To Seek and Save the Lost...

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Back in the States!!!

I'm Home!!!! I've been home in Arizona for almost a month and will be here for a couple of months. I am focusing on 3 major things while I am home, catching up with friends and family, applying for my next 2 year visa, and finding more monthly supporters for the next 2 years I am serving in Australia. God blessed me by providing a job while I am home to help raise a little extra money. I plan on returning to Australia for another 2 years to serve with YWAM in Townsville. That's it for now!!!! Love you all!!!

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Thailand Week 4

Teaching drums to the boys at Baan Nana

Our 4th week in Thailand, we spent a lot of time at a ministry called the Baan Nana Center. It's a safe home for Burmese kids to grow up and have a more positive childhood. Like I said in previous entries, all these kids have different stories, all of them laced with the tragedies of war, some of their stories infiltrated by them. For example, one of the boys at the home lost his father and was abandoned by his mother. He went to live with his uncle who had an opium addiction and forced him to go out and beg to earn money to feed his habit. If he didn't come home with enough money, his uncle would beat him. His aunt heard about the Baan Nana center and sent him there to free him from his uncle's abuse. It's located outside the city in the middle of nowhere and has a summer camp feel to it. We went there several times to play games with the kids and teach them skills like guitar and drums, bracelet making, and english. The kids there are all different ages ranging from 2-18 years old. One little girl, the youngest one there caught my heart so strongly that it hurt. She was breathtakingly beautiful and only about 2 years old. I am naturally drawn to people who are sad and hurting and I've never seen so much fear and sadness in a child's eyes. She'd seen things and been through things that no human should ever see let alone a 2 year old baby girl. I don't know her story, I don't know what she's seen or what she's been through, but I know by the look in her eyes that it must have been tragic. So young, so vulnerable, and so hurt yet she cannot even speak yet to talk about her pain. I only got to hold her once, and I immediately wanted to take her home with me. God has not forgotten her. He sees her and he knows her. He loves her and I have faith that He will use her in tremendous ways.

Precious faces of Baan Nana

This little girl was gorgeous. She wants to be a singer.

I loved this girl. She was a soccer superstar.

The chapel at the Baan Nana Center

My little baby girl who broke my heart

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Thailand Week 3

The kids made their own animal masks for our Noah skit

Learning Bible verses

Our location for weeks 3-5 in Thailand was Mae Sai. Mae Sai is the northernmost part of Thailand and houses a major border crossing into the country of Burma. Our first week we spent split up helping out with different children's ministries. I went with 2 of the students to a ministry called the Rainbow of Hope Children's Home. It is a home run by a Filipino family that houses 9 children (most of them from Burma) ages 7-12. The home is run more like one big family than an organization because that's essentially what it is. The kids live, eat, play, sleep, and are taught in this home. We went for a couple days to teach English and love on the kids. They all have different stories as to why they are there, some of them have parents but they can't take care of their kids for numerous reasons. Some don't have parents at all or it isn't safe for them to go home. These kids were some of the smartest kids I have ever met. They knew English better than any kids we had met so far, they would sing us worship songs in English with rounds, they would draw pictures they found in their story books perfectly. They excited something in my heart that there is huge hope and potential for these children's broken lives. One little girl attached herself to me the first day we were there. Her mom passed away when she was little and her dad got tuberculosis when she was about 3. He died while they were trying to get him over the border into Thailand to go to the hospital and she disappeared. The couple who runs the home tried everything they could do to find her, and by the grace of God they did and she has been living with them ever since. She was quite the character: beautiful, stubborn, smart, independent, and quite the photographer. She loved taking pictures with my camera and would make me sit by the flowers so she could take pictures of me. I love that little girl and its stories like hers that give me hope when working in these seemingly hopeless and cruel situations.

Me my little photographer

Teaching the kids English

Acting out Daniel in the Lion's Den

Monday, May 23, 2011

Thailand Week 2

Cooking a western style lunch for the kids a.k.a. spaghetti

The second week in Thailand our team went to 2 hill tribe villages. We stayed at the first village for one day and one night. During the day we played some games with the kids while the rest of the village sat and watched, entertained by the big group of white people playing children's games. That evening we joined the village church for a worship and prayer time. The next morning we headed off to the next village where we would stay for the rest of the week.

During the day the kids would gather in the church and we would split into about 5 different groups to teach them English. We had the opportunity one afternoon to go into the village with our translator to find someone to talk to and pray with. It was very quiet and empty (afternoon nap time according to our translator) but we kept walking and started to head up a muddy slope towards some more houses. We passed a house with 3 young women and their children sitting on their stilted porch. We said hello and asked if we could join them. They welcomed us in and so we climbed up the wooden ladder and made ourselves comfortable on their front porch. We started having casual conversation with them (well, as casual as you can when you are speaking through a translator) and then one of the woman asked us if we were Christians. When we told her we were, she said she was too. I was really surprised by this because Thailand is a significantly Buddhist nation with very few Christians, so to find a Christian in a random village was crazy. We talked to her more about what she believed and became confused quite quickly with some of the things she was saying. She brought out all the material she had about God and her Bible and it turns out that she was a Jehovah's Witness.

Teaching English to the kids in the Hill Tribes

Some of the girls on my team asked her some more questions and explained more of what they believed about God. We had been talking for almost 2 hours and things were getting even more confusing with the language barrier. So we ended by praying for the woman and her children and went on our way. I was at a loss for what to do. In this type of situation, where communication is difficult and confused doctrines are being tossed to and fro, do you try to convince this woman that what she is already so confused about is all wrong or do you trust that the words you have shared with her about what you believe will touch her heart in a way that God can bring her closer to Him? I saw no point in trying to convince this woman to believe a certain way by arguing doctrine, in fact I believe that would have caused more division between us. It's not our job to convince people to know God or to believe a certain way. We're not salesmen trying to get the most buyers. Our job is to share how God changed our lives through what Jesus did on the cross and personally in our day to day lives. Our job is to share the love that God gives to us so freely so that we can give it away to the lost and broken. We can't save people, only God can do that. We can guide them, encourage them, love them, support them, and share with them. The rest is up to Him.

Our team with some families from the village

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Thailand Week 1

Hey guys!
Sorry I haven't written in forever. So I just returned from about 6 and 1/2 weeks on outreach in Thailand. We spent our time in about 3 different locations but there is so much to tell that I am going to write an update for each week of ministry in Thailand, so this is week 1 but stay tuned for more.

Teaching English at Agape Home

Thailand is known as the "Land of Smiles", a nickname that acts as a mask to cover the incredible pain and injustice ravishing this nation. We started off in a place called Mae Sot which is located in the North Western part of Thailand, bordering the war-stricken country of Burma. It is home to thousands of Burmese refugees and economic migrants fleeing the 60+ year civil war that has been devastating Burma. We had the opportunity of working with a ministry called the Agape Children's Home. It's located right outside the city and run by a man named Pastor Wanai. It serves as a home for Burmese and Karen (I will write more about the Karen people later, their story NEEDS to be heard) refugee children to live safely, eat daily, play, and get a small education. All the children have their own story,

Singing songs with the kids

some have lost their parents, some simply can't live at home because it's just not safe, some have parents living in the refugee camps but their parents wanted to give them a more positive environment to live in. While we were there, we taught English, played with the kids, did programs teaching them about God, but most importantly we loved them. I've learned that the most powerful thing to combat evil, fear, rejection, poverty, broken hearts, lonliness, and everything in between is the love of Christ. Pure, selfless love with no alterior motives or ambitions can soften the hardest of hearts, pierce the toughest skin and conquer the darkest evil. I was challenged with the language barrier while in Thailand and frustrated that I couldn't have meaningful conversations with these kids, but God taught me a language that I could use to communicate with these precious children of His: love.

Adding a net to the basketball hoop at Agape Home

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Thailand Outreach

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Pray for Thailand!

Praise the Lord, he provided for all our funding this week and we leave for Thailand in 4 days! Please pray for us and for the women and children we will be ministering to there.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Thailand Here I Come!

I just got back last weekend from camping 2 weeks in a place called Hidden Valley (no they don't make ranch dressing there, actually ranch dressing is uncommon in Australia) with my DTS students. Wow, it was such an exhilerating experience! There is something about Hidden Valley that it seems easier to meet with God, probably because of the beautiful nature scenery and getting away from all technology. The first week of lectures for the students was on Lordship, laying things down at the foot of Christ and in turn picking up things that he has called you to and trusting him completely. It was an extremely intense and amazing week with God that resulted in 15 students getting baptized in a swimming hole down the road. The second week we were in Hidden valley, we learned about godly relationships for part of the week, and the staff got the opportunity to share with the students as well. I shared different stories and testimonies from my life and what God has been teaching me for a little over an hour. It went really well and I am excited to continue growing in my public speaking skills.
This past week, I have been preparing to take my team that I am co-leading with my friend Steph to Thailand. We will be there for about 6 and 1/2 weeks, 2 weeks will be spent at a place called Agape Children's home, 2 weeks with an organization called the Tamar Center, and 2 weeks in the hill tribes. The Agape Children's home houses over 100 children who are mostly Karen children from Burma. "The purpose of Agape Home is to provide each child the opportunity to learn in a healthy, supportive, Christian environment." (http://www.ywamthai.org/outreach/locations/) We will be working with the kids, doing programs, teaching English, playing with them and simply loving them.
The Tamar Center is a ministry that provides help, care, and jobs for woman looking for hope beyond the sex industry that is rampant in Thailand. We will be going out to the bars, talking to the woman stuck in this industry, loving them and encouraging them that there is hope for their lives. We will also be teaching english amongst many other things.
In the hill tribes which are the more rural village parts of Thailand, we will be doing programs about everything from the hope that we have in Christ to health awareness and awareness of human trafficking. These village people are the most vulnerable and targeted people to human trafficking because they are poor and seemingly hopeless to a positive future.
As we prepare to leave, I am so excited to get to do the very work that Jesus did, reaching out to the poor, the orphans, the prostitutes. I never thought I would be leading a team of 10 DTS students on outreach to Thailand for almost 7 weeks to be doing this kind of work. God continues to prove to me how much greater his plans are for my life and his dreams are so much more amazing than I could ever imagine! I would appreciate your prayers this week as we still need to purchase plane tickets and take care of some last minute logistics. Please pray for our team, for health, unity, perseverance, and protection. Also pray for a positive attitude for all team members as a 6 and 1/2 week outreach can be extremely challenging and draining spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Lastly, me and my friend Steph who I am co-leading the team with still are in desperate need of finances for this trip. We really don't want to have to send our team to Thailand without the 2 leaders so we would greatly appreciate your prayers for breakthrough in finances!
Thank you all for your prayers and support! You are greatly appreciated and I am so thankful for your love! I couldn't do this without you all!!!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

I survived Cyclone Yasi!!

So this past week I got the opportunity to experience my first ever cyclone! Category 5 and apparently the size of Texas, cyclone Yasi hit the Queensland coast on Wednesday night of this week. I must be honest, I was quite nervous but unsure of what to expect as we had a cyclone warning (Cyclone Anthony) a few days before and hardly got any rain. Some people were scared and some were not too concerned so I had no idea what to expect. On Wednesday, we began preparing for the storm, bringing loose objects from outside (like lawn chairs) indoors, taping windows to keep help stop the wind from shattering them, and stocking up on water in big jugs. We moved out of our house and spent the night in the mission base because we didn't trust the stability of the house (it's kinda old and the walls are paper thin). So we all gathered indoors for the night at about 3 p.m. on wednesday as the storm approached. It started out with rain and strong wind and stayed that way for several hours. We lost power at about 9 p.m. and as the night progressed the winds got intensely strong. It's hard to explain the sound of the wind but it was almost like a deep, far away thunder. I went to bed at midnight curious as to what I would wake up to the next morning. That morning we were allowed outside by about 10 a.m. It was still windy and rainy but nothing compared to the night before. As we explored around town to see the extent of the damage, it looked like what you see on t.v. on a news report, almost surreal. The building across the street lost a wall, trees were down everywhere, signs blown off, trees that hadn't been blown over were still tilting in the direction of the wind as if they were frozen in time. Sand had blown off the beach covering the streets. Huge trees blocked off roads and power lines were strewn across lawns and streets. Yet in the midst of this, there was minimal structural damage to the buildings and houses around town, and for all of the trees that blew over it had to be a miracle that they didn't blow into houses and smash cars. God truly protected us during this massive storm, when the worst was expected. There has been worse damage up north, so please continue to pray for the families that have been more greatly affected by this cyclone. Also pray that as we help others clean up their yards in the community that it would be an opportunity to share God's love and salvation with them.
A quick update on the Discipleship Training School I am staffing, we are entering week 4 of lectures, and preparing to go on outreach in 6 weeks. The lecture topics so far have been Hearing God's Voice, Clear Conscience, and Identity in Christ. God has been moving amongst the students hearts, bringing freedom and healing in incredible ways. We have split up the 17 students into 2 outreach teams, one will be going to Papua New Guinea and one will be going to Thailand. I am co-leading the team to Thailand with my friend Stephanie. We have a team of 12 awesome people who I am so excited to be go to Thailand with. Please pray for me and Steph as we begin to plan what the outreach will look like. We have many opportunities offered to us and want to make the most out of the 7 weeks we are in Thailand. We are going to be planning the budget this week for our stay and ministry in Thailand. Please pray for wisdom and discernment as we do this and also for a release of funds specifically for myself and Steph as we are leading the team. We both need approximately 3-4 thousand dollars for this outreach to cover travel expenses, food, transportation, accomodation, and whatever else comes along the journey. Thank you all so much for your prayers!!!