Bringing in the New Year

Here we are already into 2012 with only 4 more weeks of classes left for the school year at Payap. I can hardly believe it. We were very fortunate to have been able to bring in the New Year with my sister, Kathy, and her husband, Wes, visiting us here in Thailand. It was such a blessing to have them come and experience Thailand with us for two and one half weeks! They ended their time here in Bangkok enjoying their last few days in Thailand on their own. It was great catching up with them on Facebook to see where their adventures were taking them. It was so great to have that connection from home here. The day they left, I came home from work to find Kalya very melancholy and quite empty and sad. She said how she already missed Kathy and Wes and how great it was to have them here to connect again with the familiar, with people that KNOW us. What a blessing! Kalya and I spent Christmas in Bangkok before meeting up with Wes and Kathy to spend time on the island of Koh Chang and then back home to show them our stomping grounds here in Chiang Mai. It was a great experience and we are so thankful to have been able to share it with two people that we love very, very much.



And now, to finish the year out strong at school and New Life Center before coming to see family in Washington State and Spokane near the end of March. 2011 has been a year of learning, depending, appreciating and realizing how much we have in God, family and friends. Being away has shown me that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. A colleague of mine in the Spokane Symphony really comforted me earlier this year when I shared that with him. He said, "Yeah, but how would you know if you never tried?" And isn't that true that we seemingly miss out on a lot because we have never tried or taken steps outside of the box to see where the journey might lead. Sometimes it leads us to brand new chapters in our lives and other times it leads us right back to where we started, but with a whole new appreciation for what we already had. As I read the last sentence that I just wrote I am overwhelmed with how much I miss my family and my grandchildren. I am grateful, though, for each and every day here in Chiang Mai because I will always be able to encourage my kids, my grandchildren, even my students to follow their dreams. I thank God for making it possible for us to live in another culture and that Kalya has had the chance to once again be a part of her culture. Our lives are much richer for that. The people that we have met here and become fast friends with have enriched our lives in so many ways.

Next week I will be giving my recital. This has been very good for me. Getting back to practicing again and preparing for this has been something that I have realized that I really miss. I will be accompanied by some very good musicians. We have a world class pianist on the faculty at Payap from Japan. Her name is Atsuko Seta. I am playing a marimba solo with her accompanying. It's more like a duet and I am very excited to perform this piece with her. I am playing a multiple percussion piece to open up the concert and then doing a solo vibraphone arrangement of Chick Corea's Crystal Silence. It's a beautiful piece that I have always loved and it has been great to explore the harmonies and put together an arrangement. The second half of the concert will comprise music that I have written over the years and joining me are some very good musicians from Chiang Mai on drums, bass, guitar and keyboards. The keyboard player is a Christian and plays often with the bass player and drummer who are Buddhist. His nickname is Pui and he is such a kind person. You can definitely see the light of Christ in his eyes. I know that his life will have a huge impact on Gift and Jib (the drummer and bass player). And, oh my gosh, he is a very talented keyboard player. I am very fortunate to be surrounded by such a great group of musicians to share my music with here in Thailand. The final piece of the concert will be Ella's Eyes performed live with the video of Ella synchronized to the music. We worked on it with the click track a few days ago and it worked out really, really well. I am so excited to share the miracle of Ella here in Thailand and openly declare the love, grace, mercy and healing touch of God through Jesus Christ.

Our son, Matt, and his girlfriend, Ali, will be coming to visit us in the middle of March just before we come to the USA to see family. Kalya and I are so excited to have them come and see this part of the world with us. The last, and only, time Matt came to Thailand was when he was only 15 years old. Having him come now to a city that Kalya and I love and know so much more about will be a thrill for us. Bring on the scooters!!

The time has gone so fast. I have been doing a lot of thinking about our time here over that past few days. What does it all mean? ... What did we accomplish? ... Was our witness honoring to God? ... Did we really trust God through some of the trials early on? ... How have we changed? ... How will we view life differently? ... How will we live life differently? ... Have we made any impact? ... Did we fail? ... Did we take on each day to see how we could make a difference? The answers are all mixed and, quite frankly, I don't have many answers right now. But I have the questions and, if nothing immediate comes of these questions, I feel a change coming as I ponder them. I pray that God will give us the grace to sort through the questions and really take a look at our lives and look at life more and more through the eyes of eternity and not through the eyes of expediency. I really want to make a difference for eternity and yet I often find myself making choices for what is expedient in the moment. When I look at the life of Christ, He was always listening and hearing and following the voice of the Father. I want to do that and not think so much about it being where I am to accomplish it but looking to accomplish it where ever I am. I'm here in Thailand right now. How am I accomplishing listening, hearing and following the Father's voice here right now? Living life in the moment, listening, hearing and following the voice of God and His mission of encountering people, loving them and showing them a window into the miracle of salvation and a life devoted to Jesus. Pray for us as we pursue that dream here in Thailand and we look forward to seeing all of you in America in March.

-Bryan