Unfortunately, my updates have been delayed. But I have a good reason for the delay....I felt called back home to Michigan for two months to deal with some personal matters. However, I am now back in Bangkok and living it up! I was surprised at the airport...finding 9 members from my community there to greet me! We squeezed into a cab with my two luggages and made it back to our community around 1 am. It was an interesting drive back because I was so exhausted from flying for two days (with time change), my thai not being the greatest, and shock from being back in Thailand that I was struck speechless. But as I sat in the crammed taxi, I lifted up a prayer of thanks to our Heavenly Father for bringing me back to a place I have grown to love, more importantly to the family I have been blessed to have within my community.
(The picture above is a surprise welcome home cheer that the youth and kids put on! They had balloons, confetti, and a very loud horn-- which scared the living daylights out of me!)
What does this next year look like?
Different from my first year here, this upcoming last year of internship is more ministry focused. During my first year in Bangkok, it was an adjustment of getting to understand the culture and language. Building initial relationships within my community and beyond. This year will take what I learned and expand as the Lord guides. I am still praying and seeking the Lord for wisdom on where and what my focus of ministry should be during this new and exciting season. Please join me in prayer for the Lord to guide my mind, heart, and ministry.
Language Learning: I have decided to stop attending thai-language school and will now embark on having a personal tutor three times a week. I am very excited and have so far loved this new method of learning thai.
My Community
Although I left for two months, the Lord did not cease His work within my community. While I was gone, many new things happened! God gave us a new Thai Partner to work with. His name is Tum and he recently graduated from seminary. He was born and raised within a slum community and has come to know the Lord through my organization. His love for God and people has been so impactful to watch. He is an answer to many prayers and a welcomed team member!
In addition, Suzy (another missionary with Servant Partners) has began a project of storying with 3 elderly community members. Storying is a term used to describe the method of orally communicating portions of the Bible by telling stories aloud to non-christians and having them re-tell what they heard using their own words. It is such a powerful form of spreading the knowledge and word of God to those in our community.
The week before I returned, our community leaders Todd and Karen, as well as our Thai partner, Noy left to the States to undergo a unique leadership training experience for three months. While they are gone, Natalie, Tum, and I are doing VBS and teaching English on our own. So far it has been an amazing two weeks of ministry and Natalie and I are so very excited to explore teaching on our own. God has been giving us favor and many new ideas to engage our children in VBS and students learning English.
In addition to all the ministry happening, Natalie, Tum and I have embarked on a new journey to engaging the Youth by using the term community organizing. Short definition of community organizing is a process in which we bring the youth together to reach out and engage others within our community by taking action against what they see as an issue. We had our first meeting this past Saturday and it was very successful! They youth spoke amongst themselves and decided they want to help the community by having cleaning days. This means that one Sunday every three-five months, the youth will clean the community area for 4 hours and then we will end with having dinner together. We are still coming up with details but we are so excited that the youth came up with this idea all on their own and are excited in engaging with the community.
Prayer Requests:
- For my transition back into Bangkok (living, language, and cultural differences)
- For my community (for God to continue impacting those living in Sere Saht)
- For our Ministry and Ministry Team (Natalie, Tum, and I)
- For our Ministry Team in the States (Todd, Karen, and Noy)
- For my personal and spiritual life
- To being willing and open to allow God to move in and through me (to bring healing and love within my life and my family)