Pressing On

More thoughts in the series ... this time from a friend in Central Asia.   Monday tomorrow – back to the office. Sometimes, it seems like a drag. Teaching, translating, trouble-shooting, personnel problems. I dream of being a ski instructor (not that I can ski!) or of 'full-time' ministry. But then I remember why I am here: 19 years ago God called me – suddenly, unexpectedly – to this 'closed' country (but no country is really closed, just takes more creativity to enter) that I had only heard of in passing, and his commission: “I am building by Church there – you go and be a co-builder with me”. And then 6 years later (when I was already on-site) “I will lead you in ways you have not known”, as he directed me to start a business. Most people think the business is a 'platform' – that's insider language for a way to get a visa. It isn't - ok, maybe I...

The next instalment in my very occasional series comes from some workers in South Korea ... Enjoy and, if inspired, get stuck in yourself! We have been here, in South Korea, just one year – my husband Paul and myself, Kim.   Our ministry is teaching, training, mentoring, mobilising. We currently live in a city called Yeosu which is made up of three ‘downtown’ areas and is not really a city at all. But it is a beautiful area with a large coastline that reminds me of my hometown in Devon. Yeosu happens to be the base for MTI, the only Missionary Training College in Korea that teaches English in a community setting where the students speak English all the time, whatever their level. The teachers are all native English speakers that come as volunteers for ten weeks. You do not have to be a qualified teacher to volunteer (...

More thoughts from my guest blogger, Malcolm Gr a y - Thailand.   “Why did you stay among the campfires to hear the whistling for the flocks?” (Judges 5:16).  Israel have settled in the promised land of Canaan. There is an uprising under Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army with their 900 iron chariots. Israel are too disunited and afraid to face the enemy. Owing to a lack of willing male warriors, God chooses a courageous woman, Deborah, to lead the Israelite army into battle, consequently shaming the men. Predictably, God pulls through, and an amazing battle is won in the shadow of Armageddon (Mount Megiddo). God sends rain, the plain of Megiddo turns to a sticky mess, rendering the chariots useless, and Sisera flees on foot to a friend’s tent. Jael is the welcoming hostess, allowing the exhausted commander to sleep – just long enough for her to drive a tent peg through his temple, rendering ...

This year marks the centenary of WEC International . It is great to give thanks for what the Lord has done these last 100 years with and through the WEC fellowship - but I also want ed to mark what is happening in the world today ... So here are some more details ... "My name is Malcolm Gray, living in Thailand with my wife Kerstin and ten-year old daughter, Amy. We are a family of ‘missionary kids’ – or ‘MKs’ according to mission lingo. My daughter and I were born in Thailand. My wife was born in Burundi, each of us to missionary parents – who are not coined ‘MPs’ by the inconsistent lingo ! Our passports state that we are British and Swedish, though, if my Dutch mother was the type, she may feel slightly hard done by – but she’s not. She taught me about g race rather than being Dutch. And that’s what we aim to teach the Thai – what Grace is as opposed to what being Dutch ...