These were the other two defining moments for me this month.
In Phang Nga & Phuket there is a Vegetarian Festival every year. Despite it’s name, this festival is not entirely about Vegetarianism. It’s also a 1-2 week long time of worshiping various idols and Chinese gods. During this time they perform disturbing religious rituals, including piercings, walking across burning coals, burning themselves with boiling oil, cutting their tongues, etc… Processions are also very common and draw a lot of attention, especially from tourists. Usually this festival takes place in October, but this year it started during our last week in Thailand. We didn’t witness any of the rituals, but drove past several processions, temples, and various businesses preparing for the week’s activities. It was so eye-opening to see and hear about so many evil, ugly things happening in such a beautiful place!
The Friday before the festival began, my team split up into two groups for prayer walking through the main street in Phang Nga where a lot of the processions happen. Tressa, Kevin and I were teamed up and it was so awesome to see how The Lord connected us all that day. At first we didn’t really know exactly what to pray for or about (and I was way out of my element at the time), so we simply asked God to show us the way. It’s crazy how quickly He responds sometimes! Several times we all got the same prompting, would stop, look at each other, and go back to pray for the specific place God had brought to our attention.
There were two instances though, that were just incredible God moments. We stopped when we came across a Chinese temple off in the distance and decided to pray silently and just speak whenever we felt led. After a few minutes I stopped and prayed out loud…and the first words out of my mouth where exactly what Kevin had just been praying silently right before I spoke (and I know I’m no mind-reader, so it was totally a God thing!). The next moment happened shortly after that, when I suddenly got the urge to stop and pray for rain. ((Most of this festival takes place outdoors, so if it’s raining the whole time, it would hinder the preparation & crowd participation.)) By the end of my prayer, the three of us each felt one single drop of rain—God’s way of telling us He’s heard and will answer our prayers! That was by far one of my favorite days this month!
This month we also did a little construction/manual labor work. The rest of my team started the first week, so I missed out on a couple of days work, but for our last couple of days of ministry we went back and I was able to help out. On our last day I got to work on building part of a wall. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing at first, but after a little instruction I finally got the hang of it, and a few hours later had a half-wall built! It was a hot, sweaty day, and I left covered in dirt and cement, but it was one of the most rewarding things I think I’ve ever done. Knowing you actually helped build something that will be around for years to come and will provide shelter to someone in need…words cannot describe the feeling! I wish we could be around to see the whole thing come to fruition, but I’m just thankful for the small part I was able to play.
Thailand is just simply incredible. It has so much beauty to offer; however, I ask that you keep the area of Phang Nga in your prayers this next week as the festival is still going on…and for the festival in years to come. Pray that God’s presence would overpower the dark forces in their lives and that His light would shine brighter than ever. Also pray for spiritual protection for our host family as they are subject to all the festival happenings year after year. I’ll also be writing yet another blog about our host family, their ministry, and all the amazing fun things we got to do with them!
