Chapter 2: Samut Songkhram

After a night of traveling, we made it from Phuket to Samut Songkhram. I stepped out of the van after my team, and while taking a look around, I accidentally swung my backpack and knocked a flower pot over, shattering it. Me, thinking about first impressions, started to think about how this would affect the relationship we had with our contact. But, we instead saw the hospitality and grace of God in the pastor and his family. 

A warm, older man came out, and dismissed the problem, insisting on showing us where we would be staying. All of the beds had bug-nets, the girls had air-conditioning, there were western toilets (hey, the small blessings count too), free coffee, were just a few of the ways the contact there blessed us.

Chapter 1: Phuket

After a few days in Bangkok, getting oriented to living in Thailand, we got onto a bus, and rode off to Phuket. It was exciting, riding through the night, finally about to get started with ministry. There we got connected to Pastor Joe and his church. We got the opportunity to serve the church through a number of different ways. One of the big ministry opportunities was to minister to a Burmese labor camp. Many people from Burma come to Thailand, being promised good pay, labor conditions, and other benefits. Often times, however, the pay is not as good as they were promised, and the conditions are terrible, in some cases the workers are not even allowed to leave the camp other than for work.

So, our team partnered with the church to worship, perform a skit about the

Prelude: Arrival

So, the last three months in Thailand started the way most overseas missions starts... In an airport. Eleven of us boarded the plane wiping away tearful goodbyes, and stifling the early morning yawns. Our minds distracted by all the things going on, none of us (except for God) could anticipate the late-night sobbing, the truly inexplicable laughter, nor the joy-filled love that crosses even the stiffest language barriers.

As we sat on the plane, trying to get sleep, and ready ourselves for incoming culture-shock, God continued His work preparing us for what He wanted to do, and still wants to do: win hearts with love.

So my goal with this is to not only to share about what we did, but to share some of the things I've learned. We went to four different locations, so I figured I would split the time there into four different chapters based on that.

I'm going to be real with all of you, finances are a hefty weight right now, so I'd ask each and every one of you to please prayerfully consider supporting me, or the YWAM Maui base. For more information on financial or prayer needs, comment with your email address to be added to my monthly newsletter list, or just message me directly. God bless you all friends!

For now we see in the mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. -1 Corinthians 13:12

Literally in the airport

Thanks so much for all the support and love! I'll do my best to have an update midway, but don't hold your breath. I wrote this the other morning, hopefully it sums up some big things I learned well, I'm too tired to tell right now

I was sitting in our weekly staff meeting. I put my hands on my head in disbelief as I looked at the calendar detailing the rest of the quarter.

Only 10 days?

I sat there, thinking to myself that in ten days I would be solely responsible for the well-being of nine students and my co-leader. The excitement and stress began to rise as the reality of outreach slowly began to sink in.

My mind (in typical Tim fashion) found a tangent to go down, specifically what I was learning this quarter.

I thought back to one of prayers earlier in the quarter: greater humility. Was I humbled this quarter? Whew, absolutely, and then some. When you don't make a whole lot of "wrong decisions", it's easy to think that you're a pretty good person. But God showed me this quarter (and honestly the couple of months prior as well) that instead of making bad decisions, I simply didn't make any decision at all.

God really showed me the depths of my sinful nature, and I saw my desperate need for a savior. And then He proceeded to humble me even more, by showing me another facet of my sinful nature. Ugh, not fun, but entirely necessary.

I thought back to my team, as the meeting continued in the background of my thoughts. Well, if I'm responsible for this team's physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being, then we're in serious trouble.

Emmanuel, God with us, Matthew 28:20, and so on promise that God is, well... With us. Including me. Including my co-leader. Including my team. Including you. And including me.

The reality of outreach continued to sink in, but the stress was lifted off of me. My responsibility is to look after, and disciple the students, as well as to support my co-leader. But above that, my responsibility is to be obedient to God, and walk with Him.

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." -Psalms 119:105 (ESV)

DTS stands for Dancing Tim Song (it actually doesn't, but I have your attention now, right?)

It's been a wild almost two months since my journey as staff with YWAM has started! I can hardly believe that my calling for this part of my life is to solely invest in and serve people, it's such a privilege and honor to be here.

So now that the school has officially kicked off and all of the team info is out there, I can give you the reader all of the details with what's been on the up and up. Loads has happened, so get comfortable, grab some hot cocoa (or ice-cold lemonade depending on the temperature), and maybe a snack too.

Alright, got your provisions? Here we go!

A New Leadership Perspective

It's been a very odd two weeks, but so the same I'll do my best to sum it up. For the first week and a half, I felt like I was back on the east coast, that Sadler was just around the corner (College of W&M reference). But the past couple of days have been incredibly strange. It's felt as if I've been here a long time, and have spent several months getting to know people. Feels almost as if I've never left. I guess that's what happens when you live in community and see people ten times as often as compared to in college.

Anyways (trying to do my best to stay on "topic"), I've learned so much in this short time already, but I think I've learned the most about leadership.

Changing (plans) with God

Just a week ago I was convinced that I would be returning to Williamsburg, living with some friends and navigating the "real world" (some might say, I would be 'starting at the bottom'). I had no reason to believe, or even consider otherwise.

But then, last Wednesday, I got a message.

It was from YWAM, inviting me to staff. Now, when I finished up the secondary school at the end of 2014 and getting ready to return to school, I thought that the YWAM chapter of my life had come to a close. Some people asked me if I thought about returning, and I usually responded with something like, "Anything's possible", but not seriously considering it.