A friend called the other day to ask me some questions about my upcoming mission trip to Thailand in December. We talked about sex trafficking, orphans, long flights, and more. Then she asked me, “Why did you decide to go to Thailand?”
I wanted to give her a big theological answer, but I didn’t have one. God didn’t speak to me as I stood by the frozen shrimp section at the grocery store and tell me I needed to go. (He did that once but that’s a story for another day.)
“It just feels like the right thing to do,” I told her. “I was trying to decide between Iraq and Thailand, and Thailand seemed to be the direction my heart went because I have a passion for those who have been trafficked. I thought to myself, ‘If God wants me to go, He will make a way,’ and He has certainly done just that.”
Then she asked me another question I haven’t been able to stop thinking about.
“Do you realize you’re probably not going to come back from this trip the same?”
I have a feeling she’s right. I’ve experienced this many times in my walk with Christ. There are some things you see you just can’t go back from. You can’t pretend to unsee things.
When I watched a friend be delivered from demons before my very eyes, I’ve never been the same, because I saw the love of Jesus at a whole new level.
When my friend Chanel took her own life by jumping off the dam, I knew I would never be the same. I knew I had to tell other people about the deep love of Christ, even if it only saved one life.
When I went on my first mission trip to Moldovia and I stood on the grounds where thousands of Jews had been slaughtered, while the KGB marched by with their machine guns, I knew I would never be the same again.
When a woman who only spoke Russian invited us over to her house for lunch, we sat in a living room surrounded by the rubble of a war. Her backyard was full of echoes of bombs, gunshots, and I would imagine death. She loved on us, fed us like royalty, and I came back home to America safe and well-fed. I knew I would never be the same again.
[ctt template=”5″ link=”682Te” via=”yes” ]There are some things you see you just can’t go back from. You can’t pretend to unsee things.[/ctt]
When my step-mother died two days before Thanksgiving after months of praying over her, holding her hand, and telling her how loved she was, addiction didn’t care. It had taken its toll on her body and she was gone. I stood at her funeral and knew I would never be the same again.
When I watched a woman I mentored get on her knees and surrender to Christ and accept the redemption God was offering her, despite every shameful thing she’d done in her past, I knew I would never be the same again.
When the doors of a ministry I knew God had called me to start closed its doors, I knew I would never be the same again. When the heart-wrenching words and actions of others tore me down, I knew I would never be the same again.
But that day I had to make a decision. I could live in sadness, bitterness, and unforgiveness and never be the same again, or I could walk in love, forgiveness, and confidence, knowing God was still walking with me, and never be the same again. I had to choose the latter. And I’m still choosing it today.
So, when the opportunity to go to Thailand and love on women who’ve had their identities stolen from the enemy arose, I didn’t need to think about it. I just said “yes.” When I learned I would get to hold an orphan in my arms who the enemy longs to convince they were never wanted, I didn’t need to think about it. I just said “yes.”
Why did I decide to go to Thailand? Because love does and I want to be love.
And I know I’ll come back from that trip and probably never be the same again. Bring. It. On.
Would you pray about partnering with me on this journey? Not only do I need your prayers, but your financial investment into this trip plays a vital role in offering hope to the hurting in Thailand.
The total trip will cost about $3600. I need to raise $1800 by the end of August to book my flight. As of this writing, I’ve raised about $400 for the airfare.
I’m planning to document as much of the journey as I can so you can be hands-on with me, though I don’t know what I get to bring into the country yet to do that.
I realize not everyone can pack up their lives and go to Thailand, and that’s okay. But you can still play just as much of a vital role as I will. Let’s do this together! You can donate today and any amount will help.