my time in thailand was spent alongside 11 other ladies who love jesus more than anything. i have learned more about the character of God by seeing them live life daily and through hearing their life stories – for every single of one them it’s by grace they’ve been saved. and His grace is painted so beautifully in their lives. they’ve given me hope for every one of my friends to come to know Jesus as the Love of their life. it’s because of this love that has transformed their lives that they are propelled to share the good news of Jesus with everyone and anyone.
my tshirt i sold to fundraise for this trip was based off Luke 2:10 : Jesus came to bring good news and great joy for all people. and the Lord used that phrase “for all people” to continue to make an imprint on my heart this month.
God is constantly pursing the hearts of people and uses us to pursue people. in Thailand, that’s what we did – we simply pursued people and let them know their worth. just to name a few::::
we saw a trendy 18 year old girl from the mall who was Buddhist accept Jesus as her Savior! we made relationships with the ladies at the two coffee shops on our street and were able to share the gospel with them. we prayed for and let the beggar on the street with one arm know he was seen. the little boy at school who had lots of questions about Jesus was fed the truth. one of our first days, we randomly became friends with a hiphop dancer to translate our coffee order – who on one of our last nights would ask God for a relationship with Him!! the lady who we ordered padthai for dinner every night from got to hear the gospel as she cut our hair at the salon. dressing in thai traditional clothing and dancing in their culture opened the door to pray for for a big crowd of people. the girls at a juvenile detention center soaked in the truth that what they’ve done isn’t who they are. the refugee children who have no citizenship in a country can find hope since they have citizenship in Heaven.
the guard the front gate of our neighborhood, the successful business man resort owner, the australian tourist at the market, the french couple who opened a bed and breakfast by the beach, the ladyboy who was our waiter at a restaurant, the countless older white men and younger Thai girls (who weren’t their wives) out on a “date”, the group of fun girls on their senior trip bowing to Buddhist idols, the flight attendant who had no idea people would live on mission for Jesus because it’s their heart’s desire…i could go on and on about the people my team pursued and and prayed for and loved on and shared the truth with.
to be “for” someone means to encourage, to walk alongside through anything, to pursue a relationship, to love despite circumstances. Jesus is FOR His people. He meets us where we are.
“There are no qualifications for His presence” is how one of my team members says it. there is no standard to strive up to, no need to clean yourself up, no qualifications to stop doing this or that for Jesus to come in because it is only by grace, through faith, not works, that you are saved (Ephesians 2:8). He is a Father with open arms. He comes into our hearts first and molds us to be more like Him.
Jesus is our perfect example always: Jesus is for all people, and he came to earth, died on a cross, and rose again to offer a relationship with Him as a free gift for all people. So we too are for all people and live to proclaim the free gift of eternal life for all people. “FOR EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:13
we could feel that our team was a strong force in Thailand. i liked to think of Jesus as our center, and our team of 12 girls was like His 12 disciples. His twelve that He was in close relationship with and entrusted the gospel to and sent out to proclaim His name (1 thessalonians 2:4).
i learned this month what it feels like to truly ABIDE ~
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” John 15:4
to abide is “to live or to dwell or to remain in.” when you are daily getting to know God more and in communication with Him and longing for His light to shine through you, it’s a game changer. it’s a life changer to have an eternal perspective that gives hope beyond what’s in this world. abiding in Him happens everywhere and anywhere, in Thailand or in Ruston, Louisiana because there are no qualifications for His presence
He is the Source of Life for all people. So i invite you into this, if you’re reading this and have any thoughts flooding in that you’re curious about or if you’ve been encouraged in any way throughout my stories of Thailand, reach out to me and you know i’d love to talk to you about it!
THANK YOU A MILLION for whoever has read my updates up until now!! my heart is overflowing with gratitude and honor to every ounce of support that allowed Jesus’s love to be shared in Thailand. i’ve tried my best to put into words the impact that it has had on the Thai people and on my own walk with the Lord. i’m inspired and on fire for what is happening in the Kingdom!
let’s all keep pursuing people!
let’s keep creating Kingdom here on this earth!
“a great multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language standing before the throne” (Rev 7:9) for all people! this is the goal!
