As I weaved through the crowds of jet-lagged Thais Tuesday night, I remembered what Mrs. Chrissy and Wikipedia had told me: Ninety-five percent of of the Thai population is Buddhist, four percent Muslim, less than one percent tribal religions, and the other less than one percent Christian. Everyone around me was Buddhist, possibly Muslim. Maybe one Christian for every one hundred, two hundred non-Christians.
I couldn't have gotten farther away from the South, the "Bible belt", if I wanted to. Even if they aren't acting like it,--basically--anyone in the South, if asked, would profess to be a follower of Christ. (And get a little un-Christianly mad if you didn't believe them, just sayin'.) Almost no one here would.
However daunting that is, it surprisingly doesn't intimidate me. Breaks my heart, yes, but not intimidating. Rather, I feel courageous, and honored. When you are a one who makes up less than one percent of something, it immediately makes you feel more noticed, set apart. I feel that with so much darkness around me, the light that was already inside of me because the love the Lord has for me, has been made brighter, been given more strength by being here. This is silly, but I feel like I have access to more of a straight up God because I'm no longer surrounded by hundreds of people all proclaiming to worship the same God, but each actually following a very watered down version.
All this made me realize something else as well: here, my actions, words, do represent who I am. And everything I do could have the potential to impact someone.
"In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good." -Ecclesiastes 11:6
In a country in which nearly everyone around you--the smiling college girls working at McDonald's (McThai) in the airport, the shuttle bus driver, the young children playing at Gate A--is missing out having an eternal life spent with their Creator (and they don't even know it!), that verse takes on such a different meaning.
What a privilege and honor to serve your Lord in such a place. Praying for you, darling girl!
ReplyDeleteHey, my name is Dexter. I was preparing a short sermon for a compitition called Fine Arts Festival, and the theme this year is "Compelled By Love." The title of my sermon is "Called to Love" the same as your blog, that was how i found you. with a google search. I just wanted to say that you have inspired me with your blog posts. God has called me to be a missionary to China and i have been trying to do anything I can to get closer to that goal right now. I just found it awesome that you are living out your dream like that. So I decided to follow your blog. I hope you're okay with that :). Looking foward to your next blog post.
ReplyDelete-Dexter
Hey Dexter,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the encouraging words, I genuinely appreciate it. That's awesome that the Lord has placed that calling in your life. If China is anything like Thailand, you'll absolutely LOVE it. In the darkest places where you would least expect it, that's where God's light seems to shine the brightest. Genesis 12:1-3. Also, have you heard of Adventures In Missions? You might want to look into that organization; if you have a God vision they work with you to create something completely organic around your calling.
And I'm totally okay with that,
Betsie
I just finished looking at the Adventures In Missions and it seems like a great opportunity. However it does not work for me at this time because i am focusing on schooling because I am going to be doing PSEO starting my junior year over at North Central University. But it sounds like a great way to get started after I finish college. I will have to keep that organization in mind and look into it more when the time comes. I'm super excited to see what God will do through both you and me throughout the rest of our lives.
ReplyDelete-Dexter