Isaiah 42:6

Hello, welcome back for another life update!

Much has happened since I last posted, we are in the midst of our 5th week serving with Bella Goose in Chiang Mai. The Lord has shown up in the most incredible ways and I am learning so much from Him every single day that I am here.

Something that I have been working through is discerning His voice when my own thoughts or the voices of others are so loud, this is where Isaiah 42:6 comes in. A couple weeks ago I was spending time talking with the Lord and He so sweetly reminded me that I have access to a pretty large book full of His wisdom, and examples of what His voice sounds like (spoiler alert- that book is the Bible). He then brought me to Isaiah 42:6 which says “I am the Lord. I have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will hold your hand.” The reason that He brought me this verse is so that I can use it as a tool. Whenever I have to make a decision or I feel like I can’t hear His voice, I have been thinking about this verse. It has two very important pieces. The first is that He has called me into righteousness. Righteousness is living a life that is morally right and in accordance with God’s will. So by reminding myself of this half of the verse I am able to look at the situation and determine where will I find God’s will. The second half of this verse reminds me that He will hold my hand. I never have to make decisions alone, He is always with me and guiding every decision I make, WHAT A RELIEF! I have been so encouraged by this revelation from Him amongst countless others. God has been so good to me in Thailand so far and I know that He is growing me more than I could have ever dreamed or imagined.

I wanted to also share with you all some of the work that we’ve been doing and some fun things we have been up to 🙂

Here is me and my team preparing for our classes that we have been teaching the last couple of weeks! This week I have been teaching English, and google sheets! The women we are teaching are AMAZING, it is so cool to see God’s heart for them through everything we are doing. They are so sweet and eager to learn, working with them has been such a blessing!

During team time last week my team got together and made a covenant (contract). We each chose a bible verse that stuck out to us and that we want to hold our team accountable to. Each off us wrote our verse on the covenant and we all signed it. It is now hanging in the girls room (we let the boys have a picture)! My verse was Isaiah 42:6-8, I really like that verse if you couldn’t tell haha

My team visited elephants!! This past weekend my team got to go an elephant sanctuary that was in a village about an hour outside of Chiang Mai. We spent the entire day there and it was honestly one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. We got to feed the elephants, and swim with them! We also got to go on a bamboo raft ride for about an hour, which was amazing. 10/10 would recommend.

This is me on my way home from our big day with the elephants (featuring my favorite car pillow, Aaron).

Our team has also made friends with another ministry organization called TawSaeng which provides after school care for Thai children. We play soccer with them every Wednesday, it’s awesome!

Last week I got to have a girls night with Sarah, Jessie, and our new friend Hope, who works at Bella Goose. We went to a really neat night market, and I got to enjoy some mango sticky rice, which is now my most favorite food.

Me and my friend Tucker got the chance to pray for some Thai kids at the mall, and he built this awesome cross while we were playing with the kids at the lego table!

I truly have felt the Lords hand on me more times in the last weeks than I could possibly count. He is here, and He is moving in Thailand. It has been so encouraging to see Him in the big things and the small things. God is so good, and I am beyond grateful that he brought me here 🙂

So that’s my life update for now! I will include some current prayer requests below, thank you all for joining me in prayer over this time, I am so grateful for each and every one of you!

Prayer Requests: 

• One of my teammates, Coby, is still raising support for this journey. He has such a beautiful heart for the Lord, and I would feel so blessed by continued prayers for full funding for Coby. I would also be so grateful for prayers about whether or not the Lord may be asking you to support Coby financially. If you feel led I would love to talk with you more about Coby’s fundraising, or put you in contact with him! I have included his support raising link below 🙂

https://adventuresinmissions.servicereef.com/events/adventures-in-missions-3/january-2025-world-race-expedition-11-months-25w0102/participants/dylan-hildebrand

• Something I am personally praying for is more consistent communion and awareness of the Holy Spirit. I am growing in bringing Him into smaller decisions, and this is something I am praying over my entire team. Increased awareness of God’s constant presence!
• Continued team unity- that our team would continue to grow closer to one another and lean on each other more. I am specifically praying that the Lord would give us eyes to see one another the way He sees us. I would be so blessed if you would pray alongside me in this.
• Health and safety for my team!

Thank you all so much for everything.

Prayers and blessings,

Amanda 💕