Andy Sears

Wow! God is so good. I have been blown away by the work that God has done in the lives and hearts of our team and through the power of Holy Spirit in us toward others. 

The highlight of the trip has been the relationships that we developed with the young people at Grace Ministries in Krasang. The young people on our team have fully given their hearts to the twenty four girls and six boys at Grace Ministries. The Thai and hill tribes girls and boys are about the same age as our young people so the connection was powerful. We played with them, taught english, did church together, and we had the opportunity over four days to interview and hear the stories of each girl and boy at the ministry. They all have incredibly inspiring stories that give evidence of the power of God to bring hope and purpose out of pain and despair.

Our kids are sold on this ministry. Sunday night we had a meeting and almost every person on our team was moved by the power of God to a new level of faith and commitment to Christ. I don’t have time to tell all of the stories, but I will share one interaction with a 13 year old hill tribes girl who has been saved from poverty and an uncertain future by Christ through Grace Ministries.

This young girl was born into extreme poverty in the Aka hill tribe of Northern Thailand. Her parents are farmers, and do not have enough resources to sustain their family. That is why she is at Grace Ministries. When I spoke with her through an interpreter I could see immediately that she is a leader with a passion for others. She told us that her vision is to become trained as a teacher and to go back to her tribe to develop the next generation toward a better life in Christ. She sees Christ as the source of her motivation. This young girl has a deep burden for people and is very focused on God’s calling on her life to change her village for Christ. This young 13 year old girl blew me away with one statement that demonstrated the depth of her passion. She said,”I can’t afford to spend time on leisure, because I have seen and must respond to the hurts of others.” These are amazing girls.

The last night at Grace Ministries in Krasang our girls and the girls from the home had a slumber party. We truly made lasting and life long relationships during our time.

We are now in Chiang Mai. We spent the last few days visiting the extremely poor and desperate people of the hill tribes. I will go more into that later. I have not written as much as I had hoped, but have found my time being utilized in different ways on this trip compared to the last one.

Please be in prayer for a meeting we will have over the next few days. We will be visioning with Grace Ministries, Remember Nhu and our Westside group regarding how God is leading us to partner in the future. God has given me much clarity on this trip regarding this very important link. I have felt incredible confirmation from our students, parents and staff regarding the value and impact of this mutually beneficial relationship. The next step is to flesh out what God is calling us to be and do. Your prayers are critical. You response the last post was very encouraging. Please continue to respond in prayer.

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It is currently Thursday afternoon and our entire team is sitting in two internet cafes writing emails. We have had a great day of rest after a 24 hour stint of travel. It is pretty hot and humid, but overcast. Our team is doing really well. I don’t think I have heard a single complaint even though the travel has been pretty brutal.

Our guides were stuck on a train from Burriram and have not arrived yet. We are doing fine on our own and they should be here in a few hours. We will be heading for the train station in two hours and will travel overnight to the small village of Krasang. Grace ministries is located there. We will then spend the next few days connecting with the young people. This is the ministry of Charles and Yokie.

We have a few minor health issues. You can pray for Kelby who is experiencing a minor “stomach issue.” You can also pray for Carly who has a strange rash that started during the flight over.

I read through Col. 3 this morning again and it really spoke to me regarding what is really important.

Col. 3 MSG

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ – that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.

The writter continues to challenge me to dress in what Christ has picked for me: Compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, and discipline. “Be even tempered, content with second place, and quick to forgive any offense.”

Pray that we would seek to be where the action is.

Andy

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This morning a team from Westside is boarding a plane for Thailand for 14 days. To learn more about this trip read through the Thailand page above. Please pray for our team as we seek to be open to God’s leading and that we authentically and appropriately respond to what we encounter. It would be encouraging if you would comment with your prayers. Below is our trip in a nutshell:

Tuesday: Fly from PDX to San Fran San Fran to Narita 15hrs
Wednesday: Narita to Bangkok Crash at a hotel

Thursday: Sleep in – eat lunch at a nearby mall and catch a train for Krasang (NE Thailand) 8 hrs

Friday: – Sunday: Spend time at Grace Ministries

Monday: Morning train to Bangkok 8 hrs – Evening train to Chiang Mai

Tuesday: Arrive in Chiang Mai and head immediately in vans to the hill tribes

Tuesday – Thursday: Ministry to the hill tribes people

Thusday: Evening dinner with orphanage children (Asia’s Hope)

Friday: Briefings from various ministries in Chiang Mai – Evening cultural dinner

Saturday: Cultural Day

Sunday: Morning at Asia’s Hope orphanage – evening debriefing

Monday: Travel by plane to Bangkok – Debriefing

Tuesday: Bangkok to Naritia Narita to San Fran San Fran to PDX

Thank you for your prayers!

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