Success Story

This past weekend I got to be a part of a success story...

...Last Satuday morning found Matt, ChatChai, several of the older girls and I crammed into the van heading towards a part of the city that the girls hardly ever travel to; the side where multitudes of young men and women throng the many internet coffee shops, cheap eateries and hang outs wearing their matching uniforms that identifies them as college students.

This side of town isn't secluded, nor is it hard to get to; yet the girls from BHJ rarely see this area solely because its not part of their world...yet.
Amporn was one of the the very first Breanna's girl to come here and live outside the walls she had known for many years previous.
Likewise she was the very first to wear the uniform,

first to walk the procession,

first to bow to the headmaster

and

first to receive the intricately written, stamped and signed DIPLOMA.

And as I watched, trying to pick her out of the large crowd of graduating students, I realized something...
I COULD'N'T!
I truthfully couldn't pick her out from the girls who had come from rich families, decent families, broken familes, or no family at all.

However, later on when I finally did pick her out and the buzz of cameras' clicking started anew, I could see something different; and that was her Smile.

She had the biggest smile of anyone around; and all we could do was smile too. Sharing the happiness and joy of this mile (or kilometer) marker was nothing other than the divine moment that a great God had seen coming long before any of us were involved. And I'll bet that it made Him smile too.

How in the world...?!

It hit me today, as I was sitting in a YWAM coffee shop talking to a Thai friend named Nok Noi (นกน้อย), a thought that caused me to stop conversing mid-sentence.

"How in the WORLD did I get here?!"

Not literally of course, I had just ridden my scooter from the Thai Immigration office after several hours of pure bureaucratic bliss complete with queue lines, crisp documents and finally the satisfying THUD of a stamp on passport pages specifically designed for such purpose.
But as I just described I knew how I got to this conversation with Nok Noi while I waited for photos to upload to the site I was working on.

But I really stopped speaking so abruptly and pretty sure I had the kind of face that makes most people give the sideways cock-of-the-head shock and awe, quizzical look that says "are you ok?" (No exception here, 'cept she did it in a more Thai-ish way adding the phrase "mee aray?")

It took me a second to respond, because first of all I couldn't quite explain it to myself in English much less take the extra step to translate into Thai. But here's what I came up with after a few moments pause:

-About 12 months ago I got an email from a former youth pastor inviting me to come on a 3 month internship/mentorship/decipleship trip. To which I immediately deemed unworthy of a response. (Thanks but no thanks, I'm not interested in short-term...especially in Thailand!!)

-However God wouldn't let me drop it; He continued to bring up the issue and keep my attention from random people talking about different ministries in SE Asia and how they could use a guy like me, or God tugging on my heart whenever mention came up of trafficking or prostitution. He just wouldn't quit bugging me!

-after 3 months of stubbornness on my part, I finally consented and responded to the email with words along the lines of "I'm mostly doing this to get God off my back and I doubt the offer is still open but...if it is I'm open to explore what God's up to. But one question: if I come, can I stay long-term?"

-To which God of course had already known Matt would reply "Yes. Let's talk". After a several hour meeting with him I went to my parents' house and told them about all that was starting to unfold. I took another month to pray/seek/whine/give in and tell Matt that I was in.

-Then the fun part began! I began researching tickets for flights to the last place on Earth I had ever seen myself going and really curious how God was going to make this all happen...because as I forgot to mention, with all my seeking/praying/whining I really felt an uneasiness about raising support for the first 3 months that seemed more of a vacation/respite with missions mixed in rather than full-on gritty missions. Long story short; God is God and I most certainly am not...because when I found an amazing deal on a one-way flight ($600 talked down from $1200), He sent me the work bonus and extra pay period the exact day (and for the exact price) I had to book the flight; essentially allowing me to still pay all my bills at the end of the month.

-Summer came and I worked at Camp Kivu in Durango, Colorado as a counselor, rock climbing guide, backpacking guide and just about anything else they needed. As my third and final summer with them I had a blast with great friends and resting in the Lord while hanging out with kids from all over the world just trying to show them how awesome our God is. (Not hard to do when you are playing in Colorado and Moab).

-August came quickly and the last month to get all my money together was drawing to a close quickly. Problem: Camp ended early and so my paycheck wasn't as large as I had expected, so after several very uncertain days of what was going to happen God allowed me to sell my car for the exact amount I needed to pay for the initial 3 months.

-Now 5 months and a whole lot of stories/memories/passport stamps later I found myself in a coffee shop a complete world away from my original plan...whatever that was anyway!

I didn't explain it to her in that many words of course, English Major she is, but she got the idea. I can't speak for certain for her but I sure left that cafe with the freshest feeling of "God is absolutely God and I am absolutely not!"

I'll never get tired of that feeling.

Location:Mueng Chiang Mai, Thailand