Journal of James's Journey with Jesus

The last six weeks have been really enriching, amazing and refreshing for me. I have discovered things about myself and other people that I have never realised before. The mission trip to Nong Khai has been a really great and transformational experience. Before I went on the trip, I had been feeling really dry spiritually. I had lost sight of my purposes and goals I had set for myself. I had forgotten and left my first love, God. I had not been experiencing God as much as I yearned to or as I had in the past. I went to Thailand with mixed feelings, unsure of whether God would use someone as unworthy as me. But God showed me that He was faithful to the faithless. During the trip, God used me, renewed my faith and taught me several important lessons. For 6 days, we stayed in Nong Khai, ministering to villages and schools in the area. We performed skits, sing-along dances and magic tricks, gave out tracts, showed the Jesus film and spread the gospel to people in the villages and schools. I never seen people so receptive, welcoming and appreciative to the gospel and its messengers. It was really easy to spread the gospel there because the people are very friendly and open, even to strangers. I witnessed several miraculous healings after people accepted Christ and we prayed for them. These experiences really added to my faith in God and that my prayers do make a difference. I never thought my prayers would accomplish much until I saw what they did during the mission trip. I learnt to be more devoted in worship and more prayerful. There was this one time when we were spreading the gospel, a dog was barking non-stop at nothing. Its eyes were fixated on something we could not see. We knew that spirits were at work here and I felt the call to be God’s watchman in prayer. So I just went out and prayed aloud in the Spirit. After a while, the dog stopped barking. And there was this old lady whose right leg hurt so much she couldn't stand up to help her baby up when she fell from the chair and was crying. After we prayed for her, she was completely healed and even kicked the ground hard in joyous triumph. That was a real eye-opener for me. It showed that God really cared for these people, who are of little significance to many people. And I was really filled with compassion and gratitude as God drew these people who were in poverty and hopelessness to Him. And on the seventh day, we travelled to a mountainous village called Luei and stayed there for one night. Most of us were pretty worried about staying there because it was supposed to be really cold and demonic. The villagers were Black Thais or Taidams, immigrants from neighbouring Laos. They practised ancestral worship and even built small spirit houses on trees for their deceased and ancestors. We were told that the last time an Austrailian mission team was there, demons played pranks on one guy by pulling his blanket away several times in the middle of the night. That guy was pale with fear after the incident. So we were expecting pretty much the same; getting disturbing visits by demonic forces. But God protected us from any annoying visits from the demonic realm and gave us peace in our hearts. Also, it was the rainy season and we were praying hard that day that it wouldn't rain so that we would be able to show the Jesus film. It started to drizzle just a while before we made preparations but it stopped when Pastor Daniel commanded it to stop. We were so amazed and thought that it wouldn't rain for the rest of the day. However, God revealed to us that His ways are higher than ours by sending a slight drizzle, which was a blessing in disguise. While we were showing the film, it started drizzling and some of us were really discouraged because the people who turned up consisted mostly of children. Even Pastor Tamanoon, the Thai pastor, went inside his car to sleep. After we finished the Jesus film, Pastor Daniel did a really hasty altar call to see if anyone wanted to receive Jesus. Almost everyone raised up their hands and said the sinners’ prayer. However, a brown scorpion had made its way towards the children during the show and was about to strike when fortunately a lady crushed it with her foot. It really showed how desperate the Devil was trying to hinder our efforts. It was really depressing for us that night; none of us were really happy with the results of our labour. However, we received a big surprise the next day when one government official came over to our temporary abode and gave Pastor Tamanoon permission to start a permanent ministry there. It seemed that this official had been there the night before and saw our sincerity in showing the film. He saw that we were unaffected by the rain and swarm of mosquitoes and continued to show the film. He was convinced that we were doing something good. What a big breakthrough the Lord had given to Pastor Tamanoon and the church in Buddhist-dominated Thailand. On the way back to Nong Khai, Brother Vincent, a missionary from our church based in Thailand, really inspired and encouraged me to be a missionary by telling me his testimony and prep talk. After that, we went on our way to Bangkok with joyous hearts to do our shopping. But I’ll never forget my days in Nong Khai, where God’s presence was so real to us. This was my first mission trip and now I am looking forward to the next one. As I am growing in His Word, I can feel and see that God is really working in my life, building a strong foundation in me.