MY PRAYER FOR BURMA UPON ENTERING THIS LAND

Lord my God, my Heavenly Father,
raise up young men and women
who will  mightily preach Your Word
in this land, 
among its neighbor countries,
and to all nations of the world.
Raise up leaders in this land, o Lord,
who will serve their people
with integrity and goodwill
for Your glory's sake.
Amen.



MATTHEW 28:18-20 ; ACTS 1:7-8

i HAD FOUR  OPPORTUNITIES  OF SPEAKING UP FOR CHRIST in this trip - two in Cambodia and two in Thailand. To God be the glory.


                        NORBERTO L. MERCADO
                        March 19,2012, 6:30 PM
                        Back to Sangkhlaburi, Kanchanaburi, Thailand

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On the Cream-Ladened Sand at Sihanoukville

It is almost evening
as  I sit  on this rattan-made sofa
on this cream-ladened shore
here in Sihanoukville...

I see women frolicking
in the spumy waves
coming from the Gulf of Thailand,
unmindful of the pressures of the day,
enjoying their fun,
as children also play with their dogs
on the sand...

I see many Europeans,
enjoying their holiday
in this tourist spot,
which was once a harrowing labyrinth of death 
under Pol Pot, Heng Samrin, Ieng Sary and Khieu Sampan
and their heartless minions
 three decades past...

But now, as I sit here 
on this cream-colored sand
in this place called Sihanoukville,
as the sun sinks
 in my Heavenly Father's eternal sea,
I see the happy faces
of a new generation ,
Cambodian children playing and laughing,
in a land that is free of mass murder
by their " big brothers"...

And as the day turns
into night,
and candles are lit in the sand , 
and glowing neon lights and electric bulbs
brighten the shore,
and fireworks explode in the dark horizon,
I can feel the soft caress of the sea breeze,
and  hear the song of waves from the gulf,
 which are softly explaining to me  
the deep secrets of the sea...

And I praise God my Heavenly Father
for all these things...


Norberto  L.  Mercado
Romantic Poets Society
Serendipity Beach, Sihanoukville
Royal Kingdom of Cambodia
March 9,2012
6:340 PM

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BRIDGE OF THE SANGKHLABURI LAKE

ONE SUNDAY AFTERNOON ON  THE WOODEN BRIDGE OF THE SANGKHLABURI LAKE

On this wooden bridge
of the Sangkhlaburi Lake,
I sit on a bench
made of hard wood
which the storms of years,
of decades,
have not destroyed...


Again,
I watch the golden sun
slowly sink into a mountain
beyond the lake...

In front of me
is a young woman with her four-year old daughter,
selling sweet rice in bamboo tubes
to people passing by on the bridge,
walking home to their villages
on both sides of the lake.


She silently sat
on the wooden path
with her daughter beside her,
and passersby sometimes
took photos of her child...

Mother and child,
selling sweetened rice
in bamboo tubes
here on the  wooden bridge of the Sangkhlaburi Lake,
as tourists from Europe
took photos of the calm water
which motor boats ply...

Mother and child
in front of me,
as I sit on this hard wood bench...
It is a touching scene
as they sell sweetened rice
 in bamboo tubes
for a living,
on top of this bridge
of Sangkhlaburi Lake...

I bought two tubes
of sweetened rice,
and relished
 the aroma and sweetness
of their produce...

Mother and child...
O, what a love they show
to strangers like me
on this wooden bridge
which connects the hill from one side of the lake,
to another hill on the other side...

The golden sun 
has sunk again into the mountain
beyond the lake,
and here I am,
a stranger in this land,
still seated,
and awed by the love of a mother
to her  four-year old child.

Her hand gave gentle strokes
to her daughter's hairs,
as she sells sweetened rice
in bamboo tubes,
on top of the wooden bridge where I am seated
on a hard wood bench,
here where the gentle wind caresses the water
of Sangkhlaburi Lake.


NORBERTO L. MERCADO
Sunday, March 18,2012
6:29 P.M.

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SANGKHLABURI

The Lord God of Israel, my Heavenly Father,
brought me to this idyllic town
which is rested on hills,
to rest a few days
from travelling for many hours :
from Saigon, South Vietnam,
to Pnom Penh in Cambodia,
from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville,
then back to Pnom Penh,
from Pnom Penh to Siem Reap,
from Siem Reap to Poi Pet
and then I crossed the border to Aranyaphratet in Thailand,
from Aranyaphratet to Chantaburi,
from Chantaburi to Bangkok,
from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi,
and from Kanchanaburi to this peaceful town
rested on hills...

O, the pilgrim from the Philippines...

I am writing this poem
under a tall, slender tree,
and below this hill where I am
is a huge lake.
I see tourists, probably from Europe,
laughing and cheering on a raft
and in the kayak which they rented...


I see the houses on the hills
on the opposite side of the lake.
I see houses floating on the water,
like the ones I saw in the lakes of Cambodia.
Thailand has many hills
and mountains,
and most of these still abound with trees,
and perhaps wildlife...


The lake is at rest
with gentle ripples
softly caresssed by west wind...

My Heavenly Father
brought me to this idyllic town,
rested on hills near the Burma border
to meet new friends like Pastor Baw Gyee 
and his sister Ni Mar, and their families,
and other Christians from Burma
who settled here...

I think I want to come back
to this place 
with June and our children,
to meet my new friends and brethren 
once again,
and sit where I am seated
to see this scenic lake where strangers swim,
in this idyllic town of Kanchanaburi province
here in Thailand, 
near the Three Pagodas Pass 
of the land of the Mons and Karens.


NORBERTO L. MERCADO
P Guesthouse Garden, Sangkhlaburi, Kanchanaburi,Thailand
Sunday, March 18,2012, 3:06 PM

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A POEM WRITTEN IN PHAM NGU LAU PARK

Lord, my God,
the Creator of the heavens and the earth,
and all the things both seen
and unseen,
I thank you for Your eternal love,
for your faithful and everlasting presence
in my life...

My Lord Jesus Christ,
You died on the cross 
in my place
so I would be saved from all my sins,
and delivered from 
the fire of eternity.

I thank you for letting me see
the beauty of the earth,
the majesty of Your creation,
and for allowing me to listen
to the silent language of the trees around me
in the coolness of this park,
though my eyesight is temporarily blurred,
and the faces of strangers 
have been misty for me.

There are many things I wish
to thank you for
in the past two days since I arrived here
in Saigon...

Thank you, dear Lord,
for protecting me 
in my travels,
for Your daily provisions,
for the new friends You gave me on my way
who help brighten my day...

Thank you for the soft breeze
in this park,
where I can rest for a while,
under this green shade
where I can hear 
the soft melody of the birds
in the park 
of this ancient city...


Norbert Mercado
Pham Ngu Lau Park
Saigon City, South Vietnam
March 7,2012
12:00 P.M.

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