Every Luke 10 faith journey looks different. The single similarity however is the golden thread of God’s greatness that is weaved into each adventure. This greatness is often displayed in the provision, protection and extraordinary miracles God does through ordinary people.
With the memory of my previous 3-day journey from Mthatha to Jeffrey’s Bay still in the back of my mind, I felt slightly nervous hearing about the next level of trust: 7 days (and 7 nights) relying on God to lead, provide, cross a pretty broad language barrier and use us to display His glory in a foreign land aka Thailand ….Dam dam dam (writer sings theatrical music)!!!
My recent adventure can be summed up in one frequently occurring thought: where am I and what am I doing?
In preparation for this faith journey I read Luke 10 (again) but I felt God direct me to study Luke 9 as well. This prequel chapter starts with Jesus sending out the disciples and ends with again counting the cost of following the Messiah. Together, my team and I discussed this chapter and spent a lot of time in prayer to ensure our hearts understand the mission: ‘your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God’ (Luk 9:60) by ‘casting out all demons and healing all diseases’ (Luk9:1). And of course verse 3 – ‘take nothing for your journey’.
Fun fact: The number 7 represents completeness and perfection in the Bible as seen in the 7 days of creation. So with this in mind, here is my story in detail …
Date: 19 Aug 2016
Time: 11am
Location: Church in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Team: Louw(leader), Mynette(co-leader) and me(???)
Direction: North, Laos border, higher ground (mountains?)
Baggage: 1 handbag with 3 passports
So with one last prayer we set out on our adventure.
As we left the church grounds, we decide to head north in the direction of Chiang Rai. As our first lift pulled into the bus station a few minutes after picking us up, we realized that the language barrier might be bigger than we thought. So we did what any global challenger would do with no money around lunch time: we went to MacDonald’s to scavenge. Feeling no need to rush, we feasted and started walking north again. Our next lift was an amazing Christian couple, Sao and Samuel, who took us for lunch and shared their story with us. Our time together ended with us praying for them and they blessing us with 1500Baht. So we thanked God for this provision and walked on. The next lift was a retired police man who could not understand why we would hike instead of just taking a bus. But after we explained that we want to rather interact with the locals by asking for lifts, his entire attitude changed and we could not stop the conversation. This soon led to a cup of coffee, snacks and then a trip back to the bus station where this generous man bought us bus tickets to Chiang Rai. Just when we thought we experienced the full extent of his generosity, he pulls me aside and stuffs 1600Baht in my hand. Once again praising God and praying blessings over our new friend, we settle into our bus seats preparing for the 5hour trip. At 21h we finally reach our destination and in pouring rain we searched for accommodation. As we wandered in a random direction, we passed a coffee shop (Cat in a cup) where you can enjoy a warm cup of Joe while stroking one of many felines roaming around. Yes, that is weird. Soon we found a new and unlisted hostel and checked ourselves in. So with a warm shower and a glass of free water we turned in for the night.
Evening came and then morning: the first day.
I did not realise how exhausted we were until the next morning when we only woke at 11h. With a slow morning and light breakfast of leftover snacks, we prayed together and felt God say we should go out for coffee. This is not what I expected God to say on a Luke 10 but obedience is important so we went. Finding a relatively cheap cup of coffee, we sat down and re-establish our unity through fellowship. Next we walked to the centre of town to an elaborate golden clock tower and prayed for the town, interceding on its behalf and claiming the ground for the kingdom. Again we heard God say, 'go and have some coffee but don't go cheap, I want to spoil you'. Feeling slightly confused but convicted, we headed for a nicer coffee shop and being obedient, we had coffee and cake this time. Soon we felt it was time to move north again, this time towards the Golden Triangle (where you stand in Thailand, look over the river and see both Myanmar and Laos on the other bank). The rest of our day was a series of small instructions such as 'stop by that church' or 'walk around that fountain', all to add to God's perfect timing. So by the time we reached Mae Chan, light was fading fast. We continued walking and found some locals drinking at a street vender stall. We approached them and asked if they know of a place we could spend the night. Lo and behold, the only women in the group jumped up and offered her house. Generally I don’t feel comfortable around drunk people but after checking in with the Big Guy upstairs, she was dubbed our person of piece. So we joined them for some chicken flied lice ('r' is pronounced 'l' in the east) and headed over to her house. We spent the rest of the evening praying and enjoying God's company. We also saw 3 angels join our party: 2 remaining at the front door and one with us in the room: New companions on our journey.
Evening came and then morning: the second day.
Once again we started the day checking in with God and listening for direction and instructions. This time we felt to go more east towards Loi Duang (small dot on our photo copied tourist map). We joined our gracious host and her not yet sober friends for breakfast and decided beforehand that we will 'eat and drink whatever is placed before you'. What was breakfast you might ask? Frog stew and rice. Jip, breakfast of kings. And so we left our blessing (and one angel) with our host and continued on our way. Few lifts later we reach a house with an open gate and a beautiful garden. Naturally we decided to wander in and meet the owners. When the lady saw us she rushed over with water and fresh fruits (dragon fruit and bananas). Through broken English she offers us a cottage on her property for as long as we want. On the deck of the cottage, on a blanket and with a fan we soon fell asleep and only woke to a tray with dinner and more fruit. It was like a scene out of a movie. Of course that is not where the gifts ended. The next basket of gifts included toothbrushes, shampoo and clean clothes. WOW!!! With such a day it was fitting that our evening was filled with free worship and prayer.
Evening came and then morning: the third day.
By this time we have realised the importance of starting our day with prayer. Once again He pointed us north towards the Golden Triangle. So after a pork, beans and rice breakfast and extra fruit for the road, our lovely host took us to Chiang Sean. There our roads parted but we continued to pray blessings over her and her family. As we looked over the water towards the other two nations (Myanmar and Laos), we started praying again. God told us of the dragon that lives in the river but instructed us not to take on this spirit. This spirit was bigger than us. So we listened and learned more about this type of spiritual warfare, accepting the knowledge and interceded for the people in the area. As I looked over towards Laos I saw multiple giants over the land. Next time you don’t know what to pray for, consider praying for this country. Christians are still heavily persecuted in the northern parts of Laos. Once we felt released, we moved on back to Chiang Sean where we met a pastor of a small church. Through very broken English we gathered that 13years ago, God gave him 3 dreams telling him to move to this area. Since then he has been persevering and building this small community of believers, praying constantly and often sneaking across the river into Laos to reach more people. We prayed for him and felt inspired by this unknown warrior. Our next few lifts took us deep into the rural parts of northern Thailand where few tourists ever go. At some point we were sitting on the roof of a truck transporting building material. What a view! Rolling hills covered in corn fields with banana trees growing lushly among the natural forests. The truck finally stopped at a remote school high up in the mountains. There we found another truck who took us little further. After some traveling we reached Chiang Khong and the Laos border. Trying to save some money and escape the intense humidity, we bought half a cooked chicken together with half a bread and sat on the supermarket floor having our meal, giving a good old western nod to staring customers. No shame. As we walked on through the town, we stumbled upon a church and knew this was our place of peace. So Louw drove off into the dark on the back of a scooter to find the pastor who could apparently speak English. He soon returned with the smile that confirmed we had a place to stay. I spent most of that night alone in a room with God, worshipping and dancing as it rained outside. Incredible.
Evening came and then morning: the fourth day.
Sleeping in again and having a slow morning with prayer seems to be our routine by this time. After a late breakfast we walked to the pastor’s house to hear his story. He too was sent to Chiang Khong by God 13years ago and has had to persevere through very difficult times. He came from a small tribe and was being trained to be a witchdoctor before God called him and the Holy Spirit came over him one day. Since then his entire family had been saved together with many people from his village. He also shared his current struggles with the government but how he perseveres despite opposition. We felt so encouraged that we insisted on praying for him before we left. What an amazing man. He then took us to the Laos border post where we spent most of the day trying to listen for instructions of what to do next. Walking across the border would be a true test of faith as we didn’t have enough money for the visa on the Laos side and would only get a 15days visa if we try to re-enter Thailand (vs the 30days we currently have). As I prayed, I heard God say 'if this is what you want, then I will provide everything you need. The choice is in your hands'. After lots of time in prayer we had peace and unity in not crossing the border. So we moved on. As we travelled, we reached a very small village that was no longer on our limited map. With no one speaking English but everyone speaking anyway, we gathered that Phu Chi Fa is a town close to the border where we could go. At that point we had gathered a crowd around us, so it was little surprise when a policeman stopped next to us. He offered to take us to Khanton, the next big town.
We got off at our supermarket of peace (7/11) and started asking surrounding shops if we could possibly sleep there. Once again we soon gathered a crowd around us. If people don’t take you to the bus station, then they take you to the police station. So naturally that is where we ended up. But God has better plans and at that precise moment the police were out. So our chauffeur family took us to their house for the night.
Evening came and then morning: the fifth day.
After our daily prayer and breakfast (chicken flied lice) with our hosts, we were dropped off at the road leading towards Phu Chi Fa and the mountains. Despite all the warnings from our hosts that our destination was too far and that we can’t walk in the rain, they let us go. We walked quite far before someone picked us up, only to drop us under a roof among corn fields somewhere between somewhere and nowhere. A short while later, our next lift came and took us all the way to our destination. At a coffee shop at an intersection we stopped to wait out the rain with the idea of walking the last 2km to this town we have only heard of. At this point checking in with God is so part of our lives that it isn’t even needed to be still to know when He speaks. Out of obedience again we buy coke and chips to have communion once we reach the town. The walk up the mountain was incredibly beautiful: Winding roads with forests of fruit trees on either side. At some point it became clear that Phu Chi Fa was in fact not a town but a look out point at the top of the mountain. (Phu Chi Fa = mountain pointing to the sky). Just before I reached the top I felt like Moses who had to take of his shoes at the burning bush. Very much aware that I am approaching holy ground, I too took off my shoes. As I climbed into the cloud bank I could feel God's presence and the anticipation of something very significant about to happen. When we reached the top and sat down for communion the entire view was blocked by the clouds. We started praying and asking God to clear the clouds before us to reveal the view. As our communion ended, we could clearly see the forest covered mountains of Laos with a road leading forward in front of us. As we sat there God gave us Jer33:3 and the invitation to ask Him what will happen in our future individually. I find it difficult to describe the honour and the hesitation I experienced at that point. We often ask God what will happen next in our lives, but what if He tells you??? We split up and went to hear of the remarkable secrets of things to come. I walked away, saw a 'danger' sign near the cliff edge and climbed over it (as one does in Global) to sit on the edge with my feet dangling hundreds of meters in the air…
As our mountain encounter ended, we descended with hope, peace and lightened spirits. We didn’t want to share our God encounters just yet but rather just enjoy the moment. Though reluctant to share, we did discuss our excitement for the path ahead and the joy that overwhelmed us. With no real destination in mind, we continued hiking through the mountains. There are no words to describe what we saw but it was clear that we were privileged to be there. At times like that one often reaches for a camera to capture the memory but this being a Luke 10, we could merely enjoy the fleetingness of the moment. We soon reached the town of Chiange Khan and felt to remain there for the night. To celebrate our day we indulged in a 10Bhat KFC ice cream and some chicken fried rice before checking into a hotel. Reliving our favourite moments of the day, we finally shared some of our future secrets. All I can say is God is good and His plans are higher than ours.
Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.
It is often that after a great spiritual break through you get attacked by the enemy…
The day started like any other: prayer, breakfast/lunch and some jokes. Our ‘clues’ for the day seemed strange but we had high hopes none the less. We set off in a direction (aiming to go back to Chiang Mai) and got a lift to the small town of Pong. Fun fact about this town: this is the black hole of Thailand. There are no maps to be found there and no one knows what direction one should travel to get to Chiang Mai. At some point a shop owner allowed us to use their internet and as google maps could not locate us, we still had no idea where we were. With no unity on which way to go, we chose to sit down. We continued praying, still no unity. Finally we all agreed on a direction and started traveling. Then the conflict came… I understand having grace and brotherly love, but all these Christianese terms seem foreign when you are hungry, exhausted from the heat and restless because you don’t know where you are. It is at this point that communication becomes difficult and offense is taken. At some point we realized that we are not going to get any lifts without unity, so we talked. No luck. Walked again, stopped, and talked. No luck. We ended up in Chiang Muan, ate in silence and found a place to sleep. No unity. Offense in abundance. Still all living in the same room…
I don’t like conflict…
Evening came and then morning: the seventh day.
I don’t know what happened during those few hours of sleep but all of a sudden things were back to normal. We found out how to get back to Chiang Mai and started back tracking to get on the right path again. Supernaturally we got lifts back to Pong (the black hole) and after walking in every direction and back, we finally found the way out. More miraculous lifts and we ended up at Payao’s bus station. With unity restored and joy over flowing, we ate some ice cream with our last money and walked back to the high way. There we got another lift back to the bus station and someone offering to buy us bus tickets. WOW! As it was, the bus was full. So we greeted our new friends and thanked them for the banana chips they gave us (aka lunch) and walked back to the high way. Once again lift, after lift, after lift. We even drove in the cooler of an egg transporting company. The last lift took us all the way to the front door of the church in Chiang Mai. WE MADE IT!!!
Of course this is global so things are never as it seems. On arrival we inform the team of the next challenge (starting now): a 3day (3nights) hike with bags back to the hostel in Bangkok. Small allowance for food will be provided. May the odds be ever in your favour…
So our team decided to extend our Luke 10 attitude and take it easy, not rushing to get to the destination. This resulted in us traveling very short distances at a time (despite offers to take us all the way) and spending most of our time in coffee shops drinking coffee and investing in our friendships. Spending our entire food allowance on coffee, we settled for scavenging when the need arose. Our hosts over the 3 nights included the Lampang bus station (the part that was still under construction), a 24/7 McDonalds we scavenged dinner at (after midnight very few people go up to the second floor…) and a very dodge public bathroom where we used outdoor furniture to barricade ourselves in…
What an adventure! 
God is good!
Things that I have learned:
- You have to start your day with prayer, always
- Don’t be rushed.
- It is okay to not have a destination in life. The focus is more on obedience in every little step and being flexible when the direction changes.
- Don’t put a time limit on God’s work. A 7day journey might actually be a 10day journey.
- Don’t let logic steal from the obedience journey. God provides all the way.
- Traveling without baggage is a lot easier: spiritually and physically.
- If your spiritual life is comfortable, there is something wrong. Comfort steals, avoid it at all cost.
- Stay in the flow of the Holy Spirit.
- When God says ‘keep quiet’ you should keep quiet. What you say could cause conflict, even if you still don’t know what you did wrong…
- Don’t take offense.
So we are off to our next ministry point in Phuket and a chance to start practicing making Luke 10 not just a faith journey but a lifestyle...
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