I'm not Thai, never will be.

A true prophet. 

Time and again over the years here, what I face in my Bangkok is the eternal reality, or sometimes more the eternal stumbling block, that is Thai culture.  I have never lived in a country where the culture card is played so powerfully and continually.  Once you hear a Thai say, "This is Thai culture", stand back and say no more.  I wonder where I stand on this front when dealing with my life in Church, in the the street or workplace or even among my friends.  Then I found this piece I have kept from a course I did in the USA over 15 years ago.  I read it and thought how prophetic.

What was the piece entitled?  Spirituality of a missionary.
What does it share?  Here goes.

You are not of the local church.
You are always a foreigner and never understood.
You are not here for power or prestige.
You work hard but never attain worldly success, nor are you seen as a success.

Yes, amazingly all so prophetic as now I know how true all this is. 

So my notes of 16 years ago finish:
Never fool yourself about success as you are at the bottom and you are there for a reason.  It is about Kingdom which is about turning our world upside down.

So that is what I am doing?  I am t
urning the world upside down.  At the moment, it is more me who feels turned upside down.