If you missed part 1, it can be
found here.
Monday,
March 11: Training, Shopping, Worship House
Monday morning Joel and Laci gave us some more in depth orientation. They also shared some teaching about recognizing our power by knowing who we are and what Christ has done for us. Below are some of the things I processed as they talked.
o The Bible must be the basis of my understanding of the character of God, not my experiences.
o Fear is a disguise for faith in the wrong side
o We get the reward of what we believe
o Waiting for all of God’s promises to be fulfilled when I die makes death my savior instead of Christ
o 1 John 3:1&9 & 5:1 – We are children of God….therefore we don’t make a habit of sinning….and we are to love our fellow brothers and sisters. When we become Christians we are born again as little children. Children who are learning to walk will fall but we don’t degrade or shun them for it, we encourage them to try again.
o Ephesians 1:18-2:10 – The surpassing power of God to us is Christ risen with all things under His feet. We are the body of Christ. It follows that all things are therefore under our feet as well now that we are seated in heavenly places with Christ.
o Matthew 28:18-20, Luke 9:1-2, 10:1-12 & 17-20 – all authority (doesn’t leave room for other powers to be stronger) has been given first to Christ and then through Him to us to proclaim the Kingdom and heal the sick. Even though we have power and authority to defeat the enemy, it should not be our focus. Rather, we should rejoice in intimacy with God and seek to help others experience intimacy as well.
As I sat there watching some of my teammates understand for the first time, my mind went crazy. I know most of this! When did I learn this? How did I learn it? Did someone teach me or did Holy Spirit show me as I spent time reading the Word? What role/effect did asking God to be my teacher have on what and how I’ve learned? Why am I not sharing with others? Was it fear or truly just a lack of understanding of how much I carry? How and when should I share? How does someone gain a hunger for understanding the Word?
They also shared stories of miracles that left some teammates in shock. I remember thinking, Am I weird for thinking that this is normal and not super crazy? Does experiencing the “crazy supernatural” often enough make it normal enough that it no longer seems all that extraordinary but becomes almost expected? Is that a good thing? What does it look like to live with childlike wonder and joy? Have I lost the wonder? If so, how do I get it back?
I realized much of what they shared, I read about growing up and I've also experienced similar miracles. I’ve also noticed disconnects between what I believed and how I lived it out in different settings. It’s something I've noticed it before but lately, it’s been bothering me at a new level. Many times that disconnect is due to not sharing what I’ve seen and experienced. Several times recently, God's put me in situations where I suddenly realized that I've had a very special and rich upbringing in the works of God. I need to start sharing more and not assuming that other people know what I know. Even if they do, it's okay to remind them just like I sometimes need a reminder. I also struggle with fear that others (especially leaders) will reject me if I share my knowledge/experience or that I need have answers for every potential question upfront before beginning to share.
We had free time in the afternoon which most of us spent shopping. In the evening, we participated in time of worship and prayer with Worship House Phuket. Worship House hopes to someday become a 24/7 house of prayer and worship. For now, they meet for a couple hours a few times each week.
Tuesday, March 12: Big Buddha, Russian, Beach time, Sea Gypsies, Worship House, and Giant Hugs
This was a long, full day. We started at 8:30 with a team meeting. This was followed by going to Big Buddha. (Literally a giant statue of Buddha on top of a mountain.) While there, we did some prayer walking and treasure hunting. I was with JC and T. JC and I had both gotten the same picture of this guy with a specific color green shirt and patterned pants. We found him only to discover that he spoke Russian. We sat nearby and prayed for a while before moving on. While praying on the way there, I had also seen a sign below and to the left of the statue. Once we got there, I realized that it was the sign right outside where people could talk to a monk and buy jewelry so we went inside. JC and T grabbed Joel as translator and talked to a few of the workers. We went back out and tried to talk to one other girl but she also spoke Russian. We talked about how most of the other people we had noticed and considered talking to but hadn't also spoke Russian. So for the last few minutes of our time there, the JC, T, and I prayed for Russia.
Side note: After going to Mongolia in 2012, I decided the Cyrillic alphabet was pretty cool and taught myself the different sounds. Mongolia uses three alphabets: Mongolian Cyrillic, Latin, and Mongolian script. Also, they speak Mongolian not Russian. However, after going back to Mongolia in 2015, I decided to learn Russian since I liked the alphabet so much. I didn’t get very far before wondering if it would be useful since at the time, I didn’t feel any call to Russia. Not saying I have such a call now but I do find it interesting.
Next on the agenda was lunch. We were still on the mountain and had a beautiful view. Once we were done eating, we headed to the beach for a few hours. At the beach, we met a very fun, interesting guy who was in charge of the bathrooms. We left the beach and stopped at an overlook before heading to a sea gypsy village. At the sea gypsy village, we prayer-walked along one side while Joel and Laci talked to a sea gypsy family. We also bought some shells from the sea gypsies.
In all the driving here and there, Ian and I rode in the back of the truck because there weren't enough seats in the vehicle. I really enjoyed the conversations we had as we shared about past experiences. Honestly, many of my favorite moments on the trip happened during conversations with one or two other interns.
Once again, we finished off the day at the Worship House. As we were getting started, Laci talked about how sometimes we feel exhausted and like we've given everything out, but just like rags being wrung out, there's always still a bit more to give to God. The presence of God was tangible. We ended up going till almost 11 because many of us didn't want to leave. We ended with a giant wrap around group hug with Vanessa in the middle.
Wednesday, March 13: Take Time to Process
Since the day before had been so long, we slept in a little. During our team meeting, we felt led to pray and prophesy over Josh Crumrine. Several of the words had to do with finding his voice and writing songs.
In the early afternoon, Alex and Olivia led a songwriting workshop while most of the team went to the mall. Originally, I was planning on attending the workshop but then realized I actually needed to take that time to process. So many things on the trip were reminding me of the World Race and I was starting to recognize that I'd never grieved losing my World Race family. I spent the entire afternoon processing and talking with Elaine - mostly about missions, prayer, and worship and how they relate to each other. My passion for all three areas has continued to grow in recent months.
That evening, Jeremy, Josh Smith, Elaine, Vanessa, Crystal, and I walked to a nearby mall to eat dinner in the food court. It quickly became obvious that some of us were tired and slap-happy. When we returned, Alex led for another night at the Worship House. I started off with sitting in a corner remembering the best and worst moments on the Race and letting myself cry (and laugh) without worrying about what others might think. It felt so good to be in God's presence surrounded by people I trusted as I let myself grieve.
Meanwhile, Lisa, Daniela, Vicky, Jacob and Olivia and gone with Kate, other Olivia, Joel, Laci, Anchor, and Everest to the red light district. Those of us at Worship House spent some time interceding for them. We also wrote a song together. It started with JC singing something out then others started adding additional lyrics.
