Leading up to the Race, when I have thought about ministry in Thailand, I have always imagined it to be bar ministry and working with victims of the sex trade. Cities like Bangkok, Chang Mai, and Phuket are some of the darkest places in the world when it comes to sexual perversions. I have a heart for seeing people freed from darkness, so I always just assumed that God would send me to one of those cities. It turns out, as usual, I was completely wrong. God has big plans for Team Aperture, but those plans don't involve big cities or sex trafficking.
Instead, God has sent us to rural Northeast Thailand…I gotta tell you, when I found out we were going to a town called Selaphum in a province called Roi Et, I wasn't too stoked. My head was filled with doubts about going to another ultra conservative region in another country. I immediately expected ministry hosts with a bunch of absurd rules and weird crappy food. It is safe to say that I was having some trust issues with God. I heard about all of the cool beach towns, big cities, and jungle villages where other teams were going and immediately became a jealous little brat.
Even through all the doubt, mistrust, and general bitchyness, He decided to bless me anyway. Selaphum is LEGIT! This place is seriously incredible. We are staying at a church with a man named Pastor Puthai and his family. His wife (whose name I don't know because she only answers to Mom) is by far one of the funniest people I have ever met. They feed us some of the best food I have ever tasted. They call the food they fix us, Bangkok Thai food, while they still eat crickets, frogs and live shrimp which they think is way better. They have been hosting foreigners through YWAM and Compassion International for over a decade, so they are used to westerners and wouldn't consider making us change at all to fit what they deem as silly Thai tradition. They just like to work hard, eat lots of good food, and have fun.
The church is located right next to a leper colony where Pastor Puthai and his family do ministry. Also living at the church is their daughter, Tik (our translator), Tik's husband Pik, Tik And Pik's daughter Sarah, their son Took and his wife Pu, and a few more people who may or may not be related to them. (Disclaimer:I have no idea if any of those names are spelled correctly.) They have child care and after school activities for the children from the leper colony, so there are kids all over the place all the time. There are church members in and out constantly. We even got to dinner tonight and there was some random dude from Cameroon just hanging out. They are a great example of how to live in loving Christian community day in and day out.
Life here is simple. Our ministry this month is mostly construction. Thursday and Friday we spent eight hours each day making bricks for the construction of the new church building. Today we went to Mom's rice farm and dug out rice paddies so we could use the clay to build a road. All of the work is done with hand tools like gardening hoes and our bare feet. It is simple, primitive, and I love every second of it. I had no idea until we got here how much I love and have missed manual labor. Working with your hands and getting to see the fruit of your labor is a God given experience like nothing else in life. Tomorrow morning we have church. I will give my testimony and Nate will give a message. Even preaching isn't scary anymore. Later in the month, along with the construction, we will also be working with kids, praying for and spending time with lepers, and teaching English. All in all, I'm very excited about this month.
I lost trust in God and He was still faithful. I complained to Him like a spoiled child and He still blessed me. God is doing amazing things in Northeast Thailand. I'm so happy to have a chance to be a small part of it. It turns out that rural towns in the north, like Selaphum, are where all of the girls and boys who are trafficked to the cities come from. Maybe by building them a new church building, teaching them English, building a road to the farmhouse where they have summer camp and just loving on them, we can help save a few of these children from that evil fate. God has showed me in just a few days that you don't have to go to a dirty bar in Bangkok to help fight sex trafficking. I'm excited to see what else He is going to show me this month. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Love Y'all!!!
