Last Day

It's so sad to me to think it's almost time to head back home.  It feels like I've been here forever but at the same time it passed so quickly.  As we've been winding down our last week here we spent half the day on Friday helping Zoe staff organize and pack up their supplies in preparation for their big move next week.  We then joined them again in the evening for a lovely time of worship together. 

Saturday was our last day at Zoe and we spent the morning teaching the rescued kids various crafts.  I was on tie dye t-shirt duty again.  We had about 23 kids in our class ranging from about 6 - 12 years old.  We had such a great time making the shirts and I was so impressed with how creative the kids were with their designs!  After we finished all the t-shirts we had brought for them, they all ran upstairs and grabbed more of their own shirts to dye!

The Zoe family then blessed us with a big bar-b-que and we had great last meal together.  The afternoon was filled with both laughter and tears as we played games and then said our goodbyes.  I will miss these people tremendously!  They are such an example of both great faith and giant hearts as they served selflessly and loved unconditionally.

The rest of our last evening was spent at the night bazaar as we finished collecting all the gifts we wanted to bring home and share with loved ones.  This will be my last entry on this journey and it has been an honor to have participated in such an adventure.  I pray I don't forget the many lessons I've learned and the joy I've felt serving the Lord overseas.

Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, "Amen!"  Praise the LORD. ~ Psalm 106:48

Outreach, Conversational English and Street Witnessing

Each day I wonder if it could be any better than the day before and so far I am filled with awe as every encounter brings new meaning to this trip. We started the day with our third and last visit to a public school to present our program one last time and just like every time before, it was a wonderful experience to be able to share Jesus with kids in school who may never have heard His name.
 It was a great morning as we all spent time with the kids after the program was over, working on the craft they would be able to take home as a reminder of God's love for them.  I'm kinda getting used to being sweaty and dirty all the time since we end up sitting on the floor with the kids to help them and it's hot and humid here!  I just want to know why only us Americans are sweaty all the time...why don't the Thai people ever seem to be hot?? Guess they are just used to it =)

After lunch we headed back over to Zoe to spend a couple of hours with the Bible school students, working on conversational English with them.  It's so cute to see some of them giggle when they try and speak English.  Some are really getting good at it while others are too shy to even whisper a word.  We wrote a bunch of get-to-know-you questions on a beach ball and in groups of about 8 people we tossed it around and had them answer a question that their left thumb landed on when they caught it.  We then played a few silly games with them and laughed much - I love these students!

And as if the day wasn't already full of great things we had the opportunity to do, we were able to go out with the students after dinner to do street witnessing!  Wow! What an amazing time!  They paired two of us up with one student.  I went with Susan and Sing which was great because Susan has been my roommate on this trip and Sing was in my conversational English group - both wonderful women to be around!

We headed over to the Chiang Mai University where the street outside the school is full of coffee shops, stores and street vendors.  In our group of 3 we started down the street with a handful of tracts in Thai and started passing them out to everyone who came across our path.  There were a lot of people on the street and many opportunities to share.  I'll just mention one in particular - we came across 4 students sitting at a table doing homework.  Sing approached them first, said something I didn't understand, handed them all tracts and then told me to go ahead and share.  She said they understood a little English and she would translate the rest.  We talked for quite some time - at least 10 min maybe a little more - about Heaven, Hell and Jesus and the Gospel. What an experience! And at the end they allowed me to pray for them...words cannot describe!

We had a several more encounters like that, handed out many tracts and the hour and half we spent on the street seemed to pass way too quickly. The others from our group also handed out tracks and many Thai people heard about Jesus for the first time that night. Praise God!

...for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" ~ Romans 10:13-15

Mango trees, tie dye and worship!

Today we had the privilege of visiting the new ZOE home.  For years now they have been renting a house where the children stay but God has blessed them with the ability to purchase land in Thailand - about 20 acres - and He has also provided all the money required to build a new facility which has the capacity to hold about 200 kids.  I wish I had time to explain all the incredible details of this building and all the thought that went into it but it would fill a page.  They are hoping to move in within the next week or so as the final touches are completed. 

The property itself is beautiful with gorgeous views all around.  The landscaping has yet to be completed and is comprised mostly of sticky red clay and with the rain that came the day we visited, it all stuck heavily to our shoes. 

We were given the honor of planting a mango tree on the property and we pray that it will bear much fruit in the years to come.



After having my favorite Thai meal for lunch at the current Zoe home (kaow soi and mango sticky rice yum!) we set up for our elective classes for the bible school students.  I was able to help out with the tie dye class - even though I have no idea how to make tie dye shirts.  We had about 6 students in our class and had a blast trying to make t-shirts that looked half way decent - some of them came out pretty good!  We then had some time left over and were able to play games with them...so much fun!!

We had a couple of hours to get back to the hotel, shower, eat dinner and then participate in their Wed night prayer session which was to last about an hour.  When we arrived, all the Zoe kids and bible school students were in the big room sitting on mats.  The lights were then turned down low and worship music was playing louding on the stereo.  At first I thought it seemed a bit chaotic and wasn't sure how this was all going to work, but let me tell you, I have never experienced a more spirit filled prayer time in my life.  Everyone was praying out loud, laying hands on one another and just as you bow your head and begin to pray, you feel 4 tiny hands on your back and hear the prayers of little kids in Thai. 

There simply are not words to describe this - I can only say that I am not worthy to have received such a blessing.  I thought an hour would seem to take forever because really, how often do we spend an entire hour praying with one another.  But the time flew by and I felt like I could have done that all night long.  It was an incredible experience I will never be able to fully explain to anyone who wasn't there.  I am so thankful...

And as if the day was not already amazing, we later went for a foot and neck massage around 9pm.  We had a wonderful relaxing massage that lasted 1.5 hrs for $20 - how amazing is that?!  I stayed up late to try and get caught up on my blog knowing that I really should be sleeping for tomorrow would bring yet another day filled with work, play and Jesus.

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. ~ Mark 10:13-16

Public School Outreach and other fun things

Monday and Tuesday were the best days yet! During these two days we were allowed to go into public schools and present our entire program including the gospel and an invitation to accept Jesus...not even in the US can we do such a thing!  I can't even describe the emotions we were all overcome with. From the time we entered the schools we were treated like celebrities...all the kids were so excited to see foreigners come and speak at their school.  

We were able to play with them, sing our songs to them and preach to them.  They all sat at the edge of their seats during most of the program and we all just prayed that the Lord would plant seeds that day.  For many of those kids and even teachers, this was the first time they heard the good news of Jesus Christ!

The joy we all felt during these 2 days was off the charts! What an amazing God we serve that we can come to Thailand and preach the gospel in public schools!  Let's pray that God will once again open the same doors in the US. 

One of the sweetest times I've had so far on this trip was on the van ride over to the first school.  Those of us that were in that van spent time praying out loud for the kids and we sang songs in worship to God and it truly touched my heart to be in such close fellowship with these women.  I had written some time earlier this year that I felt like the odd man out because I didn't know most of the people going on this trip, but somehow God has made it feel like we've all been close friends for a long time and we have been united as one body of Christ on this journey.

In between the visits to these two schools, we were allowed to have a little fun too.  We spent some time on Monday night shopping at the night bazaar, haggling our way through the many Thai trinkets and souvenirs.  Tuesday morning we had a great time at a local elephant camp as we watched the mahouts show off the skills of the elephants followed by a 30 min ride on these beautiful creatures...needless to say we laughed much during that ride! 

And finally, last night we were treated to cultural Thai dinner show where the entertainment was great but the food, well... not so much (at least in my opinion!).  We still have 5 days left in this country and many more adventures to come as we continue to seek the Lord and his plan here in this land.


"Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession." ~ Psalm 2:8

The Village

Ok, so I didn't quite get this posted Monday evening like I thought I would but better late than never!  Saturday morning we began the day at Zoe around 9am where we participated in their worship service.  We all sang a bunch of songs for one another and we heard words of  encouragement from a few of the Zoe kids.  We were able to spend time with them and help them with the craft project.  We were then handed a sack lunch and then hit the road.

The drive to the village was long as expected and so windy that many people were feeling queasy by the time we arrived.  We took a short walk around the village which was not a rural as we thought it would be and it was very beautiful there.  After dinner we had a gathering in the local church and the villagers were invited.  We sang songs and a couple people gave their testimony.  The local pastor also said a few words but sadly, I was so tired after the long day, that I'm pretty sure I fell asleep during most of what he said (it was all in the local Karin language so I couldn't understand it anyway!).

Our night was an interesting one - we all slept together in a big room on the floor in mosquito nets.  All I can say is that the ground was hard, the air was hot and there was an incident with both a gigantic spider and a cat with a mouse.  Good times! Really makes me appreciate the hard beds in the hotel so much more =)

The next morning was really amazing...the majority of the people in this village are professing Christians.  I'll admit that I thought we were going to an unreached people but instead we were building up the body of Christ where many people don't visit.  They start their Sunday morning at 6am with a prayer meeting until 7am.  They then split up the women and men and then speak words of encouragement to one another for about an hour.  After breakfast they all come back together for church which then lasted up until around noon.  They dedicate 6 hours to the Lord every Sunday - we were feeling a bit convicted when we sometimes complain about a long-winded pastor who went 15 min over time...seems so silly now.  It was simply beautiful to see people around the world worshipping the the Lord in their own language.

While most of our team was in big church, a small group of us did the Sunday school class for the kids.  It's so funny how you can prepare for hours for something and then end up doing something completely different.  We had a huge challenge with kids because they were much younger than we were expecting and the translator we had only spoke Thai - most of the kids only spoke the local language of Karin.  So we had to really think on our toes, change our plans a bit and kind of make things up as we went.  The amazing thing however, is that we know that they got at least one concept out of our teaching because they answered a question correctly - that God loves them! Later that afternoon, our trip to the village hotel was short and we were all thankful for showers and beds!!!  We had a lovely dinner and then off to sleep we went, thinking about all that we had done that weekend and what was yet to come.

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:  "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." ~ Revelation 7:9-10

Work Day

It's a quarter to 7pm and I'm exhausted! We had such a full day today I don't even know where to begin!  This morning we woke up bright and early, about 5am and after breakfast we attended a 2 hour orientation to ZOE.

 I've known ZOE for a little over 2 years now and have heard many of the stories about what they are doing here in Thailand, but I have to say, after listening to Carol Hart talk about how God has blessed their ministry and how He has changed the lives of so many kids here in Thailand, I was practically in tears.  What a testimony!  Soon after, we loaded up into vans and headed to the current ZOE house (they are moving to their new property in about a week!).

Our job for today was to assemble 1500 goodies bags (yes, 1500! that's not a typo!) that we will be handing out to the kids we will be ministering to over the next week.  Each bag was filled with 6 food items, tied and put into giant rice bags in groups of 60.  It took 24 people 2 hours to do this and we were tired and sweaty when we were done :)

We then spent some time rehearsing our outreach program and fine tuning any last minute details, just in time for all the ZOE kids to come home from school.  There were around 150 kids ranging in age from about 4 to 20 waiting in the big room to greet us and man, what a greeting we got!  When we walked in it was all cheers, applause and hugs from every one of them!

I've never felt such a warm welcome in my life!  Once eveyone settled down, we each introduced ourselves to the group and lead them in a couple of kids worship songs - so much fun! The next hour or so was spent in a get-to-know-you game and we had fun trying to communicate with one another as we learned a little bit about each other.


And so now, we're back at the hotel and most are showering the days work off of themselves and heading out to dinner. Tomorrow we drive to a hill tribe village about 5 hours away where we will spend the weekend doing outreach.

There will be no internet access until we return to the city on Monday so I'll have to do this old school for a couple of days and keep a handwritten journal, which of course I'll type and upload on Monday evening =)

Please pray for our outreach this weekend - that God will use us to reach the unreached.

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you." ~ James 1:27

We've arrived!

I sort of figured my first entry in this blog after we got here would be about silly things like how long it took to get here (long) or how the weather is (hot and humid) or what our accommodations are like (much nicer than expected).  But instead, as I sit here in the hotel room in Chiang Mai, my thoughts are filled with the book I just read – The Road of Lost Innocence by Somaly Mam.

This is a heart breaking autobiography of a Cambodian girl sold into prostitution.  I cannot describe the atrocities that have been committed against her and other girls she encounters – some as young as 6 years old – and my mind swims with the thoughts of how deep is the depravity of a lost world.  On the second flight over here I was sitting next to an older, single, retired man from the US who flies to Thailand twice a year for vacation and I couldn’t help but wonder what his real motives were.  I don’t mean to be judgmental; I’m just being honest here.

Our journey so far has been uneventful and even fun at times and I have to remind myself often that I’m not here on vacation.  I guess it was a good thing to read the book I did on the way over to remind me of why we’re really here. I’m overwhelmed by the enormity of the problem of human trafficking and if I think about it too much it becomes paralyzing.  I have to remember that I alone cannot save the world and yet that does not excuse me from doing nothing.

We do serve a God however, who is able through all His mighty power that is at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.  And so as we begin our journey in Chiang Mai, not sure of how the next 10 days will go, I know that our team goes in the power of the Lord and it’s by His spirit that we will accomplish anything.

So, on a lighter note, here are a couple of pics of some of our team and hotel.

2 Weeks Left!

It's really amazing to me how quickly time seems to pass these days.  We only have 2 weeks left until we leave for Thailand and before I know it, we'll be at the airport filled with the excitement of what's to come!

Most of our preparations for this trip have been completed and as we get ready to embark on this journey I have a few parting thoughts.

What I thank God for

• Providing all the funds needed for the trip!
• Helping the team stay focused on preparing all the programs for the outreach
• The amazing opportunity to share the gospel overseas
• Supportive friends and family

What I pray for

• Safe and uneventful travels
• Team unity
• For God to prepare the hearts and minds of those we will encounter overseas
• Patience, grace and a spirit of humility
• Strength to endure all the hardships (mostly lack of sleep) of this trip (you should see the itinerary!!)
• For Jesus to be glorified in all we say and do on this mission

...for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."  How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
- Romans 10:13-15

Thailand trip update

Only 1 meeting and 40 days left until we leave!!  I am so excited to go and yet a little overwhelmed at how much we still have to do!  I have 3-4 songs to memorize (including hand movements), a Sunday School lesson to practice, an Origami Heart to learn how to fold and an outreach program to refine and perfect as a group! But I trust that it will all come together in time :)

In addition, God has provided nearly all the funds I need to go!  The last $300 is due next week and I'm sure will be covered.  Praise God for providing so much for all of us going on this short term mission!

"For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.

Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.  So two good things will result from this ministry of giving—the needs of the believers in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God.

As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ.  And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you.  Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!" 
- 2 Corinthians 9:10-15

Trouble in Thailand

You may or may not have heard of the political troubles plaguing Thailand recently but there has been an increase in the violence surrounding the issues.  So far our plans to go have not changed as we will not be traveling through Bangkok at all.  Also, some of the missionaries that live in Chiang Mai have reported that things there are pretty much staus quo and the uprisings have had little impact on their daily lives.  Of course if things change and there is a real danger to our team we will cancel the trip.

Here is a quote from our team leader:
"We are confident at this time that the July trips planned will continue as scheduled but will continue to monitor the situation.  We trust that Almighty God is taking very good care of us as we do His work in Thailand.   Please continue to pray for the nation and people of Thailand that they will find a peaceful solution to this problem and that revival will take place in the hearts of the people." 

Here is an excerpt of the warning from the US State Dept:
"The Department of State warns U.S. citizens traveling to and residing in Thailand of ongoing political demonstrations and unrest in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.  Due to escalating violence in central Bangkok, including gunfire near the U.S. Embassy, demonstrations in Chiang Mai, and other incidents throughout Thailand, U.S. citizens should defer all travel to Bangkok and defer all non-essential travel to the rest of Thailand.  The Department of State has authorized the departure of all non-emergency U.S. government personnel and eligible family members from Bangkok.  This replaces the Travel Alert dated April 28, 2010, and is in response to updated information on increased violence and security concerns.  The Department of State recommends against travel to Bangkok and non-essential travel to Thailand at this time."

A true missionary

I read a story today about a missionary in Northern Iraq that really convicted and challenged me:

One worker, “Allen,” was just interviewed on Kurdish television, but when the camera crew offered him a cigarette, something happened that no one expected.  Here’s how Allen tells it:
“The camera crew was pleased with the lighting of the second shoot and began to drive me home. The broadcaster offered me a cigarette, but I told him I didn’t want one because my body is a gift from God and I don’t want to waste it. I told him, ‘Jesus came into my heart. Gave me a new life, and this new life is only possible with Jesus the Messiah. I want to follow him in everything I do. I want to live for him. Jesus offers the only way to God.’
 
I was really blown away by how "Allen" was able to turn a simple offer of a cigarette into a full blown testimony of Jesus in his life.  This is what I want my life to look like - that Jesus so permeates my life that even the shortest and simplest of conversations would lead to Him.

I realize that this doesn't directly pertain to the Thailand mission trip I am about to embark on, however, it is a picture of a true missionary. One who looks for every opportunity to share the love of Christ...

Thailand trip update

Well it's been a while since I've written anything and that's mostly because there hasn't been too much new to report.  Our team continues to work on and develop both the outreach program and the Sunday school lesson. 

There is one big thing though that I'd like to share - I only have $390 left to raise for my trip!  God has provided in abundance and I am so thankful to everyone who has been moved to help both financially and in prayer!!  This is so much more than I had ever expected and I am moved beyond words.

I just want to remind everyone who is partnering with me that not only are you helping me get to Thailand but you are a part of this journey as well!  Just because you are not physically going does not mean you don't play a crucial role in God's plan overseas. Thank you!

"Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other." - Romans 12:4-5

Sunday School Lesson

Just finished working on the outline for the Sunday School lesson we'll be doing while in Thailand.  This is different than the outreach program that we'll be doing in the villages and/or orphanages.  The Sunday School lesson will be given on a  Sunday (duh!) to a group of kids that already attend church.  I'm part of the team that is developing that lesson.  Here is a rough outline of what we will be teaching:

Main Theme: God Loves Us! 

1 John 3:1 - “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”

Supporting Points

1.  God demonstrated His love for us by creating us.

• He knew us before we were born.
• Psalm 139:13-16 - “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

2.  God demonstrates His love for us by knowing us.

• He knows everything about us even the number of hairs on our head.
• Matthew 10:30 - “And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”

3. He loved us so much that He died for us.

• Even though we have all disobeyed God, He loves us so much that He sent His only son to die in our place.
• Romans 5:8 - “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
• John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

My Testimony

I've just turned in my first official draft of my testimony to our team leader who will need to review it to make sure it translates well.  I'm going to post it below but keep in mind, this is really a condensed version and written as simply as possible.  If you want more details, let me know and I'd be more than happy to share :)

There was a time in my life when I did not believe in God. I did whatever I wanted and believed that there were no real consequences for any of my actions. This is how I lived for many years of my life. I have always enjoyed reading books and one day I started a reading a book that was talking about God. It described how he was not happy with man and how he will judge everyone after they die. And it talked about the end of the world and how everyone will either be on God’s side or not. There was no in between and it did not matter how good you thought you were because you had still broken God’s laws.

When I first read this I became a little alarmed. I had always thought that even though I didn’t really believe in God, that if there was a God, I had done more good than bad in my life and he would let me into heaven when I died. After all, I knew lots of people who had done much worse things in life than me. I did not believe what I was reading and so I picked up a bible and read it for myself to see if the things it said about God were true. And they were! I started to think that I might be in trouble because the bible said we had all done things that were offensive to God and that no one was good enough to get into heaven.

In the Bible in Proverbs 1:7 it says that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”. And as I became afraid of what might happen to me when I died I started to read the bible more. I wanted to know what God had to say about heaven and hell. I read that God himself became man and took my punishment for all the wrong I had done. He died for my sins and that if I accepted this gift he gave to me and trusted him and followed him then I would be saved. I would be able to go to heaven even though I had done so much wrong in my life.

So I took a chance and decided to give my life to Jesus and the freedom and peace he has given me since then is amazing! I no longer fear death because I know that by trusting in Jesus, even when I die I will be saved into eternal life. I don’t have to worry about all the bad things I’ve done in my life because God has forgiven me because I have accepted Jesus as my savior. The Bible says in Romans 8:1-2 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”

I used to be afraid of dying and many other things in life but Jesus has freed me from my fears. One of the things I used to really be afraid of was flying - mostly because I thought crashing in a plane would be a horrible way to die. I would be so scared on the airplane that I could never really relax. Then one day, God showed me that I no longer needed to be afraid. 2 Timothy 1:7 says “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

God told me that if I really trusted in him and believed that what he did was always good, then I should not be afraid to die – even in a plane crash. God completely took away my fear of flying! In fact, he took away all my fears because I know that he loves me, that his plan is perfectly good, and that I can trust in him for all things that happen – both good and bad. I no longer need to worry about the things in this life because God has given me his perfect peace. Romans 8:28 says “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

Next Assignment

It's been just over 2 weeks since our last team meeting and one of the things we needed to do (by last Friday =/) was write our personal testimony for the purpose of delivering it to a group of people in Thailand. 

I just got through typing out a rough draft and it's harder than it seems - mostly because it has to be translatable.  This means that as we are giving our testimony to a group of people (probably both kids and adults) we will have someone there translating everything into Thai.

Here are a few of the things we need to remember while we are composing our testimony:

• Keep it short - no more than 3 minutes long
• Avoid slangs or idioms that don't translate well such as "by the skin of my teeth"
• Avoid long sentences
• Avoid Christian jargon or clichés
• Avoid jokes
• Avoid illustrations that are specific to North America such as "as wide as the Grand Canyon"

Funny how we don't really think about these things in our everyday language and how it might sound to someone from another country.  I'm also trying to keep my testimony simple with the kids in mind.

Once we have written it down we have to consider the following when actually delivering our testimony in Thailand:

• Don't read what you have written down (lol)
• Open with a greeting in their language (Sawadeet Kaa is Hello in Thai)
• Face the audience, not the translator, when speaking
• Speak in short sentences - only 1 or 2 at a time

I'm pretty sure this will be the very first time I've ever given a speech in another country using a translator - should be an interesting experience!!  Once I have my testimony completed I'll post it =)

Odd man out

Wow, where did the week go!  I wanted to post something about last Sunday and then before I knew it, it was almost Friday! So last Sunday, we had our second official team meeting for our mission trip.  We spent about 2.5 hours split up into smaller teams to work on the projects we've been assigned. 

We have 5 teams total - each working on one piece of the outreach program (the games, the crafts, the main message, the skit and the Sunday School lesson).  The main outreach program will be done a few times in villages and orphanages and keep in mind that all of these things center around the message of the cross.

The Sunday School group, however, is working on a lesson that will be presented only once and to a group of kids that presumably already attend Sunday School.  That's my group.  Our theme is going to be God's love.  So far I think we have a pretty good outline of our main points we'd like to make.

So this experience has been interesting thus far although I have to say that sometimes I feel a little left out.  Everyone there already knows someone else - either there are married couples, entire families or mother/daughter teams or friends that are going on this journey together.  And then there's me :)  Don't get me wrong - it's not that anyone has been unkind or anything like that, but it's hard to find where you fit in with a group of people that all seem to know each other already.  So I'm hoping and praying that I'll find my place in this group and that God will use me and my gifts where He sees fit.

The Cross

A good portion of today and this evening have been spent preparing for tomorrow's second ZOE mission meeting.  Yes, I'll admit, I'm a little behind already...

So one of the things we need to do for this mission trip is assess why the cross is important to us.  The main theme of the outreach program we'll be doing is The Cross.  And so as we embark on this task, it's important to think about what the cross means to us individually and to really reflect on its meaning in our own lives.  We were given a short article to read by J.C. Ryle (1816 - 1900) titled The Cross of Christ. Here is an excerpt from this article:

"Reader, mark what I say again. You may know a good deal about Christ, by a kind of head knowledge. You may know who He was, and where He was born, and what He did. You may know His miracles, His sayings, His prophecies, and His ordinances. You may know how He lived, and how He suffered, and how He died. But unless you know the power of Christ's cross by experience,—unless you know and feel within that the blood shed on that cross has washed away your own particular sins—unless you are willing to confess that your salvation depends entirely on the work that Christ did upon the cross,—unless this be the case, Christ will profit you nothing. The mere knowing Christ's name will never save you. You must know His cross and His blood, or else you will die in your sins."

This was a good reminder as I think about and write about what the cross means to me.

"As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."
- Galatians 6:14

Humbled

I found out today that the money I needed to cover the airfare portion of this trip was provided for and then some! I don't know why I doubt God so much sometimes - I know He will move in the hearts of people as He sees fit. 

When I got that email I was really speechless - I did not expect to have that much of the cost taken care of so soon and while I don't know everyone who has given yet, I do know that my Mom was mostly responsible.  I am so blessed to have such a loving and supportive Mom!

Fundraising

I spent a couple hours last weekend putting together a support letter and self addressed stamped envelopes to hand out to people.  I have to say, this is not my favorite part of going on a short term mission trip.  On the one hand I know that asking people to help support you gives them an opportunity to share in what you are doing, but there's a part of me (the prideful part) that really would rather find some other way to fund the trip.  This truly is a humbling experience...

In addition to that, I'm forced to really trust in the Lord - to trust that he will provide what I need in order to accomplish his goals.  Again, I think my pride gets in the way here...I'd rather do this myself.  And please don't get me wrong, I'm not writing this to convince anyone that they need to financially support me.  I'm just sharing my thoughts on how uneasy this process has made me and how the Lord is stretching me to let go of some of my pride.

Short Term Missions

Yesterday I read a short essay on the value of short term missions. I thought this was a timely thing to read since I am gearing up for a short term mission myself. What was interesting was that based on this person’s research, short term missions are not very effective and can sometimes be detrimental to the very people we are trying to help. A little more than a year ago I also read K.P. Yohannan’s book, Revolution in World Missions, which had similar sentiments regarding western missions.

Here’s the thing – I agree with both of them. I too have long felt that short term mission trips were somewhat of a waste of money and didn’t really have the lasting impact that we so desire. So why am I now going on such a trip?? I have 2 main reasons: preparation for the future and the nature of the work we will be doing in Thailand.

I’ll explain more on the first one later but as far as the second one goes, I love that we are not simply going to Thailand to work on some building project or simply to visit orphanages and play with kids while we’re there.

Don’t get me wrong – neither of these are bad things. But instead, we will be coming along side long term missionaries in Thailand to reach out to kids and people who have never heard the good news of Jesus Christ. We will be going from village to village and putting on programs where up to 900 kids might show up!

I am so thankful and feel so privileged to be able to participate in this cross-cultural outreach! Those of you who are partnering with me either financially or in prayer should feel the same way because you too are a part of this!

First Training Day!

This past Sat, Feb 20, I spent 6 hours in a room full of people that I didn't really know.  These 25 people are going to be my teammates on this journey to Thailand.  We all come from different churches and backgrounds but will need to learn to work together to accomplish a single goal.

One of the things that became very clear during training is that we have a lot of work to do!  We will be developing a program from scratch that we will use to reach the children of Thailand.  This program will include games, a teaching lesson, crafts and possibly a skit or puppet show.  We will be meeting monthly as a team to put this together before we leave in July in addition to working on this individually in between our meetings!

My plan is to update this at least weekly with the progress we are making and any challenges, thoughts or "teachable moments" that arise in the process.  Thank you for joining me!