There is a God that loved me so much that He gave his son unto death to win my heart. He wanted me to know that I was loved beyond all measure; a hope that I could cling to and faith that could move mountains. The love He has given to me is the same love that never fails. God has been so faithful to me and my team. The first week of ministry seems exhausting and emotionally draining. However, I can only see the hope that has risen in this place. I know that my God has chosen me as His temple and that he dwells within me. (HOW COOL IS THAT!!!)    I am so excited to learn more about...

“I am so tired… I really just want to go to bed right now.”   Is what I told my teammate Allison moments before we went downstairs to worship. The weeks here in Thailand are counting down, we have one full week of ministry left here at SHE and my desire to go and minister on Bangla Road is dwindling. I fall prey to the lies that there are no fruits of my labor, I come close to believing I can’t see God on Bangla Road, and to be honest, I am just physically drained and tired. Of course I don’t want to go out on Bangla Road. We were given the option...

har·vest  [hahr-vist] the season when ripened crops are gathered.   Coming from a small town in Ohio with lots of farms, the word ‘harvest’ always makes me think of all the crops being gathered. Harvest happens during autumn…my most favorite time of the year.  I love the cooler weather, wearing boots & scarves, the colors of the trees, corn, pumpkins, and especially college football Saturdays. Needless to say, it’s been hard to be away from home during these last couple of months when all of my favorite things have been going...

I’ve been struggling through writer’s block, and intended to post this last week, but I couldn’t write anything… so here’s last week's blog: The rainy season is coming to a close, which means the amount of rainstorms are fewer and fewer. When it does rain, it is such a relief from the Thailand heat. Last Sunday evening was one of those times. I spend a lot of my down time on the weekends processing the closing week, and readying myself for the next. I ended last week feeling frustrated and discouraged, so my weekend was processing through those emotions...

Apart from being a Mumford & Sons song, this was my day at The Land. There are currently 2 teams of World Racers (12 girls) here right now so they go to The Land with us as well. One of the girls, Nadia, and I were given the job of pulling tangle weed out of the hedge. Working on the hedge has been my job several times; our host even calls me the ‘hedge expert.’ But I haven’t yet dealt with the tangle weed…or what we have affectionately dubbed “Satan’s weed.” As we began pulling out the tangle weed, we saw how much it choked the beautiful flowers...

The Need for Encouragement.   To be honest, these past few weeks have been rough for me.   It’s not really about the concerns I have for home or the tiredness from ministry and manual labor; it mostly has to do with me. Earlier, a friend told me about a vision he had for me months ago. In his vision, I was immersed in heavy darkness but I was not alone. He said that one of the enemies of my soul would be the isolation in my heart. This wasn’t isolation from God nor people, it was from the things that arise as I try to work towards accomplishing what’s at hand....