The hardest part about leaving Thailand was saying goodbye to all the friends we had made. However, we spent our last few weeks in Thailand making the most of the time we had left with the people we love dearly. It was a bittersweet time, but God was so faithful and His fingerprints can be seen in every moment.
We have some really deep connections with the students from Myanmar, so we spent a lot of time with them, enjoying our final moments and hosting fun activities. We had a ramen night where we bought a bunch of different kinds of ramen and cooked them for everyone to try. It was so much fun, and we sent them home with all the extra food. The conversation over the dinner table was soo good. We have gotten to the point where we can have deep conversations naturally, which is such a beautiful thing. After dinner we stayed up late playing a bunch of games, laughing, and having fun. There was a heaviness with the reality that our team would be leaving soon, and many of them expressed feelings of deep sadness, lonliness, and even depression with our impending absence. Our team decided to be intentional about connecting them with Gary and the Myanmar family working with A.I.A., and ultimately pointing them towards Jesus. We hosted another dinner where we invited the Myanmar students, family, and Gary. Our house was full of people, good food, laughter, and joy. The students stayed late playing games with us again and they even joined our trip to 7 eleven. We walked them back to their dorm, and Maja and I ended up talking with a few of them extremely late, but it was so worth it. The conversation was between 2 Christians, 2 Muslims, and a Buddhist. We spent most of the time just listening to them, but we really got to hear their hearts and what they believe. I could tell they weren't used to people respecting or even showing an interest in what they believe, so it was cool to be different and to be a light in that way. What was even cooler was then watching Maja share the truth of the Gospel to each one of them in a way that resonated with their story. It was beautiful. Before we called it a night, we invited them to church the next morning (even though it was in only a few hours). I had no expectations of them actually coming, but they did! I was blown away. That being said, I will miss them all dearly, and I will remember all the wild adventures and funny moments we had together.
Please be praying for the Myanmar students - Pray that the lonliness they feel will lead them to Jesus and they will know they are never alone, because the God of the universe loves them, wants a relationship with them, and will never leave them.
We continued to serve at Hang Dong High School pouring into the students and faculty. I loved the time we would spend at the school teaching English but also just hanging out with students who weren't busy. I had so much fun playing games and talking with the students, but my favorite thing was how God never failed to give us opportunities to share the Gospel. God also opened a huge door at the school for the beginnings of a Christian club. There are currently six students interested in joining the club. Praise God!
Please pray that the club will be approved by the faculty.
Also, pray that God would raise up good leaders.
Pray that the club would embolden the Christian students to share their faith with their friends.
One of the harder goodbyes was with P'Sao, P'Cee, P'Sam, Thara, and Nawa. We spent a lot of time serving alongside them and they became family to us. They took care of us and helped us in so many ways, including breaking me out of the hospital. It was such a blessing to see them serving the Lord and to get a glimpse of how they live out their faith. They truly rely on the Lord to provide for their everyday needs, which is something not many people in America have to do. They taught me so many things, but especially to take time to reflect on what God is doing each and every day and to thank Him for it. I am beyond blessed to know them and will miss them dearly.
Please pray for their financial needs. It is difficult to fundraise in Thailand but necessary for full time ministry.
If you feel called to financially help them you can donate to their ministry through P'Sao's give link: https://give.cru.org/2400712?fbclid=IwY2xjawGVpHlleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHYSW_UojXboDKrUWakhpTm3yfgO6TfojsKzYueIcKP5YqtZYaAB6jQ-blA_aem_2FwuVvauFE9A566whIolqg
Another hard goodbye was with P'Thap. By the end of our time in Thailand, we were spending so much time with him, and we would invite him to the different places we were serving. We only knew him for three months, but we saw him grow so much during that time. His hunger for the Lord and the Word of God grew immensely and was extremely encouraging for me to witness. He has a huge heart to serve others, and we got to see him selflessly serving those around him. It didn't matter how tired he was or if he was busy, he was always willing to drop what he was doing to help others. He truly embodied the heart of a servant leader and that is something I want to remember and replicate in my life. A cool story from Tha Phae Gate about him: We had brought him to Tha Phae Gate a few times, and one of the times we asked him to help us share the gospel using the athlete four bracelets. He hadn't shared the gospel with the bracelets before so we translated the meanings for him to look over. I then watched him dilligently pacing back and forth for about 30 minutes memorizing how to share. He then came with us and shared it with a few girls. It was the coolest thing ever to watch him share with the girls, and it was such a blessing to have someone that could communicate the gospel in their heart language. His obedience and dedication to the Lord was amazing to be around. Near the end of our time, he even expressed a desire for full time ministry, but his family was not supportive. I am excited to see how the Lord will work in and through him. He is a blessing to so many people and will continue to bless others the Lord brings into his life.
Please pray that he would continue to grow in his faith.
Also pray that the Lord would open up opportunities for him to serve in full time ministry, and that his family would be supportive of him.
We wrapped up our time at the Hosea Center and the School of Promise. One of the last weeks teaching at the school, we talked about humility and focused on Jesus as the ultimate example of humility. As a part of the lesson, we took turns demonstrating for each class how Jesus humbly washed the feet of his disciples. In Thai culture, feet are seen as lowly and dirty, just like in Jesus' time. It was a powerful time where we actively got to live out and follow Jesus' example for the students. In two of the classes, a few students were even bold enough to wash eachother's feet, which was really cool to witness. It was sad to say goobye to the kids as well as Chris and his family. I learned so much from our time with Chris, and he always took the time to pour into us. I loved his advice regarding full time ministry and missions, and have really made an effort to take it to heart. He encouraged us to listen to God and His plan for our lives and to not give in to the pressures of this world or what people around us think we should be doing. In the final weeks, we got to witness the baptism of three students we had worked with - one of them had accepted Christ during the first few weeks we were in Thailand. It was a full circle moment, and it was such a blessing to be able to witness the transformation of that student.
Please pray for Chris and his family - especially for his wife who is battling cancer.
Please pray for the students - that they would continue to pursue the Lord and not be discouraged by their families or culture.
Please pray for three of the girls from the Hosea Center. They are trying to purchase Thai citizenship, so they can get a job when they graduate from highschool. There has been mention of a go fund me, but it hasn't been started yet. I will definitely add it to my blog when it does.
We took Addison to the airport the night before we left Thailand and said goodbye to her. I am so thankful for her and all the sacrifices she made to lead us on the gap year. The gap year would not have been possible without her, and she poured into our team so faithfully. Also, she braved the Thailand roads in an old stickshift car which is extremely impressive. We had the sweetest send off at the airport. All of the A.I.A. staff came to see us off, including P'Thap and P'Min. The Myanmar kids also made the trip to the airport to say goodbye. We had a little bit of trouble getting checked in, they almost didn't let us because we needed a flight out of Croatia. Thankfully, we have a flight to Belgium for some ministry we will be doing there, and they finally let us check in. Because of the delay, we then had to rush to our flight. We said goodbye to everyone with tears in our eyes and an ache in our heart for the people we love so dearly.
Please pray for Addison to adjust back to life in the U.S. well, as it is a big cultural adjustment, and for her to stay healthy.
We arrived safely in Croatia early in the morning on February 16th. We met Leanne, our amazing leader for Croatia. We have been spending the last two weeks getting to know the city and the team we will be working with. We have learned how to use public transportation to get around and where the main places we will be working in. We have also been getting used to living in a small but cozy apartment, which is in a really good location and such a blessing. We also took a quick trip to Italy to see Venice and Verona which were absolutely beautiful. So far, what we'll be doing here is building relationships with students at the University of Zagreb, inviting them to ministry events, and sharing the gospel with them. In about a week, a team from the U.S. is coming, and we will be working alongside them. That week will have a bunch of outreach events, and then in the weeks to follow we will be doing follow up meetings with students that are interested.
Please pray for our team to stay healthy. It has been a bit of a struggle with the cold weather and with many sicknesses that are going around. Also for good rest, which continues to be a struggle.
Please pray for safe travels for the team from America.
Pray for the outreaches to go well and for students to hear and understand the truth of the Gospel.
Pray that we can meet and connect with students well, and that we will have good opportunities to share our faith with them.
Hebrews 12:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perserverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
A verse that was in my quiet time with the Lord and on my heart recently. With the challenge of adjusting to a new culture and the stresses and difficulties that comes with that, it has been really easy for me to be distracted by the things around me. This has led to a lot of insecurities and worries about our time here and my identity to creep in. However, I have been reminded to fix my eyes on Jesus. My identity and purpose is found in Him alone, and He is the one who sustains me. The things of this earth are temporary; they will pass away, and are undeserving of my attention and worries. I encourage you to take your eyes off of the things of this world and fix your eyes on Jesus. The worries of this life fade when we realize we know the one who is in control.
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