(DAY 1-2)Sunday the 31st of December, we left base about 8:30 in the morning, and got on the airplane about 12:00. It was a 10 hour flight to Tokyo, Japan where we spent 2 hours in the airport. The airport in Japan is a lot like a shopping mall in some areas, so we had a lot to do in the 2 hours. We got on the plane at 3:00 PM in Japan on the 1st of January. It took another 7 hours to reach Bangkok, Thailand. We arrived there at 12 midnight, and then all 9 of us took a truck to the YWAM base in Bangkok.
(DAY 3)The next morning we had orientation with a guy named Chris. He told us about the Thai culture, and the things to expect. After that, he had us go on a scavenger hunt around Bangkok, searching for different things and trying different foods, and just pretty much getting orientated or whatever to the culture.
(DAY 4)We went to the Buddhist temples, which were very interesting. A lot of Thai people come there to worship Buddha. There are 4 different temples in 3 different locations. We prayed as we walked through them all. I ask you also to pray for the Thai people, and the lies that Satan is shielding them with, worshipping different gods. This is a big stronghold for a lot of Asians. Please pray against it! Later that day, we took another truck all the way to Wattana Nakorn, which is by the Cambodian border. There was dinner already waiting for us. We settled in and went to sleep right after.
(DAY 5) The next morning, we had our personal devotions which for me lasted about 4 hours. I loved it! Being in Thailand and you know, spending 4 hours with God, just me and Him, doing sweet things... it was amazing. Shortly after that, we had a team meeting and we learned that later on that day we'd be teaching english to Thai kids at a school nearby. The first day of teaching was a little rough, because we were not sure how much the kids knew about English. We learned after that they have spent 4th-6th grade learning English, and me and my friend Leah had the 6th graders. So, they had a little experience in English.
(DAY 6) We went to the local hospital and handed out tracts and prayed for people. It was really cool to see the hospital there. We got to see the maternity ward, and the women and men's hospital rooms. In the waiting room, I had given a tract to a monk. He seemed interested in it and was reading it in front of me. Then I saw him put it in his bag. Please pray with me that he would read it and realize the truth and realize that satan has deceived him. Please pray for the salvation of the Thai people, especially for the monks. Later that day was round 2 of teaching english. It went pretty well, there was a couple of things I would have done different on the 2nd day. But overall, the kids had fun and they learned.
(DAY 7) On Saturday, we went to the big market by the Cambodian border. It was pretty interesting seeing how huge this market was. Most markets here are outdoors and open. After we got back, we had a ministry development team which I am a part of. We interceded on the Sunday morning service, which the church that we're staying at had given us to do. God showed us that we should introduce ourselves first, followed by worship and communion (since it was the 1st sunday of the month), after our leader Amy gave an encouragement message to the church, followed by Younsoo giving a testimony on the last 3 months of his life, we performed a skit called "Kerplink", and then Leah and Ian gave a short message or sermon on the importance of everyone and how we are all valuable no matter how small we seem.
So, some prayer points you can be praying for our team would be: HEALTH (we have had a lot of sickness going around and we really need prayer for health), Unity, Quality quiet times, Open eyes, Soft hearts, Grace from the Thai people, help us minister to kids as we teach English, being a blessing to the pastor and her family where we are staying, Safety, Compassion for the Thai people, open hearts, pray that we are willing to do God's work.
Also, please pray for the church where we're staying. They would like prayer for: New truck for ministry, Filling 50 seats at their church, and a congregation that is ready and willing to do ministry in their town Wattana Nakorn. Thank you so much for helping me get to Thailand and being able to touch the lives here. I pray blessings on all of you. I pray that I'm able to convey what God's been doing here properly, to show you how much you're impacting this world for Jesus, how much you're making a difference in Thailand. So, thank you again and I'll do my best to keep you updated.
With blessings and love,
Mike Gervasi
