Well, I finally made it to Burma after a setback of a rejected India visa for myself and my team mate drea. We had to stay behind in Bangkok to reapply for the visa. The rest of our squad headed for Mae Sot and my team left for Mandalay. I admit I was really frustrated at why we had to stay behind while the others left, but I was determined to use the time we had for God. So I told God, let’s not waste this time that we have here, let us use it for your glory. Life happens sometimes and we just have to trust God that He is in control and that he will be there for us. As we looked into how to apply for an Indian visa in person at the embassy, I became even more frustrated as the process was much harder online and took much longer. I desired to be with my team where God had planned for us to be for our second country. God told me I should apply again online and as I talked to others they agreed. So that is what I did.
Drea and I filled out the forms again triple checking them and going over each others to make sure everything was filled out correctly. As I hit submit I just gave our India visas to God saying that he was in control of them and if he wanted us to leave then please let us get accepted, but if he had a plan for us to stay, so be it. Less than a day later God came through and we were accepted by India and that very day we were headed to our ministry site. Now I don’t feel as if God had a major plan for us staying behind, but I know he answered our prayers and used the time we had to give him glory.
We meet a new friend named Ignacio from Argentina, we got to know him over dinner one night and interactions in the hostel as he was staying in our room. Through this relationship, one night Ignacio and I had a great conversation about christianity and my testimony. We also took one afternoon and prayed for our squad and listened for what God had to say to them. We heard back that those words greatly encouraged those on the squad. We went on the offensive against the devil as well, in his own playground as we headed to the red light district after church Sunday night. We did a prayer walk through the streets as men and women tried to sell us shows and ladies were put on display in the front of shops. It was heart breaking to see those girls put on display and men and women just looking for something to satisfy a desire that only God can fulfill.
I enjoyed my time in Bangkok, but it was time to go. After 2 buses and 24 hrs of traveling with a stop in Mae Sot to experience another ministry and say hello to the rest of the squad, we made it to our ministry site. This will be our home for the next few weeks. Our ministry host is a first time contact and we absolutely love him and his wife. They run an orphanage with about 50 kids and these kids are the most well behaved kids I have ever seen. They listen very well, do their chores and the younger kids are taken care of by the older kids. These kids love God with all they have, their prayers for their nation as well as us, gives us all goosebumps and with them praying for us the Devil better watch out. We are spending our days telling families about the gospel. These families are contacts that our host has and they are interested in hearing the gospel. We are also playing with the kids, teaching them english and joining them each night for prayer and worship. I know God is going to do great things with us this month as we advance his kingdom in Burma. Please pray that those we share the gospel would come to know God in a powerful way as many have never heard the good news. We are in a position where only God can come through as we can do nothing on our own.
