I realize one thing. I’m terrible at blogging consistently.
There’s so much to update you all on. This will be so sporadic. I’m currently sitting at a house in a neighborhood in Malaysia. Oh yeah I forgot to tell you.. I’m in Malaysia. It turns out that the World Race phased out ‘Challenge’ months and so it was more of just a surprise country for us – Malaysia. But to that later, there’s much to be told!
I don’t want to overlook the ministry and our time at Sila Home in Thailand. It was such a lovely ministry. The kids whose lives we were part of for a whole month were wonderful. We played with them, loved on them, joked with them, and just lived life with them. Our leaving was bittersweet. We became attached to so many of the kids – Ching Ching, Noona, Mind, Chalom to name a few. We never had to speak the same language, have lived in the same culture for the Lord to just deposit love for them in our hearts. It wasn’t until the last night that we heard some of their backstories prior to arriving at Sila. My heart hurt hearing those stories. From abandonment to abuse to addictions, gosh.. the Race isn’t always pretty. Will you say a quick prayer with me for them?
Dear Jesus, You never needed me to love those kids. You were there long before I was, and You will be there long after I return from the Race. Embrace their aching hearts. Jesus, be as true to them as you are to us. Amen.
After tearful goodbyes, we spent the day in the city Chiang Mai, waiting for our 24 hour bus ride to begin, minus a teammate who does logistics for our squad and had to head to Phuket ahead of us and our leader who is now leading our squad for the next 8 months (!!!). The ride went off without a hitch, besides the fact that it was 24 hours long. My team arrived in Phuket exhausted but greeted by most of the rest of our squad, REAL beds and air-conditioned rooms. We spent that night in Phuket being told new squad leaders, new team leaders, and new teams and then spent the next day with our new teams exploring Phuket, i.e. renting $5 mopeds and settling on the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen.
Fast forward almost two weeks, I’m here with my team as we’re all getting wifi at a restaurant. I’m leading a team now. My old leader is now squad leading and my friend, Amanda Kerr, is on a different team. We gained another person, Deirdre Lehmann, who is huge blessing to the team. It’s amazing to see His hand over all this, that transition was inevitable, that change is always part of His plan. There’s a saying they reiterate over and over again at training camp. God is more concerned about your character than your comfort. It was a lot easier to place stock and weight into that phrase back when life was comfortable. It’s a lot harder now, when we’re in the thick of the Lord transforming our character, transforming my character. Our squad is in the process of purging ourselves of identity in things. Most of us have deleted all the music and movies that we’ve downloaded illegally over the years. It’s only cultural norms that have taught us it’s okay to download these things illegally, but it never was and never will be. A sin is a sin is a sin. A few people have taken out piercings that they’ve attached their identity to. A couple of girls buzzed their head when they’ve realized they find beauty in their hair. People have given up iPhones and Facebook and clothes because they realize it’s a distraction. There are a couple people who have discovered they find too much security in money and have emptied their bank accounts, giving it to people struggling with bills or raising support. God is more concerned about your character than your comfort.
Actually, He’s very concerned about your comfort, just not your comfort in things. He’s stripping us of the comfort in things because they’ve denied us the Comforter for too long. What does He want to change in your life to transform your character? It was never for just the ‘radicals’ or even for ‘World Racers’. The blessings of the Lord, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, the way of life that Jesus constantly talked about is widely available to all who choose to deny their ‘riches’ to follow Him, choose to leave behind security and live in dependence of Him, those who choose to follow. The question is – will you choose to follow?
Here’s the truth. It’s hard and sometimes painful. But it’s good because He is always good. It’s good and it’s more glorious than you can ever imagine. And I wouldn’t want it any other way
