To keep you all in the loop, we were supposed to be in Chaing Mai this month, however, we learned during a short layover in Ethiopia that our final destination changed to Bangkok due to hazardous air pollution levels in the city of Chaing Mai. So, here I am typing away in my little hostel bed, or nook, as I like to call it.
This month is quite different than the last three. For starter we are doing an all squad month which means all 37 of us are saying in the same hostel rather than be spread out in different cities according to our teams. Additionally, we have access to air conditioning, wifi, coffe shops, grocery stores, restaurants, etc. It feels like a very different life than the past few months and I am not sure that I love it, but being able to escape the heat into AC and having ice is a huge blessing.
Ministry wise this month also looks different because we don’t have hosts. This month we are doing what is called ATL, and as you may have gathered from the title of this blog, it means Ask The Lord. So, each morning we pray and ask God what He wants us to do that day and where He wants us to do it. As a result we do not get to make a series of plans or assumptions about what the city and people of Bangkok need. This can be both frustrating and relieving.
ATL and depending on the Lord daily for ministry has been a growing point for me because I like to act, not wait around for God to answer with specifics. I love to meet people in their needs and be helpful in any and every way I can. This often looks like me seeing what I perceive as a need and jumping into action before I ask God what they really need. Many times I overlook spiritual and heart needs because I first see physical or emotional needs.
So, this month I have had to be patient and take the backseat and let God tell me and my team what people need rather than trying to steer. I am once again learning more and more about the power of prayer. This month prayer is teaching me more about aligning my heart, action, and ministry with the will of God. It also puts all glory in God’s hands rather than my own.
A large part of ATL is teaching us that “ministry is life and life is ministry.” ATL is showing me more and more that ministry isn’t always as black and white and we want it to be and that sometimes it feels very slow and mundane, just like will be. Most days this month it has felt a little discouraging, but then there are times that I am reminded of the beauty of the mundane.
Annie, a teammate, recently shared a passage with me from a book, Liturgy of the Ordinary, and the passage was a bit too long for a blogpost, but I will share a little part of it:
“When Jesus died for His people, He knew me by name in the particularity of this day. Christ didn’t redeem my life theoretically or abstractly- the life I dreamed of living or the life I think I should ideally be living. He knew I’d be in today as it is, in my home (or not even my country) where it stands, in my relationships with their specific beauty and brokenness, in my particular sins and struggles… Transformation is carried out in our real life, where we dwell with God and our neighbors… First, we must accept the circumstances we constantly find ourselves in as the place of God’s kingdom and blessing. God has yet you to bless anyone except where they actually are.” -Tish Harrison Warren
As many of you reading this likely have experienced, life isn’t always the adventure we want it to be. Sometimes it is slow, repetitive, and far from exciting. The thing is, whether we are having the time of our lives or life seems like nothing will ever change, God loves us radically, right where we are. He died for both of us on the days we are running into His arms and feel like we are doing this whole disciple thing well just as much as He died for us the days we don’t even want to get out of bed. He sees us and loves us exactly where we are and how we are. We are in the perfect place for Jesus to lavish His love upon is, a place where we can experience a piece of His kingdom and blessings. In this same place, no matter how mundane it may be, is also a perfect place for us to lavish the love of Jesus upon others, family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and strangers alike. Imagine if we lived out of Jesus’ love exactly where we are… because trust me friends, there is nothing mundane about His love and so, there is actually nothing mundane about our lives, even when it feels and looks like it, because we have that radical love in us and with us wherever we go.
So, who does Jesus want to minister to and love through you today? Join me, and Ask The Lord.
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Heavenly Father, thank you for today. Thank You that I am exactly where You have me. I love that You love me right where I am, in my little nook, in my heart-state, and in my day to day in Thailand, You are Good. Teach me to love the mundane and to love like Jesus in the mundane because He loves me on every particular day. Place Your heart in my chest so that I may love more and more like You, with a love unwavering no matter the day, with a love that is anything but mundane. Lead me to those You have entrusted me to love. I love You a lot and I am excited for You to show me how to live and love exactly where I am. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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Another update is that I am still a long way off from being fully funded and the deadline is the 30th of April. That is approaching quickly, but I trust the Lord will show up in big ways in these next couple weeks. Will you partner with me by donating $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500? Every dollar helps Keep me on the field! Thank you!
