Home Sweet Home

      Well it's been one week since I've been back from Thailand. I thank God for such an amazing opportunity to go to such a wonderful country and meet some amazing people. I also want to thank everyone who supported me during this trip, your contributions were given toward something that changed my life as well as many other. As I sit and reflect on what God showed me on my internship, one thing that stands out is the word perseverance. I say this because I have met many missionaries who have given their lives to working in Thailand and have not seen the results that they would have liked to seen. But I realized that despite the constant resistance, they are not planning on leaving. They plan on marching forward with the message of hope. These men and women have inspired me. They have taught me that when a situation looks impossible and does not look how you would like it in the "natural", continue fighting and believing in God's goodness. If we are about God's business our work is never in vain.
    Since I've been back it's been a busy week catching up with Natalie, family, and friends. I have a busy next 6 months with finishing up school and preparing for a wedding. God give me grace!

The Home Stretch

Less than two weeks left before I get back in Chicago. I feel like my time here has been short but so full of impact on my life. I have spent the last week and a half traveling to a few different cities in Thailand (Khoen Kaen, Chiang Mai, Bangkok, and Hat Yai). Last week I had two opportunities to preach, once at a cell group and the next night at a church (both in Chiang Mai). Being with these precious saints gives me hope for Thailand. It is wonderful to see that Jesus is transforming lives in this nation. During my time in Bangkok, I was able to fellowship with missionaries that have been in Thailand and around the world for years. I had the privilege to hang out with Clint and Amber Garsee, Brian and Mary Beth Stubenrauch, Ben and Susan Hoar, Bill, Julie, and Isaac Hughes, Freddy de los Reyes, John Cava, and an elderly couple who have been in Thailand for 30 years. It was very uplifting and inspiring hearing the wisdom from these men and women of God who have given their lives for the cause of advancing the gospel and making the name of Jesus famous throughout Thailand and all of the world. After a 10 hour drive from Bangkok  to Hat Yai with the Stubenrauch's, I am now in the home stretch. I will be spending the last week and a half of my internship in Hat Yai, a city in the southern part of Thailand. Here I will be doing some work with a ministry called The Rock, it is a ministry in the slums that takes in children. So be in prayer with me that God continues to move for the remainder of the trip. Thank you all for your prayers and support during this time. Thank you God for leading me to Thailand.

Here are some pictures from the cell group that I shared at in Chiang Mai

On the move

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't posted in awhile. The last week has been great God is good. During the week last week Brian and I went to a village and talked to a lot of people about Jesus. We also had the chance to pray for some hurting people. God really opened up doors and the people's hearts to listen about God's salvation for us. A few weeks back I sent out an email and I believe I posted it on here that there is a woman who we have been praying for that has cancer and is dying. We went back to her house and were invited in by the family. They told us that she is doing a lot better and is actually eating now. She has not been eating for a long time and they told us that she has been eating a lot of food and is growing stronger. Keep praying that God completely heals her body from this cancer. We met the woman's two brothers as well. These two men have some deformities in their bodies due to strokes. When we were sitting there and praying for this family, I felt a compassion for them that I have never felt before. I realized that the devil has plagued this family with sickness for generations. Pray that the generational curse of sickness upon this family is broken. As we sat there with the family we talked about Jesus and they were very interested. The family had a lot of great questions about God and life after death that we were able to help them understand more clearly.

As of right now I am on the road with brother Freddy de los Reyes. On Sunday we took a bus to Khoen Kaen, but on the way there some plans got changed. So after a 6 hour bus ride, we met up with a missionary there and had dinner and discussed some things for 2 hours and then headed out on a 10 hour bus ride to Chiang Mai, the second biggest city in Thailand. We are staying with some friends from a ministry called Revolutionary Life. Check them out at www.RevolutionaryLife.org. It has been a great time of fellowship, prayer, and connecting with a lot of the missionaries out here. We will be taking an overnight train to Bangkok from here, which is about 11 hours, on Thursday and meeting with some other missionaries and a missions organization director for a couple of days. Then from there I will be heading down south to Hat Yai with the Stubenrauch's. This will be a 14 hour drive! Pray for me that the weariness of traveling doesn't effect me. Down in Hat Yai I will be able to work with a missionary who is working in the slums and be able to see the work that Brian, his family, and their team have worked on for the past 10 years. Thank you all for praying with me this past month and supporting me in my travels.

I forgot the chord for my camera to upload my pictures on my computer, so as soon as I get that I will post some more pictures. God bless you all.

"Receive the Kingdom of God like a child"

Yesterday, Sunday February 26, we went to our friends house for church in the morning. They have been living in a nearby village and reaching out to the people with the love of Christ for about 5-6 months now, and have found that they have a connection with the children in this particular village. The kids spend a lot of time over at their house playing games, watching bible movies, and learning about Jesus. Most of them who visit the house come to understand that Jesus is the only way, and choose to follow Him. On Wednesday, we got to pray with a young girl to accept Christ and choose to follow Him. Almost all of these children come from broken homes. Either they live with one parent or they live with their grandparents. In Thailand, kids are seen as a burden to many parents. Most of the time when someone has a child, they leave that child with the grandparents and go off to a bigger city to work. Some of these children's grandparents do not even want them and have no money to raise or feed them. It's amazing to see their reaction when someone like me plays with them or hugs them. They don't have any older people that love them or spend time with them.

After we worshipped for a little bit with the kids I shared from the Bible. I shared the story of Daniel and how he did not give in to the way of the land in worshipping idols and other gods, but he stood strong for God and God protected him. Because most of them have chosen to follow Jesus, it is more than likely (well it is promised in the Bible) that persecution, in some form or another, will come to them. I encouraged them to stand strong for Jesus because He is the only way. I spoke to them also about God's promise in Matt. 6:33 that if they seek Him, He will take care of their daily needs. Afterwards, we went and prayed for a woman in the village who has cancer. She had liver cancer and it spread to her whole body. The doctors have pretty much sent her home to die. We took all of the children over there and laid hands on her and prayed that God would heal her and that she would be a testimony to God for the village. Please join in with us as we continue to pray for this woman of only 60 years old to be healed completely.

Sharing with the kids

Praying for woman with cancer

Eating 

Relaxing afternoon

After church in the morning and a relaxing afternoon, we visited Bethany Home Orphanage. About 50 years ago some Finnish missionaries came out to Thailand and planted a bunch of churches. Along with the churches they planted an orphanage. There are 2 little girls that we know that need homes. They are living in homes right now where they are not wanted. Most of the orphanages in Thailand are not well run...there tons of kids living in them and very few workers to look after them and care for them with the love needed. Even at Bethany Home there are 29 children and only 5 workers. So we went to this orphanage to see how it is run and if it would be a good place for these children to live. While we were there I was playing around with the kids and I noticed on girl being distant and had a sad look on her face. I went to her and asked for her name and then she lit up. I noticed that she kept following me after that but at times I would still see that same countenance. But God really showed me something as I looked upon the faces of these children, especially that one girl...He showed me that they just want to be loved. They don't have the same kind of attention and love from others as many of us do. We as humans were created for love. Jesus gave us 2 commandments to live by in Matthew 22:37-39, to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind, and to love others as we love ourselves. We were created FOR love and we were created TO love. Please pray with us for wisdom in trying to find a place for these 2 girls to live and for the children in Thailand that they would know the love that they were created for.

Pictures from the orphanage

Thailand...Week 3

Earlier this week Brian and I got to share a little bit about why we are in Thailand with some English students. They kept wanting us to talk. Pray that the Lord continues to open their hearts and more opportunities for us to share the gospel with them. We visited a church today up in the mountains. It was a great time of worship and I met some great people who love the Lord. I got to share the Word today too. I shared on obedience to Jesus out of love and not duty (John 14:15) and the fuel (strength) behind everything we do...joy (Hebrews 12:2). Here are some pics...

Some of the people at the church

Brian and I

The village

The Reality of Idolatry

Yesterday Brian, myself, and two others went to 3 Buddhist temples to walk around and pray. One of the temples is a landmark in Dan Sai (the village where I stay) and holds the actual remains of Buddha. This temple is a big stronghold in Dan Sai and many people cherish it and come from all over the country. I could actually feel in my spirit a heavy dark presence as we walked through these temples. Brian said, "you know what the cool thing is? That Jesus is walking with us through these temples. That we are in a den of demons, and Jesus the King is with us".  It was heartbreaking seeing people bowing down to idols and praying to them. They even had children there on field trips. In America I hardly ever see this being done, but here it is everywhere. It reminded me of the Old Testament when people would build golden images and worship them. As I was walking around and praying, I wondered if these people felt any satisfaction in their hearts. I wondered if they had any hope for the afterlife or in this life. In Thailand, the mindset is that if you are Thai, you are Buddhist. So because of tradition, most Thai people follow tradition and worship idols. Many do not even know what they believe, but do it out of fear. We were praying that the people there come to know Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life... and that they see the fact that they are worshipping images made by man. 

As I was praying and reading Hebrews 8 and 9 the other day, I was realizing the beauty of Jesus and His sacrifice for us. He has provided a way that no one else could provide. He has shed His blood and made Himself our High Priest forever. Thank you Lord for providing us with "A new covenant" (Heb. 8:13) by which we can come before your throne and have communion with you. The new covenant by which you change our hearts if we repent, believe, and follow. Thank you Lord

Temple #1

Inside Temple #1

Idols in Temple #1

Temple #2

Buddha's grave

People praying for deceased family members

Phi Ta Khon Museum in Temple #3

Praying

Hello all, a couple days ago the family and I went over to a Christian couple's home for dinner, fellowship and prayer. The village they are in is completely unreached, and the couple has chosen to live amongst them to reach out with the love of Jesus. While we were there we learned that the school of the village is pretty harsh towards the students and even beats them for not giving correct answers. Some of the students came by the house to receive some help for the homework. Also while we were there one of the girls in the village told us that her grandmother down the road has liver cancer. So Brian, his friend, and I walked over there to pray for her. As we walked into her home there was just a room with a bunch of mattresses on the ground. She was on one of the mattresses, her arms very small and weak, and her legs very big. We were told that she had liver cancer and that it had spread throughout her whole body. The doctors have basically sent her home to die. She is only 60 years old. We shared the gospel with her and she prayed and gave her life to Jesus. We then explained that Jesus is the Healer and can heal her body from cancer. We laid hands on her and prayed for healing and explained to the people around that when she is healed, it is not us who have done this, it is God. So please join in lifting her up in your prayers because her healing will be an amazing testimony to this idolatrous village. Thank you and God Bless

Prayer and Worship

Eating Dinner