Well, I am here. Chiang Mai, Thailand. I’m currently sitting in the hostel I now call home, back from my 2nd day of ministry. Life is crazy. It’s CRAZY that I am not in America. It’s CRAZY that I can get quality Pad Thai across the street for 2 USD. It’s CrAzY the ways that the Lord is showing up here. This blog is going to be updating you all on some things God has been showing me since hoppin’ off the plane. I hope you enjoy!
MONKS THAT SHOW JESUS: The second full day of life in Thailand we were brought to a Buddhist temple to chat with some monks. My team sat down with a lovely man named Brounma to ask some questions that would spark intentional conversation. We got to learn about his day-to-day life, his beliefs, his hopes, & his heart. Lemme tell ya, this man RADIATES Jesus. He has a natural joy that just flows out of his smile. I felt so loved in his presence, it was sweet to see Jesus through a man that didn’t seek him. After chatting for a while, he invited me and 4 others to teach English in a nearby village the next day. So, we showed up, & were blown away. Brounma is so heckin’ generous. He paid for our transportation, gave us tons of fruit, and blessed us with an opportunity to love on some kids. I was so shocked by how much he wanted to bless me. I truly have so much to learn from him. Praise God for this new friend who has shown endless amounts of curiosity towards Abba Father! I have full confidence that the Lord is gonna do BIG things in this friendship.
BE HELD: My team’s ministry for the next two months is teaching English. Real talk: teaching English to 5 to 6 year-olds is ROUGH. To be completely honest, my team and I went in quite unprepared. We had no lesson plans, knew 0 Thai, and were a little too tired to settle a bunch of crazy kids. It’s a challenge to have to sit and lesson plan for children who dont speak any English. & its is humbling knowing that I am not equipped to do this on my own. However, the Lord still moved & will continue to move. I always say that our inability/humanity allows God’s divinity to shine through, and this ministry is a testament to that truth! & goodness, the children in my classes love to be held. Even though I am technically their teacher, there wasn’t a moment today when one of them wasn’t grappling for my full attention. When I would focus on one kid, they seemed to immediately ease up. Their demeanor changed, it was easy to tell they felt loved & secure at that moment. I feel that we are the same way with Abba. In one way or another, we all crave intimacy. We crave to be known. To be seen. The sweet thing about being a child of the Lord is that we never have to grapple for His attention. We always have it. As someone who has relationship with the Father, I can simply be held. I can rest in His presence knowing that He is in the process of growing me closer to Him. I can rest knowing that HE LOVES ME. I’m thankful that God is giving me that reminder daily through the kids I get to love on.
SELFLESS LOVE: This one is hard for me to write, its really hard for me to admit my flaws, but here we go. Since being here, I’ve realized that I haven’t been loving selflessly. I have been super selfish in the ways that I interact with people. Its little things like isolating myself when conflict arises, shutting down when something inconvenient happens, or venting out my emotions when I should be bringing them to God. It all stems from a lack of complete dependency on the Father. I love to think and I love to dwell in my emotions. And while it’s something that helps me process, thats ONLY if I partner with God in it. & I just haven’t been good at processing WITH God lately. Its easy for me to find excuses such as “I dont have time” or “i’m just getting used to life in a new country,” but I am here to serve the Lord, and I should be seeking that by serving my team and the people around me. Praise God for bringing us people that help us grow & giving us wisdom and discernment!!!! Excited to grow in this and share the revelations the Lord gives me along the way!
Feelin’ blessed to finally be here my friends. Thank you all for praying for me and loving on me as I step out into this new season. As scary as it is sometimes, the Lord has given me such reassurance that everything is in HIS HANDS. Hallelujah! Thanks for reading my friends !!
I’m so glad you are finding God in the little things. I believe it’s the little things in life that are we he most important. I continue to pray for you and your team.
Thank you so much for sharing!
i love what you wrote about intimacy with the Lord. so good!
Ohhhhhh!!!!!! I bet that food is soooo good! … and I am sure it SMELLS good ,too! Ha ha!
(insert memory at the Launch lunch table)
I am so excited for you! I loved reading about the update and all that you have been doing!
I can’t get over the image of you teaching those precious children English! How fun! I bet it gets frustrating when you can’t understand each other… but… what is so beautiful is that all of you understand the message of the heart… the beauty of the hug…the song of the eyes… and the love in a smile! Keep up the great work and I am looking forward to more stories of Brounma…
So glad I met you… keep smelling good smells…. pack your sense of humor each day….
don’t forget to “be held”.
Love and Marshmallows,
W
Admitting personal “flaws” is difficult for everyone. Good on you for going opening up about working thru that. Best of luck teaching the young kids…that would be quite a challenge, but I’m sure it’s rewarding as well. Continued prayers for you and the team.
beautiful truth and imagery that WE already have Abbas attention and intimacy. thank you for being vulnerable in this post- you rock ! praying for you and your experiences in Thailand. keep radiating my sweet friend.