CLEANING WITH MONKS

Last night as we checked our emails and we had received a message from our host missionary. The original plan was that we were to leave our town the next day. But the email stated a few options for our groups for the next 5 days. One option was to stay in our current town for another 4 days to minister the second was to help build some homes and the third option was to work with the host missionary around his house.

So, Chad, Sarah, and Tauna went back to the Temple and sat down together in prayer and mediation asking the Lord what He would want us to do. It was unanimous…God was speaking to all of hearts “to stay” in our current town. Now we must say, we love our town but it is a bit boring. Ok, we thought…God, why do you want us to stay here? But since you told us “to stay” we will listen.

The past 5 days in this town we had spent meeting the locals in the town, restaurant owners, government officials and learning the culture of our town. However, we were a little saddened that we were unable to communicate with the Monks in the very Temple we were living in! But God had a plan….In the morning Sarah stepped outside our sleeping quarters and in less than a minute an English speaking Monk approached her. He invited us to come to his classroom in the Temple to speak with some of his students the next day. Wow!! What a confirmation from God that He wanted us to stay in the town and in the Temple. We had no idea that one of the Monks spoke English! Where did he come from?

After speaking with him, we decided to grab brooms and rakes and join in with the other Monks cleaning the Temple grounds. As we raked leaves and cleaned around golden Buddhists gods we praised and worshipped God for speaking to us. During our cleaning experience with the Monks, we began to develop small relationships with them. They served us breakfast and refreshments after our cleaning.

We have decided that every morning for the next 4 days we will awake and clean with the Monks. We now know that God wants us to develop relationships with the Monks in the next 4 days as we follow Luke 10.

Thank you Lord for bringing us to this awesome place and may Your light shine through us as we work with Monks!