My first couple weeks in Thailand were spent near Phuket in a small village on the water called Thatchachai. My team worked with a missionary couple from California that started a church in the village. Most of the congregation was made up of children (though there are adults as well!) who come to church without their parents, because they believe in Jesus, and their parents believe in Buddha. The kids come on Sundays and Wednesday evenings to worship, really study the Bible, and share a meal. While we were there, we helped with weed whacking, did prayer walks, played with the kids at church, painted the inside of the church, and shared our testimonies with the congregation. We even went to part of a Thai funeral service to pray and encourage the family (I say part because funerals last up to seven days, all day and night in Thailand).
After a few weeks, I left the village and headed to Chiang Mai where we had the Parent Vision Trip! The PVT was something I really had no idea how to prepare myself for:
What will it be like having my mom there? Will she like it or hate it? Gosh, it has been SO long since I’ve seen her. Will she think I’m different? What about ministry? What about doing ministry with my MOM?I can’t believe they asked me to head up worship this whole week! What a privilege! …..oh gosh, what a responsibility….no pressure though, right? It is all about Jesus, not about me. I really hope my mom has to use a squatty potty or something, and maybe eat a bug. Ohmygosssshhhh I forgot I never told her about my TATTOO! Crudddd.
In all honesty, the PVT was fantastic. Seeing my mom again was so exciting. We did bar ministry and loved on and prayed for people in sex trafficking, talked with monks and shared the love of Christ with kids in the slums of Chiang Mai. We met together each day for prayer and worship. As nervous as I was prior to leading worship with Will and Carrie for the week, it was incredible. Leading worship in a setting where I was free to follow the promptings of Holy Spirit, speak and encourage others, and really just allow myself to enter into His presence and not care about what anyone else thinks was, well, freeing. God is constantly reminding me that it is all about Him…not others, and certainly not me.
My mom and I rode elephants together, explored the night markets, went and got a massage,did that fish pedicure thing (which was CRAAAZZYYY) and just enjoyed being around each other. The night before my mom left, she wrote out a blessing for me and read it to me at a restaurant. It was such a sweet moment.
(YES….this is how much I enjoyed the fish pedicure!)
After PVT, we traveled to Huo Hin for our month 8 debrief, where I celebrated my 22nd birthday! Just three weeks before, not knowing anything about our debrief location, someone asked me how I would choose to spend my birthday if I had a choice. My answer: “I would be on the beach. I would play in the water, relax in the sun, and eat melted Oreos. I would listen to the ocean, feel the breeze, and enjoy the presence of God.” When I found out Huo Hin was a beach town, I was beside myself. A group went to the beach on my birthday. We had a blast playing in the water, and laying in the sun, and then my new teammate Cori handed me an Oreo. My old team leader Micah paid for me to ride a horse on the beach! Then that night, a group of my friends treated me to a wonderful dinner at an Italian restaurant they found!
My birthday wasn’t about all the love I received from people, it was all about how much my Creator loves me, and how much I love Him back. All day, I was reminded of how much my God loves me. He romanced me with sweet gifts, and whispered His love in every moment. I know He was celebrating creating me, and I was celebrating that He created me just so I could know and love Him. It was beautiful.
The next night, we worshipped on the beach, and then my squad mates Jeff and Kim T. were baptized right there in the Gulf of Thailand! After they were baptized, Kimberly and Matt (who were baptizing) opened it up to the rest of the squad to be baptized, whether it was your first time, or a rededication. My heart started pounding, and I knew that the Lord wanted me to be re-baptized. God reminded me of all of the guilt, shame, unforgiveness, bitterness, self-hatred, insecurity, and anger I had been set free from since I was first baptized around the time of my 20th birthday. He confirmed that I had started walking in my true identity in Christ. God had made me new, and He wanted me to recognize it. I was so nervous that it took God speaking to one of my squad leaders, who then came and encouraged me, to actually speak up, but I was so glad that I did. So, that night, I was baptized on a beach in a primarily Buddhist country, surrounded by God’s beauty, and I was reminded of the newness I am blessed to walk in every moment of every day.
Gosh, Jesus is good. So…so good, and so…so beautiful. And I am new.
