Sunday, June 1, 2008

vacation? when did this become a vacation? i guess we could use some rest

6/1

Happy belated birthday to Dad and Patrick (you're a teenager now!). I’ve been meaning to write that, our time has been pretty short with communication though (as always). Madhu uncle (traditional in india to call people you know with family distinctions in their names - kids actually called us eric uncle, mike anna (anna = big brother) etc) has planned a bunch of sightseeing type stuff for us so far. Today we went up to the mountains. It was very beautiful, and we got to be in a cloud. We also met a crazy group of Indian guys who basically treated us almost like we were celebrities. wanted to take lots of pictures with us, exchange emails, all of that. It was pretty funny. Except we should’ve used to opportunity as a better witness. Its interesting how curious everyone is, especially in areas where I’m betting they don’t see a lot of westerners

5/31

Went on this tour down to the tip of India today. We saw this historical palace, which was pretty interesting, and got to learn a lot more history and culture. The second place we went to was the suchindram temple. it was full of idols and people going around worshipping them and pray to them. It broke our hearts, and made for a really intense half hour. It really gave us a grasp for the spiritual state of this country, and opened our eyes to a lot of stuff. In many ways, I thought of it as a wake up call.

We’ve seen a lot of interesting things. There’s actually a bunch of Christian stuff around here, but its hard to tell how genuine. I’d hate to be pessimistic, but my eyes also tell me to be realistic, so we just pray that people know the truth and (if not the case) then it does become real to them. A lot of people seem to put His name on their rickshaws and vehicles, and there are statues and pictures set up in a lot of places, but those seem to be treated more like mere additions to a pantheon of all the idols and temples that line the streets, or sales gimmicks

Pray for:

Boldness – though we don’t want to cause any trouble here, we’ve had our chances

The people – openness to hear combined with a hunger for truth, a hunger for something more

Rest – despite plenty of time, I (mike) have not had the best sleep the past few nights

Preparation – we’ve been listening to some good teachings, and have been reading some good books (incl. the good book), and He is preparing us more and more daily


i love you all (i'm sure eric does too, he's going to write on this one of these days)

mike


5 comments:

Eric & Autumn Thomason said...

mmm brothers. we love you so much and are asking the lord for his sweet sweet protection, peace, gladness, confidence... geez. can't get over it. haha mike, last night i was chilling in bed praying for people, and i heard your laugh in my head distinctly. and my heart was like ahhh. brother. and then i had a very vivid picture of you, eric, in my head, when you're about to tell a story or teach us something and you use your hand to talk and you get all focused... but then it ends up being something really funny instead of something serious. hahaha.

anyway. yes. beautiful. the lord is good good good. we know your hearts are being molded in the hands of the potter. and we can't. i think we can all say honestly and genuinely that we rejoice in remembering you. keep strength, brothers. keep running with our faithful daddy!

aut

Anonymous said...

Hi Michael
All is well at home. Jeff is home from CS and sleeping a lot. Patrick went to several parties over the weekend. School is out. Stay in the moment and you will know when to speak and when to be quiet. Read Isaiah 30:21 . Our prayers are with you. Love Mom and Dad

Margaret said...

Mike, My parents emailed me a link to your blog. Sounds like you are having a great mission experience. I'd love to hear more of your stories and see some pictures when you are in Warner Robins this summer. You're in my prayers. Margaret Bagwell

Anonymous said...

Michael called to say that Eric and he are now in Hyderbad. They had a two day train trip and both of them are under the weather. They'll be staying in a hotel tonight. Hot showers and hopefully a good night of sleep. Internet access is very limited, so they may not be posting until their return. They have been asked to do a sermon on Sunday, so please pray for them that they will speak God's words. Also prayers for the next three weeks and for a safe return home. Joanna Nakayama

Anonymous said...

hey boys. just dropping by to say I'm thinking about y'all and I've got your back Mike about the sleeping issue. I always have trouble with that! sounds like you are doing well. The memory verse for camp this week is Colossians 3:2 "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things of this world." Keeping that verse in mind while I was in Japan really helped for perspective. can't wait to hear all about the trip!