Darkness

We were introduced yesterday to Puket, and the famous Bangla road. For those of you who don't know, on this one street alone, there are 200 bars-about 1500 girls work one street in Puket. At first glance, you might just see a beachy looking town with outdoor markets and people wanting to sell you things....but it literally is filled with so much evil that just walking around down there makes you feel sick and heavy. We walked all around yesterday getting used to the streets where we will be working at night, when we turned down this darker ally looking road filled with markets and vendors. At first I was hesitant because of the feeling I got when we turned the corner. It is very hard for me to sit and describe it to you, but it was like the air was thicker and harder to breath, it could have been cut with a knife it was so thick. Of coarse there were people trying to sell us things, and my team stopped at this one ladies table, where they were looking at dresses. There was a young girl about 19 standing there with dresses, you could tell she was not comfortable asking me to buy something......but she came up and shyly asked if I wanted a dress. Instead of saying, no, I asked, "What is your name?" She was shocked and reacted in a way that was surprising. She said, "Rena" We began to talk and it was like she just needed to talk to someone. She was holding my arm and hands talking with me as if we had been best friends forever. She began to explain that she was from Burma, where all 11 people of her family are. She had come to Thailand to work. I told her we had to catch a bus but that I would be back to talk more with her. She probably didn't believe me, but I can't wait to see her face, when I turn that corner to the ally again. I don't know her complete situation, if she is being trafficked into Thailand from Burma, but I do know that I serve a God that knows. Pray for Rena, and the days to come, I know I met her in the dark ally for a reason. We are light to the dark places...don't hide that light within the walls of the comfortable. Go make darkness flee, and spark light in other people....like Rena.

Home?

It’s a strange and provoking thought that Asia will be my home for the next four months. Today we walked around Puket trying to not let jet lag get the best of us, when I was bombarded with this simple thought. Where and what is home? We could go with the all time famous phrase, home is where the heart is.  And in this case…I think it might be true. My heart has been captured by Thailand, so yes home is where the heart is. Or we could go with the simplicity of home is where the people you love are, and in this case I am beginning to fall in love with these Buddhist bonded Thais…but then again there are many people I love back in the States. So where and what is home? This is what I think….if we focus on eternity we can easily see where home is and what it looks like. I love and miss my family and friends, but then again I have been given a love for these people that I cannot describe. Is that wrong? I believe if home is eternity than…no. Home is where the heart is, and our hearts should be set on His Kingdom. Our lives are too short to be bound to something so superficial. Home should be everywhere, because spreading the Gospel should be our life song. So don’t be afraid to do something crazy…like live in a foreign country for four months. Go out on that limb, take the plunge, walk into darkness, and see what God will do when total surrender is given.

My Team

So I thought I would do a Picture blog to introduce the wonderful group of girls I will be traveling and learning about life with. I really have just met these girls and can honestly say…I love them. I love how we are all different but very compatible in getting done what God has for us in Asia. I honestly believe that we didn’t on accident all end up at Aim; we were placed here by the Divine to affect and change live in Asia.

So it begins!

So here it is people….my first blog about this Pilgrimage I’m on. So I was greatly surprised that at the arrival to the airport, we were given a clue with $25, and were told to get our team to this address. It reminded me of Amazing Race that show.  So after walking what seemed like miles with all of our stuff, which consisted of a 55-pound pack, a 30-pound book bag, and probably a 10-pound messenger bag, I was so exhausted.  The address lead us to a homeless shelter in downtown Atlanta…yet another surprise. We were told to drop our bags and head upstairs, where we were told about Aim and what they stand for and expect from us. We then were given a couple blankets and our bag dinners. We were then given our next mission, which was to walk the streets of Atlanta, in the freezing cold, and minister to the homeless. It seemed like not enough instruction, but I put a smile on and wrapped my scarf up tight. At first it seemed like there were no homeless people out there, until a man told us that the CNN building lets the homeless come in to keep them out of the cold. I was all right with this because it meant us getting out of the cold. So we started in, where we found so many people seeking shelter from the cold.  At first I was intimidated by it all and was asking myself, what do I say, how do I say it, and how can I relate to these people?  I mean really what can I say to someone who has nothing that I want desperately to share the love of Christ with? My team approached an older lady where we were greeted with so much kindness and love. We sat at a table and she began to tell her story. This woman was so on fire for Christ that it almost embarrassed me in my walk with Christ. She had nothing and yet she had everything. She relied completely on the word of God. Everything that came from her mouth was pertaining to Christ. And I found myself crying inside because how many times do we not appreciate and rely completely on God. We have resources and resources to further our walk with Christ and yet what do we do?  It was as if this woman was completely happy being in the situation she was in, because she had Christ. Just in the first 24 hrs of being here, I have been challenged to stop being so lazy and ok with being mediocre. Christ calls us to be uncomfortable, so do it. We as Americans think that we are entitled to this and that, but in reality we aren’t. We are all the same and don’t deserve anything, so getting or receiving becomes a different picture. The gift that Christ gave becomes so much more awesome. I have only begun and have learned about the power of this gift! Don’t waste time…strive to become like Him!

Which will it be?

It has been a while since I have blogged because of the craziness that has come upon me. I am leaving the country in 12 days! Yes- 12 days! It has definitely been a process of trusting, freaking out, and than having to trust again...but I am almost there. I have been challenged these past couple weeks and have failed at most of those challenges but have grown from it all. I have been reminded that I am going to do work...not shop or see the world, but to ultimately change lives through the love of Christ. I will face many trials and dark places, and knowing what I am getting into makes it all the harder to keep a grasp of why I'm there. I was reminded of a story recently that I have been told all to well by my amazing daddy. And if you know my dad...you know he loves stories and he loves telling them. But he was telling the one of the soldiers who died on D Day on the beaches of Normandy. And the story goes a little something like this.....On D Day we lost so many men. I mean thousands and thousands died in just one day. And after we had won the battle a reporter was talking with a General and he asked..."Why did your men keep fighting knowing that they would probably die? They must have really hated the Nazis?" And the General responded with this simple answer, "It was not the hate of the Nazis in front of them that kept them going, it was the love of the men behind them." Stepping into this dark and unknown world makes me sometimes think it is because of my hatred of the evil that I am doing what I'm doing. But it's not, its the love that I have for those girls that don't know what love is. It's the family and friends behind me that are praying me through it. It's the command that Christ wants for all of our lives. Yes Victory over the enemy is always the goal, but the love behind you is what gets you to that victory. The things we do in life can either be for the hatred of the ones in front of us, or for the love of the people behind us. Which will it be? As for me I will choose love!

Stir the Soul...

There are things in life that impact, there are things that are pondering, and then there are those things that stir the soul. When I look at my own life, I see examples of each overflowing into it, creating who I am today. Now, I have a pretty soft heart when it comes to touching stories or moments. I can watch a sappy movie or read a good book and just have a good ole weep. I mean tears and emotions that I didn't even know I had. And sometimes depending on the quality of the story......it could be impacting on how I view things from that moment on. Then there are things that I come across in my everyday life that make me ponder. Like for instance....we go through life being impacted by things that are slowly captivating our lives. These things impact until the point were we no longer can see if that was our original beliefs or something that has been feed to us from the start. Then and finally there are those things that stir the soul. These types of things are rare and hard to come by...but when found should be kept close. Now when you have found that thing that creates a fire and releases a passion so intense that everything seems possible, it should stir your soul. As you may know I like questions, so here it goes. Why are souls not stirred everyday about the things that fill us with passion? Why do we let things impact us that have no real eternal value to them? And pondering could bring us to this conclusion, so why do we not do it more often? I honestly believe that Christ wants us to live not a life of boring rules and regulations....but one that stirs our soul each and everyday because of how magnificent His love is for us. His love is pondering, impacting, but more importantly that thing that stirs the soul.

Endless Questions?

I think asking questions is important so here it goes.......Where does one find happiness? Is it from doing what everybody else does? Will I be happy when I have that cookie cutter life style, with the house, dog, and children? Or Is it carving your own path and trying things no on else tried? Or is it simply living in a way that reflects the Maker? And in asking these questions, am I really looking for happiness or is it something else I need? And Why does everyone look for happiness? Is that what we are supposed to look for? Did Christ look for happiness? I don't even know, but What is happiness? Maybe I'm missing it, but this is what I need to ask.......if we took all that time it takes to ask these questions and began to ask the Father for happiness that can only be found in Him, I wonder what would happen? Would we be happy?