2-12-09
Sahwahti! (Hello in Thai)
We want to say thank you for praying. God has made this trip so fullwith adventure so far. He has really answered all of your prayers andmany of our requests! We have good health, our travel experience wasgreat, we are all squared away!
Matt Parker met us at the HQ hostel in Bangkok, Thailand wednesdaymorning. As he walked down the stairs with a camera and hugged us wewere in disbelief. Throughout this world trip we will constantly seepeople's twins- Indians or Brasillians or Germans that look like ourfriends. And as matt came up to us we unanimously said that it was afalse image. A "matt" twin. I didn't even respond for the first fewminutes- and it took the whole day for it to sink in. immediately wewent to a really nice coffee shop, had frappucinnos and went throughthe notes and letters from family and friends. Thank you so much forsending those along with matt! As our social skills slowly came backto us we talked about the miracles we had seen, and were besideourselves with excitement that we had our best friend here. We alsohad another opportunity to meet up with Kelsey Pazera and her friends she was traveling with. Here we enjoyed our first Thai lunch with this group of friends. It felt like a dream. We were around American's first off, and people we knew! We were feeling ready to step into a castle on Venus filled with penguins, the way this was going.
We headed back up to the room to pray for the night. Here we had the plan of going to the most famous Red light district in Bangkok. We got geared up and prepared to go into the darkness to pray and share andlisten to the customers of the girls here. We sat down across the district and waited. We prayed and waited patiently to see what God might have in store. As we waited we realized this was way bigger than we were.
Sahwahti! (Hello in Thai)
We want to say thank you for praying. God has made this trip so fullwith adventure so far. He has really answered all of your prayers andmany of our requests! We have good health, our travel experience wasgreat, we are all squared away!
Matt Parker met us at the HQ hostel in Bangkok, Thailand wednesdaymorning. As he walked down the stairs with a camera and hugged us wewere in disbelief. Throughout this world trip we will constantly seepeople's twins- Indians or Brasillians or Germans that look like ourfriends. And as matt came up to us we unanimously said that it was afalse image. A "matt" twin. I didn't even respond for the first fewminutes- and it took the whole day for it to sink in. immediately wewent to a really nice coffee shop, had frappucinnos and went throughthe notes and letters from family and friends. Thank you so much forsending those along with matt! As our social skills slowly came backto us we talked about the miracles we had seen, and were besideourselves with excitement that we had our best friend here. We alsohad another opportunity to meet up with Kelsey Pazera and her friends she was traveling with. Here we enjoyed our first Thai lunch with this group of friends. It felt like a dream. We were around American's first off, and people we knew! We were feeling ready to step into a castle on Venus filled with penguins, the way this was going.
We headed back up to the room to pray for the night. Here we had the plan of going to the most famous Red light district in Bangkok. We got geared up and prepared to go into the darkness to pray and share andlisten to the customers of the girls here. We sat down across the district and waited. We prayed and waited patiently to see what God might have in store. As we waited we realized this was way bigger than we were.
It was crowded and dark. We were bombarded with people thinking we were the customers of the girls. As time passed we felt led to pray over the area, then leave. We sat in a restaurant battling with the thoughts of feeling defeated, but remembered that we don't understand Gods ways, and had a specific plan for us. We knew that God had a unique plan in store for us in Thailand, even though it is giong to probably look so different than we had in mind. It was great to catch up more, and laugh together. It was an Ebaneezar Stone for all of us, that matt wasn't our youth pastor any more, but our brother. And we found at this point how excited we were to push on this journey as four brothers, not being led by our youth pastor. It is a blessing that matt is letting us use the skills and leadership skills we have gained. Matt is not the man taking the bullet 24/7, it is just us four moving at God's leading. It is a real blessing that matt isn't treating us like we are the same guys as we were in September.
The next day was very long, traveling every way you could through Bangkok. We were trying to get a way to get up north. Um Phang was our desired destination, but this whole trip is just at the Spirit's leading. So as we explored around Thailand by taxi, motorcycle, skytrain, underground train and regular train, we finally got ticketsup to Chang Mai.
The next day was very long, traveling every way you could through Bangkok. We were trying to get a way to get up north. Um Phang was our desired destination, but this whole trip is just at the Spirit's leading. So as we explored around Thailand by taxi, motorcycle, skytrain, underground train and regular train, we finally got ticketsup to Chang Mai.
We are not sure what is in store for us, but we are looking at trekking through the mountains in the jungle- and reaching out to the refugees at camps. Really we are excited to just be with people and love them however we can. As we get on the train we found ourselves amidst an amazing plan! An american girl named Anna and apro golfer from Thailand named Chang. We sat in the empty train car in our group and opened up in a conversation. This turned out to be an amazing experience hearing about Anna's and Chang's stories from their travels and lives. We know this is part of Gods plan for all of us.
After we get thai massages (2 hours for 6 dollars!) we are going tosee what is next. There are many options, but this is just a time ofbeing together as brothers, and seeing what God has for us. In a book"Red Moon Rising," there is a quote that best describes the Thailand experience for us:
"Waiting on God," according to Scripture, is not a passive, vacuous state, but rather an active process of asking, seeking, and engaging with His spirit. Samie and I knew it was time to start waiting in this way. We also knew it was time to brake a few rules. It's often said that the ancient Celtic church symbolized the Holy Spirit not asa domesticated dove but as a wild goose. We decided therefore to embark upon a wild goose chase, following His leading around Europe, seeking simply to make friends, have fun, and all the while listen out for the still small voice of God" - Pete Greig
This is our solid plan, however our tentative plan is to move southfrom Chang Mai back to Bangkok.
After we get thai massages (2 hours for 6 dollars!) we are going tosee what is next. There are many options, but this is just a time ofbeing together as brothers, and seeing what God has for us. In a book"Red Moon Rising," there is a quote that best describes the Thailand experience for us:
"Waiting on God," according to Scripture, is not a passive, vacuous state, but rather an active process of asking, seeking, and engaging with His spirit. Samie and I knew it was time to start waiting in this way. We also knew it was time to brake a few rules. It's often said that the ancient Celtic church symbolized the Holy Spirit not asa domesticated dove but as a wild goose. We decided therefore to embark upon a wild goose chase, following His leading around Europe, seeking simply to make friends, have fun, and all the while listen out for the still small voice of God" - Pete Greig
This is our solid plan, however our tentative plan is to move southfrom Chang Mai back to Bangkok.
- Please pray for our direction.
- Pray that we would have a fine-tuned ear to Gods voice
- Pray that we would find out who God is making us in this time, and how He has asked us uniquely to serve each other and others around usin this time.
- Pray we would grow in our relationship with God at full tilt.
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