Monday, August 2, 2010

There will be a day...

There will be a day... with no more tears.
No more pain. And no more fear.
There will be a day.. when the burdens
of this place will be no more.
We'll see Jesus face to face.

Hey everyone! Hope you are all doing well.. I have a lot to catch you up on. English Camp was this weekend, and I had many opprotunities to share the gospel with others :) It was very cool to have a group of students listen as I told them who God is and what He has done for me.. A couple of them seemed very responsive, so please pray that the Holy Spirit works on their heart!!
Sunday night after camp I went to church with Rich and got to share my testimony, which was also really cool. Even if I don't know what to say or when to say it, God knows. And He can work through my short comings. We had a few students over for a party that night, along with Nueng and her family (the people from the farm who we prayed for about God sending rain)... It was a great night and Nueng said her mom had told her God cares for them a lot to have sent rain! :) So awesome.... Then tonight she came over and brought me some gifts from her friend and her. It was so sweet!! I couldn't help but cry when I sat down in my room and looked at everything again. She gave me a blue fish, its beautiful! I told her I'm going to name it 'Rain' to remind me of how God provided for them. She liked that idea. I believe God is working on her heart and I am confident that He will save her. :)

My heart is very overwhelmed tonight. Full of different emotions. I'm sad and I'm happy. I'm excited yet I my heart is heavy... I did not expect this to be the case, I thought that this week would be very hard for me. I thought that I would be counting down the says till I got home with my family and my normal life. But that is not how I feel at all. I'm so sad to leave them. I'm so sad to say goodbye to my new friends, and my brothers in Christ Benz & Amp. I hate goodbye.
I'm SO blessed to have been able to come on this trip and do everything that we did. I'm so blessed by what I've learned from the people God has put in my life this month. This trip has been foundational in shaping my future plans.. God has definitely answered many prayers and questions throughout this trip. And even though I have not heard a voice from Heaven say 'Yes, Grace you are supposed to be a missionary for sure, the door is open..' I have not found any closed doors for what my passion has been growing into this past year. I have not heard God say no. Everything from this trip has made me more passionate about mission life and serving God in a far away land. Thank you for your prayers, I can't say much else right now because I think I should sleep.

Here is the plan for the next 3 days, so you can be praying!
Tomorrow morning our whole family will get up and leave for Khan Kaen at about 7-8am. We'll hang out there until 1pm and then Vicki and I will say goodbye to the boys, plus Benz and get on a bus for Bangkok. SO SAD...The ride is 7 hours so by the time we get to the safe house, we'll probably just go to sleep. The next day Vicki and I plan to have one last girls day together around town which will include lots of eating and a massage! :) SO excited to be with her. We also hope to go to starbucks and have a Bible study together. That will be awesome. Then after sleeping for like 4 hours at the safe house with the IMB team, we'll all get up around 2am Thursday morning and ride taxis to the airport. We have to be there by 3am!!.... The team and I will then fly out of Thailand at 5:45 am.

  • Please pray for Vicki and I as we say goodbye to each other, It's going to be SO hard for me. :(
  • Please pray the team and I have a safe flight back to the United States, and that once we separate in Seattle I won't get lost while finding my connecting flight :)
  • Please continue to pray that I see Gods hand in my life as I continue to work toward becoming a missionary for the rest of my life. THANK YOU!! :)
Tonight I was talking to Caleb and reminded him that Heaven is our eternal home, and we won't have to ever say goodbye to anyone again when we go there. There won't be any more tears. There won't be any more miles between us.. Anyone who believes in Jesus will get to be happy and together forever.... Thats what gets me through times like these, and thoughts of future goodbyes. I know that my family and friends will get to live in Heaven together forever, and I can not help but tell others about Jesus so that they can share in this gift also. I don't wanna stay somewhere because it's comfortable. I don't wanna stay somewhere because I'm too sad to say goodbye to my loved ones... I want to GO and tell others so that they won't have to be separated from My God for the rest of time. The pain I'm going to experience because of leaving is far smaller than the pain they will have if they aren't with God forever. I love them too much to not go. I love them too much to not give this life, in order to tell them about the next one which will never end.

Now I'm leaving on a jet plane.
I don't know when I'll be back again..
Oh darling, I really hate to go.


3 comments:

  1. There is really nothing to say after reading this except that I am so incredibly proud of you Gracie. I am so excited to have you home until your next big adventure! Love you So much! mom

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  2. Grace this brings tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. I love you so very much. I am so happy and excited for you for everything that God is doing through you and what He is teaching you. Your heart is beautiful! I miss you and look forward to seeing you in a week to hear more about the trip. I am praying for you as you say goodbye and travel home. XOXOXO. Molly

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  3. For those who have known you for many years, you have matured right before our very eyes! I'm not even your mom and I ask, where has the time gone? I echo Molly in saying how excited I am for you in the journey He is takng you in this life. I know that over time, what He is teaching you in your heart will be lived out in your life as you continue to yield yourself to His Will.
    Tenderrlee Hughes

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