The past few days have been full of adventure and excitement!
Saturday: Adventure Day!
I didn’t realize how terrified I would be on top of an elephant. These animals are beautiful, unique and powerful. However, the Lord made me brave on adventure day!
We named our elephant, Toots, and her baby elephant, Scooter. It was fun to experience the world from the top of an elephant and to be so close to the elephants snatching leaves from the trees that were next to my head. Our elephant even picked up Daniel’s sandal that dropped from the basket—their trunks are pretty handy! Also, feeding the elephants bananas was pretty neat—their trunks are extremely slimy though.
After our elephant adventure, we went down the river on bamboo rafts. This was similar to tubing down the river. I thought I would just sit on the raft the whole time, but the Lord used Sara and HakYoung to encourage me to be brave. They encouraged me to try standing and experience the river while balancing on the raft. I tried it, and it was an awesome experience—to put your arms out and take in the surroundings and take in His peace.
Our last adventure was visiting a waterfall. It was powerful, but extremely beautiful. I felt like I was in Asheville again. It was relaxing to sit on a rock soaking up the sun—all the while, watching my squad swim, climb up the waterfall, and explore the area.
Sunday: Thai Church
A group of us attended a Thai/English church. It was a neat experience. We had the opportunity to receive communion as a mixed service. It was beautiful to hear the Thai people praying the communion prayer. It is His church body coming together, even within the language and culture barriers.
The sermon was about needing to rest in God’s grace and favor, instead of seeking to work for His favor. Christ gave the effort and work for us; therefore we rest in His favor and grace. This was exactly what I needed to be reminded of (Resting is a theme in my life right now).
*The Lord is helping me to come to a place where I am flexible and spontaneous—that it is okay to not have a schedule or designated plans. Can I trust Him that His Spirit will lead me where I need to go? That His Spirit will lead me to the people He wants to speak light and love into?
Monday: Ministry Day 1
ATL was our first ministry opportunity. ATL stands for Ask The Lord. You spend time in prayer asking the Lord to show you a place, person, thing, color, or ailment that He wants you to find (it is like a treasure hunt). Our team broke up into two groups. Debbie, Stephanie and I went to the post office first, and then started our ATL. As we walked toward the center of town, we stopped by an art exhibit.
(Art piece at the museum)
We were able to meet “O.” He is a student at the University who is studying art. We just asked him about the art and he shared with us pictures of his art projects. We ended our meeting with him with prayer. It reminds me of God’s complete sovereignty. We went inside the museum because we saw intriguing paintings and sculptures, not with the intentions of being used by God. But He did. He knew the art would attract our attention.
Prayer Walk was our next piece of ministry. Our team decided to sit at a bar and read over a paper we had received about intercession. Our thoughts were that if we spoke God’s scripture in the bar, His authority would reign and His light would pierce through the darkness and brokenness there. After we read through the paper, Victoria played pool with the bar manager and we invited one of the girls (Yeo) to sit with us. We were able to ask her about her life and share ours. Then we played Jenga with her. Her spirit is so sweet, but empty. It crushed my heart when she said to two men coming in “Let me know if you want to sleep with me.”
I can empathize with the brokenness of misunderstanding sufficiency. I always thought getting married would fulfill that missing piece. However, the emptiness still exists when you are in a relationship. No human was designed to fulfill that hole—just the Lord. Pray that the Lord would pour out His love on Yeo, and that His pursuit will be fruitful as she seeks for more in life and finds her answer in His arms.
Also pray for the men and women who find themselves seeking fulfillment in alcohol, drugs and sex. These outlets are empty. These outlets produce guilt, shame and doubt. Pray that they would seek more in life. Pray that they would find their answer in the Lord as He continues to love and pursue them.
One of the Bar Streets
Tapae Gates was our last ministry for the day. Our team planned an art project. We painted a tree with the verse “Behold, I make all things new!” Our vision was to have people come put their thumbprint on the poster and sign it. We pray that this art project would allow us to strike up conversations about life, but also lead to sharing why we were doing this (to spread His love and joy). Then we also have names of the people to pray for now that seeds have been planted, and we will pray for His sowing and harvesting to occur.
This activity brought a sense of joy and excitement that I have yet to see in Chiang Mai. The Spirit replaced the darkness with His joy and love. We felt the atmosphere change. It was beautiful to see His smile on their faces. It was refreshing to see the community want to be a part of this “tree” but that He is seeking each of their hearts to be rooted in Him.
