Our last week of ministry! We finished up with the bookstore this week, and we also moved hostels this week. In other words, this week was full of different good byes. I want to share a little about our last week, the good byes, and what we have left on this journey!
This was our last week of ministry and it was so sweet. I think I carried this heaviness in a small piece of my heart all week because I knew the end was so near. I have absolutely loved every second of this ministry. The people, the task, the way I saw God in all of it, and the environment in total. I can’t really explain it, but God seriously showed up. There are a few specific things God taught me this past month that have been made super clear to me this last week. The first thing I learned was displayed through our leader Apen and it was simply that the Lord provides. She is a testament to the Lord’s provision, and she so confidently has displayed that to me. She is from India, but for this season of her life she is serving in Thailand. She explains that this is not at all where she thought she would be / where she would necessarily want to be right now. She doesn’t end there though, she also explained that although this isn’t what she would choose, it is where the Lord wants her and she is going to honor that. She lives so joyfully and confident in the Lords plan even when it’s not aligning with her own. She has put her pride aside and humbly submitted to this season, and I learned so much about the Lord through her.
The second thing I’ve really learned about is relationships. I got to form so many deep relationships with the people I served with, with our leaders, and with God. We got to learn about each other while we sorted books, we laughed so much, we expressed joy. I could see the joy of the Lord in all of my teammates and my leaders. I learned that every relationship is different, every relationship is intentional, and the Lord uses each interaction differently. I saw the different ways authors felt and saw God in their lives, I learned about the way Apen leans in to God in hard seasons, and I witnessed my teammates relationships with God. Each relationship so unique, each relationship so special. I think God revealed so much about the intimacy He desires with us by placing me here at this time to experience so much love, intentionality, and joy from a variety of relationships.
Towards the end of the week we got to have one final lunch with Apen and Angel, the people we have been serving with at the bookstore. It was such a sweet time where we shared testimonies from our time, appreciation for one another, and any other feedback we had. I loved reflecting on our time together, and I also loved realizing how strong our relationship was. Apen, the other four girls on my team, and I all talked for a couple hours about life and all of the things. She felt like the cool aunt that you can tell anything to. We all cannot stop talking about the impact she had on us, we just love her so much!
The third and final thing I wanted to share about was Percy, again. He challenged me in so many ways, He revealed our curious heart, He taught me how to listen intentionally, He taught me honesty, He taught me humility and how to recognize my faults, He displayed love. I loved how he forced me to defend my faith because I have never really been in a conversation like that before. I loved how willing he was to listen even when he didn’t agree. He got to be so vulnerable with us and we did with him as well. By the end of it, it felt like such a genuine relationship that was hard to say good bye to. This relationship is one Alex and I will cherish for a long time. I don’t think I could ever forget about the conversation and connections we had with Him.
After ministry ended on Thursday we began to pack up and clean the hostel we were staying at. On Friday afternoon we moved to a different hostel for our last 5 ish days in Thailand! We are taking the last little bit to intentionally debrief our time over the past two months. I think it will be good to have nice reflection and closure. I think debrief is something that kind of intimidates me because I am not much of a processor. For example, they could’ve sent me on the plane Thursday after ministry ended and I would have considered that closure. I don’t find myself slowing down nearly enough as I should to truly reflect on the Lord and what He’s done in and through us. I am excited to be challenged in this time to truly slow down before God and rest in that.
Prayer requests:
- Just for the willingness to stay engaged this last week
- For Percy of course!
- Acts co bookhouse
- Our travel days coming up soon
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