I knew stepping into Asia compared to Central America was going to be completely different, but I didn’t quite anticipate how much it was going to change what this year has looked like for me so far. Our month last month in Malaysia was an incredible month of being trained and building my new team relationships, but this month has been diving back into a set in stone ministry with a team of girls I have yet to experience any of the race with yet… and let me say it has been a month of unexpected glory!!!!
Thailand is a place full of vivid culture and life. There are temples everywhere you look, streets crowded with tuk tuk’s, rice fields for miles, and an endless supply of thai tea. Pretty much everything you eat and or drink here is going to be the best food experience you will ever have in your life- with the exception that Thai people like there food blazing hellfire hot.
The ministry we partnered with takes a prevention approach, which absolutely sings to the tune of my heart! They work with the hill tribe villages that unfortunately are often the ones selling their children to the sex industry and they come alongside these families and hand them an opportunity for their kids to have a great education, sufficient meals, and a community of other children surrounding them by living in one of their safe homes. They only accept children that are high risk and they currently have hundreds of children in their care across several different countries. You better believe we get to spend time with these incredible kiddos and they have blessed my life more than words can say. Additionally, we are helping this month to build a new children’s safe home they are creating and doing any additional manual labor they need on their land.
Now that I’ve told you about our ministry let me tell you about the crazy, wild women I have spent the last month with. They bring joy and laughter into everything they do. They radiate the Kingdom of God just with their smiles and have blessed my life so much more as a result of it. We have experienced so much together, laughed so much together, stood at the battlefront lines for one another, prayed together, and experienced everything Thailand has to offer while running after it as fast as we could!
With all the joy also comes the reality that we fought and experienced a lot of spiritual attacks this month. There is no denying the spiritual warfare that sadly plagues a lot of this country. Since Buddhism makes up 90+% of Thailand it is inevitably ingrained entirely into this culture. As beautiful as a culture it is; it’s also a deceiving beauty- not truth. Thailand is known as the land of smiles, but behind these smiles there is a lot of warfare, depression, and fear. This is a culture that has literally accepted and even embraced the sex industry. If you plan to walk the streets of any major city in Thailand you are bound to hit strips of bars after bars after bars of women selling their bodies. Stepping foot into Thailand you cannot deny the heaviness that is here. As a team we have experienced the enemy’s schemes on each of our lives, but we have taken it as an amazing opportunity of standing together and battling against these lies and attacks. They are unstoppable women who are strong and courageous. They are fighters walking and believing that truth is a person himself- Jesus Christ. Leaving this month myself and these girls feel a lot more confident in fighting whatever the enemy throws our way. I see it as an honor to get to partner everyday with a Kingdom that is so worthy of my time, energy, strength, and even my tears. The Kingdom of God is such a worthy Kingdom. God is so worthy to partner with! The best part is- the battle has been won! Jesus battled a battle for us that has been won for us.
So, that’s that. Next month we head into Laos. Laos is a closed country which means I’ll probably be on the internet very infrequently. I’ll be spending the month with a new team and we will be pretty much seeking out ministry contacts for the worldrace to partner with.
Okay, lastly, meet the gems themselves. Team Beautiful mess ( hence the blog title 😉 )
I love these girls and am so excited that I got this month with them (+ my two SQL’s jake & liz- shoutout to you homies i love all the days of my life).
So that’s a wrap! I love and miss you all back home. It’s true that I am the worst at updating blogs and updating people on my life- God is radically changing and molding me out here. He’s wild you guys & don’t think for one second He can’t be doing the same crazy things in your life exactly where you are right now. In this moment. You don’t need to be thousands of miles away to experience everything He has for you. What are you waiting for?!
Until next time. I’ll leave you with this photo
Loving & laughing life away with this beauty from one of the homes. She is worthy of so much and so special. Praise God that her life is in the hands of something greater than it could have been.
