Implosion

(One of the standoff scenes in a major shopping area in Bangkok.)

Many of you have heard of the violence going on in Thailand. It is more than I ever thought that this conflict would amount to, however, now that I think about it, I simply feared it would come to this, but didn't want to believe it. This conflict between the yellow shirts and the red shirts has been going on for at least 4-5 years and it seems this may be the climax of it because I sure don't want to think it will get worse. The scariest part is we (Arm, me, and our Thai friends) always knew that the red shirts were willing to die for their cause. Thai people are saying they've never seen anything like this before. An American friend of mine who is living in Bangkok described this situation as "Bangkok is imploding".


(They burn tires to create very thick, dark smoke to keep the soldiers from being able to see.)

While I could take the time to explain the situation, I feel that doesn't hit the heart of the matter. People are dying without Christ. To live in Thailand, most of the time you have to forget that fact to cope through daily life, but the fact is if the rapture happened, not many people would realize it and life would go on as normal. This ugly fact of life always hits me in tragedies small as car accidents, funerals I had to go to, or in big tragedies like this.


(A woman is trying to take cover using the first thing she got her hands on.)

Big tragedies don't only remind me of this reality in Thailand, but in the USA as well, however, the knowledge of God is very different in these two places. It has been refreshing and a blessing to be in the USA for this time and I know God has called us to be here for this period of time, however, this clash in Thailand has also renewed my heart for the Thai people and I know we will be back one day.


(Red shirts took over a military truck and assaulted the soldiers.)

In closing, I ask you to pray. Pray for God's Word to give the Thai people the answer they've been looking for in the midst of all of this craziness. Pray the churches will stand stronger and become more bold in sharing their faith. Pray that the prime minister and the government will be able to find a peaceful ending to this horrible situation that will spare people's lives and most of all that God would be glorified in this situation.


(These civilians are running for cover when they heard shots fired.)