“Is this a joke?” “Am I being punked?”
These were my thoughts as our ministry host was walking us through the house (or shall I say shack?) we would be living in for the next two months. With wooden walls, concrete floors, and a tin roof, I wondered if this shack would crumble on top of me.
The town we’re living in is called Mae Ai. It has one small convenience store (more like a shack with some candy bars), a coffee lady, and a man named Fu who sells Pad Thai (which is where we eat every single night). I like to call this place the “Boondocks of Thailand” because there is nothing going on out here.
Our ministry in Thailand is teaching English in an all-Buddhist government school. We were told on the first day that speaking of Jesus Christ is prohibited. At a specific time during each school day, all children line up to worship an idol in the middle of the school grounds.
I’m not gonna lie to you, living in Thailand has been very challenging for me. I just couldn’t find our purpose here. At any point in the day my team could ask how many days left we had in Thailand and I’d tell them. I have a countdown. At this point we only have three weeks left in country.
I asked the Lord, “Why would you bring me to Mae Ai, Thailand for two months? I hate it here.”
As I was in the midst listening prayer with the Lord, the song Beautiful Things by Gungor began playing.
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us
Then it was as if I could hear the Lord speak to me aloud, “I have made beautiful things in Mae Ai and I want you to find them.”
So here’s what’s going down during my last 4 weeks here in Thailand: Each week the Lord is going to reveal to me one beautiful thing He’s made in Mae Ai. I will find it, take a photo of it, document it, and share it with you.
This week: The Sky.
Yes, you can see the sky everywhere. However, there is something about the sky here in Mae Ai that is distinctly beautiful. This is the beautiful creation the Lord has revealed to me in week one.
“He has made everything beautiful in it’s time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil-this is the gift of God.” Ecclesiastes 3:11-13
“I love those who love me, and those who seek me will find me.” Proverbs 8:17
It is a gift of God to find happiness in the midst of not knowing His plan or what He’s doing in your life. Enjoy this season of your life and make the most of the job He’s given you.
