A new challenge...

I have committed to running the Portland Marathon this fall (10-10-10). I am running with a group called Team in Training
(http://pages.teamintraining.org/oswim/portland10/dlabrum)

They are helping with weekly workouts and group runs on the weekend. I am helping them raise funds to help in the fight against blood cancers like Leukemia Lymphoma. I am a part of the West Portland team that works out in the Beaverton area. There are about 30 to 35 group members, only 5 guys though.

I've been on a mandatory week off while I wait for a small incision to heal, but the stitches are coming out tomorrow and I hope to be back in the saddle again by Wednesday's mid week work out with my team.

The Saturday before last (when this photo was taken) a had another personal best and ran 6 miles in a little over an hour and 15 minutes... I injured my right calf at about the five mile mark, but hey I had to be off the next week anyway so what the heck, it didn't matter. I was able to stretch the muscle and walk it off.

I will keep you posted with updates as I progress. Please consider visiting my fundraising web site above. I sponsored myself at $50.00 to start things off. Would you consider helping with a pledge of $1.00 per mile (that would be $26.00)?

Keep you posted!

In "His" grip!

Dale

Holy Week

This Hmong woman lives in the same hut as her father-in-law with her family (a common practice) .

She has experienced 5 miscarriages. While she has some children, she and her family believe that it was because of evil spirits. Her family practices "animism" and her father is a shaman priest. She had expressed an interest in becoming a Christian to one of our workers on their last visit to this village. She wanted to become a Christ follower but could not with out her in-laws permission.

In the end - both her mother and father-in-law consented. There is a lot more to this story, but I saw this shaman priest listen to what it means to be a Christian as they explained it to this woman. That she would no longer practice spirit worship at the altar in their home, and they agreed not to interfere with her coming to worship God with the other Christ followers in the village.

She prayed and gave her life to Jesus. I watched as they cut the strings and amulets off of her and threw them into the fire and she became a new creature in Jesus Christ. I imagined the party that broke out in Heaven as the hosts of Heaven praised God and celebrated on her behalf. I could almost hear the shrieks of the "powers and principalities" of that village recoiled in horror at the loss of another to the Kingdom of God.

This week is Holy Week. Today is Thursday. In Jewish tradition Passover began with the new day at Sunset, Christ would be eating the Last Supper with his disciples tonight (this was the last Passover meal - since in the events of the next three days God would now deliver mankind from their sins; which is what the Passover foreshadowed) . Tonight there would be betrayal, mock trials, beatings beyond imagination into the next day, more mock trials and finally an agonizing death on the cross. Good Friday was "good" because Christ's death was on our behalf, so we would no longer even taste death's sting.

1 Corinthians 15:55
"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"

Your love, O Christ, compels me, because I am convinced that You are the One who died for all, and therefore all died. And You died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for the One who died for them and was raised again. (2 Cor 5:14-15)

You redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree." (Galatians 3:13)

These verses came from my daily devotional ("Face to Face" vol 1.) today.

As you go through your day to day, take a moment and meditate on all that this day meant for Christ and so consequently for us. Stop and pause - give thanks and pray.

Have a great celebration this week. Rejoice that He came that we might have life abundantly (John 10:10).

The Great Adventure continues...

In "His" grip!

Dale

The time warp

Last week is just a blur... this whole jet lag thing is awful! I'd be motoring along feeling fine and then a wave of exhaustion would hit me and I would be nodding off at my desk. I sent out a few notes and transposed the first letter of the first and last name of a friend on the address... I'll never hear the end of that :-)

I've just about fully recovered from the trip. I still have hives all over my chest from an allergic reaction to the sun burn. I usually get a sun-rash the first time I go out into the sun. At least I hope that is what it is. Benadryl cream is my friend.

This weekend I have been asked to share about the trip to Thailand in my shepherding group. Pray that God would direct my words and my creativity as I put together a DVD of the images and describe how He worked in and through me on the trip.

Here are a few more pictures from my time together with Susan (my wife) at the end of the trip in both Phuket (Phatong Beach area) and in Bangkok.

First Week Back

Well the jet-lag caught me totally off guard. It took me a week to get my head on straight. I never missed a beat going, but coming home knocked me in the dirt. Susan's now on her 3rd peeling from the sun burn, but at least it doesn't hurt to walk anymore.

I've posted 200 photos on my FaceBook page. Look me up with the email labrumr@comcast.net, and you should be able to see them.

It is taking a lot of time to pull all the photos together but I do still intend to get them on the blog here. But for now I've got to head into the office and try to get caught up on a months worth of emails and work.

In "His" grip!

Dale

Satan never stops...

We are home now! Here is an excerpt from the email I sent out to my PPT (Personal Prayer Team) last night.

Satan never stops...and neither should we. Thank you for your prayers over the journey to Thailand and back.

Once again God answered prayer and intervened for us this morning.

We are back home now safe and sound, but once again God answered prayer in a dramatic fashion.

Our taxi picked us up at 2:30 AM. It was a special driver the hotel arranged for us to get to the airport. Susan noted the speedometer at 140+ kilometers per hour (about 90 mph) before we both dozed off. Shortly after we were startled awake because our driver had fallen asleep at the wheel. He had woke up just in time to slam on the brakes and swerve from running into a concrete barricade on the freeway. I was slammed hard into the door but other than that there was no damage. We had prayed as we left that God would protect and watch over us as we began our journey home, and once again God answered.

The flight home from Bangkok to Narita, Japan was uneventful. Our trip from Japan to Portland, OR was the worst flight I have ever had. Not because of the service or the turbulence. But when all the lights were off and people were trying to sleep, we had a Chinese woman directly behind us with her two year old and her husband behind her with a three year old. They screamed, and kicked, and fought, and cried, the entire 10 hour flight. It was miserable. In the end we made it into Portland airport an hour or so after our departure time from Bangkok – 20 or so hours of flying time, yet the clock only reflected that it was an hour later. Queer things happen with the time when you cross the international date line. Got home and took a six hour nap.

God has shown me how to depend on Him more (and turn to Him first) for the things in life that matter. From rats chewing on the beams in the ceiling (keeping me awake at night), averted catastrophes on the way to the airport (that would have been a horrible end to this trip), to seeing a Hmong woman pray to receive Christ as her Shaman father-in-law looked on, we serve a God that answers prayer.

Let’s live our lives on purpose – in “His” grip! (back in Salem, OR)

I will go back and add comments to the photos I've posted along with adding more from the R & R time I had with my wife Susan at the end of the trip in the next couple of days. I'm still trying to get re oriented to the new time zone (Thailand is 15 hours ahead of Salem, OR time).

The Great Adventure continues...

In "His" grip!

Dale

Rrrrrrooooaaaasted!

So you think you are safe under an umbrella out of the sun? Susan and I spent most of the morning and early afternoon just kickin it on the beach today. I even put sun screen on, but ohhhh man, I got roasted by the reflected UV off the water and sand. Both of us are somewhat in pain now...

It is hard to comprehend the differences between where I am now and where I have been the past two weeks.

We will leave to fly back to Bangkok tomorrow and stay at the Arun Residence hotel. Hopefully we won't miss our flight this time. We missed the flight coming here to Phuket because I had looked at the arrival time (not the departure time) when we left. GRRRRRR that cost me some money!

We will join up with some of the crew I have served with there. Debbie Vik and Nit will be with us on Saturday. Nit is going to help us with the Chatachuk Market and Debbie is taking a group from WA to a dinner at a skyrise there in Bangkok. We've been invited to join her and the other team.

Pray for Remember Nhu and Stephanie who is a young woman that has felt God's call to the Mission field here in Thailand. She works 1/2 time with Remember Nhu and the rest with Debbie.

Ballance becomes increasingly important in life the older I get. Trying to understand what it is that God would have you and I do with our time and resources is a challenge. The way some of the people live that I have served recently, the financial struggle that the missionaries work under here (they have cut the number of missionaries in the field because of the loss in funding through the Great Commission Fund) compared to the hotel I have stayed in this past three days seems almost vulgar to me. I know I am supporting the livelyhood of those who now serve me, but... ballance. (Susan and I have covered the cost of her travel and our hotel after the Medical Clinics were complete.)

Thanks again to my PPT and all of you who have supported this trip with your prayers and finances.

Looking forward to coming home, but not just yet :-)

In "His" grip in Phuket (Phatong Beach, Thailand),

Dale

And the gates of Hell shall not prevail!

That phrase is fitting (from scripture) especially with regard to the past couple of weeks here in Thailand. We made some serious inroads into the kingdom of darkness. We served over 1,000 people at the medical clinics and prayed for 95% of them. Many have never even heard the name of Jesus before.

Last Saturday in Chiang Mai I toured a Wat. It was gut wrenching to see people worshipping man made statues and altars. As mentioned in my previous post it broke my heart.

Here are some of the picts>

That was Saturday, on Sunday we went to the Remember Nhu Church. I had a great time giving the message there and eating with the girls and their host parents (along with the rest of the team). They are building a home that will house 40 girls that have been saved out of the sex trade industry, with contingency plans that will allow them to house up to 60.

Here are some of their pictures:

R & R in Chaing Mai

Here are some other picts of our team members from Thailand.

What a night/day. First of all I actually slept through the night till about 6:30 this morning. A real bed, what a treat! Not to mention real showers, running (clean) water (you still don't drink), and air conditioning.

I have to laugh because my new friend Stephanie and the CMA missionary that we work with Debbie Vik have called this "the land of almost." I didn't get it for the first week or so, but especially now in this very classy hotel, they almost get it but not quite. We actally get room service, and we got fresh towels today, but there are some things that you just take for granted (sp?) that aren't there; hand towels for instance.

Last night a few of us went downstairs to the lounge area. They had an Elvis impersonator that we listened to. It was hilarious, he was singing songs Elvis never sang, he had some of the gyrations down (almost) and the voice was precariously off key. It was quite entertaining:




On the more serious side, I went to a Wat today. A Budhist Temple... it broke my heart. I saw people actually worshipping idols made from cement, or wood, overlayed with gold or simply painted. They were praying to them and believing that these idols would answer their prayers if they were ferverent enough, or offerred enough prayers, incense or money. I left sick to my stomach. This wasn't just tradition, it is a belief system that many of them do not even understand but simply practice out of the tradition of their culture or family. Pray for Thailand and those who are trapped in this false religion. Pray that by going to the temple they would recognize the futility of praying to something made by the hands of mankind.

Thank you for your prayer support and please continue to pray for Travis (he's still sick).

In "His" grip in Thailand,

Dale

I will post more pictures of the temple when I can later. Above are the steps going to the top.

Made it to Chaing Mai! New Pictures!!

We made it to Chaing Mai today, and we finished our last clinic yesterday. Of course one of the people working with us shared Christ with the motel/resort manager the past two days and I had the opportunity to pray for him before we left this morning.

Here are some pictures from the last two weeks - not much time so I will narrate them for you later:

Back in touch!

Easy day today. We got up early (thanks to the roosters that can tell what time it is) had breakfast and walked around the village meeting with church members and praying for them and their families. A short drive out of the mountains and we are now in the village we will do the next two clinics (and then we are done) from here we will drive 6 - 8 hours in to Chaing Mai.

The village we have been at (Maey Kong) has been with out power for the past two and a half months. There was an internet cafe amazingly enough next door, but no electricity to run the computers. The connection was via satelite download and telephone line up load.

We got to pray with several people during the clinic yesterday and last evening that recieved Christ as their Lord and Savior.

One woman I prayed with late last night (along with a female Pastor Lee) had become afraid of the dark and couldn't sleep after her mother in law had died. They had given her the cord that the body had been bound with after the funeral. She was not supposed to have that, and felt like it was spiritual attack. Her husband has been jailed, one child is in Bangkok going to school, two are working in other villages and she has two children with her. We prayed for spiritual protection, and that she could indeed sleep. She had just had her hut torn down with the intent to be rebuilt next to her brother's home. When I encouraged her to gather with others who could encourage her and teach from the Bible. She only had an old testament, and had taught herself to read. They have no pastor here to teach them, yet there is a nice new building for the church and a half constructed parsonage.

Every one is tired in that the home we stayed at was over a small store/cafe. The roosters would start to crow once or twice around 2:30 am. After that they would all get in on the act by 4:30. By the time 5:00 am arrived it was all put war. All of the roosters in town were in a contest to see who could loose there crowing voice first. Not to be left out of the act, every other king of fowl fowl would start screeching and hooting, of course that annoyed the dogs, so they would start yelling "shut up, shut up!" It was really rather commical. I have never heard such a comotion before in my life.

My belt seems to be stretching or I've dropped a few pounds. Getting pretty tired of rice... but we have been well fed and have never lacked for food or fresh water.

These people have such sweet faces and dispositions, unasuming and so seemingly happy with what they have. Very appreciative us being there. I have several pictures of women using their new glasses to do what is similar to American cross stitching.

I should be able to get back to this internet cafe and upload pictures later. Thanks again for all your prayers. God is moving here, and doing great things through those that are ministering to them. It is in an honor to be included on this "great adventure." :-)

In "His" grip in Thailand!

Dale

Another day in paradise...

First of all thanks for all of the prayers. Travis is on several meds for the Bell's Palsy, and Riley after spending most of the night at the hospital is home. She recieved a couple of respritory therapy treatments and released her. It was that nasty "croup" rather than the RSV as they had first thought (a direct answer to prayer).

Susan White had gotten sick the night of my last update and stayed at the hotel yesterday, she felt well enough to go to the clinic today though (yeay!).

We are all in good spirits and doing well over all. A few lower GI problems but nothing unmanagable. :-)

Still having problems with the sketchy internet. We will leave for the northern mountain villages tomorrow and will not be back where I can get the internet for four days. I will try to upload photos again tonight....

I'm continuing to improve in my Hmong and Thai - so much so that they think I'm fluent and rattle off detailed responses to my questions rather than simple yes or no.

Thanks for the prayer cover!

In "His" grip!

Dale