About three weeks ago I was able to travel back to Bangkok, Thailand on a mission trip with Life Point church. Even though I lived in Bangkok for three years, I feel like every time I go is completely different and I see things just a little differently. I’ve always gone with a different group of people and every time I learn something different about God and about myself.
This year I went with the college group from Life Pont, which was a little different in a good way. I mean, we’re all adults right?? Well, kind of. I mean...we are kind of in that weird in-between phase where we aren’t kids but aren’t fully grown. But on this trip, they treated us a lot more like adults than on my last trip. We did whatever God had planned for us that day, so it was cool to see God work in all of us in different ways. The group of people I went with were amazing and being around people that love the Lord was beautiful.
Every time I think about going to Thailand I dread the flight like I swear it takes forever to get there. Going back brings so many memories and sometimes I have to remind myself why I’m there because it’s really easy for me to get distracted. One of the coolest things we get to do as Christians is living sent in a different country and serving the Lord.
While we were there, our team helped the Life Point Church staff with whatever they needed help with. It was a good reminder to me that you don’t have to do this big thing to serve in the church, but that even the little things you do matter.
Something that was really impactful to me was when we visited the different temples. We went to two temples Wat Arun Ratchawararam and Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang. Seeing the darkness of the place and seeing people worship false Gods broke my heart. Honestly, it was something I had seen before but felt like I was seeing it with totally new eyes.
Bangkok, in general, is a very dark city. While the people are so kind, the food delicious, and the sites amazing, it is a city that doesn’t really know the truth about who God is. 90% of the Thai population practices Buddhism and only 1% are Christian, which so sad because the population of Thailand is 8.281 million. Seeing people worship things that are man made was really heartbreaking. It made me angry as well because I didn’t understand why? Or how people just believed in something that’s made by a person. But I wasn’t angry at the people because I can’t be. I realized the people don’t know about God and that most of them grew up believing that this was the only way to live. For Thai’s Buddism is part of their culture.
Seeing people walk around worshiping something that isn’t real, made me realize how Christians take God for granted and how we are selfish by not sharing the gospel. It’s easy for me to get so caught up in my personal life, in my business and in having fun. I often forget the very purpose God has called me to. My life, my photography, my love for people are all gifts that He’s given me to bless those around me. They are all gifts He’s given me to bring light into the darkness. They are all a piece of how he wants me to bring greater hope to people.
Walking through life as a Christian is not easy. But, being back in Bangkok reminded me of God’s goodness and how amazing it feels to be a small part of what He is doing in the world.
I’d love it if you joined me in praying for the people of Thailand, the ministry of Life Point and that we would all confidently live the way God’s called us to here in the U.S.
