My time in the prison.

Philippines. I see a tropical, beautiful place with peaceful and servant hearted people. I see a diversity of a people group that have been colonized by Spain and US, all together for over 350 years. I see a forgiving people. And I see God, in His diversity, reflect in this country, in this people.

The other day we went to the prison, to do worship, a drama, share testimony and sermon. My part was to share my testimony. Now in this culture it is important how you dress especially if you are going to share in front of a crowd. It reflects how you value yourself and from that they value you and listen to you. I believe that my value is more than in my appearance and so in my forgetful mind I probably put on the worst possible. Ugly basketball shorts and a medium sized non-fitted t-shirt. Once there I realize my mistake. This almost lead me to not sharing but the beating of my heart was intense and only increasing. I felt that even though, I really should share and whole heartedly wanted to. I felt a bit ashamed and prayed that God would use my forgetfulness for something good.

The fence was seperating us from the men prisoners and the ladies sat neatly in front of us. We started of with some happy worship songs, which in my country would be considered kids songs and only be sung in a Sunday school setting. But the prisoners happily sang along and danced. So cool :)

As time came for me to share my voice was cracking as my heart was braking for the broken. My heart was braking for the murderers, thieves and liars. And I think I got a glimpse of how God sees them, as valuable and loved. 

At first ashamed of my appearance, I realized that I was just dressed like them. That I also am just like them, a broken sinner that Jesus thought was valuable enough to die for. 

God once said to me that the things I've gone through are not wounds. They are not hurting wounds, they are scars. Healed scars that show how He has truly healed me. I can show it, without shame, and share what Jesus has done. He took a broken girl and healed her. 

After sharing I noticed that I was not the only one that cried. But more importantly I realized that I am not the reason why people are touched. It is because of who God is, what He has done, how He redeemed me and made me into a new creation. 

And that's my prayer for them, to be touched by God and see how the Redeemer has also set them free. We've all been prisoners but I've learned that He can redeem any situation, everyone and everything.

Thanks to everyone who has been supporting and praying for us. It means a lot.

Lost in Bangkok. A story that brings glory.

Our time in Chiangmai is finished, it's been amazing, exceeding my expectations. Last night we said our goodbyes and jumped on the overnight bus to Bangkok. 6:30 this morning we arrived tired and drowsy, trying to figure out what to do for the next thirteen hours before our flight for the Philippines. We find out there is big weekend market, next to it a mall and decide that that'd be a good place to waste time.

It all goes by fast, too fast. We have to split up into two taxis to get there. In a rush three of us jump into one taxi and the last thing I shout is "see you at the market!" We just make it down the hill when I realize I have no money in my wallet. We stop by the road hoping we will see the rest drive by in another taxi. Time goes by and then suddenly I remember I have 100 baht hidden in a secret compartment. So I happily tell the driver this surprise, where he takes my money and gives us 50 baht back, the agreed price to get to the market. We are about to get into the car but he says no, jumps in and starts driving away. I realize he's trying to trick us so I despretaly hold on to the moving car shouting at him. He locks the car, pulls down the window. I wave my hands at him demanding the money back. I think he gets a bit intimidated by my sudden change of mood because he gives me a 20 baht back trying to satisfy me. Still I shout at him, but quickly he pulls up his window, almost squishing my fingers. Off he drives away as I hit the car and shout "idiot!" I know, it's a quite immature, not very smart move as I was acting out of anger. Trying to cool down, I pray "God bless the idiot"...

Next taxi stops. A kind driver with limited English says he'll take us to the mall next to the market. We end up at a place that looks suspiciously small and no market place is in sight. We start praying, hoping we will see the rest of the team or for a miracle. 

A car stops and a lady sticks out her head and starts talking to us. In English. She offers to drive us to the weekend market and even shows us where to get the train to the airport. She says she has spare time anyways. Asking for nothing in return she drops us of at one of the main entrances of the market. She is Heaven sent.

After a search we find a coffee place with Internet and we send out a cry to the rest of our team. In waiting, I go for a walk praying that they will be at the coffee shop when I get back. To my surprise Arno is there. The message had been successfully received and the rest were all waiting outside the big mall expecting us there. I thank God for internet!

Meanwhile the others are talking to some Thai Christians, who are inviting them to come worship in the mall. Once reunited at the mall our curiosity leads us to the sixth floor where the worship apparently is going to take place. Not knowing what to expect we enter into a huge church, inside the mall. Beautifully the church are singing in Thai. On the big screen I see the English translation. "Glory to the Lamb of God. Glory to the One who sits on the throne. Glorious is He." My anger is no longer and I am filled with joy. I thank God that the stressful morning turned out peaceful. And I laugh and sing along.

Three weeks in four paragraphs.

Week three of outreach. A lot has happened. And I'm loving it.

Our time in Chiang mai. 

A warm busy city with lovely people. I'm amazed by the hospitality and generosity. The people we work with reach out to the Shan people, a persecuted and rejected people group from Burma. So a lot of the ministry we do is with them. 

In this time we've had delicious korean barbeque and fellowship, preached in the church, done dramas and skits, shared testimonies, fed an elephant, I cut a mullet on Arno, taught thai children english, sticky rice, sticky skin, mosquito bites, shared about Jesus, taught the alphabet, spiritual warfare, spontaneous bible study, helped out with homework, midnight snacks, shared life stories, slept siesta, artificial drinks, jammed with thai guys, lead worship and met a lot of amazing and friendly thai and Shan people.

Our time in the mountains. 

A five hour trip into the mountains, away from electricity and running water, into a forest that felt more like a jungle. A peaceful and adventurous time, a definite highlight for me. Away from distractions of a city, at first I almost felt lonely. But it was a time that drew me to God, and I felt so much peace. 

Wooden houses, dirt roads, the sounds of pigs, dogs and ducks surrounding us. A small village where 6-7 families are Christians and the rest of the village catholic, mixing their believes with Buddhism and witchcraft. Unfortunately the Christians are rejected and persecuted. We came to encourage the Christians, every evening meeting under candle light on mats in wooden houses sharing about the word of God and our own stories.

We've also worked on a rice-field, i got to know my team better (what an amazing team), ate frog, went frog-hunting, mixed cement, done construction work at the church, rode on an elephant, went fishing from a bamboo raft, ate fish brains, ate wood, ate some amazing foods, played soccer with 15 "ninjas" (shirtless, tattooed guys with six-pack and skills to kick, it was scary at first), taught English in elementary school and made new friends. I will always remember that place. 

Now we have moved to another town up on the mountains. Unlike the other village there's running water, electricity and wifi in the building. We will do construction work, teach English in schools and in the evenings meet and share with the Shan people. 

I feel so blessed. All the things we've gone through, things I'm learning and revelations I got. Oh and the foods. Amazing tasty and spicy food. But to be honest some foods more difficult to eat. Like the chicken blood that we had today :)

Oh the beauty of living life. With God. For God. 

Our beautiful team.

Our crazy team.

I love them.