A few days ago, T-Squad landed in Bangkok, Thailand for our eight month of ministry. My team spent 2 days in Bangkok at a YWAM (Youth With A Mission, another Christian organization the World Race sometimes partners with) base. We had our orientation to the Thai culture and the YWAM organization, as we would be working with some of their ministries this month.
My team then piled ourselves and our lighter-than-they-were-in-Month-One backpacks into a van that took us to a small city in the Rayong district, where we will stay for the month.
The next morning, I went to the grocery store with three other teammates to buy groceries to cook for ourselves for the week. As the treasurer for my team, I had already looked over the budget we had been given by the World Race for the month. The food budget is small this month: the equivalent of $1.50 per person per day. In America, this would be impossible, but in Thailand, I thought it might be do-able.
After looking around the store at our options, we came up with a meal plan we could afford. Even after several re-evalutaions, we were still a little over budget.
Immediately, I felt the frustration build.
“How are we supposed to do this, Lord?” I thought. “We’re going to starve this month!”
We paid and went home, where we let the rest of our team in on the situation. I made several half-jokes about tightening our belts this month, and complaining about how hungry we were all sure to be. I even let my pride sneak in, congratulating myself on being such a good missionary, sacrificing so much for the Lord by only eating one piece each of meat and cheese on our lunch sandwiches.
Later that night we had our first official night of ministry. We joined our pastor and his home church congregation at a prayer meeting. We walked across the street from the home we’re staying in to another church member’s house, where we worshipped the Lord by singing and dancing.
(They asked us to show them how we dance. We did the line dance from the Electric Slide, made a tunnel with our raised arms for people to dance down, and swung around square dance-style, all to the tune of some Thai worship songs. Seriously.)
After this, my teammate Ali shared her testimony, and then we split into groups to pray for one another. My group went in the room of the house where all the children were playing. We addressed different prayer requests within the group.
One humble man requested prayer for his family, that he would be able to make enough money in his low paying job the provide food and a home for his family. He and his wife are from Laos and work as tenant farmers, earning only around 35% of the profits of the crops they work to produce.
They live in a structure described as a shelter at best. And because it requires money and a lot of government-approved paperwork to issue a birth certificate in Thailand, neither of their two daughters has one. In Thailand, birth certificates are required to get a job, go to school, etc.
After praying for this man and his family, his wife offered to have their oldest daughter pray for my two teammates and I. As their smiling six year old came skipping over, we of course agreed. She held each of our hands in turn and, without being told a single thing about us, prayed for us individually. Our translator relayed the gist of her words at the end of each prayer, adding that this little girl is often led by the Holy Spirit in her prayers.
When my turn came, I peeked a glimpse of this sweet girl as she prayed for me in Thai.
Her eyes were scrunched in earnest effort, her voice confident and bold. I smiled to myself, thanking God for childlike faith and this family raising their children to seek the Lord.
When she finished praying, our translator asked me if I was married or had children. Surprised, I said, “No, not yet.” (If you’ve read my previous blogs, you may know that this is definitely a desire of my heart, and an area of my life about which I’ve often struggled to trust in the Lord’s timing.)
“Ok, just checking. She prayed for your future husband and family. And she also thanked the Lord for the food He’s providing you.”
As this little girl and the rest of the group moved on to pray for my teammate, I sat there, stunned. This small child, without ever having spoken to me or been told anything about me, had me pegged. In the 45 seconds it took her to pray for me, she had (I can only assume by listening to the Spirit lead her words) picked out two huge things on my heart. The first, something I’ve always had a hard time trusting God with. The second, the main thing I hadn’t trusted God about all day.
It took great effort to stop the tears from flowing by the time she finished her prayer for my teammate. I could not believe how God had sent me such a powerful message through such a young believer. Maybe He knew it would take an unexpected messenger for me to get the message:
Trust me, my daughter, and be thankful. I know the plans I have for you. I will provide for you, you will not go hungry. Sometimes I ask my children to sacrifice and wait for my timing, but I promise it is not to withhold good from you. It is to teach you and to allow for abundant blessings later, when I will them to come.
The Bible says that we should be more like children. If this encounter is any indication, I’d say that is sound advice. I learned a great deal from my interaction with this six year old Thai girl.
Instead of being impatient to meet my future husband, I should be spending time praying for him.
Instead of wondering when I’ll have children, I should be trusting in God’s timing.
Instead of complaining about what I don’t have, I should be thankful for what I do have.
“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” –Philippians 4:19
PS-Praise God, my team’s budget was raised for the month! God is not letting me go hungry, He only wanted me to trust Him.
