Royalty

Right now it is around 4:30 in the afternoon on Saturday in Chiang Mai Thailand. I still am sometimes just in complete shock that I am even here. I'm currently a sweaty mess. I just got back from a run. I love running. It gives me the chance to really just clear my head and focus completely on God. There is also nothing like the feeling of pushing yourself just a bit further than you thought you could.

This week has been an awesome week as normal. Every week we're getting more and more kids in the therapy and there has not been a time yet when I've made it through a session without wanting to cry. Also continuing to build the relationships with the kids I'm teaching riding too. It is so awesome to just get to be a testimony for Christ just by being around them. I get questions all the time of why I am here, or what I am doing or many other things and it's just so neat to be able to point them all back to God's sovereignty and love.

Wednesday night Clark and I had the opportunity to answer some questions of some Chinese foreign exchange students; Chocolate and Jennifer. They are attending a weekly "Bible Study". It is not however, what most Americans would consider a Bible study, rather it is more of an informative; this is what is taught in the Bible and what Christians believe. Both of the girls had many many questions and when they found out that we were here studying the Bible even more they asked us many questions. We got to share a lot with them and it was super neat. We get to meet with them again later this week, please keep them in your prayers.

Friday we practiced a "Sabbath". It was really a cool experience. We took the day off of all classes and work to really take a day to reflect on what we've been learning and to praise God for all He is doing. We headed up to this mountain to find a lookout. We ended up getting the truck stuck and hiking the rest of the way. We had a cool worship service at the top and then went and found a waterfall where we all broke off and just spent an hour alone with God just really thinking about the past week and couple months and what He is doing. Then we went home and chilled for a while. Bethany and my friend Pakkad came over and hung out, and then we all went to a worship night called Refresh. It was just an awesome night of sooo many different cultures praising God in their own way.

Today was a pretty relaxed day. Talked with my mom, went to lunch with Bethany, talked with Jenn for a while. Came home and went for a run. While I was running though, I was struck by the fact that I was still somewhat stuck on people. That while I wanted to serve God wholeheartedly and be abandoned for Him, I still wanted to be approved by people as I was doing it. I still wanted people to like me. I still wanted to be normal to an extent. Even just in little things. Like saying I don't care about something trivial as where we eat for dinner when I really do. Or not caring what movie we watch when I really hate that movie. I had gotten so lost in making sure I was serving others and keeping the peace, that I'd started to lose sight of my value in Christ. I unknowingly started to mentally put everyone above me. Now, please don't get me wrong. I still want to serve other people, ESPECIALLY the people I am living with. I truly love every single one of them as a family member and want to be a blessing to them. But I also need to consider myself a person of worth. I need to realize and remember that I am also God's beloved daughter. He made me how I am and He loves me so much, no matter what. It doesn't matter what I do. I have value just because of Him being my Father. I"m the daughter of royalty!! Such a wonderful cool thought. The more I think about it, the more I realize what a difficult time grasping that concept.

We continue to prepare for outreach. We will be spending 1 month in Cambodia and 1 month in Vietnam. I am super excited.

Also, the opportunity has come up that I stay here till May or June of next year. I have been offered a place to live, as well as the opportunity to continue working out at the horse stables and to get to train more people and horses around Thailand. I would be able to make a living off of the training I would be doing. The more I pray about this, the more I feel it is where God is leading me. As I seek His will on this, I also continue to pray about this trip. I have no doubt that God called me to come on this trip to Thailand. That has been made clear over and over. As such, I know He will provide all that I need. Before October 15, I need to raise at least $800 for this trip. I ask you to keep me in your prayers, that God makes it completely clear for me whether or not this is His will for me to stay longer and also that He would  provide the rest of the money I need to finish this trip.

Thank you all for your continued love and support. Feel free to email me anytime @ cowgirl4christ17@yahoo.com