Week 6: For Your Kingdom's Cause

I see the king of glory
Coming down the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes, the whole earth shakes
I see his love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing, the people sing

Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest

I see a generation
Rising up to take the place
With selfless faith, with selfless faith
I see a new revival
Staring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees, we're on our knees

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

-"Hosanna" Hillsong United

     The week ended with a short corporate praise and worship service at a nearby church in Wiang Pa Pao where we were able to fellowship with some Christian exchange students from Taiwan. The past week has been incredibly busy, and singing this song with fellow believers worshiping in Thai was such an encouragement and made going to the fellowship in the first place worth it. The song gave us a renewed vision for our purpose here. We want to love these people like Jesus; we want Him to shine through above anything! We are the presence of God here, especially in the homes of our host families... Satan has never been challenged here before. That alone makes our presence here worth it. 

     Like I said previously, we have been busy! There are countless amounts of temples around here. Just when we think there are no more, we pass another one we haven't been to while riding the bus. This week, we have been to 7 different temples. People may wonder while going to the temple for ministry is such a big deal. Are we not in opposition to the Buddhist belief system. True, we are indeed. However, by going to the temple, we are bringing the presence of God into a place where Satan has never been challenged. Each time we go to a temple, we see not only numerous images of Buddha, but also of different Hindu gods, trees that are being worshiped as spirit appeasement, and other monuments that have nothing to do with the Buddhist belief system. What makes this significant? It is evidence that Buddha is not working! These people are looking for something to fill the desire in their hearts to worship and to find meaning in life... none of these are working. ONLY JESUS can fill that void. While visiting the temple, we pray intensely over the temple, the monks that live there, and the people that come there to worship and to make merit. By prayer walking, we are interceding on behalf of the souls of people who have never been prayed for. We are pleading with God to make Himself known to these people, to reveal Himself to them, to draw them close to Him, to give them dreams and visions of himself, to give them understanding of His gospel, and to give them open hearts and minds to the Truth. In 1 Timothy 2:1 it says, "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people." That is right, ALL PEOPLE. I am guilty of it, just as we all are. Our prayers are needed to lift up those that are lost so that they may come to understand the gospel and the peace that it brings. It is in this that we as soldiers of Christ, are sorely lacking. What good is light if it is never around darkness? Light penetrates darkness, and people are drawn to it. I fear that many of us that are filled with light simply stay in the light. We never bother to venture into the darkness because we lack faith. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." -Matthew 5: 14-16
     On Tuesday, we were given the opportunity to join some students from the local school on a short field trip that afternoon. We were told that the field trip would be around the community and would help teach students about the village.  We assumed that this would be some type of agricultural lesson, so we decided to join in order to help us get to know other parts of the village. God definitely had a plan! Instead, the field trip was to two different spiritual sites in the community. The students were educated on what must be done in order to appease the spirits of both a tree and an ancestral spirit house that holds the ancestor who is the protector over the village. The next day, we headed back to the same street to pray over these places, that Satan and his demons would flee and leave the people in that village alone! We walked down several streets passing out tracts and praying. We were able to pray over two elderly people that we met along the way. Later that afternoon, we went on our daily mission to find ice cream. We were able to meet a young lady by the name of Jiop who runs a local store. While sitting at her store, one thing led to another and we were able to share the gospel with her! She asked many questions and spoke pretty good English. We even used Google translate to explain some things to her. We left her with a Jesus film and a Bible.  She understands the gospel, but is unwilling to give up her life as a Buddhist to follow Jesus. Pray for her, that God would work in her heart and give her a longing for Truth.
     This week, we were also able to have a big dinner with all of our host families. It has been a struggle to share Jesus with them because most of them do not speak English. However, Ajan Bandhit and Teewa and Isiah, some of Thai supervisors, were able to come to the dinner. Our presence in these homes is giving these Thai Christians the ability to come into these homes and share about Jesus. During the dinner, much discussion about Christianity and its perspective on social issues took place among the men and the women of our host families. The local Thai Christians also left these families with media and reading resources about Jesus. They were also able to give these families a more clear picture of why us girls are here. They identify us with Jesus! Pray that our actions glorify Him and that they see His love in us!
      There was a recent death in the community which has brought us another opportunity to share the love of Christ. We have gone to the temple twice to help prepare for the funeral service by bagging tons of sticky rice for the many people in the community that will come. Pray for the family of this man, and that our presence there will help people have open hearts and minds to Christ and the love that He brings.
       This has been our last full week of ministry here in Thailand. We look forward to going home. However,  it breaks my heart to leave this place because so many of the people are in complete darkness. The funeral service has helped remind me of the fact that people die everyday without hearing the gospel. I have been in discussion before about how Jesus sends people to Hell that have never heard the gospel... how??? I thought that Jesus was loving and compassionate. However, we all deserve Hell in the first place! That is the true meaning and beauty of the gospel. The fact that many people die everyday without ever hearing about it should light a fire under our tails and set us to work praying, and spreading seeds of the gospel.... just something to think about. I didn't come to Thailand because I love the Thai people. I came because JESUS loves the Thai people. "Break my heart for what breaks Yours; everything I have for Your kingdom's cause."

Prayer Requests:

• Pray for our team. There are only two more days of ministry remaining. Pray that we may have faith to know that God is working even though we cannot see it. Pray for boldness and for opportunities to share our faith.
• Pray for the other Nehemiah Teams, for safe travel in country and flying back home. Pray for intentionality and boldness in sharing Christ even though we are so close to being home.
• Pray for the other half of our team, Luke and Jamie, and their ministry in the province of Phrae.
• Pray for Rungnapah and her ministry in our little village outside of Wang Nua. Aom and her brother Nay were able to come to worship on Sunday. Pray that God would keep their hearts open and that Rungnapah would have strength to continue sharing with them and the other people in that community. Intercede for their souls!
• Pray for our host families! We love them all dearly, and it breaks our hearts that they are still lost in darkness. Pray that God would reveal himself to them and that they would find emptiness in what they worship now and would seek Truth!
• Pray for the young lady we were able to share with, Jiop, that she would watch the Jesus film, and that she would become interested in receiving the gospel with understanding and longing.
• Pray for one of the elderly people we were able to pray over, Ewey Con. She was a sweet lady we met. We tried to share some gospel material with her in Thai, but she cannot read. However, we were able to leave a video with her that shows some of Jesus' miracles.
• Pray for this community, that God would fill it with His presence and work in the hearts and minds of the people that live in darkness here.
• 
  

Week 5: Jesus Paid It All

     Located in John 4:1-42 is the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus noticed her even though His disciples did not, and through her, many Samaritans in that town believed and became followers of Jesus.     In the same way, my team has been encouraged not to simply pass people by, but to recognize them as possible people of peace who may be interested in the gospel and who may come to faith in him. For us, sometimes it is simply giving someone a tract that gives a clear message of the gospel. As daunting as that sounds, we want to be bold in spreading seeds of the gospel and be comforted by the fact that God can use a tract and an open heart in a mighty way to bring people into His kingdom. We were reminded of this story by the founder of Nehemiah Teams, Jess, who came for a short visit with us this week. It was a huge encouragement to have him there with us. We were also able to share with him some of our experiences this week. God has provided us some opportunities this week to spend time serving the people in the community. Even though they are small actions, they show the community that we are willing to get dirty and work hard alongside them to show them that we love them. One of these experiences was working in the rice fields. We only spent a short time out there, but the field workers were delighted to teach us how to plant and bundle rice. We also were able to work for a short time at the local mushroom factory. Even though we were unable to share the gospel with them, they recognized the fact that we are Christians and that we showed love to them. Jess joined us the afternoon of his visit at a nearby Christian school. Even though the school is Christian, most of the students are come from Buddhist families. Afterwards we were able to talk and pass out tracts to some of the parents as they came to pick up their children from school. Pray that God would use these small actions of love to glorify His name and draw lost people to Himself.
   This week our team also had another opportunity to visit a school. It was a unique day for the students and teachers because a monk was coming to visit and speak. Not only do the students and teachers listen to the monk speak and participate in chants to gain merit, but they also offer food to the monk which is another way for the people to "make merit" or do good works to gain something. Mae Or, which is the mother of one of our host families was the one who brought us to the school. The night before she began preparing baskets for us to use as offerings for the monks. We were able to represent Christ to the students, the teachers, and to our host families to politely refusing to offer food to the monk because Jesus paid our debt! We owe nothing to nobody. We are free from having to make merit or do good works to gain eternal life or to gain "good standing" with the monk or even God. Jesus has paid the price, and we stand righteous before Him. After the monk left, we spent time with the students playing games, learning English, and presenting the gospel. We did not do it in a way that was rude towards the Buddhist beliefs of these people; however, the gospel speaks for itself. Pray for these students and teachers that God would give them dreams and visions that would draw them toward Him.
    A large part of our time is spent with our host families. Our team is split up to where we each have our own host home, but the houses are very close together, and the families are related. My host mother is Na Daeng and her husband, Na Bum. Their children are Eua and Tha. I have enjoyed having them as a host family. Daeng and I spend much time together cooking dinner and practicing English and Thai. One night she asked me about why us girls pray and sing together every night. I was able to share about how we sing to God to thank Him for everything He has done for us. I was also able to share about how Christ died for us, and that is why we are thankful. There have been other opportunities I have been able to share shortly with her about Christ. These are only small things because I can't share much because of the language barrier. Pray that these words I have spoken to her and the actions I have done to reflect Christ speak to her heart.
     My team and I had a unique experience the other day when we went to visit a nearby temple to pray and "tract plant" as we like to call it. We met a monk there that was very nice and even opened the doors of the temple so that we could look inside. He also let us bang on a huge gong and stood there with us as we prayed over the temple. Before we left, he motioned for us to come inside a small building that stood on the grounds of the wat. He expressed to us how he wanted to do a blessing ceremony over us before we left. We had heard of this before because our supervisors had discussed it with us. While he did the blessing ceremony, we prayed for him and then gave him a tract afterwards. This was a special experience, and one that I will never forget. Pray for the monk and the tracts that we were able to "plant" on the grounds of the temple. Pray that God would use these to glorify himself.
    There were many times throughout the week as we stayed busy that I felt hopeless. These people are so ingrained in their spirit worship and Buddhism that it seems hopeless that the gospel will ever penetrate through. God has worked in me to help me to have faith to know that He can do mighty things in this community. Whether He chooses to do these things while we are here or after we are gone, we must have faith and know that He is at work even though we can't see it. He is worthy of His name being proclaimed despite the outcome!

I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,

Jesus died my soul to save

My lips shall still repeat

Prayer Requests:

• Pray for our host families: Na Deang and Na Bum, Mae La and her husband, Po, and Mae Or and her husband, Pa Giat. Pray that we would be a light to these families and that they would see Jesus in us!
• Pray for our team as we finish out the last week and a half. Pray that we finish strong and be bold in proclaiming Jesus name at every opportunity.
• Pray for our Thai supervisors, Ajan Bandhit and Teewa. They are over the Northern Thai Baptist Association. Pray for them and their ministry and as they follow up with our host families after we leave.
• Pray for Rungnapah and her ministry at our last village. She is continuing Bible study with Khun Loun, Khun Thee, Aom and Nye. Pray also for two of the teenagers that came to Sunday morning worship: Earn and Pan. Both teenage boys seem increasingly interested in the gospel. Pan could not put his Bible down the whole time we were there!
• Pray for all the other Nehemiah teams, that they would finish strong!
• Pray for our guy team, Luke and Jamie, that they would also finish strong and see fruit! They have been in the same village all summer.
• Pray for our health... still experiencing physical aspects of culture shock.

Week 4: Not Ashamed

    In Luke, chapter 14, Jesus tells the parable of the large banquet. In verse 21, the master commands the servant to go out into the city and get the poor, lame, blind, and maimed. The poor, lame, blind, and maimed are those who are helpless. The servant knows he must work hard to bring these people to the banquet by leading the blind and carrying those who are lame and maimed. We are the servants of Jesus, and we must labor hard to bring those who are lost to the banquet. The master also tells the servant in verse 23 to go out into the country and to make them come in! The Lord has prepared a beautiful banquet for these people. They cannot even hope to imagine how beautiful it is! The Lord loves them; he is jealous for their love. I was able to share this story  with a family of new Christians on Sunday in a closeby province. The reminder of this story refreshed me and gave me a renewed sense of courage to share Jesus with these new homes we have been placed in. When we were placed in our new homes a few nights ago, I felt intimidated and scared. I dreaded sharing the gospel because I was afraid they wouldn't like it. However, that fear is not from the Lord! Tomorrow we will begin some intense prayer walking in this community. The families in this neighborhood are wealthy and are intensely involved in demonic worship. Pray that we would not be afraid of the evil one! Also, there is a slight possibility that once we share the gospel in this place, that some people here will not like it. Pray that the Lord would open the hearts of these people and that they would realize the emptiness found in what they are worshipping.
    Before moving into our new homes, we had several days of super fun activities in the city of Chiang Rai. We stayed busy visiting sites, riding elephants, and shopping, but amongst all the business, I truly felt God's love and soverienty in my life. Climbing almost 800 steps up a mountain to see a view that I could only dream about helped me realize that God has so much in store for me. He has an amazing plan for my life, as cliche as that sounds. He has a beautiful banquet prepared that He wants me to invite others to experience as well. As long as I live, I have to bear that burden of inviting those who are helpless and lost to the banquet. As hard as it is, as long as it takes I will lead the blind and carry the lame. I will not be ashamed of the One who saved my soul! I will not be ashamed of the gospel.
   God has confirmed even the smallest things in my life, such as my major. My major is in Social Studies Secondary Education. Social Studies consists of geography, culture, religion, politics, and history.Traveling to Laos and visiting various historical sites has confirmed my love for how God created the world, and how He created people to think and create. To most people, that sounds strange. However, I know that God has given me this love for people, culture, history, and geography for a reason.I can glorify Him through this. Pray for my teammates and I, that God would confirm within our hearts the next step in our lives and that we would make decisions about our future that would be God glorifying and Kingdom building.
    In Ephesians 6: 19, Paul says, "Pray also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel." Words that come from me are nothing but rubbish. Rather, pray that the words coming from me would be words the the Holy Spirit would give me. Pray that I and my team would be bold in declaring our faith to this community.

The power of your love  
Running through my heart  
Shame has lost it's grip on me
 
The glory of your cross  
Shining on my soul  
Grace has got a hold on me
 
From the rooftops SING!
 
I'm not ashamed of the one who saved my soul 
I'm not ashamed of the one who saved my soul, my soul 
This fire inside of me is burning for your name I'm not ashamed! HEY! HEY!  
No, I'm not ashamed! HEY! HEY!
 
The flame is getting stronger  
The song is playing louder  
We can't hide this love away
There's nothing to fear now  
Send us in your power Jesus, take us all the way!

Prayer Requests

•  Pray for our new host families. In this community, us three girls are split up among three different families for a full three weeks. I am with Na Daeng and Na Bum (Na is simply a title). They have a daughter, Ua, and a son, Thu. Morgan is with May Or and her family, and Lauren is with May La (May is also a title). Pray for these families!
• Pray for our team, that we would be bold and intentional in sharing our faith to these people, despite the fact that they may reject it.
• Pray for our guy team, Luke and Jamie. After vacation, they headed back to the same village. Pray for their ministry and that God would continue to work.
• Pray for the community that we just left and Rungnapah's ministry there. She is starting a weekly Bible study at Khun Loun's house. She is also meeting with some of the young people for singing praise songs and learning from the Bible. Pray that their hearts would continue to be open!
• Pray for the family of new believers we were able to meet and share with the other day. Their names are Oo, Bee, Tee, Tip, and Not. Pray that they would be intentional in sharing Jesus with their community.
• Pray for all the other Nehemiah teams! We just got news that a young man, Taylor on one of our teams just got news that his father passed away. Pray for him and his team as they try to minister to the people around them amid his mourning.

Week 3: The Seed I've Received I Will Sow

     In the book of Matthew, chapter 13, Jesus tells the parable of the sower. Our IMB representatives, Mark and Lisa came earlier this week to encourage us with this passage. The sower spreads the seed; that is their purpose, just as it is our purpose as Christians on earth to spread the gospel. The hardest burden to bear in this role is not being able to control what kind of ground the seed falls on. Some hear the message, but turn away because they do not understand. Some recieve the message with joy, but soon get discouraged because of persecutions and hardships and stumble. Some seeds take root, but have a hard time growing because of distractions. Some seeds take root and grow. Aom is a young 17 year old lady who we have spent much time with lately, and who has recieved the message of the gospel with understanding, a flicker of hope, and much fear... fear of what others may think or say. It is kind of easy to stand up for your faith where I am from. It is much different in a place where society is centered around folk Buddhism. We were reminded of this fact when we appeared at a local elephant show, and the performance was ceremonially dedicated to the spirits. The darkness is indeed all around us. Aom also holds a high place in spiritual society because she is closely related to the village headman. Their family takes special part in appeasement ceremonies at the local spirit house. This is the same family in which Kim is a member of. She is suffering persecutions and pressures as a Christian because of her role as the village headman's wife. This week Kim suffered from a motorcycle wreck that left her in much pain. The Lord led us to her house at the right time so that we were able to lay our hands on her and pray for her protection and strength. We were also able to visit the spirit house earlier this week. It was powerful moment that none of us had ever experienced. Upon the suggestion of our IMB supervisors to "deactivate" the spirit house, we set out to do just that. We used the power that the Lord has given us in 2 Corinthians 10:4 to demolish this stronghold that the evil one has over this family. Please continue your prayers on behalf of the souls of these people. Jesus loves them too!
    This past week has been full of activity, especially at the local school where we taught English to approximately 120 students. It was a scary day at first, but the Lord gave us strength and we made it through quite successfully. We gave tracts to all of the students, and I was able to share my testimony of why I came to Thailand. Thankfully, one of our Thai supervisors was there to translate to these students that Jesus loves them. Visiting the school on two seperate days allowed Rungnapah to form relationships with important members in the community, which will give her more opportunities to share the gospel. Please pray for these students and for Rungnapah's ministry in this community.
     This past week both began and ended with tears. It started  as we moved out of Aom's house and into the home of Rungnapah's brother, sister in law, and pregnant neice, Joy. Aom's mom, Khun Thee is the sweetest of ladies, and was such a mother to us while we lived in her home. The whole family helped us load the truck. Khun Thee began crying, and ran upstairs to cover her emotion. People in this culture do not usually express their emotions strongly, instead they try to "save face." The hardest part of the week was leaving this village, and knowing that we would not be coming back. We said our final goodbyes on Sunday. Many of the kids came to the worship service, and afterwards we had lunch with everyone, and Aom's parents came. We were able to present Khun Thee, Khun Loun, Aom, and Nay with a family Bible which they were happy to recieve. We know that God has a plan for this family. They have recieved the gospel with interest... please keep them in your prayers. What came next was something I never expected and cannot hope to explain. We began to say our goodbyes, and Khun Thee began crying again... soon, all of the kids present were crying, including the older ones in my class. Remember, it is not customary for them to show emotion like this! They all gave us hugs and gave us their cards that had been handmade. At that moment, I didn't want to leave. "They are still lost and headed to hell, and I am leaving" ... that was all I could think of. The seed I've recieved I have sown. I have been a part of sharing Christ's love with these people, through both actions and words, that is all I can hope to do. Pray for the harvest.

This is my prayer in the desert
And all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in the hunger in me
My God is a God who provides

And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flames

And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon forged against me shall remain

I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

And this is my prayer in the battle
And triumph is still on it's way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be empited again
The seed I've recieved I will sow

Prayer Requests:

• As always, pray for our team... for strength to endure. We will be moving to a new place soon, and it will be very different... pray that we are able to make an impact there
• Pray for our guy team: Luke and Jamie
• Pray for that little community outside of Wang Nua. We will never forget their faces; pray that they grow in curiosity and that God would draw them close to Him
• Pray for Rungnapah and her ministry in that community
• Pray for spiritual strongholds to be broken in that community, and the one we are headed to.
• Pray for the students we were able to reach out to.
• Pray for Aom and her family

Week 2: I Could Sing of Your Love Forever

Over the mountains and the sea,
Your river runs with love for me,
and I will open up my heart
and let the Healer set me free.
I'm happy to be in the truth,
and I will daily lift my hands:
for I will always sing of when
Your love came down.

I could sing of Your love forever,
I could sing of Your love forever,
I could sing of Your love forever,
I could sing of Your love forever.

     This was one of my favorite songs growing up. I still remember listening to my dad play it on the guitar when i was little. One night this past week, I was helping Aom wash dishes after dinner. I quietly started humming that song to myself, and Aom, the teenage daughter of our host family, lifted her head up and smiled at me. I stopped humming and smiled back at her. In her broken English, she asked, "You sing." I looked at her hesitantly then continued singing, this time louder. She gave me a huge smile and listened intently. One of the ways we have been able to minister to this girl has been through singing. Sometimes we use a songbook that has worship songs in both Thai and English, so she can understand. She has been our guide this past week around the neighborhood every afternoon. This has helped us meet people on a more personal level. God has used her in His work her, and she doesn't even realize it. Without her, we would have never realized the funeral service that was going on across the street. One afternoon as we strolled around, she pointed down a road and said, "you go this way." We have learned not to question her on directional matter; simple communication is confusing enough as it is. We followed her down the street and soon realized something significant was taking place. A large ornate pavilion was on two carriers, and there were many people about. We followed her to the house,  and there was an altar where incense was being burned in honor of a framed photograph of a man. A monk was sitting inside the house chanting while people gathered inside to pray and meditate. Aom lit a candle at the small altar and motioned for us to do the same. We motioned back that we pray to Jesus. She nodded and smiled in understanding. She led us to the back of the house where women were gathered cooking. They immediately put us to work helping prepare food for the many people that would soon come. Helping prepare food may seem a minute way of service, but it was such an honor to be able to show the love of Christ to the community. God is using us in ways we cannot see or hope to understand.
     We moved into a new host home early this past week. As soon as we walked through the doors, we began to pray. We spent the first morning in prayer over that home, the people in it, and for our protection in that place; we are indeed on the offense to bring the presence of Jesus into this community. The family we have been living with is so welcoming and so sweet, but they are lost. Us living with them has given Rungnapah the ability to come and build a relationship with them. One night, they sat and listened to our worship and prayer time with Rungnapah which led them to ask about the difference between Christians and Catholics. Many Catholics here are also involved the animistic appeasement of the spirits. This gave Rungnapah the opportunity to share the gospel, which soon led to us showing the Jesus film to the family: Aom, her brother Nay, and their parents. Aom came to our worship service at Rungnapah's on Sunday morning. Thank God for these opportunities to share. Pray intensely for these people... that God would claim their hearts.
     The other day, we went to two nearby Buddhist temples to prayer walk. Upon leaving, we started singing the Revelation song. If you know me, I hardly ever cry... especially about serious stuff, but I cried. I felt such a heaviness of heart at the temple, partially because of spiritual warfare and also because of the lostness of these people. Aom was with us, and the thought of her not joining me in heaven is utterly heartbreaking. I could sing of His love forever, not only of His love for me, but His love for these people who He wants so desperately to come to Him.
     This week has been very busy, but it brings me joy to be able to spend time with these people and show them the love of Christ. Everyday we sing of His love! Despite physical exhaustion and inefficiencies, distractions, and homesickness, we know that we are living everyday for His kingdom by investing in eternity. It reminds me of the words of Paul in Philippians when he says, "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." These are strong words. Pray that we consider every distraction as a loss, and that instead, we would gain Christ so that we can share His love with the people around us.

Prayer Requests:

• Pray for our team: me, Lauren, and Morgan. Pray for physical strength and focus.
• Pray for the other half of our team: Luke and Jamie. They were able to see a lady come to Christ this past week!
• Pray for all the other Nehemiah Teams.
• Pray for our host family: Aom, Nay, Kun Thee, and Kun Lurn. The seed has been planted; pray that they would seek the truth!
• Pray for this community, that God would give them dreams and visions in order to reveal himself to them.
•  Pray for Rungnapah and her family.
• Pray for the next host home that we will be moving into soon; that evil would flee from there because we are bringing the presence of Christ.
• Pray for us as we continue ministry here. Pray for boldness. Pray for us as we are on the offense to fight against evil so God can set captives free.
• Pray for a new believer here, Kim, who has received dreams from the spirits to rebuke Christ. Pray for her family and that the Lord would give her strength.

Week 1: It Is Well With My Soul

     The last night I had at home, I printed off lyrics of my favorite worship songs. Some were old hymns, and some were new releases. I knew that I could and would cling to these words of hope and joy during my time here. When I first arrived at our first host  home, I was surprised to find a book of old hymns in both Thai and English, many of which I hadn't heard since I was a little girl. Every night before bed, Morgan, Lauren, and I meet with our Christian national partner, Rungnapah. We sing old hymns together; the American with our Southern accented English and Rungnapah with her Thai... it is beautiful. It is so encouraging to have Rungnapah with us for these first three weeks living in the countryside outside of the small town of Wang Nua. This first week has been relatively slow paced. Rungnapah not only feels responsible for our well being, but also that of her sick father whom she left her job in Bangkok to care for. However, our down time together as a team has been well spent in Bible study, prayer, and encouraging one another. This week has been a challenge because we have had to learn to just go with the flow. Rungnapah speaks very little English, so half the time we have no clue what is going on. Pray that the Holy Spirit would guide us!
     This small community that we are in for the next two weeks is deeply rooted in the worship and appeasement of spirits along with a strong Buddhist influence. We are on the front lines fighting the battle against Satan for the souls of the people that reside here. We encountered an example of this yesterday when we met a new believer by the name of Kim. She is the village headmasters wife and became a Christian in March. When we visited her yesterday, she expressed to us her fear of the spirits. She said the evil spirits came to her in a dream and were trying to convince her to deny the Christian faith. In America, this kind of spiritual warfare is almost unheard of. Trust me when I say that the evil one has a stronghold on these people.  Each house contains a small spirit house where the family goes to pray and to offer sacrifices. Please pray that God would break down these strongholds! Pray for the application of Ephesians 6 so that we will put on the armor of God to resist the evil one. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against him! Though God has won victory over him, he is still at work. We are the presence of God in this village and in the remaining host homes we will be staying at. Please help us fight with your prayers for these people.
     While we ourselves have spent much time in prayer, we have also been out in the community visiting people, prayer walking, passing out tracks, teaching English as a service to the community, and spending time with some of the teens that live close by. Even though we speak very little Thai and do not have a translator, we have been able to make friends with these teens. Our presence in the community has also allowed Rungnapah the ability to answer many questions that her lost family and friends have about Christianity. In other words, we are getting her foot in the door! One lady in particular who is a friend with Rungnapah has a sick son. The mother has never allowed Rungnapah to pray for her or her son in their presence. However, when we visited the other day, the mother allowed us to pray out loud for her and her son in the name of Jesus! Pray that the people would continue to open up to us like this!
      After a week of orientation in the states, I was somewhat reluctant to get on the plane... to be honest. My thoughts would dwell on the summer before. Last summer was wonderful, but it was hard. I knew the hardships to expect, and I wasn't sure that I was excited about going through that again. We arrived, and I became content to explore the wonders of Thailand during a short orientation with our IMB supervisors. Then, as they dropped us off at our first host home, my excitement waned again. I was reminded of Philippians 4:11-13 where Paul talks about being content in all circumstances. I think that this is what I am learning. My heartsong this week kind of goes along with that theme of contentment. It is a song that we have sang with Rungnapah several times this week called "It Is Well With My Soul."

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul. 

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

I think these lyrics speak for themselves. This is what Christ has called me to do! Pray that I would die everyday to my own fears, worries, wants and comforts so that I can better serve Him!

Prayer Requests

• Pray for Rungnapah. She has such a servants heart and takes care of everybody! Pray that she would be able to make connections in the village through us so she can share Jesus even after we are gone.
• Pray for all the other Nehemiah Teams members... for endurance, encouragement, physical and spiritual protection, and intentionality.
• Pray for the guys: Luke and Jamie. They are the other half of our team, and are located farther south in another district. Luke is sick; pray for strength!
• Pray that we would have boldness!
• Pray for the many tracts that we have already passed out, that God would use those in the lives of people who are looking for hope.
• Pray that God would give people dreams and visions that would make them ask questions and search for truth. Pray that He would reveal Himself to people.
• Pray that God would use us, and that we would have faith to know that He is at work even though we cannot see it.

Here!

I am surrounded here in Northern Thailand by complete and utter darkness. Satan definitely has a stronghold over this place. Today we visited a family just in time to experience something quite unusual. A woman was doing a special dance that called the spirits to enter her body. The spirit was that of a young boy; hence, she acted like one. It was very odd indeed. These people are not only under the influence of Buddhism, but also Animism. Tomorrow we will move into a various homes and begin building relationships with these wonderful people. Despite their mistakes and traditions, God still loves them. They need to here about Jesus. They are longing for a relationship with their Creator! They just don't know where to look to fill that longing. Please pray that we can be a light in this darkness. Jess, the creator of Nehemiah Teams (the summer missions project that I am involved with) also says, "Wherever I go, the King goes. Wherever the King goes, His kingdom comes. Wherever His kingdom comes, the powers to be must submit." I must be comforted by the fact that though I am surrounded by darkness, Jesus is with me!!! He will never leave or forsake me. Please keep our team in your prayers!

With a Little Help From My Friends...

     In two days, I start my journey of summer missions for the second time. Last summer, I spent two months in the Philippines,but this summer will be spent in another Southeast Asian country. I feel like I should know what to expect, but I am also expecting to be surprised by the many differences between the Philippines and this other country. The religion is Buddhism; a religion full of false hope and hard work to reach complete nothingness. My team will be spending time doing various activities to build relationships with those that live there. For those of you who aren't Christian, we are not forcing our religion on these people. They are souls who need a chance to hear the truth who are otherwise not given an option of what to believe. Our simple job is to share our faith by showing the love of Christ and preaching the gospel. The activities that we will be doing to accomplish this will include prayer walking, teaching English, doing community projects, playing sports with the kids, participating in activities such as cooking, and just becoming a part of the community in which we will be living. Despite all these activities, nothing can be accomplished without prayer!!! While we will be working to promote Christ in this community, Satan will be working just as hard in the hearts and minds of the people to keep them from hearing and understanding the gospel. Prayer is needed to fight against these dark forces.... and it works! So I would like to petition you all to keep me, my team, and the people with whom we will be ministering in your thoughts and prayers.
      With a little help from my dear friends and family, God has provided in great ways financially, mentally, spiritually, etc. I would like to thank my parents for raising me to be so passionate about what I believe and for being so supportive in this endeavor. Many parents, even those that are Christian, are very weary of letting their child participate in such an adventure and often prohibit them from even signing up. My parents have been excited and understand the gravity of such a calling. I would also like to thank my dear friends; you all know who you are ;-) They are always willing to listen to me and to support me through prayer. They also send plenty of encouraging notes and messages throughout the summer for encouragement ( hint, hint, haha). I would also like to thank my church family for providing the financial support for this trip. I seriously could not have raised it all without you all!!! It is such a priveledge to represent my church family on the world scale. Please continue to seek Christ as to your future involvement in sharing Christ, not only in our community, but throughout the unreached nations of the world. I would also like to thank the BCM of Northeast (NACC) for being such an integral part of my spiritual growth that has led me to this point. The same appreciation goes to the BCM of JSU, and the Bible study groups I have been involved with through Eaglepoint Church engageJSU ministry. I am so blessed that God has blessed me with such a large faith community in Jacksonville!!!
     You are all such an integral part of the sending and praying process for missionaries. Even though I will only be gone for a short time (2 months), I know that God is able to use our team in extreme and awesome ways, especially through your support through intent prayer and petition to God on behalf of those who will have the opportunity of hearing and being shown the gospel! I love you all!!!

Worth It

     A lesson that I have learned in various ways the past year or so is that... He is worth it. He is worth it because to Him, I was worth the life of His only Son. Just like many college students, the past few years of my life has been spent planning and decision making, wondering all the while if what my plans entailed and the decisions I had made were worth spending my whole life paying for. As everyone knows, the decisions made at this time in your life have a tremendous effect on what the future holds... and I want my future to count for something really big. I wanted the plans and decisions I had made (and are currently making) to be worth it in the end. If to God I was worth the life of His Son, Jesus Christ, then my plans and decisions need to be worthy of His will.
    It all started when I made the decision over a year ago to go overseas to the Philippines for two months on a mission trip. I struggled consistently with wondering essentially if I was worth it. I wondered to myself if I was "good enough." The reality was that, on my own, I simply was not good enough and never could/would be! However, "I can do all things THROUGH CHRIST who strengthens me" which is a very comforting thought. Many people struggle with this exact same problem, and Satan can use this within us to keep us from doing things that God wants us to do. Easier said than done right? It simply requires a step of faith.
     This journey required me to rely on God in ways that I had never had to before. It was quite an experience, and by the end of that summer, I had made the decision that MY LIFE was worth gloryifying God through the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even if it means the cost of my life, I have made the commitment of following Christ wherever He leads me... and since He is leading me overseas, that is where I am headed. The gospel of God's grace is completely worth it!
     I came upon this exact same question earlier this year. I had decided to go overseas again to another Southeast Asian country for two months. After my first experience, it wasn't even a question... I simply knew that I had to go. Earlier this semester, after the decision of going had already been finalized, doubt starting creeping up in my mind. Doubt at whether this was the right decision; because if I could stay in the U.S., then I could take classes that would allow me to finish my bachelors degree on time. I struggled with this for about a week, until I was again reminded that IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT! The opportunity of taking classes throughout the summer later became an impossibility because of finances; this to say that God knew all along that I was indeed going. Essentially, being behind on getting my degree, not being able to work to make money, not seeing my family... these are all worth it.
    Some people may read this and think me crazy. Who would do such a thing? Wouldn't you much rather make some money or see your family? Don't get me wrong, I love these things, but I love Jesus more. Lives of people living across the world that have NEVER heard the gospel of Jesus Christ who will spend an eternity in Hell without it need someone to tell them about the gospel. THAT is worth my summer; in fact, it is worth my life.
    The gospel of Jesus Christ? What is it, and why do people need to hear it??? This is something that I have been asked continually over the course of this semester through a Bible study. It seams like such a basic thing, so why do some of us get tongue-tied when people ask us the question, "What is the gospel?" Part of this is perhaps that most of us don't understand it ourselves. It may be that most of us struggle showing it to others. However, the more we become engrossed in the gospel, the easier it becomes to show it to our families, friends, and people we may not even know. It is as simple as this:
     We as humans are pretty messed up; this is called the doctrine of original sin. I have heard it explained best by pointing out that parents don't have to teach their child to be bad because children already know how to do that; parents have to instead, teach their child to be good. This is basic proof that we are a pretty messed up people. I mean, come on... watch the news. Because God is perfect and created us, we have a debt to Him because of our imperfection. Instead of us paying that debt ourselves, Jesus did it for us. This means ultamite freedom for us who accept and follow Jesus! We are not weighed down by the tremendous debt that we feel we have to pay. Because of God's grace, He allowed Jesus to die in our place. I think thats the part most people get stumped on: grace. It is the essence of the gospel itself. By showing ultamite grace to others, we are sharing the gospel. Again, easier said than done. However, this essence of sacrifice and grace is not evident in any other world religion. Our world is filled with lies that Satan spins that materialize into different religions and cults. In many places, there is no truth to battle these lies with. This leaves those without the gospel little choice but to follow the lies that they are constantly fed. It is these people that make the gospel worth dying for.
     I was WORTH the life of His only son. He is WORTH the sacrifice. Lost people are WORTH the cost.