Dear Family and Friends,
I am sitting in a rather fancy Starbucks in Bangkok, Thailand, soaking up some free wifi and shaking my head as I realize how quickly these past 6 months have flown by. We are now in the latter half of our 11-month missions trip and it feels surreal to think of all that my eyes and heart have taken in during this journey.
I can close my eyes and instantly be back in half a dozen of those little snapshots in time.
Sitting on a cement floor in Nepal across from a Pakistani family who fled their home country out of danger for their lives, all because they chose to follow Jesus Christ. Listening to their story and the account of their persecution in their own words, not words filled with malice, bitterness, or fear, but with the meekness, forgiveness, and peace that is found from knowing Him Who is worth it all.
Balancing on a flat, narrow boat through the swamps of Cambodia, visiting our host’s grandfather who lived in a stilt house in the middle of the marshes. When we arrived, my team and I were welcomed into his humble home with the hospitality and care that you would have expected to find in a royal palace. Though we were not able to speak a mutual language besides that of the eyes, he warmly greeted us and insisted that we have a cup of hot coffee as his guests.
Watching from the congregation of our church in Ghana, getting chills as I listen to my teammate and our friend singing with all of their hearts, of the relentless, pursuing love of our precious Savior. These passionate musical notes of their testimony have been forever branded into my mind.
Kneeling alongside the children of the next generation from the closed country of Myanmar (formerly Burma), praying together before the Throne and hearing the emotion in their voices as they cry out to our One Father God. Seeing the sincere fear of God in their faces as they worship Him and turn their hearts towards Him at this young age. God is doing amazing things in Myanmar among His people.
Drinking coffee across from a new friend in Nepal and hearing her testimony of being kidnapped and forced to work in a sweat shop at a young age. She told me of what she now knows was God providing her with a miraculous escape from her captors and causing her path to divinely cross with local Christians who were able to raise her and tell her about Jesus Christ. She now claims Jesus as her God instead of her family’s false idols, and the the Joy radiating from her face testifies to her changed life.
Walking down a red dirt road in Côte d’Ivoire, Africa, and having an impromptu dance and singing party with a dozen of the neighborhood children; seeing the delight in their faces that some foreigners would spend time with them and give them papers that spoke of Jesus Christ in their own language. A man coming up and exclaiming in broken English, “Who are you? Why are you different, because you have love for us?”
Reading through Scripture each night with a pastor’s family, including his ten adopted children, after a spicy home-cooked Indian dinner. Hearing the little children speaking aloud the Word of God in their own language, knowing that this is a nightly ritual for their family and wondering how many times they, at their tender age, have already gone through the Bible from cover-to-cover (and how many times I haven’t).
Rubbing a teammate’s shoulders in the little public bathroom of our Bangkok hostel as she was struggling with horrible nausea from a stomach bug; staying up into the wee hours of the night and witnessing the Holy Spirit turn that uncomfortable, painful situation into a beautiful worship, prayer, and testimony time dedicated to our good Father who strengthens our faith through suffering and gives us authority against the Evil One’s schemes through the victory of Jesus at the cross.
I am learning that my Father is bigger than I ever, ever realized.
I am learning (head knowledge moving to deeper heart knowledge) that His hand is abosolutely good, His heart is absolutely pure, and His timing is absolutely impeccable.
I am learning that He desires all of me; all of my heart, all of my soul, all of this life, so that He can draw me closer to Himself and allow me to take part in the life of More (John 10:10) that He has for those who trust in Him.
Thank you for making it possible that I can be out here this year, seeing firsthand what the Father is doing around the world, having this once in a lifetime opportunity to hear testimony from His Saints all over the globe of His faithfulness, grace, and authority.
Please continue to lift my team and I up in prayer as we seek His Kingdom in Thailand and beyond.
More updates to come soon!
To God be the Glory!
Allison
