transported

  Yesterday I realized I have fallen in love with Thailand. It hit me when we were coming back from campus. It was one of those breath stuck in your throat moments. Through everything hard and challenging I have seen in the first week God has placed a spirit of thankfulness in me. Thankful for so much -thankful for our team and the Thai Christians -thankful for the time in the word being taught from it -thankful for the conversations that have already taken place. In our perspective training time Gary talked about having the perspective of being called...called to be a child of God, called to be like Christ, and called to call others. He spent time discussing the first two and how they can radically change our thoughts. There is a freshness to living in the mindset of being a child of God. The truth of being called from darkness to light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transported us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, colossians 1:13 oh if only our thoughts were filled with appreciation. I am reading a historical fiction account of Rahab, the author has portrayed Rahab as having a longing to know the God of the Hebrews. {I would love Him! Her mouth trembled, and her eyes were hot, with tears. I would serve Him any way He asked. Given the chance, I would bow down before Him and rejoice to be counted among His people!} in reading I have come to question my own heart and see the ungratefulness that lives within. I am called daughter and known by the one true God! This calls for rejoicing and an attitude that lives in thanksgiving. The second thought he shared with us in training was that we are called to be like Christ. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 1 peter 2:21 what we do and how we live matters. Our time here was described as a spiritual gym, this summer you will feel weaker than ever before and there are two responses 1.Shut down 2. Cry out to God and depend on Him. -In my struggle God is with me, making me holy- So in the language barrier, in the insecurity of not knowing the culture, in being stuck inside myself God is here, teaching me, changing me. I really am in Thailand. This really is the life I have been given. All at once it has been overwhelming, hard, stretching and beautiful. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! Psalm 139:6

I pray that the awesomeness and truth of this brings me to my knees- for those who do not know the God of Heaven and earth  -for those who feel hopeless. Please pray for those who walk in despair. Pray for boldness in your own heart to share the love of Christ with those around you -Please pray for my family back home as death creeps in and grief cuts deep into the hearts of many. As my heart pounds 'why?' to the tragedy that grips my family I pray to rest in the shade of Gods control and for His peace which passes understanding.   

learning how to love you
kathryn