So I’m in Malyasia now. We arrived here 2 days ago and we just got acess to wifi in our hostel today,hence the late post. Last month passed by so quickly! Our travels from Thailand to Malaysia took 3 days by train and uber! So getting here a few days ago was exhausting, but well worth it because we can now officially say that we are on month 3 of The World Race! But before jumping into what my team will be doing here I still wanted to share with you some more in depth stories of what the Lord has been doing and teaching me on this side of the world.
Chiang Mai is a pretty big city, but we all know that it’s a pretty “small world after all”…hehh hehh. So last month’s common theme was that our squad keeps on running into the same people that they have met time and time again. When stuff like this happens in my life I know that God is speaking ever so clearly to me in letting me know that He not only orchestrated this moment, but that He is allowing this moment to happen because He wants to use me to bring glory to him! So here are a couple of short stories proving that there’s no such thing as a coincidence:
1. 29+ Club
Working in the cafe, I got to interact with a lot of customers in addition to working alongside of the women that worked there as well. There was this beautiful couple that came there pretty often. I got to serve them a couple of times and we exchanged some pleasant conversations. They were really easy to talk to and one day I decided to share just exactly why I was there! So hopefully they are reading this right now because the wife is subscribed to my blog! Anyway, the fun doesn’t stop there. One Sunday, the oldest people of our squad (which includes me) went on an adventure! We were picked up by our tour guide and he told us that there were two more folks that signed up for the tour in another hostel nearby. So we go to this other hostel to pick them up, but there was only one person that came up to the van. So our tour guide opens the door for that person and lo and behold it was the husband of the couple that I had met! His wife didn’t come because she decided to stay behind and rest. It was their last full day in Chiang Mai and even though he seemed like he could have used the rest as well, but he decided to still go. This adventure consisted of going to the Karen Village (long neck), elephant riding, white water rafting, bamboo rafting, ATVing, a free lunch, a short trek through the jungle, and climbing/swimming in a waterfall! So we actually signed up for 2 different packages, but ended up spending most of the day together. We called each other the 29+ crew because we were 29, 30, 31 and 32..haha. The majority of our squad are in their early to mid 20s so it was nice to be spend some GROWN grown up time together 😉 Just kidding, age ain’t nothing but a number 😉
So to keep this short, what are the chances that we would run into this guy? During our adventures together we were able to just have a good time and one of us even shared her testimony with him and got a chance to pray for him and his wife as they were there in Thailand for their month long honeymoon! The next day him and his wife came to eat at the cafe and we got to greet them goodbye! So if you are reading this right now, I just wanted to let you know that our time together was not a coincidence and that the Lord orchestrated those moments to tell you about how loving and powerful he is!
2. Social Work Around the Globe.
Everyone on our squad was charged to pray about focusing on one person to pour into for the month. To intentionally seek after that person to help make an impact/difference in their life through the leading of the Holy Spirit. My one person was someone that I worked with in the cafe. This person is such a beautiful soul. A bit tough on the outside, but a soft, sweet cookie on the inside who will melt your heart once you get to know her. For confidentiality purposes, I am not going to go into too many details that would expose her story. However, I do want to share with you how God really showed off how gracious and generous he is in this fruitful relationship. This one person was actually picked by another person on my squad. This was the “not by coincidence” moment. Honestly, when I learned that this other person on my squad picked her, I was quite jealous, but talked to her about it. God taught me through our conversation that he could use more than one person to love on his people. So we both spent a lot of quality time with this one person together and individually and built a sweet and Lord willing, lasting friendship with her and each other!
Our one person had a rough upbringing and needed some legal help. Before joining the world race, I was a strengthening families coordinator for nearly 3 years and have been working with youth and young adults for the past 4 years in practicing my degree in social work. I am grateful for being trained and experienced in connecting people with resources that will help them in times of need (strengthening families framework is going global-to any CUA people reading this right now!!) We assisted her with getting the help that she needed which involved a lot of digging, listening,writing, faith,TLC, persistence and patience. Right as we left, I got word that her case was approved! Our God IS faithful and worthy to be praised! Please continue to pray for our one person that her case will go through sooner than later and she is able to get the help that she needs!
So those are just a couple testimonies of what God has done last month in teaching me that nothing happens by chance that there’s no such thing as a coincidence.
Financial update, I am now only $3423.00 away from being fully funded! Glory be to God! Please continue to spread the word about my Kingdom journey on the World Race in spreading and receiving God’s love. We start our first day of ministry tomorrow. I’m on month 3 of the World Race and I am super grateful for all of your prayers and support in being here! Bless you all!
Immanuel,
Bliz
