Being the Sweet Southern Woman that I am, I know hospitality. I have grown up seeing the generosity and hospitality of my parents, my family, my friends, and my community and learning how to show that to others. However, last month I learned the Thai way, as they showered me and my team with generosity.
There were few places we went last month where we were not treated like honored guests. We visited schools, attended a funeral, visited prisoners, and experienced the generosity of our hosts. Each place that we visited we were met with the warmest of welcomes.
We were fed, clothed, and loved. I felt like I was being blessed more than I was blessing, at times. On the race we are always on the move. It’s fine, this is what I signed up for, but God has been so faithful in providing people to bless us when we are worn and weary. At this point we’ve been wearing the same 5 or so shirts and pants for the last 175 days, and when we arrived to our ministry site in Thailand we found new-to-us clothes waiting for us in the closet. We also found post-its throughout our room reminding us who we are and that we are beautiful and chosen. I will say, after 5 months and 5 countries, it was a beautiful “Welcome to Asia”.
Toward the end of our time in Thailand our host became aware of mine and Ashley’s need for financial support, as both of us were (and are) still a few thousand dollars away from meeting our final financial goal. One morning God spoke to me about generosity and what it looks liked to be generous. It is about your heart. After I finished reading it we joined in worship with the YWAM staff, and one of the men, Mongkhon, expressed that he didn’t have much, but wanted to donate to Ashley. I started to tear up. It was so beautiful. God reminded me of the widow at the temple.
Just then he looked up and saw the rich people dropping offerings in the collection plate. Then he saw a poor widow put in two pennies. He said, “The plain truth is that this widow has given by far the largest offering today. All these others made offerings that they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford-she gave her all!” Luke 21:1-4 (MSG)
It’s not about how much you have, it’s about giving your all. I’m continuing to learn what being truly generous looks like, and trusting God with all of me so that I can generously pour out His love to everyone He puts in my path.
Thank you for those of you who have generously given of you time and money to pray for me and donate to get and keep me on the field. I am so grateful for y’all!
