Hello friends and family!
I’m currently staying at the YWAM base in Bangkok, Thailand living amongst the girls who attend the nearby University. Most of them come from the village near our base in Ratchaburi, so we got to visit their families and homes before coming here!
We have been doing ministry, practicing English, encouraging, and serving alongside these sweet girls over the past week. This pretty much looks like playing games, asking and answering questions, worshipping in different languages, cooking pat see yew, learning how to make Thai desserts, and sharing testimonies. I love hearing about their lives and the ways they have fought for their faith. Although they’re surrounded by so many people who are Buddhist, many including their own families, they have chosen to believe and follow the Lord wholeheartedly. Their stories are a sweet reminder that faith is a choice. It’s not something that has been forced on us, but we must chose to fix our eyes on Jesus. It can be lonely and hard at times, but it’s so worth it. Many of the girls end their testimonies with one simple truth, “Jesus has changed my life.” And I can say the same thing. Jesus has changed my life… and He continues to do so, because His love is never ending! And as my journey here in Thailand is coming to an end, I have peace in that. Because no matter where I am or what I’m doing, He is with me! And when I fail, His grace covers me. Speaking of that, Easter was a few days ago! WOHOO! We had such a special day. We took a bus, boat, and train to go to an international church with the girls. Each week they spend over an hour traveling to get to church… AN HOUR! Meanwhile, in America, sometimes we’re too lazy to get out of bed. (I’m guilty of this!) Anyways, when we got there, the room was filled with people from all over the world! And despite the different languages and cultural backgrounds, we were all there to celebrate one thing, OUR GOD IS ALIVE! No Easter egg hunt, no candy, no spring flowers, just Jesus! We couldn’t help but dance, sing, and jump with joy! It was so powerful. And to top it off, we ended the day with pad Thai, bubble tea, and ice cream cake! Safe to say it was the best day ever! The next day, we spent the morning traveling to multiple temples throughout Bangkok. As we walked through each temple, we prayed for different things that the Lord placed on our hearts. We asked for His eyes and heart for the people and place. We’ve done many prayer walks over the past three months, but this one was different for me. Seeing the extravagant architecture, monks, and offerings hit me harder than usual. And I felt the Lord’s heart break for these people—He has created each individual with unique skills and gifts, and as humans we have distorted these things and used them to worship different Gods/idol. And knowing that, I felt a lot of weight. so I did the only thing I knew how to do, I prayed. I prayed that the Lord would work within the hearts and lives of these people, and that they would come to know His love. And at the end of the day, I was left amazed by how good our God is. He doesn’t ask for anything but our hearts. As our Father, He simply wants to have a relationship with us. There is so much freedom in that. He paid the price, so that we could be free! Wohoo!
I’m so thankful for this season and my time in Asia. I’m leaving forever changed. New experiences. New perspectives. And a new relationship with the Lord. Thank you Father.
And thank you to everyone who donated, supported, and prayed for me and my team during this time! I’m thankful that the journey doesn’t end here.
Thank you for taking the time to read my LAST BLOG AH!
-kat
