So much happened in Thailand, I could probably write a novel. We toured the city of Bangkok, and Chiang Mai, Stayed in Baan Nam Kem (near Phuket), And had the opportunity to visit some Christians in a remote Karen village. We rode elephants, played with tigers, saw a beautiful sunset on the beach (followed by diner served to us on the beach) and visited with multiple ministries all over Thailand. Needless to say, we had a blast (Which isn't to say that there weren't hard times as well)
The most challenging and encouraging aspect of the Christians we encountered at the various ministries, was the incredible sense of faith they had. We were over in a third world country, where people hardly have enough to get by. Yet, the faith they had that God would provide surpassed what I've seen in most Christians here in our land of plenty. If you think about it, here in America, we don't really need to trust God to provide our needs. For the most part we have things covered. In Thailand, if God didn't provide for them, they did without. They needed to trust him for even their basic needs. Not surprisingly, He was faithful to them.
We visited a community center down near Phuket run by a missionary from Singapore named Jason. Jason had felt God calling him to build the center after the 2004 tsunami completely devastated the area. He had no money going into the project, but he had faith. He began receiving calls from people wanting to donate large amounts of money to him, before he even told anybody about the project. He has this amazing story of how God provided just what he needed, at just the right time, but never in excess. It was this idea of manna, where if you have too much blessing, it will spoil. He always asks God for just what he needs, but never more, and God has been faithful for six years. This was easily the most memorable experience for me. I have been really challenged by this idea of manna, and am trying to play it out in my own life.
Trips like these are really easy to enjoy, but then return and resume life as normal. The hardest part about this kind of experience is to allow it to transform your life back home. I can't say that my life has been transformed, but by Gods grace I can see active changes to the way I view and interact with the world around me.
Thank you all so much for your prayers about this trip, God is truly amazing , and I am truly small in comparison to the world around.
Cheers
