Cru @ Lake Hart

One of the highlights from our time of travelling around the USA with Laya and Noel last month was our visit to our CRU headquarters.

Lake Hart is in Orlando, Florida and is such a beautiful facility where the offices for many of our ministries are located.

Mai came in from Thailand to join us for the last part of the trip in the USA and return with Laya back after we dropped Noel off at his college.

Our friend, John R.,  gave us a personalized tour of Lake Hart.  Mike enjoyed a few moments sitting in Dr. Bill Brights desk. (Founder of CCCI)

Mai has been on staff with TCCC for around 20 years and directs the office that deals with all the finances.  She was so impressed to see the finance office of Cru on such a bigger scale. We were so happy for her to get a vision for CCCI that has 20,000 staff all over the world in something like 200 countries.

The Presidents office of Cru hosted a reception for Laya, so fellow staff from the USA that knew Nok could see her and give their condolences.  Many have worked with Enoch over the years.

Dr. Steve Douglass, the president surprised us by coming, even though he had some health issues of his own that had limited his activity.

It was a very special reception for all of us.

Mike asked the group to share some of their memories of Nok and things that they had learned from him.  Dr. Steve shared quite a bit, telling us that every time he was with Nok he was encouraged by his huge vision and national plan to reach the country of Thailand.

Several others shared of how much they will miss his enthusiasm and passion for fulfilling the Great Commission in Thailand.

Dr. Steve prayed for both Laya and Noel as they continue on in life without their husband and father. I felt that Steve's prayer was so directed by God's spirit and powerful in encouraging them to move forward.

On our way home, we stopped by to visit the grave sites of Dr. Bright and Vonette on the Lake Hart property. They are still such an inspiration to all of us.

This visit was such a treat for Mike and I and reminded us of how privileged we are to serve with Cru. The community of love and support we felt made us all so thankful and blessed.  Thank you to everyone, especially the Rogers who made our visit special and treated us so well.

Yuttasak Sirikul- to live is Christ, to die is gain.

It has already been over two weeks since our good friend and director Enoch, left his earthly home and entered his eternal home- and yet some days, we still can't get over the shock. Sudden heart attacks give no time to prepare or process.

So here we are back and forth between our home in Chiang Mai on the weekends, and our office in Bangkok during the week.  Much has been shared on Facebook, but I want to share a few more photos here from so many years of memories with Nok.

This was 1981, the year that we met Nok.  He was Mikes trainee our first year at the Great Commission Training Center in Manila, Philippines.  That was also the year that we entered parenthood with our firstborn Marisa and we have pictures of him holding her as he hung out at our house.

Mike with his two trainees. These three were quite the attention-getters as they went on campus each day in Manila.  The white guy and  6ft.Paula from Fiji and Nok.

In 1986, after 7 years in the Philippines, we moved to Bangkok with 3 daughters.  There were two national staff in Thailand at that time.  The ministry grew quickly, Jen was born in 1988 and the girls were regular singers at student conferences.  Nok taught them to sing some Thai songs with him, too.

The girls were all in their wedding in 1992. (Oh, Judy, your 90's look is pathetic) 

This was our growing staff team together when Dr. Bright and Vonette came for a visit. Nok is beside Mike in the back right corner.

This was taken in Iowa on one of our furloughs when we lived on the Fike farm in Orange Township.  I can still hear his giggle as we pulled him around the farm behind the snowmobile.  No snow in Thailand, made it his first time to play in snow.

After Nok finished at DTS, God gave him a vision to reach Thailand and developed in him leadership skills that allowed him to help make a national plan with pastors all over this country.  We have watched God use him over and over in promoting unity across all denominations.

Below are just a few of some of our favorite photos of him, being used by God:

Laya (Oo to us) and Noel are feeling his absence the most.  Please continue to pray for them as they adjust to a new life without him and for all our Thai CCC staff as we strive to carry on the way he taught us. We thank God for all that we learned from his life and the impact that he had in advancing the kingdom of God.

Cru Global Missions

We are excited about all the Summer Mission  opportunities with Cru this summer. Our family will be spread out.  The Foltzs and Mike and I will be doing various projects here in Thailand. 

Ben and Jennifer will be helping staff a stateside project called the Ozark Lakes in Branson Missouri. You can read about their project here.

Lori is going on the Oasis project to the Middle East. You can read about her project here. 

Michael and Bethany have been asked to film an updated documentary of East Asia and help with the filming of the GPro Congress in Bangkok that we will also be helping to staff. We are thrilled that we will get to see them here in Asia in June.

Summer is not too far off and we anticipate each of these exciting opportunities for our family. It is pretty neat to think of all the ways that God will be building His Kingdom this summer. 

A Thai Funeral

The father of Lar, (our northern region assistant director) died recently and Mike and I went to the funeral  a few hours north of Chiang Mai to show her our support.  The funeral was a cultural experience and the way our staff family showed love to Lar made an impression on me that I want to share with you. Lar is the only Christian in her Buddhist family.  We've been to other funerals, but I had my camera on this one which makes it easier to share with my readers what we experienced. At a Thai funeral the casket is placed in the home or outside the home as guests arrive.

A photo portrait of her deceased father was prominently displayed. 

Flowers (real and fake) decorated the coffin.  Our staff came early to help Lar with the flower arranging. 

We came for the meal the day of the cremation and there were  50 tables of 8 set up all around their neighborhood to feed the 400 expected guests. They had been feeding people every night for 7 days before the cremation. The monks came every night to chant the sutras that would benefit the deceased. Food was offered to the officiating monks as part of the merit-making for the deceased. The daily chanting and gathering is not a completely sad affair.  They eat food, play games, and visit.  Efforts are made to take away sorrow, loneliness and the fear of spirits with music and fellowship.

In the afternoon, there was a funeral procession moving the casket from the home to the crematorium.  A man carrying a white banner on a long pole led the procession.

Behind him was the photo of her deceased  father on a wheeled cart.

Next in the procession were 8 monks holding a rope which extended back to the coffin. 

Behind the monks, were the friends and relatives, all holding onto the rope and pulling the casket to the crematorium.  They feel that this is a merit making act toward the deceased. 

Lastly was the casket on a trailer with wheels and a driver who just needed to steer the cart in the right direction as it was being pulled.

You will notice at a Thai funeral that only black or white or muted colors are worn with no bright colors.

It was about a 30 minute walk pulling the casket from the home to the crematorium and even though it is our cool season, the afternoon sun was hot.

Mike and I and our staff joined the procession, to show our support to Lar, some of them holding the rope and others walking behind the casket. 

Once we arrived the casket was placed in front of the crematorium and everyone was served cold water.

The monks sat facing the coffin, and then gathered at a table to receive gifts from the family.

During the ceremony, the guests sat on cement benches to watch them give gifts and recognize the givers. 

These men helped with the ceremony and moving the casket, similar to a pall bearer's duties. 

Pictures were taken with the different groups of guests who came.  This is the family photo. 

Lar is the only child and this is a photo of her mom and her with the funeral helpers.  Now that her mom will be home alone, she had asked Lar to stop working with us and move home to be with her. This was difficult for Lar, which is why we wanted to demonstrate our love to Lar and her mom.

After the monks chanting and ceremony, the coffin was placed outside the door of where it was burned and the guests filed by one last time to ask forgiveness for any wrongs done to him. 

The family stood near the casket as their friends passed by.  Before the actual burning, her mom hopped on a motorcycle and was driven to her home.  They believe that since the husband and wife were such soul mates, that she should not be there when he was cremated, because his spirit might attach to her.

Wood and gasoline were lighted under the coffin and then it was pushed in and the door shut tightly. The smoke billowed out the top of the chimney for the next few hours.  Later the ashes were collected and kept in an urn.

This was the hardest part of the funeral for Lar.  All the guests left right after this, but our staff gathered around her to pray for her and her family.

We walked back to their home and our CCC staff helped with the clean up from all the guests in and outside the home.  We then met together in their home and Mike led us in a time of sharing our love for their family and praying for Lar and her mom.  

Once again, we were so impressed with our TCCC staff and the love they show.  When all the other guests had left, they were a true family to Lar and her mom and I know that it was a huge encouragement to them.  We will continue to pray for Lar and her mom during this next phase of grieving. 

Vonette Bright's Coronation Day

This morning I woke up to the news that this world had lost a great woman, Vonette Bright.  She was such a hero to me. I know that she is home in heaven with her beloved husband, Bill who she co- founded our movement with and that she is praising God with an  amazing choir of angels, but I still feel a heaviness of heart. She had such an impact on my life.  If it were not for her, Mike and I may not be serving God in Asia for 37 years with Campus Crusade, along with our staff in over 180 nations. I am so thankful for her impact on my life. 

Just a few memories that stand out for me was that on our first flight overseas in 1979, Bill and Vonette happened to be on our flight for a conference along with a large group of CCC staff.  They sat back in economy with us and as ‘faith stretching’ as that first trip (for 3 years) across the ocean was for me, it was comforting to know that our president and wife were accompanying us on our flight. Another memory was a few years back when Vonette was here in Thailand  with a conference and the group did the regular tourist elephant riding.  Vonette wanted to be in on the fun as usual, but because of a broken wrist her staff were not sure she should risk the ride.  Mike offered to take care of her and rode the elephant with her, making sure she was safe even as she kept sliding down and he had to hold her up on the elephant’s seat.

More than anything, she was an encourager of our staff, who demonstrated to me her trust in God in all things. She was a true helpmate to her husband and taught me through her example. Tomorrow as we celebrate Christmas, it's good to know that Vonette is home for Christmas with Jesus and her husband, Bill. 

Vonette was a role model to me through her life and even in the way she died.  God blessed her for her faithfulness as she was speaking with groups to encourage them just days before she  left this earth. I am so thankful to be part of her legacy and our whole cru staff family will miss her. You can read more about her life at this website. 

Below is a tribute to Dr. Bright that was made in 2001.  I cannot watch it without tears.