Thailand Missions (2016) "Blisters, Bruises, and Bug Bites, Oh My!"
But God is good! (Even when He created mosquitoes... I guess.)
Physically, our team has been having a rough time: all of us have bug bites, some of us have crippling blisters, and one of us has a sprained and bruised ankle (#prayforcaleb). Though the physical pain can be inhibiting for us at times, it certainly hasn't stopped God from working here. When we are physically tired, itchy, sweaty, and dehydrated, and we have no more strength or energy of our own, He refreshes and sustains us spiritually. We are so finite, and He is so infinite. Amen.
Today (Wed, 7/13) was our third day of teaching at Jianhua: both teaching teams had 2 classes in the morning, and Team A (Doris, Thomas, and Alisa) had one class at night. Since we use the same lesson every time with different students, our lesson plan has become routine for us, and each class has been going increasingly smoothly.
After morning classes and lunch, we followed the students to a nearby Buddhist temple, where they worshipped for an hour. While the majority of the students went in, those weren't Buddhist remained outside, which gave us an opportunity to discover and converse with those who were Christian. The Thai population is predominantly Buddhist, and the few Christian students there told us how hard it is to share the gospel with their friends and peers. Some of the students were from a nearby Christian center called Canaan (pronounced Ca-na-an), which the FCBC Thailand team visited two years ago.
Once school was over, we hung out with the students who were waiting to be picked up. Alisa and I jumped into a game of volleyball while Caleb and Thomas played basketball with the boys. Playing in my long teaching dress is hard work, but these kids play in their school uniforms as though the heat and humidity mean nothing to them!
At night, Team A went off to teach their class, and Team B (Caleb, Kristy, Rochelle, and me) hung around school to hang out with the night students in between classes. We were able to see the Canaan kids again, some of whom also attend Chinese night classes. Once Team A was done teaching, we all headed back to our dorm together.
Every day is long and tiring, hot and sticky, but despite the physical pain and sometimes discouraging moments, I think every team member would agree that our time here has also been sweet. I am always struck by how generous, friendly, and joyful the students at Jianhua are: though our language barrier (for the students that don't speak Mandarin or English) means that we often sit in silence and smile at each other, the students continue to extend us grace and are always willing to push past the awkwardness and engage with us.
I was asked to bring a ukulele to Thailand in the event that we needed to perform or play worship songs and didn't have access to a guitar here. As I thought about which chords to print and bring with me, one of the songs I settled on was Hillsong's "Hosanna." The bridge goes like this:
"Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity"
This bridge is my prayer for our team: that we will have eyes to see which students are ready to receive the gospel, to look at all of them with love and urgency, to have hearts that are jealous for them and break for their salvation, and to trust God with everything we have and all that we are while we are here. Please continue to pray this prayer over us, and over the Christian students as well, who face an uphill battle here.
Thank you for sending and supporting us (krup koom kha)!
-Ashley
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