Officially passed the one month mark, said goodbye to Indonesia and are embarking to Thailand!! It’s been a wild time. At times it felt so slow and others times it felt like it was flying by. The Lord has been teaching me so so much.
I think most of all, He has been teaching me about His gentle tenderness in this season and how He move slowly and speaks softly. He is in every moment if we can just tune our hearts to Him first. The noise of this world begins to fade into the background until it’s all about Him.
In every moment that has just felt impossible, tenderness is what enters. Whether it’s the kids with their big smiles and sticky hugs or our squad members with comforting words and knowing glances. Tenderness is what fills the spaces that feel like cracks. Tenderness touches our hearts. Because that’s who Jesus is. He is a tender Savior with a knowing glance, a comforting word, a big smile and a not so sticky hug. His tender heart reaches to every height and every depth crying out to each of us chasing us down in loving pursuit until every soul finds their way back home.
Also patience. Lots and lots of patience lol. How to sit with discouragement and frustration. Learning that there’s fruit in the hard moments. That He opens doors at just the right time. That we can learn from every single moment even if it’s not ideal. He is always preparing us in the waiting and sometimes we learn more in the waiting than the doing.
Another big thing has been before anything else, I am His daughter. We are sons and daughters of the King. His children. And that is our only true identity. Kids are invited to be messy in front of their parents. Coming undone, breaking down and laying it all out. We see people of great faith coming undone before Jesus and pouring all their oil out at His feet. My prayer has been that I would “pour out all my oil and wet your feet with tears.” He is our good dad and he wants whatever messy, broken, spilled offering we have to give. He just wants us to come as we are. He bottles every tear and wants our tears to flow in His presence. He wants to touch and heal our hearts, especially in the places that are the darkest, hardest, and most hurt. I’ve been praying that the Lord would shatter my heart so it flows before Him as he takes every frustration, every hurt and every lie. And He is so faithful to meet us in the places where we come undone. He is there in the messy with us.
Spending June in Batam, Indonesia was such a blessing and a time I will never forget. Even in a country where evangelism is illegal and the largest Muslim population in the world exists, God is just around every corner. He is working and He is speaking. There are people beautifully living out the gospel and changing lives. As we move into Thailand this next month, pray for us! My team will be working with marginalized women and bringing the heart of Jesus to hurting souls. Pray that the love of Jesus would just pour out of our team onto the people that we are serving, that there would open hearts, that the gospel message would fall on good soil, and that the Lord would hold our hearts when it’s heavy and hard. No matter what, God equips the called!
Some bits and pieces:
Some flicks:
This is so raw and powerful. Your words reflect a deep, honest walk with the Lord. Praying as you step into Thailand — that His tenderness continues to meet you in every moment and that His love pours out through you. Keep showing up — He’s in it all.