Three Weeks to Lampang

Preparing for Thailand: Team Updates

As the trip gets closer, the preparation process has really picked up, and it’s starting to feel more real. We’re just three weeks away from heading to Lampang, and I can’t help but reflect on how far we’ve come in getting ready for this mission.

This week, I presented sermon material to our youth group, using content I'll be sharing in Thailand. It was a great chance to work through the ideas with an audience and get feedback. The talk centered on how God sometimes calls the unlikely, but sometimes calls the likely too. God's calling on our lives can align perfectly with our skills, experiences, connections, and relationships. We explored how this played out in the lives of Moses—a shy speaker who was also the only Israelite to become part of the Egyptian royal family—and Paul, who used his past as a Jewish Pharisee and his position as a Roman citizen to bridge the gap between Jews and Gentiles in the early church.

Sometimes we can overlook what feels ordinary in our lives and neglect to surrender those things to God through obedience. Sometimes it really is God calling the musician to serve on a worship team, the doctor to care for the sick, and the teacher to teach. Each one of us has unique positions in life that is not the same as any other person. .

Nolan has been doing some discipleship training with the youth, and the defintion for a discipleship has been "Doing what Jesus would do if he were you". We talked about it last night in the context of WWJD. I often thought about this phrase growing up, but thought it was kinda silly. I thought well if I could do what Jesus could do, then my life would be perfect; but it isn't about me being Jesus, it is about me being like Jesus in my life. Instead of WWJD, I think about WWJDIHWY (What would Jesus do if he were you). What would it look like for me to obey God and act like Jesus with my skills, my relationships, my background, and my position in life.

Getting ready for this trip, it's been amazing to see how our team is coming together. Each of us brings different skills, backgrounds, gifts, and experiences. While we'll all be stepping out of our comfort zones at times, we're also a well-prepared team ready to serve God through obedience. One way I've seen this clearly is in our collective skill set. A major focus of our trip is running kids' camps, and every team member has experience working with children—through church ministry, teaching, or volunteering at NLBC. It's no accident that a team with so much expereince with kids is heading to serve the kids in the Lampang church community. God has prepared us in our everyday lives, and obedience means serving Him with what we have and trusting Him to equip us where we're unqualified.

Preparing Together

As a team, we’re all diving into different aspects of the trip. While some are focused on sermon preparation, others are working hard to put together the kids’ lessons and activities. But the beauty of our team is that we’re not just preparing on our own — we’re coming together regularly to read Scripture, pray, and share what we’re learning.

One of the most powerful practices we've adopted is listening prayer. We've been setting aside intentional time to slow down, listen to God, and ask Him to prepare our hearts for the mission ahead. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the trip itself, but taking time to hear from God has reminded us that this is about His mission, not just ours.

Getting Practical

While the spiritual prep is vital, there’s also a lot of practical preparation happening behind the scenes. We’re coordinating the materials we’ll need for teaching, sorting through supplies, figuring out how to support each other, and making sure we have everything in place for a smooth and efficient trip.

This preparation process is a reminder that, although we’re focused on serving the people in Thailand, we also need to do everything we can to take care of the logistical side of things before we go. It’s all part of making sure that our time in Lampang is used in the best way possible.

Prayer Updates

We’ve also been keeping the prayer page updated with current prayer requests, so be sure to check that out to stay up to date. We’ll be updating it throughout the trip, so you can follow along with what’s happening in real-time and know how to pray for us and the people we’re serving.

How You Can Pray Today

Please pray that as we continue to prepare, we’ll have clarity on the teaching material. Specifically, pray that the messages Nolan and I are preparing for the chutch will be clear, simple, and impactful for the church. We’re also praying for unity as a team. We want to be fully aligned with each other, so please pray that our relationships continue to grow strong as we prepare.

Finally, pray for open hearts. As we work together, we want to stay focused on God’s will for this trip, so pray that we will be sensitive to the needs of the people in Thailand and stay in tune with what God is asking us to do.

Thank you so much for your support as we continue to prepare. It’s truly humbling to know that we’re not doing this alone — we’re grateful for each and every one of you. More updates to come soon!

Pray for Today