I love being in Thailand. The longer I am here, the fonder my heart grows for the people.  The Thais need Jesus!!!  But, there is a specific group of thais that I would like to write about….the prostitutes. I have a challenge for you tonight. Later this evening a large group of us consisting of Christina and me, a visiting team from South Africa and Bible School students will be heading to the streets to minister to the prostitutes. This will be a brand new experience for all of us.

So this is my challenge to you…Please pray for us while we are out. We will be gone from 8 o’clock pm (3 hours from now) to probably 10:00 or 11:00. If you could stand with us in prayer for those few hours it would be appreciated so much. And it would be even more encouraging if you could leave a comment on this post letting me know that you will be praying. That way I can let our group know. Also, I know that I don’t need to mention this, but, please don’t just pray for us, but pray for the women we will be talking with. Pray that they would realize that they can be set free in Jesus’ name! That there is hope for them!

Thank you so much!

Wow! Today marks 1 month and 12 days that I have been here in Thailand already, and, I can honestly say that everything is going very well. I can’t imagine being anywhere else at this moment in time. God has been so good to open my heart and show me things that I have never seen or experienced before.

Quite a bit has been happening here in the last couple of weeks. On the 11th and 12th, a few groups of students from one of the schools in Hat Yai came to our house to interview me for an English project. Long story short, It ended up that most of their questions were about Jesus and how to have a relationship with Him! And because there were a few groups from the same class, the Gospel was shared with their class probably 3 or 4 times!

Then, on the 14th, the team took the Bible students from Hat Yai on a retreat to the Pruett family’s house in Naratiwat. It was so much fun! I was able to reconnect with some of the students that Dad and I had met in January and hung out with them for a few days. It was an encouraging time together as brothers and sisters in Christ.  I also got to help Mrs. Pruett at their coffee shop which was opened a few months ago. That was also a lot of fun.

On the 17th, I went to a village with the Garsee family, called Ow Luk (at least that’s how I think it’s spelled). Being with Garsees and in Ow Luk was also a really neat experience. One evening we went to a rubber tree farm to show the Jesus Film to about 60 people. After the movie, we prayed for some people who needed healing in their bodies and guess what….they were healed!! And not only that, 22 people raised their hands to accept Christ as their Savior!  We just kept thanking the Lord because it was nothing that we did that could have turned their hearts towards Him.

Well, those are the biggest things that have been happening around here lately. I’m still taking Thai and doing outreach and helping Mary Beth with her children. And tomorrow morning I start teaching Sunday school class at church!

I’m sorry there are no pictures this time. I can’t find my camera cord!

And Oh! Did I mention that I just got back from learning how to drive a motor scooter???   God bless!

The Botkin sisters, Anna and Sofia, have been posting some very good and encouraging posts on their blog lately, or should I say as always.

If you are single, or are a parent with a growing daughter, I highly encourage you to visit the Visionary Daughters blog. Anna and Sofia are godly young women who are daughters still living in their parents home. On their blog, they share practical, yet very important ways they have learned or are still learning to keep their hearts right before the Lord in their daily lives and as they wait for their future husbands.

Their latest post pin points an area that every girl that I know of has difficulty with. It’s called, How (Not) To Heat Your Veins and Fire Your Brains, and it hits the issue of keeping our hearts pure toward men head on.  Another great post on ways to make sure we are not wasting our days away is Am I Wasting My Life? and it’s just a post or two below the other one. Please read them! And please also feel free to come back and leave me a comment with your thoughts on what you read. If you are one that does not agree in what you read, all I ask of you is that you would please be respectful to myself and to the Botkin sisters and understand that I have the freedom to delete any comments that  are not written as so. 

God bless!

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male or female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you be Christ’s, then are you Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

 Yesterday afternoon, driving home from church service, our family past by a spot on the side of the road that had flowers beginning to grow and bloom already. It was really nice for me to see the signs of life that Spring brings, appearing after a long winter of what seemed to be dark and sleep.
 Ever since I was a young child, Spring has been my favorite season. I love the feeling of being able to go outside again and feel the warm sun on my face, hear birds sing, and watch the trees and flowers bloom. For some reason, the Lord has used these things to help remind me of not only His greatness, but, also His gentleness.

It amazes me how God can make time to touch the littlest plant and make it grow, or help a tiny baby bird hatch out of an egg and begin it’s life outside. He cares a lot about the things He has created. And yet, His love for you and me is so much greater. The Bible says in Matthew 6:26, “Look at the birds of the air. They don’t plant or gather crops. They don’t put away crops in storerooms. But your Father who is in Heaven feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are?” . The answer is, yes you(we) are. The God who knows when the littlest of sparrows has fallen, has also counted how many hairs we have in our heads. He notices what makes us feel blessed or hurt.

   He also knew before we were even born that we would sin against Him, but, He had mercy on us by sending His Only Son to die on a cross to take away our punishment so we could be free from our sin if we live our lives for Him. I realize these thoughts can seem somewhat elementary, but, I believe that it doesn’t hurt to look and think upon the simplistic side of our walk with Christ. After all, isn’t it supposed to be simple? Just live for Jesus, right? Sometimes I think we can make things so complicated, when at the end of it all, Christ just wants our lives to spend like money in his hands. So anyway, I’m not sure how I got off of talking about Spring being my favorite season and why …I guess cause I’m my father’s daughter .  Or maybe it’s because I just can’t stop talking about my Savior and Redeemer. May He continue to bless you abundantly!

Well, it’s been quite the slow week. Not much has been happening lately. I have been pretty much at a complete loss of what to write about . This post may be more random than anything.

My Bible courses have been going  well. I haven’t made it too far yet, but, I know once I really get a hang of them, things will get a little bit easier. I’m starting from the beginning: the book of Genesis.  Right now I’m working on the Creation Stage. It’s been really interesting already of the things I’m learning that I have never even thought about before.

Matthew is starting to make some cute little sounds and squeals. I’m probably partial, but I think he must be the current cutest baby on earth! And Jeremiah is the cutest three year old and John is the most handsome almost sixteen year old (sixteen? ahhh! I can’t believe it!). 

It definitely looks like I’ll be heading back to Thailand in June. We’re trying to set up so I can travel with Mary Beth’s mother who is also planning on visiting at that same time. I hope it works out. Brian just sent me a note the other day telling me what I’ll need to prepare for financially. I’m going to need quite a bit of money but, I know that if this is what the Lord wants me to do, He will provide everything that I will need. At this point it looks like I’ll be needing about $2,500 to live there for the 3 months. That will cover the monthly rent, electric, food, etc. which I will also be splitting with two other women.  Plus, my plane ticket will probably be about $2,000. I will also need a little over $1,000 to be able to buy a good computer so I can communicate with my family, and $1,000-$1,500 for a scooter when I get there. Whew! I have been so blessed already though by some friends who have sent in some gifts towards my trip. I can’t wait to see how God will provide the rest!

So, there’s my random post

This song, sung by Keith Green, is right to the point of what the Lord wants of us. He doesn’t just want our Sundays and Wednesday nights, He wants us everyday. We need to give Him our lives to do with whatever He wants. I also believe the words of this song are perfect for this time we are living in. With all the money problems going on, it’s good to be reminded that as Christians, we don’t live by the economy of this world.  We can’t be afraid to give…to sacrifice…