I completely skipped over Laos.
In short, it was a more expensive and dirtier Thailand. The spiritual oppression was heavy. There was a spiritual blindness and deafness that was apparent, due in large part to the fact that it’s a communist country. But as heavy as it was, the Church is still present and alive and doing great things. Just maybe not in the manner you would expect things. For one team it looked a lot like this…
On December 30 we began a squad wide debrief in Pattaya, Thailand and it lasted through the new year until the 2nd of January. It was filled with team debriefs, the beach, teachings, worship, fun, volleyball, Thai lanterns, 1 on 1s, a 5k, mopeds, team and leadership changes, and good company. The squad was able to rest, spend time with people they don’t normally see and be filled up.
I’m sitting in a hostel in Siem Reap, Cambodia (home to Angkor Wat) with Ashley (my co-leader) and Julia and Stephanie (my two new co-leaders). We’ll spend the next few days training Julia and Stephanie on squad leading as they are learning this month what that role generally looks like and more specifically, what that looks like for them.
Can’t believe we’re already into month 5!
