Thailand Update #3

Hello AGPMA Friends and Family,

I hope you enjoyed the first two updates on my “Great Grandmaster Adventure.” If you didn’t receive them and would like to, please contact Kim or Ashley (by replying to this email) to request them.

Like the saying goes, “I’ve got some good news and I’ve got some bad news.” First, the GOOD news…this will be my last update from Thailand as I am now getting ready to head home. Now, the BAD news…if you’re busy, you might want to read this one in a few sittings because it’s going to be a looong one! By the time you get this letter, I will (hopefully) be safe at home with my family. In 30 years of being together, I have never missed my wife as much as I do right now (not to mention my kiddos). I am looking forward to seeing them and I can’t wait to teach my staff and my students all the lessons that I have learned in Thailand.

It’s Monday night around 11:00pm (Thailand time) and I’m sitting down to write my final overview of my Thailand adventure. I just can’t help but start with praising my Lord and Savior. I pray that I can convey to you the provisions and the mercy He’s given me and express to you what an awesome God we serve. It is so rewarding to be on his team!

I will leave Fairtex tomorrow morning at 4:00am to catch my return flight scheduled for 6:40am on Tuesday, February 20. I am scheduled to arrive at home in Houston, approximately 23+ hours later, at 4:40pm on Tuesday, February 20 (figure out the math on that one)!

While in Thailand, I have had the pleasure of meeting and spending time with some interesting people. My friend and student Lisa Kurrass put me in touch with Mr. Prayoon Dhum, who lives in Bangkok and is involved with real estate and politics in the area, and Mr. Blair Duffy, an American who actually landed in Bangkok three days after I did to begin his new job in Thailand. Through these two gentlemen, I learned a little bit about the Thai culture, got to see some impressive landmarks in Bangkok, and was treated to some Thai hospitality. I will continue to pray for these men as they are doing God’s work in a place where there is much work to be done. As the proverb says…“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”

I had the honor of learning from Master “Big Guy” and Muay Thai Champions Dum, Jeckell, and Abday (due to the language barrier, that’s the best that I can do on the names and spellings) and I will be incorporating their lessons in my teachings to my staff and my students. (By the way, I did make it through all the fruits of the spirit with my trainers!) As I mentioned before, in some respects, Muay Thai is a very simple and effective fighting system. I think that the simplicity comes from the fact that there are basically 2 kicks – a push kick and a round kick. So…if you can, just imagine working out for two hours twice a day for 20 days. How many round kicks do you think you could throw in approximately 80 hours of training? Well, that’s how many I threw during my three weeks in Thailand!

For my first foreign mission…”Mission Accomplished” is an understatement! God watched over me as I trained and gave me the strength to push my body to new levels. I return from Thailand in better physical condition (5 pounds lighter), a better Martial Artist, and a better person for having been in the presence of so many of God’s remarkable children (known as the Thais). As his representative, He opened doors for me to plant seeds of His love and peace wherever I was. Thailand is known as the “Land of Smiles.” Their smiles are in their hearts and it radiates on their face as they serve you through and through. Falling in love with the Thais was easy! My final assessment of Fairtex is that it is a potential “pocket of greatness” in my book. I will be leaving a better person for being here. I am in prayer about the possibility of future Thailand visits as I desire to learn more from and contribute more to this “pocket of greatness.”

As I reflect back to a few years ago when God first put this adventure on my heart, I remember the obstacles, speed bumps, and what appeared to be road blocks which are too many to list in this letter. I have to give thanks to my Lord, my family, my staff, Mr. Silva and Mr. Van Over (for Premier Martial Arts), and my students for supporting and understanding me (and even supporting me when you don’t understand me). I love the acrostic for TEAM: Together Everyone Accomplishes Miracles. Get ready for more miracles in the life of AGPMA. Our team has witnessed a few miracles (or answered prayers) that have helped us get here. To name a few…I’ll start with Premier Martial Arts, the transition to our new curriculum, and the colleges that have brought our staff to a new level of performance. Ashley, my daughter, and Jonathan, my new son-in-law, have graduated from college, gotten married, and joined the team to help lead the way in my absence. My key people, Master Falco and Mr. McHenry, have been loyal and persistent in their pursuit of perfecting our new Premier Martial Arts curriculum and business systems. Thanks also goes out to my Master Instructor, World Champion Ishmael Robles (who I hear taught an awesome sparring class for us last Monday night). I don’t ever want to take this man for granted…he is definitely a “pocket of greatness” and, without his inspiration, none of this would be possible.

We all have the opportunity to care for, to influence, and to set an example for others. I appreciate everyone who has taken time to care for and encourage me. Thanks to Mr. Gene Wofford who gave me the Traveler’s Devotional Bible that has given me daily inspiration. You are such an awesome guy and a blessing in my life. Pastor Larry Garza, thank you for your prayers and for passing on your Thailand experience and Godly wisdom as I prepared for this trip. A special thanks to those who generously donated to make this mission a reality (you know who you are!). Mr. Dill sent me the following reminder: “The Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run into it and are saved.” I’m happy to say that by daily putting on the Armor of God, I was able to remain safe from temptation and safe from harm. Mr. Dill, Thank you sir! Thanks to Leslie Johnson for sending me the “Valentine to the Lord” which was a reminder of what true love is really about (Leslie, I didn’t just like it, I loved it!). Thank you to everyone who sent me encouraging emails. I had a very small dose of what our soldiers go through when they are away from their family and their country. I have a whole new respect for you, Major Jose Aguilar, and your soldiers in Iraq. May God be with you and keep you safe. I could go on thanking all the people who have encouraged me and who have made this possible, but (as it is 3:00am and I need to jump in the shower before my ride gets here) I will stop there and assure you that God has delivered on His promises and provided for me beyond what I could have imagined.

In Jeremiah 29:11, God says that he has a plan and a purpose for you – plans to prosper you and give you success, plans to give you a hope and a future. Isn’t that exciting? He is unfolding his plan and purpose for AGPMA one day at a time. I invite you to pray with me for the next step in my “Great Grandmaster Adventure.” I will let you know where I will be going as soon as I receive the final confirmation from above. In the meantime, I will work to be a “pocket of greatness” wherever I am. I am looking forward to some time at home to share and fellowship with everyone at AGPMA! Thank you all for your prayers and support!!

God’s Love & Peace,


Al Garza

P.S. I got the following scripture from my Traveler’s Devotional Bible. It is an exert from 2 Timothy 3:10-4:2 (NLT).
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do. And so I solemnly urge you before God and before Christ Jesus: Preach the word of God. Be persistent, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.”

P.S.S. For those of you who have some extra time…I wanted to pass on this (belated) “Valentines to the Lord” that Leslie sent me. It says so much of what I would like to express to you.
Happy Valentine’s Day, Lord!"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12.30-31
The Great Commandment - we’ve done studies on it; we’ve heard sermons on it; it’s ingrained in the collective conscience of Christians from early on. As we smile and nod, we can recite it, swear by it and even settle theological disputes with it. But with a few notable exceptions, we don’t do it.
Love. Love with all you have. Love with all you are. Love passionately and fully. Love without hesitation or fear. Invest it all and love with abandon. Start with God. In the end, this is all that will matter.
Children love like this, with innocence and honesty, and as they grow up, adults, other children, and life itself work in tandem to steal their willingness to love. The thief comes to kill and to destroy… We build up barriers and place restrictions. We lower our expectations. We fail and fall short. We protect ourselves. We tell ourselves that it’s too late, there’s no hope, and we are too tired. We are full of pride, and we are consumed by fear. Day by day, year by year, we love less.
As C.S. Lewis once observed, "Our passions are not too strong; they are too weak. We are far too easily pleased." We expect little of life, and we get it. We give little to life, and life gives little in return. In Jesus Christ, God has given us life, and His Spirit is poured out in our hearts in order that we may live, live fully and abundantly. We were not created for lives of meaningless consumption or mundane mediocrity. We were created to love and to be loved, starting with God.
Why is the ‘starting with God’ a repeated qualification? Because in this life, sin will hurt and near-destroy the heart’s capacity for love, either from within or without. However, if our love rests first in our Father, never do we love that the Spirit cannot triumph and restore. Love is from God, and no love is lost in Him; no love is ever rejected or humiliated or broken. If we are truly to love, we must learn to love in and through Christ, whose love is infinite and everlasting, a vast ocean of love that heals and restores and gives life.
Theologians and pastors go to great lengths to separate out various Greek expressions of love - eros, philos, and agape. While each of these are assigned to different types of relationships, they are just distinctions in the same theme - on living with passion and investing in others with abandon. The word Jesus uses here is agape - sacrificial, self-giving love for the good of the other. That sounds so costly, so negative and unappealing. Yet, that is exactly the point: give it all, give it without reserve, and give it readily. The Cross certainly was hell, but it was nothing by comparison to the Resurrection! Whatever the cost, however great the pain, never sell the resurrection short. Go for the resurrection - the abundance of life and love in Jesus Christ.
Somewhere along the line in Christianity, we began to postpone living until after death. The good stuff comes when we die. No doubt, we see dimly as in a mirror, but we do see if we look. While our resurrection is not complete in this life, loving is the means by which we start living the resurrection now. Jesus didn’t say "When you get to heaven, love then." No, the command is to love now, love with our all, and love indiscriminately. If it lives and breathes, love it.
Sin has made us by nature a cautious, fearful people. We prefer the security of slavery in Egypt to the life of freedom in the Promised Land. When we choose caution over passion, we limit life. St. Irenaeus understood that, "The glory of God is a fully alive human being." The glory of God is a fully alive human being - what fantastic meaning human life is given! God does not want us to be less; He wants us to be more! But every time we step back, every time we protect ourselves, every time we withhold love, we close a window on the glory of God.
This week is Valentine’s with all its sappy romance and sentimentalism, and in our society, a little perversion is sure to be thrown in the mix. So it goes. Sin is always the case with human nature; it’s what we do. Just smile, and then love. Love with all you have. Love with all you are. Love passionately and fully. Love without hesitation or fear. Invest it all and love with abandon. Start with God.
www.algarza.com