This one I’ve been meaning to write about for some time now!
I love living in Thailand because I am so close to sooooo many other countries-one of those being Malaysia. Malaysia is now my most favorite vacation place. It is beautiful, that’s for sure, but more than that it has a city called Penang and in that city there is a house of prayer called the Penang House of Prayer and within that house of prayer are some of the most amazing people I’ve met! I had the opportunity to hang out with this group from PenHOP while I was with my team doing a visa trip to Penang. It was awesome to be in a house of prayer in an Asian nation and watching Asians minister to the Lord and lay their lives down at His feet–so amazing and beautiful-it filled my heart with hope! Not only did I love the Prayer Room itself but I was so blessed by the leaders of the house of prayer. They are marked as ones full of love, joy, kindness, servanthood, generousness, and great faith. I felt like I was home-not because Penang was a place that felt like home, but because they reminded me of the community I ran with at the House of Prayer in Kansas City. What a blessing and joy it was! If you’re in Southeast Asia you must make Penang, and more specifically, PenHOP, a place you visit! Here are a few pics. from my trip.
My Flying Partners-Andrew and Bennett
Part of our Team at the Arrival in Hat Yai
From Hat Yai we took a van into Malaysia. Rather than driving over the bridge, our driver put our van on the ferry. Here is Nash, Nora, and Parrish standing at the edge of the ferry.
Hanging out with friends from PenHOP. We hiked through the jungle to a beach!
These are the rocks we went "rock hopping" on...a new sport I got to experience!
Looking back as we "hopped along the rocks"
We eventually got to a point where all we could see was the ocean-a huge unknown right before our eyes
Once we returned from rock hopping we took a boat back to where we started our hike through the jungle.
This next reason…oh this may be more of a bearing of my heart than anything. Living in Thailand is painful and fun all at one time. It’s adventerous and new and beautiful, but it’s also a Buddhist nation. This is painful. So what does this have to do with loving living in Thailand? I love living here because I love what it’s doing to my heart and how it’s causing me to love Jesus more and more.
At every turn it seems that there is a temple, an idol, a spirit house, or a monk. Buddhism is everywhere. In one sense I kind of get used to it. Seeing these things don’t draw my attention so much as they did in the past, but they do remind me to pray. As I pray I find the burden increasing in my heart for Jesus to make His name known here. In Mae Sai, a border town of Thailand and Myanmar, there is a big fat buddha idol that sits half way up a hill that overlooks the town. This particular town is rather poor and a main zone for human trafficking and drug trafficking. The town has one of the most oppressive atmospheres I’ve ever experienced. As I stood in the midst of the oppression and heaviness, staring at this idol that presents itself as a god, it became so evident-that town is ruled by the powers of darkness because the people have given themselves to the worship of these idols. I was thinking about all that could maybe be done to help this town and solve this problem of massive trafficking. At that moment it was so clear-Jesus is the only answer. If He is not lifted up and exalted as God overall, things will not change. I’ve known it’s true, but it was another reminder.
I’ve never been so aware of the reality that Jesus is the only answer–for real! I’ve always said it, and believed it, but living in Thailand it has become a true conviction that burns in my heart. In that deep conviction, my heart has been awakened to love. Jesus has become so beautiful, so precious, so wonderful to me. There really is no one else in the heavens or on the earth like Him. I’ve had several discussions with Buddhist teachers about their beliefs and then I would share with them what I, as a christian, believe, and I would talk about Jesus to them. As they shared about the things they must do, the spirits that they feed and pay respect to, and the way they try to empty their minds to forget about their problems my heart would feel so weighed down. Then, I’d begin to talk about Jesus–yes it’s a narrow road, but He’s clear about what it means to be a follower, He’s full of love and mercy and forgiveness. He takes our pain and our problems and gives us joy. As I talked about Him my heart would come alive–He truly is unlike any other. He is God! He’s awesome in all His ways, just and true! There really is no false way about Him and all that He does is in love. I really do love this man!
With that, I love that I get to serve Him in the place of worship and prayer. All of these realities has increased the cry in my heart to see houses of prayer arise in this nation. It is not okay that Jesus is not known in this nation. This is a true injustice. The house of prayer is not an easy thing many days. It can be hard to make the 30 min. drive to the prayer room to pray with just one or two other people (who speak another language) and play an old clunky keyboard, singing the same songs over and over so people, if they come, can easily enter in. It’s hard, but not once has it felt like a waste. He’s so worthy of it. How can there be hundreds of temples in just this one city and thousands of monks to serve false gods yet there is not ONE full time house of prayer filled with people to minister to the one true and only God? It doesn’t add up. So my heart screams, “God, build your house of prayer!”
Friendship Bridge-border of Myanmar and Thailand
The Buddha that overlooks Mae Sai
Our small Prayer Room--Gong and Jazzy ministering before the Lord
I don’t think we have to move to a foreign nation that serves idols and other gods to experience these things, but it’s the reality of what it’s done in my heart. For this reason, I love living in Thailand. I love how the Lord is using this place to cause me to fall more in love with Him and ministering before Him!
Good. Be struck again and again about how the name of Jesus is not worship and glorified day by day. Let it strike your heart, weep over it. This is the greatest blessing Thailand can receive.
Missions exists because worship doesnt. – John Piper