As 6 am rolled around, 13 of us crammed in a car fit for 7 people as we left for our 4 hr ride outside the city. We came upon first destination and looked inside the huge building to find hundreds of kids sitting on the floor facing the stage. Then came the words that would have once put us in a frenzy, “Alright, you’re up first!” Haha We were ready to rock and roll! We made our way to the stage and performed a skit, and sing our hearts out to a few Thai Christmas songs. Then we prayed for the kids and passed out bibles.
It was great to be able to pass out Bibles to the kids, at most ministries we’ve worked with we haven’t been able to (although nearly all had requested it) due to lack of resources. **Side Story: One of the prison’s we spoke at in Uganda asked if we could bring them Bibles which we were disappointed to reply that we didn’t have the resources. HOWEVER, God provided in big ways when the church took a special offering for us the morning we were leaving for Tanzania and we were able to donate the money back to the church to purchase bibles for the men. Thanks, Lord!** Afterwards, we headed out to one of the staff’s homes in the country for some lunch and a quick nap as we rested up for the evening crusade J
Tracy, Jess, Ashley, me, Jenny
this was the ant that found his way into jenny’s glass that i dared her to drink..and she did. and now for some strange reason, i’d also like to take on that dare haha
we dabbled with the idea of eating this mesquito until we thought best not to since we didn’t know if he was carrying malaria haha …if you’re wondering if we’ve lost our minds, well, i think you know the answer
resting up for the evening festivities!
We then made our way down the street for the community’s first annual Christmas celebration. We were planning to provide dinner, sing Thai Christmas carols, perform a skit, share our testimonies and give out Christmas presents to the kids in the neighborhood.
As we were waiting for everything to start up, Ashley and I made our way over to a woman named Ohn. She said that since the moment she saw us before we came up to her, she felt like we were good people. I think she could sense Christ in us. She told us all about her family and asked tons of questions about ours. The whole time we chatted she held our hands and said that she thought of us as her daughters. Ashley asked if she was a Christian and she said that she believed in the temple and that she worries that after she dies no one will be around to bring her food (this is a common belief among Thai’s). As I shared the gospel with her, Ashley prayed heavily for our new friend. We assured her that she wouldn’t have to worry about who would have to feed her after she passes away because we will be in Heaven with Jesus and that we have eternal salvation through Him. We shared what the Lord put on our hearts for her.
Ashley, Ohn’s grandaughter, Ohn, meee
I feel like the Lord’s put a passion on my heart to truly share what He’s put on mine. I don’t want to keep the greatest news in the world to myself. We need to let Christ speak through us when He’s put someone in our path that He longs to save.
Ohn asked us to her house numerous times and kept saying how happy she was that we were with her. She then gave us our own Thai names which we were SO excited about J Ashley’s name is Toonhua which means when you love someone you lift them up higher <3 My Thai name is Duang-Jai which means heart …I think there’s more behind this meaning which I’m still researching haha
Anywho, the rain started pouring down and we expected the crowd to head home pretty quick. Instead, everyone got together under umbrellas and trees. We continued huddling for about 10 minutes when we realized we could make a party out of this situation! SO! The lovely ladies of Team Sequoia and Beloved stepped out from under the trees into the pouring rain and started singing Joy to the world in Thai J Everyone started singing while rain continued to come down…man, it was a blast. Jenny Hill began sharing the gospel as well as a testimony of a man she met in Ireland while our Thai friend Safas translated. At the end, she invited people forward that wanted to accept Christ into their lives. Poi (one of our amazing contacts here) told me this morning that she counted 27 people that came forward through the pouring rain to ask Jesus to come into their hearts. Man, it is AMAZING how the Lord works no matter how bad conditions seem!
Poi and her hubby Keith 🙂
After we prayed for everyone that came up for prayer, we passed out bibles and sang Christmas songs throughout the evening. As we stood in the rain, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see Ohn with the most joyful smile on her face as she held up her bible with excitement. Words can’t describe how great this moment was <3
After singing some more, we then went back to the house we had lunch at to get dry shirts for our long ride home. We went into one of the bedrooms as one of the woman working the celebration went through her suitcase handing us her shirts, skirts and pants! Haha We tried telling her we couldn’t take her clothes and that she wouldn’t have any left to wear but she insisted she had more than enough. She continued to pass them out to us with a giant smile on her face the whole time. Now that’s what you call a cheerful giver!
After we put our dry clothes on for the lengthy ride home, we continued to sing worship songs for about the first hour of the our drive…then began the long game of bobblehead as we couldn’t help but fall asleep after the long day haha
Man, talk about a GREAT day! The Lord moved in huge ways. This was definitely one of my favorite days on the race. All we had to do was be open to letting Him use us however He wanted. The rain’s actually what made the day turn into one unlike any other.
So next time it starts raining on your parade, just start siiiingin in the raaain, siiingin in the rain…. J
I love and miss you all! Hope you’re having an amazing Christmas season and most of your Christmas shopping is done. If you’re anything like me, you haven’t even started yet haha…eee!
