The past two weeks I spent in the north with Breakthrough Thailand, the ministry I connected with during my Harvest School extended outreach. They have a sugarcane field as a source of income to support the ministry, and I went to help with the harvest and just visit the people again. When I was in this village the first time and I heard about the sugarcane harvest, I knew I wanted to be in on that! How cool to start my time in the nation I'm called to, literally and prophetically bringing in the harvest! I was excited for the opportunity to help this ministry and to get to spend more time with all of them.
My time there was so incredible, and once again God showed me how His timing is perfect. He knows how to give us only what our hearts can handle and only what our spirits need. Our hearts really are his priority, not our productivity. The first few days of my time in the village, I didn't know if I would be able to help with the harvest at all because their was an abundance of sugarcane this season and the factories were closing because they were too full. I was loving my time at Breakthrough, hanging out with the kids and having little language lessons with one of the girls, Muyong. But I couldn't help but be a little bummed at the idea that I might not be able to be a part of the harvest. And I was feeling a little bit like I wasn't being helpful enough to the ministry, just hanging around and doing dishes every once in a while when the girls weren't looking (because usually they sternly refuse help haha). Once again I was faced with that stubborn pattern I tend to fall into of feeling the need to make my time worthwhile, as if the significance of our time is measured by visible productivity. Now don't get me wrong, I'm firm in knowing that it's by our faith that we're saved and not by good works, and I know that good works are just an overflow of the love we receive from God and should never be done out of striving... But I really just love and genuinely enjoy serving in tangible ways, so sometimes I get a little antsy when I'm not doing so. God knows this, and like a good Father, He likes getting me a little uncomfortable if doing so gets my heart right.
There was one day that I was getting to the point of restlessness, loving my time with these people, but feeling like I didn't want to spend two weeks just hanging out. I wanted to do something! I wanted to help! I felt a little frazzled by this, so I decided to take a walk in the fields and let Jesus sort me out. And as always, He did so with such tender love and absolutely no condemnation. His patience gives me so much comfort! Out in that field He told me all the things that I already knew, but they came straight from Him rather than my head, and that makes all the difference. I can tell myself all the right things all day long, but it won't ever change my heart the way asking Jesus to tell me how He sees things will. I just sat there in a little tin roofed hut and let Him take away all my need to "do" and let Him bring me into His complete rest. I let Him speak to me how He sees me and how He views my time here and what His idea of time well spent really is. I let Him breathe His breath of life into me that makes everything else just melt away. It was such a beautiful, needed, heart changing, purifying, intimate time with Him.
And guess what. The very next day after He set my heart right I found out we were beginning the harvest. His timing is so perfect! So we began harvesting the sugar cane, which was so much fun! I absolutely loved it, even when it left me exhausted at the end of the day. We would work for hours and then take a break for a few minutes and rest and eat sugar cane. It was so cute the way I would be working and one of my fellow workers would tell me to come sit and rest with them. I sat in the field one day as another woman invited me to eat some sugarcane with her and I thought, "What a good Dad I have, that He would send His works-aholic daughter to a people who so value rest." Ah, we really have the best Dad in the whole world!
I love my time with Breakthrough so much! They are a beautiful ministry, but more than that, they are a beautiful family. They have such a cool story on how they got started and what God did with two willing and compassionate hearts. I'm so blessed to have gotten to be a part of that family, and I know my time with them isn't over. Join me in praying for the ministry, the people who lead it, and the girls who are in their care!
The mural on the side of the Breakthrough building that has their motto, "Together we grow."
My time in Thailand so far has been full of God teaching me in unexpected ways, and lessons that I thought I already knew. It just goes to show He's never done with us. We can always go deeper with Him. Do you trust Him? You can always trust Him more. Do you love Him? You can always love Him more. Do you live in His peace? You can experience His peace even more. Has he healed you? He can bring you even deeper healing. That's the beautiful thing about God and our love story with Him- it's never ending. There's always more. We can never "get over" certain aspects of His heart. We can never know Him to the point where we need something else to explore- He is everything. He's eternal. He's infinite. And walking with Him is the most beautiful, exciting adventure I could ever dream of.
Now that I'm back I'm Bangkok, I plan on connecting with as ministries as possible working with men and women in the sex industry. I know I probably will be visiting slums and temples as well, but those things aren't scheduled. Also, starting next week I will be taking language classes since I know that I'm called long term to Thailand and I need to be able to speak Thai. I would love and appreciate all prayers for open doors and opportunities and also for peace in Bangkok since there is an election coming up and there have been protests. Join me in interceding for this beautiful nation that is so dear to God's heart!
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