Written on October 28th, 2015
Hey y’all,
This past week our squad had our 1st debrief in Pattaya, Thailand. It was a great to catch up with friends and relax in a new place. Pattaya is a beach town and a huge tourist destination. It has many relaxing islands just off the coast with beautiful views of mountains meeting the sea, but Pattaya is also notorious for something much more sinister. The town is one of the largest human trafficking hubs in the world, and tourists come there knowing that. Thousands upon thousands of women, many of which are very young, become trapped in prostitution for the remainder of their lives. It is so hard to stomach what one sees when walking the streets of Pattaya at night. So much brokenness amongst those being trafficked and those buying into the trafficking. Please play for the city of Pattaya. Pray that the Lord would make His presence known there and would be a beacon of hope in a place that needs it so desperately.
I learned a lot about being in the presence of the Lord this week through hearing the wisdom of others and spending time in the Word. A huge thing I have learned about it is that in order to be in the presence of the Lord and experience His power, you actually have to be willing to step into His presence. In 1 Kings 19, Elijah is fleeing from Jezebel because Jezebel wants to kill him. Elijah is spending the night in a cave and that is when the cool stuff starts to happen. Verses 11 and 12 say this: “The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire came a gentle whisper.” This beautiful, gentle whisper is where the Lord begins to speak to Elijah. I am realizing how important it is to take advantage of the times where the Lord says to me, “Go be in my presence, for I am about to pass by”. That is when God has something that He needs me to hear. That is when God calls me to run with the horses. I am trying to prepare myself for these moments so when the Lord needs me I can say “Here I am”.
It was so great to see everyone at debrief and catch up on things that we have been struggling with and celebrating. It was especially great to hear from the other team leaders and be encouraged by them. I got to have awesome conversations with some people that I never expected to as well as more great conversations with the people I have already connected with. It was such a refreshing week. I got to skate right next to a beach in Thailand and I grew a mustache.
Finishing up things at the Farm now. I head back to Bangkok on the 6th of November and then to Cambodia the next day. Really wanting to finish strong out here both with our ministry and as a team. This place has been so good to us.
Special shout out to Austin Stapleton and James Sielatycki. You guys rule.
Jack Sentz
