Back to Thailand!

I'm so excited to share with you that I'll be returning to Thailand this summer! I'll be going with 5 other college students through the Baptist Collegiate Ministries from May 24th to August 4th. We'll be working with Scott and Valerie Payne, who have 3 kids (15, 12, and 7 year old) and have worked several summers with BCM summer missionaries. They live in Mahasarakham (try pronouncing that name!) and have been IMB missionaries since 1998. The town is in Northeast Thailand just a few hours from Khu Khan, where I worked last summer.

Since I'm going through BCM, they'll be paying for my expenses this summer, of course excluding the souvenirs I'll want to buy :) I'm so thankful to the Lord that everything will be paid for, but I also want to ask that you be in prayer for me and my team as we minister to the Isaan people of Thailand. We'll mainly be working with university students, seeking to build relationships with them in order to share the gospel and show them the love of Christ. I'm excited about meeting many more Thai people and seeing how God will work in and through our team during the two months we're in Mahasarakham. There are several ways you can pray for us as we prepare to go and as we're there striving to reach out to the nationals...

Pray for our team as we spiritually prepare for the trip... I hope that we will all prepare our hearts and realize what a privilege it is for us to share the gospel in Thailand. Also, pray that we would give full credit to the Lord for allowing us to go on this mission trip and that we will use every opportunity possible while we're there to boldly proclaim His Word.

Pray for the Thai people... The national religion of Thailand is Buddhism, and an extremely small percentage of the nationals are Christians. Pray that they would be able to understand God's grace and see the eternal hope that a relationship with Christ gives.

Pray for perseverance... Since Buddhism is at the core of Thailand, I pray that me and my team do not get discouraged if we don't see tangible results during the time we're there. As I learned last summer, there are not many Christians in Thailand, so I pray that we would continue to persevere in the work God has called us to do, even if it's only to plant a seed for others to harvest after we leave at the end of the summer.

Pray for the Payne family... As they prepare for our team of 6 to come, I'm sure they are staying busy organizing the work that's to be done. Pray that they would continue to have strength in the months to come, and especially as they do follow-ups with the relationships we build with Thais. I'm so excited to meet them and see the ministry that they're continuing in Mahasarakham.

Thank you all for your prayers last summer, and I can't wait to let you know all the fun and exciting things God will do during the trip this summer!