The
past week has been absolutely crazy!!! God is very faithful to allow
His children to sit in great places of authority. As you all know I
am in northern Thailand doing work for the Kingdom of God with many
men.
Our
ministry looks substantially different than the first half of the
month. Currently we are living in a wide open two story house with
running water. Notice I did not say hot water or shower… just
running water. We are growing accustom to taking bucket showers and
using the “squatty potty.” I could only imagine you may be
pondering within yourselves at the moment as to what that means. It
would be an honor and a privileged to introduce you to the latrine.
How
is that for the comforts of home? Anyway, we are living in a large
home that is very barren! There is no furniture and we are all
sleeping on the floors. Some of the men have erected their tents to
create “privacy.” We are learning that music should be banned
before 7:20am and lights should go out around 11:00pm. Community
living is great and it creates a better you quickly…..
the past week we have been going through different villages sharing
God’s heart and love with the people (primarily
children) we
encounter. At the moment I am amazed with the places of authority
God has allowed us to stand before and present His truth. Through
God’s grace we were invited to speak at many schools. So far this
week we have already been allowed to present assemblies in two
schools. Keep in mind there is not really a public school system and
everyone here is Buddhist. The time at the schools have been
amazing! There is a huge language barrier between the children and
our team… yet love transcends all language. We are having a great
time making the children smile as much as possible. God has taught
me that EVERY time I make a child smile I make God smile. God
delights in His children and when we take time to show love to His
children we give and receive God’s love. The Kingdom of God is about
love… and being a child. If we can not combine those things we are
missing the purpose of our existence!
Sample
Assembly:
-
Free
time playing with kids- We
make up fun games that cause laughter. We taught one school how to
do the wave! We put size 15 shoes on 6yr old boy and made him run.
-
Introduction
of team members- This
is absolutely hilarious! We pretend to be Ninjas and Sumo
wrestlers. We have kart-wheel and hand stand contests…. Grown men
acting like children… -
Teach
and play a game- We
use this time to help the kids wear off some energy and just allow
them to have a blast! Being a kid is great! -
Personal
testimony- in
this time one person shares a five to ten minute story of how God
has changed their life in a dramatic manner.
-
Sing
Worship over children- This
is amazing. Five or six guys get up and sing songs of praise to God
over the children. Feeling God enter the room full of Buddhist
children is something words cant explain. -
Play
another game- Time
to get the kids up and active so they will be able to pay attention
a little bit better.
-
Perform
a drama- reenactment
of the good Samaritan. We use the drama to remind the children that
helping others is a very important facet of life!
-
Preach
a short message- alternating
speakers share the message of Jesus Christ to the children. -
Pray
over all of the kids and school- after
the message the children line up and we extend our hands toward them
and proclaim the Kingdom of God over the children. Then we shake
every child’s hand and prophesy over them as they walk by. -
Autograph time- white
people are an anomaly here. Because they see so few white people we
are an instant novelty… and we write funny so the children want us
to write to them. I felt like a rock star! I had a circle of 10 –
15 children surrounding me forcing pens and paper in my face. I
chose to prophesy over the children in my writing. I would look
them in the face smiling until God gave me an unction. Then I
wrote exactly what God said about each of them with a drawing to
accompany the letter. Please keep in mind these were stick figures,
hearts, crosses, smiley faces. I felt famous and know the Heaven
rejoiced in my actions.
God
is showing me that we have the availability to maximize opportunities
or squander them. In Thailand, it is very easy to sit back and enjoy
where we are and not press in and “sow the spirit.” However,
that would defeat the purpose of our trip. It has been a great tool
to know that The Kingdom of God is within us, and wherever we go the
Kingdom is at hand! That means we have the ability to change the
world just as much as Jesus did. Jesus proclaimed, “greater things
than I have done you shall do.” So we strive toward that one baby
step at a time.
All
of this is amazing stuff! However, one things that has amazed me
most up to this point is….. (that is a drum roll.) The places of
authority God has placed us before. Since we have been here we have
shared the message of Jesus with two school directors and almost 250
children. In addition, we have shared in two churches twice at both
church. Churches are not the same in Thailand… they actually have
non-Christians attend their services. The church we were at tonight
had 30% Christians. The other 70% attend because they feel loved and
accepted and are curious about the Life that exudes from the people.
I would approximate that around 500 people in Thailand have been
presented the gospel both in word, drama, music, and action. Pretty
sweet!
is cool! However, here is the kicker that sends my joy through the
roof. We were invited to sit with a local government official the
other day. We sat in his office for almost an hour and we all prayed
within ourselves that God would grab the man and help him lead his
people with Kingdom principles. The government official shared his
vision for the community with our group. Part of the plan is to
develop rock climbing areas in the village. One of my fellow racers
has lot of knowledge on the subject and offered his insight. The
official was intrigued and they spoke briefly. Before we left we
asked the official how we could pray for him and if we could pray in
the room. Please keep in mind he is not a Christian yet! He allowed
us to pray to God in his office! I am fairly certain that is a big
deal. Two nights after we met the official many of my team members
went to a Mui Thai fight. When they arrived all of the seats were
already taken. Luckily, God had reserved them VIP seats. They were
invited ringside and given a special introduction by the announcer.
While sitting in the VIP area the government official showed up and
sat next to them. Turns out his boss is the equivalent of a Senator
and he was at the fight as well. The senator has requested an
opportunity to speak with Andy more in detail about he rock
climbing….. It is so interesting how wide open doors are at the
moment! Luke
21:12-13
“but
before these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute
you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons.
You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake. But
it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.” (I
made the text smaller because it is not what I am focusing on in the
scripture… yet I did not want to omit so you could see the proper
context.)
God proclaims that if we are faithful with a little He will make us
faithful over much! So we remain faithful to the opportunities He
has given us on the race! Thank you for all of your prayers and
support!
I
love you all!
