This was our last full week of ministry. This Friday, the 25th we leave our ministry hosts and move to a new hostile for the last few days to debrief. This week consisted of ministry at the bookstore store, a lot of pad Thai and Thai tea, a rock climbing team time adventure, a nap in Apen’s bed, chats with Percy, another hiking adventure, and a lot of rain.
I have enjoyed spending so much time with my team because we have just bonded so well. Everyday at ministry we make jokes and laugh the entire time. Apen, our leader, is so amazing and we all admitted that she makes the ministry 10x better. She shared parts of her story with us and I was left feeling encouraged. She is so open and honest about her faith, her questions, and her love. She explained to us that she isn’t actually from Thailand, but if the Lord wants her here then He will have to change her heart. I learned so much from this statement. Even if we don’t want something, but we feel the Lord may be calling us to step into that, we can pray intentionally for help and a shift in our heart posture.
Apen also demonstrates simple joy and contentment. She carries herself with such joy and confidence in the Lord. She never complains and she always knows how to lighten hard situations. She gives so much grace and has so much patience with us. There was one day this week we were all tired and waiting for our ride at the bookhouse, so Apen showed us her room and let us all lay down on her bed! It was such a random experience, but we all loved it so much. We spent a straight 30 minutes laughing and I don’t even know what we were laughing at.
My next update is about Percy! I can’t remember exactly where I left off in my last blog, but Percy, Alex, Kailey, and I have consistently been meeting for a week now! Percy is so awesome and I have loved getting to know Him. This past week He took my friend’s Bible home to read and bring back some questions. We sent Him home with the book of John bookmarked and when He came back He told us He read Leviticus. The next day we bookmarked John again and He read Proverbs. The following day we bookmarked marked Romans and He read Lamentations. Every time Percy is still very hesitant with Leviticus because of all of the punishments that are listed in it. My friend and I tried to explain the new/old covenant situation but that did not get through to him. Alex and I texted a bunch of different people we knew for guidance on how to better explain and understand Leviticus ourselves which would hopefully help with the questions Percy kept asking. It was so cool to see so many of Alex’s friends/mentors step in with wisdom along with my youth pastor as well. I am so grateful for so many people in our lives that are interceding in prayer for Percy!
The last story I have is from this evening. My friend Annike and I went out to grab dinner and out of no where it started to pour rain. This is not very unusual because it does rain a lot here, but this rain felt excessive. We realized it had been raining for over an hour and it didn’t lighten up at all yet. We finally made it to the restaurant we were going to eat at and right after we ordered we noticed the street began to flood. The flood in the street meant all of the critters needed a new place to go, which also meant all of them were coming into the restaurant! Cockroaches were coming from everywhere along with mice. This was one of the most random moments from this trip. As my friend and I started to walk back the cars tires were like halfway covered in water and the rain was nearly up to our knees. I was reminded of Gods promise to never flood the earth again, but I also started to imagine what that day must have truly been like. One thing Percy brings up often is the flood because He believes there is no scientifically possible way that the entire earth could have been submerged. He believes a part of it was, but not entirely. Lately I had already been so curious about the flood because of how curious Percy was about it, and this experience really helped me imagine it. I was just thinking how I am thankful for Gods promise, I am thankful for Noah’s obedience, I am thankful for the promise of eternity where everything will be in its perfected state. I became really fearful of the true power God holds and I was humbled at how quickly my own strength failed me. I immediately turned to prayer because this experience was pretty terrifying!
Beyond all of the random stories I just told I truly felt the Lord calling me to humility and rawness this week. He doesn’t want me at my perfected state, He just wants me to come as I am. All the Lord ever wanted was relationship with us, and the Lord still desires that with each and every one of us. I often find myself humbled by His power and authority, and I pray I never overlook or grow used to that. I am humbled by the questions Percy asks me about the God I claim to love and serve when my only answer is “I’m sorry I don’t know the answer to that.” I am humbled when God sends a foot of rain and I basically have to swim home. I am humbled by the beauty of your creation. I am humbled by your creativity in creating each one of my teammates. I am quickly reminded that you are God and I am not when things go far greater than I could have ever imagined. Thank you for reading through this messy and very random blog. I cannot believe how quickly this trip is going!
Prayer requests:
- productivity in our last four days of ministry
- Some flooding, safety in the midst of that
- A smooth shift to our new hostile for debrief
- For Percy’s heart to be softened
- For some sick teammates on my squad!
You are such a great writer, Quin! It is so exciting to hear what God is doing in and thru you. The girls enjoyed reading it as well. Thanks for sharing!