I Met God Twice this Week

Last Saturday after my Sabbath School class I thought to myself that I should try to go to Cross Walk Church a couple of blocks away. While driving toward the church I felt the compulsion to go to the park and meditate instead. And so I thought I should swing by In-N-Out for a burger and fries…good for meditation. I did even though the line was long. As I was heading toward the park I thought of how my wife and I used to help street kids in Thailand. One thought led to the other. I was wondering what would it be like to get a chance to help a homeless person on Sabbath. And as I was thinking there he was, a very old man pushing an old bicycle. I thought to myself, but not today God. I waited too long at In-N-Out. Next time. I drove pass. And God spoke to me. I turned my car around, pulled in front of the old man and passed him my set lunch. His hand was shaking, his face wrinkled, his clothes unwashed. He could hardly say a word when I gave him the burger. But in his eyes I knew he was very thankful. As I drove away, I felt that to be a very special God moment for me. To be overwhelmed with the feeling of being in the presence of something Sacred was worth everything.

Every month I received a small amount of money for my supervision work. I used this money sometime to entertain myself…buying small electronic toys etc. and at other time I use it for charity. One of my students has been struggling financially trying to support his family but he never complained, never asked always presenting a very positive attitude. I thought Christmas must be hard for him. And so I slipped some money in an envelop and told the secretary to call but never to reveal my name. He came to the office wanted to know from whom but the secretary refused to tell. He left the office. Opened the envelop and came back to the office with tears in his eyes. He had a couple of dollars left in his saving and told his children that this Christmas was going to be difficult. When I heard this story, the first thought was that God do really knows us and what we are going through. God knows. This is such a soulful moment for me. I met God twice in a week and I could not have asked for more.

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Mine’s Graduation: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty

This is Mine in the center.  To the left is Ar, ADRA project coordinator, who has been very supportive of Mine and my sister, Surapee Silapachan, to her right.  We are all very proud of Mine who left the village since she was 14/15. Came to Chiang Rai to study and had to work really hard to obtain an education.  We have been sponsoring her since 2004 and now she finally graduated with a Bachelor degree in home economics from Rachamongkol University.  The first person in her village (Hmong village) to graduate with a bachelor degree.  About 10 family members rented a pick up truck and came to Bangkok to attend her graduation (you could read more of her story in my earlier post).  When I met her in Bangkok last September she made one very meaningful statement, “If not because of your support, there will not be today for me.”  Mine send half her pay check to her family in Chiang Rai and she told me that she would do anything to make sure that all her younger siblings obtain bachelor degrees.

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