I fought with the ocean and lost. It is true for 10 of us who after a day of doing some construction work for SHE got to go to the beach for the first time. It is incredibly beautiful, secluded, and calm with islands in the distance. All sweaty from a hard days work, I sprinted to the water excited to cool off. Luckily some other people got to the water before me otherwise I might not have a foot due to the razor sharp rocks of death. I of course didn’t have shoes I could wear in the water so it took me approximately 15 min to get up to my neck. In between I tried everything to avoid the rocks and coral. I walked, I crawled, I doggie paddled, nothing worked. When I walked I fell over because my feet hurt, when I crawled my hands got scraped up, when I doggie paddled I slammed my knees into the rocks. Nothing worked. As result of my battle with the ocean, I have scrapes all over my legs and feet, some of which were stinging like crazy. Needless to say we learned our lesson, always wear shoes in the water.
As I thought about my experience with the ocean, I thought about my relationship with God. When you are in relationship with God, life is not going to be easy. You may want to jump right into something that is not His timing. You may be swimming against the current scraping you knee, or cutting your foot on obstacles, but there is always a reason. Each obstacle creates more dependence on the Lord. We have faced trials as a team, mostly in relation to spiritual warfare and past wounds but each time we draw closer to Him. We are being prepared to fight a battle that we know is going to result in victory.
“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him.” Isaiah 30:18 We are waiting. God has not yet given our leaders the “ok” for us to go to the bars and even though I don’t see it, I have to trust in God’s timing. We prayer walked the road where we will be doing ministry on Monday. It was dark and heavy, even during the day. It made me want to get out there even more. There has been so much healing and growth this week amongst our team. We have been challenged, broken and grown during this time of rest. When we head out to minister next week, I know that we will be more prepared than before.
Our days at SHE include time with our groups of 4 who we will go out to the bars with. Our leaders had been praying about this and it is so God how the groups worked out and allow our strengths to be utilized. Our days also include cornflakes, quiet times, 7-Eleven, and Thai food. In the afternoons we make decorative tiles work in the kitchen or do construction. At night we have team time, worship and intercession for the teams at the bars. I love team time, because there is so much wisdom, unity and vulnerability within our team. Please pray for protection and discernment as we go out to the bars next week. Pray that satan would not use our weaknesses or our past as a foothold. Pray for continued unity and vulnerability as a team, and discernment for our leaders.
Highlights of the week:
-Hanging out with the cook and attempting to learn Thai
– 7-Eleven, we are obsessed. They are everywhere.
– The ocean
-Thai omelets, fresh fruit and iced coffee
-The air conditioned mall
– The full moon last night
Prayers and love from Phuket,
Chelsea
