Sawatzky's

Our trip…hmm…where do I start? There’s just so much to tell! You might say we started our trip off with a bang. Well, after we landed that is. First we had to endure the long, long, journey.
As you know, most large planes have First Class, Business Class and Economy seats. And then they have where we were…in the tail. Seriously! Now, just in case you didn’t know, that particular section of the plane has considerably more bounce and sway to it than the rest of the plane, even on smooth flights. Add turbulent air and you have a flight that could rival the wildest amusement park ride. And that’s what we had! For three hours we were whipped mercilessly through the sky high over the Pacific Ocean. Yes, everyone around us was throwing up – well, almost every one – but happily not us. Many were moaning, others were crying out in fear and I’m sure more than a few were making deals with God. “If you get me out of this, I’ll…”
When we landed, there were several hundred visibly shaken passengers. Most of us didn’t have time to process the ordeal we’d just been through because we were in a hurry to catch our next flight. (Hooray!) It did have an odd effect on people though – they were acting very strange indeed. As we were going through security, the man in front of me kept walking in-between the two body scanners, instead of through one. The security agent kept telling him something, which he obviously didn’t understand, and then sent him back to try again. Every time the passenger came back, he removed another article of clothing – first his belt, then his shoes, his watch, his shirt – and each time he again walked in-between the scanners. Finally, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I thought I better help the poor guy out; I was worried what he might take off next! So, before he could remove another item of clothing, I took him by the shoulders – and to everyone’s great relief – pushed him THROUGH the scanner. Amazingly…or perhaps, not surprisingly, he didn’t even beep! So, the trip began.
As we rode through Bangkok in our taxi we wondered where everybody was. The streets seemed eerily deserted for a city of 15 million people. When we awoke the next morning we discovered the reason. The headlines of the newspaper that had been left at our door, read: Banks on alert after bomb blast!  Grenade attack!  Security agencies put on high alert! Trouble was brewing again, and as we would later find out, escalating to a serious degree.
On the surface, the unrest appears to be politically motivated but we can see a much deeper source. Thailand plays a strategic role in the missions’ movement. It has been relatively free and open for many years, and Bangkok has served as a hub from which one can travel to dozens of areas that are inaccessible from anywhere else. God has chosen Thailand for His glory, as a launching pad for the spread of the gospel into all areas of Southeast Asia and regions beyond. However, Thailand is also a nation steeped in Buddhism and animism. Millions of people are held captive under the darkness and bondage of false religion.
An article in Time Magazine described one particular incident, “…thousands of Thai protesters splattered buckets of their own blood outside the Prime Minister’s office in Bangkok as a Brahmin priest in flowing white robes lit incense, chanted spells and cast a curse upon the government. Curses, dark rituals and black magic have long been a part of the political culture of the country.”
There is an intense spiritual warfare being waged for the hearts of the Thai people, and indeed, Thailand itself. It has been prophesied that God’s glory would be released over the nation but Satan is not prepared to loosen his grip or give up easily. He is making an all-out attempt to keep his strong hold over the land, intact.
It was into this frenzy of political and spiritual turmoil that we embarked on this year’s mission trip, beginning with a conference in Bangkok, called: Pulling Down Strongholds! For three days we listened as Pastors and leaders from the surrounding nations identified the particular strongholds holding sway over their respective countries. These included everything from strongholds of religious and political oppression to strongholds of poverty, corruption, injustice, drugs, occult and traditions. It is not enough to recognize these in a general, sweeping manner. Strongholds must be dealt with specifically, deliberately and strategically – and that is just what the Christians in these nations are doing. We spent much time in prayer and the representatives of the nations began to declare, “We will seize our nation’s prophetic destiny”
From there our Canadian team spread out across the nations. Four of us went to a location which will remain undisclosed, to do a Church Empowerment Program. This was a leadership seminar for Pastors who serve in remote tribal areas and have limited access to training and fellowship with other leaders. (*Note: It is estimated that in some countries up to 80% of Pastors have no formal training) Some of them travelled for over twenty hours by train to attend. We had an amazing time together. One afternoon we visited one of the “High Places” to proclaim the word of the Lord and tear down spiritual strongholds over the nation.
Our time there was not without opposition and difficulties. Many participants (and speakers) became ill. The wife of our country coordinator became so sick that we were seriously concerned for her. Our driver and his assistant were in a car accident – which sent them to the hospital – just moments after dropping us off. Schedules and flights had to be changed and we got ourselves into trouble with authorities more than once. It was clear however, that God was in control. No matter what the enemy sent our way, God always sent a solution. Listening to the testimonies of what the Lord had done in the lives of the pastors and hearing them express how much they had learned from the teaching made all the trials and inconveniences worthwhile.
Only moments before we left the country, we had an experience in the street market that will forever leave a lasting impression on me. God sent one very special little boy and his baby sister to us. All we could do for them was to feed them lunch, but we were able to tell them that it was because Jesus loved them. We had the young boy repeat several times, “Jesus loves me.” We know that sometime, somehow, God will send someone to explain what that means.
I just now received an email (as I am writing this) saying that a series of explosions have gone off (in this country) in an area where we visited less than a month ago. Several people were killed and many were injured. No one knows the motive behind the bombings, but this just underscores the need to go into nations when God opens the doors. We never know how long it will be before the doors close again or if it will become too unsafe to travel into these areas.
From there we travelled into another (un-named) country. Again we had to improvise as our schedule was rearranged. Our afternoon meeting was cut short when the pastor came and said, “We will go now…right now!” We discovered later that he had received four phone calls from the authorities and was being summoned to the police station for an “interview”. This resulted in some time off for our team. We made good use of the time by immersing ourselves into the culture of the people. It was a real eye opener.
Once more we had a brief moment where we knew we were experiencing a divine encounter – unplanned on our part. We came across a little woman selling sun glasses. She was quite obnoxious in her sales approach. We had the choice to be rude in return or to let the love of God shine through us.  We chose the latter approach.  The end of the story is that as we were walking away she said, “I love you…you’re my friends!” As we smiled, we thought, “Jesus loves you – He’s your friend!”
As I said when I started, there’s so-o-o-o much to tell, including some really funny stories, but this has already become far too long so I will end it here…for now.
It is such a privilege to be able to participate in what God is doing around the world. If it was not for the support of our KCC family this would not be possible. Thank you all for your prayers and support. As we go, we represent you, and you have no idea how much of an impact you have made!

- Judy & Ryan S.