But before we get into that I should tell you all about Jackie's legs. We just got back from a bike ride (yes, she can ride again!) and I told her that her legs were looking kind of striped, sort of like candy cane legs with a blue/greenish topping on the shin. She missed her cats that had adopted us in Thailand so her sister gave us one about 6 months ago. It's a bit on the insane side as most cats are and last night it attacked her. She has scratches all over her leg. Of course when I come in the cat purrs and wants to cuddle.

I guess that's the irony of owning a cat. I mean I get along with it but cats, seriously, they'll never replace a good dog! The blue/greenish topping, you wonder. One of her little darlings at school chunked a chair at her and knocked her pretty good so she has a yucky looking bruise. She isn't going to win the leg beauty contest this week!
What about the monster kid? The Director wants to allow him to grow and fit in. Me? I'd fit him in somewhere--like in a locked room with our cat. Hmmm, anyone need a good pre-school teacher?

I'm feeling OK. No bruises, stripes or anything. I tell Jackie all the time my health just scares me because I am so healthy. I don't even work out anymore. Surfing? Sure, but that's a bit sporadic and comes with a few days on and a week or two off. You need waves to surf.
Not much to report on the kid front. The grand kids, Leah and Nathan are all fine and well. Jake is playing football and we enjoy going to the games to see him play. That's him on the left getting warmed up. He really enjoys playing and his team is undefeated so far. They practice 3 nights a week and he doesn't get home, with Leah the football team mom, until 9:00 PM. I don't know how they do it. I guess being young helps.
Are you wondering about Bum? Remember her? We miss her so much it hurts and we can't figure out how to just pop back over to Thailand for a visit. She is very happily married and doing well. She still works at the church we went to in Chiang Rai. Glynn, her husband, is still going to the university where I taught and we first met. He's planning on graduating from there and then teaching. What a blessing he and Bum will be to the students. They already are, actually. Here's a photo of Bum from a friend of mine showing how she is suffering for Christ in the dark, foreboding land of Thailand. She''s that cute Thai girl on the right. You knew that!

Do you remember when Elijah was fighting it out with the Baal guys and he said to them, "Choose this day whom you will serve." What a challenge that is to me. When I get up in the morning I choose who I'm going to serve by my actions as well as by my thoughts. That ties in with the "pray without ceasing" verse in 1 Thessalonians. An Orthodox Bishop in Russia a couple of hundred years ago said this: Do not gravitate to the earth--it is corruptible. Only the happiness beyond the grave is eternal, unchanging, true, and this happiness depends upon how we spend this life of ours! Last Sunday I had to make a choice. I could gravitate toward earth or I could go the other way. I woke up early like I always do and had my prayer time, which was good. Then I hopped on the Honda and rode over to the beach to see how the surf was doing. Friday after work it was really good and then Saturday it was fair at best. Oh, but Sunday morning it was very big and glassy and looking like way too much fun. Here I was, faced with a choice. Go surfing or go to church and miss the waves. As a rule, what you get in the morning is the best you get all day long with afternoons more often than not being not worth the paddle out. It was so good....
YOU CHOOSE
I thought about it for a minute and then I realized that in a few hours I would be at church and we'd have communion and I'd partake of the bread that came down from heaven and drink the cup that gives me life. Confronted with either going surfing or partaking of Christ, it was an easy choice to make. We went to church. Besides, after church Jackie and I were asked to be a part of the mission committee and help plan some things for the new year. I certainly didn't want to miss that.

Here's what the waves looked like on Friday after work. Sunday afternoon it was about 3 times as big!

We didn't get home until around 2:45 and I just happened to notice that on the way (35 minute ride) the wind wasn't blowing at all. That meant the surf was probably still good. Just as we pulled into the driveway I saw the trees in our yard blowing back and forth and it was not looking so good for surfing anymore. "Oh well," thought I. "I'll go on over to the beach with my bike and surfboard and see what's up." It only takes about 5 minutes to get there so when I pulled up on the beach and started looking around, much to my delight the wind stopped blowing--just like that. So I paddled on out and had 2 of the best hours of surfing I've had in a loooooong time. Big old waves folding over in long lines that allowed for lots of turning and screaming along at 100 mph (maybe not that fast). There were only about 6 guys out where I peddled to and they kept yelling for me to take the waves so I didn't want to hurt their feelings so I did. ha. Some days are just like that. No matter what you do it all works out wonderfully.
So next time I have a choice like that to make will I come home and find the best waves ever? Maybe not. One thing I've learned is that life is preparation for the next life and whatever it takes to ready us for the one that's really more important than this one, God is more than accommodating to supply us with really good waves or something not quite so pleasant. But it is all working together for our good and it's all a blessing from above and it's always good and right to say "THANK YOU LORD JESUS!" Pray without ceasing? Yes, you can. What does it take? I'm working on it. Maybe next update.

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Who dat? Well, that's Nathan. For you who last saw him when he was 3 feet tall with big ears, here's the big version.

Nathan called tonight to tell us he scored a promotion at Apple. He was is and always will be stoked about that. Life hasn't been that smooth sailing for him the last few months, but hopefully the boat will come about and starting going downwind. Much smoother that way. All it takes is HIM increasing and US decreasing. Nathan always has some kind of gizmo going and he wants me to play with them. Here he is showing me his I-phone and I'm as inept as usual with such inventions. What else is new in our lives? Well, we are all alive and well. Here's the last "all of us" family photo so you can see us for yourselves.

That's us, there on the right, unless it flipped and went somewhere else when I got all this pasted up and laid out. But you can tell from the crowd it's all of us. From the left you see Zack (14), Becca with the long dark hair (hanging with Nathan), Jackie just below her and Nathan towering over me. The guy near my right ear is Jake who has grown at least 6 inches in the last 6 months since this photo was taken and under him is Elijah (6) and Leah. How about something a bit different? Down below on the right is me and a bunch of 2nd graders.

One of the fun things I got to do at work was to go to schools and teach about mosquitoes. Talk about a crazy thing to do. I'm no entomologist but you don't have to be too sharp to teach 2nd graders about bugs. Just read 'em a story and show some pictures. I've gone from university students to 2nd graders and come October 31st unemployed again. We just love adventure.

The girls + Jake and Max the dog. That's how Jackie looks nowadays without a knee brace, crutches or other helps. She's thrilled to be walking, working and bringing home money. We were sending it out so long it's great to see it actually coming in again. A few of the little guys still try and push her around. One tried to headbutt her helper yesterday and when she got home she was about ready to move--anywhere! We have a really nice house we rent with a very big yard (garden for you Brits and cousins of Brits) for the kids, dog and cat to play in. Here's what it looked like a couple of weeks ago when Tropical Storm Kay came blowing by. It hovered over us for 3 days and brought tons of rain.

As you can see, we did get some rain. The boys had a great time playing in the 40 mph (68 km) wind and rain. Leah, the mom in charge of the wet clothes and mess, wasn't nearly as excited about it as they were when they came in soaked to the bone. One really bonus of this storm was I had two days off work.

So, there's us. Hope you enjoyed spending a few minutes with us. You know what would really make our day? For you to send us an email kind of like this one and show us what's going on in your part of the world.

Oh, let me tell you about what happened to me at work the other day. We'd been out trapping mosquitoes and in 3 days brought home about 700,000, which didn't make a dent in the population where we were at. I had to dig through them and put 'em in petri dishes. That's a lot of dishes. To do that you obviously don't want them flying around so we put them in the freezer until they are dead. So I had a pile of 50,000 frozen mosquitoes on my desk and I started to put them in petri dishes. A pile like that tends to spread out on the desk so when some fell I didn't think much of it. But then I thought I noticed one twitching so I looked a little closer.

...Twitching? How could you be twitching? Must be the wind from the A/C blowing this way. So I kept on working. Bzzzzzzz. A mosquito went flying by my ear. I looked closer and lots of them were twitching. Not good. I only had to squeeze them into 12 or so dishes so I thought maybe if I worked fast, I could get them in and refreeze them. I don't really like to touch them, though they are pretty soft, but in large numbers they really stink. About that time a few more went flying by and then circled back to get even.

I work in the lab. In the lab we don't want to introduce poison so I'm looking at this pile wondering what to do with them. I ran into the kitchen and found some window cleaner and came back and started spraying the pile with that. You know what this reminds me of? John the Baptist. No, I haven't been drinking. I'm completely sane (allegedly).

I'm reading a book about icons and how they fit into the Church. Perhaps you are wondering about my sanity, right? Really, icons are awesome and the stories they tell are quite interesting. Anyway, John the Baptist came to us in a flash in the gospel of Mark and appeared in the desert telling us we better repent: The ax is at the roots and if you don't bear some fruit, you'll be cut down and burned. That's my version of it. So how does a pile of half frozen and all-alive mosquitoes remind me of saint John? I saw that pile as my life. When it's lying still and not doing anything, life's good. But when the passions get caught by some enticing little (or big) opportunity to sin, it can fast turn into a mess. How easy it is to say something about someone that need not be said: Bzzzzz, goes a buzzing mosquito. Or how about seeing something on the Internet you don't need to see? Bzzzzz. Did that fine looking girl catch your eye? Bzzzzzz. Is that really how it happened? Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

The icon of John is looking toward the icon of Jesus (not shown) and His head is bowed and his hands extended.  What you are seeing is an icon that says, "I must decrease and He must increase." And that's what we need too. In his eyes you can see he's asking for mercy and showing thanks for the mercy he has received. He's perhaps even praying on our behalf. In church we stand in front of this icon, and many others, and extend our hands toward Christ along with John balancing our prayers for mercy with intercession. There is a cloud of witnesses that assemble with us in church--we are not alone no matter how small the group may be that is meeting in worship. Being not alone is a good thing because together we can move toward Christ and if we are moving with a heart of repentance, we know that when the books are opened up and read, we'll be fine. Until then, we should be living the best life possible. If someone like Paul could say he was the "chief" of sinners, we need to take a good look at ourselves and see how we measure up. Do you think of yourself as a sinner or do you just cruise along and figure with it's all a done deal so when you die you'll just ride the rocket up and all will be cool? Unfortunately, in our era, people tend to think that it's all grace so what difference does it make how you live? I believe it does make a difference. A huge one. Our life in Christ is meant to be transforming, going from "glory to glory."

At the Baptist church we used to go to, there are stained glass windows all around. They are really cool. When it's dark, you can barely make out the details of what you are seeing. That glass scene on the left would be obscured if it were dark outside. The lighter it gets, the more details you begin to see and the clearer the image of who's who. The more we are filled with the light of Christ, the more people can see Him in us. So that's the point of killing those mosquitoes before they kill you.

The window cleaner kind of worked. It made them dizzy and they couldn't take off. So I put some newspaper on top of them, wrapped 'em up and put them back in the freezer and let them peacefully slip into a colder and happier place. Actually, I killed them! The particular species of mosquito I had on my desk is a highly aggressive one and a vector of some not- so nice diseases. I wonder how my career as Bob the mosquito guy would have gone if I'd allowed those pesky 50,000 critters to get loose in our offices? It makes me wonder how our lives in Christ will fare if we don't take care of all those little sins that constantly try and distract us from our relationship with Jesus? Well, that's about it for now. I really hope your life in Christ is truly going from glory to glory to glory and that the light of heaven is illuminating your innards and the fragrant aroma of Christ, who loves YOU very much, is blessing all those you come in contact with. Feel free to leave any input you might want to share with us.

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What is a grown person to do who lacks wisdom? All of us know what the apostle James had to say: "Ask God." And all of us have done that--we've asked God and here I sit (maybe you too) not a whit wiser than I was prior to my asking. So I fall back upon the second thing James had to say, "But let him ask in faith." I figure I don't have enough faith so I concentrate really hard and ask again, mustering up all the faith I can. I look in the mirror and I look as dull as ever. What's up with that? Doesn't God want to give me wisdom?

A bit on the blurry side, but this is my 59th b'day picture. How on earth did my body get so old. My brain thinks I'm 18.

Of course He does. For my 59th b'day celebration I was given an Orthodox Study Bible. What a gift! The Orthodox didn't throw out the books of the Bible the guys of the Reformation said weren't supposed to be in there and as I was looking at it I started reading the Wisdom of Solomon. It's one of those bonus books in the Bible the Orthodox get. So in it I read this:

For the beginning of wisdom is a very genuine desire for instruction. And careful attention to instruction is the love of her. Now this love is the keeping of her laws and giving heed to her law is the assurance of incourruption: And incorruption brings one near to God. So desire for wisdom leads to a kingdom (Wisdom of Solomon 6:17 - 18).

Like you, I wanted the GIFT of wisdom but here it speaks of how to get it and it begins with a desire for instruction. Instruction is pretty simple to figure out: We go to church, listen to a sermon and go home after being instructed by said sermon. WRONG. So instruction must be like when you put something together: You read the instructions and come out with a perfectly fine finished product. WRONG AGAIN. How many times have you read the instructions of the Scripture without being wisdomfied? If that hasn't made you wise, what will?

I think what we are dealing with here is something we tried back in the late 70s and early 80s--the shepherding movement. For you youngsters, that was one of the darker periods of our lives in many ways and not worth going into detail. The premise was that everyone would get a shepherd and he'd (definitely not she) tell you how to live your life: Where to work; who to date/marry and so on. You laugh. Thousands and thousands and thousands of people willingly did it all around the world. It finally exploded as most well-meaning unbiblical things do and left in its debris many who will never have anything to do with "church" again and quite a few who have just decided it isn't worth trying.

"Instruction," in the context of these verses, implies that we come under the teaching of the Church and walk in accountability to a mentor. Something else I'm figuring out is that instead of challenging every instruction, we walk it out in faith that God is working in our lives. How's that different than the shepherding thing? It works within the context of the Church--not some made up system of authority. Once you find your place in the Church, you can find the safety and security of instruction that comes from 2000 years of practice. Not 20 years from the latest split off of a split off that split from a previous split.

And where does that get you? It leads you to love of God's commandments (and ways) and that leads to "incorruption," which is another way of saying you become more and more like Christ--our goal in life. Read the verses up there in pink again. See, "incorruption." We want to live lives that aren't corrupted by the taint and stain of sin. Where else do you go? Check the last sentence: "...wisdom leads to a kingdom." I wanna go.

The Wisdom of Solomon has 19 chapters and I have been so blessed by all I read in it. I reread it, wrote down notes and am pondering and pondering and pondering. Am I wiser? Good question. I'm trying....

Jackie made the yummy coconut cake from scratch and was kind enough to not put all the candles on it that belonged there! That's Elijah, waiting to chow down. Wish you could have been here....

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For us, the Robinsons, it only seems right to give thanks to Father in heaven for His indescribable gift.  We've had an incredibly difficult 8 weeks dealing with Jackie's blown out knee and all the emotional and physical trauma it has brought into our lives.  Our only reasonable response is to pray and give thanks because God is good.   Job said it this way:   "...Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said."  I sure wish I could say I'd never sinned in what I said!  Job 2:9-11.

We have to also say thanks to so many of you.  I wish we could do it in person.  We are thankful for the many meals that were brought over (Jackie didn't have to eat my dinner cooking!); we are thankful for the multitudes of people who are praying for us; we are grateful to you who have sent us money to help with the bills.  We haven't gone in debt!  So all around, we are going to end 2007 as people who are more thankful than they have ever been and it's all because of God's tender care and the care of family and friends.  By the way, Jackie's knee is still blown out and she is still crutching around.  She can't go back to work until she is 100% stable on her feet (work's rule for their teachers).  We pray for a miracle healing and with thanks await for God's timing.  Tomorrow would be fine with us!  Ha. 

From left to right:  Leah's kids, Elijah, Jake and Zach

Last time we celebrated Christmas in America was December 2002.  Those 3 guys above were a lot smaller and I could out run them all.  Not any more.  What a blessing to be here with all of them and Leah too!   And we'll even catch up with Nathan and Lauren before they jet off to New York (their Christmas adventure) at Jackie's mom's house where the rest of the clan will gather.  It's been a challenging year for our extended family.  Pray that we will be a reflection of what it is to be in Christ to everyone at the get together. 

There's Leah down below with the 3 guys.  What an awesome year it has been for her:  her faith is renewed and she's firmly planted at St. Justin's Orthodox church.  We really enjoy going to church with her once again.     
Nathan and Lauren have a photography business  going along with their other jobs and Nathan told me last night he'd get me some new photos over to put in the blog so you guys could see him.  I guess he sent them snail mail!  So we'll skip his photos for now and move along to a few special Thai people you haven't seen for a while.   

This is Duncan and Tip.  (I know--Duncan isn't Thai.)  Duncan is old, very old and a true saint and friend of ours who somehow talked this beautiful Thai girl, Tip, into marrying him.    They are planting a church in New Zealand and are on our blog because I want everyone to know what a blessing they are to us.  Duncan has led 100s of people to Christ (maybe even 1000s actually) as an evangelist and pastor.  Tip came to Christ a few years ago and was such a blessing to us when we were together in Thailand.  She was Jackie's hairdresser and has two shops in New Zealand now.   

Here's a couple faces you might remember:  Glynn and Bum.  They are getting married in a couple of weeks.  We are so sad we won't be there.  We made it to their Thai wedding and that was super.  This wedding is their "official" Christian wedding.  How we miss our wee little Thai daughter.  The girl on the right is Tahn.  She's been in YWAM and numerous other minstries.  We first met her when I taught at her Discipleship Training School in Thailand a few years ago.  She got into our heart and is constantly encouraging us with her prayers.  When she writes us it always begins with "Dear Mommy and Daddy."  How can we not melt?  She has a big group of folks in India praying for Jackie's healing.  There are many other Thai folks we miss and love and won't get to see this Christmas.  That's the only sad part of our being in America right now--we miss our thai friends as well as Chuck and Janet who always came over to have breakfast with us Christmas morning. 

Check back in a few days.  I'm sure Nathan will get around to sending some new photos and I'll put them in.  Meanwhile, you can gaze at us as we close by saying how much we appreciate all of you who have been our friends for so many years.  What a joy for us to know you all and to have experienced your fellowship in your countries and ours.  How we long for heaven where we will all celebrate our Savior, Christ the Lord, with all those who have gone before us and with you.  With much love...

Bob and Jackie

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Bob and Jackie

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Last time I wrote we were wondering where we’d be living, what we’d be doing and here we are already, looking back. All I can continue to say is, “God is good, way too good to us.”

So we left Thailand and felt the cracking and crunching of our hearts as we hugged our friends who came to the airport to see us off (perhaps making sure we got on the plane and left!). We flew down to Bangkok, only one hour, and then waited for 8 hours to catch our flight to New York City. We caught that one, flew for 16.5 hours and there it was—America. Customs, Immigration, piece of cake. The Immigration guy asked us what we’d been doing in Thailand and when we told him he just stamped our passports and said, “Welcome home.” Then the Customs guy asked us, who was just as polite, and never even opened a suitcase to see what we had—and we had a ton of luggage. Another 5.5 hours layover and we caught the Jet Blue flight ($59 each!) to Jacksonville. What an awesome airline they are. I know who I’ll be flying with whenever I have to go somewhere.

We got to Jacksonville and Paul (a friend from church) with Leah and the grandkids were there to pick us up in the church bus. That’s the only thing anyone had that could carry us and our luggage.

We stayed with Leah for about 2 weeks in all. After we’d been there a few days we drove to Jackie’s mom’s house, 5 hours south of here, and stayed there a week. We took the 2 older boys with us and had a great time visiting and catching up।

Above: Jackie, Lauren (Nathan's wife), Nathan, Zachary, Alexis (a friend, laying down) and Jake and the dog in the front.

When we got back we made it to church for the first time and enjoyed that immensely. It was a bit weird because when we left we knew about 75% of the people who attended on Saturday nights and this time we only knew a few of them. The service had grown a lot and we were strangers in our own home. Oh well, guess we’ll have to make new friends. Today is Sunday (Father’s Day in America) so we went to the Sunday morning service and felt even stranger. We saw a few faces scattered across the building that we knew, but when the service was over everyone took off. We were in our home church, maybe 750 people in attendance, and when we stood out by the doors to see who might be around that we knew, we didn’t know but about 3 people. Talk about culture shock. We came home but we don’t know anyone anymore।

Housing: We weren’t sure where we’d live and Leah had been looking and gave up. The houses she found for us were too expensive or kind of scary (neighborhood not so safe) so we were a bit concerned. However, one family in our church remembered us (there’s more than one of course), Billy and Phyllis Robshaw, old friends, and they had a house they wanted someone to live in. We took a look at it and were stoked. They’d been renting it to college kids that go to our church but all but one had moved out. The remaining one, Bo, still lives here and the three of us share it. He’s a great guy so it’s a good situation. We can share expenses. When I say God is good (so are the Robshaws) I’m making an understatement. The house is a 5-minute bike ride to the beach (where I used to surf all the time) and a 5-minute bike ride to the church where Jackie works. We are blessed! In fact, Jackie and I just came home from the beach on our bikes.

Above: Father's Day and Leah's birthday in our new house--note the unpacking mess and wonder boy, Elijah, Leah's youngest.

Jobs: Jackie starts at the church day care tomorrow (Monday) at 7:00 AM (God help her) and has the 3-year olds. She went in a couple of times just to get reacquainted with the place and was amazed that everyone understood her when she talked. Everyone over here speaks English! Hurray. She will be working 7:00 – 2:00, 5 days a week, so she’s stoked with that schedule.

I have a knack for getting jobs I don’t know how to do. My last job was a mystery to me and the one I now have is also a mystery. A friend has a business and he goes to car lots and does things like painting bumpers that are all faded out, dying interiors that are messed up or fixing up the outside when they are all scratched up. He does most everything. For some reason, he thought I’d be perfect for this job and offered to train me. So, for the last 2 weeks, I’ve been riding around with him doing these things and, sure enough, I do know how to do such things. It’s kind of fun but my back concerns me quite a bit. My back does OK until about the last couple of hours of the day and then it just kind of quits on me. Friday it was cramping and seizing up or something and I wouldn’t be able to walk for a few seconds. It hasn’t done that one before. But after a good night’s sleep it only hurt on Saturday. By the end of the Saturday (we are unpacking stored boxes and moving stuff around) it was cramping up again. I went to the doctor before we left for Thailand and just before we left Thailand to come to America and they tell me the same thing—“looks good to me.” Prayer appreciated.

So, all in all, we are doing fine. We are still a bit lost in America and really missing Thailand, but one thing that came to me was this: 2Co 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory…. God didn’t bring us here as a demotion—He brought us here to be transformed more and more into the likeness of Christ. Our goal stays the same and we embrace our time here in the States knowing that God has a future for us. We are grateful to have our kids and family around again and await the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ—King of kings….

We have mobile phones (no land line cause Bo works from the house and needs it) so if you have Cingular, we can talk day and night for free! Our phone numbers are…

Jackie 904 315 7734

Bob 904 315 7528

If you don’t have Cingular, we pay 10 cents a minute to talk to you and you know what? We want to talk to you. We’d love to talk to you. Our e-mail stays the same: bobandjackie@gmail.com Our mailing address is now:

Robinsons

43 Willow Drive

Saint Augustine, FL 32080

As always, we are grateful for each of you and look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for being our friends. Blessings to you all…

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Since this is the last entry from Thailand (I think), we want to express our thanks to all of you who have so generously prayed and supported us financially to be here.  I know that many of you have given when there wasn’t much left for yourselves.  We are not worthy—but the Lamb, He is and He knows your generosity. 

We’ve received “care” packages, special cards, bookmarks, books and all sorts of things from around the world—THANKS!  We are humbled by all the generous friends we have and humility is good.  I’ll be proud when I’m even more humble!  Ha. 

In 1987 when we first joined YWAM, there was a married couple about 40 sitting in front of the dorm with their suitcases sitting next to them.  They didn’t have jobs or a home but were on their way “out” to go somewhere and live.  I remember thinking, “I wonder if Jackie and I will ever be like that?” 

Well, we made it past our 40s and are now into our 50s (60s aren’t that far ahead for me) and all I can say is that God has been way too good to us. We’ve lived over here and always been able to financially keep up with our responsibilities and ministries.  We’ve lived in a cute little house and been blessed to even have friends come and stay with us.  Jackie took a couple of major health hits last year but has since recovered and is powering along again at ¾ speed.  You prayed us through those times.  When she quit her job and began volunteering at the orphanage, your financial support went up and we never missed her income.  How blessed we are to have such a caring and providing God. 

As we return this time (there’s been many going and coming times for us), Leah is feverishly at work trying to find us a rental and it looks like Jackie will have her old job at ABC childcare, which she loved and missed while over here.  I’m still wondering what I’ll be doing but haven’t hit the panic mode yet.  We’ve bought our airline tickets so that’s no problem.  We’ve paid our rent and are disposing of our household stuff here (Bum and Glen will get most of it for their wedding present) and making our house ready for Ron and Jeanette Brewster to live in.  They are close friends from Montana.  We’ve even managed to save almost $2000 to get set up in Florida once again.  We are hoping to rent something where they won’t require a first, last and deposit.  If we don’t, we’ll be writing for more support!  Ha. 

 So this is our blog of thanks to all of you who have gone with us these last 4 years.  Your prayers, support and especially e-mails have been such a blessing.  Here’s what’s coming up as we try and leave for you to pray with us about.

 May 4^th:  Bob goes to Chiang Mai (3 hours from here) for an eye appointment to find out if his eye can be fixed (cataract).

 May 5^th:  If the doctor says “go for it,” he will have the surgery.  By the way, he can hardly put eye drops in his eyes so this should be quite a challenge for him.

 May 6^th:  Return to Chiang Rai.  In the evening, Bob speaks at the international fellowship for missionaries.

 THE BIG ONE

May 14^th:  We go to Bum’s hometown for the “Thai” wedding.  It’s about a 7-hour ride and we should have a great time.

 May 15^th:  Bum and Glen get married “Thai” style.  This won’t be their official wedding—that comes in December and they will be married in the church.  Bob gets to give a 5-minute speech about Bum so pray it turns into an opportunity to share what God has and is doing in her life.

 May 20th:  We say bye to our church and all our good friends who go there.  Thanks to all and to the Johnsons (pastor family).

We fly from Chiang Rai to Bangkok and have a 7-hour wait for our flight that goes from Bangkok to New York, non-stop.  Yay.  It’s only a 17-hour flight. 

 May 23^rd

We get to New York at 6:30 AM, go through customs and immigration (God help us please) and then fly to Jacksonville at 1:30.  Someone with a truck will need  to pick us up because we are bringing back 4 big suitcases full of our junk and 4 carry on bags. 

 May 24^th: We wake up and begin looking for our minds.

What will we miss here in Thailand?  You know the answer.  People.  Here's a few of them below. 

 Here's a few of her wee friends.

This was a friend of ours who lived in Pattaya.  Her name is Angel and that's what she is.

...and geysers too.  Art and Dow with Bob

 
Mae, Bum and Nan

I really wish I had the space to put in all the photos we have.  But then you might get terribly bored.  So, I'll not do that and do this instead:  Thank you once again.  Jackie and I are so grateful for our Thai adventure and all that God has done to us, through us and for us.  He alone is worthy.

Our home church, Anastasia Baptist, must have a special thanks.  What a blessing they have been to us.  We have been so looked after, prayed after and supported that we can hardly believe it.  We look forward to seeing all of you again....

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Today after church we got Bum and her boyfriend and told them that we’d be moving back to Florida in May or so. She looked up at me and said, “Are you leaving me?” That hurt. It still hurts. It may always hurt. It’s like telling your own kids, “Bye, we’re moving to Thailand
for a year” (it’s been 4 now!).

Now, to go back to Florida (FL) we have to tell our kid over here (Bum) “Yes, we are leaving you.” Think about those words for a few minutes, “leaving you,” and see how you feel about them. Jackie will be telling her little guys, “I’m leaving you,” and they’ll deal with it as kids do. But they will hurt and so will she.

So, perhaps you are wondering “why are you leaving?” Well, that’s what this blog is about and we want to share with all of you who have been hanging in with us through your prayers and support what’s going on.

Got to have at least one photo. Jackie and I joined
Chuck and Janet and went up a mountain to
explore. We're on the red bike and, by the way, most
signs don't have English translations!

About 8 months ago we thought it might be time to return to FL. We prayed and could get no peace about leaving, so we stayed. We do things one year at a time and that year will be up in May. Here’s what we believe God is asking of us. We are going to move back to St. Augustine for a year and rethink and reassess what we have been doing and what we will be doing in the future. As we see it right now, which is kind of like, 1Co 13:12: For now we see in a mirror dimly…, we have 3 options. 1) live in FL and be parents and grandparents again; 2) Move to Montana and work with YWAM/Montana again or 3) move back over here. Regardless of which door we choose, we’ll spend a year in FL because….

My lovely wife needs some R&R. Her heart is still a small issue we have to deal with. While it’s OK, it’s not OK. Does that make sense? I think she’s fine but the doctors at the last check up gave her a split decision. We think a year in our own culture might do wonders for her health. Truth is, there’s stress no matter where you live. But we feel like we are carrying a load over here and it’s time to put it down for a bit. We also feel like whatever it was we were supposed to do or be over here for, we’ve done it. At least for now anyway.

Here's Chuck and Janet...

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These are Jackie's dancers. She spent about 6 weeks, part of the time on crutches and part of the time sitting on a stool, giving instructions to put it together. It was really something to watch. God was glorified. After all was said and done, a call was given to ask who'd like to receive Christ. About a dozen people raised their hands! That was on Saturday night and on Sunday when we got to church, Bum came up to us and said that 56 people turned in cards saying they'd prayed for Christ to come into their lives. 56! That's just too amazing. I sent out an e-mail and asked that you pray for these "56." Today I called Michael about something and he told me they'd found more cards and the total is now up to 62. Oh my gosh. Many of those will be kids and parents will probably be a challenge--no, they will be a challenge. Please be praying for all these people. I think we're done with Christmas parties and outreaches so life should settle back down to normal, which, when you live in Thailand, is kind of hard to define. I'll close this thing for now and just tell all of you, our friends/prayer partners/financial supporters, we are truly grateful for you. We've been over here 4 years and honestly we don't know how we've done it. At times, we feel like we are a million miles from anything that we understand and 2 million miles from our kids and grandkids. How we miss them and you who we get to see when we live in America. Those of you in other countries, we may never see again until the Lord reunites us all in His heavenly Kingdom. But what a joy and privilege it is to serve our great King and what a support it is to have folks like you guys that stick with us and pray us through the times when we want to give up. Thank you so much and have a MERRY CHRISTMAS and fruitful 2007.

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Hey, it’s Christmas time! All of Thailand is gearing up to celebrate the advent of our Lord Jesus—not. I have to work Christmas day! Arrgggghh. Oh well, no big deal cause everyone is working so it’s not like a holiday over here. Jackie is off cause she volunteers at YWAM (Youth With A Mission). We’ll celebrate the birth of our Great King with some rice and veggies! How about you? Are you feeling sorry for us yet?

It’s at this point in the letter we are supposed to get all reflective and deep. Well, the sun reflects off my head and that’s about as reflective as I’m feeling right now. Jackie is out in the living room putting up our wee tree and trying to find a place to plug things in. Houses in Thailand have one outlet per room and it’s at eye height. Strange. Until you realize the houses flood often over here so it’s good to keep that power out of the water.

We had a funny conversation the other day. I’m 7 years older than Jackie and I made the comment that in 2006 she had experienced enough stress to make her catch up with me. Good thing is she still doesn’t look like she caught up with me and her health is mostly back to what it was. She has another heart and knee appointment Dec. 27th in Bangkok. We’d be pleased to get a clean bill of health.

What's up with the fingers? Is it arthritis? Is it some sort of Thai deformity? No, it was our 34th wedding anniversary and we were stoked and ate enough to prove it!

As we look back we can only give thanks. Thanks for a heart attack that saved Jackie’s life and knee surgery that might give her back the ability to dance. Thanks for Lauren, the newest Robinson member, married to Nathan last May 14th. For Nathan who wants to be a drummer and bang ‘em for Jesus. For Leah, who found her way back to the Father’s arms and has done amazing things since. For Zach, the oldest of the 3 grandsons who is so polite and kind it scares me. Jake, the middle man who says he’ll be a Priest one day and in the mean time play football until he drops. Elijah, the little man who will be bigger than any two of us when he gets grown up, has found his pace and is blooming. Me? I’m breathing, a bit nuts and discovered that at 57 bodies hurt in many new and amazing ways. But I also discovered as I was praying this morning that at 57 I have the rest of my life to spend on Jesus and a wife who at 50 is just as serious as I am about giving it all for Him. A friend told us last night that if you are working toward downward mobility, missions is the way to go. We are grateful for what we don’t have and hungry for what God has for us! Hope and pray you are too.

Bum, the Thai Robinson

So in conclusion, if there is one to this rambling, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year (we get that holiday over here!!!!!) and may Christ continually be in your midst. Remember this too: Psalm 96:6 “Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.” If you are looking for strength and beauty, don’t look within, look within the Church and get yourself in it! Be blessed. Talk to you next emergency or in 2007.

Bum had her 23rd b’day with us and tried to fry our mouths with her spicey food!

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It’s Sunday afternoon and I (Bob) just finished an intense week at the university because it’s the first week of a new semester. I have a 100 or so new students and 70 I’ve had before and more hours than we normally are asked to teach. Jackie has been rehabbing her knee and waking up through the night with pain and at times wondering if she’ll ever get out of this house on her own again. But God is blessing us.

My back has been giving me more pain than normal and it hurts to bend over to talk to students in class and help them. My knees have been hurting to walk up the stairs at the school that is built on the side of a mountain. When Jackie came home from the hospital, it seemed like everyone we knew here, except for Saint Janet, forgot we were alive. No one called or came over to help except for her, who is busy herself working at the international school. Oh, but after that first week that was so hard, another dear saint came to her rescue: Julie. So you see, God is blessing us.

It’s quite easy for our human nature to see the areas of life that are hurting because they yell very loudly and demand attention. Yet God is blessing us and we are grateful for His tender mercies that are new every morning and His grace that began a good work in us. A few months ago, before Jackie’s heart attack and before her knee surgery and before my back was yelling “ouch” to me, we made a commitment that we would hunger and thirst after righteousness and not turn back. There’s been trials galore and physical challenges that have made us sit up and take notice. Yet, through it all, God has been blessing us.

Christians are on a road and the road goes on forever and ever. It goes to the heart of God, into His very presence. Those who begin to walk on that road find that they are tempted in many ways and bewildered by life’s contradictions. They often wonder why if God is good this happened or that happened. When those things are contemplated, detours happen and we go wandering off into lands we don’t need to be in. Or, we are side tracked by this new thing or that new thing or this need or that need, and we go wandering off. “If I only had this I’d be all right,” we think. But God is blessing us.

We are made to walk on this road and to constantly move toward the presence of God. We were never made to sit idle. Way back in our Christian history, there was an old woman who had withdrawn from the world to sit in the presence of God in all-day prayer. A man who heard of her came and asked why she didn’t do anything but stay inside. She told him, “I’m not sitting, I’m on a journey.” And that’s what we are on.

To find our way it’s an easy and simple act: We divorce ourselves from the love of the world and all its shiny and bright things. Through ascetic living we give ourselves wholly to prayer and fasting, to hungering and thirsting for God alone and His righteousness. As we eliminate all the distractions from the road that scream for our attention and demand our investigation, there’s only one thing that can happen—we move forward, toward God. How I wish I could say we are always moving forward. We aren’t. But it is our goal and hope and purpose and God is blessing us. Not because we are good, holy, smart or because of anything—but because He is faithful and kind and loving and good to us who realize that we are nothing apart from Him and we who work do so as unprofitable servants. Oh, how good to be a servant in the house of our Father.

So, that’s what’s going on in our lives. I’ll throw a few pictures in for good measure to show you and continue to pray that God’s rich blessings fall upon you all who read this update. It is our joy to pray for you and we encourage you to keep sending us your prayer requests. We claim nothing when we pray except that our Father hears us—as He hears you—and that because He is good we can count that He is blessing us all in spite of what your physical, mental or emotions might be saying.

37 YEARS AGO, IN ED AND NORA'S LIVING ROOM, I WAS INTRODUCED TO CHRIST, OUR KING. THEY WERE HERE FOR A WEEK, VOLUNTEERING AT AN ORPHANAGE WITH A TEAM THEY BROUGHT FROM THEIR CHURCH. IT WAS SUCH A BLESSING TO SEE THEM AGAIN. WE GET TOGETHER ABOUT ONCE EVERY 15 YEARS!

HERE’S ANNE. SHE WAS JACKIE’S PHYSICAL THERAPIST. SHE WAS FUN, A BLESSING FROM GOD.

HERE’S JIN LING AND DAMONE. JIN LING’S GRANDFATHER WAS LED TO CHRIST BY HUDSON TAYLOR. SHE’S A TEACHER AT BOB’S UNIVERSITY (HE DOESN’T OWN IT, THOUGH). SHE NEEDED A DRESS FOR HER WEDDING AND THE ONE WE HAD MADE FOR LAUREN, OUR BRILLIANT AND BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTHER-IN-LAW, DIDN’T MAKE IT TO AMERICA, SO GOD PROVIDED FOR JIN LING AND SHE WAS STOKED! CRAZY MIGHT BE A BETTER WAY OF DESCRIBING HER.

HERE’S A COUPLE OF KIDS FROM JACKIE’S BUDDHIST KINDERGARTEN. I’D LOVE TO SAY THEY ARE WORSHIPPING JESUS, BUT THEY AREN’T. HER BOSS CAME TO OUR HOUSE, PICKED JACKIE UP AND DROVE HER TO WORK CAUSE SHE IS SO WELL-LIKED BY THE PARENTS AND STUDENTS. IT’S A GREAT PLACE TO WORK FOR JACKIE AND SHE DOES IT ON TOP OF HER WORK AT THE HIV ORPHANAGE.

WE EAT THIS STUFF. IT’S CALLED “DRAGON FRUIT” AND IT’S YUMMY. KIND OF WEIRD LOOKING….

THIS GUY IS ABOUT AS BIG AS MY HAND AND HE/SHE/IT PUSHED OPEN OUR SCREEN DOOR AND CAME INTO THE HOUSE. WHEN HE WALKED ACROSS THE FLOOR YOU COULD HEAR HIS FEET CLICKING ON THE TILES AND WHEN I TRIED TO PICK HIM UP TO SHOW HIM THE WAY BACK OUT, HE SCREAMED AT ME. FREAKY? INDEED.

Thanks for taking the time to look over this blog. We truly love all of you who come around--at least the ones we know!--and appreciate all your love and prayers that come our way. Blessings until December comes around and the next update.

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Warfare? Could be. Is it any different where you live? People falling and crashing all around you? We need each other, don’t we? We need to be praying for one another. We need to be watching out.

Our “one more thing” is coming on October 6th. On the 5th Jackie and I will fly to Bangkok and she will get surgery done on her knee the following morning. If all goes well, we’ll be back here and working in 4 days. The prayer aspect of this is that the doctor who looked at her knee in Florida said it was one problem and the doctor here disagrees and says it’s cartilage. Well, we are here so we are really hoping this doctor is correct because he will do the surgery.

We’ve had some fun this last month so I think I’ll just put some pictures up and explain the action as you see it.

I can fly...Where do they get such energy? Maybe she's so excited because we are leaving church to go home! Funny thing, the kids are just as excited to go as they are to leave.

Bob's new girlfriends. I hardly get to see the kids but this day we were the "bring 'em to church" drivers so they were all excited about something new and different. And, they love to play with cameras so we posed, just for you.

Jackie's the pro when it comes to kids. It's called "work," but the truth is it's really fun too. At church, there's close to 75 orphans from different homes that come and they all sit on the floor up front on the mats you see Jackie on. This was a bit before everyone arrived. The church has a wonderful ministry to these little ones and they seem to have a great time. We are so blessed to have such an awesome Thai staff.

This was the highlight of the day. Jackie took half in our car and they loved hanging out the back. I followed in another truck/car thingie. You would've thought they were on their way to Disney World by the excitement level. Remember when you were that age and such simple things made you happy? Maybe that's why Jesus said we were to become as little children.

On Thursdays we get to have a couple of the kids over for dinner and play. You wouldn't believe how much Thai kids can eat. Both of these wee ones ate twice as much as I did. Their diets are strictly regulated. One kid, Hope, saw some M&Ms and asked what they were. When I told her she ran away from them. Talk about trained. Can you imagine a kid not begging you for candy but rather telling you it's not good for you? These do.

About an hour north of us the International Elephant Polo tournament was held. Chuck & Janet Lichtenberger and Jackie and I loaded up our motorcycles and we went looking for it. We knew what town but not exactly where. After a bit of driving, we found it. This tournament is a yearly event and teams come from all over the world to compete. The elephants are provided. The Duke of Argyle was even there. 10 or so students from the university were working as translators so we saw them and had a very nice day, sitting in the sideline restaurant and just enjoying the fellowship between good friends and some smelly elephants.

Here they are in action. It's all kind of silly but quite dangerous. They had to play on a half field because when the elephants get going fast and then try to turn on a muddy field, they fall down. You don't really want to be on an elephant when it falls over. No one was hurt and the people liked listening to the announcer as he carried on, cracking jokes about the action.

The Christian club on the campus did the GIVING TREE drama and it was great. These guys give 100% all the time in trying to be innovative and bringing their friends in. We are truly honored to be a part of what they are doing on the campus.

So, there's the photo story. Please pray for Jackie and the doctor who will be trying to make her knee work again. This will be the 2nd operation and 3rd time it's been out of service. Wouldn't it be great if God directed this doctor to do exactly what needs to be done and she gets to dance again? I think so. Perhaps if you think of it, pray for the workers here in Chiang Rai. We seem to be getting hammered by "stuff." Pray too, should you think of us, that our hearts remain soft toward the Thai people. After 4 years, we are beginning to wear out and we need a significant time of refreshing from our Father in heaven. Blessings to all of you.

Bob and Jackie

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Garlicin Cholesterol Control Smart Release 2 a day
Flush Free Niacin Code SWU 081 3 a day
Gugulipid SWH 037 3 a day
On this formula, Jackie’s bad cholesterol (LDL) went from 141 to 92. Below 130 (Thai standard, the U.S. uses 100 so they can sell more drugs to us!) is considered to be good.

So there you go. If you are afraid of the drugs your doctor is giving you, which you should be if it’s for lowering cholesterol drugs, you can try this. Remember, I’m a quack and this advice is not the advice of a professional! Ha. In fact, Jackie’s heart doctor told us what we did didn’t work. Of course he had no explanation for our success.

Would you like a formula to enhance your spiritual life too? Since we don’t live in the States, we actually have free time in the evenings to read and seek God. TV isn’t too much of an option! Something I read last night really blessed me and I’ll share it with all of you, free!

“Natural contemplation signifies finding God not only in all things, but equally in all persons. We are to reflect that each man and woman is a living icon of God (created in His image). In order to find God, we do not have to leave the world, to isolate ourselves from our fellow humans, and to plunge into some kind of mystical void. On the contrary, Christ is looking at us through the eyes of all those whom we meet. Once we recognize his universal presence, all our acts of practical service to others become acts of prayer.”

Jesus said "as you do it unto the least of these, you do it unto me." You'll have to find the reference. Every face you look at now should remind you that it might be Jesus' eyes you are looking at looking back at you! That's a scary thought.

I collected some written work from my students the other day and I came upon one that was quite heart rending. One of the girls wrote about her childhood and how her dad had brought her up to be a boy. Now, at 19 and away from home, she’s having difficulty relating to other female students. She said how much she regretted her childhood. I graded the paper then called her in to discuss her writing.

As we talked about her life I could sense that I was looking at one of Christ’s children that He so much wants to “come unto Him.” Fortunately for me, she understands English well enough that I could share with her God’s love for her as His daughter and that she was totally unique to Him. She was made the way she was made because God loves her. She just sat and stared as I talked. I always keep some tracts laying around my desk so I gave her a Thai and an English one for “homework.” I also gave her my phone number and invited her to church. When she got ready to leave, I gave her a big hug (you don’t hug Thai people normally) and I could tell we’d communicated something between us.

That was about 5 days ago and she came by to see me today and asked about going to church this Sunday. I’m so thrilled that this little one, not accepted by her dad but loved by her Father, is showing such interest in Christ.

We seem to go through highs and lows here in our attempts at evangelizing. Please continue to pray for us that we make the most of every and any opportunity. These students of mine are hard core when it comes to Buddhism and materialism. But Jesus can do more than we ask or think so please ask Him for lives to be brought into His kingdom.

We have a picture of Jesus blessing the children and it’s such a blessing to us. Daily Jackie is with the little ones and she continues to love on them. Please continue to lift her up in your prayers that her life will be an encouragement to the kids at the orphanage. They already love her like she’s their own. Not surprising to me. Pray too for Jackie’s knee. It’s not responding to any exercise program and it’s looking more and more like she will need surgery. The doctor told us the surgery may do no good but he was willing to try. Gee, isn’t that encouraging?!?

2 Years ago Bum’s mother kicked her out of the house for converting to Christ. We were part of that “problem.” 2 Sundays ago, Bum’s mother was in church and it was my turn to preach. I shared from Daniel about the 3 Israelites refusal to bow to an idol but rather to serve the living God. It was Thailand’s Mother’s day and Bum shared her testimony and affirmed her love for her mom and dad. There weren’t too many dry eyes. Please pray for Bum’s family. Who’d ever believe they’d come this far? God is faithful to hear as we plead for the lost.

So that’s about all the blog news for now. Thanks so much for all your prayers and support. Without them, we go down the tube fast! Blessings…

Pictures below...for the rest of the story.

This is the beach at St. Augustine. Wow, we miss it!

Here’s the reality photo. It’s rainy season and we thought a tornado might drop out of this one.

What’s Leah doing in a Catholic church? It’s Orthodox. Her and the boys joined it. (Zach took the photo) They are doing really well. Jake is talking of becoming a Priest. Thanks, Father Ted. Glad you and the crew hit it off so well. If you have questions, Leah: mythreesons11@gmail.com

There she is now...

Anyone seen these 2? That’s Nathan and Lauren and we’d love to hear from them!

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On Wednesday, we have a big event starting. We fly to Bangkok and Jackie will again see the heart specialists to make sure what they put in her heart stayed where it belongs and that she is free to pursue her life again at full speed. We are looking forward to a clean bill of health. We’ll also see an orthopedic guy in regard to her knee and see what can be done to keep her knee cap where it belongs. That all happens on Thursday, August 3rd.

If you are wondering about the muddy field below, that’s our backyard—it’s a rice field. We really enjoy looking over the wall and seeing what’s going on. The farmers plowed up this big old field with a weird looking tiller/lawn mower thing and then they did the planting. As you can see, it’s all done by hand and I can’t even imagine how their backs must feel.

If you keep on looking further down the page, you’ll find a few pictures of my (Bob’s) students. Chuck and Janet have a big enough house to fit them so he had an ice cream party. It was easy to get them to come! We really love these guys and continue to pray for God’s grace and salvation to visit each of them. It’s so strange to have friends as close as these guys who don’t know the Lord and show so little interest in knowing Him. Always polite and agreeing, few commit to follow Him because, well, to be Thai is to be Buddhist. That’s the motto of the country. But you know, it’s such a joy to be with them that we just keep on doing it year after year.

And if you scroll down a bit further you’ll find some new photos of Jackie’s kids. Jackie has won their hearts, which doesn’t surprise me cause she won mine 33 years ago with one smile. Anastasia Baptist gave us money to buy stuff to supply her room and it is one nice room for sure. The felt board, which the kids love, was given by a ministry called Kids Around the World. What a blessing.

You know how to increase your heartbeat and blood flow? We learned the other morning on our daily walk. We were heading up a hill when we came between a barn, a pig and her piglet. The mom saw us, put her head down and this 75 pound charging pig came running down the hill right at us. I, being the wise one, put my foot out thinking I would simply repel it. I guess a pig going 20 mph down a hill and weighing 75 pounds would bounce right off me, right? Little did I know that the pig wasn’t charging us, it was running for its life and piglet was on its on. About 5 feet from ramming my foot the pig veered into the jungle undergrowth, got totally entangled in the vines and came to a screeching halt. It broke free and then went squealing on to the barn. Meanwhile, piglet was looking at us like we were aliens and didn’t know what to do. We managed to get around it and it bolted on down the hill to find chicken mom. But for sure, if you need aerobic heart rate, that’ll do it! I think I’d prefer walking on the beach than plowing through the jungle but it’s what we have for now.

Have you ever read these verses, Luke 17:5, 7-10? The mustard seed dialogue is in vs 6 but I’m skipping that on purpose. We always think of increasing faith by the mustard seed action, but truth is, there’s more to it than that. You need the whole thought.

The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.” …When a servant comes in from the plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, “Come in and eat with me”? No, he says, “Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later” And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. IN THE SAME WAY, when you obey me (Jesus) you should say, “We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.”

See how to increase your faith? Not very obvious, is it? Here’s what me, the dullest of them all thinks: The Master owns the farm, the house and supplies all the tools and resources to do the work. I’m just a slave who works around the place and He owns me too. He gives me everything I have including the roof over my head. When I go out and bring in a crop I can’t really say much except that I spent the day out in my Master’s field. If the Master pulled out there’d be no field, no tools, no roof, no nothing and certainly no crop. With that perspective I’ve realized how little I contribute and how big the Master is. My faith is increased because I know the Master is big enough, smart enough and good enough to keep me out there in the field doing something worth while and, because of the Master, there will be something to bring in to the barn every day. It doesn’t depend on me—it depends on the goodness of the Master who allows me to work for Him. What a privilege to put on the apron and cook up His meal and serve Him. I’m nothing and apart from Him I can do nothing. I’m simply dust on the ground. And to show how bright I am, Bill and Ted (Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, 1991 or so) said, “We’re all nothing but dust in the wind, dudes.” They knew it before me and they aren’t even Christians! Ha.
Well, that should be enough for August. Thanks so much for all your prayers on our behalf and for your support too. We appreciate you all so much. Be blessed….

The man and his lawn mower/tiller thingie

How to kill your back for $3 a day

The finished product. Pineapple field up on the mountain


They like to play UNO

Jackie, Layla, Bob & Ploy

There they are, the future of Thailand...

The wild bunch

The two mellow ones

Cool flannel story maker...

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How’z that sound to you—to be filled with the fullness of God? Sounds pretty good to me. What do you think it will take to get to that place? How many seminars must we attend? How many books should you read this month to be on quota? Got reference books? How many commentaries you have? How about Bible software? Can you search 20 different versions of the Bible at the same time? Is worship the key to unlocking that door to our “first love”? Of course if it is, you have to decide what “worship” is and there’s no telling how much study that will take. Oh, the quest for knowledge—it’s how I’ve equated knowing God all my Christian life. At least up until the last few months. But then some good stuff started to happening at our house and it's changing our lives in a great way.

I still read my Bible—everyday. I still pray—everyday. I simply found something else that really helps: Experiencing Christ. Mat 22:37 tells us that we are to…”Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Look where intellect falls on that list. That’s one clue to knowing the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.

Another clue we found are the sacraments of the Church. The Reformers were quick to throw them out but they shouldn't have. The first clue we found on this search for our first love was in the Beatitudes. Do you know what it means to “hunger and thirst, to mourn, to be poor in spirit”? I thought I did. Maybe I do now. Dear Blog Buddies, Jesus will return one day. For those who have loved him with all their hearts and souls and minds, there will be a festival of feasting that will be attended by all the saints of old and the saints of today who love His coming and presence. My encouragement to us and you is to experience the fullness of Christ. Don't just study about Him.

JACKIE UPDATE

Jackie learning to count

Getting better, slowly. She runs out of energy by noon and when the old clock is pushing 9:00 PM she beckons me to get in bed and turn out the light! That’s OK cause I’m getting so old I wake up at 4:30 or 5:00. I think that has tremendously helped my “experiencing Christ.” That time of day there are few distractions. Please keep praying for her when you think of it. Her knee, which needed surgery in FL, hasn’t gotten any better with rest. And now of course the doctors have ordered her to walk 30 minutes a day. With a brace, she does but we need some help in that area. Her work at the orphanage is going great. She has her room all fixed up and the kids, not surprisingly, love her. She popped into her old school, the Buddhist kindergarten, on Wednesday to do a one hour “dance” class for the kids and she was nearly buried by the hugs. They miss her. Course she could hardly walk afterwards because of her knee…oh well.

Look at my book

BOB UPDATE
What’s to update? We live in Thailand and we pray for and seek the salvation of our Thai friends.

FUN UPDATE

We've been asked, "If I came over there, what could I do?" This isn't like Egypt--the bricks are made. Around The Home of the Open Heart, where Jackie works, there's lots to do. Wanna carry bricks in flip flops? Change some poopy diapers? Do some building? We just had a Baptist team from Mississippi come to our church for a week and they put on an English camp. 40 something kids showed up for a 3-day weekend.

Of course there’s fun. We love our lives and we love being able to have some fun now and then. I hope you do too. I hope you have the time. I hope you have the will. I hope that your lives are full, overflowing with the joy of Christ. I pray that you are able to endure the anxiety and sorrows of the soul with the same patience as the joy with which you receive satisfaction of heart. It seems our ministry is often to pray. If there are things you would like us to pray for, please write and let us know. We don’t hesitate to ask you to pray for us and our friends. What? You don’t know who we mean. How about praying for Theresa, our friend here who has an auto-immune disease that had her in the hospital for 8 days or so and still is home in bed, unable to do hardly anything. Our friend Larry, who is in stage four or prostrate cancer; Pooh, Ploy, Tiger, Layla, Prinze, Beauty, Ya, Hall, Dow, Art, Alongkorn & Patcharee—my Thai students I pray for daily to know Christ. The leaders of the campus Christian club, Nam Wan, Noon, Monk, Michael, John (how’d those names get in there!?) Ngok; the Thai staff at our church: Bum, Lek, Ja, Aim, Gay; for the pastor and his wife, Michael and Hope. You see, what happens if you ask?

Bam and Foon

The photos are from Home of the Open Heart and they are Jackie's kids. Remember to pray for them too if you think of it. HIV is the reason they are at Open Heart. They lost their parents to AIDS and they need our prayers.

I’m hot and tired of typing. I’ve been on this computer since 7:00 AM and it’s 2:30 now. Had exams to write and sermons to prepare. Aiyeeeeeeeee. Fun? Who? This is no way to spend your day off. Blessings to all of you. We are so blessed to have you as friends and intercessors. “O Lord, grant me to greet the coming day in peace. Help me in all things to rely upon Your holy will. In every hour of the day reveal Your will to me. Bless my dealings with all who surround me. Teach me to treat all that comes to me throughout the day with peace of soul and with firm conviction that your will governs all. In all my deeds and words, guide my thoughts and feelings. In unforeseen events, let me not forget that all are sent by You. Teach me to act firmly and wisely, without embittering and embarrassing others. Give me strength to bear the fatigue of the coming day with all that it shall bring. Direct my will, teach me to pray, and You, Yourself, pray in me.” Good prayer for the beginning of your day….

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This is after the surgery and on the way out of CCU. You should've seen her before the surgery--not a pretty sight!

Welcome to our new room. It was about 25 feet by 16 feet with a private bathroom that's way bigger than our kitchen, table and chairs, soft chair and a sleeper couch, flat screen wall mounted 25" TV, cable...it was so much more than we have here we wanted to move in.

Jackie received a bunch of cards through the hospital website. For you who sent them but never saw what you sent, here's what they looked like. They were so much fun to receive. Jackie anticipated the "Mail" nurse coming with her cards.

Outside the window on Thursday afternoon, the sky lit up with this huge rainbow. We are in many ways reminded of God's faithfulness and that His promises never fail us.

From the Cardiac Care Unit to the exercise room in 2 days--not bad. While she is healing, she also has restrictions, like no driving for another week and no going out to the orphanage to see her kids. She's chilling around the house, though sweating is more appropriate. Our house hangs around 92 degrees all day long. We live in our A/C bedroom when we are at home.

Jackie told her dietitian about this lunch. She nearly fainted. Can you imagine being a heart patient and having this delivered to your room. We laughed.

That should catch you up to date. Have you ever noticed that we always want to understand or learn something when things like a heart attack happen? I read the other day that theology that isn't lived out is a theology of demons. I pondered that a bit. Sometimes it's better to not know or understand but simply to throw ourselves on the mercy of God and thank Him for everything. Gee, that seems like it should be in the Bible--Ha. I prayed this prayer this morning and I want you to hear some of the highlights because it taught me much about our enemy who harasses, steals, kills and destroys.

"Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them. Enemies have driven me into Thy embrace more than friends have. Friends have bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world...They have scolded me whenever I have flattered myself. They have spat upon me whenever I have filled myself with arrogance...Whenever I have made myself wise, they have called me foolish. Whenever I have made myself mighty, they have mocked me as though I were nothing. Whenever I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background. Whenever I have rushed to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand. Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life, they have demolished it and driven me out. Truly, enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of Thy garment."

It goes on further but you get the point. Those things intended for our hurt, God redeems and uses for our benefit and His glory. What a joy it is to know that our enemies are the very ones who drive us into the hands of our compassionate and loving Father.
Jackie had a request so I will add one more paragraph. I am the one in the family with high cholesterol, always have had a count that hovers around 200. If I didn't fight it, it would probably go way higher than that. She insisted I get tested since we were in the hospital so I did. When I did the stress test, the machine couldn't challenge me enough to elevate my heart rate to where they needed it to be. We were all laughing as I started dancing around on the treadmill to make my heart go. The test was so good the head cardiologist looked it over and said you need no more tests! Keep doing whatever you do. What a blessing.

So that's that. Be blessed until next time.

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Our grandson, Elijah. Good hands!

We got back on Sunday the 21st evening. Our faithful student, Dow, grabbed our car and picked us up and then made me drive home. You know, I’d only been in the States for 5 weeks but driving on the right side of the road felt right again. Over here, it’s the left side. We made it home OK and drug our junk into the house, turned on the A/C in our bedroom and stayed their until we passed out into the slumber world. Awake at 6:00 and off to work. Whew on Bob. Jackie didn’t start working until this week. Yea for Jackie.

Wondered what it costs to be a "missionary?" Ask Jackie.

Jackie did have her trial of sorts to deal with. Since it’s rainy season the critters are on the move, crawling things. She came into the kitchen and right where she saw the last snake was a new one. Dang, thought she. She went over to the grandpa’s across the street and rousted him out to come and get it. He and Grandma came over and they started doing some kind of Buddhist chant cause it had disappeared. The chant didn’t seem to bring it back into view so they all looked under things and stuff and gave up.

When I got home we wondered where it might’ve gone and decided that since it wasn’t chasing us we’d not go hunting it. That’s OK in the light. But at night when you get up to go the bathroom or something and you can’t see…ooooh, that’s scary. That went on for a couple of nights but we weren’t bit. Stupid cats couldn’t even find it. Speaking of, the boy killer cat bit the head off a snake as we watched him playing with it on our front porch. Cute kitty.

Sittin' on a Dock on the Bay....

So Jackie gets on a cleaning binge and starts cleaning under everything and when she picked up a bag there was the snake, curled up on top of it. Once again, Sister rocket scientist didn’t just drop it and run. She figured since it was sleeping she’d just fold the bag over it and carry it outside. Over the fence it went and we are back to wandering the halls at night in peace. I really want you to pray for her. Serious prayer business would be her knee.

Just before we left an orthopaedic guy looked it over and told her that he didn’t really have the time or peace of mind to do the surgery 4 days before we left Florida but it would need surgery soon. So he recommended exercises and she’s doing them. So far the knee hasn’t fallen off her leg, but neither is she walking freely or pain free. We’d be thrilled for God to do some sort of wonder healing action on her.

Zach, our oldest grandson--a heart of gold.

Life at the orphanage is going well and we were so blessed by our church’s day care: They gave Jackie $500 to spend on the orphanage. Boy, is she having fun buying stuff for the classroom and for the kids. It’s so much fun to spend money that way. My job is fine and we have something like 1900 or so new students to deal with this semester. I have 208 in my classes alone. God help them to find salvation would be my prayer.

Happy Birthday, Jake. #2 grandson! Beats grammy at rummy....

OK, long enough. Be blessed. Oh, here’s a prayer by a guy named St Dimitry of Rostov I love to pray during my morning quiet time. It’s like sending a “Hallmark” card to God.

Open, O doors and bolts of my heart, that Christ the King of Glory may enter! Enter, O my Light, and enlighten my darkness; enter O my Life, and resurrect my deadness; enter, O my Physician, and heal my wounds; enter, O Divine Fire, and burn up the thorns of my sins; ignite my inward parts and my heart with the flame of Your love; enter, O my King, and destroy in me the kingdom of sin; sit on the throne of my heart and reign in me alone, O Thou, my King and Lord. O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.

Blessings to you all...

Bob and Jackie

Jackie, Lauren, Justine (Jack's mom) and Leah, on the trail for God and doing great. What a joy and blessing Leah was to us in Florida.

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NATE & LAUREN

We arrived in Florida on April 11th, I think. Maybe it was the 12th. We don’t have any memory of that because it took us 39.5 hours to get here from doorstep to doorstep. We were too tired to function for about 4 days.

Has it been a vacation? Not really. Has it been an evangelistic outreach? Not even close. What, then? Survival! Pure and simple. Coming to the States from Thailand is all about adapting and conquering this crazy culture, which I think we’ve done. We only want about 10,000 more things that we need so we are doing good! It seems, America, you like your toys and you try and pull us poor Thai dwellers into the fray and frenzy.

We’ve had ample opportunities to share all about the ministry in Thailand with our church from the traditional to the contemporary services to the college guys and old friends we’ve run into. We’ve done things we’ve never ever done and had fun meeting new people and making new friends. We were invited to the North American groundbreaking party for the Orthodox Church mission board. We have a new friend, Fr Ted of the Jacksonville Orthodox church and he invited us to come. We’ve never felt so out of place in all of our lives. But it was exciting and we made new friends.

LEAH, JUSTINE (Jack's mom) & JACKIE. JUSTINE DANCED AT THE WEDDING--TO BE CONTINUED.

A CRUMMY DAY OF SURFING BEATS WORK ANY DAY

The highlight? Surfing. Not. The highlight was Nathan’s wedding, which was the reason we came in the first place. It came off beautifully. See the photos! I (Bob) was asked long ago by Nathan to do the service and to say I was nervous would be an understatement. When we got here there was still much to work out detail wise so we were on that quickly. Then there was the actual service that needed to be worked out and Nathan wrote some vows and I made up some stuff and some how we came up with a wedding service that got Nathan and Lauren married (legally). My friend, Chuck, former pastor and now co-teacher surfing buddy did the “by the power invested in me….I pronounce you man and wife” thing. Nathan and Lauren planned out the reception with a DJ and it came off with tons of fun and blessing. We saw old friends, family from afar and just had a great time. When it was all over, Nathan and Lauren caught a plane for Cancun, where they are as I write, for their honeymoon. A friend gave them a time-share so they went for it.

SHE'S TOO PRETTY AND HE'S TOO OLD FOR A MOHAWK

I’m leaving out tons of details and maybe in a couple of weeks we’ll revisit this story and detail it to pieces. But for now, we fly out of here tomorrow (Friday the 19th) and get back home on Sunday the 21st at 4:00 PM. That makes a long flight! I have work on Monday morning so it should be really fun to get back. Ha. We’ll update this more when we get caught up. There’s been so much that has happened it’s too much for one update. Let us just say thanks to all of you who prayed and supported us for this trip. We couldn’t have done this without you. America is expensive! Understatement.

THE SWEETHEART TABLE

Enjoy the photos and let us know what’s going on in your world.

Bob and Jackie

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If you are going to kiss, at least wait until his girlfriend isn't around.

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Hello from Thailand. I thought we'd give you a break and show you more pictures than writing! We've both been quite busy--it's summer and lots of camps and extras are going on. Jackie began it with a worship dance workshop. She and some ladies got together and spent a morning learning about what it means to dance for God. Jackie's heart isn't just to dance but to dance and honor God. That's just what they did. One morning of practice led to a presentation at the English speaking fellowship, which is made up of mostly western workers and some Thais who speak English. We meet a couple of times a month.
After that it was still Jackie's turn. She got a couple of my students from the university (they are on summer break) and headed off to English camp at Jackie's school.
Another fun thing we got this month is Sheryl. She's a lady we didn't know who came over to Thailand to experience what it meant to work overseas. She only had 2 weeks but she did it! We had her stay with us and we were/are (she's still here) blessed. There's photos of her too!
I did a Bible training week with the church staff and the leaders of the University Christian club. What a good time that was! 3 hours a day, Monday - Friday and we studied the Nicene Creed and the Beatitudes. I know I got a new heart out of it and I think they were also blessed. You can see some of them below.
I got to share at our church again. That's a semi kind of regular thing and I always enjoy it. What blesses me so much about sharing is that Bum is my translator. To think that this girl was a party girl just 2 years ago and is now in full-time Christian service. God's grace is amazing. She's adopted us and we love it. Looks like Nathan won't be the 1st to graduate from university in our family--she beat him by a year and she graduated with honors. We are proud of her and all the Thai staff at our church. They are all in their early- to mid-20s and are leading the way by Godly example. Enjoy the photos. We will be flying to the States in about 3 weeks to get geared up for Nathan's greatest adventure (so far), his wedding. We are so looking forward to seeing our kids and grandkids and to get to welcome Lauren, Nathan's fiance, as a new daughter to the family...doesn't get much better. Hope to see you there. We'll be back in Thailand May 20th and will have to hit the ground on a full run. If you think of us, we would appreciate prayer for this trip, Nathan's wedding and our return to work/ministry. Thank you so much.

No visit to Thailand is complete without running up to the border and shopping. This is one of the small streets with vendors all over the place selling who knows what. Sheryl nearly died from the heat!

Meet Patcharee. I had Patcharee this year as a freshman (they call them "Freshie" here). She met up with us at the border and we spent the day together. What a sweet heart. Pray for her.

Ever been inside a Buddhist Temple? Here's one for you. They had so much stuff jammed in there. It's all very pretty and ornate, but the sad reality is, it doesn't lead them to Jesus.

That's Sheryl with us. Hospitality is something we are commanded to do in Scripture. When you have someone like Sheryl stay with you for 2 weeks, you just want to open up your doors and hope you find a truck load more just like her. We'll miss having her around the house.

The above and below photos are the students that came to the Bible school. Chuck, my surfing/pastor buddy from Florida, taught the Old Testament and Sheryl taught how to teach and develop children. It was such a good time.

In Florida there's a famous guy, the barefoot mailman. I'm trying to imitate him by being the barefoot preacher. That's Bum doing the hard part--making sense of my English and converting it to Thai.

You find almost anything on a motorcycle over here. I guess this dog needed to go to the vet; or maybe they are going on a picnic; or maybe the dog is the picnic lunch.

What a blessing. We now have a car that not only starts up, it doesn't break down and leave Jackie on the road to go walking, looking for help. Here it is filled up with DTS students.

That teeny spot in the back is Sheryl teaching our western kids at church.

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So, what has Wonder Woman done? Nothing too weird. She was on her way home from work and since the Peugeot deposits a pint of oil on our carport every night she stopped by the gas station to get some oil. So the attendants were trying to put oil in when I got her first phone call. “Bob, I don’t think these guys know what they are doing.” “Yea, and what can I do sitting at school”? Nothing. You see, a 1973 Peugeot is unique. You don’t just put oil in it. You have to remove part of the engine to do that. That’s why I don’t put oil in it—I don’t know how. Give me a break, you think. So I told her to take a deep breath invite the Holy…. A few minutes later she called me again. “Bob, the car won’t run. I’m on the super highway and it just died. I can walk back to the gas station and ask for help cause they probably broke it putting oil in.” Sounded like a plan to me.

Peugeot and Student Cargo to Church

Being the sensitive and caring husband I am, I called her back about 20 minutes later. “Yo, mama, what’s up with you and the car? Did you go back to the station?” With sweat running down her tired face she replies, “Yes, I walked back and got 3 guys and 2 motorcycles. I rode double with the one guy cause it was too far to walk again.” Think about that for a minute. You are in Thailand. You are blonde, cute with blue eyes and you climb on the back of a motorcycle, in a dress of course, and go for a ride with a guy you don’t know. Can you see the American flag costume on her now? I just laughed. “So what happened after that”? Quietly snickering, “Oh, I sat in the car and they pushed me about 2 football fields down the road to the mechanic we know and he’s going to fix the car.” “And…,” I ask. “Then I’ll just go out to the road and hitchhike home cause the car won’t be ready until tomorrow.” “You are 40 something years old and you are going to what!?!” She didn’t really say that. She really said she’d go out to the road and catch a bus home.

Wonder Woman and the Dance Workshop

You know that verse that says “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me”? It’s a good one to know when you drive a 1973 Peugeot and live in Thailand. That was on Thursday. We picked the car back up on Friday and were glad to have it home. On Saturday we thought we’d just go out for fun and see if older cars could be purchased with a Visa card. We looked around and found that no one really wants to take a 1973 Peugeot on trade. So we decided to keep putting it in the shop every week or two and use the buses. However, on the way home I went on ahead on the motorcycle—I was in town and met Jackie at the car place after her work—and about 15 minutes after I got home, she pulled in. Sweating. Fuming. Thinking evil things. The transmission was gone. No 1st gear and no 2nd gear and no reverse. Unfortunately Wonder Woman didn’t stop in the street but pulled into the carport, where the oil drips—we keep it in one place. So I flagged down a friend and we pushed it back out into the street.
Jackie hopped in, put it in 3rd and off she headed to the mechanic’s place. I followed on the bike, which almost always runs great. We dropped it off and he said we could get it back in 3 – 4 days. From there, we fired up the Kawasaki, drove to the car lot where one of my students works, and bought a 12 year old Nissan that looks like an El Camino with a topper on it—with our Visa card. Yes, you can buy cars like that over here. You should’ve seen the look on the salesman’s face when I gave him the card. That look was classic. When the card was approved and he came back with it, his look was even more classic. They don’t really use credit cards over here for such things.

He's getting married May 14th!...

So now Jackie can put her Wonder Woman costume in the closet cause this car starts and stops when it is supposed to! What a joy to go out, turn the key on and drive away. The Peugeot? Anyone need a classic? The steering wheel is on the right side, but you’ll get used to it. I doubt the shipping could be that much! Ha.

Bob’s studying what?
You’d think being an English teacher would compel me to study grammar or something, right? Not even close. Math? Dream on. That’s for people with a brain. A few months ago I was hunting something on the Internet about mercy ministry and wound up on an Orthodox web site. How many of you know what or who they are? You are probably thinking: Aren’t they kind of like Catholics are something? Nope. Yep. Well, they used to be because when you look at their church history you learn it begins in Acts 2 when Peter began preaching.

...to this sweethear

I never studied church history beyond the Protestant era and it was truly fascinating and amazing as I began reading the history of the Church. When you read the word “Church” in the Bible, it’s talking about the Orthodox. That’s all there was the first 1000 years or so. One Church. No Baptists. No Charismatics. No Lutherans. Just the one. Shortly after that the Catholic church split off and there were the two. They both trace their beginnings to the Apostles. The Orthodox say the Catholics are the heretics and the Catholics think of the Orthodox as their wayward cousins. There’s considerable differences between the two, though.

Out of the blue I wrote a Priest in Florida to ask him some questions about what he believes and to my amazement, he wrote me back. He’s such a blessing and the very first and only Priest I’ve even had as a friend. Jackie and I, in our much traveling, have been first, Charismatics, Pentecostals, then to Anglicans (in Hong Kong), Lutherans in Montana and Baptists in Florida. I guess you could say we’ve seen and heard it all. Maybe. If you get bored some night and can’t sleep, go read some Church history. It will bless you. Maybe you’ll find your own Priest/friend too!

Bob. Coat? Tie? Did the world end? Boom's Graduation

Coincidences? I doubt it. I also mailed an Orthodox church in Montana because I wanted to know if there was one near the YWAM base we are from. Turns out the guy who answered me was in YWAM and is now planting an Orthodox church in Montana. And, his sister is a friend of ours. You talk about a small world. Another one of those blessings: Knock, and doors open up I guess. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…. Do you know what we call people who aren’t hungry and thirsty? Dead. I pray you are very hungry and very thirsty.

Boom cooked us up some Thai style. Yummmmmm

Well, this thing is getting way too long again and I haven’t even talked about what’s coming up in 10 days. Oh well, we’ll get around to it. I trust this hasn’t bored you too much. We enjoy praying for people and we aren’t shy about asking for prayers for us and our friends. Let us know how we can pray for you. Really. We are happy to do what we can from here. Remember, we want Father’s will on earth—not our will in heaven! Ha. Blessings to you all….

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Wow, it’s about time I did something with this Blog site. I mean, after all, 1000s of you are clamoring for a change, demanding that new and exciting adventures be added, wisdom from above be printed and published. I wonder who I can find to do that for me? Well, here it comes, the latest Robinson adventure. Clamor no more…read on. Oh, don't be distraced by the photos--they have little to do with the subject this month!

Nothing has happened. We are out of adventures. We’ve been busy finishing off the final semester of school prior to summer break, which is not a break but just an opportunity to get hot while doing the same things. Jackie’s little ones are racing toward their final outburst of energy at the “camps” that will happen in a few weeks. She finishes up her semester at the Buddhist school in March and before that happens, her boss will see that she works like a mule. But it’s good.

Ron & Jason at the Robinson Hotel

God is at work. Dow and another couple of my students (Buddhists) are going to join Jackie and they will put together some activities for the kids. Jackie’s influence in their lives can only be good and hopefully push them into the Kingdom. I know, the Holy Spirit brings them in, but we like to push as much as we can! God understands our excitement. There’s another Christian lady who we don’t actually know who will be coming to stay with us for a couple of weeks and she’ll join in the fun. Our house is kind of becoming a hotel and we like it. If we can facilitate ministry in Thailand, we are all for it. Lots of people, over the years, have told us they’d like to come over and do this or that, but no one hardly comes. We are open to helping however we can if you’d like to come short or long term to Thailand.

I want to tell you how God blasted me the other day. It was quite cool to be slammed to the floor and pinned down. I suggest you all fight with God, not. Anyway, we went through a period a few months ago when very few people were writing, e-mailing, sending chocolate and money was going down faster than it was rising. I thought, “Hey, I’ll have a pity party. That always impresses God and I’m sure He’ll be pleased.” Bad idea.

While if I’d been God I would’ve just sent the plagues of Egypt or killed me or something, He very kindly let me know that needing 5000+ dollars was no problem; getting to America for our son’s wedding was no problem; paying our yearly health insurance, IRS donation and getting our old clunker fixed was no problem. Then what was the problem? Me, of course. You know what I’ve learned? I can hear what you are thinking, be kind. Here’s what I’ve learned: I’m nothing and God is everything. I deserve nothing and He deserves all praise. If we get old (we will!) and have no house to live in or money to pad our earnings, it doesn’t matter. If we are beat up, abused and rejected, it doesn’t matter. If we miss our kids and grandkids…and on it went. What really matters is that we love the Triune God and glorify Him forever. The reality is that we are nothing and apart from Him we can’t do anything that matters. I can’t tell you how freeing it is to be beat up by God and put in your place. When David said he was but a worm of a man, I understand. Call me wormy from now on….

We were with friends a couple of weeks ago who’ve been living in China for the last 4 years. What fun to see them. The husband was one of our students way back in 1990. Anyway, he was going through a time just like I had come out of. It was such a blessing to tell him that we who live and work overseas should never forget that those who support us in the States are in a battle ever bit as fierce as we are. We feel for you guys who live in the States. We understand how difficult it is to serve God in America. You are bombarded constantly by materialism and tempted by self-satisfaction or the pursuit of pleasures. You guys are pressured financially just like us. Your kids are bugging you for $100 shoes and McDonald’s costs you $7.00 for a hamburger that will speed you to heaven. Lord Jesus help you. I encouraged my friend to thank God for where we live and work. We are so privileged and blessed. We all work in the harvest and we must pray for one another. Many start out on the journey that leads us to Christ, but few endure to the end. Grab someone’s hand and help them out.

The Worship Band at our Church

I sit here with a grateful heart for all of you who get this letter. Some live and work overseas, but most of you are in America. Don’t give up. Don’t be discouraged. God is for you. The Lord Jesus gave His life for you. The Holy Spirit of God is in you right now. Cling to the good and reject every temptation that entices you to compromise. With clean hands and clean consciences let’s all look at the Lord with praise and adoration. He is so good to us.

His goodness has all to do with the work in our lives of making us more and more like the Lord Jesus, going from glory to glory. It has nothing to do with the amount of money we have, the number of e-mails we receive or even our health. It’s all about God, and our lives should at all times reflect His presence.

The River Taxi

So that’s all for this installment. Big stuff coming in March so please be praying for us. Jackie in camps with the kids and me teaching a Bible camp for 2 weeks. Encourage each other—the day draws near!

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That “big Day” is when our Lord and King, Jesus, returns. Then, we can be with Him in unbroken fellowship for ever and ever and ever and ever. Until then, let’s commit to “spurring” each other on. Philippians tells us to “Work out our salvation.” So, what are you waiting for? Get to work! The fields are white. The laborers are few. Do more. Give more. Pray more. Work more. Doesn’t that make you feel great? Guilt is so cool. Truthfully, do this: Love God as much and as hard as you can and love your neighbors too, wherever they are. You do that…it’ll all work out fine. Oh, there is some fine print you need to find and read. Not in this Blog, in God’s, the Bible.

Who loves you? Over here in Thailand, we’ve found some kind of unique expressions of love from our Buddhist friends. Dow, the girl in the photo, is one of my (Bob’s) students. She’s a sweetheart of a kid (20) and her and Art, her boyfriend, are finding ways to take us places and hang out. Dow asked me one time if I’d be her dad cause she didn’t know hers. What can you say to that?

Picnic, Thai Style

The other night her and Art were over and we were talking about stuff, nothing in particular. Dow wants to help Jackie at an English camp during her summer break. That was the way the conversation was going and then it jumped to old people: me. Dow wondered if it would be all right to move in with us when we get older so she can take care of us. What do you say to that? We don’t anticipate we’ll be here that long, but it is nice to know someone loves us that much.

Then the conversation turned to classic “only in Thailand” things. Art was in his dorm room and some guys next door were in karaoke mode, which is maddeningly popular over here. The more they drank, the more obnoxious and louder they got. Around 2:00 AM Art called the police to see if they might come around and perhaps encourage the soon-to-be singing stars to cool it. That seemed like a reasonable request to me.

The police had a better idea. They didn’t really want to come out so they made this brilliant suggestion to him: “Get your slingshot and go shoot out their window. Maybe that will make them stop.” Gee, don’t you wish the police would tell you to do something like that to your neighbor? Art thought perhaps that this wasn’t a good idea so he just put up with the noise. The drunken karaoke festival went on until it was time for him to go to class. I wondered why he looked so tired at our house. Art's the guy on the far right in the photo.

2 hours in the back of a pickup gets you here...FUN!!!

What’s new with us? Not too much. The last time we wrote we shared about Jackie’s move to THE HOME OF THE OPEN HEART, the orphanage for HIV positive kids. That’s in process. She will be preparing the older kids for elementary school and probably a 100 other things. Of course Sister Preparedness is planning and getting ready for her debut in May. She will finish out this semester at the school she’s at.

The moon setting in our back yard--not bad, eh?

We told you that we were in need of money to make this move and, thankfully, we have been promised support from a couple of friends that will greatly help us stay afloat. Thank you for your prayers and help. We really do believe that the prayers of the people of God are powerful. I also mentioned long ago that Nathan was getting married and we needed extra money for that too. Most of it came in. Thank you, Jesus, and friends who give away their money to people like us.

Our car died again. Nothing new about that. You know what we are grateful for? Candi, an old student from YWAM, nearly lost her husband in a horrible accident—but he’s going to be fine. Dead car. Dead husband. When you start looking at what you have, those minor little frustrations are nothing. When you realize that Jesus is bringing you to a place that is far beyond what we can imagine; when you realize that He is working in you to bring you to a place of holiness, “perfection” as some versions of the Bible say, then you simply fall on your knees and give thanks for any and every event of every day. When you are unshaken by mishaps, steadfast in trials, enduring through countless hassles, you realize that Jesus is in control. When you don’t blow up at provocations, you don’t strike back when you are wronged, when abuse is embraced as blessing, you realize that God has changed you. I know what you are thinking. But know this too: Apart from Him you can do nothing and you can do all things throgh Him who strengthens you. The faith delivered to us through Jesus is working. The faith that was delivered to us is real. It changes unworthy losers like me and you into something the King can use for His glory. It empowers us to do what Philippians 1:27 says: stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. We spur one another on; we pursue Him who pursued us; we commit to no longer being ruled by our desires but rather by His desires. We live for Him who died for us. Oh, what glorious things He has done.

2 of Bob's students at the Christmas church party--pray for them...

I have to quit--this is getting way too long and I could go on about God's goodness and faithfulness forever. Sorry it took so long for the update. Remember, we are in Thailand and we’d love to hear from you.

PRAYER REQUESTS
Penny: Has cancer and needs healing.
Devon: Cancer. Sent home to die. God can heal him
Bum's sister, Bell: Salvation
Dow, Art, Phoo, Ploy: Salvation
Ja: Salvation for her parents
Candi: Husband to recover without complications
Moseleys: Bethany's salvation; Janell's healing
Nathan and Lauren: Wedding in May! (we get to go--thanks)
Leah and kids: financial blessings and good health for all
Us--Jackie's health; wisdom and ways to share gospel with our Buddhist friends. We love them so much...

HOW TO SUPPORT THE ROBINSONS
Send checks made out to YWAM. Our name should not appear anywhere on the check. Enclose a slip of paper saying it's for Robinsons in Thailand. Mail to: YWAM, 501 Blacktail Road, Lakeside, MT 59922 We get the money and you get a huge thank you from us and a tax receipt from YWAM/Montana.

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It is a place where love and acceptance is given 24 hours a day to the kids who, in this society, don't often find. It brings us joy just knowing Jackie can be a part of such a wonderful ministry.

The home is run by Penny Wilcox. In our early days here, before we got jobs, we used to go out to the home and help out some. When we began working (gotta pay the bills) that came to a halt.

Penny is an amazing woman who, with her husband, Paul, and kids, has been here for about 5 years. She has had cancer twice before and is again diagnosed with it. Please keep her in your prayers.

OK, here's the photos of the kids.

Cartoons and Coloring...

Rub and dub dub...

"I don't want a bath"

"Aren't I cute"

"Wanna race...?"

The gang. The big kid is Jessica. She lived with us for a couple of months but had to return to the States about a month ago. We miss you....

If you are curious, these kids are unadoptable. There has been two times when kids have come that were thought to have been HIV positive but turned out healthy. They were adopted or are in the process.

Please keep these little ones in your prayers. As I said, they are all HIV positive and their futures are decided in one sense. In another sense, God is our future so if He should choose to heal some or all of them, that would be awesome.

We also need your prayers and financial support to do this. We gave up about half our income for Jackie to work at the home. Her position is that of a volunteer and we need to raise the support to cover the salary we've given up. If you can support us, here's how to do it. Checks can be made payable to...
YWAM
501 Blacktail Road
Lakeside, MT 59922

IRS says our names cannot appear on the check so put a piece of paper with it saying it's for us. They'll send you a tax-deductible receipt and us the money. We understand that you probably live like us, from month to month. So if finances aren't something you can give, please send an email telling us that you will be praying for us and the kids. It's a long, long way from home over here and there are times we feel pretty isolated.

We cling to two very important Bible verses that you well know: "Apart from Him I can do nothing," and "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength." May your new year, for us 2549 and you, 2006, be filled with God's grace. May everyone you run into this year find God's mercy through your caring. Be blessed. Father loves us!

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Merry Christmas All! I don’t know how it’s going for you out there, but over here in Thailand time seems to be flying. Wouldn’t it be great if time stopped and we went flying? Caught up in the air, with the Lord, flying home…Yeah, that seems good to me.

Christmas time is when people like us living in far off, exotic lands, write something amazing and encouraging about God. It’s the time when you hear stories of accomplishment, tales of adventure and typed out profundities that make you scream “WOW!” Well, get ready for disappointment cause we are all out of profound. In fact, we are running on fumes and wondering how much further this old clunker can go. Ha.

That's the front door to our house...

God hasn’t become unfaithful and we haven’t forgotten our first love. Life just seems to be bashing us from one side of the ring to the other and we don’t even know who’s swinging at us! Wanna hear some of our whining for Christmas? Probably not so we’ll move on to something else.

Did you know when Gabriel told Mary she was going to have a baby, it was supposed to be good news? Think about that for a minute or two. Here you are, say 15 or 16, and you are engaged and suddenly this glowing man with wings breaks into your room and tells you that you are going to have a baby. Good news? Doesn’t sound that good yet. But it gets better. The news: You are going to have the Son of God! Try and explain that to your parents—or your fiancé. We all know the story and we know it did turn out to be the greatest news since David knocked out the giant.

Have you ever wondered how to get rid of those glowing pesky winged men that break into your room in the middle of the night and freak you out? I think the answer must be to just agree with them and they’ll go away. It worked for Mary. Perhaps we’d all do better to do what she did: Agree with God’s plan and allow the Holy Spirit to have His way in our lives. We are trying to do that right now and we are so confused we hardly know what to do. Oops, I nearly started whining! Sorry.

We've been praying for Bum's family. Look who came to church!

Old Zechariah thought you got rid of those winged warriors by questioning and arguing, but we see that just makes you lose your voice for about 9 months or so. Have you lost your voice? Can people hear you, or do they just stare and wonder what on earth happened to you? When you get like that there’s a solution: “Call him John.” Why didn’t you say that in the first place, Zech? As soon as old Zech got back on the road to obedience, he got his voice back and people listened to him. God is able to mute us and He’s able to magnify us. Let’s learn this word: OK. That seems to work well with God. I mean I suppose we can say, “Why,” when it’s done with reverence, fear, trembling and whatever else you think you need to do to question God’s orders. I for one want to work on “OK” and leave it at that. I probably wouldn’t understand even if it were explained to me.

When Mary entered Elizabeth’s house, some amazing things happened: John the Baptist, who wasn’t yet born, did a back flip in Liz’s womb. I wonder how old you have to be to sense God’s presence is near? Not very old evidently. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. What happens to people when you walk into a room? Her first words were: Blessed are you among women. You know, Eve’s disobedience gave birth to pain and death (Adam certainly helped!) and a curse was handed to humanity, but Mary’s obedience gave birth to life, restoration, healing and blessing.

What the universe couldn’t contain, Mary contained in her womb and became, as Elizabeth says in Luke, “the mother of my Lord.” How would you like for people to call you the mother of God? We’re just glad when they say “Oh, there’s the Robinsons and don’t add anything negative!” It kind of puts some pressure on you, when they call you the mother of God. How did Mary handle that? She gave us the beautiful song from Luke 2:46-55 that began with “My soul exalts the Lord.” There’s the response to lessen the burden of responsibility. Exalt God. Worship Him. Adore Him. Focus your eyes on Him and cling, abide, grab hold of, get a firm grip on and whatever you do, don’t let Him go. We’ve been Christians for over 30 years and we’ve seen many start the walk but not all have continued the walk.

4 Buddhist uni kids we truly love...

Elizabeth and Mary are two very important parts of our Lord’s birth and ministry. Shall we all stand up and give 3 cheers for women!?! We don’t hear much more about Elizabeth or even Joseph after this, but at the Cross of Jesus and on the day of Pentecost, Mary was still there, going strong. What an encouragement that should be to all of us. Mary lost her husband and Son, but she kept on pursuing God. Don’t give up.

Bum, the church greeter

The birth, the death and the resurrection: These three things call all of us this Christmas. After the joy of the new birth we all partake of the death of self and then the freeing resurrection that catapults us into our new lives in Christ. Look up. Our Savior comes soon and there in the clouds are the ones who have gone before us, looking on, cheering the day when we will all be caught up together to live eternally with the Son of Glory and one another. Have a great Christmas all. We’ll whine next month! Love and hugs from the Robinsons…

If you were wondering, we did get turkey for Thanksgiving!

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Bye Bye

PRAYER ACTION
Ja would like to see her parents come to the Lord this Christmas; Bum would also like to see her parents come to the Lord this Christmas; Jackie has had migraine after migraine after migraine for the last 5 weeks or so. It's one day good, 3 bad, 2 hours good, 2 days bad and so on. We have no earthly solution so please keep praying for her healing. Same story for us: We fly to America and at this moment, we have $400 and something dollars in the bank. God provides or Visa flys us. We prefer God! Who doesn't?
YWAM: To know God and to make Him known

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CHUCK & BOB fighting the weeds

We usually update this blog monthly, but there's a new semester starting up and the race begins tomorrow, so I thought I'd send this on out ahead of schedule. We've got some exciting news: Jackie is pregnant! Got you...she isn't. She still loves our kids and grand kids, and she loves her student kids (32 in her class the last couple of weeks because of camp days) and she even loves me (Bob, by the way). So, what's the exciting news?

BUM & GLEN Scurbbing away

A couple of years ago we started going to Baan Athiitaan, which was a Baptist church plant. We've been cruising along there and stay involved as much as we can. I preach every few weeks and Jackie dances or teaches dancing or teaches kids. The pastor, Michael Johnson and his wife, Hope, are good friends and we enjoy being a part of this exciting work. Their daughter, Elizabeth, is Jackie's #1 dance student.

We started out in a small room of a house 2 years ago and then moved to a bigger room in another house about one year ago. Well, we are moving again into a bigger house and we don't expect to have to move from this one for quite some time: We can put 600 + in one of the rooms. It was a restaurant and club and had set empty for 7 years until we came along and rented it. There's only about 60 in the church so this is a huge step of faith. The rent is almost $1000 a month! But when God is in something you just kind of have to leap off the cliff and trust He's there to catch you.

LEK & GAE at play

There's been some drama involved too. A couple of months ago, the Baptist International Mission's Board--IMB-- told Michael he had to stop what he was doing and do something else. Well, he's been here about 6 years or so and the relationships go way too deep to just walk away and start something new 5 hours away. The wisdom didn't seem to be evident in what they were saying. We all prayed and Michael decided to resign instead of moving. That was quite a step of faith and God was there to catch him. Although the IMB doesn't like what we are doing too much, a bunch of other Baptists churches in Mississippi do and they are going to pay the rent for the building for 2 years and help us with renovations. God has brought teams in to help too.

Michael and Hope need to support themselves and their 4 kids living here, so I talked to my boss here at the university and it didn't take 2 beats of a heart for him to be hired. Michael taught my classes while I was away in August so they knew him quite well. Plus, he's a really good teacher and they know that. So now there's three of us from the church working here and one more joining us November 7th. It's so cool what God is doing. We have good relationships with the students already and the new church is only 10 minutes from this campus and 5 minutes from the other university campus. So there's 16,000 students within 10 minutes of our church property. We can't wait to see what God might do.

WEED EATING isn't all it's cracked up to be!

As a bit of encouragement to us, actually a big encouragement to us has been 2 new Thai young people coming to the Lord. In Bum's cell group a high schooler came to the Lord and Ja led her cousin to the Lord 2 days ago. In Ja's family, which wasn't happy about her conversion about 5 years ago, there's Ja, her sister, Jip, and her cousin Mic walking with the Lord. We are praying for her mom and dad to convert as a Christmas gift. Please join us in praying. We are praying the same thing for Bum's parents, who are still pretty upset with her.

You want to help? Here's what you can do. READ THIS: 1 Timothy 2: 1-4 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. As you make your requests, plead for God's mercy upon them, and give thanks...this is good and pleases God our Savior, for he wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. AND THIS: Romans 9:16 So receiving God's promise is not up to us. We can't get it by choosing it or working hard for it. God will show mercy to anyone He chooses. When you put those 2 verses together you get this: If we want people to get saved, we need to be praying for God to extend His mercy to the lost. Which ones? I don't know. I've decided to start praying for everyone in my universe because Timothy tells me that God wants everyone to be saved. Well, if everyone includes the people you are around, pray for them. And, you can support our church plant by praying for us too. We desperately want to see these Thai people that we are in contact with come to know Jesus.

The other day, 4 of my students came over to visit with Jackie and I (and to get help with homework!) and as we were talking I was overwhelmed by the thought that all four of them, which are quite close to us, are on their way to hell. We've shared with them, given them Thai Bibles and loved on them. Pray God's mercy to be extended to them. I don't want to see any of God's kids lost.

So, that's what's going on with us. We greatly appreciate your prayers and support. If there's stuff in your lives that you'd like us to pray about, email us and we'll be happy to join in with you.

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