'Blazing ring' eclipse races across Africa, Asia

This headline appeared in the Bangkok Post last week with the following comment and explanation.

‘A solar eclipse that reduced the sun to a blazing ring surrounding a sombre disk plunged parts of Africa and Asia into an eerie semi-darkness on Friday.’

‘An annular eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly in front of the Sun but does not completely obscure it, thus leaving a ring of sunlight flaring around the lunar disk.’

We first became aware of the eclipse when we visited a park near our home and saw personnel, cameras and equipment of the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand set up around the entrance. We arrived after the best view of the eclipse had passed. NARIT personnel were much better prepared and had the proper equipment to record the event.

We missed the 'ring' effect but saw this much of the eclipse

NARIT personnel tracking the eclipse with their powerful lenses

How did they know to be there? How were they able to predict this event and similar events in the future? Of course they’ve done the research and applied themselves to study the science but the science itself has been set in order by God who said, ‘As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease.’ Gen 8:22. Since the world was created people have seen the earth and sky, all that He has made demonstrates for us His divine nature and eternal power. Romans 1:20

Great is Thy faithfulness, oh God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
to Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Christmas with the Bru

Christmas was very different for us this year. We knew we would miss our family and they too would be very aware of our absence. Our first Christmas related activity was our church Christmas service on Sunday 20th. It was a lovely service with many of the children and young people taking part. The family atmosphere highlighted the fact we were away from home and we wished we could be spending the next few days with our family.

On Christmas morning apart from opening some gifts we didn’t do anything special. We planned to join the Bru church for their Christmas celebrations the following weekend so decided to break up our journey to the North East over Christmas and Boxing Day. Leaving after 11 am we headed over to a place called Dan Sai. The drive was outstandingly beautiful. Our journey took us through lots of mountains and round many bends and we arrived at our hotel as the sun was setting. What a place! It is in the country, nestled among the hills and very tastefully laid out to resemble a North Eastern Thai village. The room we stayed in was fairly conventional. Across from that building was a lily pond and a few buffalo wander round the grounds. To the other side of the water little houses in traditional grass roof and bamboo style were dotted across the hill. Although simple looking from the outside they were finished to a high standard, including air conditioning!

It was a very pleasant atmosphere and we relaxed right away. Our only regret was that we hadn’t allowed ourselves more time to enjoy the surroundings there. It was a lovely way to spend Christmas night. After breakfast we resumed our journey through more beautiful scenery, the Phu Rua district was particularly pretty. Cooler than the rest of the country this area is especially suitable for growing flowers. In an unbelievable display of colour, flower gardens and vendors lined the sides of the road mile after mile.

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We made it to the village just after dark. Clark, Mary and Nathaniel (Aspinwall) had arrived just before us. Over the next few days we enjoyed fellowship with them and with the Bru believers, and visited many other friends in the village.

On Sunday morning we had a Christmas service with just about everyone taking part in some way. I had the opportunity to share the Christmas story. Later we all ate together and had a gift exchange. We had other opportunities to fellowship and eat with some of the believers. On Monday evening one family went to a lot of trouble to prepare a beautiful meal for us. Their love and generosity never ceases to amaze us.

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Another feature of the celebrations was an afternoon of games. Everyone took part, from the very youngest to the very oldest! They started with tug of war and let the old folks go first. We could hardly believe some of the elderly folk who took part and were relieved that none of them got injured! Anyhow they thoroughly enjoyed themselves and laughed so much. After that they moved on to the greasy pole challenge, thankfully none of the older ones tried that! After numerous attempts someone made it up the 4 metre slippery pole to retrieve the little gift bag at the top. And so the afternoon went on with many more hilarious activities. What a joy it was to not only praise and worship the Lord with these believers but to see them enjoying each others company and having such a good time together.

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As we were leaving the village on Tuesday morning someone arrived to see us. When we lived in the village E Phet was like a little daughter to us. She had no father and her family was poor so she spent much of her time with us, playing with our children. A few years after we left Thailand E Phet’s mother died too. In the twenty years since we last saw her she has got married and has an eight year old daughter. They have only recently returned from living in Bangkok. It was an emotional reunion for her and us. We were delighted to meet again and look forward to seeing more of her in the future.

On the return journey to Chiang Mai we had many things to talk about and process in our minds. It was a Christmas of mixed emotions but we would not have missed the time we spent with the Bru, the Lord encouraged our hearts and gave us some very special blessings.

Out of Date Yogurt and Flat Tyres

Have you ever had something to eat so disgusting you just couldn’t swallow it? I had a yogurt many years ago that was so bad I can still remember the experience. I’d just had lunch and removing the foil cover was preparing to finish off with a yogurt. I dipped the spoon in and took the first sip… it was so sickening I had no choice but to spit it out. The thought of eating the whole carton wasn’t an option, even the smallest amount of this stuff was totally repulsive.

None of us like to get a flat tyre, whether we feel that bumping sensation as we drive along the road or just notice the problem when we come out in the morning. Perhaps the reason for our ‘flat’ is obvious, we hit a rock in the road or a nasty pothole. Maybe the problem was caused by a thorn or nail hidden in the tread. Of course the cause must be located and removed or it will continue to create problems. It matters little whether our ‘flat’ was caused by a huge rock or a little nail, the result is the same, our vehicle is unusable.

Two bible characters come to mind. Mary Magdalene and a young man known as ‘the rich young ruler’. Mary’s chequered past was well known to those around her. She herself willingly acknowledged her sinful life. When she met the Lord her life was completely changed and turned around. Jesus, referring to a special act of devotion by Mary commented, ‘whoever is forgiven much, loves much’.

One the other hand, ‘the rich young ruler’ found it much more difficult to recognise his sinfulness. Even when confronted by the Ten Commandments’ he failed to see where he had faltered as he replied, ‘All these I have kept from my youth’. Only when pressed a little further did he start to identify his sin. Jesus asked him to do something that forced him to choose between God and money. ‘Go sell all that you have and give to the poor and come follow me’ Jesus said. The words had hardly left his mouth when the young man left very sorrowful, because he loved his wealth more than God. His sin was not obvious to others or indeed to himself but clearly he did have another god before the One True God.

Two things the young man failed to recognise. First, just as I couldn’t swallow even the smallest amount of that yogurt, so God cannot tolerate even the ‘smallest’ amount of sin. It is totally obnoxious to Him. Second, a flat tyre caused by a huge rock or a little nail is still a flat tyre. So it is with sin, the ‘size’ or ‘amount’ of sin is irrelevant as it brings about the same result – separation from God. Mary Magdalene’s life was steeped in sin, the young man was a pretty ‘good’ lad but both were at odds with God.

Strange as it may seem it was Mary, the least ‘respectable’ of the two, who found forgiveness and friendship with God. The young man went away sorrowful not willing to acknowledge his need of a saviour. Jesus said it is those who are sick who need a doctor, He came to bring sinful people to repentance not those who think they are good enough.

Late

If I was to identify a theme for this blog posting it would have to be ‘late’. This ‘posting’ is overdue and the material is itself a little dated but then that fits in with the theme!

Since our visas were ‘taking a little longer’ than we had expected we had to make a couple of visa related trips to Singapore, one in October and one in November. We hadn’t visited Singapore before so it was a good opportunity to see the city.

As it happened our first trip coincided with Singapore’s Formula 1 weekend – well almost. When we arrived the famous drivers had moved on and their high performance machines were being transported to the next venue. The only visible remains of the race were the advertising, some flags and an impressive array of post race posters. I’d love to say that the photos I took were of the actual race but since we were too late all I got was pictures of the posters.

At the beginning of November we had to return to the Lion City. This time Mr Obama arrived slightly ahead of us to meet with the leaders of many Asian countries in the region. Once again we didn’t make it in time for the official photo shoot and had to make do with the newspaper coverage! At least he shook hands with our Prime Minister from Thailand.

We weren’t disappointed by our two brief trips to Singapore though, as we received all the necessary paperwork and were able to see around some of the well known sights of the city as well.

A few of Singapore's famous sights - perhaps the best known is the Raffles Hotel. Especially pretty at night is the water front area. The area around the Merlion was still decorated for the F1 race.

Even if you don't get to see the F1 cars, there are plenty of other interesting cars around the streets. It's obvious what some of these are but do you know them all? No prizes!