Leaving Soon!

Hi everyone!

This Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009, I will be flying out to serve God and experience the Thai culture! The lecture phase has been amazing. I have been growing and learning so much about God's heart for his people and the injustices in the world.

During my time in school, a guest speaker would cover one topic a week. My personal favorites and what I learned were:

Father—heart of God (Talking about how your relationship with your earthly father correlates with your heavenly father).

Relationships (Knowing that before you can truly love someone correctly/fully you have to only want and need Jesus to fulfill your heart's desires).

Spiritual Warfare (God doesn't promise us an easy road in life. He does promise to be with us in our struggles—even when we can't feel his presence. He is there and cares, knowing you have full authority through Jesus against Satan and any attacks he tries to bring into your life)

Fear of the Lord (This always seemed so intimidating to me before! However, reading scripture about it, and being taught the meaning of it, showed me it’s about respect for our Lord and obedience to him. Many people wanted to have more of that fear (respect), but didn't understand how to go about getting it; some ways to start are by listening to what God asks us to do and obeying it, caring what he thinks and no one else. This tested me when I knew God was asking me to do something and not wanting to be judged by it. But when I let go of my pride and did it, I had a lot of people share with me how much it helped them with their faith and growth...you never know how you can effect someone in such a positive way by obeying what God asks you to do!)

During training the teams did outreach preparation two or three times a week. There is a team going to Thailand and a team going to Colombia. My team, which is going to Thailand, learned about the culture and how to respect it. We learned some of the language and the curriculums we will be teaching kids and teenagers. We also learned dances and skits that would minister to the lost, and a lot about sex-trafficking. I am very excited to work with children and woman who have been freed from the sex-trade, but still need food and a job. We will be building friendships, showing them God's love and helping them get back on their feet. We will also be living in the hill tribes helping them with their daily chores and working in the rice patties!

I am very excited to see God move through Thailand now and in the future after we leave.

I hope you have enjoyed reading a little about what God has been teaching me here in Denver, CO and what I will be doing in Thailand! Thank you so much for all your prayers and support, it means the world to me!

Love,
Dana Keith :)