Rest can be a hard concept to grasp when you’re on the World Race. Our month in Thailand proved that concept wrong as it turned out to be a time of relaxation and the month of February has been spent at Eaglesrest in Phang Nga, Thailand. Eaglesrest is a retreat center for Asian pastors and missionaries who are in poverty and/or spiritually drained. We took a 12 hour bus ride from Bangkok to the southern part of Thailand arriving around 2 am. The next morning we woke up to meet with the couple who started this dream of theirs to find out there are no pastors or missionaries in poverty here during our time. Initial reaction: what am I doing here, then? My mind began to wander to the other ministries that teams on my squad are working with like SHE helping women in prositution or women coming out of being trafficked at Remember Nhu. I reminded God that Thailand was one of the countries I was looking forward to the most because I wanted to help women in prostitution–it’s one of the things that drew me to the race. I reminded Him that He knew the desires of my heart and it would be great if He could consider that. God made me realize it’s not about me. This month isn’t about me. This l.i.f.e. isn’t about me, either. I was so focused on my desires and where I thought I could be used best, but really, I’m not doing any of the work anyways. God doesn’t need me to do anything. Now that I’ve gotten over myself, I realized what a blessing this month is. The family who started Eaglesrest is amazing. Rommel is Filipino with 4 beautiful children. Their birth mother died of oral cancer years ago and they have been blessed with a second beautiful mother, Janene, who is Australian. Immediately, we felt like we were part of the family. Home has been on my team’s minds a lot this month, and it’s no coincedence that God brought us here to be a family with such welcoming people. One of the first nights we were here, the four kids sang for us and absolutely took our breaths away. All of them were blessed with beautiful voices and musical ability that blows your mind. The seven of us on my team decided that we’re flying them into the States to sing at our weddings. Colleen (16), Steph (14), Jeff (12) and Nicole (10) truly love God and love each other like no other siblings I’ve seen before. I have fallen in love with these kids and am inspired by their love, kindness, willingness to serve, and solid faith each day. We also did street evangelism in Phuket (beach town an hour south) a few times. We went to the local school twice to teach english, where I gained a crazy amount of respect for teachers–it was exhausting and not so fun, but the kids were adorable. We held workshops for the Ala kids in various things to mix up their home school routine a little bit. They also have an amazing teacher staying for three months, Tim from London, that we had the opportunity to meet and live with.
While I was busy rating ministries on which ones I would be “doing” more the Holy Spirit was busy working on my heart to humble me before the Lord. It’s not about the amount of work or hours you’re putting in, or the quantity of people we meet along the way, but about following God’s will for my life today.
Rommel has more energy than the seven of us combined. He and Janene have been great hosts and welcomed us into their home from day one. They’re so in love with each other and have amazing faith. Ministry this month was a little different than we had anticipated…a common theme I’ve discovered along the race. They are going through a transition period for the ministry right now and currently searching for new property. Janene got a call just a few days before we arrived asking if they would host a team of world racers. I think she initially wasn’t so sure about it, but felt from God that we were supposed to be there. Our main purpose was to be prayer warriors. We had team time in the morning, prayer walks and dinner/movie/prayer time with the family each night.
But the best part about the month was becoming part of the Ala family. The relationships we built with each one of them was such a blessing. Steph told me one night just how great God is that we have brothers and sisters all over the world…so true. The world is so much bigger than I can wrap my mind around and I’m so blessed to have a lifelong bond with a beautiful family in Thailand.
