Spirit Filled. Spirit Led.

I can see the Holy Spirit moving among the missionaries and missionary kids this week. Today, Dave asked the youth to draw a picture of what they thought of when they pictured the Holy Spirit, and then incorporate one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit in that picture. The pictures they came up with were insightful, and, in my opinion, they could have taught the adults with their drawings. There was a solar system, a flower being watered, and a person whose heart was beaming, as she was filled with the Holy Spirit. Dave then had them pick five words to describe the Holy Spirit. I learned much from the youth and felt spiritually edified.

A group of women from a Baptist church in Australia came in and ministered to the younger children while their parents were occupied—providing them with crafts, games, and much attention. This was the first mission trip of the church (the church was 20 years old) and the first mission trip for the women involved. For one woman, this was the first time she had been overseas. I got a chance to talk to the leader and ask her how God led her to go on this mission trip. She said that she felt God prompting her to go, and since her church supported missionaries in Thailand, she thought she should go and serve alongside them. She and the group worked and planned for eighteen months before they traveled here. After they finish up here at TBMF, they plan on going to the north of Thailand to serve at a camp for children who are disabled. They will be gone from their families for three weeks. I enjoy seeing them process their first missions experience, and seeing their gifts acted out beautifully. I think it would be intimidating for eight women with no previous international mission trip experience to travel more than ten hours to a country where nothing is familiar. They have managed to do so by the grace of God.

I also had a chance to talk with a missionary from Australia who has lived in Thailand for more than twenty-five years. She told me that her home church in Australia has a large number of Karen refugees who fled Burma. I explained to her how in the United States, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the American Baptists have intentionally ministered to the Karen people. I am amazed that Baptists worldwide have fought for and been a home to one of the most oppressed people groups in the world. This expression of hospitality makes me thankful to claim the title of Baptist and the history of Baptist missions in Southeastern Asia. They are carrying on a legacy that began with the Judsons almost two hundred years ago.