A New Chapter

It's Sunday morning and the house is quiet. Everyone left last night except for the Thaibodia and Bali/Philippines teams. Lecture phase is over. The good news is that we'll all be seeing eachother again in 2 months because we're all flying back here to Sunny Coast for debrief week on May 23rd. Actually we're all on the same connecting flight from Malaysia to head back here which is going to be unreal! It was surprisingly really sad to see them go. I thought I would be totally fine since I've been preparing for this day for 3 months, but I already miss a few of them. No tears from me though because I for some reason rarely cry which I'm realizing more and more since I've been in Australia. This sharp pain hits my chest but the tears only come on occasion... it's weird and I don't like it!
On another note, this past week was kind of a blur for me. Trying to soak in every minute together before departure and at the same time attempting to pack up our lives here for another adventure posed quite a hectic 5 days. God blessed us with a gorgeous few days so in the midst of all the chaos, we escaped to the beach a few times to soak in the rays. I know my skin damage-conscious sister LOVES that! The speaker for the week was a pastor from Byron Bay named Neville. I'm not being dramatic- he is the most knowledgable person I've ever come across in my Christian life. When it comes to apologetics, I've never met someone better either. That said, I got lost a few times during lecture but on the whole he taught me so much more than I expected for my last week. The topic was missions and the key to missions is worship. Neville pounded this in our heads and hearts. In order to be a tool for God to be excited to use, God wants to know that I'm going to give Him every ounce of the glory and not take any for myself. This is why he loves to use the weak. The weak have been brought out of their weakness only by he power of God and they know it. For me personally, I struggle with pride and the notion that I can do and get anything I want if I put my whole mind, heart, and body into it. I don't know if that is just a super competitive, athlete thing that has been driven into me my whole life or if it comes from the pressures within the American society or if it is something else, but whatever the case, this whole idea of weakness does not come naturally for me. If God wants complete ownership of his glory then he's going to be more reluctant to use someone who secretly desires to be glorified.
The supernatural realm was a hot topic this week. With a pentecostal background, Neville has seen and experienced a dramatic desire for the Holy Spirit. Neville actually has a really cool testimony but I won't go there right now. He has a wealth of knowledge about supernatural things. Healings, visions, dreams, and things that can only be from God. We know that as we go out in His name it is very likely that some of these ways that God uses to speak to us will take place. I can't wait! Literally. I can't wait anymore here- I need to go to Thailand & Cambodia. I'm sick of hearing about all the tragedy out there and being stuck here. Tomorrow night! The first week in Thailand we'll be hiking up in the mountains on the border of Thailand and Burma, delivering medical supplies, blankets, water, and food to the poorest of the poor in the mountain villages. When I say medical supplies I mean things like band-aids and gauze pads to patch up infected mosquito bites and who knows what else. I'm really looking forward to each part we have planned for this outreach. The 2nd week we'll be working with orphans and sex slave ministries. The 3rd week we'll be in Phuket (look it up on Google, it's gorgeous) working with a kids' sports ministry. The 4th week we'll be back in Bangkok & I forget what we're doing there. Bry and Tiff said the best times are going to be the times that are completely unplanned where we're just praying for guidance and His leading to speak to certain people or go to certain places. I'm so excited for these times! Then we're off to Battambong, Cambodia where we'll be for the entire last month of outreach. I'm telling you all of this now because I don't know how often I'll be able to blog since internet access will be extremely limited.
I just want to say thank you to everyone who has been supporting me this entire 3 months. Thanks for following my journey and for every single prayer you've prayed for me. Each of us on team Thaibodia are trying to raise up as much of the body of Christ we belong to back home to pray for us because we know that prayer changes things. So please take some time to pray for: Bryan and Tiffany-their health, their marriage, and a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit
Our team- safety, direction, adaptability, and divine unity

I want to send a special thank you to you mom for being the first to introduce me to Jesus and for following Him faithfully even when you don't want to. You are such a role model to me and I miss you so much.
We leave tomorrow night at 7, flight is at 11 from Brisbane to Bangkok. I'm off to be a little bird on a mission! haha