Divine appointments

God's ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are greater than our thoughts. He can take situations and activities that we see as mundane and turn them into divine appointments. We had one such "divine appointment" when our team went to an outdoor pavilion near our English Center for evening aerobics with some of the local women. After dancing with them for 40 minutes or so, one of the women came up to us with questions about our work here. She spoke decent English and eagerly invited us to teach ESL and play songs and games with the inmates at the juvenile detention center, where she works. 

At that time we were still looking for places where God wants us to work this summer, so we agreed to try it out. Our host partners had been very interested in the detention center prior to our arrival, but had not been able to find a way in until now. Maybe this is God's time! 

Our team visited the detention center on Monday to talk with the director about our schedule and what the facility's vision is. A local believer came with us to the facility, and the workers there were surprised to learn that he had a troubled and rebellious past, much like the inmates there. The director had never before seen someone change from being a criminal to being a respectable and gentle man, but we know that his change of heart was prompted by the love, grace, and power of Jesus Christ. We hope this local believer will be able to connect with the inmates in the facility and that he will speak to them about Jesus with words that they will understand. 

We then met the inmates - 32 boys and 2 girls, and sang them a few worship songs. The language barrier prevents our team from having meaningful conversations with most of the people we meet, so we use music to connect with them in other ways. When we finished singing, we handed off our guitars to two of the boys who knew how to play, and they played a few Thai songs for us and were later joined by one of the girls who wowed us with her beautiful singing voice. 

These kids are so much more than criminals - they are talented, useful, and precious in God's sight. God has a beautiful plan for each one, and we pray that they will see the LIGHT of CHRIST and be saved and changed by His Love. 

In Christ's Love,

Rachel