Thailand!

Dear Friends,

As many of you know I have the opportunity to go to Bangkok, Thailand this summer! The trip will be my first time overseas, but does that stop God from providing?No! The last month has been filled with confirmation that I am doing exactly what I need to be doing.

As it would happen, I have been connected with some great people who have ties to Thailand who have been gracious enough to allow me to ask questions and teach me greetings in Thai. If that was not enough! I have been meeting people everywhere who have been to Thailand. I'm not even done there! You guys have been so great about finances. As it stands now I am up to $1,421 out of $2,400 with more money coming in soon.
As I learn more about Thailand I see the need of gospel there. Please be praying for..
- Students in Bangkok to be curious about who Christ is.
- Our team to honor their culture, but still be bold and intentional.
- Continued financial support for my entire team
- The Go Now Staff making arrangements and helping students with needs.They are AMAZING and there are only three of them!

Eight Million to Me

Dear Friends,

Papers are turned in, tests are inevitable, school is undoubtedly coming to a close for the semester. As I began to think through the process of leaving school next week I realized just how close my trip to Thailand is approaching. The thought was a little overwhelming to be honest. I grew up in a town of 75 people, maybe, and Bangkok has over 8 million. There really isn't much I can do to prepare for millions of people within miles of myself and then there is another daunting task. Evangelism. My purpose for going to Thailand is sharing Christ with those who I meet. In a country of 59,193,235 (Operation World) religious people ,with the majority of the statistic Buddhist, who I am?

^{" For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-Jews or Greeks, slaves or free-and all were made to drink of one Spirit."- 1 Corinthians 12:12-13}

As I read these verses I began to have peace about the magnitude of where I am going. See the body is one and I am not numbering 8 million to 1 or even 8 million to my team of 5. The body of Christ is extensive in Thailand even though it is a minority. I will leave Bangkok June 11th,but my Thai brothers and sisters will continue to pour into those around them. The odds may not ever be in our favor numerically, but Christ changed me and that is an odd I am glad someone challenged.

Portland Reflections

Dear Friends,

Well here we are. Pushing almost two months since coming back from Portland, Oregon. I would like to think I have fully processed the trip,but there are still some areas of the trip I can not place into words or categories. However, I can elaborate on two words. Community and brokenness.

Portland taught me so much about community. I spoke with our contacts in the city and learned a very simple/complex necessity for life. As Christ followers we should rely on those around us to support,encourage and hold us accountable. We do this by allowing ourselves to be vulnerable with people we trust. The vulnerability give us the opportunity to lay all of our dirty laundry and mess out in the open. This is terrifying for most everyone,but by doing so the strongholds your laundry has over you begin to weaken and you are able to walk deeper in your relationship with Christ. 

Portland is such a broken city. The brokenness can be related to many things, but one thing slaps you in the face everywhere you go in the city, sex. As uncomfortable as it may be to talk about Portland has the most strip clubs per capita than any other United States city. Everywhere you look, especially in downtown, one can see multiple theaters, stores and clubs. I had never been to a place where sex was so accessible. The fact is temptation was the last thing on my mind because I was so taken back and heart broken over it. We hear about Portland like "sex cities" overseas, but we ignore those in our backyards. There are broken people, broken lives and broken cities everywhere. The question is; when are we going to stop ignoring the fact that its everywhere and start loving those who are broken? 

There is so much more to Portland than this post,but these are the two golden nuggets I have taken from the trip.