Hey, I'm Back!

Well hey, friends! It’s been a while since I’ve written as I’m sure you have noticed BUT I am excited to announce that I am finally and officially back in Thailand! It had been 20 months since I left due to COVID and the Lord has opened up many doors making it possible for me to head back. There has been a lot of cool things that I have seen the Lord do in the couple months leading up to my trip back that I wanted to share with y’all!

Starting at the beginning… I have been taking a class since August, called Perspectives, that is all about missions and it was beginning to stir some questions in my heart that I began to ask the Lord, like “do you even want me to go back to Thailand,” “do you want me to go somewhere else,” “do you want me to stay here,” and as I was asking these I had a few friends and family join with me in prayer that the Lord would reveal what my next steps should be. Less than a week later Thailand opened its borders with no quarantine! Not only did He clearly give me an answer, but He also gave me the answer my heart desired! What a good God we serve!

So quickly after this news, I began to collect the paperwork I needed and started filing up some suitcases. The Lord was so faithful in this process as things came together when all odds said they wouldn’t and I was able to take off from D.C. on November 21st! I learned so much during those few weeks because it was one of those times that I truly had to put all my trust in Him because there really wasn’t any other way that I would’ve made that flight without him orchestrating all that it took to get there.

Due to the fact that it took 57 total hours to even get here, I met a lot of people. Like a lot. It was funny to hear some people's responses to why I was coming over and why I was working at Agape. Some being “wow you must be really religious” or “I should probably do something like that my catholic guilt is catching up to me” or “that’s cool… don’t you love the food here.” I felt like I was in a constant place of feeling misunderstood but also in a place of excitement that I had the opportunity to shine Jesus to people from all over the world. I was in constant awe of how the Lord had orchestrated the conversations I had with people before I even got on the plane, like how I got to process with a Pakistani girl my age about her upcoming arranged marriage and talk with a Thai girl from Germany who was headed back home for her Father’s funeral. It was by far close to being some of the most exhausting few days of my life but embedded with a lot of special moments and lessons I wasn’t even expecting.

I’ve been here for about a month now (ok that’s crazy) and wow has the Lord been teaching me something new each day and guiding me through this sweet season of transition back. If I started talking about all of those things this would be the longest blog ever, so I’ll save those for another day, but I just wanted to end by saying THANK YOU. To all those who have supported me, loved me, and prayed for me. Obviously, without Jesus, this trip would be impossible but it would also be impossible without all of you having helped me in so many ways. I am so grateful and constantly feeling overwhelmed by the ways you all have blessed me before I even left and during the first month here. I am so excited to see what the Lord has in store for the next 6 months as I continue my ministry at Agape Home and I will be diligent about updating you all as often as possible. Feel free to email me or comment below if you have any questions about my time here or if ya just wanna chat! - rissabethmartin@gmail.com