Chiang Mai, missions

Being on a missions trip has always been an enthralling task for me and I believe to most of us who long to see the very core and feel heartbeat of God to His creation. While Sarawak has been a regular visit for us youthalivers, Chaing Mai was a whole new dimension to look at.

Apart from being different in the terminals that we should go(international than domestic), we've got ourselves into a place where Thai is not our language, we couldn't easily communicate with them in Bahasa like we did in Sarawak and the diverse culture. But though we may not origin from a similar background, but we do bear the love and joy of being rescued and treasured by Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

To have the opportunity to be there was just mind blowing. As Ps. Gideon and I got down the plane, my mind was just overwhelmed by thoughts of not doing or coping well with the leadership seminar and loads of worries just bogged in unnoticed. In my heart, I told God that I'm going to totally rely on Him and move on even though things seem to be blinding to me at that moment. So, off we went to Mae Wang church, where we were greeted by Ps Somsak's family. I got the chance to speak to some of the youths there and they were simply down-to-earth, magnificent people who're willing to spend the next few days being trained by Ps. Gideon.

Ps. Gideon kick-started the meeting with his power pack leadership materials =). I must say that him in action is just an inspiration-a heart that's devoted to see God's people equipped and armed with His word. Soon, we came up with a structure, a strategy, a goal for them to achieve for their own youths. " youth camps, english camps, music classes...." suggests the enthusiastic youths while they were brain storming. I had nothing else but to offer them the utmost respect for their passion for Christ in reaching out to their community.

Well, there came the last day of the seminar when I was responsible to share with them about prayer. The butterflies in my tummy were ever so ready to flutter! the night before I just sat in our room and prayed. As I opened my mouth, I just felt God's peace and assurance as I gave them this one little knowledge that I held dear-prayer. We had a fun time just talking and discussing with one another with our trusty translator Ladee.

The day before we left, we had a worship session with the church in Thai. As we were just worshipping, I drew back and literally saw a praying and worshipping church. His presence was just all over the place , as the water cover the seas(Habakkuk) and for the final day, we prayed, dedicated the whole youth and church to God and many responded to the altar call Ps. gave. It never cease to amaze me where 6 people gave their lives to Jesus-beautiful!

So..... join us next year? see Ps. Gideon in action plus his parang and widlife fettish,.......... There's so many things to say. But next year, if you are ready, do grab hold of this opportunity to bless other in chaing mai. Remember that we're blessed to be a blessing! God is and will always be faithful in all He does and all we need to do is trust in the hope that never fails.

Samson