Dear reader,
As I have gotten a bit behind in my blog writing these past few months, I have decided to do a make a highlight reel of S.E. Asia thus far – as I last left you in Europe. In the interest of being transparent, I must confess that part of my silence has been due to struggle, hardship and uncertainty. I have, however, learned A TON while enduring these trials, and learned of God’s faithfulness on a whole new level.
While in Malaysia I was dealing with feelings of depression and fear. While part of this was due to the fact that I only was beginning to process the end of the race, I also believe that it was spiritually heavy climate around us. It was difficult to have joy in the city I was in. We were outside of Kuala Lumpur, and I felt heavy sadness during the majority of my time in this area.
In Malaysia I had the incredible privilege of working at a farm called Siloam House. It was set up to care for and adopt mentally disabled people from around S.E. Asia. I witnessed incredible family dynamics and joy from these mentally disabled residents. One day after we helped them pick limes from their tree orchard, I pulled out a portable speaker and played Funky Town by the Lipps as loud as the speaker would go. I don’t believe I have ever seen a group of people joyfully dance without abandon like this before. It reminded me of what David must have looked like as he danced before the Lord. It was a truly wonderful thing to be a part of.
I traveled through much of Thailand as part of my squad leader duties. In most of the cities I felt and saw the heartbreaking effects of the sex trade. It really sucked confronting this ugliness; I had to wrestle with a lot of ugliness in myself.
At the end of Thailand our squad had a parent vision trip. I was extremely blessed to have both of my parents come be a part of it. This was absolutely the highlight of the month. I was able to partner with my parents and then together partner with what God is doing in Chiang Mai. We got to go into bars where girls sit and wait for a man to come pay them for sex, we simply shone the light of Christ into the darkness. I was able to experience quite a lot of restoration in my relationship with my parents as well. Before the race I blocked them from much of my life, but during this week I was able to open up unprecedented communication between myself and them. As to be expected when you are trying anything for the first time, it was a little shaky at first, but I am really excited for this next season with my parents. They are so worth it.
I am now in Cambodia sitting in a hospital room with Sarah (she has dengue, please pray 
) and Allison, both of whom have showed Christ to me in such an amazing way this week. One should not underestimate the power of good questions and coffee! It’s neat how the Lord is using this experience to force me to take a chill pill and slow down. He is speaking to me and filling me up in this time. What a good, good father.
