Hey everyone,
I haven't posted a blog in a while so here's a short one to get you up to date.
After New Years my team finished our teaching ministry in Tak Fa. I had an incredible five weeks there. I experienced tons of growth in my faith and really grew close to my team, our local church, host family, as well as many of the kids I taught in the schools. I actually really grew to like teaching and I got a good broad experience from teaching a wide range of ages at various schools in the province. We also got to be apart of other ministries that included teaching the gospel, leading worship at church and local Christmas events, and running our own Christmas program to teach kids and adults the true meaning of Christmas. Not to mention somewhere in there we had awesome free days to ride elephants and hang out with monkeys and things like such. It really was an incredible time
So now it's January and that means it is finally "Man Month"! So now I, along with the other 5 guys on our squad, am in an agricultural part of Thailand called Kanchaniburi til the end of the month. I'm already absolutely loving it. Our main work here is farming. We're farming for our host family, Pang and Arun, who are a young couple and two of the very few christians in the area and we're also farming for their neighbors and the local community. We're getting the chance to live out the gospel getting dirty out in the fields and working long hours in the sun. It feels really good. One of my favorite things about this month so far is just being able to let loose in a way that only feels right around brothers. There's no more need to shave or shower every day. No need to hold back dumb jokes for fear of seeming immature. No reason not to wrestle or violently dunk each other into the lake. And if that's not awesome enough, we're living in tents on top of the balcony of an unfinished building. We live in a place where we no longer have the luxuries of wifi, convenience stores, or even normal bathrooms or toilets. Life is so simple and there's something incredibly refreshing about it.
Please pray for me and the guys to really be challenged and stretched this month. I don't want to be the same boy I was coming here by the time we go back. Also please pray for the girls on our squad. They are all in Phuket this month to work with a ministry that reaches out to women and girls involved with or affected by the human trafficking industry there. It is a very large problem that deserves a lot of attention. Pray for their safety and their hearts as they boldly bring Jesus' hope to those many girls in dire need.
Thank you all so much for your continual love, prayers, and support. I appreciate you so much more than I can explain.
Incredible. You say you don’t want to come back the same “boy”. Andrew, precious child of the King, YOU did not leave as a boy, you left as a man. You have grown so much AS a man, and now you yourself can recognize what The Father has truly done through you–the MAN he created you to be. I read the “growth” of you in your words with each blog. Prayers and blessings. Betty (Nana’s friend)
Oh Andrew, Papa & I are so pleased & proud of what God is doing in your life & how He is using you to affect others! We miss you terribly, but are thankful for the opportunities, experiences, & growth you are gaining. Continue to keep an open heart and mind as you listen and learn to what God has in store for you & those around you.
We love you!
Nana
Andrew! So great to hear what God is doing through you and the team!
-andy
Thank you so much! That’s so encouraging for me to hear. Thank you so much for following my posts and giving me your support.
glad you are loving man month so far, andrew! i can’t wait to hear all about it when i see you in three weeks!!!
praying big things over this time.