdom
and discussion.
I described the weekend in more detail in an email and you can ask me personally for more details...

Something else occurred during these trainings that had significance
on planes that can’t be seen or studied. A barrier broke and a
connection was made mainly through one of our Partners staff,
who is an excellent Thai speaker and learned much of it talking with
monks, so for a foreigner, has a broad grasp of the intricacies of
Buddhist worldview. Mysteriously though the duration of this training,
the Partners staff and all of the monks morphed into a little
family and at the end of the training the monks all agreed and said
that we had “brought light from Heaven to their dark place.” When
offered money and resources, they asked for none, only knowledge to
share and ensure the freedom of their people.



















From this point on, although I know in every group there are good and
bad, I no longer see bald heads and strange robes, I see men who are
searching for truth, who come from real lives and want to teach others
and have the same appreciation for a bright obnoxious color that I do.
I encourage you today to step across what seem the most impossible of
boundaries and ask to see people as God sees them and love them truly.









































In other news, moving out of the childrens’ home to a lovely refuge
with an Australian friend and a warm shower, grabbing my last visa
from Laos, loving Partners and the people therein and getting to tag
along with med stuff, and planning my journey home which will involve
helping to work at an orphanage in Kenya for about a month with Nick
Jackson and filling in as needed when he goes back to the States for a
week or so. I should be coming home at the end of July!

Please pray for me as I journey April 13 to a camp for displaced
people to share
about Leadership and Jesus for about ten days! I need protection, wisdom
for how to put together the program and words from the Holy Spirit as
I go! Also, please pray for God’s provision for the children at Dawn
of Life Children’s home here and for the children of AMCC of Kenya.

Love,
Maggs