the greatest of these is love

Ok, so here’s my second attempt at an update. I tried yesterday, but it didn’t go through…sadness.

So, we’re in Thailand. Crazy, but true. Tara Clark (our fearless leader), Heather Brookens, Nina Boisvenue, and Natalie Root are my four girls thus far. We also have Lauren (the kids at the hostel have a hard time with the letters l and r, though, so we call her Mimi, short for Amisomething or other, which means first born daughter), an amazing woman working alongside Ahtapa and Leah Sinlee (who were part of the founders of the hostel) for three years. Mimi’s from California, and has been an incredible asset to our team.

So, I guess I should start with PFO – Pre-Field Orientation. A week + a day or two at Lake Aurora Christian Camp, somewhere in Florida, next to a nearly gatorless lake. It was absolutely beautiful there, and I so enjoyed our early morning devo time just looking over the lake and seeing God’s creation. PFO was, once again, amazing. Draining, but amazing nonetheless. The authenticity created in just over a week astounds me and attests to the presence of the Holy Spirit throughout every activity that we go about – whether structured or down time. The five of us on our team got to share a lot that week, and we went through many activities that would simulate, well, to put it bluntly, not knowing what the heck is going on around us. Which is exactly what it felt like when you go to a country where you can’t speak the language, understand the language, or read most of the signs. We also got to spend a lot of time with the Myanmar/Thailand team, who is spending their first 30 days in Yangoon (sp?, Matt? J), Myanmar, I believe at a YMCA there. They arrive here at the hostel on July 1st and will finish out the summer, making our team a total of 11 short-termers. I’m pretty excited about that!

The kids here are great! They’re so ready and eager to learn and please us, that it makes it almost easy to teach despite the language barrier. Their hugs and smiles make getting up before 5 am totally worth it. We’re also teaching at the public schools, where the same things apply. The kids there are so willing and eager to learn and to please us as “philangs” (their attempt at pronouncing “foreign”), that it makes it a joy to teach. I have the second and third graders, about twenty-seven kids. I have two girls from the hostel in my class and a few boys, too. We’re concentrating now on the letters and the sounds they make.

But the real nitty-gritty – what has God been doing? Being absolutely faithful, which is to be expected, and I wonder why I ever doubt His ability to come through on the promises that He makes. Going into PFO, I was having major issues with doubting coming to Thailand this summer. Spiritual warfare seemed to be a theme going into the summer, and I seemed to be in the thick of it. Satan kept whispering not-so-sweet nothings into my ear, and I seemed to believe them. But praise God, they are nothings, and have no business being in my head. I’m so thankful for the protection that God has provided and the Truth-Speakers that He is constantly surrounding me with.

Since coming here, I have gained a hunger for the Word like I’ve never felt before. I look so forward to our morning devo times and a chance to read the Word and discuss it with four ladies who are equally hungry. God keeps reminding me (and us, as a team!), that our outward actions don’t mean much of anything, if our hearts are in the wrong place. A huge theme since going to PFO and coming to Thailand has been surrender, trust, and faith – how they all walk hand in hand, and how easy it is to say that I’m surrendering, trusting, and being faithful, but so much harder to actually live it.

I’m so excited about this summer, and day after day, I am more certain that this is exactly where I’m supposed to be this summer. God is continually teaching me, growing me, stretching me, growing relationships here and elsewhere. I miss all of you so much, and I love you guys a whole lot. I’m praying for you this summer, and if you want to email me and let me know what’s happening in your lives, that would be super amazing.

Side note, this week has been the highlight of my summer so far. A few months ago, some guy asked me what my favorite thing in all of Creation was. Instantly, I said waterfalls. (ok, so that guy was this amazing guy you might all know – if you see John, you should give him a hug from me, but I don’t know how many of you will see him this summer, either). I don’t know what it is about waterfalls, but they amaze me. Running water in general excites me beyond what I even understand, but I’m not going to question the passions God has placed in me.

All of this is leading to a highlight of not only my summer, but my life. We went to a waterfall on Thursday. Now, there are “waterfalls” back home, near the Mississippi River, but they’re merely trickles compared to the Mockva (yes, sounds so similar to Moscow in Russian…it was interesting to me, too) Waterfall. It was so tall, so powerful, and left me in awe of God’s creativity, power, and faithfulness. And so many more characteristics of God that I can’t even put into words. There are pictures, and I will be showing them to anyone who’s interested and willing to sit through me showing them to you. We get to go back to the same National Park where the waterfall was when the Myanmar team gets here in two weeks for a one day retreat to reconnect. I’m so excited.

Ok, now that I’ve written a book, I’m gonna go ahead and get off of here. I love you all and hope to hear from you soon!

peace