Out of Thailand and into the Cambodian Jungle!

   When I set off for Thailand one month ago I had no idea what ministry would look like, but I knew that God had something crazy in store for me.  I envisioned partnering with organizations to stop sex-trafficking, holding orphans, and feeding refugees from Burma.  Instead, I have spent the last month doing exactly what I have done for the last four years: campus ministry.

 

   When our team found out that we would be working with university students I’ll admit that our excitement waned.  When we realized that it was difficult to have anything but surface-level conversations with students we became a little discouraged.  For the first week, ministry consisted of smiling awkwardly at students, playing charades, and then handing them a gospel tract in a language we couldn’t read.  It was tough.  We were waiting to be moved, and we were waiting to have an impact.  So, we prayed.

 

   One night, as we were praying, someone knocked on the door of our YWAM base.  He introduced himself as Book, and said that he was the head of the English department at a nearby school.  He asked if we would come teach his students English, and said that in return we could share about Christianity at the end of each class period.

 

   With one-night’s worth of extensive English-instruction training and a bomb lesson plan we set off to the university.  We played games, threw candy, danced like fools, and became ridiculously good at Simon Says.  At the end of each class period, we shared testimonies and talked about Christianity.  The YWAM staff presented the gospel, and were able to form relationships with hundreds of students!  It was a blast!

 

   Apparently the subject-verb agreement game was a little tough!

   On our last day of teaching, Book told us about how his class had just spent months memorizing lines in English for a play in that he had found on Google.  The play just happened to be the Nativity.  Though he and all of the students were Buddhist, he talked about how the class knew about Jesus because of the play.  Awesome!

 

 

   Book presenting our team with the best-teachers-ever award!

 

 

   Our team didn’t play with orphans this month, and we didn’t see anyone miraculously healed.  But, when we got over our desire to see God move, and spent time seeking His face and not His hand, He opened up doors for us.  This month was a great reminder that we didn’t sign up for the World Race to do ministry, but to fix our eyes on Jesus and let Him do whatever He wants to in and through us.

 

   When ministry becomes a burden, it is because we are trying to take over God’s job for Him.  God calls us to focus our gaze on Him, fall in love, and let Him use us to plant seeds.  The gardening is His job.  Isaiah 55:10-11 says,

 

      “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven

            and do not return there but water the earth,

      making it bring forth and sprout,

         giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

      so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth,

         it shall not return to me empty,

      but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

         and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

 

   God brings the rain (cue Mercy Me song), and does all of the work!  And He always accomplishes His purposes.  Our response is not try and do God’s job for Him (because we will fail) but to fix our eyes on Him and enjoy Him.  He grows the fruit!

 

   This month has reminded our team of that truth, and brought us together as family.  We have had a ton of fun eating bugs, practicing our squatting technique, cramming into Tuk Tuk’s, playing with elephants, and consuming unbelievable amounts of pineapple!  One month down, and we are so excited for the next ten!

 

   In just a couple of hours I will be heading out to the Cambodian bush to partner with Teen Challenge.  There will be no internet, one hour a day of electricity, and we will ‘shower’ with collected rainwater!  We will spend the month working with kids and young adults who have been rescued from drug addictions to stay at the Teen Challenge center.  We are so excited to love them and share about Jesus!  Please be praying for the people we will be sharing with, as well as health for our team (several of my teammates have gotten sick over the last few days)!

 

   For your entertainment:

 

   Here is a link to a video my teammate Berdien made recapping this past month:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e09KXYUDfsc&feature=player_embedded