hi everyone,
the last 24 hours have been so blessed. my last evening in minneapolis was spent with a dear friend, Stacy and her small group; i had to again marvel at how good God is to me. i had no idea that i would be able to share what i'm doing in thailand with her small group and be covered in prayer before i left. they were all extremely encouraging and i left with a sense of peace. stace took good care of me and got me off to the airport. check in was beyond easy. i definitely prayed that angels would lift my overweight bags when they were on the scale and that God would give me grace. guess what, my bags registered under weight!! my flights have been spectacular, relaxing and i'm definitely spoiled. asians are so polite---you will never ever find airport or flight staff that are more patient, attentive and helpful. never annoyed and always have a solution. my personal monitor had a channel that was a camera on the outside of my plane! I could watch everything that was happening in front of and below the plane! I marveled at the snow in alaska and got lost in the enchantment of the sea. when nearing Japan, I saw huge boats in the middle of miles and miles of sea, birds floating, crashing waves and reef beneath the surface. i couldn't help but tear up at the beauty of God's creation and thank him for my life. my thoughts drifted to how i was going to be able to remember all of this to share with my kids one day and wondering if they would ever believe what their mom did once upon a time. my thoughts also drifted to how creative and magnificent God is and how humbled i am to see his creations. i thought of how i can not conceptualize all of the life that is happening around me. how each living thing has it's story, its creation, it's existance and the how vast the beauty of the world is. we all run around, in a hurry, worried about our economy and God has created this beautiful world that perfectly exists. a world that we take for granted. a world that we don't even bother to know. we may never understand it all----but i was moved to tears at the thought of the honor it is, to see even a glimpse of it's wonder.
i am looking around at the nationalities represented in this one room in Tokyo--at least 20. not a person looks the same. each has their story. a destiny. each created by God. each deserves perfect love. and each trying to find it and live a life of purpose or success. i wonder--how many know jesus. his perfect love and success in his will. how many have never even heard of their creator. how many in this room have had their innocence stolen. how many have stolen innocence. i can hear a conversation of a middle-aged man and a thirty-something man (in an obvious identity crisis), talk about prostitutes in Thailand. one mentions "atleast I know i don't have HIV. other stds can be dealt with." they are both on their way to thailand--on my flight.
this morning--still in minneapolis--i stopped at the starbucks in the airport. in front of me, a pilot. he was flirting with the young boy behind the counter. the boy was very feminine and batted his eyes at the pilot. the pilot responded with his own display of attraction to the boy. the pilot asked the boy when his break would be. they discussed how they could make their breaks coincide and agreed to meet. in minutes the young boy had arranged his break and ran around the corner to sit with the pilot. i burst into tears. i couldn't help it. i just watched sexual immorality at it's "best." i just watched a professional man--who could very well be the pilot of my plane--exploit a young man. i witnessed it all. WHY?! WHY has God allowed me to see this and in the first half hour of my next chapter of life. i composed myself and began to laugh when the girl behind the counter handed my my Venti ICED latte with no ice--because she thought that is what i had said--oh starbucks. i went off to find my terminal and prayed as i walked. remembering, i was in the number one international airport in the US for human trafficking--oh God, help me. There has been much much blessing and joy in this day as well. Evil and God coexist always--what a display of that fact, this day has been.
I'm ecstatic and nervous to return to bangkok. it would have been tempting to stay in the comforts of Sioux Falls and my family. but, i know God has called me and I am anticipating what he is going to do in these next few months. i dream of seeing the entire world. whatever is possible in my years on this earth--i want to see it. but not just see it, but bring the Holy Spirit to the darkest places and join with those who have pioneered so much. I feel the Holy Spirit even now as I type, I'm resting in the thoughts of how great God's dreams for me must be. I'm humbled and in awe of how big his dreams for me are. And--I am no longer going to say that I can't wait to see them come--I'm in them. I'm here, smack dab in them. and I plan to never leave. i'm going to do my best to never doubt that God will provide. i'm living kingdom and darn honored to do so.
i'm in japan. are you kidding me? japan. yes--this little iowa/south dakota, white girl, with platinum hair is in japan and on her way to bangkok! to LIVE in a redlight district. HAHAHAHA GOD IS SO SO FLIPPIN COOL!
I love you all. miss you already. thank you for loving me. please keep me in your prayers.
you are in my thoughts, always.
blessings
Grace and Peace
Lynds
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