Hello


Hello friends! 
I hope your Christmas was full of God’s Love and Light. Christmas is such a beautiful time to celebrate what a gift we have in Jesus. Every year I’m amazed that God chose to send Jesus as a tiny infant. Wow. Such humility.
I had a great Thai-style Christmas. We invited the university students to a Christmas party at the coffee shop. There were a couple games, a white elephant gift exchange, and my favorite--cookie decorating. It was a fun night. 
Christmas isn’t a holiday celebrated in Thailand so sharing and celebrating the birth of Jesus is something that can really be a testimony of God’s love. The idea of a living, loving, powerful, personal God coming to earth as a baby is a new thought, and it is a new thought that brings new hope. One of my friends here was drawn to church at Christmastime several years ago. He had never stepped foot in a church or gave much thought to a God, but the Holy Spirit gave him a hunger for something deeper. He met Jesus and his life has been completely transformed. His new life is full of peace and hope instead of darkness and depression.  
Many of the students here have similar testimonies...an empty heart and desire to be filled. It encourages me that the Holy Spirit is the One that ultimately draws people to Jesus. And the cool thing is that the Holy Spirit doesn’t stop pursuing us. He still longs for a relationship with us, and I’m so grateful for that.
God has been pursuing me my whole life. Sometimes I am content to rest in His presence and sometimes I get caught up in my own anxieties and expectations. But He is steadfast through it all. At times I question, asking why too often, but Jesus is patience. I’m not too much for Him.
 I am learning to find joy in the place God has me in the here and now. He brought me to Thailand for a reason. There are obvious reasons like to teach English and to make coffee. But of course it is more than that. It’s about loving people and learning how to love a new culture. It’s about seeing God show up in ways where only He can be glorified. 
He amazes me everyday. Just when I start to lose perspective He gives me a glimpse of His goodness. When I start to spin in a direction that would probably give me some unnecessary pain, He calls me to rest in Him. I’m learning to be still and listen to His voice. 


Comments

Isabelle Krake said…
It's good to hear that you are enjoying Thailand. You are doing something so wonderful :).
Gabrielle said…
That photo is really beautiful!!! I am glad to know you are well!

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