holidays

well, as we've said before, the kids were on a holiday for the past three days. we finally came to a close on the last one. two days ago we went to a dam with the younger kids. the first thing i did when i got out of the truck was slip onto my back into the water :) i now have a nice bruise to prove it. christianne also shared in my afflictions and now has a couple good bruises to prove it as well. over all, however, it was a lot of fun :) yesterday we took the kids to the zoo...it was much different than santa barbara's...first of all, it was free! this seemed really strange to me, considering almost everything here is an attempt to make money. second...the animals were very very close...the kids loved it though. their favorite(and mine) were the ostriches. God has such a creative imagination!

it has been interesting that this entire trip a very large portion of our time talking with ron and praying (at least for me personally) has been about prostitution. it's so bad. and more and more the Lord keeps on putting situations in our midst that confront us with it's evil. the Lord has really shown me that while yes, there is obviously a very real physically dimension to this problem, the root is spiritual. we fight not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. this is more than a struggle of earthly justice; it is a fight against demonic forces that have ruled in this land for centuries. there is so much "social justice" being done in thailand to try to stop the trade of children and trafficking of women into prostitution. but to what avail? it's like trying to stick a bandaid on a gunshot wound; yes, it may cover the puncture, but the wound goes so much deeper than the surface. i was reminded of the partnership between evangelism and social justice when thinking about this. just as faith without works is useless, so works without faith is useless. to see Jesus glorified in thailand, we must work and fight with Him against the evils in the physical and spiritual realm. we must take hold of the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, and not only love in word or tongue but in deed and truth. prayer not only changes things, it prompts our hearts into action. it truly is the time to live for our Savior. He is more than worthy.

wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.

isaiah 1:16-17

love you guys. keep us in your prayers; we both have been experiencing sickness for the past couple days..headaches, stomachaches, bodyaches(this mostly just from slipping around in the dam...). pray that we would finish strong and walk in the good works God has placed before us daily!
<3beth