chiang mai, thailand. september 2013.
oh boy, where do i start in on this month? there are so many things i want to tell you about my time in the land of smiles. the thoughts in my head are swirling around all the things i wish i could describe to you in intimate detail, things i probably wouldn't be able to accurately portray even if i was sitting in front of you, and it really makes me wonder how much justice i'll be able to do to this month that has really only just begun.
so i suppose i will start with emmi, our contact this month, founder and runner of lighthouse in action. her ministry is based here in chiang mai, and it's pretty amazing. equally amazing is the light emmi carries herself. she started our first meeting together off by asking us "how many of you have kissed jesus lately??". we stared back blankly like uhhhhh… before she jumped back in and said, "close your eyes! picture yourself running to him, hugging him. now reach up and give him a kiss. men this might be weird for you. but do it anyway. now how do you feel?". how often does that happen?! she is full of light and love and laughter and she is changing the spiritual makeup of chiang mai.
[super old buddhist temple in the city]
i guess i should also mention that part of lighthouse is zion cafe, a coffee shop/restaurant/bakery. oh and by the way we live right above it… meaning pretty much every morning we walk barefoot down the iron-wraught spiral-staircase to the sound of iced lattes and brownie cheesecakes. delicious.
[the one and only zion cafe. we're so spoiled]
also, i rode an elephant. that was cool.
[slightly freaked out with my riding partner joj. our elephant was a sassy pants]
i have a new team (again). team ampersand, team &. boy did God give me a gift with these people. our role in lighthouse's ministry is working in their "love acts" faction. pretty much we spend our time hanging out in the redlight district of chiang mai, either prayer walking the streets during the day or hanging out in the bars at night (don't worry mom, we order sodas only 😉 ). emmi's vision for us is to go into the bars and be light, be jesus with skin on for these bar girls and lady boys and even the johns. we pretty much just try to make friends and have fun. thai people love games, so we order a coke, play some pool or connect 4, ask them about their lives, and expect nothing in return. so far so good.
[team ampersand on our first night together : melissa, kylie, justin, kyle, joey, me, chelsey]
[joey and i, maybe a little lost, on a scavenger hunt around the city, finding all the hot spots, including the red light district, the huge market, and a bunch of temples]
mostly i think i want to tell you that something is different here. i'm not sure if it's the anointing on emmi's ministry, or the special love on my new team, or the amount of time we spend in prayer/worship, or just that it's God's time for me, but something has changed. a veil of sorts has been lifted, and i'm not sure how to describe it outside of that. but i know one thing for sure, i am the most excited i have been this whole race to be where i am, and i have never been more in love with my jesus.
i'll keep you posted on what comes next. i for one cannot wait to see what that will be 🙂
much love from thailand,
julie
*per the usual, i send out my deepest thanks to melissa milroy and kylie fujimoto, without whom i would have absolutely no photo documentation that this year of my life happened.
