Sticky Rice and Mango

I'm missing warm coconut milk over sticky rice and mango......yet, it seems every time I have sat down at my computer to write about Thailand not a single word would come out. All that I have been able to recall is all of the negative stuff and I haven't wanted to go there. If I couldn't be positive or see God in the trip I didn't want to share. I haven't even been able to write emails to anyone since returning. Yet, at the same time I KNOW that GOD was in every part of the trip.

I know I questioned God numerous times before, during, and after as to why it was He was having me go. Was it me wanting to fulfill a dream I have had to go to Thailand or was it really God? Though as I sit here and write this, I KNOW why GOD had me go. And I KNOW it was HIS leading, guiding, and purpose to go. It just didn't look any way I would have imagined.

A friend the other day said that the reason I haven't been able to share is that my heart can not be a part of a lie and that seems to be happening here. I can honestly say that I DID NOT FEEL GOD moving in my heart the way I had on my other mission trips, notice the key word in that statement is FEEL. I didn't FEEL HIM. Yet, I SAW HIM many times in different moments in the simple little things.

Though the week was filled with many negative moments, LOTS of drama, and man's plans trying to get in the way.............I will focus on the moments I can recall God revealing Himself.

Within the first 4 hours of being with the people we were to serve with the three main things God kept putting into my heart and I had been bold about before going were confirmed. Not confirmed for me, but for the other staff I was with. Did they hear? I have no idea, but it reminded me of how AWESOME MY GOD IS! Those three things being the ready Harvest, GOD in EVERYTHING, and the beauty of other languages/tongues being prayed in together for the Glory of God.

Once God allowed me to be SILENT towards the end of the week, I was really able to connect with some of the beautiful people who serve in the ministry there. I also got to spend some awesome quality time with lots of the children. Yord, was one in particular whom I fell in love with.

God really opened up my eyes to a place I knew about, but really didn't know about. Ban Naam Khem was one of the hardest hit during the Tsunami. A lot of the local people are actually Burmese refugees, including Karen and Moken people. These people have no citizenship in any country and yet lost so much.

Walking around the streets cleaning up trash and having the children join us was an amazing time to see God's Love in Action. And then to go into the homes of many of the church families and pray with them. Again, God's Love in Action.

One day, we went to a rubber plantation and I had the privilege of going into homes of people who have NOTHING, and yet served us drinks and food, the little they had. We didn't want to take anything, but knew we had to. One home stands out in my heart, it was home to a girl they said was in the 4th grade, meaning she would be in my class. She had to quit school to work on the rubber plantation after her father died so that her family could stay and not have to return to Burma, where death would most likely await them. Do you know there is an ethnic cleansing going on in Burma at this very moment?

Another moment that stands out from this day in particular would be while we had some free time at the beach. Does anyone know the best way to stop the pain from a jelly fish sting? Well, we had two girls get stung. After the first girl, many were chewing up leaves and putting it on the sting, yet telling her the best way to stop it would be to have someone pee on it. Once the other girl got stung no one really wanted to do anymore chewing..........so after calming her and spending a little time persuading her it would help, she allowed someone to pee on the sting. And yes, you all know that no one else was willing to do it, so I DID!! I always remember the "Friends" episode...........I just really never thought I would live out a moment like this and get to say I peed on a student.

I know after going to Bali, I have been praying that God would reveal a ministry that I could serve with on the mission field over summers. Ban Naam Khem is one of those places, the people were so real and in love with the Lord, that I look forward to returning to this ministry in the future. Whether it be for a week or a month, whether alone or with others.........I want to pray and continue to be connected to what God is doing down there.

Wow, looking back I see that God really did move there. It may not have been the way I would have loved to experienced HIM, but the Risen Christ was still met in many moments and seen in so many faces.

I do know that God is doing something in my heart. To be witness to what God is doing in and through a group of people.......to hear what is happening in Burma and Thailand. We have no idea of the struggles that many people in this world face daily, because we turn a blind eye and ear their way.

I also just finished reading a book titled "The Aquariums of Pyongyang, Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag" by Kang Chol-Hwan and Pierre Rigoulot. It is a terrifying Memoir of Kang's life in North Korea and his escape. I live 20 miles from the border and yet the people of the South have NO IDEA what is happening to their brothers in the North. This book was so eye opening and made me shed many tears.

I have just begun to read "The Cross and the Switchblade" by David Wilkerson. I am only on chapter 6, but tonight I read this paragraph: "When you get back home, David, don't be too quick to say you were wrong. 'The Lord moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform.' It's just possible this is all part of a plan you can't see from where you're standing. I have always believed in your good judgement."

After reading it my heart felt moved to write and share. I could have put my name in his place and I know I have shared, for this is pretty long.

In closing, I just want to Praise JESUS for His love. For HIS reminder last week that HIS love can even be felt from half way around the world. Each one of the six families from my small group, who have truly become family, contacted me. It wasn't necessarily the contact, but the words and the love in them. Thank you again, Jesus, for not only dying on the cross for me, but during this present moment sending your love in a real way from across the ocean.