Tonight we leave Thailand for Laos on a long bus ride. Laos is relatively closed off to Christianity and our goal will be to find and encourage ministries that the World Race does not know about. This will be a very different month in which we will have little direction. We go, we pray, we find ministries, we encourage them, and if applicable we connect them to the World Race so that future teams can work along side them.
Now back to Thailand. I have many highlights from this month; I’ll talk about the two that stand out the most. First off, I read Love Does by Bob Goff and if you haven’t read it, read it. Love does things, it doesn’t just talk or make plans or try to change people (although there is certainly a time and place for those things) but love actually does stuff! It’s a simple concept but very difficult to actually live out. Even more obvious but equally mind blowing is this, it is hardest to love those who are hard to love. But I believe that God takes the most glory when you love someone who you don’t want to love. Reading this book brought me to a different mindset. That new mindset doesn’t make it easier for me to love people, but it does make me more aware of people’s need for love and my ability to fulfill that need.
The other main highlight has to do with community. I had been told that the World Race would give me a new perception of community, but it took me till now to really realize what they meant. When you spend all day every day around the same 6 people, you really get to know them. It is a kind of community that I have never before been apart of and it has taught me a lot. Part of what makes the community so much different is that we have feedback every single day. Feedback is when we get together at the end of the day and tell each other what we did well and what we didn’t do well that day. Sometimes it takes 15 minutes and other times we pour our hearts out for 2 solid hours. Having the space every day to talk with and confront each other combats the festering of bad feelings. That in turn creates a richer community.
However, I’ve realized that I can go so much deeper with my team. We’ve done a good job creating community but there is so much more potential. I think a symptom of love is being interested in people. Interest in my teammates will create a desire to know them better and as I know them I know their needs and how they experience love.
So pray that I will love others well, that I will love those who are not easy to love, that I will be interested in my teammates and in the locals around me, and that community would continue to grow.
Also, I made a video this month!
