Orphans, Fellowship, and God's Love

These past 5 weeks in Thailand have been truly wonderful. I have grown so much in my faith and as a person, and it’s awesome.  I can honestly say that no other experience in my life has impacted me this much! Words cannot express how sad I am that I have only one more week here, but I am very excited to come home so I can pour out all the knowledge and wisdom I have attained. There is so much I want to share that I probably will explode with excitement as I am telling it all. My advice: be prepared to have your mind blown! Ha.

Well, a lot has gone on since my last blog. So much that it would take me weeks just to write it all down. Therefore, I am just going to tell you all about these past few days. On Thursday night, Brandon Hathcock and all of the interns, with the exception of Shelby and I, traveled to the Burma border to visit a Karen orphanage for the weekend. Shelby and I decided to stay behind because we were going to visit an orphanage here in Bangkok. On Thursday night, Crystal Hathcock and I went to do bar outreach while Shelby babysat little Tobin. Unfortunately, the bars were closed that night due to it being a Buddhist holiday so Crystal and I got some dinner and then headed back to her apartment. This coming up Thursday I will be going back to the bars so please be praying for that! Shelby and I stayed the night at Crystal’s and it was so much fun. We talked for hours about everything on our minds and it honestly made me so much more grateful for our wonderful missionaries here in BKK. Their hearts for the Lord and His people are amazing! 

On Friday morning, Shelby and I went with Jennifer McCaman to visit the orphanage here in BKK. After an hour of searching for the orphanage, we finally found it in a secluded area of the city. Before I start talking about my experience, I am going to give you a little background on the orphanage. It only houses up to 12 kids at a time and their ages range from 3 months to 17 months. The majority of the time the mothers drop off the babies/children because they either do not want them or cannot take care of them. The mothers can visit their children every 3 months and still have the right to take them back unless the child has been at the orphanage for a year. After a year, the orphanage has full custody of the child and starts the adoption process in which every child is normally adopted before the age of two. When we got to the orphanage, there were only two workers and one volunteer for eight little children. Immediately we found ourselves head over heels in love with their sweet faces and loving personalities. They ran to our arms when they saw us and did not leave our sides until it was time for a nap. I fell in love with a little boy named Nawin and he definitely was the stinker of the bunch. He was so playful and energetic and always getting into something he shouldn’t be in. He hungered for my affection and while I was elated to give it, it also broke my heart because I knew the reasoning behind his hunger. He, like the other nine children in the orphanage, has never felt the love of a mother or father and so when a stranger comes and shows them some sort of affection, they instantly cling to that person to fulfill their desire for a parent’s love. It’s truly heartbreaking and I found myself praying several times to God for these beautiful, sweet children. We stayed at the orphanage for about two hours and then headed back home. Friday night we had Unite BKK at the church and it was so much fun! We played “Can You Make It?” and it was so funny watching everyone try and made an object out of random items. It was also great being able to hang out with all my wonderful Thai friends. Shelby and I ended up spending Friday night at Crystal’s again, where we talked for hours and learned so much from her about life and faith. She is seriously one awesome woman!

On Saturday morning, Shelby and I went to the orphanage again with Julia and Ricki. We were only able to stay for about an hour this time, but it was an amazing hour. There were ten children that day, four of them being infants, so we had our hands full. We all had so much fun just holding the children in our arms and playing with them. While I was holding my little guy, Nawin, he said something to me that I will never forget. He called me mama. I wanted to cry right then and there, but I held my composure and just prayed to God that he will one day have someone to call mama. After helping put all the children to sleep, we left the orphanage and Shelby and I promised each other that we would be back again next Saturday. So please be praying for our next visit and for these amazing children! Also, be praying for the orphanage and that God will be a presence there! After the orphanage, Shelby, Julia, and I went to JJ Market, a very famous and huge market in BKK. OMG that place is ginormous! Shelby and I were so overwhelmed by the amount of shops and people. We seriously got lost in that place for hours and did not even hit a third of the market. Later that night, Shelby and I had dinner with Crystal and Tobin and then we went back to our hotel for the night. I ended up cleaning my filthy room and then Shelby dyed my hair a ruby red color! It looks awesome and I absolutely love it! Saturday night was the first night in 5 weeks that I had a bed to myself and it was wonderful! Haha.

Sunday morning we had church and it was amazing. Our whole worship team consisted of Thai people and I was able to envision how LifePointBKK would look in a few years and it was awesome! I am so pumped for what God has planned for this church!! After church, everyone hung out for a while and then Shelby, Tiffany and Leah VanDyke, and I all went to Khao San Road to have some fun girl time. We took a river taxi to Khao San and it was great because we were able to witness more of Thailand’s beauty. We did some shopping at Khao San and then Shelby and I got manicures and pedicures while Tiffany and Leah got foot massages. It was great being able to have some “pamper yourself” time after constantly being on the go for 5 weeks. I loved being able to hang out with Tiffany and Leah because they are such awesome ladies and such an inspiration when it comes to missionary families. After Khao San, Shelby and I just hung out around BKK and then returned to good ole Boss Mansion. I spent the rest of my night doing laundry—fun, I know. Ha! 

Well, now it is Monday afternoon and Shelby and I are just relaxing. Everyone gets back from the Burma border in a few hours, so we are anxiously awaiting their arrival. I cannot wait to hear all that God did up there and tell them all He did here! Tonight we are going to the Baiyoke, Thailand’s tallest building, to have dinner. They have an international buffet that is supposed to be extremely good so I cannot wait to chow down! Haha.

Sorry this post is so long—there was just so much going on! These past few days have been truly amazing and God-filled. While I know I would have loved to go to the Karen orphanage, I am so happy with my decision to stay in BKK because I learned and experienced so much in these past few days. Hanging out with all the godly woman on our LifePointBKK team was such a great learning experience. It really taught me how important fellowship with believers, especially believers of the same gender, is. These ladies are so inspirational and I love each one of them so much!! They are definitely women after the Lord’s heart and as a young woman, I look up to them so much! Also, going to the BKK orphanage was so amazing and I am so excited to see all my sweet babies next Saturday! It has definitely been a great weekend in BKK, one full of God's everlasting love. Well, we have one more week here so please be praying for us and everything that God has done and is doing! Hopefully I will post one more blog before I leave so stay tuned! Praying for everyone at home! Love you all very much!!

God bless,

Emily

One Heart, One Purpose

I know it has been awhile since my last post and I apologize. There has been much going on here in Thailand and not enough time in the day to write about it. In this last week alone, we have had a Chinese girl come to know Christ (Praise God!), played soccer with other churches in Bangkok, visited three different schools, celebrated a birthday, helped with English classes, fellowshipped with many Thai people, and many other things. It’s crazy how much we have been able to do in just a short amount of time!

                Well, we are at the halfway point of our stay in Thailand. I know I can speak for the whole team when I say this stinks. We have all fallen in love with Thailand and its people and are not ready to go home. Luckily, we still have three more weeks here. This trip has honestly been one of the best experiences of my life. I have learned so much in these past three weeks through missions training school and hanging out with the LifePoint BKK team and the other interns. God has truly blessed me by surrounding me with such amazing and God-fearing people. We seriously have the most awesome group of Christ followers here in Bangkok and it has been such an honor to serve alongside of them. Not only have I learned a lot from the Americans here, but our Thai friends have also taught me so much more than I could ever learn in the States. The Thai people who attend LifePoint and the ones who serve with our Thai partner church, New Vision Baptist Church, have had such an impact on my life. They seriously are the sweetest and most humble people I have ever met in my life. Their hearts for the Lord and for their people are so inspiring. These people are truly the hands and feet of God here in Thailand and they have touched my heart to the core. I cannot put into words how much love I have for these people and what they are doing for God’s Kingdom. They have made so many sacrifices (family, friends, job, etc.) because of their faith, and honestly we (as in American Christians) can learn a lot from these people about what it means to truly live for Christ.

                God has really been speaking to me this week about unity in the church. Several times during our morning devotional s and bible studies, we have discussed unity in the church and how it looked in the early church. Over and over again, the disciples stressed the importance of fellowship with other believers. In Acts 4:32, it says that all who believed in Christ were of one heart and soul…and they had everything in common. I never quite understood this verse until I came to Thailand. Thai culture is so different from American culture, even when it comes to Thai Christians and American Christians. As I mentioned earlier, we have a Thai partner church called New Vision and we have been doing a lot of things with them these past three weeks. We spent this last weekend with them in Amphawa, and on Friday night we had a meeting to debrief about the day. Every one of the interns talked about how it has been awesome serving with the New Vision team and how the unity between New Vision and LifePoint has been so great. One of the New Vision team members then expressed how God has given us the same heart as believers and, therefore, we have the same purpose in life, which is to bring God glory. Acts 4:32 finally clicked in my head after he said that. No matter how different our teams are, we all have the same heart and same mission in life—bring God glory and make disciples. It is truly a beautiful thing to share a heart’s calling with your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and it is my prayer that the church as a whole will be like the first church in Acts—be of one heart and soul.

                We have three more weeks in Thailand and I cannot wait to see what else God is going to do in this place!! Please be praying for all of us here. Love you all!!

God bless,

Emily

Everything For His Glory

สวัสดี! (That's hi in Thai.) Now all of you can see just how difficult the Thai language is! Haha. Well, these past few days have been truly amazing. God has been fervently at work here in Bangkok. Sunday morning David preached about finding true joy and how pride can keep you from experiencing true joy. In the scripture, Paul said that true joy is only possible through true humility (Philippians 2:1-11). True humility can only be found in Jesus Christ. Therefore, we can conclude that true joy is only found in Jesus Christ. But if you are prideful, then there is no way you will ever experience true joy because you will only focus on yourself and not on what truly matters—Jesus Christ and His sacrifice. Pride is the first sin and the root of all sin because it tells us that we do not need God. It is a nasty sin that I had struggled with for a long time. It started in elementary school and stayed with me up until about the last year of high school. I thought of myself as better than everyone else because I was popular, made good grades, and had basically everything I wanted. It was not until I found Jesus that I realized that none of that mattered. Jesus wanted me not because I hung out with the popular crowd, but because He knew my heart and had a purpose for my life. I still find myself battling with pride at times and in those moments I remind myself that God does not need me. His Kingdom can and will advance without me. But He chose me to fight alongside Him in the war against the enemy and what an honor that is. We are not worthy of all that God has done for us and pride tells us that we are. Do not fall victim to pride because it will only lead you down a never-ending road of misery. Only when you humble yourself to the Lord will you receive true and eternal joy.

                After the service, everyone had lunch together and played games. Then all of us girls and two boys decided to go shopping at one of BKK’s many malls. Let me just say, America has nothing on Bangkok when it comes to shopping! The mall we went to had over 3,000 stores and all of us interns could not believe our eyes. While the shopping was awesome, we all had so much more fun just getting to know the Thai people that were with us. They truly are awesome and sweet people!

                Monday was such a great day. The lesson for MTS that day was about hermeneutics and it challenged every single one of us, especially me. The Bible has always been very difficult for me to grasp and understand, and I know it is because I have never really tried to study it. Bret told us that Bible study isn’t an intellectual exercise, but an interaction with the Holy Spirit, which is such a great point! Now the whole team is doing a Bible study through the book of Acts and I cannot wait to see what God is going to say and do through that! After MTS, we went with a church from the Baptist Student Center to Bang Yai, a really good Thai school. We led about 130 Thai high schoolers in fun dance and worship songs. It was hilarious watching the students doing some of the dances! Then we performed a skit about Saul’s transformation to Paul. It was a lot of fun doing these things, and the cultural exchange was incredible! We split up into small groups later and got to know the students, which was my absolute favorite part. They were so inquisitive about American culture and it was awesome when we bonded over things like One Direction and Robert Pattinson! (My group was mainly all girls if you couldn’t tell...haha). They were so funny and sweet. I talked with them about the Paul story and from that I was able to talk with them about Jesus, and sadly many of them had never even heard of Him. I could tell though that when I was talking to them about Jesus, they became much more attentive and I could see that God was doing something inside them. Please be praying for my group and the rest of Bang Yai in that they will start asking questions about Jesus and want to know more!

                MTS today was so powerful and impactful. We watched a Louie Giglio talk about grace and can I just say WOW! If you haven’t seen this talk, then please look it up (sorry I don’t know the name of it!). He talks about how God is always pursuing man and that if God never wanted to be seen, then He wouldn’t be! And that is so true! He later talked about how church is not about pleasing ourselves, but about pleasing God. Whenever we walk out of church/just get done worshipping, we should always ask God if He got a lot out of it because it is all for Him, not us! God’s grace is so amazing and we are so unworthy of it. Every day you need to thank God for His wonderful grace because without it, we would never be with God. Here’s a definition that Bret gave us for grace: God doing for you, what you cannot do for yourself. Pretty awesome, huh? We also learned about our personalities and how everyone’s personalities can work together to reach our common goal—bringing glory to God. It was really cool getting to know what everyone on our team is like and how different personalities work on the mission field.

                After MTS, we all just relaxed and did our own things for the rest of the day. I spent the rest of my day in reflection soaking in all that God has shown and taught me over this past week. It was so awesome and much needed. Morgan, Brianna, and Jessica went on a bar outreach with one of the ministries we are associated with. Bar outreach is going to the bars where all the sex trade is and talking with the girls who are working in them. They had a great time and really formed some awesome relationships there, so please be praying for those girls and relationships! Really be praying for the girls in the sex trade and also the men who are the customers because as much as we all want to hate them, those men are struggling with a terrible sin and need our love and prayers.

                Well, I have already talked too much so I will end this post now. Be looking for my next post in a couple of days! Keep all of us in your prayers!

God bless,

Emily

Hello from BKK

Hello from Bangkok!! Sorry I haven’t posted anything in a week, but I did warn you that I was lazy when it came to blogging! Haha. Honestly though, I am sorry. Well, it has almost been a week since I arrived in BKK and there is so much to already tell. This place is absolutely amazing and intriguing. The city is so big and so full of people that it is quite overwhelming at times. There is so much going on everywhere you turn with all the street vendors and crazy car and motorcycle drivers (Side note: In BKK, the sidewalk is not just for walking. It is also used as a parking lot for cars and a shortcut for motorcycles.). We have had some close encounters with both cars and motorcycles since we have been here (especially Brianna…haha). It’s amazing that with a city that has so much going on that the Thai people are so chill. They are seriously some of the nicest and sweetest people I have ever met, and they absolutely love Americans! Well, most of them at least. It has been so awesome getting to know a lot of them who go to LifePoint and I can already see lasting friendships forming. The sad thing about the Thai people is that many of them have this look of hopelessness and I know that is because they do not have Christ in their lives. The majority of Thais are Buddhist so there are spirit houses all around the city where they worship and give gifts to the spirits living inside. This sight is absolutely heartbreaking. These people are so lost and looking for direction and sadly they are going in the wrong direction to find it. Therefore, please pray for these people that they will be shown the light of Jesus Christ and that through Him, hope will be restored in their lives. Although this city is surrounded in darkness, it is so comforting to know that Christ’s light is powerful enough to shine through!

                These past few days have been utterly and completely awesome! God is doing so many things here in BKK through our church and other ministries, and all of us interns have been so blessed to witness it just in the past 5 days! The LifePoint BKK team has been so wonderful and they have already taught us so much about our faith. The missions training school put on by Bret, Brandon, and David has been so awesome and educational. It is seriously one of my most favorite things about being here because I am learning so much and loving every second of it! Along with that, we have also visited two ministries focused on helping girls in the sex industry. Both of those meetings were so amazing because you could just feel God’s presence as each woman spoke about the ministry and the women they have helped. Please pray for both of these ministries who I am leaving anonymous on purpose. Pray that God will continue to work through and in these ministries and also pray for these women that they are helping because most of them are in the industry because their families depend solely on them to live. We have also attended many gatherings at the church, such as English teaching classes, which have been so much fun. We have been able to meet a lot of wonderful people and talk with them about Christ. It has been so interesting talking with the Thai people, especially those who are Christians, because their personal stories and struggles are so inspiring and heartbreaking. I was able to talk with a guy name Chao during one of the English classes at the church about being a Christian. He expressed to me how difficult it is at times because no one understands him and no one really cares to. So please pray for Chao and the other Thai Christians.  Today we went to the beach with some of our Thai buddies and it was great! Nissa, a Thai woman that goes to LifePoint, took the next step in her faith and got baptized in the ocean, which is soooooo amazing! I’m telling you, God is showing up and showing out here in BKK!!! Praise God for this life transformation and pray for Nissa and her walk with Jesus Christ. Well, tomorrow we are going to our first church service and I am super excited about it! David is preaching an awesome word and I cannot wait to hear what God is going to say through him! Pray for David as he brings the word tomorrow to a room full of Americans and Thais!

                I apologize for this post being so long. There is just so much I want to share. God is working mightily here in BKK and in my life (I’m sure I speak for the other interns as well when I say this!). He has convicted me of my selfish desires for comfort and has pushed me to become the woman of Christ He designed me to be. He is teaching me so many new things about Him and myself and every day He is leaving me thirsty for more. I am just so excited about what God is doing in my life and in the lives around me!! Well, it is time for me to say good night, but first I want to leave you with this challenge that David gave all the interns yesterday. Here it is: Die to yourself. Find out what it is in your life that is keeping God from being your number one and die to it. Only once we are dead to our sin are we truly alive in Christ.

God bless,

Emily

Bangkok Bound

Tonight is my last night at home for six weeks. It's a bittersweet moment to say the least. I am going to miss my family and friends like crazy, but I am excited to see what God has in store for me in Bangkok. I want to thank everyone for their support and prayers, and I ask that you continue to pray for my team going to Bangkok and the team already there. I also ask that you pray for the Thai people because most of them have never even heard of Jesus Christ. Pray that their eyes will be opened and their hearts will seek God and all His righteousness. I am going to try and update my blog every two or three days, but do not be surprised if it's every other week (I tend to be very lazy when it comes to blogging)! Thank you again for your prayers. Be looking for my next post from Bangkok! :)

God bless,
Emily