I think if I could describe Thailand in one word it was love. I felt so much love for the people I met and interacted with and I was also shown a crazy amount love from so many people. Our team talked a lot about being filled to the point that we overflow with the love of God onto other people. But how do we overflow to people? How do we show them that we care? That has been the question this last month. God made each person unique and the all feel love in a very different ways whether it is through gifts, quality time, words of affirmation, physical touch etc. Yet I believe there commonality underneath these different types of love languages. All people want in the end is to be surrounded by people that deeply care about them, who have a desire to spend time with them and get to know them. It is the commonality of care and desire to love which I saw so intensely in Thailand, among my squad mates as well as the people I met.
On one of my last nights in Thailand, I went out to the bar street with some of my squad mates to say goodbye to some of the friends that they had made. I had said my goodbyes and I wanted to support some of my friends who had to say goodbye to people I had never hit. We were going to meet our friend Leap and the triplets. Lauren and I headed over to the bar where they all worked and we met up with one of the triplets, Ta. As we were talking with her, I feel arms wrap around me and someone say me, “I love you. Whats your name?” It was another one of the triplets who I had never met before and we instantly bonded. I spent that night laughing, dancing and just having a good time with my new friends and when I left that night I was devastated that I had not met these girls sooner. This instant connection and true love for each all of us was so overwhelming. It was crazy to see how the triplets and Leap cared about people so deeply that they had only known for a month and for me less than a day, it just blew my mind. And this love reminded me of the love God has for us. That if a person can love me so deeply, so quickly; how much greater is God’s love for us?
This month we were partnered with two other teams, team Telios and Team Peculiar Treasures. My team and peculiar treasures worked hand and hand this month, participating in pray walks together, doing ministry together such as monk chats and working in the slums and going out together to minister to the people in bars at night. Our teams got along so well that we felt like we became one big team, one unit, team Peculiar Thrones. It was so awesome to feel so close to these 12 amazing people, getting to know a variety of people and just enjoying being around some amazing people. It was such a blessing to bond as a unit and just see how our love for one another grew and changed. Through the interactions that I had every day with my squad mates as well as the Thai people I met and worked with, I was able to see a tangible example of what love looks like and how deep the father’s love is for us! God works in mysterious ways and through the numerous interactions I had with people in Thailand, I was able to get a better glimpse of what love is and how to love other people better.
