walk by faith.

today is a special day. my beautiful thai ministry partner, Aw, was born today. aw is one of the most amazing people i've ever met. before coming to thailand, i had been praying for my partner and that God would place me with someone who would inspire me to be more like Him. i'm so thankful that the Lord has answered my prayer. aw's life is a beautiful reflection of God's faithfulness. the way she lives her life completely surrendering every aspect of her life to Jesus is something i'm constantly blown away by. i appreciate how open she's been with me about her deepest desires, her struggles, her weaknesses and so much more. but through these conversations, her trust in the Lord has been clearly displayed to me. after accepting Christ as her Lord and Savior three years ago, she spends her time discipling those younger than her and committing her life to telling others about the infinite love she has found in Jesus. one of the many lessons i have learned from aw is what it means to walk by faith. her contentment in the Lord is evident through her smile and even more through her lifestyle. because of this satisfaction in the Lord, she has the kind of faith that's very rare to find. she encourages me to always trust. just trust...that God loves me enough to work everything for my good. she not only says it to me but exemplifies it through her way of life. there's never a day when i don't find myself amazed at the way she applies her love for the Lord through her actions. it's refreshing to be around someone like her and every time i'm with her, i'm inspired to be better.

                                       

                                                             aw with her sweet dad.

                                                       aw and her disciple P(ms.) Rung.

thank you for being you, aw. you're a sweet blessing to me. so thankful you were born today. i love you very much.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30

-milc

your grace is enough.

this past week has been filled with some sweet memories i'll always hold dear to my heart. from listening to convicting sermons, to sharing our testimonies with some of our girls, to some quality pool time with my teammates, to learning how to cook two of my favorite thai dishes (pat thai and guy pat met mamoung), to dancing at the street market...again, to witnessing the most joyous day as i watched people get baptized on sunday, to celebrating one of our team memeber, courtney's birthday, to staying up late with sweet friends and talking about how the Lord is working in our hearts, to being incredibly encouraged by my teammates, to feeling God's presence and His divine plan for His children here, i'm feeling so grateful for the Lord's inexpressible blessings in Khon Kaen.

                                   this night began with karaoke and ended with one of the most
                                amazing talks i've had so far with these sweet girls. i'm so thankful
                                                                   for this night.

                              this picture is for you dad...proof that i try to cook every chance i get :)

                                   these girls are absolutely incredible. they researched and cooked
                                      my favorite dishes for the first time so i can learn to make it
                                                                 when i go back home.

                                           at the street market with some of my favorite girls.

                                abby and i are officially part of this dance crew. we've started a
                                  tradition of dancing with them at one of the biggest markets
                                  every saturday. we've only done it twice but i have a feeling
                                         this will continue for the next few weeks we're here.

                                          

sunday morning was such a beautiful picture of God's faithfulness and amazing grace. after teaching the missionary kids at sunday school with taylor, i was able to witness one of the sweetest times. this is my ministry partner, Aw's father. after faithfully praying for her father over the past few years, he came to know Christ as his Lord and Savior and was baptized this past sunday. Jesus is apparent in his life through the exceeding joy that never seems to escape his face. i thank God so much for him and Aw.

                   one of our friends, Arm, along with about ten others got baptized. Praise the Lord."...he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us  through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit..." Titus 3:5. 

                             discipleship group and my ministry group, plus some girls abby and i
                                   met at the schools. it's seriously so encouraging to be around these
                                                                     amazing women.

                                princess belle helping abby and i with courtney's birthday cake.

                                   courtney aka birthday girl. so thankful you were born court.

                             continuing the birthday celebration with a little bowling with the team.
                             i honestly couldn't have asked for a better team. i love these people with all
                                                                          my heart.

i'm incredibly thankful for this past week. it has been one of the hardest weeks for me but the Lord has used my brokenness to show me the beauty of His grace. listening to tim keller's sermon on self-forgetfullness last tuesday, the Lord was able to use that talk and the days afterwards to convict me of my pride and selfishness. he showed me the depth of my heart and was definitely breaking me by revealing to me sin in my life i wasn't even aware of. i found myself feeling unworthy and beating myself up for how easily i fall for the things of this world. it was hard to look past my sin and not to feel so hopeless and inadequate in light of all my sin. however, through this conviction the Lord started reminding me of the Cross and how because of His grace, He has set me free from all my sin. learning to gaze at the Cross daily in the midst of all my sin, His grace became that much sweeter and His love that much greater. so i'm learning to be strong in the grace found in Jesus and learning to approach this throne of grace with confidence.

"But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God..." 
   Ephesians 2:4-8


thank you so much for your faithfulness in prayer for our team. we feel your prayers and are so incredibly blessed with all our supporters. please continue to pray for the relationships we've formed so far and that the Lord would use us in any way to make His name known to those around us.

thank you to my wonderful team. you guys challenge me, encourage me, inspire me in more ways than you know. i praise Jesus for bringing each of you in my life.

and lastly, thank you dad for being one of the biggest blessings in my life. you have always encouraged me by pouring the word of God in my life and always telling me that Jesus is all i'll ever need in this life. thank you for teaching me this lesson ever since i was a little girl. you're a wonderful man of God and seriously one of the best people i know. i'm sorry i couldn't be there to go on a daddy-daughter date for father's day. but know that i was praising Jesus for you the whole day...and always. i love you so much dad. happy belated father's day!

-milc

a life worth living for.

it's 1 am and i'm sitting in the hallway as i write this. i have been trying so hard to think about how to best put into words everything the Lord has been revealing to me this past week. i honestly don't know how to say everything i'm feeling but one thing i know is that my heart is full of joy. we serve such an awesome God, who is sovereign over all and works everything for the good of His children.

this past week has been a step forward in my relationship with the girls i've been meeting at the schools. i can't say enough about how much i love being around these girls and how much fun we have together. one thing i realized this past week is how much i actually care about these girls. that's one thing i didn't think about before i came on this trip. the Lord has given me a burden for them and because of that, i find myself constantly praying for them. although i want to share my faith with them, i know that i have no control over this situation. nothing i say is going to guarantee a difference in someone's life. only the Lord can open and change hearts. He's the ultimate Savior. i'm learning to keep trusting that the Lord has brought them in my life for a reason. all i can do is keep loving and serving them as best as i can. this is teaching me to make humility an everyday part of my life. my life is not my own and because of that, nothing is for my glory.

the more i read Mark 1:14 about the calling of the disciples and how they left everything they had to follow Jesus, the more my heart longs for the same dependance on the Lord. i want to forget the things of this world, everything i count precious in my sight, and without hesitation, follow my Savior. the Lord has been convicting me of this message this past week and why it's so easy for me to fall for the things of this world. i know i'm a sinner and will continually fail Him, but i don't want my life to count for something temporary. i know what Jesus has done for me and how He has saved my life. why don't i desire the same thing for others who don't know this good news so badly that i give up everything, even all my dreams and desires, just so they can taste and see that the Lord is good?...and that He is rich in mercy and love for them? i've been thinking about this so much this past week and praying that the Lord would save me from myself and my selfish desires so i can live for something so much bigger than myself. i want a heart that's so consumed by the Lord and His will for my life that everything else fades away.

                                               always encouraged by my ministry partner, Aw

                                            they love throwing the crown, i don't blame them

                                                   bowling with my girls, such a fun night

                                                i love every second i have with aer and kik

                                abby and i introduced our ministry group to some american food
                                    (made from scratch, abby did most of it but i helped too, dad)

                                             my ministry group, these women are a blessing

                                                     baking brownies with mai and ploy

                                          buddhist temple, we got to go in it this past saturday

                                                   on the top floor of the buddhist temple

                                                 meet mac, a famous Thai superstar, oh yeah

                        just swing dancing for the Thais in the middle of one the biggest markets

                                                        i adore these girls so, so much

                                         i touched an elephant for the first time, made my day

the Lord is moving in Thailand and it's evident to see that He has something incredible for this amazing nation. through it all, i'm learning about what it means to be a servant, and being reminded to put my focus on the perfect example Jesus has set for us. He doesn't need me at all and yet chooses to use me in His beautiful story. i'm continually praying that He would use me the way He wants to because after all, He knows the bigger picture and i don't. however, i do know that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord! this news is completely worth giving up everything for.

""Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"" Revelation 5:13

-milc

rejoice always.

one week down, seven more to go! even though a week isn't that long, i feel like it's been the longest week because i've experienced so much already. the Lord is already showing me and reminding me of a lot while i'm here and for that, i'm incredibly grateful. i can go on and on about how much i love it here, especially the people. i'm definitely taken out of my comfort zone and because of that, it hasn't always been easy. but being around the Christian Thai's, i'm always reminded of my main purpose here. it's not about me and my comfort but all about Jesus, all for His glory. one of the biggest lessons i've learned so far is what it means to always find joy in the Lord...not just through the happy times but through the hard times as well. the Christian Thai's have given up a lot to follow Jesus and there are some that still don't have good relationships with their family because they've come to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. but even through this hardship they're facing, they still shine Jesus when they're around me and everyone else. their joy in the Lord is clearly evident for all to see.

                                 meow and jj, love spending time with these precious girls

                                            Thai karaoke is truly the best, especially with Nai

                                                   we love pretzels, we love auntie anne's

                                                    at the snake farm. yeah, snake

                                                                 i promise this is real

                                          the snake is in his mouth as you can see, speechless

                                       great conversations over dinner with these lovely people

                    basketball and badminton with my ministry partners and some of our girls

my prayer this week is for that kind of joy, the kind found in Jesus alone, would be an everyday part of my life. even when things aren't going well at all, i want to be so content in the Lord that my joy in Him overflows from within me. i want to find joy in the fact that i've been taken out of darkness into light, that i've been saved from eternal death, that a sinner like me is forever loved by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that the Lord chooses to use me for His Kingdom, that i get to spend eternity with my savior. there's so much to be joyful about because with Jesus as the core of our happiness, we're guaranteed a happy ending. i'm so thankful for this reminder.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near." Phil. 4:4-5

-milc

no greater love.

the last two days have been wonderful. i've been spending a lot of my time with my ministry partners. we eat lunch with new girls we meet everyday at the schools and then at night, we go do different activities. the last two nights i've been at the night market (a popular place where you can shop for different items as well as be provided with a plethora choice of food) where i met four precious girls; wiew, pak, aer, and au. we had dinner with them and shopped around the market. we swapped random facts about each other and really enjoyed each other's company.

although everything in me wants to dig deeper with these new girls i meet everyday, i know i can't ask questions that could potentially jeopardize the exciting new friendship i've formed with them. every Thai girl i've met so far, whether it be at the school or at the night market, i've truly loved being around. they have such a sweet spirit and want so badly to speak as much english as they can with me. they genuinely want to know about my life and why i'm here. i've been telling them about campus outreach and all of them have been very interested in all the fun activities campus outreach offers. my ministry partner told me that i have to take it slow with everyone i meet because usually when they find out the reason behind why i'm here and what i'm trying to tell them about, they tend to backoff. therefore, i have to remind myself everyday that this is all a gradual process. i can't tell someone about Jesus, especially someone who's devoted completely to another religion, and expect them to understand what i'm talking about rightaway.

although this has been somewhat frustrating for me, i'm learning to remind myself that building these relationships with these girls is crucial. spending some time in the word, the Lord has showed me that His plans and purpose always prevail (Proverbs 19:21). i'm learning to trust that the Lord has a plan through all this and although i can't say much, i have to continually love on these girls and shine Christ's love through my actions and deeds. thinking about the urgency of the Gospel and how i have to take every opportunity i get to tell others of Christ makes me want to tell everyone i meet about Jesus' love for them. however, i'm learning to wait patiently on the Lord and to stay faithful in prayer for the people of Thailand.

                                                             beautiful wiew and pak

                            twins, ministry partners...thankful for out time together each day abbs

                           typical night hanging out with sweet friends at the night market

                        painting each other's nails and talking about life with my sweet Aw

                                              aer and au...such a joy to be around these girls

                                      my princess belle turned 4 today, i adore this child

i'm so thankful for all the girls i've met so far and for the many i'll meet in the upcoming weeks. please pray that my team and i will continually love everyone we meet in a way that makes them want to seek Jesus, and that the Lord would open opportunities for us to tell them about the life-changing truth and never-ending love found only in our Father. lastly, please pray that Christ will be made known as Lord and Savior to many this summer.

-milc