Bang Krachao, also called Bangkok’s Green Lung, is an island set square in the middle of Bangkok. When we moved to Bangkok, we had never dreamed a place like this could even exist; a green sanctuary in the middle of one of the world’s largest cities.
God’s Sense of Humor
Some of you will recall that before moving to Bangkok, we spent the last year exploring rural church plants, expecting to do more community style ministry which is why we shared some of our surprise, (and even some confusion and disappointment) about the Lord calling us to the big city of Bangkok. Since arriving in Bangkok a few months ago, we’ve been actively exploring the city and asking the Lord which part we should live and serve in. Now, imagine our absolute amazement upon recently discovering that there is a beautiful, green, rural ISLAND IN THE MIDDLE OF BANGKOK WITH NO ACTIVE COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS. We feel confident that this is the place God is leading. There have been many cool confirmations, the most recent of which is that we got news THIS MORNING that the owners of a house that we hoped to rent are willing to rent it to us for a significantly reduced price – the exact price that God had spoken to Chanelle more than six months ago. This is amazing because our felt need for a home could probably not be overstated right now. We have lived in a different place almost every month for the last year and a half and are incredibly grateful for this answer to prayer.
Above left is the path to our house. Like many of the residential areas on Bang Krachao, there is no road access. It is accessible, however, by bicycle and motorbike. Doc should have no trouble getting there.
Left: Notice the bike path and the canal. (No, that’s not grass. Just lots of plants growing on the water) Right: That’s our house!
- There is no active community of Jesus followers
- It is a rural community that is mainly residential.
- The natural borders of the island provide an obvious area of focus within a huge metropolis.
- It is close to other key partnerships we have in the city; YWAM ministries and Dton naam (the ministry to male and ladyboy prostitutes we have joined)
- It’s largely undeveloped; what it lacks in amenities, it makes up for in beauty. It’s green everywhere you look, and we love that.
We want to see this community changed and Thais following Jesus in a Thai way. Though we don’t know exactly how that will look, we’ve identified a few values that we feel will be key to the process:
2.) Contextualization: communicating the gospel using terms/concepts familiar to the culture.
3.) Long-term presence: Staying in one place allows our actions to be a witness that corroborates the message we bring.
Much love,
The Hazeltines