Rich woman!

Today I write to you...the richest woman I know. I can't believe how much God has been speaking to me and moving on me and I am ever so thankful that he sees fit to give me so much attention despite my inadequacies. We haven't had the internet for a few days and boy it was rough not being connected with the your world. I really had to realize what a comfort the internet is to me...knowing that if I need to I can email anyone or call anyone using Skype. Without the internet I felt a little bit cut off from the world!

I couldn't look up a recipe...I couldn't check the news...I couldn't talk to any of you...couldn't update my blog and worst of all - I couldn't check my emails! It's one of the highlights of my day to have a few minutes to check my emails and hopefully get a real email from people back home. Recognizing this made me so thankful that God has called us to a place where we can have internet...although, I feel as though I need the internet I would never let that stop us from going where God leads us.

Anyway, I want to share one of the many things God this week that just blessed my socks off! I still just sit and grin about it. It seems small but it's so big to me. Jossalyn has been sick for the past week and on Tuesday night she was running a fever and I wanted to give her some Tylenol. I had one more dose in my daiper bag and I gave it to her. The next day I had planned on going to a "pharmacy" to buy some more infant tylenol to ease her discomfort.

Let me bunny trail a sec to tell you soemthing that might shock you...or not. Here in Thailand you can buy almost any medicine you need...including antibiotics. You don't have to go to the dr. you just go to a store that sells medicine and buy what you need. The "pharmacist" will help you know what you need to purchase.

I use quotes because well, they are not a pharmacy like what we're used to and the pharmacist is sometimes only trained by someone who was trained by someone else who just figured it all out themselves so they could have a business. So needless to say you have to double check everything and make sure that they know what they are talking about - another thing I use the internet for.

Picture of a typical Thai pharmacy...

So back to the story...we had prayed for Joss but her fever was not breaking that next day so I was going to buy some tylenol and we have...well, lets just say...we're running on fumes and so I was really not wanting to go use the last bit of money we had...but I figured...God has never failed us before so he will provide for us if I purchase this for Joss. So I went to language and I had asked my teacher for an extra 10 minutes to study because I wasn't able to find anytime to study at home because Joss was sick. So I went into the room by myself and turned on the fan...I was drenched in sweat from riding on the motorcycle here. It seems like I caught ever red light on the way to school and baked in the sun...waiting for the green light.

So...I stood infront of the fan and then turned around to cool off my back and as I was standing there...in front of the fan with my head down I looked over to the right in this little cubby hole...and low and behold there was "equate" brand triple antibiotic ointment. I thought..."how strange is that! That's walmart brand! What is THAT doing in Thailand?" I picked it up and behind it was a box of equate brand infants tylenol...sealed. I picked it up and was going to ask my teacher where she got that...because if you really buy that here for some crazy reason...I'd like to get equate brand.

It's so much nicer going with a brand you know here in Thailand. So when she came into the room I asked her and she said that one of her other students brought that medicine to her and she had been looking for someone to give it to for a while but didn't know who to give it to because she didn't have any need for it. She then asked me if I wanted it...
I just sat there in awe. No trip to the pharmacy for me and Joss gets American brand tylenol. I have so many more stories I could tell you but I don't want to carry on and on but needless to say...Our God is an awesome God. And he cares for us so tenderly. From tylenol to a pair of hair clippers given to John (that he's been wanting for a long time so he could shave his head himself)...to money to cover us through to the 1st coming from a dear Thai friend because God told her to give it to me (her knowing nothing). Oh and also math manipulatives that I needed for Josiah's homeschool just given to us among other wonderful things from our dearly missed friends Trent and Amy.

But beyond all of the material gifts and things he provides for us...above all those things...how he tends for our hearts and contantly is calling us on and forward. In one of my recent Thai lessons we were reading the story of the rich man who came to ask Jesus how he could get to heaven and Jesus told him to sell all that he has and follow him. This was more than the man wanted to do and he walked away from the chance of a life time...to know and walk with Jesus.


In that lesson Khruu Ruchada asked me if I was a rich or a poor person. I told her that sometimes I feel like I am poor...and I feel sorry for myself and wish that we could be like some of the other missionaries that we know and have extra money for things that arise or I'm frustrated that we don't have a car...but my goal is to be like Paul...finding happiness no matter what his circumstances were. And the truth is that there are TONS...no millions of people that are worse off that we are...We must be like Paul...finding happiness no matter what our circumstances are...

Said to be Paul's prison....

Whether that be jail...having a little or having a lot. When the Kingdom of God is your primary concern and your eyes are set on him (Matt. 6:33) then you will see that you are indeed rich because of the vastness of the love of God and because he will clothe you and prepare a way for you even in the darkest of circumstances. He is our hope and our only true happiness. Nothing else is of consequence. I am truely rich.