First off I apologize for how long it's been since I last blogged. You don't exactly get internet in the mountains of Thailand with the tribal people. haha I'll give you a quick recap …..
- arrive in Thailand after many days of travel
- bus to Chang Rai and head to Laos
- Be in Laos for a week prayer walking
- Back in Thailand for two days off
After all that our contact took us to Chang Mai to work with Florence and the Shan people in northern Thailand. We went up into the mountains and yes it was very COLD! We did the same thing there as we did in Laos, which was prayer walking in multiple villages. There were more Christians among them but by more I mean a few more families per village. It is not illegal to be a Christian in Thailand…. you don't face persecution from the government BUT you do face persecution from your family and neighbors. They can kick you out of the village, put you in jail and/or they can make your lives a living Hell because you came to Christ and put Buddhism in your past. These people give up EVERYTHING to follow Christ. There's no HALF HEARTEDNESS!! You're in or you're out! Bottom line!
Next to last stop…. Chinese New Year! Several days of going to sleep and waking up to FIREWORKS!!! Never ending!!! I promise you this is not an exaggeration! We stayed with these awesome missionary couple and their little boy, who I of course fell in love with!! (Dave tried to steal him from me but I always won haha) While we were there we prayer walked through the villages and a refugee camp. We didn't know much about the camp until yesterday actually. Theirs is a HUGE genocide going on in Burma and has been going on for more than 60+ years. These people flee to Thailand with fear of losing their lives and can't return because that fear will probably become a reality. It has just now captured the eyes of the World and they are taking notice to the Hell that is going on in Burma.
We also had the chance to teach English to children! MY ELEMENT!!!! Oh my gosh I was so excited! haha If you know me well at all you know that I enjoy teaching with everything that I am. The first time we did it was hilarious! We went over their verbs so we had children jumping, singing, standing, running ect everywhere…. Beautiful thing to see!! 🙂 One time (after getting better at this) we split up the age groups and got assigned to the age group. I got to teach ABC's and action verbs with my trusty assistant Dave. After our class was over I assisted Dave in teaching the older children phrases and putting them into song! So much fun!
I would like to start ending every blog with a prayer challenge….. I pray that you will join me in prayer
Prayer Challenge!
Prayer for the genocide that is currently going on in Burma has we speak. Pray that when these refugees come over to Thailand that they not only find safety but that they find peace in knowing that Christ is their protector. Pray for Florence and her ministry with these people that they're able to share with these people the love of Christ. Pray that the violence in Burma stops and that the leaders come to know Christ! That God comes to them in dreams and in visions, showing them His face.
