Beyond What Is Seen: July 2015

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

~ A Month in Time

~dancing at the Saturday night market~

To some people a month seems like a long time to be in a foreign country.
An entire month in a place that is in no way familiar to the place you call home.
That's four whole weeks of life smack dab in the middle of an unknown culture with people you haven't met before!

beautiful gardens designed by the current
king's late mother

I have several email addresses - all of them with a reason of how they came to be. One of my most recent ones is also my current favorite: worldtraveler. Now, I've only been in two continents so far, so I can't rightly say I've traveled the world yet! But I've been born with a traveling bug in me - the kind that if I would have been around in the pioneer days of North America I would've been on a wagon train blazing the trail to the West, no doubt.

at one of the large tea plantations

The reason I like that email address so much is because it signifies a passion of mine: a passion for exploring, adventures, learning new things, and growth - always growth. Every time I read those little words that compose that simple little email address, my thoughts inevitably go to a bigger picture.

In a bigger picture, 1 month is only 8% of your year. Which also means, if you live to the age of 70, four weeks is merely about .11% of your life...so...a month really might not be that long after all :) In a bigger picture, a month in a foreign country doing life in a very unfamiliar place with people you haven't met before is going to be only a small .11% blip in the history of your life-span.

market at the Karen
(long-necked people) village

Yet in a bigger picture, that small little blip just might be what changes your entire life forever.

The first time I traveled outside of the continental United States, I was 9 years old. Along with seven of my siblings and my parents, I flew to a little village in the mountains of Guatemala to a mission that had served as an orphanage during/after the 30+ year civil war that had ravaged the country. My dad had seen the orphanage while it was still fully running, but by the time I got there, full-time orphan care had turned into more feeding center and village outreach programs. (That same location is still being used for similar outreach programs today.) We spent a month there. A month that changed my life...although it took years to find out just how far-reaching of an effect those four short weeks would have.

one of Thailand's night markets

In the years after, I saw many changes happen in that village/town, experienced the ups and downs in the lives of people who became like family, and watched God using all of it to work changes in my own life and bring perspective to what otherwise would have been a very narrow, sheltered outlook on life. Twelve years and many, many details and lessons later, another month in another strange and foreign country is being used to change my life again.

So how is Thailand? Hot and humid! But it's also been raining off and on this past week so that helps cut the humidity a bit. It's also beautiful with green hills/mountains and colorful architect. The people are very kind, respectful, and helpful and the western staff has been very welcoming.

Thai food!

Most of my work days (weekends are days off) have been filled with numerous meetings on policies, procedures, and detailed information on what exactly is involved in helping girls who have been sexually exploited and trafficked find healing and confidence, as well as empowering them to be able to successfully reintegrate into a 'normal' life. We've covered things like defining the roles of house parents, how the safe homes are run, and what child-protection looks like; seen what's involved in counseling, case working, education, and vocational training; and even learned some basic self-defense strategies - and still have a week and a half to go! Sometimes all the information and detail that I've been learning almost seems a bit overwhelming, but I'm reminded again and again of how this is God's work.

Buddist temple

God hears the cries of the oppressed and He will answer them - Psalm 10:17, Psalm 34:18, Psalm 82:3, Job 34:28, and on and on. Even after seeing how a Destiny Rescue operation and aftercare program runs, there are still questions we have that won't have answers until we are on the ground in the Dominican Republic and figure out practical hands-on applications of what we've been learning here in Thailand, since each country has different laws and standards that we need to honor and work with.

hand-painted bowls

But even with all the questions, the anticipation on getting on the ground and putting to use all this newly-learned information keeps growing. Seriously, to think that I can be used to demonstrate the heart of God, to help answer the cries of the oppressed, to be an advocate of justice - how can that not be exciting?! It seems so big! Yet it's so simple.

Simple how?
You place your will into the hands of God and open your heart to let Him show you His heart.
You let go of the things you hold so tightly on to - things like comfort, safety zones, routine - and open your hands to receive what He wants for you and of you.

hand-carved flower soaps

God has created us to grow, learn, experience, and explore. Combine that with Jesus' teachings and examples of serving, forgiving, loving, pouring out of yourself and into the lives of others and life begins to make sense.
Too many of us want it all figured out. Because then it's safe - you know what is expected and what to expect. But God purposely created us to need Him. When our perfectly formed safety bubbles burst and suddenly life becomes ugly and full of despair or when the routine becomes mundane and we find ourselves questioning whether our lives even have purpose, He knows. He created us to need Him so we would hang on to Him! He wants us to find our safety in Him so that when all around is unknown filled with questions, we have peace because we know Him.

assorted nuts for sale

But the really, truly awesome thing about it all is that it never stops! He always has new terrain for us to discover and new ways to demonstrate to us His heart and our worth in Him.

On another note (or maybe kinda, sorta that same note):
Since the Everetts and I will be moving indefinitely, we are planning to apply for temporary residency in the Dominican Republic, which would allow us to stay in the country for a year at a time and give us the ability to work and operate. We just found out some previously unexpected possible delays related to the paperwork involved in the application process. If things go as we've been told they probably will, this will be the first delay to getting started that we've run into. Please be praying that God's timing (whether that means sooner or later) will be clear and we will continue to trust Him to show us His will. (Because we are still human and really don't have it all figured out yet!)

~mountains of Thailand~

Saturday, July 4, 2015

~ Planes, Trains, and Everything Else

By the end of this I'll have been traveling for 4 days, on 3 planes, in 2 hotels, on 1 train, and in multiple cars/taxis/shuttles; through 4 states, 3 countries, and 16 time zones. Yeah, lots of down time. I mean, the only thing I have to worry about is getting to my destinations on time (so far, anyway) and then it's just sit back, relax, and find something to read or watch! For real, though - everything has been going so smoothly...well...kind of ;)

Current location: Japan - Narita International Airport
Local time: 15:45

I boarded my flight this morning (or was it yesterday morning? jet lag...) at 11, but not before slightly stressing myself out - of course! I left the hotel with what I thought would be plenty of time to check my bag an hr. before my flight would begin boarding. But of course it's Chicago and of course it's a huge airport that I've never flown out of before (unless you count that one time when I was 9) and of course I overestimated myself - just a little. (Never one to like running late and always one to kick myself when I do...well, let's just say if that expression would be literal, my legs would be black and blue all over by now!) For future reference, some airlines depart out of terminal 1 (the closest) and arrive at terminal 5 (the farthest). Without going into much detail, I kinda might have misread the board and ended up on the other side of the airport, only to have to turn around and go right back to one escalator away from where I'd started. No, I didn't run, but prayers were going up at all times! I finally arrived at my gate only to find a long line of business class waiting to board, so I technically still got there 10 minutes 'early' (using that word in the broadest term possible).

Hey, at least it was better than the night I boarded the train!

2 days earlier:

My lifelong bff, Kezia, and I took off a little earlier than the rest with 2 of the 4 kids (my sis, Rachel, and bro-in-law, Jason's kids) to my sis, Gina, and her husband, Joe's, apartment in Minot for family dinner on Wed. evening. My train had been scheduled to leave around 9:30 that night so they were all gonna stay in town (the rest of us live 45 minutes outside of Minot) til it was time to drop me off at the station. During dinner, we find out that my train was going to be delayed for 3+ hrs. so Kezia decided to head home earlier than the rest since she'd be working the next day. The rest of us popped in a movie and I may or may not have dozed off a few times (hey, it had been a long day!)

A little more than an hour before my train was due to leave, as we were thinking about getting ready to head to the station soon, Rachel asks if I got my luggage off of Kezia's car... I think you know where this is going! Thankfully Kezia picked up as soon as I called, even though it was midnight, and headed to the station asap.
We asked the station agents if it would be possible to hold the train for 5 minutes, since it was looking like Kezia wouldn't get there with my luggage til 5 minutes after scheduled departure time. They said there was no way they could do that since the train was already so far behind the original schedule - so we prayed! 'Last minute' we overhear that another passenger was missing a previously checked bag. Our only option if Kezia didn't get there before this bag was located, would have been to drive my luggage to the next scheduled train stop an hr. or two away. So we kept praying that the missing check bag would be delayed as long as necessary. (Again, black and blue legs here! I couldn't believe I forgot to unload my stuff before Kezia had left town!)
Miracle story: the car bringing the missing check bag and Kezia bringing my luggage pulled into the station at the exact same time!! My awesome family quickly helped rush everything from car to train right before the doors closed - no joke!

So, yes, it's already been a trip full of stories and I haven't even landed in Thailand yet! Above it all, I am reminded again and again how God answers prayers - all kinds of prayers. Protection, provision, peace, and so much more have been my constant companion and each step closer to this destination brings more excitement and anticipation of what God will do and what I will learn in these next 4 weeks.

He has worked wonders! From connections through a team visiting Guatemala to the directors I will be working with and Destiny Rescue; from searching for a church body to bringing me to ND and placing me with an amazing body of believers who have already stood behind me; from March to July, it's been one God-appointment after another.

My God is alive! When He finds willing hearts to do His work, there is no stone He leaves unturned and no detail He overlooks to make sure His truth stands firm.

Snapshots from ND - my new 'back home':

Kezia - not many people are fortunate enough to have that friend who they've known since toddlerhood, but I'm thankful I'm in the minority on that one!