the land of the THAI-NEE*!!!

Swadika! (that’s “hello” in Thai)

so im going to be honest i feel like i have so much to write about.. so i apologize if this blog is more scattered than usual : ) first let me start off by saying that thailand is a special place! phucket is beautiful, to be honest i feel like i am living in a movie.. its just wonderful. in the mornings charlotte and i have been running around and have found the coolest little place to jog.. its about 6 km and it goes around a lake and you are basically running along walls and walls of jungle.. its absolutely perfect! they say “watch out.. coba snake” and of course they mean COBRA snake.. thats another thing i love about thailand.. i joke and say its the land of the tiny but its seriously the land of smiles and its TRUE! everyone here is so kind!! 

on another note last week we went up to visit big buddha.. we prayer walked for a couple of hours.. it was so interesting.. once you get up there you see big buddha to the left and what man has created and then you look to the right and gaze at what God has created.. so ironic most people go up there take a few pictures with buddha in the back.. but what i found most people doing was marveling at creation, in awe of the view, completely taken aback by the ocean and all the colors. big buddha is currently under construction, their expanding the grounds into a temple of some sort.. we did get a chance to see some monks doing their thing passing out prayer bracelets and what not… continue to pray for the people here lost in the traditions of idol worship!!! this place reminds me a lot of india in the sense that there are all sorts of little temples everywhere and spirits to pay respect to.. 

this thing is HUGE and sits on a mountain 

 so it can be seen from almost anywhere in phucket

this was another idol that sat to the right of big buddha

so about ministry where do i even begin? ok so to be honest i still dont have my mind made up with how i feel about ministry.. i am one big jumbled thought at the moment and have been since we started! this is hard for me, and everything is hard. im convicted every which way with the things i see.. im struggling with anger with the men.. and when i say struggling i really mean failing horribly..  and thats something i could use some prayer on.. i know the men need Christ just like the rest of us.. i know i need to see them the way God does but right now what i know and how i feel arent on the same page.. my heart breaks for these girls. they age anywhere from 17 years old to 30 years old. my team and i get into smaller teams of three and hit up anywhere between 3 and 4 bars a night.. at first it was really awkward i felt like a secret agent on mission out to save these girls but then after a night or two i quickly learned that when i go in without an agenda and im just myself the girls react so much more to me! i mean seriously who would have thought that just being real and genuine would attract these women in.. and thats been a big lesson for me.. i dont have to do anything i just have to show up and God is the one thats orchestrating these divine appointments.. HE HAS LITERALLY BEEN BRINGING THE GIRLS TO US! its so cool.. my team the last couple of nights has been emily and vincent and we have had so much favor its unreal. God has made it so easy and clear in the midst of CRAZY.. speaking to us which bars to go into, which girls to talk to, when to ask them to lunch.. its all been so effortless.. and i say all that to really say that this ministry is covered in more prayer than any other i have been apart of on the race. each team spends two hours a night interceding while the other teams are out on the town, and during the day we have more teams out prayer walking the streets and bars. and we can feel it.. let me say that again WE CAN FEEL IT*! i learned all about intercessory prayer and the importance of it in romania.. and im so glad i did because it literally feels like a war zone out there. have you heard from the spirit lately? distractions distractions and more distractions make hearing hard.. we have music playing from every direction, girls in glass boxes dancing on poles, drunk people walking around everywhere.. ITS CHAOS* to say the least but like i wrote earlier we have had this crazy favor on us..  

the other night i was talking to one of my “friends” and out the corner of my eye i saw the cutest little boy selling flowers and sun glasses..  i started talking to him and asked him to play a game of connect four with me.. he quickly responded if i win you buy a pair of sunnies.. i looked at him and just grinned.. this little 8 year old was quite the salesmen. so there i was playing connect four with this little guy and the conversation started.. i asked where is your momma and papa? he said momma drops me off and daddy works.. i asked who makes you sell these flowers and sunnies? he replied THE BOSS.. i said ohhhh my goodness and how many do you have to sell every night? he preceded to tell me and when asked what happens if he doesn’t.. he just looked at me and gave the gesture of someone beating him.. and thats his reality.. at 8 years old when people ask him about his childhood he will have flashbacks of selling stuff on the streets amongst drug dealers and prostitutes.. and the beatings. the next thing i new i was buying a pair of knock off pink ray bands.. and then it happened i had a hand full of little ones around me.. and i just started cracking up we had the best time of playing games and getting to know these kids… but little did i know that even more greatness was to come.. a couple nights later i was walking down the street and spotted my little friend again.. and what did he do? he ran up to me and jumped up on me and gave me the biggest sweetest hug ever ! I DIED RIGHT THERE* in talking with him later i was able to tell him all about JESUS.. i feel like this story is to be continued.. i still have two full weeks and i know there is so much more to come!

so there you have it we have our hands in a little bit of everything this month! oh i almost forgot to tell you guys about my favorite part.. PRATICAL LABOR! (that was a joke.. )  who knew i could weed eat? dont tell my dad..  we have been planting banana trees and doing landscaping on property SHE owns and is in the midst of planning big ideas for!!!!

and of course were having a little bit of fun on our day off as well : )

ที่พระวิญญาณของพระเจ้าอยู่ที่นั่นเป็นเสรีภาพ!

where the spirit of the lord is there is FREEDOM!