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
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