House in Thailand

Posted by on Oct 22, 2010 in Missions, News & Updates | 2 comments

Since we’ve arrived in Thailand we’ve been working hard to find a place to settle in that’s big enough for the team, spacious enough for our office equipment, and cozy enough to feel like home. The search has been tedious and extensive, to say the least.

Whenever we would go through a Thai realtor they would show us these massive and expensive houses way away from the city. Only thing is, Dustan and I do not have a vehicle here as of yet. So we need a place close to the city, preferably the airport, and close enough to the main road so we can catch public transport (without being too expensive). Many times the realtors here try “herding” the “farlang” (foreigner) together in these communities behind security gates and guards. We didn’t want that, because our desire is to not just base out of Thailand, but to actively reach out to the Thai’s in hospitality & evangelism. All of these things were on our heart whenever we’d go looking, and time after time we were disappointed. We’d be riding in a realtor’s car driving farther and farther away from the city and Dustan and I would look over at each other with this pain look in our eyes. We both knew what the other was feeling, without saying it. Our heart was pulling us back towards the city. During our prayer times in the morning the Lord had really begun to stir a love in us for the people in Chiang Mai, so we know without doubt that our ministry here will be to the people in the city. It didn’t feel right when we drove further away. Without even looking at the house we already knew it wasn’t it.



After getting our hopes up once on a small store front just down the street, we’d decided to quit looking and just focus on training the team, getting our videos ready, and preparing for Cambodia. As we were doing those things, P. Nathan, a pastor in Chiang Mai, called and told us of a place he’d heard about from one of his staff members. Rent was supposedly 3,500 baht (roughly $120). When Dustan first mentioned it to me I’ll admit that I was a bit doubtful. I’d gotten my hopes up before. However we arranged with Dakota (the guy P. Nathan about the place) and went to go see it.

When we first walked in it, I was really taken back. No one had lived here in over a year. It was completely vacant, old, and really, really, dirty. In fact it was a wreck. “Oh great.” I thought to myself. We walked into the living area and there dead in front of us was a giant gecko. Not some cute little gecko, but a big, huge one. I’d only seen one this size in movies, and now there he was on the living room wall taking up at least 12-15inches in length, and his head was probably close to being 4inches wide. The landlords kind of freaked out as well when they saw him, but like I said, no one had been living here for awhile. There were 3 bedrooms in the house, along with a maids quarters outside that could count as a 4th room. It had two lots of land with fruit trees and a coconut tree out back. It was an old traditional Thai house. The kitchen was completely bare (meaning pretty much “non-existent”).

I suddenly was appreciative for the immaculate homes the realtor’s showed us.

We thanked them for showing us and took a few days to pray and think about it. If we could get past the dirt there could be potential. The work that would be involved with fixing it was a daunting task. Would the team be up for this?

We brought Nick and Stephen to see it next, and they were all for it. “Yeah, we can do whatever to help. Let’s do it!” Their enthusiasm encouraged us. We’d been overwhelmed by the amount of work it would take to fix er up that we’d nearly over looked the fact that it was across the street from the airport, it was in a Thai community, there was enough space in the yard to have church services, it was close to the main road, and not far from the center of the city at all, while still big enough for the whole team! It was exactly our hearts desire! Though this was going to be one of the biggest projects we’ve ever undertaken, it was totally a God thing.

We called up the landlord and met to get all of the details and let them know that we wanted to rent. The contract at first was all in Thai so Dakota translated it to us, and told us they would get us an english copy by tomorrow. We got all of the details, and permission to do WHATEVER we wanted to do with the place. They told us, “It’s your home now, do whatever you like with it.” So with everything understood, and no reservations, we signed the contract paying for 6 months up front. WOW. It was hard to believe that the place was now ours. Revolutionary Life now has an official address in Thailand! Praise God! This place gives us the freedom and space to minister to the Thai people, to train teams, and make disciples. We even have a squatty toilet. It is just like God’s character to want to take something that is filthy and make it into something beautiful; something that will bring Him glory.