Month: August 2014

My favorite word in the entire English language is ‘grace’. If I were to name a church, I would name it ‘Grace Community Church.’ Grace means to receive what we don’t deserve. Grace is what distinguishes gospel Christianity from all other religions where salvation is worked for and achieved rather than received through faith alone.

We are here as a family by the sheer grace of God and because so many of you have shown us grace in supporting us financially. We have also been shown a lot of grace by folk here who have helped us with many basic things like huge shopping trips to get furniture, crockery and bikes, entertaining our children, taking us to an Elephant safari and helping us get school uniform.

We still have a long way to go. We would value your prayers for acquiring a car (much more expensive than we thought), a nursery for Isaac and an oven. We want to use these things to serve more effectively and would like to host house-church in our house occasionally. But we need to get some furniture and be hospitable. Set up costs are rather more than we anticipated.

It is a real pleasure to teach at Grace International School. My main subject here is teaching the students in high school how to study the bible. We have started with a Bible overview and compared the plot-line to other plots which we love eg: Star Wars, Shawshank Redemption, Hunger Games, The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings, Avatar, The Truman Show. In each of these, there is a situation of darkness in which the prospects seem hopeless. But there is the promise of redemption, and justice prevailing. Great sacrifice needs to be effected for this to occur.  This, too, is the plot-line of the bible after the rebellion of mankind against their creator. The Bible narrative is the ultimate story to which all other stories point.

Next, we are looking at how our society objects to the Bible worldview. We are looking at the view that history is written by the winners and that we cannot know anything for sure about the past. We are investigating the allegation that the bible is out of date, sexist, violent and tribal. We are then focusing on the reliability of the original documents and the copies that were made. As we do this, we are also learning to handle the bible. The students write a journal every evening on passages, set by me, which are peer assessed. We are learning how to observe, interpret and apply scripture so that the students have the tools to feed themselves from God’s word for the rest of their lives.

Here at Grace, students are not only educated, but they take part in mission with their teachers. Many will be involved in outreach to tribal groups in the area, to refugees, handicapped children and persecuted minorities. A course in sports leadership, equips students to use sport as a means of reaching out.

As a family, we are overwhelmed at the impact the school has on young lives, apart from enabling missionaries to stay here or in their field, confident in the education that their children are receiving.

Sam, Lois and Joe have a made a good start in school and have been learning some new sports as you can see in the photos.  Please continue to pray for us. Each new day is a challenge and a blessing. We would especially ask that we can find the right nursery for Isaac and that he would sleep through the night without coming in to our room for comfort. We also ask that you would pray for us to find the right vehicle and to stay safe and healthy.

With much love:  The Webbs

 

Before Ann and the children arrive, and before I go on a staff trip overnight tomorrow, I thought I would take the opportunity to write another post about what God has called us to do in Chiang Mai. I make no excuses for immediately referencing that call of God. I believe 100% that God has called us as a family to serve him here in Chiang Mai and in the community of Grace International School.

After a difficult and harrowing year, during which I completely lost my confidence and pondered many regrets, God has helped me to know in my heart that the experiences we have been through, including the successes and failures, in working with Friends International, as a Pastor and as a teacher have culminated in this opportunity live in Thailand for as long as the Lord wants us to be here.

The school is enabling missionary families to stay on the field but I have also began to realize that Chiang Mai is a place where many bruised and broken families come for respite care. Families at Grace have served and are serving in Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia among other places. The children and young people studying at the school, therefore, are part of families who have endured and suffered much.

 

 

 

Although these missionaries are often amazing people, they are not immune from a fallen world and that falleness manifests itself in all the typical ways and some typical ways. Some parents, whose children study at Grace
have neglected their children in the name of serving Jesus. Some of the students are very resentful of their parent’s life choices. This is not a school where behaviour is impeccable. Pornography, bullying, ‘sexting’ abuse, etc go on here too. But it is a school where God’s grace is exalted.

Having received so much of God’s grace, my mission in life is to speak much of it and to show it. I can’t do that in my own strength. But God has called my family and I to this location to magnify his grace.

Those of you who pray and support us, you are partners in this. I hope you can feel a measure of the excitement of being partners in God’s plan to radiate his grace to the nations.

 

 

 

This grace has helped me get through some crazy days recently. Last night I was preparing to go to bed when I heard the sound of rushing water. A pipe had burst in the kitchen and had completely flooded the downstairs portion of the house. And it was coming out fast. Because we live in community, I was able to call on a fellow teacher nearby who found the valve and then sped me away on his motorbike to the school (at 10pm) where we picked up some ‘super-soppers’ (which I held in one hand as I clasped his back tightly on the end of the bike) in order to shunt the shin high water into the downstairs bathroom.

 

 

 

Because I have been spending my time furnishing as well as flooding the house, I have fallen behind in lesson preparation. I do need prayer that I can prepare a great scheme of work and great lessons as I am teaching Bible study methods to grades 9-12 (14-18 year olds). This is an incredible privilege and I am desperate to do a good job.

Well, Ann and the children arrive on Friday night. I haven’t seen them for two weeks so that is exciting. They are going to be tired, hot and overwhelmed. Please pray that they may settle quickly and also know this sense of call without numbering themselves among those children who feel neglected in the cause of Jesus.