Things Thailand is Teaching Me: Blessed to Serve

I have heard it said, and even in my past have said myself, “I never want to be a pastor… I never want to be a pastor’s wife… I would never want to be a missionary.” The truth is that those called to be pastors and missionaries do face a life of responsibility, challenges, troubles, and sacrifice – but they also have great joy and blessing.

I had begun to understand this truth even before coming to Thailand – in fact, I knew it so well that I was reluctant to relinquish our calling to pastor the church in Indiana. The church building had become like a second home to my kids, and the people there our family. My husband’s flexible schedule allowed our kids to spend much more time with their father than most other kids had with their dads. It was truly a blessing to be able to live and serve God in that place.

But as much as I loved following that call, and as hard as it was to imagine ever leaving that place, I am glad that I trusted God enough to allow Him to do something different with our lives. And as much as I still don’t necessarily feel at home here in Thailand, and as much as I still struggle with the hard aspects of life overseas, I can’t deny that moving to Thailand has brought blessings that I never would have experienced had I stayed in my little corner of Indiana.

It is a blessing to have a new appreciation for what it means to move to a foreign country and learn a foreign language 

in order to try and live in a foreign culture. 

So many people never face this challenge, which leaves them unable to empathize with immigrants, refugees, and people who for one reason or another find themselves trying to adjust to life in a place that is different. I now have much greater insight into what it took for my Thai friends in the states to pass their citizenship tests. I understand better why the Latin American waiters at our favorite Mexican food restaurant spoke to each other in Spanish - not to be rude or because they refused to learn English, but because it is always easiest and most comfortable to speak your first language. It is a blessing to have insight into what it takes to make your home in a new place and how challenging that can be.

It is a blessing to experience a culture that is very different from my own small-town Indiana culture, and to understand that, just because something looks different to me, other cultures are not necessarily “wrong” in the way they do things. 

This was something that was drilled into us during our pre-field training: "It's not wrong - it's just different." And aside from a few moral and ethical differences that can legitimately be called wrong, it is good to acknowledge that much of what we label "wrong" is simply not what we are used to. So many of our problems in society come from a misunderstanding of other cultures and a misconception that what is familiar and comfortable to us is what is best. It is a blessing to gain a greater understanding of other people as I learn to ask myself, "Is it truly wrong, or is it just not my way of doing things?"

squatty potty - wrong or just different? You decide!

It is a blessing to see the members of my family becoming acquainted with people of other religious backgrounds. 

Back in the midwest, our exposure to people who think and believe differently than we do was extremely limited. Here in Thailand, from northern tribal children of Buddhist or Animist backgrounds to southern Muslim families, my children have had numerous opportunities to teach, eat with, play with, and show love to people outside of our Christian faith. This makes them more compassionate and understanding citizens of our world. I am thankful that they are learning to see others not simply as "Buddhist" or "Muslim" or "Christian," but as people loved by God and deserving of our love, too.

In love with diversity 💗

It is a blessing to be able to interact with people from all over the world - people from many countries, languages, skin pigments, and cultures.

I'll be honest, our little town in southern Indiana was not very diverse. Now that I have moved to a country where I am the minority, I honestly believe every person in America should go through this experience at least once in their lives. Our world is so much larger than we understand, especially if we never leave our small corner of it. There is a wealth of culture and experience out there just waiting to be explored. And what a "foretaste of glory" it can be! When I attend a service of worship in a language other than English… when I worship in our international church with friends and strangers from more than 15 different countries… when we all, regardless of our backgrounds and skin colors, lift our songs in worship of the Almighty God, I get a glimpse of heaven.

These are only a few ways in which I have known the blessings of the Lord during our time here in Thailand. There have also been many specific experiences that never would have been open to us in the US – opportunities to lead worship at conferences, for the children to learn new skills like horseback riding, to meet and learn from other missionaries who are serving all over the world, to look in the face of an actual refugee –  the list could go on and on. With the music of the old hymn ringing in my memory, I count my blessings and name them one by one, and I am indeed surprised by all the Lord has done.

In January, I began a journey of reading through the scriptures in a year. Not long ago, I was reading in Numbers chapter 17, where we see a little power struggle, as leaders from each tribe challenge Aaron for his position of leadership in the tabernacle. Each joins Aaron in submitting to God a staff with the leader’s name on it; overnight, God makes Aaron’s staff bud, blossom, and produce almonds – a clear sign that God has chosen Aaron for the responsibilities of the priesthood. After this obvious calling from God, God tells Aaron that He is “giving [Aaron] the service of the priesthood as a gift”(18:7); chapter 18 goes on to say that Aaron and the Levites will receive the best of all the offerings presented to the tabernacle as their portion and payment – the best food and wine, as well as everything else they need, will be provided for them.

The Levites were not given land to call their home and their inheritance (to pass on to their descendants), like the other tribes received. But God did provide for their needs, and the best of what was brought to God was given to them. And then God tells Aaron, “I am your share and your inheritance” (20). When I read these words, they really resonated with me. Right now, I have no real place to call my home. But God is my share and my inheritance, and He has shown me this again and again as I have served Him. 

Have you wondered if God might be calling you to a life of full-time service to Him? Don’t be afraid! So many of the best parts of my life would not have been possible if I had not been married to a pastor or if I had not gone to the overseas mission field. And I have learned that even though there are sacrifices that you must make in order to pick up your cross and follow Jesus, God is faithful to reward for the work and offer Himself as an inheritance. The calling becomes a beautiful gift from God.