Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Thailand Mission Trip Day 3

Thailand Mission Trip Day 3:
We are still going strong. The day has been tiring and it is evident in how most of us lay slumped on the cool concrete floor when there was a slight break in the afternoon. However, it has been a fruitful day and there were no regrets.
The day started off with a hearty breakfast and morning devotion. Uncle Henry challenged us whether we could sustain this spiritual high even after this trip is over, maintaining that constant burden for the salvation and healing of others and making prayer a close ally.  After that and lots of mosquito repllent application, we were off for the home visitations.
We travelled down to Bangrachan today to visit Thanpraporn church where a hearty lunch awaited us. One thing which the trippers looked forward to is the food. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, like chicken curry and pork trotters but something about the way they were cooked made it extra special. Aunty Carol was joking that she would like to bring the cook (a most hospitable lady) back to Singapore.
Below you’ll find Louisa’s account of the events and the people we prayed for.
Hi friends! I’m making a reappearance today after a long hiatus of six months. Today was an interesting one in that many unexpected events happened. Firstly, Audrey and Cheryl (yay!) started off the day by leading us in devotions. Cheryl prayed for people to flock to our evangelistic concert, and it really happened! But before I begin on that account, we had visitations in the morning. We first visited an old man who had a multitude of problems. What struck us first was that he had no right forearm. He shared with us that he had high blood pressure, dizzy spells and headaches. When we first arrived, we just wanted to share our joy with him through worship, yet he seemed rather unfazed when we started singing. So we tried all ways (including releasing Clarence’s and Darius’s laughter) but it didn’t work. Finally we gave up using human ways and just prayed for him, (which definitely had Jasmine and Evangelle very enthusiastically praying in Thai and everyone just chionged for it) and the headaches left. He seemed very much happier after prayer and with Ah Bi’s sweet smile, he cracked many smiles! Isn’t it great? After all, joy is a right and hallmark of a Christian…
Hmm, after that we visited an auntie’s house. During the June 09 trip, the trippers prayed for her and she was very much better. We prayed for her again and the pain in her hips disappeared. She actually broke out into a dance, which really surprised many of us! Joy again reared its head, especially apt considering Philippians is the book of focus for our trip.
The concert really had many many children who came, to the point where we almost ran out of goodie bags. In fact the goodie bags had a story too, in that we thought we ran out of goodie bags yet there was one without it, but somehow, the logistics team unearthed one more. I guess it didn’t really hit home the significance of the large turnout then for me, but when Uncle Henry raised the point, I realized it was a great way of just broadcasting the word out to the community in this simple manner.
Hmm, after the concert, we had two people who requested for prayer. And I shall share my part. There was an elderly woman who was not a believer yet requested for prayer for her many illnesses. She had pain in her spine and knee and thyroid problems and diabetes… ok shan’t go on, but basically, we prayed and the pain lifted totally! She was really happy and she bent up and down to test her knees and her back wasn’t in pain anymore which was great! She looked really happy. Really. Don’t know how to describe it but she was really happy. Hopefully this is the stepping stone to something greater.
Back in another room there was a non-believer lady who had problems with her thyroid, being sensitive to dust that was plentiful in her working place. She told us that she had a hectic schedule, going to work in the morning followed by taking care of her children after work. Her problems were made worst by her husband’s addiction to drinking. Thus she requested prayer for her thyroid as well as the strength to be able to work and take care of her family. During the prayer, Justin and Audrey released visions upon the lady. Justin saw a picture of a pillar, and interpret it as the lady being a pillar of strength for the people around her, that God will provide for her and she need not stand alone. On the other hand, Audrey’s vision was about a sky full of the lady’s needs of which the lady was desperately trying to reach out towards them, not aware that on that very same floor that she stood upon was already filled with all the needs the lady required, provided by God himself.
 After the team prayed for her, she told us that her thyroid felt better ( being able to breathe with more ease as compared to before we rayed for her) and that she felt very encouraged by our prayers. Her experience was more towards the emotional side instead of the physical.
She later on prayed to receive the Lord into her life, being touched by the Lord. This experience marked the beginning of one new member’s journey with the Lord!

The day ended with a message from Uncle Henry that we should not underestimate the work that we are doing here even though it may not seem much or when things do not turn out the way we desired to be. In army speak, when one wants to take control of another territory, engineers have to first build bridges before the infantry can move in. Similarly that is what we are doing, building bridges which others can use to move in. it is very heartening to know that within Thailand itself, local people have responded to the call to become missionaries and are moving from provinces to provinces, out of their comfort zones.
I hope that our work will not just be a temporary thing but have a permanent effect on our lives.
Sincerely,
It dawned upon me that the reporter is probably the last person to hit the sack everyday.

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