“Ring the bells, this time I mean it/ bid the hatred “fare thee well”
Give back the pieces of my Jesus/ take your counterfeit to hell
Bang the drums, this means war/ Not the kind you’re waiting for
We say mercy won’t be rationed here/ That’s what we are fighting for”
-Johnnyswim
Thailand. Did you know that “Thailand” when translated means “free land”? I had no idea that when God gave me the word “freedom” for this country that it would be apart of the literal translation of this countries name! I just love how God works like that, he cares about all of the little details of things. This country is going to experience freedom, I am absolutely certain. God has claimed this land and is waging a war of mercy against the spiritual oppression, poverty, and slavery that is rooted in Thailand’s history. Our hostel is less than a block away from a string of businesses that specialize in “pleasure”… if you catch my drift. A number of the girls on my squad, including me, have committed to walking the streets that these establishments are located on every night to cover them in prayer. We go in large groups and I believe that God is with us through every step of this ministry on the move. We go at about 8:15p.m. every night and this is where you can step in. We need prayer warriors. We want to see change happen in this district, we want to witness God’s radical love transform this culture. There are women and men drowning in impoverished situations, tourists in desperate need of spiritual awakening, and business owners who need to be reconciled to the love of Christ. Join us in prayer, in whatever measure you can. From 8:15pm to 9:pm every night we make the walk. Our relationships are building slowly, we have two friend now, Mai and Pi-Leah. Mai works at a small food cart and washes dishes for the business every night and Pi-Leah is a tarot card reader who has been honing here trade for ten years. Both women know the “street workers” of the area very well and have been very kind to us during our walks. Every night our team washes Mai’s dishes for her and her joy always astounds us. She is so grateful for such a simple act of love and last night she gently washed all of the soap bubbles off of my friend Paige’s knees when we were finished with dishes. Arguably one of the sweetest and cutest things I’ve ever seen. Pi-Leah speaks a little english and through conversation we learned that her “god” has been speaking to her since she was little, allowing her to tell the future. Over the past ten years she has become reputable in her business for telling extremely reliable fortunes. As we continue to engage in this relationship please pray that we are able to clearly discuss with Pi-Leah who the God of all truth is and how he is the one who reveals futures and guides our steps. When walking through the streets I received a word from God about the walls of Jericho. God spoke to my heart; “Keep walking, be faithful in all you do. Just keep walking, I am with you.” Just like when the Israelites walked in faith around the walls of Jericho and the walls fell, we will walk and pray that the walls around the hearts of this community will tumble down. God is the holy fortress for all hearts and my deepest desire to offer that safety and that love to everyone we meet. From 8:15pm to 9pm, pray with us as we walk. Pray for protection, guidance, truth, and purity to be activated. Pray for Holy Spirit’s guiding hand and of language barriers to not inhibit us. Your prayers will move mountains and hurdles in our ministry and I can’t wait to tell you all of the God stories I know will come of this.
Apart from our night-walks my team and the WARP team also do construction ministry at an upcoming international christian university! We sand walls, paint rooms, sweep, plaster, and draw water from a well with a bucket. Also, there are squatty potties- its Asia folks. Manual labor is a new ministry for my team on the race but it has been more fulfilling than I even anticipated. We listen to podcasts and worship music throughout the day and paint till our arms give out for the future students in those rooms. God is allowing our team to be apart of laying the foundation of a ministry dream, what an incredible blessing. Every day we take a “songthaew”, basically an open taxi/cart on wheels, to ministry for about 25 minutes and then work on site until 4pm. Over the last two days the smog has been at a hazardous level in the city, about 400%, and so construction has been put on hold. Our air quality may not be great but in this time of pause God has definitely been filling up my team through sermons led by Jeff Durbin and multiple podcasts with Graham Cooke and other speakers. God is filling us up and sending us back out every day to work and and share the gospel, its absolutely amazing. I’m sure there is plenty to discover in this city through monk chats in the temples, the nightly bazaar, and all of the markets so I’ll be writing again soon. I’ve only got three months left of the race, it’s time to embrace and pursue everything I can.
(First night in Thailand riding from the aiport to our hostel)
(One of the temples close to our hostel!)
(Acacia and I at our construction ministry! We might have painted each other as much as the walls by the end of the day)
(My team walking to Abundant Grace Church on Sunday! Worship and service was in Thai and English and the presence of the Holy Spirit there shook me to my core!)
