Trips and Bites

As I'm sure you can well imagine, much has changed in the last month. For one thing, I now have good internet so I might actually be able to update more easily now. Yay! Unfortunately, my computer is now giving me a lot of trouble, so we will see. Hopefully, I'll soon be able to get a new computer.

In other news, August was a month filled with a lot of mission opportunities and trials. The second eek of August, I went with a group to the city of Mae Sot in the northwestern part of Thailand. We did a weekend girls retreat for some Burmese and Karen refugees that attend a migrant school that my church here is associated with. We took the girls to a hotel and pretty much just tried to shower them with love. The theme was "Poured Out for Him" based on the story of the woman anointing Jesus' feet just prior to his crucifixion. Our last day, I had the opportunity to tell the story to the girls. The story hinges on giving Him all that we have to offer, and His acceptance. He didn't tell the woman that she wasn't giving enough or that she needed to change before she could touch Him. He accepted her, just like He accepts us.

I was a group leader for 8 girls. Over the 2 1/2 days we were there, I came to really care about them a lot. I'm hoping to go up again in October, though I have a bit of a different vision for that trip. What is on my heart at the moment is a desire to help the teachers of the school by giving them some support and tools on how to be a better teacher as well as a mini-discipleship program with the intent of having them continue to support each other. Fortunately, my roommate is the one who planned the girls' retreat, and she is helping me with this. If I had to do it alone, it s unlikely that it would ever happen.

The trip to Mae Sot is a 6 hour van ride each way. On the way home, my neck got tweaked, causing a lot of pain. This did allow me to compare chiropractics in Thailand with those in the States, however, so that was fun. I'm actually glad that it happened on the retreat, though, because it gave me the opportunity to explain why I was in the van.

The most recent adventure, though, was hen I woke up on Thursday last week with a bite on my nose. I thought it was just a bad mosquito bite because I tend to get bitten by them often. However, my nose soon began swelling and becoming red and painful. by then I knew it was a spider bite. I went to the hospital on Saturday and got some antibiotics. My nose continued to get worse and by Sunday night, a small patch of black skin was on the tip. Monday, I went to a different hospital where they sent me to a dermatologist who gave me a different antibiotic. The new medicine works, but it has some pretty nasty side effects, so I had to take the last 2 days off of work. Teaching 3 year olds tends to be hindered when you can't move quickly, lean over, or speak much without fear of throwing up or passing out. Oh, and the fact that my entire face is in pain. My face is getting better now, but it's a process, and a fairly painful one at that.

Here's the thing though: I don't believe for one moment that this was an accident or coincidence or anything of the kind. This was a spiritual attack. The same day I woke up with a bite, my roommate woke up with yet another complication to her surgery wound. A surgery that is performed thousands of times around the world with few complications. Our other roommate, meanwhile, is still undergoing pain from a cyst that is abnormally large and not going away as they typically do. All of this is on top of the spirit of division and isolation that has already been plaguing many of the teachers here. Those who know me wall should be aware that I do no talk like this lightly. I can actually feel the darkness trying to press in. It's a tangible force.

On Sunday, I was overwhelmed by the spiritual warfare taking place all around us every moment, though we're so often blind to it. It was while praying in church that I had a picture in my mind. I saw myself standing in the full armor of God with the enemy pushing me down and trying to crush me. I had the shield of faith and the sword of truth with me, but my instruction was not to fight. I was told to stand firm. Stay exactly where I was, don't back down, just stand there. At this time, I'm asking my fellow Christians to do the same. Face the enemy and stand firm, knowing that we have a Champion who battles for us. Don't lose faith, don't despair, don't be afraid. Just stand.

Until next time!