Prayer for Words

Today I was to visit 15 of the girls from the juvenile detention center. However, today they were not in the prison but had gone to a temple to earn merit in order to have an early release.&n bsp; It took FOREVER to get out to the temple...I thought it was closer than it was and I had one of the prison guards in my car with me the entire way. The guard only speaks Thai and she looks a little dike like...the girls at the prison tease me and say that she has a crush on me. Anyway, I took the long, awkward drive and finally arrived at the temple to be surrounded by 15 of my closest girl friends in Thailand.
They were dressed from head to toe in white robes. They had lost weight from not eating much in a week. They took my hands and lead me into the temple where the prayers were taking place. Young girls all around on their hands and knees bowing up
and down towards a large golden Buddha placed in the front of the room. My girls with their tongue rings and tattoos stood out just a little and I couldn't help but smile. Chants were echoing all around in a language I couldn't decipher. An older monk also sat at the front of the room with her legs crossed, eyes closed and hands clasped in front of her. She was obviously the head of the chanting prayer.
Each girl quickly took her place on the floor leaving me in the back of the room. Occasionally, they would open one eye, look back at me and smile without breaking their prayer chant or posture. They prayed for a long time.=2 0 As they prayed...I prayed... I prayed over them. I am not a crier, but this was just such an emotional moment. I could not pull them away, I could not scream the name of Jesus....only whisper it. "Jesus, meet me here." As I cried quietly in the back of the room, they looked back in concern. I assured them with a nod, that I was ok.
Later, I told them that I cried because I was praying for each of them at that moment. They all thanked me for everything and asked if we could go eat pizza together. I told them, “Anytime you call me I will be there...and don't you forget it.” We hugged, pinky swore we wouldn't forget each other, punched fists together and said "swadee kha". (Good-by) They waved at me as I drove away until I could no longer see their blurry silhouettes. I must have prayed constantly, the entire time I was there. The power of prayer is stronger than the hold of Satan.

2Cor 10:4-54 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish& nbsp;strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

I had a few moments with the girls before they went back to praying.


The bruise on my face is from a motor bike accident...very small one.

Picture of Humility

Today God would bring my face to the dirt. I don't mind wearing holes in the knees of my jeans, if that is what it will take for me to be humbled. As I took my morning run today, Buddhists of every age were starting their day with a candle cer emony and offering to their god of gold. I seemed to be the only thing moving at that hour, as monks stood in their golden robes and shaven heads, ready to receive the alms of those who would come to them to be blessed. The people knelt and put their faces on the ground, not concerned of comfort, of dirt, or of who might be watching. Monks of every age bordered the street, creating a deep shade of gold on either side as they marched back into the temple. I couldn't help but smile when I saw one boy of about eleven yrs. Old. His little bald head and bare feet reminded me of my youngest brother....my smile was soon drenched with tears as I thought of my brother in that young boys place. It was more than my emotional heart could stand.
I looked to heaven and said, “Dear God, you have saved me, you have called me out to serve you; yet at this moment, as the people you have called me to are on their knees, I have my mind fixed on empty emotions and concerns of my future. Oh God, my King, take me to my knees! May I not be able to stand before I come to you in complete submission and humility."


James 4:6 - But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

December Newsletter

November Newsletter 2007

October Newsletter

A Hospital Visit

It has been a while since my last update, evidence of how busy life has become for me. These past few weeks I have tried new foods, met new friends and of course learned new words in Thai. As of now I have lived in Thailand for three months and the verdict…I am still in love with Thailand! I can’t wait to get up each morning just to see what adventure the new day will bring. Although it seems that since I arrived I have been sick more than I have been well, I know it is all a part of my body adjusting to this new place.

So, I guess the biggest news this month has been about me being admitted into the hospital for a couple days with a staph infection. I never thought my obsession for running would put me in the hospital, but this time it did. Here’s the story. I went running Monday morning and strangely my shoe, was rubbing on the back of my heal which was never a problem before. So rather than stop and get a band-aid, I did what any one else would do, I just ran through the pain. By the time I finished my run, my heel was pretty sore and a little bloody, but nothing a bit of peroxide wouldn’t fix. So, I showered, put on flip flops and was off for my day. Tuesday morning was the same routine only it hurt a whole lot more. I hobbled around all morning but didn’t think much of it. By noon on Tuesday, I told the lady I was working with that I didn’t feel quite right, that I felt dizzy and was not sure wrong. She suggested that I should go lay down, which I did. About an hour later when she came to check on me, I could hardly move and was running a high fever. All I wanted was to go home and go to bed, so I had someone drive me home. By Tuesday night, the swelling on my foot had greatly increased and was much more infected. I tended to the wound with peroxide and a band- aid, but still wasn’t convinced that was the cause of the nausea and fever. After a long night, finally morning came and I was so sick that I could hardly go up and down the stairs. I showed my foot to my roommates and we all agreed that I need to go to the doctor. They called one of our “mom’s” here, Mrs. G., to come and get me. When she looked at my foot, her reaction was less than encouraging and she rushed me to the hospital. After the doctor had poked at my foot for a while he told me, “Take these pills and get some rest.” Since both my roommates were at work, Mrs. P had me stay and rest at here house that afternoon. After a two hour nap, I managed to walk down her stairs and pale and frail said, “Mrs. P, I think it is worse.” With one look at my foot, which was now taking on a purplish tone, she said, “Oh honey, it is!” She rushed me over to the office of a Doctor with our company. He looked at my foot and was very concerned, he called another doctor with our company and they decided that I would meet him, Doctor G, in the ER in 30 minutes.

My hospital uniform

This is where the story gets interesting and if you have a weak stomach, you may not want to continue reading. Mrs. P said she would drop me off at the ER door and go park then meet up with me. As I walked up to the ER, I noticed the waiting room was outside in the heat and humidity. Amongst the people waiting their turn was a little dog napping at their feet. Since I didn’t really understand the procedure, I decided to hobble right in to the ER. As soon as I did, they brought a bed over told me to lay on it, which I did. When I realized they were going to wheel me to the back, I sat up and said, “I need to see doctor G!” Thinking I was speaking of one of their doctors, they answered, “Yes, doctor Grace.” I said, “No, no, wait, I want to see Doctor G!” They continued to wheel me down the hall and parked me in the back where I was surrounded by probably eight Thai doctors and nurses. I was thinking to myself, “Great they are going to cut off my foot here and now without Mrs. P. or Doctor G. Finally Doctor G walked around the corner, looked at my foot, had a surgeon look at it and decided to cut and drain the infection. With a quivering lip I said, “Ok,” while I looked around for comfort from Mrs. P, who was still nowhere to be seen. She phoned me and asked how to get where I was and because I couldn’t really explain, she asked if I could come out front and meet her. Since my foot was in the process of being sterilized by five Thai nurses, I couldn’t really see a way out. Mrs. P finally found her way to me and stood by my side holding my hand. They prepared all their tools, wheeled over a huge metal tray with a grate on the top that looked similar to a grill, and placed my foot on it. I was thinking to myself,”How much are they planning on draining from me, because that thing is pretty big?” I grabbed Mrs. P’s hand as I saw them pull out a 6” curved needle. They stuck the needle directly in the infection and without waiting for the numbness to kick in, immediately started cutting my foot, and pushing out the infection. The pain was so intense I was unable to let out a scream or even move. I gripped onto Mrs. P’s hand with my teeth clinched and my body shaking. If given the opportunity to think about what they were going to do to me, I probably would have run right out of that ER, but this all happed within 20 minutes of me walking in the door. Finally they brought me up to my room where I would be on IV antibiotics and fluids for 2 days.

Brooke thought she wanted to look

I am so thankful to Mrs. P. Even though she almost passed-out herself, she never left my side that entire day. My roommates met up with me that afternoon and bless their hearts, stayed with me in the hospital all night, both sleeping on the world’s smallest bed. I am not sure how they did it, but I am so glad they did because I really needed them there. This has been an event to remember, I earned a reputation with the nurses there for being fearful of needles. But all in all my Thailand hospital experience was a good one I give them two thumbs up. Now the hard part begins…taking a break from running long enough for my foot to heal.

Tip for the week: Things grow rapidly in a warm humid climate, that’s just the way it is.

View from my hospital window. My roommates are great!