Thailand

What a joy it was to be able to live and serve in Thailand these past 2 months!! I learned so many things about myself, about others, and how God can move in mine and others lives. I was blessed to be part of a team of 5 that served in Chiang Dao. We lived on a farm full of life! Not only were there 20 total people living in this home, but there were many plants and animals too (missing you so much Noi). Our ministry was a healthy mix of manual labor, teaching English, and just pouring into the 12 kids that we lived with. In many ways it felt like we never had “off” time, if we weren’t cutting down cassava then we were with the kids, or teaching in a school. But what a blessing it was to have been in a place where we were able to build relationships with this family! God is sooooooo good, even when (especially when) we don’t get what we want.

When we were back at training camp I was asked to be a team leader. I accepted this role, feeling pretty honored to have had it offered to me. But I didn’t go into Thailand with the right mindset. I thought that because I was in this position that my word was law. I found out quickly, by making some mistakes, that I do not know all. So despite what you may think of me, I am not perfect, but praise the Lord that I serve a God that is perfect!! My team was able to humble me, and help me see that I need guidance, both from people and God. I got to a point where I was able to lean on them, ask for input, and receive that input well. I started to understand my team better and see them clearer. And because of this we started working together better.

But just because we worked better together doesn’t mean the work was easy. If we weren’t out in the 95 degree sun in the cassava fields, then we were in a school teaching these kids to speak English (we worked with both middle schoolers and kindergartners). And I would argue that teaching those kids was harder than harvesting cassava. Middle schoolers are a tough group to teach, so hats off to all the middle school teachers out there. But with God’s help, a lot of it, we were able to do it. We made it through all of the dehydration, the sunburns, changing diapers, crying kids, and worst of all-getting hit in the face with Godzilla. God was there with us through all of it, and it was amazing to see him move in us and through us.

Something I didn’t understand fully until I got here was simply the fact that there are other people who experience wildly different things. I had such a narrow perspective that I just couldn’t fully grasp that fact. But my eyes were opened to that when we got here. There are so many people here, real people who live real lives. And God loves all of them. God created all of them. And he desires a relationship with them. But they are so lost.

Thailand is a Buddhist dominant country. There are so many things I could write about that, but I’ll keep it short. Something that Buddhist people will do is put “spirit houses” in their homes. These spirit houses are meant for exactly what it sounds like, to house spirits. These people believe that if they bring offerings and sacrifices to the spirit houses, that it’ll welcome spirits into their homes, and that they’ll live there. They believe that these spirits will bless and protect them. The truth is that they’re right, but only about the first part. Bringing offerings and sacrifices to these houses will invite spirits into them, but these spirits have no intention of blessing or protecting in any way.

Again, these people are so lost. They so deeply desire to have fulfillment, to have all of their emptiness filled. They want the truth, but are settling for a lie.

There was a few weeks that I felt like I wasn’t doing anything, I felt like I hadn’t shared the gospel with anyone, but I’m watching as members of my team are sparking conversation with people daily. So I took it to the Lord in prayer. I asked, “why haven’t I been able to reach people the way my team has?” And I got humbled so fast. God said to me, “You are putting me in a box. Do you really think that I need your words to reach people? No. Your smile at someone is enough. How you treat people is enough. How people see you interact with your team is enough. You have evangelized, just not in the way you thought you would.” So yeah, humbling… But it is so great that we serve the one living, the one breathing God who has no limits to His power. There is nothing the God can’t do. There is nothing that can stop God. And He is for us, so nothing can stand against us.

We walk in authority, the Holy Spirit lives inside us.

Luke 10:19

“I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”

Also Thailand is beautiful, I haven’t written about that, but it is so amazing. This place will always have a special place in my heart.