Worship on The Highest Point & Let the Children Come

So while we were at ACTS waiting on The Lord for Thailand, Uganda & Kenya, multiple people had similar visions and impressions about our team worshiping and praying on a high mountain.  That this would be one of the strategies we’ll use in Thailand.

We held onto the vision and kept in our team’s binder.  Although we did not pursue it, the strategy pursued us. Just this past Saturday, our new friends Wiwat and Chu Chat from Every Home for Christ suggested that we go up to this one mountain in Thailand to pray and worship.

We drove for about 2 hours to arrive on a mountain, which was known as “The Highest Point” in Thailand. God didn’t just orchestrate it so that we can go up to a mountain, but the highest point in Thailand to lift His name on high. We worshiped in the rain as we prophesied an outpouring of His Spirit over Thailand. There were some tourists that walked by and took pictures of the group of “Fa Rang Ba” (crazy foreigners), our new name. Oh yea, crazy for Jesus.  

After worship and prayer, we headed down the mountain to a Hmong Village to do home to home evangelism and distribution. We split into groups and went throughout the village.

Highlight of the village:

Alanna, Theresa, a Thai translator and Amy went towards a community of houses, saw bananas outside of a house so we decided to stop by and buy some. The moment they stopped by, little kids started approaching us.

As the children started coming one by one, we felt it was the perfect opportunity to share the gospel. So we told them to gather around for a story. Alanna shared a quick story about Jesus, The Fathers love and the Helper, the Holy Spirit. God was already marking some as she shared the story. We then told the kids to wait on the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to them. After a few minutes, we asked who wants to know Jesus as their friend and Father? All 16 children raised their hands. So we all held hands with the kids and invited Jesus into our hearts.

Heaven partied hard that day!

God’s presence was so tangible there and we finally understood  when Jesus said “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them.  For to such belongs the kingdom of heaven. And He laid His hands on them and went away.” Matt 19:14-15

Lampang & Creative Access Country

We apologize for posting this up so late but it has been busy since we’ve got back and we are all getting back into our rhythm of a normal schedule.

Our trip to Lampang province and then to a “Creative Access Country” was a trip that we’ll never forget. We’ve all been impacted by it and we pray that you will too as you read this blog post.

The 3 hr trip to Lampang was great. There were a lot more temples and a lot fewer Christians there. The city had a darker atmosphere.

We made our first stop at a prison, where we were searched and was only allowed to bring in our bibles and passports. As we walked in, you can instantly feel the brokenness and hopelessness that covered the room. There were about 100 men in the room, some stood outside and listened.

Ellie shared a special song that The Lord gave her about us being God’s inheritance. Then Darius and Amy shared their testimonies on why they follow Jesus, about the love and freedom in Jesus. How God’s plans are good and not of evil, to give us a hope and a future. (Jer 29:11) After the gospel was preached, 20-30 prisoners raised their hands and said they wanted to follow Jesus. Although, this story might be considered a norm in prison ministries we believe with all of our hearts that those brothers were marked in some way that we can’t even fathom and was forever changed by the love of God. Please continue to pray for them, that they will continue to follow Jesus all the days of their lives and may God raise them up as mighty men of valor and lovers of Jesus.

We then went to a nearby village to pass out packages and do home-to-home evangelism. We saw people get healed as we laid hands on them. One group asked a woman if they could pray for her and she responded, I’ve heard about Jesus before when I was younger in a Christian school. “How do I get rid of my sin?” She had continued with her Buddhist practices but still felt tormented in her soul and full of sin. Even Wiwat, a seasoned church planter in Thailand, was shocked at how God had prepared her. They shared the Gospel with her and she gave her life to Jesus that day. Our team also got to pray over her son Winning. We prophesied that he will one day win souls for Jesus as a world shaker and history maker. Praise God!

We stayed the weekend in Lampang at a church for a prayer conference with Every Home for Christ. The ACTS team did special songs, shared testimonies and led morning prayer meetings. But get this, although our prayer meetings seemed so weak, God saw it in a different light. Many Pastors from the nearby churches would poke their heads in to join us later on told us that they were deeply impacted by our meetings and would like us to do prayer seminars at their churches. God opened up doors for us that no man can shut.

A highlight of that weekend was when God changed our schedule as Abi shared her testimony on being filled with The Holy Spirit. We then prayed for the children to filled with The Holy Spirit and then the adults asked if we could pray for them as well!

After Lampang we made the long, bumpy (some got car sick) yet gorgeous mountainous trek to the “creative access country.” It is a small communist nation that is in the top 10 list of persecuted nations. Our purpose there was to pray for the nation and prayer walk key locations. We also prayed and trusted the Lord for divine appointments.

Because it is illegal to share the gospel in this nation and for the safety of the underground church leaders, we did not share the gospel. Instead, we prayer walked around government buildings and temples, lifting high the name of Jesus. The Lord promised Brian that like in Joshua’s day, He would give the ACTS school every place our feet touch. As His ambassadors, wherever our feet touched, we are claiming land for Him. Truly, the feet of those who bring good news are beautiful for He has anointed them for us both for evangelism and prayer.

In less than 3 days, our hearts have been knitted to this nation as we waited on The Lord for His heart for this land that He loved so much. The Holy Spirit came upon us and we found ourselves in a hotel room weeping in intercession, crying out for souls, for God’s persecuted saints and for laborers to be raised up.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 5:10. God opened up a door for us to meet these blessed ones from a college ministry and to have fellowship with them. The faith of these students have provoked us all as we listened to their stories of how they came to know Jesus and how they’ve all been persecuted in some way for their faith.

They have given up so much to follow Jesus. Some have been disowned by their parents and few have served prison sentences for sharing the Gospel. Yet they run all the harder and love Jesus all the better. Please continue to pray for these Daniels to be able to stand for Jesus in the midst of a dark nation and for the Gospel to run swiftly throughout that nation. He is worthy of the reward of His suffering. May Jesus have His inheritance. (Psalm 2)

Weak Intercession that Fuels Love & Compassion

Since being here, I’ve been thinking a lot about what Dick Eastman said when God spoke to him that he would see 100 million people get saved through his ministry. But this will only happen out of a place of intercession which will birth a missions movement.

“Amy, you have no idea of the power and impact of your prayers, of your team’s prayers.”  God has been speaking to me a lot lately in this area about prayer. How we are birthing souls through our intercession.  That though our prayers may seem weak and small, nevertheless it carries weight. That our prayers move heaven, angels are being dispatched and demons are fleeing.

Even while prayer walking, I am encouraged to know that though it doesn’t seem to make sense or have an impact in the natural, there is much being done in the spiritual. That wherever my feet touch, I am claiming land for Jesus. Truly, the feet of those who bring good news are beautiful for He has anointed them for us.

My Intercession has been taken to another level since being here because I actually now see the faces of the people I am contending and crying out for.  Their faces fuel my intercession and intercession makes room for compassion that fuels my love and passion to make Him known to them. Intercession fuels my love for the lost like the monks in the temple, the people on the streets, the coffee shop owner, the taxi driver and the list goes on and on of the endless sea of faces that I see day to day.

Something I’ve realized being here in Thailand is that I am able to love anyone or any group of people because of His heart and desire for them. I find that love and desire to contend for the people or nation only in the place of intercession.

Prayer goes beyond a people group, culture and language barrier. Prayer reaches deep in the heart of God and manifests in the physical through compassionate acts of love of evangelism and outreach.

I am asking God to flame that fire in my heart for Thailand and the places surrounding it. That my love for the Thai people would grow immensely as I abide in Him who is love and who’s desire is that none shall perish.

God has a Plan

I didn’t realized this until I arrived in Thailand that God had a divine plan for me to be here for this season of my life.

Truly, God has a plan when He sent a former Buddhist, in a Buddhist family to live in  Buddhist nation for 10 weeks to pray & share with Buddhist people.

God, thank You for Your ways, for they are higher than ours.

You should be an ACTS Student!!

Dear friends, This past July-September I had the privilege to join the ACTS Program at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. ACTS (Antioch Center for Training and Sending) is a 6-month program designed to equip young leaders to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and change the world through worship, prayer and missions.

During my three months in Kansas City I was able to spend hours in the prayer room encountering God, receive important teaching from IHOP-KC leaders, and train for cross-cultural missions. I also got to experience amazing community with like-minded brothers and sisters who are all wholeheartedly pursuing Jesus.

Currently I am on the three-month outreach portion of ACTS in Thailand!  The Lord has marked me with this call to take Jesus to the nations as an intercessory missionary and to see a people, group and nation worship the God who created them. Since being here in Thailand, I’ve seen people surrendered their lives to Jesus, healed, delivered and challenged to live a radical life for God.

The next ACTS program is from January 15-June 30, 2012. The outreach locations for the next track will likely include Turkey, Lebanon, and Nepal. I know you have a huge heart for missions and prayer and I invite you to prayerfully consider applying for this next program. You can find more information about ACTS online at: http://actsschool.com/

Blessings!

The Excellent way of Life

During my times of devotional, God has been reminding me to meditate on 1 Corin 13.

The excellent way of life is the way of love. Love for God and love for people. That at the end of the day, if I did not carry love in my heart, I’ve missed out on what it means to really live. I can speak well, prophesy well, heal the sick and give my body to be burned but if I didn’t have love in me….all of those things wouldn’t mean anything.

God has been teaching me to love well. To love Him well, love my team well and to love the people around me well whether that is in Thailand or in America. It takes God to love God and people. God is love. He is the embodiment of love. I want to learn from love Himself. I want to imitate LOVE and to reflect LOVE.

Love never fails. I want to pursue love and love will I pursue.  

Thailand so far..

Sawa di Ka again!

It has only been 5 days since we’ve been here in Chiang Mai and yet so much has happened already. So far our stomachs have been adjusting to the food and water here, except for the first few stomach aches.

Thailand is beautiful, just how we pictured it. Green..There is so much life here…

 Who needs an alarm clock when you can wake up to the rooster crowing and the monkey screeching at different times during the night and morning. Gotta love it.  : )

Highlights of this week:

• We visited the Mitreejit Christian School, where we got to love on 300 children with our songs, testimony, packages and hugs! The kids were super adorable, full of innocence and joy. We fell in love with them and seriously wanted to take them all home with us.

•   Translated Let it Rain & Come Lord Jesus Come into Thai, with the help of one of the EHC workers.

• partnered up one of the churches in Chiang Mai to start a prayer furnace. In just 1 day, the number of Thai people have equaled to our team. We used the harp & bowl model and it worked! We are so stirred by the Thai people and their heart for prayer. They pray with so much passion and desperation.

• Visited a temple in downtown Chiang Mai. Please pray for the Thai people to forsake their gods, that they may have a revelation of Jesus.

• Visited a church in the Tailua Tribe that was planted 31 years ago. We prayed over the pastor, his wife, their church and the villages in the region. With a population of 10,000 people, the church only has 40 members. We prayed for breakthrough and worshiped Jesus, exalting Him over the region.

•  Passed out EHC packages, prayed for healing, and shared the Gospel to two villages by going home to home. Seeing the people read through the packages about Jesus as we passed every home was definitely breathtaking!

• Visited a youth group in Chiang Mai and prayed over many to have grace to stand for Jesus just like Daniel and his friends.

Prayer Request:

-Juvenile Prison Ministry
-EHC Christ Groups

Great Discoveries: Corn flavored chips, corn filled hot pockets and corn soy milk! -Amy

Pra Chao Rephon! God bless you!

In the Land of Smiles

Sawa Di Ka! 

So after traveling for countless of hours, probably 18 hrs or longer, we finally arrived in Bangkok. We all slept for 4 hours and then we headed off to Chiang Mai early in the morning! At the airport, we were greeted by the Every Home for Christ workers who were all so full of joy and love.

We then drove to the Every Home for Christ office, worshiped with some Thai worship songs (the only one we really knew), had a devotional on Matt 28 and prayed for various topics concerning Thailand.

Something to chew on: 

-It was in the atmosphere of worship that Jesus called us to The Great Commission. Matt 28

-Worship is our highest priority.

-The Lord of the work is more important than the work of The Lord.

Prayer Requests:

1. that a predicted storm does not cause flooding in the 26 provinces in Thailand
2. for the youth and children at a local Christian school
3. for the churches & the prayer seminars we’ll be holding
4. for the tribes we’ll be going to in the next  10 weeks

5. for our ACTS team & the EHC workers

Lover of Your Presence

Won’t you let this be a sacrifice, let me dedicate my life to worship You.

Jesus, I want to be a lover of Your presence, for in it there is fullness of joy and pleasures forever more.

 

Week 8: The Cross & The Crescent

I was looking forward to this week’s teaching the most because I knew God would use the teaching to educate us about Islam and its differences from Christianity.

Understanding the biblical and spiritual roots of Islam will help us be more efficient in evangelism.

This week’s teaching has increased my love for my Muslims brothers and sisters…to feel the love and desire that God has towards them has helped me so much in prayer. It all started last Nov through a dream and several divine encounters with people, that God has called me to pray for the salvation of Muslims. Now, I find myself weeping every time I pray for them.

To pray that they will encounter His everlasting love for them.  That they would know of The Father’s love and  that He hears their cry.

Love has set us Free –Friday

Tonight at the Encounter God service I got to pray for a sister who was being oppressed by the enemy. I knew how she felt because I’ve been in that place before.  When the enemy flood our minds with lies about our identity, beauty and destiny, telling us that we’re ugly, not good enough, and that we are a no body.

I got to witness Jesus come heal and set her free. His love and presence was so tangible in that moment. All I could do was smile at what God was doing in my midst.

While praying, I led her through a time of renouncing the lies she had believed and we asked for The Holy Spirit to come and comfort her. His peace and love saturated her heart and mind. In that moment, she was God’s little baby girl. His perfect love truly drives out fear. (1 John 4: 18)

God then told me to kiss her on her forehead like it was as if He was kissing her Himself. God likes to do that a lot…well; we are His hands and feet, made in His likeness and image.  So why not! : )

Washing the ladies feet

This week, some of the girls within our ACTS team felt led by God to have a time where we all washed each others feet.

As we were washing each others feet, we prayed and called forth each others destinies. It was a time of healing, restoration in the areas of not loving each other well or not being as intentional as we should be.

After many tears and hugs, we took communion with each other and celebrated with some dancing and a fire tunnel!! 

Late night Worship with Love Himself

9/3/11- last night, we had a time of worship with a few of us. Cory played the guitar and sang, while the rest of the girls worshiped. God definitely spoke to a lot of us during that time of worship. As we were singing “His banner over me is love.” I had a revelation of  it.

He took me to the banqueting table and His banner, a literal banner over me was love. He introduced me to everyone at the party saying “This is my Beloved. Isn’t she beautiful?”

He delights over us and He is not ashamed of us. He desires to show off His bride…to present her to all, that all may see His glorious creation, whom He loves dearly.