Last week in Thailand!

I can't believe it, but our time in Thailand has almost come to an end!

Our time in Chiang Rai seems like it has flown by.  We have been so blessed to meet so many wonderful  university students.  We have been able to share many fun memories and laugh at our cultural misunderstandings.  Our team has also had many opportunities to share what God has done in our lives, and to encourage our new friends.

A highlight of our time here was the exchange camp we helped host.  It was like a weekend retreat, and involved lots of games and English-learning activities.  Our DTS students helped lead worship for the weekend and did a great job!  A couple of our students got to share their testimonies with the group, and another was able to share a short gospel message.  The response from the university students was great; many of them said they wished we were having another camp the following weekend!  A few students are exploring the possibility of life with Jesus after time spent with everyone at this ministry!  One of them shared her story at the camp.  She had spent the first years of her university studies feeling very overwhelmed and praying to all the gods she could think of for help.  For awhile, she felt that because of this, God might not accept her, even though she became a Christian about a month ago.  Last week, she went to a Bible study that Jason led and heard the story of Jonah.  She shared that she realized that if God loved the people of Nineveh, who didn't worship or respect him, then he must love and forgive her, even though she had not respected him.

God has been so good to our team while we've been here.  We have had very little sickness, so thanks for praying!  He definitely has answered all of our prayers about that.  Our team has made so many good friends in unexpected places while in Thailand.  Many days, we wondered how we would have an opportunity to tell people about Jesus' love for them.  Sometimes, we were discouraged by the language barrier and the difficulty in communicating how much Jesus has done in our own lives.  But so often, we had barely finished asking for help when God brought someone across our paths and provided a way to have a meaningful conversation.  The Lord has also stretched and grown us as a team in huge ways.  This is not always a fun process, but it is one that is necessary and worth it.  Our hearts have been revealed in times of testing, and God has uncovered the nasty things still there so that we can let go of them and move forward in our respective walks with him.  He's also encouraged our team, showing us that we are his beloved children no matter what.

Most of all, we are celebrating the fact that there are more people who have chosen to follow Jesus in Thailand than there were two months ago.  I am so thankful that our team could be even a small part of people finding new life in Jesus.  Thank you, each one of you, for participating in this also; it is not something that any of us can do alone and your prayers and support really do make a difference!  I hopefully look forward to someday being able to see the fruit of God's work during these two short months.