philsquest

UBC True Vision office Chiang Mai gone!

We use the UBC true vision to get tv to our house. We have done so for years because there is no good alternative. Sure I am not really happy with the all of their service. Especially that UBC loves to move channels around, charge more money then Swiss providers would dare and the latest, that the UBC true vision office in Chiang Mai has suddenly disappeared.

Yesterday I wanted to go and pay the bill and the office was gone. With it also Siam TV a big shop for electronics that managed the Chiang Mai office was gone to. No notice where they moved or a letter to their subscribers.

This morning I phoned UBC true vision in Bangkok about my billing status. I haven't received a bill even though someone from true vision phoned me a month ago and said they would do so. The friendly guy in the billing department will send me the bill via e-mail. To the question where the true vision office in Chaing Mai moved to he answered that they haven't received the new address yet. Living in Thailand still an adventure after 11 years :-)

Generosity

Sometimes I am astonished by the generosity of God in my life. I have been given so much grace and I have seen and experienced so much on my journey with Jesus. I feel very blessed. I know it sounds cheesy, but I sense God's presence in my life. Not just an emotional experience because I was in a worship meeting or because I tried to be quite for a moment to seek God. It seems more an ongoing awareness of His presence. There is no need for me to try to make something happen by getting active or trying to please Him. It is the freedom just to be and to know that He loves me. 

This is how I am starting this new year. Being aware of the generosity of God. I do not deserve it nor can I add anything to it then just open my heart to Him who made me.

As I was looking at this Japanese cherry tree in full bloom I was once more aware of God's generosity. If He can make a tree bloom like this just to shine for a few days how much more has He prepared for His children. 

 

Happy New Year

 

A year has ended and the last hours are passing by. There has been much fruit this year in our work and many blessings in my life. This doesn't mean that the labor was easy. Often I got tired and sometimes I have been on the verge of giving up. Surely if I would have to produce the fruit myself I would have totally and utterly failed. It would be like a farmer who after plowing and sowing would have to make the rice grow. But we all know that this is foolish thinking. Why do we think or act as if we have to produce the fruit in the kingdom of God. It is God's responsibility to bring forth the fruit and our joy to enjoy it :-)

With this thought I wish all of you much fruit in all you do for the coming year. May fruit come forth from the things you do. Be this in the family, with friends, at work and in your relationship with God.

Happy New Year!

 

New template

I found this new template in typepad. I really like it. I got a bit bored with the old one and then it stopped working properly today. So it was time to change the template. I must say the typepad people do a good job. I can now post directly from typepad to facebook. Absolutely cool feature. Now I am motivated to write a bit more :-) hopefully!

Of course I still should work on my questasia website, which is also a typepad blog. But I have a hard time with it. I somehow want to much I guess. But NEXT year :-) I will dooooo it LOL.

The girl in the village

This month I spent alot of time in different villages. Again I became aware how vunerable hilltribe children are. There is neglect and abuse and an uncertain future for many. Specially when the children grow up in a family dominated by drugs. I heard to many sad stories. When I go up to Hui Kau Laam to visit our center I step into another world. I sometimes doubt the impact we have in those villages, but am reminded that not success in what we do but in faithfullness to what is intrusted to us counts before God. So often My co-workers and I stand in shock as children are left behind by their parents because they  don't care what happens to their child; teenage girls get pregnant, married and then left within a year; fathers get picked up by police to spent years in prison for selling drugs; children who don't go to school, because the parents are not interessted what one day will happen to them. Over the years as I see those children grow up and hope that they will have a future different from their parents. A hope for change.

 

God is watching

Mida, our pastor in Hui Kau Laam came to me, when I was in the village. She said that someone stole the digital camera my team uses to make photos of the different ministry activities. She felt bad because she left it down stairs while being busy going around the house. There are always children running about or people coming by. Later she found that the camera has gone. In Hui Kau Laam stealing is a very common thing and I think the people don't feel very bad about doing it. I see this in how they take care of their own belongings. 

Mida wanted to give me money to buy a new camera. She felt it was her fault and needed to replace the stolen camera. I said to her that those thing can happen and that she doesn't have to replace it. Five thousand Baht is alot of money for them. I said to her that God knows who took the camera and that He could intervene. I also said to her, because this camera was bought with money people donated it is actually God's camera and we would leave it up to Him. I said just pray in that way a let us wait one week and se what God would do.

Three days later I got a phone call from Catri (Midas husband) A father brought the camera back. His daughter apparently took it. 

I love the way God is taking care of things. We experienced is provisions in so many ways and I am thankful that we didn't have to make a big thing out of that incident, but just leave it up to God to take care of it.

Enneagram test

Out of curiosity I did a small (50 question) online Enneagram test. Just wanted to see if I would get the same result like I got from just studying the books an figure out which type I am by reading and trough observing. 

I must say that the test is quite accurate. I am a type 6. I also found the variants true. Try it yourself. :-) and see what type you are. There is also a test with 150 questions. Just to time consuming for me.

Main Type	Overall Self

Take Free Enneagram Personality Test

Enneagram Test Results Type 1 Perfectionism |||||||||||||| 54% Type 2 Helpfulness |||||||||||| 42% Type 3 Image Focus |||| 18% Type 4 Hypersensitivity |||||||||||| 46% Type 5 Detachment |||||| 26% Type 6 Anxiety |||||||||||||||| 66% Type 7 Adventurousness |||||| 30% Type 8 Aggressiveness |||||||||||| 50% Type 9 Calmness |||||||||||| 42% Your main type is 6 Your variant is social

Take Free Enneagram Personality Test