That’s what I think of whenever I think about Rungnapha, our first host of the summer. Throughout the next 5 weeks or so, Morgan, Kari, and I will live with 5 other host families; none of whom are Christian or can speak any English. Thankfully though, our first week here, God blessed us with a wonderful, self-sacrificing Christian host.
Rungnapha became a Christian about 10 years ago while she was at school in Bangkok. She worked there and in China as a nurse for a little while, but then had to come back to her “country” home near Wang Nua to take care of her dad. Rung is the only Christian in her family. Her father, sisters, brother, and her extended family all practice Folk Buddhism. Over the past 7 days of us living with her, I have been able to see the strength that she has in the Lord despite her circumstances.
The past week has been kind of hard for me. I’ve been battling major homesickness and have had a number of moments of weakness. It’s been such an encouragement to watch Rung as she goes about her daily life committing herself to the Lord and committing her time to share the Gospel with others. She is constantly in prayer for the people around her and makes many visits a week to check on a pray for different people in her village.
So far, our daily tasks have included passing out Gospel tracks, prayer walking, teaching English (formally and informally), and eating… A LOT! Our goal still remains: to connect lost people to the Gospel of Christ, seek out people of peace, and aid in the ministry that our supervisors are a part of.
This first week in a host home spent on the actual “mission field” has been great overall! But it’s contained a lot of down time. It’s in these moments that I find myself missing home or hear the enemy’s voice telling me that I’m not strong enough to be here. I am reminded in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 that this is not true. No, I am not strong enough to be here alone; but I am not alone. I have the one TRUE GOD with me at all times! He alone is my Strength and my Comforter. The past few months leading up to this summer I prayed and begged God to give me an experience like I’d never had before. I came into this wanting to depend on God for EVERYTHING, and that’s exactly what I’m having to do. I can’t wait to see what the next 5-6 weeks will bring! But I need your help (:
Specific prayer requests:
– Rungnapha: Ask that God would continue to bless her and her family and that He would continue to strengthen her and her ministry.
– My team and I as we all miss home and have the enemy attacking us daily. Pray that we would remain strong and courageous and in His word – ready to fight whatever battles come our way.
– All of the people that we have given Gospel tracks to so far and will give tracks to in the future: Pray that God would begin working in their lives and that He would reveal Himself to them in supernatural ways – through dreams and visions. And that they would come to know Him and that He would draw them close to Him.
– All of the families that we will be staying with this summer: that Satan would no longer have a stronghold in their lives and that our team would present the Gospel to them in such a way that they would know that He is the one and only Truth.
– My team’s immune system: None of us have gotten terribly sick yet but we still have a long summer ahead of us, and being sick on the mission field, away from home, is never any fun!
– Physical safety as we travel and prayer walk in the community daily: Pray that God would surround us with protection and that we would meet people of peace who are interested in us and in the Gospel!
– Names of some of the people we have gotten to be friends with that are not saved: Earn, Bew, Kat, Oam, Toom, and all of Rungnapha’s family. Pray that we would be a light to them and that they would see Christ in us and would become interested in the Gospel. Pray that the lies that they believe would just be shattered and proved false and that they would seek out the Truth!
I can’t thank everyone enough for all of the prayers! My team and I really appreciate every single one!
Lauren is serving through One Mission Students in Thailand this summer. Continue praying for her and other students serving this summer.
