Wednesday, 11 June 2014

The strength to start again

Thongdee, Ae, Saoda and K

“I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.” F. Scott Fiztgerald

What does it look like to have the strength to start again? It takes courage. It takes strength. However, without someone cheering you on from the sidelines, it can be a very lonely journey.

The four people in the picture above have each begun to start again. In fact they have been on this journey for some time now. One of them is a very talented musician that was living a life that he was not so proud of, 2 of them were just recently released from prison, and one of them lived a large part of his life as a refugee. 

Life if full of circumstances that make it difficult to stand up when we make a mistake. When someone makes the decision to stand up and start again, we want to be cheering them on. Thongdee, Ae, Saoda and K are on a journey of redemption together - their stories, although  somewhat different, have a common denominator - each one of them believes that God has called them to serve Him in some way or another.

Together they left Ratchaburi at the beginning of June 2014 to attend a 6 month Discipleship Training School with YWAM Ubon Ratchathani in the north east of Thailand. They are desiring to learn more about God's plans for them. They are desiring to continue on in this journey to live a life that not only they are proud of, but that the Heavenly Father is pleased with.

Each one of the four need to raise US$1000 for the 6 month Discipleship Training School that they are involved in. We are here to cheer them on in their journey, but we need others who are willing to stand up with us and cheer them on from near or from far. We need people to join us in prayer for them. We need people to help them to cover a small amount of the fees of a 6 month experience that to them, is invaluable. 

We believe that God will use ordinary people who at some point in their lives have had to start again, just like the four of them. We believe that as people are willing to stand up with us and cheer for people like these four individuals, that they will have the strength that they need each day, through the encouragement that they receive. If you would like to contribute you can do so here.
(Please make sure that you state in the note that it is for: YWAM Ratchaburi DTS students).

We also believe that God will use the stories of these four people to encourage others to stand up and make a change in their lives. If that is you, be encouraged - and may you have a team of people cheering you on as you continue to try and rewrite your story with God. If you know someone who is trying to gain the courage and strength to stand up and make a change - why not let them know that you are cheering for them.