Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139:14
Society. It tells us men and women we aren’t beautiful enough, strong enough, too skinny, or too wide. Then, it goes on to tell us that we’re too white and need a tan or too dark and need to bleach our skin to fit in. Seems like we can’t ever win. No matter how hard we try in the eyes of our society we will never be enough. It happens in the States and it happens in Asia. Specifically, a small local school in Phuket,Thailand with a 13-year-old girl. Let me continue and share our encounter.
Jee Jee. Her radiant and joyful spirit shined through the classroom during English Camp. Fixed on classwork and assignments yet, filled with lies from the things society have told her. As I sat next to Jee Jee and her peers, I noticed an abnormal yellow tint to the palm of her hands. After researching and digging through questions I was told this yellow tint came from a “medicine” that was applied once a week to the skin. A “medicine” that would make your skin color appear lighter. My friend, 13-year-old Jee Jee was using this. A bleaching treatment. In Asia, having dark skin is looked down upon. To look anything like a westerner is the goal and anyone that could achieve that is highly esteemed. Being told that my friend was bleaching her skin broke my heart. This girl was so beautiful and had so much love from her Heavenly Father. There was absolutely no need to ever do this to appear anything else then what she was. I had further conversations with her and tried to explain that she was beautiful in the eyes of God because HE created her. As she sat and listened, I wrote on her journal a little message of encouragement along with the passage from John 3:16. As I wrote that, she immediately took out her Thai NT bible and searched the pages for the verse I had just given her!! As I stood there in amazement I noticed a small pair of earrings with a cross and then realized, SHE’S A CHRISTIAN. All her other friends are Buddhist and looked confused to what was going on but, she knew. Jesus was telling her even more- YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL AND YOU ARE LOVED. As soon as she finished the passage, she looked up and smiled to write next to my message: Phayesoo which means Jesus in Thai. Now I know that Phayesoo rak kun is Jesus loves you! The Lord used my curiosity and questions to encourage a fellow sister in Christ that needed to hear that she is fearfully and wonderfully made. Whether she never bleaches her skin again or does it until she has the desired look, I believe that through that small encounter God will move in more ways than we could imagine. There was no coincidence in the simple act of encouragement and love on a young Thai student. God knew who she was; His beloved daughter.
In that, the question remains- to be light or to be dark? My answer, to be who God created YOU to be. An encouragement for those that read this, you are made just the way God created you to be. Whatever that looks like. Don’t let the lies of society say anything different! You are loved!
Here are some pictures from our English Camp!
Jee Jee and I 🙂
Our students!
Fundraising update:
Thank you for the generosity and support each one of you has bestowed on me. I am so undeserving of your support yet incredibly blessed to know that God is still working on my fundraising and will complete His promise! God is so good! May the Lord bless you abundantly!
HAVE RAISED: $13,887
NEED TO BE FULLY FUNDED: $2,674
** My thoughts on having about 2600 left to raise… WHAT?! HOW?! GOD?! WOW. THANK YOU! <3
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