Ministry in Thailand was more than I could have expected and asked for. It has taken me so long to write and post this blog because I was not sure where to begin.
Ministry with Pat and his family was unlike anything I’ve ever been a part of. This was our first month living with a family and we were quick to love them as if they were our own!
Now, let me tell ya about Pat. He is different from any person I’ve ever met. “It’s simple,” he would always say in regards to the spreading the Gospel and every day living. And we were quick to learn and see this quote of his come to life in his day to day actions.
“If you love me feed my sheep.” This was the verse that God used to speak to him and is why he got into chemical-free farming in the first place. He takes in ex-cons and helps them find freedom from drug addiction, shares his testimony about what Jesus did/does in his life, and helps them begin a journey to finding there dream job. They live off of the food from the farm and they simply do life together.
We were able to see a lot of this come to fruition in our 3 weeks while in Thailand. These boys were some of the most kind and servant hearted boys I’ve ever met. We were able to hear a lot of there testimonies and share our own. Many of them come from a life of poverty and most shared that selling drugs seemed to be the only way to make a living and/or provide for their families. But life on the farm proved otherwise!
Another boy had been addicted to heroine before coming to the farm and after being with Pat for 3 days was clean and no longer had any withdrawals. That is what hard work on the farm, constant prayer, all natural food, and daily bible studies did for this young man! (PRAISE GOD)!
This photo is from Sunday service at Pats house. A lot of the young men I talked about above are in this photo along with Pats family, people from the community, and our WR team.
We also visited prisons each week where we would share our testimonies, join them in praise and worship, and pray for Pat while he shared the Gospel with the young men.
This is the truck we’d pile into each day as we would travel around Thailand for ministry. This specific day we had traveled a total of 8 hours to visit a prison for the first time! It turned out to be another incredible day of ministry!
Other days we would travel to hospitals where we brought snacks to the patients and staff and spent time talking with and praying for them. Some of the nurses we met ended up joining us on our visits to the nearby villages.
Village ministry actually turned out to be my favorite though it was difficult seeing the living conditions these people were in and hearing there stories. One thing that I’m always reminded in moments like this is that people simply need LOVE. I know I say it in probably 98% of my blogs but it is so true and I’m reminded of it daily. Having the opportunity to visit the sick and elderly along with there families is something that I’ve realized I’m passionate about. Being able to bring them things that will meet there physical needs (rice and soy milk) was great as well.
Below are some of the photos that we took throughout our village visits. 🙂
In the 3 weeks that we spent and traveled around with Pat we saw MANY opportunities and doors open for him!! One that stuck with me was a meeting that we sat in on. He ended up getting together with well-known people from his community and the surrounding communities along with members of the government. They joined together to talk about the importance of all natural farming and agriculture and how they could go about spreading the knowledge and necessity of it throughout Thailand. It was neat to witness so many come together with a common theme in mind, helping others.
Pat’s farm!
Another awesome part of our month came from the children having the month off from school. Which meant… KIDS CAMP for the win!! WOOHOO Our team got the opportunity to teach swimming lessons and English to kiddos 3 times a week! We had a BLAST! 🙂
Fun fact: I’ve actually always wanted to learn how to farm and still hope to have a horse of my own someday. So having farming as part of our ministry this month was just another bonus! Thanks God!
What our farming schedule looked like most days was the following; we would wake up and spend time getting in the Word while overlooking the beautiful farm land. Then we would start our day of ministry taking care of the “goodies,” which simply meant emptying the septic tank into buckets to fertilize the different trees and plants on the land. Humbling? You betcha’!
Some days we got to plant banana trees which I personally loved for a few reasons. 1- for the mere fact that I got to learn how to plant a banana tree (19 total to be exact)! 2- those banana trees will feed Pat and his family (including the 9 young men that currently live with him) for years to come! 3- Most days after digging the holes and planting, the girls and I would get take a nice swim in the pond out front to cool off and clean up.
Digging the hole for the banana tree.
The finished product! 🙂
Sometimes ministry included planting banana trees and a mud a fight. =D
Another thing that I loved about my time in Thailand was the importance that Pat put on community. Each night we would come together, sit in a circle and eat dinner with one another. We’d finish our day by reading Scripture as a family and talking about what we learned or liked about it.
Doing ministry with Pat has been a huge blessing. This mans love for the Lord is contagious. In the short time we got to do life with him, he showed us how simple living out the Gospel really is. I appreciate that he not only told us but he showed us while we were with him. One person, one life at a time. Love God, love others. “It’s simple.”
If you all would please keep him in your prayers as he continues on this journey to make Jesus’ name known, that would be wonderful!
Thank you for reading. 🙂
