Citizens of heaven

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies. And change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control. - Philippians 3:20

Nine months. Yes, we have been back home in Thailand that long. We failed to return for two years because of the pandemic. So, the Thai immigration canceled our visa. They are extending our visa one month at a time.

The process of getting and extending a visa is a constant source of stress for us. We need to check our passport stamps to see if we must go to the immigration office for a ninety-day appearance. We need to follow all the rules and regulations of immigration if we want to stay here.

We do not have the same rights and privileges of the citizens of Thailand. These problems do not exist if we are living in our own country. We want to go home but at the same time we want to stay and continue the Lord's work here.

When Paul says, "we are citizens of heaven" we understand a little of what he means. Heaven is our home. Our true citizenship belongs there but he does not mean that we are waiting for our lives to be over and live off there. It does not mean that God will scrap our physical body and have no regards for it.

In this passage, what He means is that our Lord Jesus our King will come from heaven to earth. He will change the present situation. By His power He will transform our present body like His own then will put everything under His control. Heavenly citizenship is about human resurrection. When He finally gives the citizenship that we all long for when He transforms the whole universe.

Photo by ConvertKit on Unsplash

Diversity in the Church

I am having similar thoughts lately.

Philip Yancey put it this way in an article in Christianity Today just this last November. He writes, "As I read accounts of the New Testament church, no characteristic stands out more sharply than [diversity]. Beginning with Pentecost, the Christian church dismantled the barriers of gender, race, and social class that had marked Jewish congregations. Paul, who as a rabbi had given thanks daily that he was not born a woman, slave, or Gentile, marveled over the radical change: ’There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.’

"One modern Indian pastor told me, ’Most of what happens in Christian churches, including even miracles, can be duplicated in Hindu and Muslim congregations. But in my area only Christians strive, however ineptly, to mix men and women of different castes, races, and social groups. That’s the real miracle.
Yancey continues, "Diversity complicates rather than simplifies life. Perhaps for this reason we tend to surround ourselves with people of similar age, economic class, and opinion. Church offers a place where infants and grandparents, unemployed and executives, immigrants and blue bloods can come together. Just yesterday," Yancey wrote, "I sat sandwiched between an elderly man hooked up to a tank puffing oxygen and a breastfeeding baby who grunted loudly and contentedly throughout the sermon. Where else can we find that mixture?

"When I walk into a new church," Yancey says, "the more its members resemble each other—-and resemble me-—the more uncomfortable I feel."

Source: Philip Yancey, "Denominational Diagnostics," Christianity Today, November 2008, p. 119.

Back to blogging

Whether we are in the Philippines or in Thailand, December proved to be the busiest month of the year for us. This is the reason this blog has not been updated for a while. Nevertheless, our hearts are full of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord as He has given us an opportunity to celebrate Christmas and New Year in a special way. 

We spent Christmas Eve at the church, fellowshipping with believers and non-believers alike in a Christmas program that we helped to bring about. It was the first Christmas ever in the church that the Nativity had been reenacted. We did a lot of rehearsals for the presentations and carol singing days before Christmas that kept us up the whole night. So, we took a couple of days to catch up on our sleep after Christmas. Since the church’s primary school too had its break, we seized the time to fix the van’s seat upholstery which was in bad shape. 

The children deserve a comfortable ride from daycare/primary school to their homes and vice versa. We received a call from Ate Imel Tabije (fellow Filipino missionary ministering in Chiang Mai) and invited us to celebrate the New Year with other Filipino Christians in Chiang Mai. And although we really wanted to go, we were hesitant at first because we didn’t have the money for the trip. Ate Imel’s financial assistance eventually enabled us to go. Thus, we were reunited with old friends and met new friends. The time we spent with them was indeed refreshing and encouraging for us. 

 We also visited and spent time with Jeph and Apple’s ministry at Hope House and their tribal outreach. It was the second time we celebrated the holidays away from home and we miss our family very badly. The children missed their cousins (which are not too many) and the thrill of opening gifts from their ninongs, ninangs, lolas, uncles and aunties. They also missed the fun of giving gifts to their friends and loved ones. 

Last January 5 we marked the second year of our stay here in Thailand. Two years of God’s faithfulness, living in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We recognize that our stay here as God’s witness. We want to thank you all for your prayers and generosity. We are looking forward to a more fruitful partnership and hoping we can meet you all here in Thailand someday.

Sluggish blogging

My blogging has been sluggish lately. In fact, my posts were mostly quotes and part of the newsletter that I sent to my family and friends back home. It seems I could not think of anything else to write these days. I apologize to my readers.

The truth is I feel tired. Thinking about many things is so tiring. I am trying to finish my lessons in Christian Ethics which I will resume teaching after two weeks. The time of the day is just not enough to do this. I am also trying to write a proposal to a foundation for a possible grant for our daycare ministry. Our local partner has given Narlin the full responsibility and authority in running the daycare. She has been very successful in doing it that the community starting to notice how well we take care of the children and how excellent is the center’s capability in teaching. A committed Christian lady from the USA volunteers to work with us. The presence of a foreigner teaching in our center gives it a prestige that the more affluent Thais and Chinese want for their children. As of now we are only ministering to the poor migrant workers, nonetheless, we are not closing the door to them. This is the reason why we need the grant. We are growing and we need new facilities. We need big money to start.

My time for writing the dissertation is expiring. I do not know exactly when but I know I don’t have much time left. I am doing a lot of reading but I haven’t written even a sentence. This is hard because I am not really a good writer. I don’t have my own computer, I don’t have an office and I just don’t have uninterrupted time to do a lot of thinking. I have to be determined to write regardless of the present state of affairs.