Lord, Have Your Way

This Easter weekend was pretty tough. My mom went through chemo treatment in Texas this past week and when she got back home, she couldn't breathe very well. On Sunday she had over a liter of fluid drained from her lungs. (Praise God for awesome doctors!) 

The trip home really took alot of me and on my way back to Athens, I was listening to a worship CD and there was a bridge that had this phrase: "Lord, have Your way." That's a hard phrase to sing and really mean. As I began to think through it this morning, I was reminded of Jesus praying in the garden before he was to be crucified. He prayed to God, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." Despite how Jesus might have felt, how hard the future looked, or how much pain he was about to experience, he says, "Not MY will, but YOURS, be done." Lord, have your way! Christ understood that His Father had a better plan and even if it meant suffering a little while, it was all going to be worth it, because God had a reason for it. (To pay for our sins!)

With my trip being a month away, God is using certain situations to teach me to trust him, completely. To say, “Lord have you way” means that you are giving up what you think should happen and putting your complete trust in God. Once you move past your pride and selfishness to do things your way, you see a God that is completely faithful in everything he has ever done. He’s never dropped the ball. Never let you down. His plans have always worked out (for his glory) and that is a God I want to put my trust in. Even if its hard now, I know he’s doing something great.

Please be praying for my mom and my family as we do things God’s way. I can’t wait to see what He does!

For the King,

Tate

 

God's Faithfulness is Humbling

I'm shocked! In two weeks after sending out support letters, I currently have 98% of my goal!! What a God we serve! Thank you all who gave to support this journey God has me on! I'm am so blessed, shocked, and excited to see what He has in store. I have a quick story and verse to share and then I have to start studying.

I currently attend Green Acres Baptist Church in Athens, and this past Sunday, the pastor, Buddy, asked me if I wanted to share about my trip with the congregation. It caught me a little off guard but I shared anyways. After the service I had multiple people come up to me telling me how they were praying for me, which was so awesome! Then a women named Susan Drinkard (who I had never met before) came up to me with tears in her eyes and told me how proud she was of me for being obedient to the Lords calling to go to Thailand. She handed me a check (a shocking amount) that would help me on my trip. I walked out of that church so encouraged at how the Lord was using people I've never met before to totally blow me away! Thank you Mrs. Drinkard!

This verse has become very real to me:

"Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings.... Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."- Hebrews 10:22,23

This trip is a huge step of faith for me and it's not easy or comfortable. But God's Word says that by faith I can stand with full confidence and assurance because He who promised is FAITHFUL! Look at what He has done in two weeks! The Lord's faithfulness is so humbling!

For the King,
Tate

Focus

As many aspects of this trip are starting to fall into place, I'm getting more and more excited. This past week I sent out support letters and I was able to book the flight. Reality has set in! Over the course of this week, my mind has been going through every scenario I could possibly face. Basically, I've been thinking about how cool this adventure is going to be. I think most people would say, "He's just anxious and excited. That's to be expected." But last night the Lord reminded me why I'm going on this trip.

I'm not going to Thailand to see the sights, or to eat awesome food, or to have a crazy adventure. I'm going because of the gospel! Jesus commanded us to "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation."(Mark 16:15) God has opened doors for me to go because HE has a plan for me while I'm there. There are specific people that need to hear the good news about Jesus Christ and God wants to use me to tell them about it.

So when I'm thinking about this trip, what is my focus? Will I be discouraged about sitting in the airport for hours waiting on a flight to open up or will I be looking for how God wants to use me while I'm waiting? Am I thinking about how God is going to move in Thai students or about how awesome lunch is going to be? What is my focus? Christ or something else?

My prayer is that I'm focusing on what God wants me to focus on. I can't wait to see what He has planned for me!

For the King!

Tate

The Process Has Started

So this is my first time blogging but I think it will give me a good opportunity to share what God is doing and will be doing in my life over the next few months. God has given the opportunity to go to Thailand for two months this summer to serve with World United Missions. I'm staying with Bobby and Paula Wills, who I met at Woodlands Camp a few years ago. Their family has been serving in Bangkok for past two years and has graciously offered me a place to stay while I'm there.

Bangkok, Thailand is a crazy place. It has a population of 12 million people with less than 1% Christian. Most people are Buddhist or what they call Folk-Buddhists which is a blend of spirit worshiping and Buddhism. Sexual sin is huge in Bangkok as well as sex tourism and human trafficking.

I have opportunity to help with college students at the local university of over 30,000 students. School starts in June so there are many outreach opportunities to give Thai students a chance to practice their English.  I will also be working with the slums and orphanages in Bangkok which will give me a completely different experience.

At this point, God has been opening up huge doors for me to be in Thailand. The craziest one is my traveling expense. A round trip is around $2000 but the Lord has provided another way. I work with a guy named Ryan Roberts who I've known for a very long time. Ryan and Bobby Wills met when  Bobby was working at Camp All-American. Ryan and his wife Michelle are one of the Wills' monthly supporters. To make it even crazier, Ryan's dad is a pilot for Delta and has offered me a buddy pass. This will cut my traveling expense from $2000 to around $400. After the Lord opened this door it was clear that He wanted me in Thailand this summer.

Please start praying for what God is doing in Thailand and how he will use me. I'm going to do my best to try and update on a consistent basis so you will know how to pray. I want to leave you with a quote that was very influential in my decision to be obedient to the Lord's calling for me to serve him this summer:

"Will we refuse to sit back and wait for some tingly feeling to go down our spines before we rise up and do what we have already been commanded to do? Will we risk everything- our comfort, our possessions, our safety, our security, our very lives- to make the gospel known among the unreached people? Such rising up and such risk taking are the unavoidable, urgent results of a life that radically abandoned to Jesus." - David Plat, Radical

For The King,

Tate