Hello again from Thailand!

There is such wonder and excitement here everyday. This past weekend we had the honor, the privilege to spend the night in the country. On Saturday we took a truck ride up to the mountains where, from our normal housing throught the week, can only be seen in the far distance. Oh God's glory! We went with the Pastor and his wife and our translator to cut down stalks off of the banana tree to cook in todays meal. Then we walked around his feilds marveling at the creation. It took my breath away. We visited some homes in a village and experienced the greatest hospitality. The Thail culture is simply beautiful. All they had, their best was before us. I was touched and find myself with that feeling every single day. This past week we headed to a University to have lunch with some students. After about 30 minutes of conversation (us trying desperatly to learn Thai and them giggling at our attempts) they quietly conversed together and then one of them got up and scurried away only to return with pink milk for us!! Pink milk is basically it's name, it's considered a sweet treat and sweet it is! Because it is known for being super sweet she even bought us a bottled water to go with it. Again.. my heart was touched.

I love Thailand.

One struggle for me has been the early mornings. As many of you know.. I have to consciously decide to be a nice person in the morning so.. hehehe. I'm trying so hard to wake up even earlier than expected so I can get a handle on my attitude and the day. I'm learning to be disciplined in that. It's harder also when we have late nights. I'm loving the challenge! Just not when I hear my alarm go off in the morning :).

Our friends in India have been doing wonderfully! We get weekly updates from Elby (heading up team in Thailand) who is in contact with Katie (heading up team in India). It's wonderful hearing from them and all that God is doing there.

Guys.. I love Thailand. God has opened my stubborn eyes to see a part of his creation that I would have never seen had it been my choice. I am in awe of his promises and his goodness to us. I can't wait to share all of the stories, experiences and heart changes that have been going on. Please pray for more. More of God's spirit and presence. More protection and endurance. More heart changes! More eye opening moments. Ask him to give me specifically a pure heart and gracious speech. My quiet times have been sweet.. and last week this verse in Proverbs stuck out to me "He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the King for his friend." As I meditated on this passage Gods loving words spoke to me.

He who LOVES.

Being gracious means having patience.

Love the purity of your own hear, how I've changed it. How is used to be muck but now it's pure and clean and white and has my name written on it!

The King desires relationship with you and has already considered you his friend. Now choose him! And if you choose him you choose LOVE.

Grace what a lovely thing. ~Aaron Espe

Picture Time!

We've been finishing books and passing them around. Titles include: The Tale of Desperaux, Redeeming Love, The Shack, and Black. More to recomend soon!

Baby Buddah hahahaha..

This is Lichie. It sounds so close to Lindsay that everyone just calles me Lichie and laughes :D

Our Team!

I'm in LOVE with Thailand!

God's glory:

More to come soon!

The Land of the Smiles. Thailand!

A Buddist Temple

Beautiful Thailand!

Our first team breakfast!

This is Dragon Fruit.

Hello from Thailand! We are all safe and sound and have been so enjoying everything so far. We got in Friday the 9th at about 2 am! tried to get some sleep and then headed into a full day of exploring the area. The food here is GRAND, and so is walking to the market everyday for meals. There are 7/11's here! A small taste of home :)

This past Monday the 11th we started our ministry time. It's been so sweet.. I'm experiencing God like never before. This past week consisted of: Early mornings and late nights of ministry. Prayer, prayer, prayer. Walks to the market and good converstation around the table while eating. We ventured to the night market and found a star bucks, mcdonalds and haggen das along the way! Motor bikes zooming by. Quiet whispers from God. Elephants along the side of the road!! ROTEE.. a wonderful Thai dessert with fried bananas and chocolate drenched in butter. (we're all convinced we'll gain weight instead of loosing it!!) . Yummy fresh fruit. The gorgeous children that steal your heart with one look. Talking to women who are desperate for Jesus but just dont know it yet.

The heat isnt bad And guess what?! We've got hot showers! Everywhere you go western music can be heared. Today I heard Taylor Swift and Beyonce. haha. I love it here. The people are absolutely so hospitable. I'm getting used to chop sticks.

more to come!!

Oh the Wonder!

Hello Readers!

As I reflect on 2009 I realize that I have lived in three different states this year. From Texas to Pennsylvania to North Carolina. And my first two month of 2010 will be spent in Thailand.. Oh the wonder! Back to 09 - I am so thankful and grateful for a GRAND year. 09, for me, was...finishing off a fun year of school and relishing the last 6 months of time spent with my family in Texas (and missing them very much). Then for 3 months, coming back to the beautiful landscape and familiar faces of PA; Staying busy and enjoying family. And the last 3 months of 09 in North Carolina, a time full of learning and a lot of newness. New people who I now call friends. A new place to live that I now find so meaningful. New experiences that will never be forgotten and that have shaped Lindsay Beiler for the better.

Here is an update of my holiday~

Christmas break was wonderful! My friends picked me up and on our travels back up to Pennsylvania we got caught in a snowstorm and had to spend the night in a hotel! We woke up to snow covering the car! When we finally got IN the car we were on our way and made it home safe and sound :). My time home was relaxing and nice. I enjoy the smells of home and the presence of family.. but I must say, I hate the goodbyes.

Just a week from today I said a sad goodbye to Lance and Megan as they departed for PA after dropping me off in NC. This week was full of craziness as ministry time started. A different schedule than the last three months for sure. No more lecture, now it's putting everything we've learned into practice! We've done everything from raking leaves around our property to helping clean at home for women who've just gotten out of jail. And tomorrow, to my excitement, we will be spending the entire day at the crisis pregnancy center! I cannot wait.

There is one thing I don't mind saying goodbye to - the cold weather! But I have a feeling I'll be saying the same thing on my last days in Thailand's 100% humidity. My team and I leave on Thursday; but for now I sit here yet again in our big dorm room with four triple bunk beds...accept two of the triple bunk beds are empty. Half of my new friends have spentt the first day of the new year in travel to India. We've heard a report back from them saying they've arrived safely and have started their adventures off right away, leaving no time for jet lag to get in the way!

The slow packing process has begun and every time I look at my big hiking back pack I get overwhelmed with the feeling of adventure and fulfillment. 2 months in Thailand?! And later this year 6 months in Australia? And then 6 months of traveling all over?! Can it get any more exciting??

I'm ready.

For Adventure.

For Thailand.

For BED.

More coming soon!