This is a statement that I've grown up hearing my dad say my whole life. And as I continue growing up, it continues showing itself to be so true. Me and my squad spent almost 3 months in Honduras, living life and doing ministry together on a property with 10 Honduran boys who I think had more of an impact on me than I did on them. I saw the love of Jesus do a work in the severely poor community of Los Pinos, bringing more joy than I have seen in some of the well-off places at home in the states. I had the privilege to see my team and squad mates grow tremendously in their walks with Christ over those three months, and saw the Lord turn the boys on the property into completely new people. So many strong relationships were formed during our time in Honduras, and God used them in so many powerful ways that it's hard to even explain. Personally, the Lord showed me so much about Himself and who I am in Him that I look back and it's starting to become hard to recognize the girl who got on the plane 3 months ago. As much as I believe that we could have stayed in Honduras and seen the Lord do even more incredible things, grown even more in our faith, and continued to pour into the people around us, it was time for the seasons to change of course. Because that is one of the things the Lord is best at, changing our scenery, placing us once again out of our comfort zones. So my squad and I had to say goodbye to our new family and get on the plane to start a new adventure in Thailand. It definitely wasn't the easiest thing to do, and when I say that I mean that I cried for about 45 minutes in the airport… But our God is so good and it's so exciting to continue my journey with Him!
It's already obvious that the Lord wants to continue to grow us in our faith, because every member on our squad has been placed onto brand new teams, and each team is in a different province of Thailand. So we all go from living with 25 people to living with only 5 or six. Also, there have been changes in leadership. Our amazing squad leaders, Ashley and David, are heading home in a couple of days and they have prayerfully raised up two more incredible people off our squad. My squad mates, Brian and Katie, are now leading our squad and I am so excited to see how the Lord uses them. Now since they are raised up into squad leading there has also been changes in team leaders, including myself. Yep, the Lord has decided to call me into leadership for this next season and I will be leading a team of 5 absolutely wonderful and beautiful ladies.
This is a picture of our new team!
Arielle, Karson, Me, Laura, and Kaitlyn (from left to right)
Honestly, this new season is a bit scary because I'm having to face some of the fears that I've dealt with for a while. Like trusting myself to make decisions without second guessing or speaking up when necessary instead of shrinking back. Scary, yes. But being put completely outside of your comfort zone is where the most growth happens, I have learned. Plus, I'm learning to trust in the promise that when we are weak, He is strong.
So I ask you pray for me as I lead this incredible new teams! Pray for our growth as a team, and that the Lord uses us in crazy ways. We will be doing ministry for 6 weeks in the province of Chanthaburi, Thailand.
Thank you again for all of your support and prayers. I promise that it is felt all the way on the other side of the world! Much love from Thailand!
