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!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
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!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
More Pictures
The temple we visited
The team and some Thais outside of the temple
A child paying merit
Thais bowing to the idols
Inside the temple
The baptism service at the church
The twelve new Christians being baptized!
Aw's father, who is over 70 years old, getting baptized!
A student being baptized by the preacher
Arm after being baptized!
A freshy Thai tradition, Wan Wai Cru
The finished product of the Biology major's Wan Wai Cru
Some of our sweet new friends!
A visit to the walking night market
Some of the Vietnamese food we ate
What appetizing food the Vietnamese have
My beautiful friend Fi comes to church every Sunday
Our first spotting of an elephant!
Everyone's favorite ride, the carryboy!
Our whole team went bowling (I got the third lowest score)
Saturday, June 18, 2011
God is so good
Last weekend, our team made a trip to the largest Buddhist temple in Khon Kaen. The temple was absolutely beautiful covered in gold and ornate paintings on all nine floors. The nine floors represent the nine levels of heaven that Buddhists believe in. With each new level, the room gets smaller, until the ninth floor where there is barely any room. This reduction of size symbolizes the Buddhists' desire to achieve nirvana, or feeling absolutely nothing.
Watching as people placed money in machines to get their future or bowed down to golden idols for good merit was heartbreaking, but it truly opened up my eyes to their need to hear the gospel. This is so different from America where people hear but simply choose not to believe. Thais are born Buddhist and grow up as Buddhist. It is not a religion to them. In fact, after many conversations with girls here, it doesn't even seem like a decision to them. Buddhism is their life. And that's that. They do not think about who made the heavens and the earth. They do not think about where they will go when they die. They have no one who says how much good is good enough. They live their entire lives trying to do enough good works to be perfect to get to their heaven. Did you catch that? They're trying to attain perfection.
This past week our team was able to have several gospel conversations, and we are meeting more and more people every day. God has been so faithful to open doors for us to meet people and to start having those deeper, more meaningful conversations. Tomorrow we are having the Baptism service at our church, and many of us have invited Thai non-believers to come see. This service can have a great impact on non-believers, not to mention the mere fact that they will be around the loving body of Christ.
Please pray for us as we continue to labor in conversations of broken "Tenglish" and beg the Lord to open their eyes. He is the God of this city, and He is doing amazing, undeniable things here. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. I am so blessed to be a part of this.
Watching as people placed money in machines to get their future or bowed down to golden idols for good merit was heartbreaking, but it truly opened up my eyes to their need to hear the gospel. This is so different from America where people hear but simply choose not to believe. Thais are born Buddhist and grow up as Buddhist. It is not a religion to them. In fact, after many conversations with girls here, it doesn't even seem like a decision to them. Buddhism is their life. And that's that. They do not think about who made the heavens and the earth. They do not think about where they will go when they die. They have no one who says how much good is good enough. They live their entire lives trying to do enough good works to be perfect to get to their heaven. Did you catch that? They're trying to attain perfection.
This past week our team was able to have several gospel conversations, and we are meeting more and more people every day. God has been so faithful to open doors for us to meet people and to start having those deeper, more meaningful conversations. Tomorrow we are having the Baptism service at our church, and many of us have invited Thai non-believers to come see. This service can have a great impact on non-believers, not to mention the mere fact that they will be around the loving body of Christ.
Please pray for us as we continue to labor in conversations of broken "Tenglish" and beg the Lord to open their eyes. He is the God of this city, and He is doing amazing, undeniable things here. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. I am so blessed to be a part of this.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Update
Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well back in the States! Here is a video of each of my team members with their ministry partners talking a bit about what the Lord has taught us while we've been here. More to come soon!!
CCP Thailand: Team Update Week 3 from Matt & Erin Francisco on Vimeo.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Podcast 1
This is just a short little podcast with my ministry partner, Christine. We thought we would share what we're doing, some funny stories, and a few prayer requests. If you have ten minutes to spare, listen!
..
..
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Two Weeks
Today marks exactly two weeks that our team has been together, and no one has killed anyone yet! Just kidding...but really, it has been a blessing how well we all have gotten along. Inevitably there will eventually be conflict and tension, but we know it will only allow us to grow stronger in our dependence on the Lord and love each other even more deeply.
This morning we were able to pray together for the Summer Beach Project and thank the Lord for His faithfulness there. We also listened to a sermon by Ben Stuart about Mark 1 and 2. Praise the Lord for sending His son to us and for His authority on earth. We have been chosen by grace!
Here are some pictures about the past two weeks...
The team at the Birmingham Airport
Prep for our 21 hour plane ride
Markets are everywhere!
Ngoh, looks like a big grape on the inside
My sweet ministry team at the night market!
Worship time at church
A ride in the Sung Tao
Motorcycles are the main transportation
My first ride on a motorcycle with Bo!
Chicken blood...yes, they eat this.
Our team plus some COT staff at the temple
This morning we were able to pray together for the Summer Beach Project and thank the Lord for His faithfulness there. We also listened to a sermon by Ben Stuart about Mark 1 and 2. Praise the Lord for sending His son to us and for His authority on earth. We have been chosen by grace!
Here are some pictures about the past two weeks...
The team at the Birmingham Airport
Prep for our 21 hour plane ride
Markets are everywhere!
Ngoh, looks like a big grape on the inside
My sweet ministry team at the night market!
Worship time at church
A ride in the Sung Tao
Motorcycles are the main transportation
My first ride on a motorcycle with Bo!
Chicken blood...yes, they eat this.
Our team plus some COT staff at the temple
Contact Me!
Skype: lrstubbs22
My address:
Campus Outreach
Attn: Laura Stubbs
PO Box 6 KKU
Amphur Muang, Khonkaen 40002
Thailand
My address:
Campus Outreach
Attn: Laura Stubbs
PO Box 6 KKU
Amphur Muang, Khonkaen 40002
Thailand
King Cobra Village
Team Trip - King Cobra Village from Matt & Erin Francisco on Vimeo.'>http://
Team Trip - King Cobra Village from Matt & Erin Francisco on Vimeo.
This is a video Matt put together about our visit to see the cobras. Thought y'all might enjoy it.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Ministry
Up until now, I haven't said very much about ministry. Most of the people we meet can speak some English, so we don't want anyone to read our blogs and think of themselves as "a project" or anything less than a friend. That being said, most prayer requests will be general. I hope you will read my blog and continue to support me. Prayer is vital for what we are doing here, and I appreciate your support so much!
One person who you can specifically pray for is Bo. Bo graduated from KKU and has now been on staff at Campus Outreach for one year. Christine Black, a student from UNA, Bo, and I are on a ministry team. Together we go out and meet new people. Bo speaks English so well and has been an amazing leader for us! Bo needs continued strength and endurance from the Lord to go out each day and meet students. Bo also disciples five different Thai girls here who recently became Christians. Pray that the Lord gives her wisdom in teaching and guiding these girls to produce even more fruit. Also, you can ask the Lord to continue opening doors to meet new people and to continue showing us opportunities to build relationships with students we have already met. Korp Khun Ka!
One person who you can specifically pray for is Bo. Bo graduated from KKU and has now been on staff at Campus Outreach for one year. Christine Black, a student from UNA, Bo, and I are on a ministry team. Together we go out and meet new people. Bo speaks English so well and has been an amazing leader for us! Bo needs continued strength and endurance from the Lord to go out each day and meet students. Bo also disciples five different Thai girls here who recently became Christians. Pray that the Lord gives her wisdom in teaching and guiding these girls to produce even more fruit. Also, you can ask the Lord to continue opening doors to meet new people and to continue showing us opportunities to build relationships with students we have already met. Korp Khun Ka!
Friday, June 3, 2011
First Time for Everything
I finally got to try out Thai karaoke! It was so much fun but very different from American karaoke. Here you pay outside then you are led to a private room filled with couches, a huge powerpoint screen for the songs, and a computer filled with both Thai and English tunes. Our room also had some interesting wigs and a tambourine. It was such a fun night, singing songs with people on my team and listening to the Thais sing their songs.
I also had my first ride on a motorcycle! Actually I've now ridden several different motorcycles multiple times. So fast, so breezy, so fun...a little scary. I've gotten to do a lot of other fun things for the first time too. Took a walk down the streets of Khon Kaen (nearly deadly), tried some new Thai dishes (mostly delicious), played in the Thai monsoon, learned a Thai song, and learned a Thai card game.
All fun aside, God is revealing Himself to me each day, teaching me new things, and showing me how to love others as Christ loves us. Today was an amazing day; we were able to meet twelve new girls! I can't wait to meet even more girls and get to know them even better. Please pray the Lord continues to open doors to meet new people and to build relationships. Also, ask the Lord to keep us safe tomorrow. We're going to see some dancing cobras!
I also had my first ride on a motorcycle! Actually I've now ridden several different motorcycles multiple times. So fast, so breezy, so fun...a little scary. I've gotten to do a lot of other fun things for the first time too. Took a walk down the streets of Khon Kaen (nearly deadly), tried some new Thai dishes (mostly delicious), played in the Thai monsoon, learned a Thai song, and learned a Thai card game.
All fun aside, God is revealing Himself to me each day, teaching me new things, and showing me how to love others as Christ loves us. Today was an amazing day; we were able to meet twelve new girls! I can't wait to meet even more girls and get to know them even better. Please pray the Lord continues to open doors to meet new people and to build relationships. Also, ask the Lord to keep us safe tomorrow. We're going to see some dancing cobras!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
A Different World
Today has been a great day! This morning our team met at the church for reflection time and prayer. I really am so blessed to be a part of such an amazing team full of different personalities and gifts, and I am truly thankful that God allowed each one of us to be a part of this mission throughout Khon Kaen.
At lunch, we were able to meet four different girls, two of which spoke great English. PTL! We talked about everything under the sun from school to family, badminton to karaoke. Two things I've found girls here love: badminton and karaoke. I'm hoping we'll get to join them soon in some karaoke. I've already tried my hand at badminton, and, if you know me, you already know it didn't go so well. To top it all off, we all went to Mister Lee's to get some ice cream. Absolutely delicious, or, as they say, arroy!
Not sure yet about tonight's plans, but we'll probably visit the night market which seems pretty similar to New York's Chinatown. Pretty overwhelming...and hot. Not a humid heat like we're used to, but a dry heat as if we're just degress above the equator. Oh wait, we are. This country is so different from America. The streets are narrow and people drive not only on the opposite side of the car but also on the opposite side of the road. Most drive motorcycles, usually fast. Traffic lights are rare, but outdoor markets are common. Dogs and cats are not found within the home, rather wandering the streets as strays. They use neither toliet paper nor shower curtains. Cheese (my favorite food) is not in any of their dishes; however, rice comes with almost every meal. Last, almost anything with corn or bread is considered a dessert. Despite all these differences, I am loving it here and enjoying learning all about their culture. This is going to be such a great summer!
At lunch, we were able to meet four different girls, two of which spoke great English. PTL! We talked about everything under the sun from school to family, badminton to karaoke. Two things I've found girls here love: badminton and karaoke. I'm hoping we'll get to join them soon in some karaoke. I've already tried my hand at badminton, and, if you know me, you already know it didn't go so well. To top it all off, we all went to Mister Lee's to get some ice cream. Absolutely delicious, or, as they say, arroy!
Not sure yet about tonight's plans, but we'll probably visit the night market which seems pretty similar to New York's Chinatown. Pretty overwhelming...and hot. Not a humid heat like we're used to, but a dry heat as if we're just degress above the equator. Oh wait, we are. This country is so different from America. The streets are narrow and people drive not only on the opposite side of the car but also on the opposite side of the road. Most drive motorcycles, usually fast. Traffic lights are rare, but outdoor markets are common. Dogs and cats are not found within the home, rather wandering the streets as strays. They use neither toliet paper nor shower curtains. Cheese (my favorite food) is not in any of their dishes; however, rice comes with almost every meal. Last, almost anything with corn or bread is considered a dessert. Despite all these differences, I am loving it here and enjoying learning all about their culture. This is going to be such a great summer!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)