Posted in Thailand by Amanda Thompson on 8/21/2010
I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes. My heart is racing and I'm not quite sure how to put all of this emotion into words. But I am going to try.
I am currently freaking out. So many people have talked to me about this, and what they say is all really good wisdomous (my own made up word) advice. But none of it sinks in.
I want it to.
So why won't it?
I am freaking out because of where God is leading me. He is leading me to a place of surrender. He is, AGAIN, leading me to the edge of the cliff and asking me to jump. I am currently facing a crossroad in my life. I hear God's voice. He is calling me out....out to the nations. He is calling me to SURRENDER. He is demanding a new level of faith and of trust. Like the disciples, when they left EVERYTHING, he is asking me to turn from my former life and follow him. I am a new creation. I am his kid. He is going to take care of me. I know that.
So why is it so hard?
It is so hard because I know what I'm giving up. See, up to this point, I "surrendered" only my time really. I was still living rather comfortably. I had saved up enough money to do my missions work, but still have extra to play. In my head, I knew I could go back and get a job. I had given away most of my things, but kept my career stuff...in case I ever went back to it. I had surrendered, but I surrendered temporarily. I have lived a life of independence. I know what it is to have my own car, house, and job. I know what it is to work for a living and pay the bills. All of that gives me the "freedom" to go buy what I need. When I am hungry, I go buy more food to feed myself. When I am thirsty, I go find water to drink. I have lived this "comfortable" life where I didn't need to depend on God for material things. And there is a lot of pride in that. I mean, I can take care of myself. I don't need anybody. And now, I'm totally dependent on other people. I'm dependent on the body of Christ to help me live out my calling. And the further I go - the more I follow Christ, the more independence I lose. I don't like it. I like my independence. I like to call the shots in my own life. But God wants me to SURRENDER. The more I listen and obey- the more God WRECKS my life. It is REAL good, but it is also REAL hard.
I know that God is good. I know that He will always provide. I know that as long as I'm walking in obedience, everything will be ok. I also know that my definition of ok and God's definition are two different things. And when I give my life FULLY to him, then I'm giving up control of it...I'm giving up my definition of okay, and that is pretty scary.
I know that I know that I KNOW that God has called me out. I know that I am following his will for my life. But I am just struggling with so much doubt. What if I heard wrong? What if I am just some crazy person who has lost touch with reality?
Being in the United States has that effect on me. I can be so sure, and then I come back and the daggers of the american lifestyle sink right back into me. I want stuff. I "need" stuff. People ask me when I'm going back to work. People ask me what my plans are. I've been called a hippie and a bum. I start to feel so heavy.... I don't know the answers and I feel like I should have them if so many people are asking. I get this sense that people are waiting for this phase of my life to be over....like wondering when I'm coming back to "real life". My insides want to scream....THIS IS REAL LIFE. THIS IS NORMAL CHRISTIAN LIVING!!!! I am NOT crazy, nor am I a bum. I am an obedient daughter of the KING and he is smiling on me!!
The thing is...I have NO IDEA what my plans are. All I know is that I hear God calling me to Thailand right now. And I need to go. I need to trust Him and I need to follow what I hear. What I know is that I've been called to love. I've been called to love unconditionally. I've been called to transform others with the love of God. I've been called to love the poor, the sick, the diseased, the outcasts. I've been called to GO and make disciples. I know that I am following the will of God for my life. And that is all I need to know.
And God will move. He will move in me, He will move in the students, and He will move in Thailand. We will be instruments of his love and glory. Lives will be transformed. I can't wait to see it!!
Please Pray!
Please pray for me as I am preparing for this next phase of my life. Pray that I will be obedient. Pray that GOD wins this battle in my mind. Pray for God to enlarge my heart. Pray for peace and clarity. Pray for provision. Just PRAY!!!
More about Thailand
This trip to Thailand is a Human Trafficking trip. We will be working to combat Human Trafficking in practical ways. We can't all go storming in to rescue slaves. A lot of what we will be doing is prevention. The first part of the trip will be in remote villages. The poverty in those remote villages is what drives people to selling themselves or others. These are the areas where children are at high risk for being trafficked and so that is where we are going. We will bring Jesus to the villagers and work with children to show them how much Jesus loves them. Then, we will be moving to an orphanage called Remember Nhu where children live who are at risk for being trafficked or who have been trafficked. And finally, we will be going to Phuket and working with SHE. We will march into the darkness of the red-light district, bringing the light of Jesus to the prostitutes who have chosen this lifestyle.
I have been completely convicted by God lately that HALF the world's population is CHILDREN. When we reach the children...when they REALLY get it....not only are their little lives changed, but the lives of countless others as they bravely march forth as soldiers for Christ. It is the CHILDREN who will change a nation and so it is an honor and a privilege to go love on these children and tell them who they are and what they are worth!!!
I need your help
I am still in need of about $1600 in support for this trip. I have a little less than three weeks to get it all in before I go. PLEASE pray about supporting me in whatever way you can!!
PRAISE GOD!! Since my last blog, $250 in support has come in!!! Thank you to those who have given!!!
Posted in Thailand by Amanda Thompson on 8/12/2010
Human Trafficking
The world is FULL of resources for the fastest growing crime in the WORLD. The market for slaves of any kind is staggering. The targets are the poor and powerless.
Picture a family. A mother, father, and a bunch of children. The parents were never formally educated because they spent most of their lives working in order to make enough to put clothes on their backs and food in their bellies. They work doing whatever they can do to make some money. Maybe they farm, or maybe they work on someone else's farm. Maybe they work in a factory. The bottom line is that they are poor. REALLY poor. Their clothes are tattered and dirty. Their shoes have holes. They do the best they can, but it never seems to be enough. They are hungry.
There are millions of people that live like this. All over the world. These are the targets for traffickers.
Many possible scenarios could come across this family. All involving a sweet talking business type person who is full of promises and dreams. They present a situation that looks hopeful to entice them into a world of slavery. It happens all the time. It happens every day. The poor and uneducated are the targets. And they are easy targets.
Maybe the business person will give them a "loan" to help them through dry season. Then, in order to pay back the "loan", the entire family must come work at this nice man's factory, or rice mill, or brick kiln, or whatever. They must work there and only there until their debt is paid back. Meanwhile, the nice man gives them shelter and food, which he adds to their debt. The interest rates charged out outrageous and these poor, uneducated people end up slaves before they even know what is happening to them. The "nice man" suddenly turns into a tyrant who beats them and controls every single thing they do. They are not free to do what they choose. They have become property and they don't know what to do about it.
This is bonded labor and it is illegal everywhere it is practiced, but poor criminal justice and judicial systems allow this practice to take place anyway.
Another possible scenario would be for this nice business type person to offer a scholarship for the girls at some far away school. Or it could be a job offered to the girls. The parents want what is best for the children, and being uneducated, they believe the recruiter. This person then leads these girls to a brothel to become sex slaves.
In places like Thailand, men come from ALL OVER THE WORLD to have sex with these girls….or boys.
In places like Sudan, Uganda, or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, children are abducted from their homes and forced to join rebel armies as soldiers. Often their initiation experience involves killing someone close to them. Girls and boys are taken. Once girls reach puberty, they become sex slaves for the commanders in these armies.
It happens over and over and over again. The powerful take advantage of the weak because they can.
Right now there are 27 million men, women, and children in bonded labor around the world. That includes the USA, ladies and gentlemen. Almost 1 million people are bought and sold on a yearly basis. Human Trafficking has become the fastest growing crime on the planet. In the United States alone, it is estimated that there are 200,000 people enslaved. The estimated number of people trafficked into the EU is 120,000 yearly. Depending on your source, revenue generated from human trafficking is between $9.5 billion to $32 billion annually. 80% of those forced into bonded labor are women and 50% are children. CHILDREN!!
With millions upon millions of people living in refugee camps around the world, and millions of people living at or below $2 a day, the pool to draw from is seemingly unending.
This stuff fires me up. I didn't even know how big of a deal it all was until I was smacked in the face with it in Thailand. I spent a month working with prostitutes. Many had come to Phuket to find a good job. They bought one way tickets from far away and ended up sleeping on the streets. Out of desperation, they ended up in the bars. They are there by choice. However, most of the girls I talked to shouldered the responsibility of taking care of their families. They felt as if they had no choice. It was so hard to see. That was my first encounter….the tip of the iceberg for me.
I just read the book, Not For Sale, and I just can't stop thinking about this stuff. It is reality for millions and millions of people around the world. ( I got the statistics I used in this blog from that book)
I was listening to this missionary named Jennifer Toledo the other day. She made a statement that sunk deep into my spirit. She said that we cannot be in love with Jesus and NOT have our hearts break for the poor. This is the exact stuff that Jesus wants us to fight against. He said that whatever we do for the least of these, we also do for him. You know, you could flip that statement. Whatever you DON'T do for the least of these, you also DO NOT o for Him. (Matthew 25: 39)
I'm just not okay with standing by and doing nothing.
I won't lie. When I went to India to serve, I was NOT expecting to teach pre-school. I didn't see the value in it. I am not a fan of dealing with large groups of small children. God just now smacked me in the face with the reality of what we did in India. We spread the love of Jesus. We gave Jesus to these children. I can't stop what is happening around the world. I cannot stop it, but I can do my part. I can't protect them, but Jesus is our protector. He is our rock and refuge in times of trouble. I can give them the greatest resource in the world - JESUS!!! There is so much hope in that!!
I am going to Thailand!!!!
In September, I will be leaving again. This time I am going to Thailand. We will spend the first half of our trip working with Remember Nhu on the prevention side of human trafficking. We will be working with children who are at risk. Then, we will be working with SHE. I was just there in April and I am super excited to go back and see all that God is doing in that area. At SHE we will be going into the Red Light district to minister to prostitutes and also doing some after care for those who have come out. I will be able to combine my two biggest passions at the moment, women and college students. I am really excited about what God is going to do in and through all of us!!!
There is plenty of need. Thailand is a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking. That means that slaves are found in Thailand, brought through Thailand to other destinations like Malaysia, Indonesia, European countries, or even the USA, and slaves are brought to Thailand to work in brothels as sex slaves.
We are going, but we are not going alone. We are bringing with us the greatest hope in the world - Jesus Christ. We are coming in the power of the Holy Spirit and we expect to see miracles. We expect to see lives transformed. We expect to make a difference!!!
I need your help In order to be ready to leave in September, I need to raise $1800. This will cover everything for me for the three months I will be on the field. Please prayerfully consider partnering me in my mission to bring the Kingdom of God to Thailand!!
If you are interested in supporting me, please click HERE
Even if cannot support me financially, PLEASE support me with your prayers. Your prayer support is so much more important than you can even imagine. We move heaven and earth through our prayers and they are POWERFUL!!
Posted in Intimacy by Amanda Thompson on 8/11/2010
Intimacy
I have always heard people talk about intimacy. I heard it a lot on my race. My coach, Tom, used to talk about just being with God. He encouraged us to spend time with God…intimate time…without music, journal, or Bible. He told us that we needed to learn how to just curl up in Daddy's lap and let him love us.
I've never been opposed to that. But I have not had a lot of intimate relationships in my life. So how do I get there? I just don't get it...
God has REALLY been putting intimacy on my heart. He wants to teach me how to be intimate with him.
What does that even mean?? When I look up the definition of intimate…I get three parts to the meaning:
1. Closely acquainted; familiar, close 2. private and personal. 3. (of knowledge) detailed; thorough
Whoa. I mean, God wants to KNOW me. up close and personal. He wants to get all up in my crap. He WANTS to. He wants to be close to me. He wants to get personal. He wants to go to the places no-one else wants to go. He wants to have detailed, thorough knowledge of me. But what is more mind blowing to me is that he wants me to KNOW him. up close and personal. He wants me to be close to him. He wants me to have detailed, thorough knowledge of HIM. The depth of this type of relationship just blows my mind.
When I was preparing for the final debrief for my Real Life students, God again placed intimacy on my heart. He pointed me to John 10.
"He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They wont' follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don't know his voice." (3-5) "I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for my sheep" (14-15)
Sometimes when I read things, I am just smacked in the face with how amazing God is. That happened when I read that. (Ya'll, I had been looking for specific verses that talked about intimacy and told me how to achieve it. What God is showing me is that the entire dang Bible is about intimacy and how to achieve it. )
Ok, first of all, Jesus is calling me BY NAME. It constantly blows my mind that the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords knows MY NAME. He walks ahead of me. He walks ahead of all of us. He doesn't push us from behind, but leads us from the front. That means that we have to choose to follow. We have to listen for his voice, and choose to go in the direction we hear it traveling from. We can only recognize this voice if we spend enough time getting to know the sound of it. Second, Jesus says he knows his sheep and THEY KNOW HIM, just as his Father knows him and he knows his Father. WHAT??? I mean, that verse just kind of blows me away. Just sit there an think about that. He wants us to know him like God the Father knows him. That's deep. That's intimate.
This is something deep that God is teaching me and leading me through. There is so much more I want to type, so look for more :)
I was thinking and processing a lot of things yesterday.
I read Joshua about a year ago and have not been able to get that book
out of my mind. I have also been obsessed with this idea of obedience
as a lifestyle. Obedience always makes me think of Joshua. Always.
Joshua was chosen by God to finish the work that he gave to Moses.
Joshua got to lead his people into the Promised Land. But there were
people living in it, right? It wasn't just waiting for them with open
arms . They had to fight for it. But God had promised it to them. He
promised Joshua the victory numerous times. He always told him not to
be afraid or discouraged. He promised to be with him...ALWAYS. All
Joshua had to do was go fight and claim victory that was already his .
Isn't it the same with us? We are promised the victory. We have the
keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. We are citizens of Heaven. We are all
the rights and privileges of a citizen of HEAVEN. We are FREE in Jesus
name. The victory is ours. Our fight is different than Joshua's
fight. Our fight is more internal. But we have the victory
nonetheless. We have it, but we still have to fight for it. We don't
just immediately get freedom . We have to fight for it. We have to
work for it. And how do we do that?
Through OBEDIENCE!!!!!
We can't be obedient without faith. We can't jump off the crazy cliff
if we don't believe that our Dad will catch us if we fall. He has our
name written on the palm of his hand. His love covers and protects
us. He will NOT lead us into death and despair. He can't. His nature
is LOVE. He is love and he is light. There is no death, despair, or
darkness in light. When we act in accordance with his will, then how
in the world can anything bad happen? I have to change my mind. I
have to change my perspective. If I fall into this amazing love...if I
REALLY get it...then I'll have no fear. :) I can't wait for that!!
I've also been thinking a LOT about sacrifice.
I preached on the story of the rich man in Matthew 19.
He was told to sell all of his possessions to enter the Kingdom. Huh.
He was looking for a list to check off. He was looking for things he
could perform to get to Heaven. Jesus knew his heart. Jesus also knew
that you can't DO anything to get to Heaven. You can't EARN your
salvation. It isn't found through what you DO. It is found with what
you BELIEVE...with what you TRULY BELIEVE in your heart . If your hope
is in your possessions, then you can't sell them. You would be
devastated and lost. But if your hope is in Christ...then what do
possessions matter???
So I preach this message of sacrifice. We should be ready to give it
all up for the sake of following Christ. Take up your cross. Turn
from your selfish ways. Leave it all behind. Don't look back. I was
trying to challenge the congregation to go live the message they
believe.
So the thing about preaching something is that often, God will teach it to you. Well, that is exactly what happened.
I started realizing what I have sacrificed. I saw the weight of it. I
don't know if I'm going back to work as a teacher...ever again. I
don't know where I will live. I don't know what my address will be. I
don't know where my money is coming from. I don't know what is
happening in the lives of people I love. I don't know when I will get
to see my family again. I don't know if I'll be able to go to my
brother's wedding. I don't know anything. I
have to depend ONLY on the Lord. And EVERYTHING inside of me wants to
run to the comfort and security of the American Dream. Get a job.
Provide for yourself. Suck it up and pull it together. You want
something, you work for it and go get it. But then my security is no
longer in my Father, but in my things, my job, my money, my friends, my
family...etc. God wants my security to be in Him. That is dang hard.
I have a lot of "small" decisions to make in the month that I'll be
back in the States. Small decisions with HUGE implications. I thought
I left it all behind. I thought I abandoned my life. But I
didn't...not REALLY. I left it in order so I could go back to it. And
now...now I'm supposed to really leave it. And it is scary but
exciting at the same time. There is a huge battle going on in my
mind...I want God to win. I want to lose. I want to lose my life. I
can't find it until I lose it...like REALLY lose it and not just
misplace it for a while. But that's real scary.
I got a word the other day...Amanda - you are open to the things of the
Spirit, but you are treading on the top layers . You don't trust. You
have to DIVE DEEP.
For the past year, God has been teaching me this lesson.
Every single time I encounter a situation that leaves me without an answer, God always tells me to just listen and obey.
That is how I ended up on the race in the first place. I heard God call me, I listened, and I obeyed.
It sounds so simple, doesn't it? Just listen and obey. Just hear what God is saying and go do it. Turns out, it is not always as easy as it sounds.
Often, the enemy swoops in there with doubt and confusion. Soon, I'm not sure if I've heard God or if I'm just amplifying my own thoughts. I mean, how do you tell the difference? What I have found is that FAITH has a lot to do with obedience. Doubt and confusion are NOT from the Lord. Sometimes, you just have to step out there without knowing - without seeing. It isn't easy. But it is always worth it.
It doesn't always look like you think it will look, either. I'm telling you, I learn this lesson ALL THE TIME. When I set off for Guatemala in June of '09, I had all the plans in the world of coming back to the place I left and going right back to teaching. Well, when I was gone, I learned how to hear God's voice. I learned what it sounded like and I learned to follow it boldly. My plans were wrecked as I heard God calling me further and further away from my former life. If you asked me a year ago where I would be in a year, I SURE wouldn't have told you that I would be in India.
I have been worried and filled with doubt and confusion about my future. I have gone to God several times in tears because I am so afraid. All he tells me is to listen and obey. I told him that was all well and good, but he needed to tell me WHAT to obey because I needed to know what to do with my life. His response was this, "you mean the life you have given to me"?
oh yeah. that one.
So my life is wide open in front of me, and all I know is that I'm supposed to listen and obey. And that is enough.
Now that example I just gave is a big one. But the whole listen and obey thing God is teaching me is more of a lifestyle. For instance, we have been going into some local communities and reaching out to the nationals. I had big plans for what I was going to do when we did this outreach. But each time, God flipped things around on me and had me do something completely different from what I expected. I could have forced myself to do what I wanted instead of what HE wanted, but then I would have missed out on some incredible blessings. I got to spend time with some amazing Christians that are living their lives on FIRE for HIM and it was encouraging to both of us.
Sometimes I'm walking down the street and I just know that I'm supposed to have a conversation with someone. Sometimes it is someone I know, and sometimes it is a complete stranger. It is in those moments, when I hear God "randomly" speak to me, that my obedience is going to change things.
I was talking in church today about sacrifice. Like Romans 12:1. We need to give our LIVES as a sacrifice. We need to lay aside our plans and our agendas and our own ideas of what we are or are not good at. When we live in a state of constant readiness...of constantly being ready tolisten and obey, then God can use us to do INCREDIBLE things.
I am striving to live a lifestyle of obedience. This is also what I am striving to impart to those around me. In my life, the greatest joys and the moments when I have felt the most purpose have been the moments when I have listened and obeyed. So if you are reading this - consider yourself challenged!!!
I've been thinking way too much lately about way too many things. I feel like I'm at a crossroad in my life. I need to decide how I am going to live. Am I going to follow the call my Daddy has placed on my life? Am I going to continue to life by faith? Or am I going to give in to the pressure I feel and get a job to support myself? Everything inside of me just wants to live like this forever. But what am I called to do?
Being in the United States was incredibly difficult for me. I was unbelievably excited to see my friends and family again. But I was immediately struck with the loss of the community I lived life with for 11 months. I was way more invested than I thought I was. I really have changed a lot. I am a totally different person than I was a year ago. There has been so much freedom in my life that you can see a physical difference in me. It was hard to come back to people that I love so much who don't know me anymore. There wasn't enough time anywhere to spend really good quality time with anybody. I was SO BUSY. There was always something to do or someone to have coffee with. I forgot how busy America is. I forgot how time consuming the T.V. is. I forgot what it was like to not have time for Dad and to REALLY make time.
By the time I got to WR training camp at the end of May, I was suffocating. I was exhausted. I felt like an alien in my home country. How weird is that? I felt more at home in 3rd world countries than I did in my own. I began to think about that verse that says we are new creations. I began to think about how I really have become a soldier for JC. I began to really think about what it means to be set apart. I began to think about what it really means to be a citizen of heaven. I live here on earth but my allegiance lies above. I AM an alien. And soldiers never stay home for long. They come and go where they are needed. They come home for training and time with family and then they go out again to fight. We are called to be set apart from unbelievers. That means that people should look at my life and it shouldn't make sense to them. It should look totally separate and different from an unbeliever. My life before the race looked strikingly similar to the life of an unbeliever. I don't want that to ever happen again. I have learned to walk in so much boldness, confidence, and authority. I don't think I want my life to make sense anymore.
I think this idea of being an alien on earth and having my citizenship in Heaven really hit me at the airport in Atlanta, Georgia. It was the day we left for India. I saw some U.S. soldiers coming through security at the same time we were. As I was gathering my stuff and waiting for people, I struck up conversation with one of them. His name was Brian and he was going to Afghanistan. As I was talking to him, Dad told me to pray for him. So right there, in front of who knows how many people, I grabbed his hand and prayed for him. You should have seen the looks I got. People thought I was some kind of saint. All I did was what Dad told me to do. But it stuck out so much that people noticed. They looked at me with admiration. It embarrassed me. I didn't do it for that reason. But it made me think about why that small act stuck out so much. Because it set me apart. I was acting like a citizen of Heaven and not of earth.
20 hours of flying later, I arrived in India. I was exhausted, jet lagged, and really dirty. I could immediately see the poverty. The crumbling concrete buildings with tin roofs. The narrow streets crammed with people, cars, auto-rickshaws, and sometimes cows. Traffic is terrible. I could also immediately see the prosperity. Nice cars. HUGE billboards. The bus we were on was small and had no space for luggage. We had to cram 18 people plus 18 human sized bags into a bus made for 25. It was raining and, of course, the bus had no AC. I smiled on the inside. I looked at the 16 young women in the bus behind me. They have no idea what they are in for. They have no idea how they are going to get wrecked. They have no idea how they are going to wreck me. I have no idea how this country is going to wreck me.
The weird thing about it all is - my spirit immediately felt at peace when I got here. I feel more at home and at peace here in India than I did for the 4 weeks I was in the USA. I think that's pretty rad.
I am really really excited about being here. We are going to a city called Goa in a few days. There, we will be helping RR get some new projects off the ground. We are going to be doing work with pre-school kids, teenagers, and women. We will live close to a slum. We are lucky enough to live really close to the beach (or so I'm told). There are going to be plenty of opportunities to express the love of Daddy to the people here.
Posted in Thailand by Amanda Thompson on 4/29/2010
I am YOURS.....
The main road is called Bangla and there are smaller streets that veer off. These streets easily contain more than a hundred bars collectively. Each of these bars has at least 5 women working at them. The opportunity for ministry is endless. To prepare for the the battle of the nighttime, we go out during the day to walk the streets and pray.
For the first few days I didn't know what to pray. I mostly just walked up and down the streets and prayed in the Spirit. I knew the Spirit would know what to pray - even when I didn't.
One day I was sitting on Soi Eric and I was looking around at the bars. I asked God to show me what to pray. I wanted to pray what He wanted me to pray. I wanted to come alongside Him in what He was already doing in that area. .
I shook my head to clear my mind and started to really observe the area. The bars were crammed into the streets. They were RIGHT next to each other. There were stools surrounding each bar and poles going through the bars. The girls dance on the poles at night. There were coolers full of beer and bottles of liquor everywhere. I could see the huge speakers that pumped loud music all night. I didn't want to judge so I forced myself to just look without thinking. To just observe.
"Amanda, these buildings are mine. They are made with MY CREATION. Pray for these buildings to be used for MY GLORY".
I never thought of that.
So I got up and started marching through the streets. I was praying that all the buildings would be used for God's glory, that even the speakers would play music that would glorify God. I prophesied that these bars would soon sell more cokes than beers. I prayed that what the enemy meant for evil, God would use for good. I declared God as sovereign and in control of that whole area - despite what it looks like now. And i BELIEVED everything I prayed.
So a few days later, we were down Bangla Road at night. We had already been to three bars and it was late, but Ashley and I decided to have just one more conversation before we left.
We walked down Soi Sea Dragon. All the bars have speakers in them that are controlled by a DJ booth halfway down the road.
I posted a video below of what we heard!!! I couldn't believe it!!
God is SO AMAZING!!!!
The cool part is the words of the song. It's not about what we do. It's about who HE is. It isn't about what we have done or what we can do. We are amazing because of who we are....and we are God's precious children. We are beloved.
When I watch this video, I am just floored by how amazing God is. There is a long playing about who we are in Christ, and the scene unfolding shows people who are just so lost. They don't know Him. They don't love Him. But HE loves them enough to send us halfway around the world to shine His light on their street for one night....one moment in time. And He answered my prayers. Because for that moment, those speakers were being used for HIS GLORY!!!
P.S.
THANK YOU ALL for you amazing support!!! Since I last blogged, $310 has come in!!! Thank you for all who have helped me carry out God's plans for my life!! Please help me continue to bring KINGDOM to the dark places in the world!! My next calling is to continue this ministry in India. I am still in need of $2130 to make this happen. Please pray about helping to send me to India to continue God's work for justice in the commercial sex trade industry!!
Posted in General Posts by Amanda Thompson on 4/12/2010
The BIG Question: WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WHEN YOU GET HOME????
I ask myself this question daily.
Every single time I talk to someone from the States...they ask me that question.
I ask God for the answer to this question all the time.
Here is where I'm at:
I have lived my life with a Monday-Friday job. Actually, teaching is more like a Monday-Sunday job. I might go back to it eventually, but not now. God has just spent the last 11 months completely rocking my world. My perspective on just about everything is completely different. The greatest gift the World Race has given me is TIME. In my life as a teacher, I never had time to really get after God and his plans for me. There was always some responsibility that was holding me back from obedience. (Whether that "responsibility" that was "holding me back" was real or perceived....) On this trip, I have had tons of TIME to get into the word. To pray...to journal...to meditate on God's words...to think about things I never thought about...to question things I've never questioned....to understand things I've never understood....to realize that I don't understand things I thought I understood. TIME. I have begun to understand that God hasn't called me to live like I was before. He has different plans for me. After 11 months, I am here, in a terribly broken state. God has spent this time unravelling who I thought I was and showing me who I really am. So right now, my foundations are rocked. There is rubble everywhere. I know I've got to rebuild, but right now, I'm not quite sure where to start. If I look at the mess, I'm overwhelmed, but God promised he would lead me. I just need to take it step by step. He has not given me a long-term plan yet, but I do have a short term vision that I am REALLY excited about!
So, here is the answer to the BIG QUESTION:
I am going to INDIA!!!!!
I will be spending a month in the United States before I leave again.
The next leg of my adventure with God involves leading a group of college age women on a 2 month mission trip to India. I can't explain how excited I am about this. I'll be leaving in June and returning in August.
Why would you leave again so soon??
Lately God has really been burdening me for college age women. I have a passion and a deep desire to pass on the things I've learned this year. I want to empower these young women to follow their calling and walk in authority as Christ followers. I want to see them experience the power of God in new ways. I want to see them transform. I am SO EXCITED about this!!! The ministry we will be working with is called Rahab's Rope. It is located in Bangalore, India. We will be working against human trafficking and helping to rehabilitate women who have left that lifestyle. Other ministry opportunities include working with a local dump community, doing children's ministry in the area, teaching basic english and math, and basically helping to support women as they begin the healing process.
How can I help??
This is an intense ministry, and I need your prayer support!!! I also need some financial assistance. I have to finish support raising for the World Race before I can lead this trip, which consists of 940 dollars. Then, I need to raise $1500 for my 2 month trip to India. $2440 seems a daunting amount to raise in 8 weeks. It seems like a lot, but every donation counts and helps to move me towards my goal of bringing KINGDOM around the world!!! I only need 100 people to give $25 to be FULLY FUNDED!!! Please please please pray about helping me follow God's call on my life!!!
Thank you ALL for following me on my journey this year!!!
I walked down the street and I was flooded by flashes.
The neon lights were flashing the names of the bars. The 69 Bar. The Freedom Bar. The Mickey Mouse Bar. There are hundreds of them crammed into little side-streets off the main road. The main road has men, women, and children shoving flyers into your face. Everybody wants me to come to their bar. As I walk by the bar, the girls pretend to be excited to see me - they are desperate for me to come to their bar.
As I walked I heard the music pumping. It was good dance music. I am torn. My brain wants to revert back to the days I frequented the clubs and bars myself. I hear Sweet Child of Mine playing as I walk by a bar. I really had to resist the urge to throw my hands in the air and start singing along. I was struggling with flashbacks of myself when I used to think that dance clubs and bars were cool places to hang out. I kept flashing back to the way I was before and then flashing back to the present situation. I had to force myself to focus.
"Look around you, Amanda. Look at their faces."
A different reality flashed in front of me when I looked through God's eyes.
A reality of hopelessness. It was everywhere.
A HOT guy walked by me.
FLASH.
I looked down at my nasty, war-torn clothes and started to feel gross.
FLASH back to focus.
NO!!! I'm not here for that.
I looked up and saw some girls shaking their stuff on the bar tops.
FLASH to my 21st birthday. Did I really do that??? NO...stop thinking like that!!! Look at their faces, Amanda. Look at their faces. What do you see??
Hopelessness. Despair. Death.
Not just in the bar girls, but in the tourists who want so desperately to "fit in", to "be cool", and to "have a good time".
I remember the days when I thought that is what life was all about. Maybe it wasn't as dark of a scene, but it was still dark. Thank you, God, for your redeeming love!!!
Everywhere I looked, there were flashes of things that were wrong...dead wrong. I turn and see a girl holding a sign that says #1 in ass-smacking fun and then the name of the club. Really? Did I really just see that?? Is this reality?? I see a man watching a girl dancing with a nasty smirk on his face. Anger wanted to flash up in me. But I refused to let it. He is a precious creation of God - just like me. Just like the girl he is watching. God, what do you want me to do here?? How can I make a difference?? Please don't let me leave here without being a FLASH OF HOPE!!!
I prayed and prayed and prayed.
God, protect me from judgement. God, show me what you are doing here. God, reveal to me your plan for me here tonight. God, give me opportunities to bring HOPE! That's what you want me to do, right?? ....Bring hope to the hopeless, right?? That's the cry of my heart right now. I know I've got your armor to protect me. Thank you Father, for the belt of truth. Thank you for giving me opportunities to speak the TRUTH to these people. Thank you, Dad, for making me righteous through your son. I can do all things because of your son, and I am perfectly qualified...I am RIGHTEOUS and REDEEMED. God I pray that you protect my mind with the helmet of the hope of salvation. These girls have HOPE. Do not let me believe the lies of the enemy that say that there is no point in what I am doing. There is HOPE.
Then it hit me. HOPE. That is what I want to bring them. We might as well be dead without hope. Ok, so how do I accomplish that?
As we walked, we were led to a bar to talk to some girls. They were AMAZING. They LOVED talking to us. We had a good 30 minutes playing games with them. A flash of hope. They were so easy to talk to. This isn't as intimidating as I thought. We talked and exchanged some basic information. We were really having fun and enjoying each other.
FLASH.
Some men showed up and they got really distracted. We told them we would come back and I saw it....a flash of HOPE. Maybe they believe me, and maybe they don't, but I intend on showing up again.
Please please please pray for us during these next few weeks. Pray that God moves in and through us in amazing ways. This is our last few weeks of ministry. I want to make it count!!
P.S. I also still need to raise about $1,038. PLEASE HELP support me to finish the Race!!
