Pressing Into Discomfort

Hi friends! I have officially been in Malaysia for 40 days 🤯 I honestly still can’t believe it. Since my last blog a lot has happened 😂 and we’ve had a few huge announcements so get ready!! First things first…

Team Salt + Light is going to Bangkok!!

We knew our next country was Thailand… but this week we found out that instead of our whole squad going to one place, we will be splitting up into our teams and each doing ministry in separate places. My team will be doing ministry in Bangkok! (The rest of our squad will be split between Chang Dao and Chang Mai) I’ll give you more updates as I get them but for now I just know our ministry includes teaching english again 🙂

I’m also so excited to announce that our third country is ALBANIA! 🇦🇱 my squad will also be split up in our teams in Albania … honestly I was pretty sad to hear that the squad would be split up for the next 4 months which beings me to my next point…

Pressing Into Discomfort:

Recent the Lord has been teaching me a lot about pressing into what He has set before me (even if it’s uncomfortable or not my preference). He started prodding my heart about this topic when I first got sick all the way back at training camp… but since then other things have happened (my sleeping pad popping, finding out that my squad is splitting up, etc) that were definitely not what I expected or desired. However, I am glad they all happened because now I can look back and see how the Lord was teaching/reminding me that He never calls us to be comfortable!!

I’ve found myself thinking on this quote I saw a while back a lot recently:

With our mouths we pray, ‘Thy will be done, but with our hearts we hope, ‘Thy will match mine.’

Honestly, I do this ALL THE TIME. I’ve been praying for the Lord’s will to be done but I never expected the Lord’s will to be for my sleeping pad to pop or my squad to split up. Therefore I have to now ask myself, if I had known what the Lord’s will was, would I still have prayed for it to be done? Or would I, in hopes of preserving my comfort and expectations for what should happen, have just prayed for my will to be done?

Hopefully you are still tracking my jumble of thoughts 😂 but ALL these thoughts led me to dwell on Matthew 16:24-25 which calls us to take up our cross (not easy and definitely not fun) and Matthew 6:33 (“But seek ye first the kingdom of God!!”). The past few weeks I have realized that you cannot take up your cross like the Lord calls you to while also seeking your own comfort and preference. It’s one or the other. And I had to sit down and ask myself…How often do I seek other things first? How often do I seek my own preference and comfort first? and the answer is OFTEN. Because the reality is that it’s unfortunately human nature… so as we travel to Thailand I am asking the Lord to help me kill my flesh daily and take up my cross for His kingdom because ultimately that has eternal value!! And my comfort is nothing compared to that 🙂

How You Can Be Praying!

• pray for the school ministry (the kids are all still being raised in Muslim homes so just pray that the Lord would touch their hearts and grab ahold of them even now at a young age!)
• pray for Pastor Thomas, his family, and all the volunteers as they continue this work faithfully!
• safe travels (we all leave Malaysia on Sunday, Nov. 17th for Thailand so just pray that everything would go smoothly!!)
• pray for my heart! (that the Lord would teach me and change my heart to desire the furtherance of His kingdom over my own preference and comfort in EVERY circumstance!!)
• pray for my fundraising process and that I would continue to trust the Lord fully throughout it because He has been so faithful to provide!!
  • if you feel led to give, you can donate at: https://adventuresinmissions.servicereef.com/events/adventures-in-missions-3/2024-world-race-gap-year-24g0903/participants/isabella-ormey

and ofc here’s the photo dump!!