Hello friends!!! I’m now over 2 months into the race! We came to Thailand over 3 weeks ago, and now I’m just a few short weeks away from coming back home to Indiana for the Holidays! Time has seriously flown by! I feel like just yesterday I was at the Louisville airport saying goodbye to friends and family, and 2 months later I’m about to say hello again. I remember reading a letter from a friend over a month ago telling me how fast this would go by and to soak up EVERY second of it… Let me tell you, she was so right!
Two weeks ago we started helping with a ministry that provides women who have been victims of exploitation and the sex industry resources for education, job opportunities, etc. Immediately I was thrilled to be working with ministry that has a heart to end exploitation. The first week of ministry came and pasted, and I began to feel confused. We are working with this incredible organization that is truly making a difference to end exploitation, yet all I done was move boxes, organize a space, unwrap plastic off of chairs, and share my testimony during a church service. During ministry in Cambodia the Lord had made the big picture of what I was doing very clear, but this was not the case here. I started the following week of ministry with harden heart, I didn’t understand why the Lord would bring me to a place where I didn’t feel useful or equip to make a difference.
As I shared my frustrations with a friend she (with the help of the Holy Spirit) revealed to me that it didn’t matter what I was doing for ministry, but it’s the WHY behind what I was doing. I suddenly was filled with the realization of what the Lord had been trying to show me that whole time. It didn’t matter that I was moving boxes or literally hand painting fronts of journals. The Lord brought me to the question of “did I come here to serve the Lord in the way HE asked me to, or did I come here to do something that made me feel like “I” was making a difference?” Let me tell you the Lord definitely has a way of humbling you! This past week the Lord has opened my eyes to see how I have the opportunity to partner with him in all those little moments even when you’re just painting a journal. We have choice to see the bigger picture of the kingdom in EVERY little thing we do, or we can count those little moments off as mundane and meaningless. It’s a pretty big decision to make every day…
“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.”
Colossians 3:23-24
Prayer Requests: We only have one week of ministry left 🙁 I ask that you pray for us to stay present in this last week, and remain open to whatever else the Lord is still wanting to teach us overseas!
Woooooord