These past two weeks have been a whirlwind for me. As soon as we started ministry, we hit the ground running. We spent a week in the city of Chiang Mai. Most of the work done in the city was in prayer. Even as we walked, we prayed for the ministries going on, for the city, for each other and our leaders. We wound up in temples, further broadening our understanding of Thai culture, we chatted with monks, in some places we felt an oppressive presence, we proclaimed freedom over this city, we covered this city in worship and in light. Isaish 60:1-3
For our last week of ministry, our team was paired with Jayou Warriors and we left the city for a rice growing village. The village we stayed at was a few hours drive. For a few of us girls, our host Mom was a chicken farmer. Her two sons would come by and chat with us. We didn’t speak much of Thai, and they little English. But, even with the barrier, we bonded with our host family. They let me feed the chickens and I saw a chick hatch! The kids in our village would come home from school mid day and each of them were filled with such lively joy, generosity and kindness. The girls picked us bouquets of wildflowers and the boys would run to us and get piggy-back rides. In my quiet time, I remember staring over ponds of rice sprouts with mountains in the reflection and just feeling a deep sense of belonging.
My most memorable day in the village was when the entire group–including our translator– went into the rice fields and built up the mud walls. A few members of each team kept us moving along with songs and games. The walls got built fairly quickly while we were having so much fun together. That day we worked as a team.
Later that day, a few of us went with our host moms to dance class. The members were nice to us and gave us snacks before dancing began. The leaders gathered us in concentric circles, instructors in the center, beginners in the outer ring. Once we got started, we realized the dances were all traditional Thai dances. I got lost at some point and may have offended an elderly lady. She kept placing me in the outer ring and then made it a point to remove me from the circle altogether. Eventually I joined in again, but still struggled to keep up. As soon as class ended, I bolted home, hoping to hide my embarassment. A couple of girls on my team sensed something was wrong, so they approached me before dinner. At that very moment, Mercy appears with the gift of tamarind. It was so perfectly timed. God ministered to me through their actions. I worked through my shame and was even able to laugh with a host Mom about it afterwards.
As we get to the dinner area, we see our squad mentor there, fresh from a day’s travel. Always generous, he brought watermelon and pineapple for us. He even set up a movie night, complete with snacks. The projector gave out before we finished the film, but it was nice just to bond. We really are family out here. God is stretching and growing our faith. This week, there were many moments of brokenness, vulnerability, embarassment, laughter, worship, praise and peace.
It is difficult to believe that we are already leaving Thailand. I see the ripples that God is sending through my journey. I hope they continue to been clearly seen both in my life and the lives around me.
In the next few hours, we are packing up and hauling all of our teams onto a bus and over the border to Cambodia. Please remember us in your thoughts and prayers. A big thank you to my supporters, these stories wouldn’t be possible without you!
