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My husband and I will celebrate 10 years of marriage later this year. About a year and a half ago, we started thinking about what we could "do" to celebrate. We talked about going on a cruise or taking a trip where we could spend some time alone together and away from our two young boys.
From the people I have talked to, a vacation is a pretty common idea. So when I say that instead of saving for a vacation together we decided to go on a mission trip to Thailand, some people look at me a bit sideways. Instead of lounging around on a beach, we will likely be digging in the dirt. Instead of sleeping in until the late morning, we will be waking up to the early morning sounds of a rooster or two. And we probably won't even be sleeping in the same hut.
But if you knew our story, it would probably make a lot more sense. In 2012 my husband and my two little boys (ages 4 and 1.5 at the time) and I moved to Thailand. We were Extended Family sent out by The Well to be church planters. We planned to live there long-term and be "career missionaries." While we were living there things began to fall apart. Our health was suffering, we were isolated, and we were realizing that the organization we were working with in Thailand was not a good fit for us. After seven months, God brought us back to the U.S. to live a life we never expected to live.
Even though our time in Thailand was shorter than we had planned, the impact it made on our hearts was deep and lasting. When the opportunity came up for us to return this summer to work with ITDP, at first I was hesitant. After going through all we did to move overseas and then move back again in such a short period of time, I tend to be more cautious than I used to be. Of course I would love to visit the people and places that hold a place in my heart, but I was concerned about the financial cost of both myself and my husband going on the trip. To be honest, I was focusing on the wrong things.
God is so patient with me. He took time to show me through His Word and through prayer that He is the provider of all things. And if He wants us to return to Thailand, then He will surely make that happen! I needed to reminded, yet again, to trust in my Heavenly Father.
We are excited about going to Thailand to support the work of Integrated Tribal Development Program (ITDP) and encourage the believers there. We are grateful that we could spend our anniversary working alongside one another for the Kingdom of God.
Will you commit to praying for our team? Our team is made up of five members who all have different stories but are being worked on by the same God. Please pray that we will be provided for spiritually, emotionally and financially as we prepare for our Exposure Trip in June.