Hello from Mae Sot, Thailand!
First, I want to say THANK YOU to everyone that helped me reach the $11,000 requirement BEFORE the due date! You all are absolutely incredible and I can’t thank you enough. Because of your prayers, kind words, and donations, I will be able to continue spreading the Gospel with my squad here in Thailand and several other countries. The next, and final, dinancial need is to reach $16,277 by Dec. 31st. Thank you for your continued love and support!
This morning I received an email from my squad mentor, Ashley. She shared a bit of what she’s going through right now, and encouraged the squad to press into Jesus, trust Him, and walk in joy. The Holy Spirit prompted me to be vulnerable with her and to encourage her by sharing an ongoing testimony. I am now going to share with you in hopes that this portion of my joy will spur you on in your faith. This is what I sent her…
Ashley,
This is awesome! Thank you so much for your vulnerability and desire to see us grow. Thank you for the reminder that God is on the throne no matter what.
Here’s my own bit of vulnerability and encouragement for you. Before the race began I had been fed up with my physical health for at least 4 years. For various reasons, PCOS being the main culprit, I gained a lot of weight and no matter how healthily I ate or how much I exercised the numbers on the scale continued to increase. So before training camp (in May) I decided that my goal would be to reach 199lbs by the end of the race. That meant that I would need to lose 38lbs. That’s not much for a full year, especially when you know you’re going to be a lot more active than you have been. But, it still seemed like a huge feat because I’d been trying for so long.
When the race began in July I had my goal in mind, but I wasn’t proactively moving toward it. At the end of July, when we got to the airport in Hyderabad headed to Kathmandu, several of us decided to stand on the freestanding baggage scales to weigh ourselves. To my complete & utter surprise, I had lost 11lbs! I couldn’t believe it! I hadn’t done anything and I had eaten A LOT of rice, potatoes, & chipote (spelling ?). Then, last week Thursday, on a restroom break at a gas station on the way to Bangkok, several of us weighed ourselves. I was the only one that had lost weight… 7lbs! Again, I hadn’t intentionally done anything. In fact, I ate some pretty unhealthy stuff in Nepal and lots more rice in Cambodia.
Now 18lbs lighter than I was just 3 months ago, I know what I did differently. I stopped trying so hard to accomplish my own goals and started pressing into God’s plan for me. I gave Him my full, (mostly) undivided attention and served Him as best as I could. I began to lean upon Him and to truly trust Him because I realized nothing in life was in my control. His desires became my desires, and because of that He answered the desires of my heart. He desires for me to be restored, whole, and holy. Wholeness and holiness do not only refer to our spirit and mind, but to our body as well. And because my body is His temple, He desires for it to be in top-notch condition. So while I was obedient and losing myself in Him, He began fulfilling Himself in me.
Trust Him. Lay it, whatever it may be, at His feet. Walk in obedience. Watch Him work. And praise His holy name!
Much love my sister(s) (and brothers),
Shonda
