She says she has no purpose in life. She loves knowledge but hates her workload in medical school. She wants to feel motivated but is so frustrated by her own apathy. She is confused and desperately hungry.
Her name is PK* and I believe the Lord is about to blow her away, in the coolest way possible. He has been preparing her heart for this openness and desire, for our friendship and conversations. And I couldn’t feel more honored to be a part of the process!!
The last few days I’ve been a bit discouraged, wondering what exactly the Lord’s purpose for me here in Thailand was. I tried to explain it by telling myself that I shouldn’t need some lofty purpose and desire to be used for something huge. Because being His hands and feet means just that- being willing to be any body part for any purpose at the time. Sometimes we’re called to do more seemingly small and ordinary things from which we can’t see immediate fruit, but which still play a vital role in the Kingdom’s bigger picture.
But as usual… God decided to surprise me!! While the above still holds true, I guess He was holding out just to show me His point even more powerfully.
I met PK in WonGen Kafe during our first few days in Chiang Mai. There was something different about her. She was an outgoing medical school student who was really good at English, and… well, she was blunt. Her bluntness caught me off guard in this setting of non-confrontational Thai culture. But that’s part of what intrigued me, and we immediately connected because of my pre-med background. She seemed really comfortable and open with me, and I loved that about her. PK has been a regular at WonGen for about 3 years, and something (aka the Holy Spirit!) has been drawing her back even though she isn’t even taking English classes here anymore.
The other day, she approached me and asked, Are you free on Sunday? I was thinking we could go to a coffee shop. You can bring your Bible or something and I’ll bring some work because I want to hang out but I have a lot of work, too.
Wait, did she just suggest that I bring my Bible?! So good. She was so obviously curious and I was determined not to let this opportunity pass. I wasn’t sure what it would look like, but I was ready and pumped.
So Michelle C. and I went to lunch with her and her friend MP*, who is also a regular and an English student at WonGen. Michelle wanted to use WiFi somewhere but was also accompanying me so I wouldn’t break the World Race rule of always having a buddy. PK and MP took us to a coffee shop/restaurant and we had great conversation, but nothing about the Lord yet. When we finished eating, I thought we might stay longer so Michelle could get internet time and we could chill or work, but they seemed to want to go back. I was a little disappointed that PK and I hadn’t gotten to talk yet, but I trusted the Lord would still work. [Continued in PART 2…]
(*initials changed for blog)
