The girls on the team made a video blog (or vlog) to chronicle the first few days of our trip! Sorry it has taken so long to upload. Follow the link below :)
https://plus.google.com/u/0/117529533991254898450/posts/Wy7JFxsR6Lz
8/14/12
[posted by: Steph B]
Today is fifth day in Thailand and it has been incredible so far! We have been so blessed to be able to see how God is working in the country of Thailand. On Sunday we were able to attend two different churches as well as meet up with some Americans to hang out. My favorite part of the day was standing next to a Thai man while we were singing. He was singing in Thai and I was singing in English, but we were still praising the same God. So cool! Today was by far the most significant day for me in Thailand. This morning we visited the House of Blessing. It is a halfway house for ex-prisoners started by Jack and Gladys Martin, who also help start the BSC. At the house of Blessing, they provide for men, women and children who were recently released from prison and have come to know Christ as their Savior. While we were there, God placed a burden on my heart to minister to these people and possibly return in a year! Yay! So please be praying for me!
[posted by: Abby Swauger]
I was going to add an "about me" section to the blog, but I left all my notes/journal at Lifepoint on Sunday, so I'm just going to jump right into today :) Today was incredible. This morning we to House of Blessing, which is a Christian halfway house for ex-prisoners. Hearing firsthand accounts of how God has been working and moving in the lives of Thai prisoners was like stepping straight into a missionary biography. For the first time in my life, I wasn't just reading about the persecution of Christians; a sixty-five year old woman was standing in front of me, telling me how she suffered solitary confinement whenever her warden caught her sharing the gospel with other inmates, and a twenty year old was telling me that no matter what persecution and ridicule he faced while in prison, it never deterred him from his passion to share the gospel. I want that kind of boldness! It was also incredible to see the harvest God is preparing in the Thailand prisons as a result of one couple's faithfulness and obedience thirty years ago. Then this evening we had Conversation Corner. This was by far the one aspect of the trip I have been most nervous about. Zach and I sat in the breezeway of the BSC, our postcards of America spread out neatly in front of us, waiting for God to bring us someone to share with. We didn't have to wait long. Within five minutes of sitting down, Lee and I were deeply engrossed in a conversation about the difference between a country, county, and a city, then we moved on to a postcard of California Sea Lions. She asked me if they were "fierce" or "aggressive" - "doo raai". I explained what a sea lion was and we then started talking about "university". She asked me what I was studying and I told her about my desire to study international justice-so I could help free people from slavery. That prompted a discussion about justice. What a perfect transition into the gospel! Every Thai/English word we had gone over during our conversation fit perfectly into my testimony. I could share with her how before I met Phra yaeh suu (Jesus) my heart was doo raai and I deserved the just punishment of being forever separated from God, but because of Jesus' death on the cross, my relationship with God was restored and He gave me a new heart. For an hour and a half Zach and I walked through the gospel with this sweet woman. I would pause and ask her if she was understanding everything, and her response was always "cow jai ca" or "I understand." We bought her a Thai New Testament and helped her highlight the passages and scripture references we had talked about so she could read them again in Thai. I am so excited to see what God does in the life of this woman! May He get all the glory. Please be praying for Lee and her family- that they would continue to come to the BSC and hear the Gospel and that the Holy Spirit would work in their hearts so that the Gospel becomes personal for them as well. Our evening concluded with some much needed fellowship and festivities since it was Zac's birthday :) Pictures soon to follow! Cop kuhn ca for reading!
https://plus.google.com/u/0/117529533991254898450/posts/Wy7JFxsR6Lz
8/14/12
[posted by: Steph B]
Today is fifth day in Thailand and it has been incredible so far! We have been so blessed to be able to see how God is working in the country of Thailand. On Sunday we were able to attend two different churches as well as meet up with some Americans to hang out. My favorite part of the day was standing next to a Thai man while we were singing. He was singing in Thai and I was singing in English, but we were still praising the same God. So cool! Today was by far the most significant day for me in Thailand. This morning we visited the House of Blessing. It is a halfway house for ex-prisoners started by Jack and Gladys Martin, who also help start the BSC. At the house of Blessing, they provide for men, women and children who were recently released from prison and have come to know Christ as their Savior. While we were there, God placed a burden on my heart to minister to these people and possibly return in a year! Yay! So please be praying for me!
[posted by: Abby Swauger]
I was going to add an "about me" section to the blog, but I left all my notes/journal at Lifepoint on Sunday, so I'm just going to jump right into today :) Today was incredible. This morning we to House of Blessing, which is a Christian halfway house for ex-prisoners. Hearing firsthand accounts of how God has been working and moving in the lives of Thai prisoners was like stepping straight into a missionary biography. For the first time in my life, I wasn't just reading about the persecution of Christians; a sixty-five year old woman was standing in front of me, telling me how she suffered solitary confinement whenever her warden caught her sharing the gospel with other inmates, and a twenty year old was telling me that no matter what persecution and ridicule he faced while in prison, it never deterred him from his passion to share the gospel. I want that kind of boldness! It was also incredible to see the harvest God is preparing in the Thailand prisons as a result of one couple's faithfulness and obedience thirty years ago. Then this evening we had Conversation Corner. This was by far the one aspect of the trip I have been most nervous about. Zach and I sat in the breezeway of the BSC, our postcards of America spread out neatly in front of us, waiting for God to bring us someone to share with. We didn't have to wait long. Within five minutes of sitting down, Lee and I were deeply engrossed in a conversation about the difference between a country, county, and a city, then we moved on to a postcard of California Sea Lions. She asked me if they were "fierce" or "aggressive" - "doo raai". I explained what a sea lion was and we then started talking about "university". She asked me what I was studying and I told her about my desire to study international justice-so I could help free people from slavery. That prompted a discussion about justice. What a perfect transition into the gospel! Every Thai/English word we had gone over during our conversation fit perfectly into my testimony. I could share with her how before I met Phra yaeh suu (Jesus) my heart was doo raai and I deserved the just punishment of being forever separated from God, but because of Jesus' death on the cross, my relationship with God was restored and He gave me a new heart. For an hour and a half Zach and I walked through the gospel with this sweet woman. I would pause and ask her if she was understanding everything, and her response was always "cow jai ca" or "I understand." We bought her a Thai New Testament and helped her highlight the passages and scripture references we had talked about so she could read them again in Thai. I am so excited to see what God does in the life of this woman! May He get all the glory. Please be praying for Lee and her family- that they would continue to come to the BSC and hear the Gospel and that the Holy Spirit would work in their hearts so that the Gospel becomes personal for them as well. Our evening concluded with some much needed fellowship and festivities since it was Zac's birthday :) Pictures soon to follow! Cop kuhn ca for reading!
