Dear friends and family,
I hope you all are enjoying the holiday season and had a blessed Christmas surrounded by the warmth of family. I experienced my first Christmas way from home this year, and although my related family did not surround me, I was surrounded by church members here in Thailand. It was comforting and encouraging being around God’s family in Asia and celebrating the birth of our savior with my Thai brothers and sisters in Christ. It was a wonderful Christmas, and I am very much looking forward to spending New Years with my fiancé, Drew Bowen, here in Chiang Mai!
With the New Year just around the corner, I wanted to share with you how God has been working in me and through me during my internship in Thailand this year. After being here for five months, I have seen and experienced God working all around me in deep and meaningful ways. He has taught me so much about foreign missions, working as a team, boldly sharing my faith, patience, and how to be more disciplined in my spiritual walk.
Before coming to Thailand I knew very little about foreign missions or mission work in general. Although I grew up overseas, I did not encounter many missionaries. I went on many service trips throughout high school, but none of them were done in the name of Christ. Since being here I have learned what it means to leave all of your belongings and follow Christ. Living in Thailand is not the overly comfortable lifestyle that I am used it. It has stretched me and taught me to become more simplistic and appreciative of the little joys in life that are often overlooked. I am so thankful for my solitude and reflection time, which I have often here because we do not have a TV. I have learned so much from the missionaries here and still sometimes find it difficult to believe that they have been doing this for over 15 years. Mission work is truly a daily lifestyle devoted to God.
God has blessed me with a wonderful intern team. I am in Thailand with two of my best friends and roommates from college, Hilary and Kara, Mark Foster, a recent graduate from ACU and two Thai interns Bon and James. God teaches us daily the importance of good communication and how to best encourage each other. We all have different gifts and talents, which help us to pick up for one another where others many fall short. Our team does a good job at encouraging each other. We have all been through our times of homesickness and confusion, but God so graciously did not allow them to happen at the same time, so that we could be a strong shoulder for each other when needed. I am so thankful for each of my teammates and what they are doing here in Thailand.
This is one of the few times in my life that I have been somewhere for the soul purpose of Christ. Usually when someone asked me what I do, I respond by saying, “I am a student at… or I am an employee of…” ect. When people ask me why I am in Thailand I am honored to say that I am here through Christ and because of Christ. He is my soul purpose for being here. Many people cannot understand moving to a foreign country to share God with others. Hilary and I are taking a Thai language course at a local University here. Everyone in the class knows we are here doing mission work and that has opened so many opportunities to share our faith with our classmates. That makes me wonder how many doors could have been open in classes I have been in in the past if only I would have boldly proclaimed my faith the way I do here. I am proud to say I am here serving my Lord and Savior and I have learned to be more assertive about what I believe in a loving and open-minded manner.
God has truly taught me that patience is a virtue, and not an easy one at times. I am a planner and organizer. I like to know what I am doing tomorrow and what I am doing next year. Being here is teaching me that in life we cannot always be in control and be in the know. God is in control and God is in the know. The other Interns and myself teach free English classes to members of the community. I have had to learn that we need to prepare for anywhere from 2 to 13 students in a class and that sometimes no one may show up at all and that is okay. I have full faith that God has a plan for each one of our students and it is my prayer that I can be the best example of Christ to them that I can be. Also, together Drew and I have had to learn how to be patient with each other. A long distance engagement is not easy and at times, not fun, but God has taught us how to unconditionally love each other through the good and the bad. Although the distance is not fun, it has been really good for us and has stretched us and we have grown closer to one another.
One of the many things that I enjoy about my internship is the equipping time that we share as a team. Twice a week the interns and Robert Reagan, the missionary we are working with, get together to study God’s word. We have completed an in depth study on the spiritual disciplines. I have learned a great deal about the power of prayer, solitude, service, simplicity, fasting, submission worship and simplicity. It is very refreshing to learn how to better draw closer to God and put these disciplines into practice.
Thailand has been a wonderful experience for me so far. I have learned so much and have ministered to many people. It is hard to believe that this time last year, I was just thinking about coming here and now it is my temporary home. I look forward to see how God uses me to bring people to Him throughout the remainder of my stay.
It is because of you and your endless love and support that I am able to be here and experience God’s love in ways I could have never imagined. I cannot thank you enough for your prayers and financial support. Your efforts have blessed many people in Thailand, Cambodia and have richly blessed me in the year 2010 and will continue blessing in the year 2011. Please continue to pray for my team and I, and that God will work through us powerfully in our last months in Thailand.
In Him,
Amanda
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