He Will Use You If You're Willing

Well this week flew by! The week was a little slower than last week but still very busy none the less. Basically we continued making new Thai friends and deepening the relationships we had already made. We taught English on two different campuses, had a sports day at one of those universities, visited a prostitute ministry (during the day) and saw where they made jewelry, played rugby, had team care (college small group), and we enjoyed a farewell party for the Perimeter team. That's mentioning a few things.

I've been learning so much the past few weeks and I can't even begin to write it all down. I will say that I am very thankful for the training I've gotten from Team United over the past few years. I can't tell you how often I think of the Redcoat Bible Study because there have been so many similarities. Living with the Wills continues to be a blessing and I'm learning first hand what it means to give your life to be a missionary for Christ. I think the biggest thing I've learned is that if you are willing to let God use you, He will!

I had the opportunity to share my testimony at our farewell party last night. There were around fifty people there total and if I were to guess, over half had never heard of Jesus. Honestly, I didn't want to share my testimony. Its changed so drastically since my mom passed and I wasn't sure if I could get through it. But God reminded me that my testimony is His story in me and this opportunity to share was about Him, not me. As I shared, I was filled with that same peace I experienced when I spoke at the funeral a few weeks ago. "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witness in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8

I'm so thankful for all that God is doing. It's crazy how mom's story is touching lives here in Thailand. Isn't it crazy how God works? Thanks for reading.

For the King,

Tate

Two Weeks In

Well, things are moving along very smoothly and I'm excited to tell you that we have a new sister in Christ, Gloy! Her boyfriend, Nat, excepted Christ a week ago so I guess it was her turn. Both of them have been very excited to grow in their new faith and it has been very encouraging to watch. We took communion at church today and Nat and I sat next to each other. It was his first time and I was able to explain it all to him. It was pretty cool. I'm amazed at how God continues to use me. I was given the opportunity lead worship at our small group meeting on Thursday night and when we sang Mighty to Save, the Thais sang in Thai and the Americans sang in English! I can't really describe how cool that was.

I will be honest, this week has been frustrating in many ways. I haven't been getting enough rest so being on the go for 15 hours a day takes a tole after a while. Because I've been so tired, I haven't had enough time in the Word. So when you combine those two things, I get pretty frustrated pretty fast, but I was able to take the night off yesterday to re-fuel. Even though you are doing "ministry" you can't forget to spend time with the Lord. I learned that first hand this past week.

Today after church we visited one of the local slums and played games with some of the kids. You would not believe how these families were living. Trash was everywhere, their homes were made out of whatever they could find, and you constantly smelled human waste. But these kids need Christ and I couldn't help but smile as we interacted with all of them. Here is a picture of the group.

This post was a little longer than my previous ones but there has been so much going on, I only hit a few of the highlights. Please be praying for the week ahead. I've really connected with a guy named Pakpao. I met him at English class this past Tuesday and I've seen him everyday since. I'm looking for an opportunity to share my testimony with him so if you could pray for that I would really appreciate it. Thanks for reading.

For the King,
Tate

So Busy

Wow! The last few days have flown by! Our team from Perimeter Church came in late Sunday night and we haven't slowed down since. Our day begins at 9am and ends between 8pm and 10pm. It's exhausting.  Yesterday was our first day to teach English at a local university and we had around 40 Thai students attend. The whole purpose of teaching English is to invite them to join us on different activities like sight seeing, which is what we did today, and playing paintball this Saturday. Hopefully, we can love on them and share the gospel from there. The approach is much more relationship based but that is the right way to do it, in my opinion. Here are some pictures from today. We visited the Grand Palace in Bangkok.

Here is a verse that has been encouraging:
"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:58

If you have time, check out the verses that are right before this one. This therefore is a big one. Anyways, the past few days have been long and uncomfortable but I know from this verse that if I labor "in the Lord" (in His strength, for His glory) that my work will not be in vain. Even though I'm tired, even though I might not feel like sitting in the baking hot sun wearing pants, or even if I can't understand a lick of Thai, my labor is for the Lord and is not in vain. Because I am in Thailand for His purposes, not mine, he has promised to use me in ways that I cannot even imagine. So basically, even if things are hard, all my hard work will be worth it.

Please continue to pray that he does use me in incredible ways. And pray that our American team can shine for Christ and that He would help us cross paths with people that need to hear about Him!

For the King,

Tate

Rugby Ministry

Bobby and I got a chance to help out with a ministry that teaches rugby to kids from different slums and orphanages around our province. If I were to guess, there were between 50-60 kids there today for a tournament against an international club. They were between the ages of 7 and 15. The missionaries that are involved go to the slums twice a week for each different group of kids to have one on one discipleship time. They teach the kids English, life skills, the Bible, and every Saturday from 9 to 1pm they play rugby. It was hot but awesome to watch the older kids battle it out. I kinda want to learn how to play now.

There was one girl named Mee who attached herself to me towards the end of the day. She liked to jump on my back and drive me around the field. Funny little kid. It's cool how a little love towards these kids goes a long way. It was a great day!

God is Working

The past few days have been very eye opening. Yesterday I got an opportunity to talk with a women named Panida who has recently given her life to Christ. She is a Thai language teacher and has been helping the Wills family learn Thai for around two years now. She shared her testimony and explained to me the struggles of being a Christian here in Thailand. She said that Muslims are taught to hate Christianity. If they were to even think about Christianity, they were told they were not true Muslims, so following Christ has many different challenges. Your family could disown you and there is potential for real prosecution or even death. Panida's faith was very inspiring and it showed me how the Lord is working in so many ways in this city.

So as I mentioned in my last post, there was a Hillsong concert in Bangkok! The concert was supposed to start at 7pm but there were some technical difficulties to the point where they almost canceled the concert. We ended up waiting for over two hours in 90 degree heat at almost 98% humidity. The wait was miserable but totally worth it. The Thais are known for their patience and I got to experience that first hand last night. There were probably over 4000 people that stayed which felt like alot but the Thai Christians are a very small percentage in a city of 12 million. We were able to run up right in front of the stage! You couldn't ask for a better night of worship!

As each day passes I'm exposed to the reality of life here. The Wills family have been such a blessing to me and even though life is hard here, God is still working! I can't begin tell you the excitement that comes from seeing what God does here and to know that He uses us to do His work, makes it even more exciting! We start working on a college campus next week running an English club so pray that God continues to use us in a powerful way. Thanks for reading.

For the King,

Tate

Getting Settled

Well, after about 34 hours of travel, I made it! It was amazing how I was able to get all the flights I needed and sitting in first class was just icing on the cake! After getting settled in my new room, I was able to get a good nights rest which was nice. I spent the morning talking with Bobby and Paula and catching up on life. We then took a bike ride to the market street to grab food for lunch. It's hard to really describe the experience. It's hot, you have to avoid getting hit by cars and mopeds, and you get all these different smells from street vendors. It was all slightly overwhelming.

I can't tell you how excited I am for the next few days. We're going to a Hillsong concert Wednesday night, and meeting Thai students all day Thursday. The first mission team comes in next week so I will be joining them most of their time here. Please continue to pray for me as I begin learning Thai and meeting so many new people. I know God has some amazing things planned.

The first picture is of a tropical fruit. I can't remember what it's called. It looks like a hairy strawberry but you peel the outer shell to eat a white, jelly center. Very different. The second picture shows Hank and I with our plates full of different kinds of fruit, soup, chicken, and rice. It was my first Thai meal. I will be honest, a few minutes after we took this picture I started to feel a little weird. I'm not sure if it was the food or jet lag but I started sweating and felt dizzy. I think it was that hairy strawberry. Haha. It went away after a few minutes. I guess my body is just adjusting to all this.



For the King,

Tate

Movin On

I'd like to start out by saying thank you. Thank you for the prayers, texts, calls, facebook messages, food, everything. Thank you for coming to the viewing on Monday where I think our family set a record for the most hugs in one night! And thank you to everyone who came to the service on Tuesday where we celebrated a life that impacted so many people. After all the buzz of the past few days, reality has set in and the hard part starts. It's weird, honestly. Even though there are many more hard times to come, God's peace has been the over-arching theme. I can't really explain it but I'm ok with everything because I know God will use the death of my mom to do something that only He can do.

The question now is: What's next? Where do we go from here? And the best answer that we came up with is to do what God wants us to do. Dad will go back to work, Peyton will enjoy her summer vacation, Missy will go back to counseling at Woodlands Camp, and I will be headed to Thailand. It's time for all of us to move on.

My trip will give me a chance to clear my head and go where He wants me to go. Plus, my mom and I talked about it in one of our last conversations last week. I told her that I wasn't going to go and she snapped in response, "Oh you will." It's almost as if she knew. Kinda weird. Thankfully, I have a buddy pass that gives me the flexibility to leave this Sunday. It's cool to see how God's plan worked out so perfectly.  Please continue to pray for our family as we do things His way. I will continue to update the blog so keep tuning in to see what He has in store next.

For the King,

Tate