Thailand: Hearing God's Voice in the Mountains

Trucks Through the Mountains
Originally uploaded by kickeur77.

I quickly shuffled through my notes, wondering if I could get through this. I turned around and looked up to see 30 pairs of eyes staring at me. I asked God for courage, took a deep breath, and looked toward my friend, Kate, to give her the signal that it was time to say the opening prayer.

Why was I nervous? Well, on Thursday at my Frist Priority meeting, I presented my testimony of my Thailand mission trip. Talking to this group was one of the most exciting/nerve-wracking things I've experienced. I was really excited to be able to share with my peers my adventures in Thailand, but I was afraid I wouldn't be able to adequately tell them why this trip was so important to me.

This was my third trip to Thailand and I think it was the most life changing of the three. I really felt the presence of God in every aspect of the trip. I was really able to listen to God when I was riding on top of the trucks that took us high up into the hills to the villages. Just being able to sit for hours and really be apart of nature was an AWESOME feeling. I noticed all the details that God placed in Creation and I felt so close to Him at that point. I took that time to think about my life and what I need to do to bring all the glory to God. He spoke to me in the most amazing ways-revealing things about my life that I had never really thought about before. It was an awesome feeling to know God is that BIG!

Every trip God has taught me something different about my life. My first trip, He put the idea of missions in my head. He showed me why people become missionaries and what is involved in the process of "spreading the good news throughout the nations". The second trip, God revealed the He wanted me to go into missions long-term. That was an incredible feeling to know that God has such a big plan for my life. This trip, God gave a true burden for the people of Thailand. I discovered all the opportunities that I have in that country. I can work at the youth hostel, teach enlgish at a church, work with Pastor Kiatisak, and so many other ways to spread the love and gospel of Christ. I'm so excited to be able to have the opportunity to serve God in this way.

So anyway, back to First Priority. I really wanted to communicate why missions was so important to me. I wanted to express how the mission trip experince can change your life. God took me, a self-centered, self-conscious little girl, and turned me into a more confident young lady(well, as confident as a teenage girl can get) who has a passion for God. I want them all to see how much the people of this world need Christ. It breaks my heart to look at these little kids in Thailand and think that only in a few years they'll probably be forced to become a monk, get involved in drug dealing, or become a prostitute. But when we tell them about salvation, they can come to a relationship with Christ and know that they don't need any of those things in their lives. They don't need to be afraid of evil spirits or worry about their disfunctional families, because they know God is with them and will protect them and will show them that He is the love(maybe the only love) they have in their lives!! That is what I want people to experience on a mission tirp. I want them to recognize the need for Christ in this broken world.