Last week, our squad travelled to Lampang, Thailand for debrief. This was a time of processing emotions, growing closer as a squad, and resting before our upcoming ministries. There was a lot of free time, which I loved, because I got to build friendships with people, but that also allowed me to drink way too much coffee lol.
Towards the beginning of the week, we sat down as a team and talked about how we need to be more unified and how we can do that. It’s not that we don’t like each other, we just haven’t been as close as we would like to be. Throughout the week I also had one on one conversations with the squad leaders and coaches. These were helpful for me to see how I need to improve and grow closer to God.
We also went to the floating temples on Sunday, which was one of the coolest/prettiest things I’ve seen in my entire life. It was beautiful to be above the fog and then see it clear out, revealing God’s beauty below. This was a beautiful picture of what Hailey, our squad mentor, was saying about our squad being rooftop dwellers and seeing above the fog. It was super cool to actually see that happening.
Going to the temples was also a pretty hard experience. There are little golden idols everywhere, big and small. It was hard to see how people were bowing to these statues and carrying offerings all the way up the mountain for them. The day after the temples I was sitting down with one of the girls on my squad and talking about what she thought. She was saying how it is such a tradition in their culture that sometimes they don’t even believe it, but it’s just a ritual. Right after we finished talking, one of the guys serving coffee at the hostel came and gave us a salt shaker of an elephant and then was saying something about the gods of the Thai culture. She asked him if he believes it, and he said “Yeah, I think so.” That just really showed me that even though they do these things, they don’t fully believe in it.
Then, on Monday, we all travelled back from debrief and our team headed out to the village of Chiang Dao. We are staying at a children’s home, where 14 kids are staying. Our ministry host for the next 2 weeks, the couple in charge of the home, is super nice and welcoming. Most of the guys are sleeping in one room with mattresses on the floor, but Ben and I are sleeping in tents outside to give more room inside and keep from getting bit by mosquitoes. Yesterday morning, Ben was teaching me how to skateboard and I was doing ok until we were going back up the road and the skateboard came out from under me. When I landed, my right foot kind of went sideways under me. I stayed home from ministry yesterday because I could barely walk. This was kind of hard for me because I just laid on the wooden floor for 8 hours with my foot propped up. While I was laying there I was just thinking about how much I miss my family and even the rest of my squad mates. Our whole squad is really close and I won’t get to see the other teams for another 2 weeks. Last night after dinner we had worship and then all of the kids, my team, and our hosts prayed for me. I felt so loved in that moment. The kids and everyone prayed with such a passion and it just reminded me of the love a god has for us.
Ways you can be praying for me:
Healing for my foot.
Confidence and higher self esteem.
For me to continue to grow in my relationship with God and fully rely on Him.
For unity in my team.
Fundraising: I have $592 left to raise. If you would like to help me reach my final goal, you can do so by clicking the donate button at the top of the screen. It is super easy to do and you can even set up monthly donations if you would rather go that route. (All donations are tax deductible) If you are not able to give, that is totally ok. I really appreciate everyone who has helped me get this far!
Yours in Christ,
Landon Mullins
