Sunday, September 27, 2015

2 Months in Thailand

We are coming up on the 2 month mark of our time in Bangkok. It is hard to believe how quickly time has gone. A lot of you have asked me if Bangkok feels like home yet. I'm not sure if it will ever fell like home, but it is definitely starting to feel normal. We have daily and weekly rhythms and patterns in place, we pretty much know how to navigate the city, and we are really enjoying our new way of life! That being said, we are still making a lot of adjustements too.

I said to many of you before we came here that Bangkok is one of the darkest places on earth and that I could not think of a more spiritually lost place in the world to move my family to. Well it is one thing to say, it is an entirely different thing to live in it. In many ways it is downright depressing. There have been days where it overwhelms me. I look around and all I see is lostness, idolatry, and sin. It breaks our hearts, but it is also a daily reminder of why we are here. I am more motivated to see the gospel break through this darkness each and every day. We will continue to trust God's heart and will for this nation and its people. The other major adjustment for us has been dealing with loneliness. We miss our family and friends back in Florida. Again, we are not surprised by this. We knew this would be difficult. We are developing new friendships here in Bangkok and seeking satisfaction in the Lord, but we would appreciate your prayers as well.

We are now 3 weeks into this church/vision plant and there is much to be excited about. We have had some great times of worship, teaching and prayer; we had 22 kids, 15 of whom were unchurched, come to a youth gathering on a Saturday night, and we are making friends with other ministries, churches, and Christians all around the city. So attendance on Sundays isn't really growing yet, but we still feel as if we are making a lot of progress towards the vision of having gospel representation in all 51 districts of Bangkok. We are going to have to be patient, but the potential that we see in this city is really exciting. Please pray that God would continue to bring us people; specifically Christians who are disconnected and isolated, church and ministry partners, and lost people who are open to the Gospel and want to learn more about Jesus.

Well, this week I am off to Sri Lanka for a week to meet some of our partners and friends there. While we are there we will be sharing the vision to reach every man, woman and child with groups of pastors in 2 different cities. This will be my first trip since we moved, so I know Leeza would appreciate your prayers. She is going to do great, but it is never easy when one of us is traveling. I also ask for you to pray that the trip is an effective and productive one and that God would give us wisdom and safety.

Thank you for following our journey, for praying for us, and for you support. We are so blessed by you all. Don't hesitate to drop us a facebook message or an email. We miss you all and would love to hear how you are doing and how we can pray for you as well.

God bless you,

Carl, Leeza, and Tripp Belcher

No comments:

Post a Comment