“God is weaving our lives”

Post Operative Update!

Thanks to all of you for praying and encouraging me during this time! The drilling procedure went well but the recovery time was unexpected for me. I have had to use a walker to help me walk about 6 weeks and I didn’t know that before. The doctor had told me that I can rest and go home after 1-2 nights in the hospital. However, God has a plan to do something in my life!

So now it has been one month. Yay! I can practice to walk without the walker and I have 2 more weeks before I am allowed to walk upstairs and then I’m done!!!

I can’t finish this update if I haven’t share with you what God has taught meJ

   1.       First of all I thank God for His sovereignty. He knows what will happen. I thank Him for His provision. He prepared a place for me to stay and people to take care of me. I can’t stay at my home because my room is on the 2 floor and I can’t walk up the stairs. So I have been staying with the Lewis family. I really thank God for them, for their serving hearts giving hearts. I have enjoyed the time with them and have learned a lot from them also. I have felt like a member of their family. Almost every morning when I came out from my room I will hear a voice say, “she woke up!” That is Sophie standing in front of my room and she is really excited to help me .I will miss the time I spend with them so much when I leave this house.Thank God for P’ Sano, she is a friend of mine when I have suffering and also all of the body of Christ here and in the other countries who are praying and encouraging to me.

“Who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”

2 Corinthians 1:4-5

2.       In the 1^st and the 2^nd week I fought with the pain but the 3^rd and the 4^th week I had to fight with my heart.  I learned about how I can be satisfied and rejoice in the Lord even in hard situations? And I’ve learned to be humble to keep asking and asking for help because I can’t do it on my own. And I also learned to not focus on myself and expect people to automatically know my needs but my help and my security are in the Lord! “The Lord is my living rock.”

“I met my high school friend who is a nurse here.Wow! Thanks God! 

“Sherry and my grandma came to visit me at the hospital” (We shared gospel to her. please pray for my grandma.)

 3.     There are opportunities to share what God has taught me to both non-Christians and the body of Christ. This has challenged me to have the attitude and response like Paul when he had suffering and still could be an encouragement to others! 

       God use every suffering to weaving our lives to be beautifully 

                and bringing our whole heart to Him.               

Others update!

•          There are great time to meet with Praw, Jelly and Chan and keep helping them to seek God’s will for their future.

•          Enjoy getting to know and have relationship with P’Sano and Earn’s girls.

Humanity 

science 

•          Am & Tdong ‘s wedding. Thank God for using me to be a part of their lives. They are such a blessing couple. I shared their story of what God has done in their lives many time to others.

•          We had the Church retreat. The theme is “We serve”. The part that I liked the most is when we had the feet washing time. Wow! The leaders in each group washed the feet of their brothers and sisters in Christ. This reminds me the grace and humbling of Jesus Christ as He came to serve and wash our feet. We do not deserve it.

       

•          I went with some Christian girls to visit Friendly’s father. He had liver cancer and it was the last stage, which means he would not live much longer. We had a great time and got to share the gospel with him. And about 2 weeks after that we heard that he passed away. We only put our hope in the Lord that he maybe prayed to receive Christ by himself. At that time he asked us about how to receive Christ, and he asked if he could pray by himself because he was shy of his daughter.
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       Prayer request:

1.       I will keep learning from the Lord in this situation and be a blessing to others and God will give me the strength to get ready to walk normally in the next 2 weeks.

2.        I am excited to get back to work. Ask God to give me wisdom and strength for it. There will be a lot of stuff that is waiting for me! And also that I will have wisdom to do the financial manual for resource team.

3.       My mom and my step German dad are coming to visit me in about one month in January 2014. Pray for our time and that God will help me to think for this so that I can serve them well. Ask God to open their eyes to see His love from my life and the Body of Christ here.

4.       My support raising. I still need about $ 400 monthly and $ 3000 one-time. God will provide people who He already called to be a part of His work on our team.

(We have online giving now! http://donate.campusoutreach.org)

“Thank you for all of your prayers, love and support”

Thanksgiving!

Love and Pray,

Honey

Honey@campusoutreach.org

PO Box.6 KKU

Khon Kaen 40002

Thailand

Do not lose heart!

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. …” 2 Corinthians 4:16-17.

I want to share with you what the Lord has been teaching me and a special prayer request.  I was diagnosed with lupus when I was 15 years old. I have been on steroid treatments for the last 15 years. Around my sophomore year in college I started having chronic hip pain. This was around the same time I heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ and became a Christian. This began my long road of learning to trust Jesus with all my suffering.

The steroid I have to take can cause vascular necrosis, which means it can destroy bone tissue, especially in the hip joint. Last week I went to see the doctor for a check up on my Lupus disease and also x-ray my hipbones because it hurt on my left side when I walk. When the doctor saw the results of the x-ray film, she suggested for me to get an operation on my hip bones or replace them. This was very scary. She gave me time to think about it and referred me to an orthopedic specialist.

From this situation I felt nervous and scared about operating. How many days that I have to be in the hospital? How many days will it take to recover after the operation? Will the insurance will cover all expenses? I tried to stop what I was thinking and tell myself to calm down. After that, I prayed and thanked God for this situation. I asked myself, “Who is God? God is sovereign. God knows everything and He will prepare me for everything too. He reminded me of His promises and how He had always been faithful to me in the past.

Psalm 46:10

“Be still, and know that I am God.
    I will be exalted among the nations,
   I will be exalted in the earth!”

Isaiah 12:2

“Behold, God is my salvation;
 I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
 and he has become my salvation.”

A few days later I went to see the orthopedic doctor. After he looked at the x-ray film he said that I  didn’t have to have a hip replacement but he suggested that we drill instead both the left and right side. Drilling holes in the femural head will allow increased blood flow so that the area can heal a bit and hopefully aleviate some pain. After this procedure, I will be able to walk normally but must be very careful in the first 14 days. Drilling is a much better option for me than operating. Because if I operate now and get a new hip, I will need to operate every 10-15 years! I’m too young for a new hip! J

God has continued to show me that He will always take care of me and that I don’t have to worry about the future. He is my Good Shepherd! I’m thankful for the ways that God has used this disease to change me to be more like Jesus. God has work for me to do, to tell Thai people about Jesus and to serve Him with my whole heart! God is allowing me to be used for His glory and by His strength. I am a weak person, but when I am weak, I am strong- because of HIM!

Please pray for :

-       I will have the drilling procedure on November 2, about 8 pm. Please pray that God will give wisdom and strength to the doctor. Also, please pray that I will heal quickly afterwards and that God will provide for all the medical expenses.

-       Please pray that God will give me strength and that my heart will rest in Him. I believe He is always with me, He holds my hands and will lead me through this time.

-       Pray for many opportunities that I can give Him glory through this situation.

Thank you so much.

Love,  

Honey

"Everything"

"Got to know new staff friends"

The Blessing time: Global staff Conference in Orlando July 14-21

 Thank God for the blessed time at the Global staff conference. It was such a privilege to be there. And it was also my first time in America. I am so thankful to God for this opportunity.
So, what did I get from the conference? It’s hard to begin. The theme was “Everything” and I got Everything!!! But let me try to explain being giving a summary through the conference goals J

Refuel: My soul enjoyed and was encouraged through worship time by Laura Story and teaching from God’s word by John Piper, Frank Barker and Matt Chandler. All three men gave different sermons but there were the same purpose and that is For Glorifying God.

I got picture with John Piper!

Relationship: We enjoyed breakfast and dinner with different CO franchise teams from our consulting groups. They included Memphis, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Lexington, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. We had great fellowship as we shared and heard what God has done in their lives. We also prayed together for our teams. One of my favorites was learning and getting to know other international staff from Brazil and South Africa. We were even able to worship in non-English and non-Thai language.

Amazing that I met staff friends who were part of the CCP in Thailand years ago. I enjoyed and was so excited to meet them again in person. I still can’t believe it!!!

Refocus: I feel more equipped to serve Him. I am excited about our vision and I could not wait to come back to serve him. This was my high light and I have seen God confirm his calling me into my new role as a resource staff person. God has uniquely made me and called to serve in a unique way for glorifying Him.

I went to the seminar on Resource Identity, A Life giving team and about Counselor. I was encouraged to meet people who are serving in the same capacity as me.

“Everything we do, Move God Kingdom forward.”

With Resource staff friends.

Encouraging form our team:My30th Bday surprise!

Be a blessing to others: Traveling and Sharing in Atlanta, Ga. July 21-Aug 5

Praise God to use me to be bless to others. I thank God for Marc and Sherry Lewis who think and plan for me and Sano. We went to share what amazing things God has done in our lives and in Thailand. I had many great experiences in sharing in front of many people, in language that was not mine. Before sharing, I felt so nervous. I have learned to depend on the Holy Spirit and every time I shared I knew it was not me, but him.

We had the opportunity to share gospel with Thai people even we were not in Thailand!! She is a friend of Charleston staff women. We went to join their Summer Beach Project at Panama City beach.

Went to the SBP and shared
gospel with Thai friend.

Fun time at Disney World!!
Thanks friends for
supporting us to be there.

Thank God for Del and Kim Chapman who were our host family. They are super nice, sweet, served and thought for us with much love and care. We had great relationship and so encouraged to see how they love God and his words from their lives.

Also enjoy and had fun time at many places in Atlanta and visited friends who just have a baby in Wake forest, NC. It was so encouraging time with them and that town is a very peaceful place.

I thank God for “Everything”, For taking care of us in our travels, places to stay, people to meet, For his shepherding us, For protecting my health, For friends; How amazing is the love in the body of Christ, because we have the same one God, our Father I felt God use me and be blessed me so much in the States, even during travelling in the plane, I shared my faith with a Japanese woman. Thank God so much for using me for your glory.

Prayer request:     

• Strength and wisdom to think how can I serve Him well and to think for people in our team and for their needs.
•  My health: I still keep taking the pills for my Lupus and my kidneys.
•  Trust God for raising support both monthly and One-time gift. God will lead people to take part in His work and for His Kingdom.
• Please keep The Lewis and The Chapman family in your prayers. Thanks God for their love and serving hearts. Please pray for Kim, she is leading women bible study at her house. 

“Let Everything that has breath Praise the Lord!” 

Psalm 150:6

Everything we are….for His glory – our story, our vision/values, our distinctive, ect.

Everything we are doing….for His glory – on campus, individually, regionally, globally, ect.

Everything we have… surrendered to Him – this being our commitment.

                                                                                                 (Kent Bailey,Global Servant Team)