Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! What a fantastic Easter it has been for us. There is something about being in another country and knowing that we can worship and praise the same Jesus anywhere in the world!

Our weekend has been wonderful--as usual. Yesterday we had the privilege to go to Pattaya, in a different province of Thailand, and go to the beach. Our main reason for going is because Dou, one of my students, was going to get baptized. It is so exciting to me to see the way God is working in his life and the other people we have been able to spend time with. I think maybe the coolest part about it was that 5 of Caitlin's students who are not Christians came to the beach with us and they were able to see the baptism and how exited Dou is.

The beach was fantastic. I love the beach. The only mini problem is that if you don't know me...I'm pretty much the whitest person ever...and even though I put sunscreen on two times, I look like a lobster. But it's okay--it was completely worth it. Caitlin and I both love the water, but hardly any of the people that came like to swim: either because they don't want to get tan (Thai people want to be white like us..and we want to be tan like them. weird?) or because they can't swim. But we got two of the guys to come out in the water with us, and one of them especially was scared of the water. We eventually persuaded him to jump into the waves, and it was SO funny to watch him attempt to swim. A wave would come and knock him over and then he would flail his arms around trying to get out of the water. The funniest part is that the water was only a little above my waist, and he is over 6 feet tall. It was great.

We also were able to go on this thing called the "banana boat". Basically it was a giant oblong flotation device that was pulled behind a boat and held 6 people. It was a trap. The driver would hit the gas really hard and we would go flying into the ocean abyss...it was intense. The hardest part was getting back onto it. All of us who did it were completely exhausted by the time it was over. It was so fun...but let me tell you, I can definitely feel that workout in my arms today. It was hard work!

Today was so good! We went to the main Santisuk church today for our service this morning. The whole place was packed! It was cute because they put on a short Easter program with singing in Thai and English,  and dancing. Pastor Steve Cable gave the message about the facts that Jesus did raise from the dead. It was so exciting for me because the girl I was sitting next to came with us from Lad Krabang and I know that she is not a Christian. The whole time I was praying that God would touch her heart with the truths of the sermon. Things are put in a different perspective when you go to church with someone who isn't saved. I think that usually we go to church on a Sunday morning surrounded by people who already know most of the things being taught. But here, many of the people who come to church don't even know who Jesus is! It's so different!

After the service there was a big meal for everyone who was at church. That's another thing I love about Thailand. People are constantly hanging out. Sunday isn't only church day, but it's hang out all day with friends too. I love it! After lunch a big group of my friends from Lad Krabang took us shopping--again. But it was super fun because they know everywhere to go that is cheap. So we went to this inside market and shopped for a long time. There were two boys with us and they wanted to wait outside for us because they didn't want to go shopping...but we made them come. We were at one shop and a few of us tried some sweaters on, and the boys held our purses and things for us while they waited. SO SWEET!

We ended up having a hangout in our apartment with three girls this evening. It was super fun. One of the girls that came we had just met today, so we didn't really know anything about her. Her English is super good, so it's really easy to talk to her and understand her. I asked her if she was a Christian and she said yes. So I proceeded by asking her how she became a Christian and she said, "Ohh, very long story!" But she ended up telling us that her family is Buddhist and that she had never heard about Jesus. One night though, she woke up with this extreme anxiety that she didn't even know how to explain. She said she began praying to Buddah to take it away, but it only got worse. She said that she eventually saw this figure standing in front of her, and she was so scared, but she heard a voice in her head that told her to pray..and she thought "I already did pray"..but then she heard the voice again saying, "No, not to Buddah, pray to the real God. Jesus." So, at that point, she accepted Jesus as her Savior. She said that now, two of her siblings are Christians and she prays for the rest of her family to know Jesus.

Isn't that possibly one of the greatest stories in the world?! I was blown away. Stories like this seem to be an everyday occurrence here. Well, this is a pretty long blog, and I am very exhausted, so I think I will be done writing for today.

Happy Easter everyone! CHRIST IS RISEN!!!

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through of Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:55-58)

-Bethany