“We want to take a trip with a train to Trang, Thailand” was a phrase really confusing the locals because of our accents and the lack of English speaking local people, but at last we made it there! And we got to see our long lost family again: the other three World Race teams! We met up with a missionary and took a boat ride to a nearby island, where we are staying for three days.
We were greeted by white sandy beaches, blue water and green palm trees stretching along the coastline of the beautiful island. At the “Anamai” or local clinic we pitched up our tents. Dividing into pairs, we walked around on the island, dedicating it to God, seeking His heart for the people and His will for us these few days.
Our team decided to serve the community by cleaning up the beaches and between the houses, picking up debris from the sea and other trash in the area. The locals were amazed by these “tourists” helping them and serving them! Everything from broken bottles to teaspoons to dirty diapers were picked up, leaving the beach even more beautiful than before. Our main focus was to worship God in everything we do, following Paul’s example in jail, where God broke down the walls of the prison through Paul’s worship. We made a list of 101 ways to worship God and acted it out in everything we did.
Sunday we were taken to a breathtaking place. A boat took us near to a cave on the side of a cliff, standing up out of the ocean on the side of the island. There we had to swim through the cave, which is only accessible in low tide, in pitchblack darkness. At the other side of the cave, the darkness was replaced by the astounding image of a secret beach, totally hidden from the world, surrounded by high cliffs covered by palm trees and bushes, with the only entrance being through the cave. God is breathtakingly beautiful! We swam in the water with our thoughts just lingering on God as His creation amazed us.
We have faith that God will touch His people’s hearts with His precense through us, that our Thai brothers and sisters may be reunited with their Father.
