Ae thought

 I fell in love, yes, completely and totally in love. This has happened several times since being on this trip. I pour out my heart and God allows me to fall in love. It’s a beautiful and wonderful feeling. This time I feel madly in love with a variety of women. One woman in particular is Ae. She is a beautiful woman who came out of the bar scene the month before my team arrived. She came out when another one of our world race teams was in Phuket. I finally was able to meet her on our 2^nd or 3^rd day of being at SHE. I had a girl from the bars, Jum, come and visit SHE. Jum was ready to go when I saw Ae. I began talking to her and she started talking to Jum and telling her how long she had been there and why she came out of the bars. It was truly a blessing from God. After that, she and I became very close. At first we really didn’t know what to say to one another. Our love grew by simply laying on the couch together or cuddling in the bed. She would ask me questions about my family and about being a Christian. I would get to share with her the love I have for my family and mostly the love I have for Christ. We bonded and would shop together. She always held my hand and I can’t count how many hugs and kisses I received throughout the day from her. I baked cookies with her every morning and truly just enjoyed her. Our love continued to grow. She accepted Christ and a few days later was baptized. I love Ae. She brings me hope. She’s growing in her faith. Within a matter of days she accepted Christ as her savior, was water baptized, and also cut off her buddha bracelets. I realized there are several reason I am so in love with her and with all the women I met. I look at these women and the realization that any one of us could be one of them hits. If God had allowed me to born in another place at another time, for whatever reason, they could be me. I think about who I was in my past. Before I decided to give all of myself to God, I remember hanging out at the bars, drinking, acting foolishly. I remember being so lost and not realizing how I was slowly slipping away. I look again at them and I realize how they too did not realize how they were slipping away. I think about all the women I have met and how it’s only by God’s grace and by His mercy, that so many of us did not take a route that would end us up in a similar situation. I think sometimes we see what happens overseas and we do not realize that it is happening in our own backyards, in our own cities and communities. We want to do so much for those overseas but we forget that there are similar problems at home. I am so grateful for what God is doing in my life, for what He has already done and for what I know He is going to do. I am so grateful for what He is doing in the lives of all of the people I had the privilege and honor of meeting over the last month. I am truly grateful.