January 3, 2015
We are finally in Thailand. It still feels surreal. The jet lag is tough…my eyes are crossing as I type this. However, I am very excited about taking a hot shower and I could freshen up after almost 3 days of travel to arrive here in Chiang Mai.
My parents traveled to San Francisco with me on December 31, and we were able to do some sight seeing before I left for my journey. This was a sweet time of fellowship with them.
We started from San Francisco. We traveled to Wuhan, China (a 13.5 hour flight), and then we boarded another plane from Wuhan to Bangkok, Thailand (a 3 hour flight). Once in Bangkok, we boarded a bus to travel to our final destination, Chiang Mai (it was a 12 hour ride). It was fun and adventurous.
When we left San Francisco on January 1, I loved seeing the waves of the Pacific Ocean crashing on the coast with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. It reminded me of how God’s love crashes over us, which comes from “You Make Me Brave” song that the Lord has used so many times to minister to my heart.
Then on our second flight, while using the restroom, I experienced some of the worst turbulence ever. I was gripping on the rails to steady myself. Tori, one of my teammates was across the hall from me. We opened the doors with fear on our faces. She crawled back to the sits, but the flight attendant told me to stay in the bathroom until the turbulence lowered. This was the weirdest weightlessness, but also another test of my faith—do I trust that He was take care of me, even in a bathroom on the airplane.
Prayers:
*Rest: Recovery from jetlag, resting in His presence as we work through difficult situations
*Abandonment: The first step of our training is abandonment—pray that my heart would surrender and submit to His desires and will, even though it might be painful
*Team building—pray that our team would continue to bond and let down walls as we begin to trust one another and live in community as the Lord desires for us to do
