I know I haven’t blogged in awhile and I’m so sorry for that, I am trying my best to always keep you updated on what the Lord has been doing in Asia this year. It’s been a busy few weeks here on the Race so let me catch you up to speed on what my team and I have been up to since you last heard from me.
During the month of November, my team and I lived in Bangkok, Thailand doing ministry in a very unique way. We were placed in what Adventures in Missions calls “Unsung Heroes”. Unsung Heroes is a really neat experience that AIM gives us to go out into a city and seek out ministries that already exist there, to listen to their stories, hear about they do, and their heart behind their ministries. One of the purposes of UH is to seek out ministries already doing Kingdom work but could use a few extra sets of hands around to help them accomplish their vision. We try to connect them with AIM as new ministry contacts that future Race teams can come in and aid. But the biggest reason that Unsung Heroes exists is to simply make these ministries known, to brag on them a bit for the hard work they are doing, and to have our friends and families back home cover them in prayers.
So that being said let me tell you about one of our Unsung Heroes: Imagine Thailand.
The best universities in Thailand are located in Bangkok and these students are the best of the best. They are brilliant. Think a Thai equivalent to Harvard or Yale. They know a ridiculous amount of English pertaining to their majors, but have never been taught conversational English. So here’s where Imagine Thailand comes in, they recognized this desire within Thai students to be able to communicate to English speakers in Bangkok. Every Tuesday from 5-7 pm, the staff of Imagine Thailand meets with a group of students and teaches them English. As they begin to develop relationships with these students, as the class goes on, they start inviting them to a weekly Bible study, where they share the Gospel with them and pour into them spiritually. Imagine Thailand has seen many students come to know the Lord through their ministry here in Bangkok. They believe in the importance of college students for reaching the next generation for Christ, as well as teaching them a practical life skill that will get them better jobs. My team and I are very excited about the Kingdom work that Imagine Thailand is doing at the universities in Bangkok!
What can YOU do to help?
I would love for you to come alongside of this ministry and pray for them!
Pray for the students in Thailand, that they would be receptive to the Gospel, that they would cause a great revival in Bangkok and all of Thailand for God.
Pray for the staff team of Imagine Thailand, that they would continue to have an impact on these campuses, and that the Lord would continue to give them a burden for this next workplace generation.
Lastly, pray for Thailand, as a nation, and for the believers who already live there. This is one of the most spiritually dark countries that we have been to yet, consumed by Buddhism, Hinduism, and so much sex tourism everywhere. Pray that God will draw this nation back to Himself. Pray for redemption and restoration for this country. Pray for rest and perseverance for believers, as they continue to be a beacon of Light to a nation full of idols, prostitutes, and darkness.
Thank you so much for your patience with me, as I have been away from blogging for awhile. Thank you for your prayers for Thailand, for my health and safety, and for our squad!
Currently, my team and I are in Vientiane, Laos. We arrived here five days ago and we already love it. Laos is a closed country, meaning that Christianity is against the law and sharing the Gospel is illegal. So for the rest of this month, my blog will be protected with a password (michellerubert) to keep our team and our ministry contact safe.
Our ministry this month is a familiar one to me and to some of you that are reading. My team and I are working on three universities, here in Vientiane, with Campus Crusade for Christ. As most of you know, it is through this ministry, at UTC, that God radically changed my life and drew me back to Himself. The last four years of my life, Cru has been a big part of my life, as I continued to learn and grow in my relationship with God. This month looks very similar to much of the ministry work I was involved in on my very own campus at UTC and at the campus that I worked on with Cru last summer in East Asia. I’m excited to be working with Cru in Asia again!
I am hoping to post a blog, in the next week or so, about what’s happening here in Laos and what God has been doing in my life. Thanks for always encouraging me, praying for me, and supporting me, while I’m on the other side of the world and away from my family and friends and from many of the things I wish I could have, especially right now during the Christmas season. Words cannot express how much that means to me. Love you all greatly.
