After landing in Thailand we traveled for two more days to the mountains. Words cannot discribe the beauty that we saw as we traveled into the jungle. Driving along a small road we came to the Stadefast Love Church of the Karen people.

While we were there we went to different villages to share the Gospel. Our first day was the most difficult for the people there were not willing to share their lives with us. I saw that these people lived in fear and they really did not have any hope. The last hut that we went to was of an elderly buddist man who was very inerested in us as Americans. As we were talking with him he said "I will believe in whatever someone tells me to believe in". I was really put back by this. I didn't know what to say or how to react. I didn't want to just go into the Gospel after he said that, but I didn't want to leave there without showing God's love. As a team we continued to talk to him and explained that he needed to follow his own heart and not follow other people. We invited him to the service that we were having that night and he came.

Steven, our host in PakChong, said that the Thai and Karen people are very people pleasing. I had no idea until I talked with this man. I realized even more than before how lucky I am to be born in a place that allows freedom and to have parents that want me to be my own person. These people are not free. They live in fear of evil spirits and they don't have hope. Jesus is the only hope that they do have. You could see that in the village that we went to the next day. They had a strong Christian community there, they were not in the dark. Even though the first day was the most difficult day for us I believe that it was one of the most productive. We may have not lead anyone to Christ that day (or we may have) but we planted seeds there. There is now a chance for that village to have peace and I cannot wait to hear how that village is doing in the future.