"Robert Bowling" Photographer Video Missions "Frontier Labourers for Christ" "Bob Bowling" "Rob Bowling" Bandon

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Here are some thoughts for May from Psalm 63.

"O God, you are my God, earnestly I will seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for
you, in a dry and thirsty land. where there is no water." (Psalm 63:1)

This really hit home this past "hot season" in Thailand. Firstly, from a physical point of view, it was
indeed HOT! Starting in late March, we had five weeks reaching about 100 degrees every day!
(38C.) And, contrary to what most westerners think, it is not humid this time of year. It is dry, dusty,
and also smoky from the crop burning that is not controlled. Northern Thailand's pollution is off the
charts for two months each year. My body was thirsty for water, clean air, and air-conditioning! You
may recall I had sinus problems and lots of coughing. (That has now gone away with the first rains.)

But also, taking this quote spiritually since Thailand is 95% Buddhist, this land often feels dry in the
spirit. Temples abound, and devotee's too, but the freshness seems only in the flowers they offer; I
rarely see it in their faces. And if one observes the monks, they are very stoic as they walk around.
I've never seen the "Joy of the Buddha" on one's countenance. I can only pray that in this dry
spiritual land, where there is no assurance of an afterlife and people feel bound by their Karma, that
some people do hunger and thirst with their soul. Pray that God will remove the blindness of black
magic and a religious spirit from their eyes and also give them ears to hear of His great love and
mercy!

Here are some more verses from Psalm 63: "I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld
your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will
praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands." (Psalm 63:2-4.)

The rainy season is arriving now and we will have highs of 86-90 degrees. The air will be more
refreshing, and we'll have lush greenery all around. It's interesting how some things DO change,
even inside of us. I NEVER yearned for rainy season in Oregon, but now that I am here, I do so...
strongly. I've had a complete change of attitude. I even deal better with the wet stuff landing on me
and getting me soaked at times!

Spiritually, a change can be just as dramatic. Before I was a Christian I thought only of myself, and
had no clue about the love and mercy of the Lord, or what Jesus "going to the cross" meant for me.
But now I know, and even more-so over the years, we know that his love IS better than life, and our
lips glorify and praise Him more and more. But maybe some among us yearn for a change. Let's
allow THE RAIN OF THE SPIRIT TO FALL UPON US! Yearn for a new season. Quench your thirst
for love and forgiveness. If you truly meet Jesus, you will understand. Let us lift up our hands to His
name!

And of course, keep praying for this dry land, that we will meet the thirsty people who need His Love!

+++===+++

Please remember the Hmong students and their families in Na Hong Thi village. It is surely "doing
good" to help them. Join the "Extreme DORM Makeover" to BLESS these 23 kids! Click the Dorm
Blessing Project button to the upper right.

+++===+++

As you probably know, I don't "work" in Thailand for money. I help mission groups and individuals
with my daily life and my skills, mostly doing photography and video. It's because of YOU that I can
be sent out to do this. I rely on financial support from friends and family, mostly in America. Thank
you for helping. My needs are getting fewer as God has blessed me with a wonderful home (for
only $335/month!), four amazing dogs, good photo/video equipment, a better truck with four wheel
drive, and many friends at church and around the area. But I keep encountering people and groups
that NEED HELP, so please consider donating to DigitalMission. There are so many needs,
especially among the two million TRIBAL PEOPLE of northern Thailand. (For example, Sorn,
the college student who lives with me, is working six days a week during the current summer holiday,
and makes just $7 a day. Next year he will need to do an engineer internship - UNPAID. I am
looking for Sponsors for him to make college easier.)

Email me if you'd be like to donate, or if you'd be serious about praying for me. (I send out a special
prayer email every month or so.) And THANK YOU if you already do pray for me and DigitalMission.
Being here is a "dream come true" to be able to use my talents to help people in Thailand. (I'm even
learning the Thai language.. very difficult, but I'm plodding along!)

Make it a great day... God Bless you as He leads you on your own adventures. Let me know how I
can pray for YOU!

Bob@DigitalMission.us

Links to pages on this site:

Site design and all photos
Copyright 2007-13, Robert Bowling

Visitors to this site since 9/1/08

Now serving in Southeast Asia

Based in
SE ASIA

"My
command
is this:
Love each
other as I
have loved you.
Greater love
has no one
than this, that
he lay down
his life for his
friends."

John 15: 12

"Life! in Pictures."

Current NEWS from DigitalMission:

THANK YOU to those who have prayed
about getting a BETTER, SAFER TRUCK.
And now - NEWS FLASH - I was able to buy
a 4x4 Ford Ranger! It's a 2001 four-door
with a canopy on the back, and a
turbo-diesel motor for decent fuel mileage.
It will be much safer on the highways and
mountain roads.

AHOO's run: It has been an absolutely
AMAZING spring for my friend Ahoo. First,
he got baptized a couple months ago, and
now he has accomplished his dream of
running from the Burma border to Bangkok,
888km, 550 miles! He and his running
buddy Lance, 56, from Canada completed
"21 Marathon's in 21 days", certainly a
record for Thailand. Look for a page on
here soon that tells more about it.

CLiCK to enlarge.

I have a 501(c)(3) you can send to so
you get a TAX BREAK on donations!
Please email me and I will send you the
details. You can give toward DM
general fund, the Hmong dorm project,
or to help buy an air-con unit for the
kitchen area where we spend a lot of
time.

"He is no
fool who
gives up
what he
cannot keep,
to gain
what he
cannot
lose."

- Jim Elliot,
Missionary

Hello! My name is Robert Bowling. I am a Media Consultant and Missionary from Portland, Oregon,
now living in SE Asia. On these pages you'll find information and photos on my current projects as
well as the best of my older work. I've worked for three newspapers as a photojournalist and
travelled to 31 countries. I've worked for Northwest Medical Teams in Romania, Albania Health Fund
in Albania, Young Life in Italy, taken five trips to Thailand to help folks working with tribal people, and
worked in Panama on the motion picture, End of the Spear. CLICK on the links on the upper right to
read more about working on a movie set, and also about Holocaust survivor Alice Kern, and our trip
to Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. It won "Best Feature Story" from the Oregon Newspaper
Publishers Association in 1999.

Some souls long for Him... in a dry and thirsty land.