Trust and obey, For there’s no other way To be happy in Jesus But to trust and obey The word obey has come to mind often. It’s a word that brings some hesitance to me because I question it. “Obey? Just like that? What if the command isn’t good?” But 1 John 5:3 says, “In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.” I think it’s easy to read this and say it aloud, but there’s an element of trusting what God says is true, that He does in…
Adventure with Jesus – A GAP Semester in Phuket, Thailand
As long as I can remember, adventure called my name. Not in an extreme sports kind of way, but this intangible pull to try new things, to see new places, and to learn more about how God made me and who He has called me to be. While I couldn’t articulate this early on in my life, it was still present. It was consistently pushing and pulling me to this adventure I knew I was created for and yet didn’t fully understand. I was 12-years-old and sitting on a couch reading a Christian magazine for teens (Breakaway magazine for any…
Volunteering Overseas & Success Syndrome
18 months ago we moved to Thailand to join the team of For Freedom International. FFI helps to undertake Gospel-Centered justice and compassion work amongst women who have been sexually exploited. We have been tasked with starting a social foundation in Thailand and establishing a vocational training salon for sexually exploited women getting out of prostitution. We love our new home and we are excited about how God is working in Phuket, and He’s done so much! During our time here FFI has started the country’s third child advocacy center, sent exploited international women back to their home countries and people…
No Fear in Love
It’s been 45 days since we signed documents, did homework to debrief and ended or time in Phuket, Thailand. I did not want to leave, a large part of me felt I was being ripped away. For the past 45 days, I’ve been afraid. I was afraid I would lose the initial heart for Phuket. I was afraid I would come home unchanged and easily willing to slip back into old habits. One day, a little while ago, I wrote this journal entry: “Dear Jesus, I am leaving the people I’m wanting to pray for in Your hands. You want…
Our Reason is Jesus
Every day starts well with a cup of coffee. This particular day was no different, as I sat quietly at the coffee shop, observing the endless flow of adventuring tourists, expat regulars, and local Thais stopping in on their way to work. Holding my latte, I looked out the window and thought about what my life has been like the past 3 ½ years living in between these worlds…having the appearance of a foreigner, yet the heart of a Thai. Always ready for the next adventure with God, like a child following after their father. Yet, more than someone just…
How in the World…? Finding Home on the Other Side of the Globe
It’s a small, big world… I am from one of the largest countries on earth. I grew up going to the biggest church of my denomination nationally and was well connected there. My city is very spread out, but I am familiar with most of it. Eight-hour weekend road trips were normal as my family lived to the east and the west of me. I was blessed with many friendships and had a large social network. Through my international travel, I even knew people around the globe. My world was big, or so I thought. Then the day came…
Riding a Moto: Cultural Adaptation at Its Finest
I swerve suddenly to avoid a pothole in the road and then squeeze in front of an overloaded pickup truck in order to pass a car that abruptly pulls into my lane. I hold my breath as an exhaust-belching tour bus lumbers past and then watch, mesmerized, as a family of four, their dog, and their groceries smoothly ride by, no helmets required. This is a typical excerpt from my daily commute via the SE Asian motorbike, affectionately known as a moto. To a visiting tourist, the traffic here in Thailand looks chaotic, leaving many tourists (dangerously) thinking there are no traffic rules…
Letting Go of the Wall: Taking a Step into the Unknown
Suddenly, everything went black. My eyes fought to adjust to the darkness, but nothing came into focus, not even my out-stretched hand mere inches from my face. All sight stripped away, I stood, unable to move. After receiving an invitation to join the Dialog in the Dark experience in Bangkok, I excitedly agreed, thinking it would simply give me an interesting, new perspective on the world around me. The outcome, however, was much more. Dialog in the Dark is an exhibition located around the world, where visitors are led by blind guides through a constructed, and completely darkened, space. The experience is meant to give a…
Expectations vs. Reality: Who Am I, Really?
One year ago… One year ago I moved to Thailand to undertake “Gospel-centred justice and compassion work amongst women in the sex trade.” It was a simple enough statement to say to my supporters, but the reality of life and work here is nowhere as simple as I had expected. Expectations are weighty and dangerous things, and I found that my expectations upon arriving in Thailand only added extra layers of confusion to trudge through in this unprecedented year of trying to get my bearings. Below are three of the realities I’ve had to embrace in order to understand myself…