This is a short slideshow some girls made for our farewell ceremony last night. Though you might like to see it!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Last Day
This morning is very sad because it is the day of our flight back to the States. I am not ready to go back home yet, and I will miss all of my sweet friends that I've made here in Thailand.
It has been truly indescribable to watch God's plans unfold over the past two months. Yesterday, our team had a debriefing session, and for over an hour our team shared what all God had been teaching them this summer. God has taught us all something unique and has revealed Himself to all of us differently.
Looking back, His grace throughout this summer is so evident. Without Him, this summer could have been miserable. No former comforts of home, hot and muggy weather, new language, new food, new culture, etc. But God has been so sweet to us and has wrapped His comforting arms around each of us so that we could all rest in Him.
As I've been telling you, God is so clearly moving throughout Thailand. I can't even list all the ways we've seen God move here, and, even though I'm so sad I'm leaving, I know COT's ministry is going to keep seeing fruit.
One of our girls recently joined Bo's Bible Study. She is not ready to become a Christian because she says she feels she's moving too fast, but I know God is drawing her to Him. I could tell you countless stories of the ways we've seen God move in her life. Also, we have another girl who came to church and hopefully will continue. Though she does not want to become a Christian, she says she believes all of Jesus's teachings and has never felt love like the love among us...so God is working on her and she doesn't even know it!
Thank you to all of you who have been praying for me and encouraging me. It means more than you know! I can't believe we're actually leaving. I am going to miss Khon Kaen and its people so much!
It has been truly indescribable to watch God's plans unfold over the past two months. Yesterday, our team had a debriefing session, and for over an hour our team shared what all God had been teaching them this summer. God has taught us all something unique and has revealed Himself to all of us differently.
Looking back, His grace throughout this summer is so evident. Without Him, this summer could have been miserable. No former comforts of home, hot and muggy weather, new language, new food, new culture, etc. But God has been so sweet to us and has wrapped His comforting arms around each of us so that we could all rest in Him.
As I've been telling you, God is so clearly moving throughout Thailand. I can't even list all the ways we've seen God move here, and, even though I'm so sad I'm leaving, I know COT's ministry is going to keep seeing fruit.
One of our girls recently joined Bo's Bible Study. She is not ready to become a Christian because she says she feels she's moving too fast, but I know God is drawing her to Him. I could tell you countless stories of the ways we've seen God move in her life. Also, we have another girl who came to church and hopefully will continue. Though she does not want to become a Christian, she says she believes all of Jesus's teachings and has never felt love like the love among us...so God is working on her and she doesn't even know it!
Thank you to all of you who have been praying for me and encouraging me. It means more than you know! I can't believe we're actually leaving. I am going to miss Khon Kaen and its people so much!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Rejoice!
He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
John 6:65
Thank you for all your prayers! God is hearing the cries of our hearts and drawing hearts toward Him. By His mercy, my ministry group has been able to share our testimonies with several girls and share the gospel with a few. Yesterday one of our girls came to church with us, and Bo explained the bridge diagram to her!
But we aren't the only ones. God is using all of the groups here. So many others have been able to share their testimonies and explain the gospel. In fact, last week two girls came to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior! It truly is incredible to be a part of this. Surely the angels are rejoicing in Heaven. Praise the Lord for opening their eyes to their need for a Savior.
Please continue to pray that He would continue to remove the scales from their eyes. We can become their best friends, we can show them the love of Christ, we can read them the entire Bible cover to cover, but none of this alone can change their hearts. God must draw the Thais to Him. We only have nine days left here, and I would love nothing more than to see more Thais abandon their lives for the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you so much for encouraging us through your prayers. I love you all!
John 6:65
Thank you for all your prayers! God is hearing the cries of our hearts and drawing hearts toward Him. By His mercy, my ministry group has been able to share our testimonies with several girls and share the gospel with a few. Yesterday one of our girls came to church with us, and Bo explained the bridge diagram to her!
But we aren't the only ones. God is using all of the groups here. So many others have been able to share their testimonies and explain the gospel. In fact, last week two girls came to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior! It truly is incredible to be a part of this. Surely the angels are rejoicing in Heaven. Praise the Lord for opening their eyes to their need for a Savior.
Please continue to pray that He would continue to remove the scales from their eyes. We can become their best friends, we can show them the love of Christ, we can read them the entire Bible cover to cover, but none of this alone can change their hearts. God must draw the Thais to Him. We only have nine days left here, and I would love nothing more than to see more Thais abandon their lives for the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you so much for encouraging us through your prayers. I love you all!
Friday, July 8, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Praise the Lord!
Oh sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things!
His right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
The LORD has made known his salvation;
he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody!
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who dwell in it!
Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the hills sing for joy together
before the Lord, for he comes
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.
Psalm 98
The night before leaving on this journey to Thailand, I was still unsure that I wanted to come. Two months in another country, another continent none the less, with hot weather and hard beds, nasty food and no rest, did not scream, 'Awesome summer!' to me. But boy, was I wrong.
For the five weeks that we've been here, God has been breaking me of my misconceptions of Him. He is stripping me of my pride and truly showing me that I can do absolutely nothing without Him. He is so much bigger than I can even imagine. He is the Creator of the entire universe, and I am nothing but a mere vessel through which He has chosen to reach His nations. I am so blessed to even be called His daughter.
Through various conversations and different situations, I have seen that God truly is the controller of all. I think it's easy to forget how HUGE He is and how small and insignificant I am. Though I have hated the darkness, I am so thankful He has held me there so I may see His light and His true goodness.
This week has been thrilling. GOD IS MOVING IN THAILAND. He yearns for these souls, and He is surely turning them toward Him. Hallelujah! Just yesterday through a silly conversation about a bracelet, God ordained a conversation about His greatness with one of our new Thai friends. We were able to talk with her for almost two straight hours about the gospel and why we have decided to follow Christ. It was amazing! She asked me what I thought would happen when the world ended, and I told her that every knee would bow and everyone would praise our King Jesus. I got chills telling her that this meant her, too.
God is moving, and I am learning to trust Him in a way I never have before. Please pray that the Lord continues to stir in the hearts of the Thais. Pray that our team makes the most of every moment here since we only have a few weeks left. Thank you for your prayers and support. I love you all!
for he has done marvelous things!
His right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
The LORD has made known his salvation;
he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody!
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who dwell in it!
Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the hills sing for joy together
before the Lord, for he comes
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.
Psalm 98
The night before leaving on this journey to Thailand, I was still unsure that I wanted to come. Two months in another country, another continent none the less, with hot weather and hard beds, nasty food and no rest, did not scream, 'Awesome summer!' to me. But boy, was I wrong.
For the five weeks that we've been here, God has been breaking me of my misconceptions of Him. He is stripping me of my pride and truly showing me that I can do absolutely nothing without Him. He is so much bigger than I can even imagine. He is the Creator of the entire universe, and I am nothing but a mere vessel through which He has chosen to reach His nations. I am so blessed to even be called His daughter.
Through various conversations and different situations, I have seen that God truly is the controller of all. I think it's easy to forget how HUGE He is and how small and insignificant I am. Though I have hated the darkness, I am so thankful He has held me there so I may see His light and His true goodness.
This week has been thrilling. GOD IS MOVING IN THAILAND. He yearns for these souls, and He is surely turning them toward Him. Hallelujah! Just yesterday through a silly conversation about a bracelet, God ordained a conversation about His greatness with one of our new Thai friends. We were able to talk with her for almost two straight hours about the gospel and why we have decided to follow Christ. It was amazing! She asked me what I thought would happen when the world ended, and I told her that every knee would bow and everyone would praise our King Jesus. I got chills telling her that this meant her, too.
God is moving, and I am learning to trust Him in a way I never have before. Please pray that the Lord continues to stir in the hearts of the Thais. Pray that our team makes the most of every moment here since we only have a few weeks left. Thank you for your prayers and support. I love you all!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Adoption
For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
Romans 8:14-17
Friday morning we all went to the orphanage and spent some time with the children. As soon as we stepped into the building tears began to fill my eyes at the number of orphaned children. I guess I've never given much thought to orphans because we hear about it much less in America, but the reality and the tragedy of their situation really hit me. I just kept thinking most of them will grow up never knowing a mother or father. They will never have someone special teaching them, congratulating them, comforting them, even disciplining them. In fact, some of those children do not even have the option of being adopted because they were simply left rather than signed over, so the orphanage cannot legally give them over for adoption.
All of the children, even those who looked less than two years old, were sitting at tables eating their breakfast. Some of them looked like they weighed less than ten pounds, and several of them were covered in chicken pox and bug bites. After they all finished eating, they moved outside to play. I saw one little girl, probably about five years old, standing by herself. I walked over to her and said hello and asked her name in Thai. She didn't answer, but she turned around and reached up for me to hold her. I lifted her and she wrapped her arms and legs around me in the tightest, sweetest hug anyone has ever given me. We laughed and played the rest of the time I was there, and she wouldn't leave my side. This situation was about the same for each team member there. We all had a sweet little friend holding our hand or hugging our neck, not wanting to leave our side. In fact, when we left almost all of the children began crying, some screaming, and a few tried to follow us out.
Honestly, I battled with this situation for a couple of days after we left asking God why He would bring those children into the world for them to grow up in such a lost, empty way. Then I realized, we were just like those children. We were lost and abandoned. We had no hope of anything greater. We were dead in our sins. But God, by His mercy, raised us up and rescued us from death. We, like those orphans, were stuck in our hopelessness. Praise be to God that He has saved us from darkness. He has adopted us and made us His own children. We are now brothers and sisters with the one and only King, Christ Jesus. This is amazing! The King of the entire universe looks at us as His own children. I am rejoicing at how sweet the Lord is, that He has given us hope and has freed us from the bondage of sin!
Romans 8:14-17
Friday morning we all went to the orphanage and spent some time with the children. As soon as we stepped into the building tears began to fill my eyes at the number of orphaned children. I guess I've never given much thought to orphans because we hear about it much less in America, but the reality and the tragedy of their situation really hit me. I just kept thinking most of them will grow up never knowing a mother or father. They will never have someone special teaching them, congratulating them, comforting them, even disciplining them. In fact, some of those children do not even have the option of being adopted because they were simply left rather than signed over, so the orphanage cannot legally give them over for adoption.
All of the children, even those who looked less than two years old, were sitting at tables eating their breakfast. Some of them looked like they weighed less than ten pounds, and several of them were covered in chicken pox and bug bites. After they all finished eating, they moved outside to play. I saw one little girl, probably about five years old, standing by herself. I walked over to her and said hello and asked her name in Thai. She didn't answer, but she turned around and reached up for me to hold her. I lifted her and she wrapped her arms and legs around me in the tightest, sweetest hug anyone has ever given me. We laughed and played the rest of the time I was there, and she wouldn't leave my side. This situation was about the same for each team member there. We all had a sweet little friend holding our hand or hugging our neck, not wanting to leave our side. In fact, when we left almost all of the children began crying, some screaming, and a few tried to follow us out.
Honestly, I battled with this situation for a couple of days after we left asking God why He would bring those children into the world for them to grow up in such a lost, empty way. Then I realized, we were just like those children. We were lost and abandoned. We had no hope of anything greater. We were dead in our sins. But God, by His mercy, raised us up and rescued us from death. We, like those orphans, were stuck in our hopelessness. Praise be to God that He has saved us from darkness. He has adopted us and made us His own children. We are now brothers and sisters with the one and only King, Christ Jesus. This is amazing! The King of the entire universe looks at us as His own children. I am rejoicing at how sweet the Lord is, that He has given us hope and has freed us from the bondage of sin!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)