Preparing for Thailand

In twelve hours we leave for the airport to fly to Thailand. In an unusual quirk of scheduling, we can fly all the way from Tupelo, Mississippi to Bangkok, Thailand on Northwest Airlines. Our trip will take 28 hours en route, with stops in Memphis, San Francisco and Tokyo. We change planes in Memphis and San Francisco, but we only stop for refueling and a brief layover in Tokyo. Our flight should touch down in Bangkok at 11:59 PM Monday night, which will be about 11 AM here in Tupelo. And that means our internal clock will be way off kilter. I suppose it will be 2 AM before we get to bed in Thailand. I don’t anticipate any problems getting to sleep because I’m scheduled to speak to some Filipino missionaries on Tuesday afternoon.

I honestly don’t know all that we’re doing during this trip. I know I’m speaking to the Filipino missionaries on Tuesday afternoon and to a group of church leaders on Wednesday. Then on Thursday and Friday, I’m leading a seminar on evangelism for a group of Christian workers from several churches. I think I’m preaching somewhere next Sunday. And we hope to visit the women’s prison also. Plus we’ll visit the famous floating market (scroll down to see the pictures). This is our first trip to Thailand. I just checked the weather and it will be hot and sticky–highs in the 90s, lows in the 80s and upper 70s with high humidity. No need to pack a sweater.

We would be grateful for your prayers–for safety and spiritual protection, for good health, for energy and stamina, for open doors for ministry, and for the anointing of the Holy Spirit as we speak and visit so that we may encourage the people we meet.

Earlier this week a friend sent along this list of prayers she said she prayed for us each day. They are not specifically connected to our trip to Thailand, but I thought I would share them as a good example of how to pray for pastors and missionaries and other Christian workers:

1. That you both will wake each morning, rested and energized enough to begin your day.
2. That you will both eat good, well balanced meals, to get you through each day.
3. That you will both feel knowledgeable and fit in your Christian lives and walk with the Lord, that you can minister to those that you meet and spend your time with.
4. That you will find some “laugh-time” to just laugh and be silly with each other, and you will feel better equipped to help others.
5. Lastly, I pray that God will minister to you both in a very special way each day.

These are very practical prayers and my heart was encouraged as I read them.

I will be posting on the weblog as often as I can. Thanks in advance for your prayers. We certainly depend upon them.

If you have any advice or thoughts for us as we prepare to visit Thailand, please use the Comments section to let us know.