Not one has been sold...

As most of you have read in the last few blogs, it has been a struggle to be home...difficult in so many ways, challenges I did not except to encounter upon returning home to... It has been a road filled with many emotions, ups and downs...

Little did I know the Lord had great plans to help heal my heart through headbands.......

 

The Lord prompted my heart about 1 month ago to start a small ministry called Headbands for HOPE. All the headbands, ear warmers, and bobby pins are handmade and ALL PROFITS go towards the prevention of human sex trafficking. As I prayed about if this was really what the Lord wanted he spoke yes's and also said, "You will donate $1,000 by Christmas"...

When I heard this I had peace...As I told people these things many scrunched their faces up and said, "Hmm really...$1000 by Christmas, you know Emily that is a LOT of headbands...you will have to sell at least 100 headbands!!"

This entire headband making ministry was His idea and so I continued to have peace and just continued right on making those headbands along with MUCH support from family and friends!! With help we were able to make 65 headbands to have ready to go waiting to see how the Lord was going to use these...

 

 

One night my mom came home from bible study and said, "Come downstairs when you are done reading." I didn't want to go downstairs because I was all snuggled up reading , but I figured she had found a great deal on some headbands and was super excited! You guys all know how Dagmar gets when she finds a great deal :)  So I went downstairs to have her direct me to a table where I saw a check written out for $1,000...

... this woman heard about Headbands for HOPE and that all profits go towards human trafficking, and asked if she could make a donation. I have never even met this woman... she heard from the Lord, and she responded.

 

As I  thought about the girls the money would go to I smiled...I turned around and looked around my dining room....65 headbands lay all over the room and not one had been sold.  God in his amazing faithfulness fulfilled his promise.  God didn't need the headbands to make the $1,000 he promised, He won the battle Himself. 

 

It made me think of Gideon...how the Lord asked him to prepare an army,  finally settle on the 300 men for battle. And what happened the day of the battle? The Lord won the battle, Gideon and his men never actually fought.

Also, I told you all I was reading my bible upstairs before walking down...the last thing I read was Colossians 3:15, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts..." and guess what verse was big and bold at the top of the check...Colossians 3:15. Out of ALL the 31,000 plus verses in the bible...wow.

 

There will be times in your  life God will call YOU to walk in obedience and have faith WITHOUT sight that God will and can do what he promises. And sometimes God calls you to something "strange" something that will make people scrunch their faces, unsure of whether this can actually happen, and like Noah,  people  may not understand what the Lord has called YOU to. 

 

My encouragement to you if GO, DO, BE where the Lord wants you to be and do what he wants you to do. He will never let you down and he WILL fulfill his promises. He is not a God of empty promises. Walk in FAITH not out of SIGHT!

HOW YOU CAN YOU HELP?

You can REALLY help in many ways!!

You can send...

1. Fabric-scraps, new, ANYTHING!
2. Headbands- really any kind!
3. Hot glue gun sticks
4. Any kind of cute buttons, pearls, embellishments I could put on a headband
5. Hot glue guns (the ones that use the smaller glue stick

 I was upset from the night before and less than 6 hours later I was running away...tired of feeling I was the one always upset...tired of how quickly the anxiety and low feelings could wash over me (read the last blog entitled 'A Restless Heart in Waiting') knowing that the last thing this man probably wanted to do was wake up to a crying, sad girl on his morning to sleep in, yet again dealing with issues and emotions that have come since being back in the U.S. and dealing with my own frustration.  So I split.......

Mad and upset I yelled at the Lord, "I am all alone! I am alone walking down this road... physically and emotionally I feel so alone!"  I kept walking until I hit the beach, walking down the beach before settling by the water, wanting to think and pray...As you probably gathered from the last blog, many times, even when something small happens, it feels huge and I feel my emotions spiraling out of control, feeling there is nothing I can do to stop the low feelings from hitting...it feels like you are so tired, you just collapse...

 

After we talked for a bit we headed back to his apartment......."Can I make you eggs to eat?" he asked.  While he cooked I still felt overwhelmed and tired, so I laid down...not moments passed before I was crying again.  He found me, tears streaming down my face and a puddle of tears on the bedspread. I didn't even open my eyes when he sat next to me, ashamed that yet again I was upset and feeling so weak. I might as well have been a rag doll the way he had to scoop me up into his arms and as mine fell to my side he put his around me and said, "Emily, I would die for you I love you so much.   I don't want you to be sad...I have loved you as long as I have known you, my love for you is unconditional." Even after that it still took me the rest of the day to shake out of the depression, anxious feelings, and mood.  And do you know what else? There was this man, loving, serving, lifting me up, protecting me, treating me to a wonderful day picking apples in an orchard, apple pie, buying me my favorite tea from South Africa, taking me to lunch, and even paying for me to feed some random llamas J

God said, "Even with your brokenness and your mistakes, when you feel overwhelmed at having to draw near to Me over the same issue you have been struggling with, guess what? I am here.  When you run away, I will come looking for you.  I would walk the whole length of the beach to find you.  And when I find you I would rejoice, take you in my arms, and remind you that you are loved.......disappointment and anger would not be in My eyes. When you cry, broken, unable to lift your own arms to wrap them around Me, I have you my child......I have loved you with an unconditional love.  I have died for you."

 

 

...I am learning a lot about trust and patience in the seeming dullness of the routine of life and that this is the best preparation for the larger opportunity which God may send you on...God is working, He is faithful, and he wants me to wait... My prayer is that I will understand that at times I am called to do my duty by doing nothing, to work by keeping still, to serve by waiting...I can fully trust God's methods and His clock...to learn strong faith is to endure great trials, to stand firm amid severe testing... Sometimes the grandest character is grown in the hardships...God did not promise us that in this life everything would be easy or fun, but He promises us He will always be with us...there is rain before a rainbow...when sight ceases faith steps in...

...blindly walking into beauty is what I say about my life these days J I believe that there is something beautiful God is walking me into in the future but I honestly do not know what that is right now...and the waiting has been very difficult...

...but I am going to CHOOSE to count it all as joy, I am going to continue to praise God for the deliverance that will come, I am going to keep walking forward blindly believing that one day this part of my life and the struggles that have come will one day be a testimony of the Lord's faithfulness, that the season I am in now will serve to glorify God, and I will choose to continue everyday to pray that the Lord uses my days to bless others by showing them love, for this was the ministry of Christ and it will be mine too...

I want to be like Joseph, the Lord spoke to him and he went, the Lord told him to stay and wait and he did, then the Lord told him to move again and he did...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Truth: This month has been one of the hardest for me on the race...anxiety, fears, and an overwhelming heaviness met me every morning this month at 7 AM before I could even open my eyes...I cried at least twice a day, sometimes not even sure what over...I was really attacked from the enemy this month trying to dismiss this last 11 months and what God has done...I struggled through the first 2 ½ weeks of this month feeling bipolar each day, sobbing one moment and feeling peaceful the next...I felt like someone was literally squeezing my heart...this continued day in and day out...

...I started to have so much anxiety hearing about my friends and teammates plans for when they get back...realizing I did not have anything close to a 5-year plan, I don't even have a 6 month plan! I started hearing lies from the enemy saying, "Look at you just going right back to where you lived a year ago, nothing has changed this year, you are just going straight back to America to pick up where you left off...all that you have seen this year, and you are "just" going home." I felt so incredibly overwhelmed that I did not know what I was doing when I got off the race. Some mornings I just didn't want to open my eyes knowing what the day would bring...but of course you can't ever fall back asleep when are so discontent...

Truth: God had me start looking at the heart and root of the issue...this is what he showed me. I was at church a week ago and during worship I prayed for a word from Him, begged for something, anything to give my heart peace and rest. What I heard loud and clear was, "Dance with me Em." Side note-I love when I hear God call me Em instead of Emily J I said, "I am dancing with you Lord, I have been." And He said, "Yes, your hands are in mine but you are not really dancing to the song of today."

I did not completely understand until He gave me this vision...He was right, I was dancing but I was constantly looking over my shoulder at the things from my past, regrets from the race, the feeling of I could have done more, should have done this different, and looking back wishing it wasn't over...then looking over His shoulder at the future trying desperately to figure out what I was supposed to do when I got home and watching what everyone else was doing.

Then God said, "You are so caught up with and concerned that the music has changed and the old dance steps are gone that you are going to miss the dance of today and the new steps I am teaching you." Have you ever tried to learn a new dance while you are fighting with not wanting to learn the new steps? Or have you ever tried to learn new dance steps while instead of paying attention to your own dance you are watching those dancing around you?

Truth: God also gave me another vision that day...I was in a pasture, my pasture, but I was over by the fence and I was holding onto the fence jumping up trying to look in other pastures around me. God showed me that I was walking in the spirit of comparison, trying to look at everyone else's pasture and what God was showing them about what they were doing after the race. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake." Psalm 23: 1-3. God asked me if I really believed that he would give everyone else a green pasture but me dead brown grass in mine. He said, "Emily if you take a moment to stop jumping up and down and turn around, you will find I have placed you in a green pasture filled with flowers, life, and new growth." The grass isn't greener on the other side, it's a lie the enemy tries to convince us of time and time again throughout life. Take some time today if you are struggling with this and read psalm 23 and take a look in your own pasture and where God has placed you... and know that it is good and the grass is green.

Truth: Third thing God used to teach me...this story was given to me by my little sister...There was this special Olympics tournament and there was one precious boy who came in very last, WAY behind everyone else. Everyone had already finished and everyone lined up to cheer on this boy and help him to be encouraged to finish. He finally finished and then they went to the awards ceremony. His parents were proud he finished but felt bad he came in dead last...then at the award ceremony it came the time for them to hand out the first place award, and they called the boy's name. His parents thought it must be a joke or must have heard it wrong, but they said his name again, for first place! When they asked why he came in first place even though he finished last, the judges replied- He was the only one who stayed in his own lane! :)

So moral of the story is STAY IN YOUR LANE...run the race the Lord has marked out for YOU not for someone around you! Remember that God has it all planned out, and his plan for you is to stay in your own lane, run your race, look not to the right or to the left but look straight at Jesus!!

This is what God has been teaching me this month; I hope that something in here God uses to speak to you in your own life too! God has been showing up BIG time this month and I have really felt like what it means to be carried by Jesus when I am weak. I have seen Him work in the ministry we are a part of and use me even though my flesh has been weak, He has been strong, and he has been my strength.

Pray for me my last couple weeks on the race that God would continue to carry me through, send me His peace...pray for the time that is coming to say goodbye to my team that I have without a doubt spent more time with in this year then I will one day in my first year of marriage J pray for the excitement and overwhelming feelings of coming home. Pray for my contentment in being ok with not having answers of what I am doing next and to not compare my journey with anyone else's. And pray that no matter what I would continue to dance THIS dance, run THIS race marked out for me J

The most touching part for me was the thought and care behind it...it was getting the little bracelet my little cousin picked out himself, the special bookmarks his brother picked out, the gum and mints from my childhood from my dad, all the specially picked out princess stuff from my sister, the Easter package my mom sent with tons of Easter supplies for crafts to do with the kids we live with and all the encouraging words I received through letters and the adorable dolphin picture drawn on the front J

 It's that in each package whether the person knew it or not they were blessing so many people then they may have originally thought! With the plastic eggs combined from the packages we were able to do an Easter egg hunt with the kids, their FIRST EASTER EGG hunt ever! Luke and Paul the eggs you decorated were specially made for 4 kids first Easter Egg hunt of their life J Special huh? J The Disney movie my mom sent, Tangled, happened to be the kids FAVORITE movie of all times and they were so very excited to watch it when it arrived and I will be leaving it with them as a parting gift! I could go on and on but here is the point, on the world race you learn to share everything you have with the people around you. And more then ever before I am amazed at how God works, through the hearts of my loved ones blessing me with their gifts of love, some of them happened to be the exactly what the kids here talked about for the first few weeks! And BAM there it is sent from America!!

As my mom has always taught me how important presentation is of a gift by making our Easter baskets look so nice, I worked hard on trying to make a laundry basket look nice too! I used the ribbon you sent mom... From the 8 of us also going through all our own things as well as some of the Easter things sent overseas we were able to make a beautiful basket of treasures for the kids FIRST EASTER EGG BASKET J I learned putting that basket together what it feels like to be a parent, why all those years when I asked how can this be as much fun for you as for me when you don't have a gift?? Now I understand full well. Because when those kids came running in to the living room to see their Easter basket it hit me, this is what it feels like. This is the joy you get in blessing your children, this is the joy a parent feels in blessing their own kids, this is the joy the Lord has blessing His children...

It was also through this experience that I learned something about my own heart. Love is not something that I hold onto with both hands, holding on as if it will never come again. I believe that one of the reasons that I have found it easy to freely give love is because of the love I have been shown in my life through my community of family and friends.

I have a mother who has shown me gentleness and how to take the time to stop, sit, and listen and care for another person no matter well fed, hungry, rich, or poor, how to make things special for others, even the small things.

I have a father who generously gives and buys for other people when they are in need. I have tangibly seem my father my whole life provide for my needs in a roof over my head, clothes, helping me all the way through college and all my life growing up he poured out love to my friends too, taking us all to do fun things.

I have a sister who has taught me how to love freely and forgive freely. It is through her example I have learned what it means to forgive 70 times 7. Watched her serve others and me in love...devoting so much time to planning mission trips and finding nursing homes for dear friends.

I have been shown love through my extended family all my life. They have greatly supported me in every area. They speak words of life over me and have continued to believe in me as well as the path God has me on.

I have friends that I have grown up with all my life since I was 11 years old. They have seen me through good times and hard times and have loved me. Friends I met in collegeand after college that loved me through some big years of growth and realizations. All these friends have demonstrated how to love someone and walk through life beside them. And each one of them has greatly supported me this year on the race.

The Lord has blessed me with amazing neighbors, pastors, and co-workers that have really taken the time to get to know my heart, people in the church who love on me miles away and love on my mom when both her kids aren't there J

The list could go on and on but this last week what I have learned is...freely I have received, so freely I give. I realized this doesn't just apply to tangible things in my life but love also. It is through YOU, everyone taking the time to even read this blog right now, it is through YOUR love, support, and encouragement throughout my life that has enabled me to pour out love to 11 different countries and so many people along the way.

I wanted to thank you all for every prayer, every email, every word, and every moment that you have spent with me throughout my life, sitting with me sharing our hearts over tea or holding me as I cry in your arms. All the times that may have seemed small I have thought about this last 11 months and I now realize how much your love and care all these years prepared me to love the nations.

The love you have poured into me over the years has now been poured out onto others around the world and I sincerely thank you.

            You simply loved me, so that I may simply love others.

This one may not make sense to everyone and it is hard to fully explain 10 months of feelings through written words...but I will try, and if you don't see my point at the end, no worries because writing this is healing for my own heart J

In coming on the world race we are encouraged to walk in freedom, not in law, and to find out who you are and about your identity in Christ. It hit me month 10, in some ways I was walking in more freedom before coming on this mission trip. Where to even begin...the first 3 months of the WR I realized that I was different then people on my squad in ways. Many didn't really understand me and I felt out of place...people made comments asking me if I fell out of a Disney movie or about my life being perfect and they didn't fully hear me when I tried to explain...this is the world race and people are just more adventurous, wild, rougher, and tougher even for lack of better words to describe my squad that I dearly love. Please make sure to hear my heart in that, I LOVE these people SO much and not walking fully in who I am, that's on me. I just felt too "girly and gentle" for the world race, in everything from my heart to my headbands J

I believe that I am the daughter of a King, a princess, that I have been redeemed, loved, and forgiven by a God that chose me first, loved me first, and by knowing Jesus Christ my life has been radically changed in every way... I love Disney and princess movies because God always uses them to speak to my heart...my favorite Disney princess is Ariel... At home I have a diamond crown I wear when I do my quiet time which the Lord uses in so many ways...and actually right before this month God told me to buy one because of what he was going to do this month, so now I have a tiny crown out here in Thailand with me too... A huge part of my heart in coming on the race (my best friend Nicole painted this vision for me actually J) was in each country to tell the young to older girls that they were princesses and so incredibly precious to God, beautiful, loved, and chosen to be set apart... I have watched this vision take action each month and it has been amazing... Even though life is tough and I shed lots of tears, I see life greatly as a beautiful fairy tale, the most beautiful love story of all time, one in which the leading role is played by the most amazing Savior I have ever known... People say I smile like a girl in love, because I am...I have been redeemed and forgiven by a God that takes my breath away each day with His heart, grace, blessings, and when I look at nature, the clouds, mountains, and ocean, my eyes are wet with tears as I am in awe of His creation and beauty... I am overwhelmed all the time by God's love and the way He scoops me up off the ground when I am broken before him... I trust God more then anyone and there is no one I would rather run to... He is the one who covers me with a peace that is unexplainable... Many people say it is a walk through life with the Lord but I say it's a dance...because to me it is, I chose a few years ago to place both hands in His and he gave me a vision that I haven't shared with everyone, but here goes J

Four years ago I struggled to forgive myself of many mistakes I had made in my life, felt the weight of my sins heavily on me...God gave me this vision, I was standing there with a white dress on that had been torn, ripped, and black smear marks were all over it. Christ was standing next to me holding out a perfectly white dress saying I have this for you, this new dress, new life, forgiveness, purity, redemption, but you have to choose to put it on. I did and the next vision he gave me was one of us dancing together with the new white dress on, hair down, sun shinning, smiling ear to ear, and looking right at Jesus, choosing to dance my way through life holding onto him...

I may be on the world race but here is the truth, I don't love to hike even though I have in every country because my teammates like it, I do love getting to the top though J... I don't really like to camp and live in a tent. Not because the tent isn't spacious enough but I feel alone in the tent and I miss sleeping close to other people and I am afraid of the dark. It's month ten and no, I have not gotten more used to or much braver with bugs. I still scream like a girl when one comes running or hopping towards me.

I am on the WR but I have not gotten tougher or rougher in those ways...I have gotten stronger in heart and spirit through what God has done in and through me this year. I have realized my heart is tender...each month loving the people around me flows out of me feeling like I have forever with them, I invest in the people and places I am in, and then at the end of every month I cry leaving it... and I have learned, that is ok J

So this is who I am. Some of these things I tried to change about myself this year while living in the community that I have been because I wanted to fit in more and I wanted people to understand me... If anything who God has made me to be and the heart he has given me for him and for others has only grown stronger and I have a better appreciation for the spirit God has placed inside me. Because now I know what it is like not to fully walk in who I am and I also know what it feels like to have that restored inside me J I have discovered the freedom in being different and being set apart and I won't again be afraid to walk fully in who God made me to be.

Part One:

The first one comes from 1 Timothy 1:12-16, "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful appointing me to his service...The grace of the Lord was poured out on me abundantly...Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinner-of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe..."

Sometimes I get the impression that people think that what I am doing out here is "better" then doing missions in America. Also, that by doing something like this I may be stronger in my faith, not struggling with things that they are struggling with...so in this blog I just need to dispel any thoughts of that and I need to humble myself in saying one of the things I have learned on the world race is that I need God's mercy more than anything, I need his grace, I need his love. Just because I am traveling to 11 countries in 11 months sharing the word of God doesn't for a second mean I am above sin, making mistakes, or completely making a mess of things. Just like everyone else I need Christ, I need forgiveness, and I need His patience.

 I want you to know that everything and anything you are doing for the kingdom is important. The conversation you had with the woman at the grocery store to encourage her, the person you sat with and prayed with after church, the child in need you shared your food with, the homeless man you sat down to talk to on the streets, the neighbor that you cooked a meal for, the youth that you pour into, your very own children you are raising in the word of God, the bible study you show up to each week and speak life into those people, the church that you lead, the kindness you show to your family, friends, and people you meet, the teenage skater kids you go and watch skate board on Tuesday afternoons, the ministry you behind the scenes pray for, the children you teach in 3^rd grade, the people you take care of in the hospital as a nurse and show love to them in one of their greatest times of need, the younger girls/boys you take under your wing and help lead them to the Lord and walk through life with, the clothes you donate, the money you give to missionaries to support them, the people you offer a drink to when they are thirsty, food to the hungry....I could go on and on...and if you read close enough you will probably find many of these things are what you are doing right now. Things that I have been encouraged by and have taught me many lessons. I have been just as encouraged by you this year and have learned so much from the lives that you lead and the way you pour yourselves out to the calling God has placed in your life. I am extremely blessed to know all of you and glean insight from your lives and the way you walk out your faith. You all are amazing and I am so blessed to know each one of you.

This blog will just be a few short stories about living here in Thailand and also about what we are doing as missionaries here!

What are we doing for ministry this month?

This month has been AMAZING! We are with an organization called Eagles Rest. They are a retreat center for missionaries who need to take a break and rest. They will help you in any way they can in order to give you the restoration you need. Eagles Rest is run by one couple who work very hard to serve the Lord in helping to serve his people who pour out their lives to others. When we first heard about this month we thought we would be pouring into other missionaries living here...little did we know God had other plans...

By month 10 I am not going to lie we are worn out, emotionally and physically we are just getting very tired. This lifestyle of high energy, moving all the time, doing crazy things to our bodies with the different foods we give it, and just what comes with living non stop surrounded by people, we are tired J So this month in a way the missionaries who need to be restored are us.

God spoke abundance and restoration over this month for me a while ago before I knew I was coming here and boy has that happened. When we first arrived to a family of 6, father from the Philippines along with 4 children ages between 10-16 three girls and one boy, and the mother is from Australia, they said "you are now part of our family". We have split up the nights of cooking among our team so each night we cook for 14. After dinner we will pray, sing worship songs, hang out, play games, watch movies, anything just like a normal family would.

We have an opportunity this month to pour into these 4 kids a ton. They are all home schooled and they are not from Thailand and do not speak Thai so they do not have tons of friends here. We have little "sessions" with the kids where we do all sorts of things! I have taught 2 sessions to the girls, one about Beauty and Body Image found in Christ and the other on Relationships. I did a baking session with the girls as well as a cooking session. We have done sewing class and made skirts, sports camp, culture days teaching the kids about countries around the world with power points of the history, skits, and making the food of the country, kickboxing, volleyball, craft time where we have made recipe books and made Easter decorations, we tutor/teach the kids while they are in school now ½ the day (they just went back this week), and then just fun things of having older sisters...shopping, video games, learning how to surf waves, golfing, playing tag on the beach, watching movies, teaching them how to do fun hair styles, and answering questions that young girls ask older girls and giving Jess 8 more sisters so a total of 11 this month J So a lot of our daily ministry involves the family and pouring into them and of course they end up pouring into us too and I am learning SO much from the kids. These parents raise these 4 amazing kids, do their schooling, and try to run a full time ministry all on their own...we help out doing anything they ask us to do each day.

The other things that we have been able to be a part of are helping our contacts move to a new house where they will house other missionaries. We have also gotten to do some handy work by varnishing 3 big pieces of furniture. Rommel is going to teach us how to make doors for dressers, which will be awesome! We have done flood relief work and made bags to give out to people and then went into the communities door to door handing everything out. Most people's things are all outside in the sun trying to get dry. The people said they can't remember the last time it flooded like this. We have been a part of prayer walking around different towns and through the temples. And someone is always standing in as the home school teacher/tutor each day.

This month we have also had the opportunity to be prayer warriors for our fellow women (20 of them on our squad) friends in Phuket which is 1 ½ hours from us. Our squadmates are working with women in prostitution. Phuket is a big tourist spot and there you will find beautiful sandy beaches and many white people...especially men. Every night our girls go out at 9 PM and stay until 12 AM ordering cokes from bars all over Phuket forming relationships with these girls. I was only there for one night and didn't even enter a bar but just saw the men walking hand in hand with the girls leading them to their cars. My heart broke seeing this and its something too hard to put into words really. It has been hard to see these things each night and so we have been praying a ton for them and decided to surprise them one day and went with gifts, letters, and signs to put all over their house. Prayed over them and talked with them about what they had seen. They explained the way they get past the laws her in Thailand and don't say its actually prostitution is that these girls technically are waitresses at the bars and then men pay 500 Baht (about 15 USD) to the bar which excuses them from work because they "want" to leave work. Really the girls do not get paid to waitress so of course to make the money they need to eat and sleep somewhere that night they need to go with these men, then they charge what they want and the man pays the bar "fee" along with the girl's "fee". What our girls are trying to do is make friends with the girls, love on them, and get them hooked up with the ministry they are working for which will teach them skills and give them a job. The spiritual heaviness and darkness over Phuket is something that feels tangible it is so heavy at night.

One night we went down with Rommel and we were going to go into the bars also and pray over the bars and see what doors God opened...the minute I stepped out of that car tears hit my eyes..."Lord please give these girls a night "off" let the "customers" go away and leave the girls alone for the night. This was bike week and it was HUGE in Phuket so everything was outside this night and girls in almost nothing were everywhere dancing around motorcycles for men to watch. As we saw this our team just prayed...and the minute the music started getting louder and things a little more rowdy God opened up the sky and it POURED DOWN RAIN like I have not seen since being here. It rained so hard and long that everyone just started running and the crowd cleared out. All the tourists didn't want to get soaked so they left...Soaked we all smiled and thanked God for the rain. The rain that spared these girls a night to just be free in a way...although true freedom is still something they are searching for. 

So this month is a mix of SO many things from manual labor to leading sessions about tough stuff for the girls to doing bible study twice a week with the girls on love. It has been absolutely amazing living with this family and getting the opportunity to pour into their kids the way we have been able to. They are at the age where they have a lot of questions and love to sit around and talk J

This is one of my favorite months for sure. This is girl month so there are 8 of us ladies...just two teams of girls combined, so I am still with my own girls too J I have been really blessed by the Lord this month and so much in my heart has been restored and the abundance of knowing and loving God is all I really need to know at the end of the day. Going around the world seeing a lot of hard things doesn't leave you with tons of answers by any means, but it opens your eyes to where help is needed, how to pray for nations, and you learn to rely on God when you don't understand. You learn to trust.

What NOT to do: Do not ever place your hand on a Thai persons' head. The head is the most honorable part of the body and it is a great insult.

Feet: The foot is considered the lowest part of the body. You must never move anything with your foot or sit to where your feet are pointed at someone. Always remove your shoes before entering anyone's home.

Monks: Buddhist monks are forbidden to touch, especially by a woman, and they cannot accept anything handed to them by a woman. You must first pass it to a man then he will pass it to the monk. If a monk is touched by a woman then he must go through a 2 week cleansing process! Monks here are usually dressed in all orange. They must memorize 227 monastic rules!

Religious Objects: Buddhism is the national religion in Thailand, all Buddha images no matter how old or worn out are all regarded as sacred objects. Outside of the grocery store or inside the mall and just everywhere, they have these elaborate objects set up and you can either bring gifts of food, drinks, money or there is a dish of water you can pour on top of them. If you show disrespect to Buddhism it against the law and you can actually be deported!

Spirit Houses: Spirit worship has been practiced in Thailand for ever and many believe this was the first type of religion. They believe spirits exist in natural objects like trees, stones, water, etc. In the front of everyone's house they have a spirit houses. We thought they were bird houses when we first got here actually! What they believe here is that when you buy a house and move in there are bad spirits left behind. They do not want the bad spirits to haunt them or do bad things to them so in order to honor the spirits they build them an elaborate house. On each spirit house there is also a ladder going up to the house...this is for any spirit who cannot fly and needs to walk up the ladder!

The King: Thai people have a deep respect and love for the king and queen here and you must NEVER speak badly of the king in Thailand. The Thai national anthem is played at 8 am and 6 pm everyday and everyone stands still out of respect for the King. You must never step on the money here because the king's head is on it and it is VERY disrespectful here! The King has been ill for 5 years now...even though Thai people will not out right talk about this our contacts have told us that Thai people are VERY concerned about the Prince who will soon reign here. He is nothing like the King and they fear MANY things will change when he takes over the throne.

Manners: When waving at someone always put your fingers downward...so the exact opposite of America basically. Waving at someone to come over to you the way we do in America is seen as something sexual here...NOT want you want to do! You do not openly display anger in public here. You do not talk loudly in public. Gifts are opened in private not in front of the giver. Do not hand anything to anyone using your right hand because that is the hand people use when going to the bathroom...yes there are squatty potties here too just like the 'C'...actually I have grown to like them! Not so bad J

Social Code: A great emphasis is placed on politeness and respect for elders. A desire to please people is a hallmark of a Thai person's character.

Land of smiles: Thailand is known to be "The Land of Smiles". Thai people are always smiling! The people here are very beautiful and sweet. 

Karma: Thai people believe in karma and believe that if bad things happen to them that they must have deserved it. Every act has a reward or a punishment attached to it. It implies you are the author of your own destiny.

To gain extra merit: Doing religious acts, offering food to the monks, donating money to the temple, and giving to the poor. Or by becoming a monk which will bring good karma to your mother or if married to your wife.

Origin of Buddhism: It began in India in 500 B.C. People at that time had become disillusioned with certain teachings of Hinduism, the caste system and the belief of an endless cycle or re-births. Many sects of Hinduism arose, but Buddhism was the most successful. It denies the authority of 'vedas', the Hindu sacred scriptures. However, since Buddhism developed out of Hinduism you will still find many elements of Hinduism in Buddhism.

The Buddha: The founder of Buddhism is Siddharta Gautama. This is the story...He was born in 560 B.C. in northwest India. His father was the King and he grew up in wealth but one day realized there was so much suffering and poverty...he went out into a forest to look for knowledge and answers...one day after meditating he attained "enlightenment", having by himself obtained the truth about life. From that moment on he was "The Buddha"...he was 35 years old at this point...he had disciples and begin sharing this truth with others...Buddha dies when he was 80 years old and he attained "Nirvana". Buddhism reached its height during the reign of King Asoke in 273-232 B.C. and missionaries were sent to Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia to share this "truth".

Population: 65 million people in Thailand.

Religion: "To be Thai is to be Buddhist" is the saying. 95% Buddhist, 4% Muslim, and 1% Christian.

Monarchy: King Bhumibol Adulyadej is the 9^th king of the Chakri Dynasty. Born in December 1927 in Massachusetts USA where his father, Prince Mahidol of Songkhla was studying medicine at Harvard University USA. He ascended the throne the throne in 1946 and is the longest reigning Thai monarch. King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit devote much of their time to improve the welfare of the people here and are VERY respected.

Money: Exchange here is 1 US dollar to 30 baht.