2019 Thailand Missions - Melody, Maya Mall, Macro, Mosquitos
We heard about the earthquake back home and hope everyone is ok! 😱 It was a reminder to our team of God's great power that can shake the hearts of those around us. We may not know how God is moving and transforming, but He is definitely at work and could change hardened hearts at any moment! Will we be ready for His moving?I get the chance to write to you all as we travel from Chiang Mai to Chaing Rai--about a 5 hour journey by car. Lillian, our contact and long-term missionary in Thailand, met us in Chiang Mai and got us a large van for the trek up north. It's a little nice to get some rest in comfy 10-passenger van and we're grateful to relax for a bit.
This past Tuesday, we continued our work at The Centre with painting and food prep for the July 4th event. Why start preparing so early? Well, we celebrated July 4 on July 3, but it was July 2 in your time zone...we were as confused as you are now, don't worry! But The Centre generally has events on Wednesdays and Fridays, so they wanted to keep the event days similar even though it wasn't quite the 4th yet. Not to worry, we did America proud by preparing all-American sides and marinating ribs and chicken. Elisabeth helped us created amazing side dishes after some intense shopping at their version of Costco called 'Macro' (get it?).After some painting in the late morning, we prepared coleslaw, potato salad, and put some homemade marinades onto 100 pieces of chicken and 8 racks of ribs. We then took the opportunity to hang out with some students through board games and attend classes. Some of them even remember our names! All in all, we're making some good connections so far and can't wait to celebrate the 4th with them over some tasty food.
Melody reminded us during Tuesday's devotional that God is worthy to be praised and His name is to be made known as He leads and guides our steps. Psalm 111:4 says,
[God] has caused his wondrous works to be remembered.We have seen God moving through our interactions with students and staff and we can't help but praise Him for even the small things. Our conversations and connections are growing and we're excited with how God is using us to bring attention to The Centre and ultimately to Himself.
The Lord is gracious and compassionate.
Pray requests:
- Please continue to pray for Melody and Whitney as they recover from their sicknesses. Especially as we have transitioned to a new location that's much more rural.
- Pray for our work in Chiang Rai--we will be teaching English to classes later today (Saturday).
- Pray that God would continue to work in Chiang Mai and The Centre. Even though our time is done, we can't help but remember their needs as we already miss our time there.
Praises:
- Praise God for his continual strength. The nights have gotten later and the work more rigorous throughout the day, yet God continues to renew us in His strength.
- Praise God for safety throughout our trip so far. Even with traveling to a new city, everything has been smooth.
- Praise God for new insights each day, we're seeing a particular theme throughout our devotions together and that is to seek God's will, purpose, and praise no matter the circumstances. We are thankful that this truth renews our sense of mission here in Thailand.
Thanks for your dedication, commitment, and support!
-Darren
Posts
