Well, we’ve pretty
much wrapped up our time in Thailand. We leave tomorrow night for Bangkok, and
head to Cambodia on Wednesday. I am not ready to leave. This has been such an
incredible month, not only one of the best on the race, but one of the best
months in my life. So much has happened, so much experienced and learned about
myself and about others. Here’s a few things I’m taking away from this month:
I
have learned that I am passionate about the Karen people and desire to seem
them free from bondage in Burma and Thailand. What is happening in Burma is an
atrocity, but God is still working. These people still have hope. The elections
went well and the country is taking small steps toward a free democratic
government and eventually will be a place that the displaced Karen in Thailand
and all over the world can return to. It was an honor to spend time at a Karen
refugee camp, a children’s home, and in villages filled with Karen. Your joy
speaks volumes about your character and determination even in the midst of
awful circumstances. Your people have inspired me more than I can put into
words.
I have learned that
there is nothing quite like hanging with the dudes. We were able to be
ourselves and really get to the core of who we are and what makes us men. It’s
not about our manly beards (although we certainly have those), how much
construction we can do, how many waterfalls we can climb, how high the rocks
are that we jump off of. It’s not about who can get the girl. It’s not about
what we can do. It is about being gentle and speaking boldly at the same time.
It’s about feeling free in God’s beautiful creation and learning to walk in
that freedom with each other instead of getting stuck in religion. It’s about
letting down the guards society tells men to have and talking about what’s
real, without fronts, and cutting the crap to get to the source. It’s about
serving another man or letting yourself be served even if you could do it on
your own. It’s about the unity that comes when 12 men let go of our entitlements
and prefer another more than ourselves. Even going at the 100 mph pace that we
were on all month I still just felt so relaxed and at ease – like I could
finally be myself.
I really learned the
power of prayer and of interceding on behalf of others. Our girls have been
working in the bars right in the middle of the sex tourism industry and have
seen some tough things. We spent an evening doing a prayer walk down the bar
street where they are serving and just lifting them up. I firmly believe it
made a difference. We have interacted with Karen refugees and heard stories of
children whose stories are unspeakably bad and you leave with the feeling that
you really can’t do anything right now but pray. And pray we have. In every
situation I have learned to ask for wisdom in how to act and speak and God has
shown up for me. Pray without ceasing is the commandment we are given, and this
has really hit home this month.
I am so pumped about
getting back with my team and riding the momentum from this month into the last
two months of the race in Cambodia and Malaysia. Good things have been happing,
and great things will continue to happen. Keep us in your prayers as we travel
and spend a few days at Angor Wat before heading to our ministries. And enjoy
this video that Jeff made recapping our month of Manistry. I know it’s long,
but it does a great job capturing almost every aspect of the month. Stick with
it and you may get a little bamboo rafting dance action from myself and Nick
Rice. Don’t miss it.
Cheers,
Steven
…And if you didn’t already like bamboo rafting, you do now.
