Being a Handcraft for God

What was I doing on the Xtreme Team to Thailand? I felt I needed to work this summer to make money for my undergrad internship to Cameroon West Africa. Why was God calling me to go to Thailand in His saying He had something to teach me there. But having learned before the hard way like Jonah to obey, I decided to listen to God, trusting Him despite my doubt.

Upon entering the land of smiles, squatty potties and spice I felt God's overflowing presence and peace as our team entered into places where God was already at work and speaking volumes.

As we began to work with the Karen people 1 Thessalonians 2:8 became real to me about not just sharing God's message but sharing ourselves.

This became evident through appreciating the cleanliness of the squatty potties as we were ministered to by a woman who was worshipping by singing as she cleaned and xtended to us along with the toilets. Another place I was touched and I xamined my values in understanding the dedication of one pastor as he has struggles to start two boarding schools and churches because of his value to faith in Christ and education.

But the place where I was truly convicted to xpand my mind was not with the Karen but rather in a bustling night-market run by the mafia in Chiang Mai. Through the noisy, confusing chaos of restaurants where customers had to use coupons instead of cash, God decided to speak to me in spite of the mayhem through an Australian Baptist missionary couple names Lynn & Lee Morris. As I zeroed in on Lynn's voice, she went on to describe how the number of housewives being infected by HIV/AIDS by husbands sleeping around on business trips continues to grow and many have no means of supporting themselves or don't have the strength to plant rice or work in a factory. The Morris's ministry is all about kingdom work. Teaching the people how to create beautiful pieces of art that can be sold to support themselves. These handicrafts are precious because they are not mass produced like so many items in the night market. It may have seemed like a sales pitch at first but one could tell by looking at the Morris's faces that they were not about the money but rather giving the business back to the local leadership. This was incarnational ministry for me and the kind of missionary I want to be- giving of myself.

What does this giving of myself mean? I pray I understand it more fully as I work with victims of HIV/AIDS in my internship and wherever God calls me to go.

My prayer is that an ah-ha moment for you listeners is that your picture of a typical Christian or servant would be broken and that you would see how God wants to use you yourself in the work He is already doing.