Welcome to PlaaPlaaPlaa!

So you may be wondering why PlaaPlaaPlaa? What are those strange fish symbols above? What is ปลา and what does it mean? In short, this is a blog site, so surely there's going to be plenty of rambling. Unfortunately BlahBlahBlah was already taken, so I had to settle for the 'Plaa'. But there's actually more to it then just ramblings. The first fish symbol is actually a Christian symbol meaning ICTHUS - a greek acronymn which means "Jesus Christ is God's Son, the Saviour". The other strange letters you see in the last fish is actually the thai word for fish which funnily enough is pronounced "Plaa". So when you put it all together, this site is going to be my ramblings in telling people about how Jesus Christ is God's Son, the Saviour in Thailand (with plenty of good stories about food in between). Happy reading.

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Coincidence or Godincidence?

Do you ever wonder if things that happen in life are just a coincidence or if there's actually something more? Just recently, i was introduced to a new word 'Godincidence'. Unlike a coincidence where it seems like luck drawing a random set of events together, a Godincidence is when God orchestrates everything to come together, even if they may seem like a random set of events at the time. Ok, so it's not a word that has yet made it to wikipedia, and i still need to refine the definition, but i'm sure you get the idea.

Since deciding to go to Thailand, i've been really blessed to have experienced more 'godincidences' then my mind could've ever imagined. I know that it's not just me being REALLY lucky in experiencing my lifetime quota of good luck just this year. How could i seriously think that it was JUST good luck? If God created the world and continues to sustain the world, why should i doubt that he could cause so many godincidences in my life?

Unfortunately, I don't have the time to write a 'thesis' on all the cool things that God has been doing (and i doubt you'd have the time to read it all anyway), so i thought i'd just mention a couple.

So, one of the things i'll do when i get to Thailand is learn Thai. Let's face it, if i want to communicate with Thai people, i'll have to. I can't expect that they'll all speak english with me. If that were the case, why even go?

So i decided that i'd try and learn as much thai as i could before i go over. But have you ever tried to learn another language from a textbook, or worse - a lonely planet guide? Trust me, it's not that easy. it's more like trying to decipher a really hard suduko puzzle, but without the solution published the next day. The thought had crossed my mind that it'd be great if i could find a Thai friend in Sydney who could help me, but apart from going to my local Thai restaurant LOTS of times to meet them and get to know them, i wasn't really liking my chances.

So, bring on a 'godincidence' and enter Ant, a thai girl who has moved to Sydney in May to study english. She's a friend of Tong, a guy that our short term team worked with in Thailand last year. I won't go into all the details on how we ended up meeting, but lets just say it's been great getting to know her and have her help me a bit with learning Thai. And in getting to know her, i've also had the opportunity to speak to her about God, take her to home group, church and have given her a thai/english bible which she has been really eager to read.

Another cool way that God has worked recently is through my new nephew, Sean, being born in Chiang Mai in June. Before knowing my plans for next year i'd already organised to go over to meet my new nephew and have a holiday with the family. What an awesome opportunity that was to not only hang out with the family, but to also use holiday as a bit of a survey trip. In my 10 days there, i was able to meet both old and new thai friends and be shown so many awesome ministry opportunities that i could be involved with next year. One of the most amazing 'random meets' was meeting a girl called Gao who works at CBN Siam (Christian Broadcasting Network). What were the chances of meeting someone who works in a similar industry to what i currently do here in Sydney? Coincidence or Godincidence?

Since deciding to go to Thailand, one thing i've found is that the more i let go of trying to control everything and the more i hand everything over to God, the more amazing things he shows me and the more 'godincidences' i seem to experience. i'd encourage you to really give God a go and let go of trying to be in control and let God really show you what he can do. It's AMAZING!