As most of you know, our daughter Betsie leaves in less than two months for Thailand. She'll be living with missionary friends and working primarily with orphans, English-as-a-Second-Language students, and street kids. Because of her age --- she is still only fifteen --- none of us felt very comfortable with her flying there and back by herself. Several weeks back, Jim was able to purchase tickets for him and Betsie to fly out there together. But the price for mine to go and get here were much, much higher. And they seemed to go up and up and up...thousands of dollars higher. The possibility of me getting to go to Thailand didn't seem very likely unless God did something.
We kept talking about it and praying about it and even discussing the trip with others who have made it before and just couldn't get a peace about her returning by herself. So we coveted prayers from many and kept watching the travel sites. Yesterday, the price dipped down by over three thousand dollars and we snapped up tickets for me.
What a big "praise God"!
Now I'll not only be able to accompany her back from Thailand, but I'll also be able to spend a week in Northern Thailand getting to know the folks that Betsie will have grown to love, seeing all the places she'll have frequented, eat some of the unique dishes that only can be found in the culinary adventure known as Thailand, visit and love on our missionary friends, and hopefully get to bless a whole lot of precious Thai children and their caregivers.
I've got a huge heart for orphans, but up until this point, all my efforts on behalf of orphans have been primarily focused on African orphans. It is going to be such a huge joy to get the chance to shower the love of
Jesus on the street kids and orphaned children that I will meet there.I am so excited! And my heart is just overflowing that God is giving me this amazing gift. I'm also thrilled that I'll get to share this with my girl. It is always hard to come back from a mission trip and the folks around you just don't "get it". Now I will, in part, "get it".
And as Betsie said, now she won't have to spend the first few days answering a million and one of my questions about where she lived, who she met, what she ate, etc. etc.
God is so good and for this special Thai blessing I just want to give Him praise this "Thankful Thursday".
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!”
~ Psalm 100:4 (ESV)
To read more about the ministry that Betsie will be involved in and I'll get to visit, go to: http://gontim.org/main/
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