My team has been praying for a Thanksgiving meal in Thailand. This country definitely does not have regular Thanksgiving food, but we decided to pray for a miracle. Our budget for this month is around $1.20 per meal, so we did not have enough money to pay for a “nice” Thanksgiving meal on our own.
About a week ago, a missionary woman who occassionally comes to the Tamar Center (our ministry site for the month) randomly told us that her church was putting on a Thanksgiving meal. She was very persistant in saying that we should come and take part in it. My team members and I all looked at each other with hopeful eyes.
The morning before Thanksgiving, she came up to us after a worship session and told us that everyone from the church had signed up to come to the meal. There was no room for us to come and eat. Though we were disappointed, there was still a glimpse of hope in all of us that something would come up.
That evening my team was on our way to the bars to minister to the women working there. Three of my team members went in a truck taxi, which myself and two other team members got a ride in our ministry contact’s truck. Once we arrived at the bars, my team members who got off the taxi were laughing and their faces were beaming.
They had met two middle-aged men on the taxi, one of them was from Germany and the other was from Pattaya. My team member, Kelly, got in a conversation with them about our trip. They asked what we do and how we raise our money. After Kelly explained the details of what we’re doing, they offered to buy them dinner. My team members told them they were on their way to minister at the bars, so dinner wouldn’t work out.
At that moment, the man from Germany began pulling out thousands (in Thai bills) from his wallet. He handed them 3,000 baht, which is 100 American dollars.
What amazes me most is that we are in one of the worst cities in the world for prostitution. There is so much need here for God. So much hurt, so much pain, so much sin, so much emptiness. Regardless of these facts, God cared enough about us to provide us with enough money for a delicious meal for Thanksgiving. This blows my mind!
Considering we’re in Thailand, there are no restaurants that have Thanksgiving food. But for the past three months, my team has been craving Mexican food. So after asking around and driving for awhile in a taxi, we eventually came upon a Mexican restaurant. Another little blessing from God.
One thing I am learning is that God can work in and through any person He chooses. The German man explained that he had a wife in a different country, but the man with him from Pattaya was his partner. God can work in powerful ways through anyone!
I am also learning that God LOVES to lavish His love on us in small ways. Even though there are much greater things for God to do than giving my team a Mexican Thanksgiving meal, God chose to show His faithfulness once more. I am so THANKFUL that I serve a God who cares about the little things, who enjoys loving me in the small ways, and who provides in ways I never expected!
