I'm amazed at how fast this trip has gone by. Can you believe we're headed into Month 7?!? Yep, that's right, we've wrapped up Thailand and are heading out on Wednesday to Kenya! Here's a bit of what the Lord has done this last month and what we have coming up.
This month was an eye-opening one for me. You hear all about prostitution and the sex trade industry on the news and you know that Thailand is known for it. But nothing really prepares you for what it looks like and how it really works. At first I felt a disconnect from the people, especially the women. But the Lord reminded me that they are His children that are created in His image and His likeness. As soon as I had that mentality, I saw the people there in an entirely new light. I was no better, different, more deserving, or more loved than they were. They were people – just like you and me. And the Lord knit each and every one of them together in their mother's wombs just as He did you and me. The only difference I ended up seeing was this:
I know the love and grace that God has freely given me and they don't yet know what that gift is all about.
It's pretty simple really. We are all people that are lost and have sin in our lives, but it's because of the love that God has for each of us, that He sent us His Son so that we could have life with Him. So that was what we went out to the bars to share. We got to see God's children with His eyes instead of our own and we were able to share His love with them. Sometimes it was just with a smile, sometimes through an intense game of Connect 4, and sometimes it was verbally telling them of His love. Either way, I can tell you that His love was spread all throughout the streets of Phuket this month. Our continued prayer is that these women would eventually get out of the bars and have a life with Jesus. We pray the same for the men and women that frequent the bars. We want to see them living their lives for the Lord as well, not just for the next cheap thrill. We trust that the Lord will continue working in the lives of all those we came into contact with.
So now we are off to Africa!!! That's right, next stop is Kenya. We're exctied to see what God has instore for the next 3 months and I know a lot of you are too. However, there's a good chance we won't have internet so just know that I will get blogs out as I can. Please continue to pray for us as we travel and share the love of Christ!
