Ordinary blessings

As you probably know, Friends Network is all about friendship evangelism. Friendship evangelism involves sharing the gospel through genuine relationships built on trust, care, and everyday connection.

The more time I spend living life this way, the more grateful I am that I’m doing it through the lens of friendship evangelism. There are many great ways to do ministry, and they all serve different people in different ways.

I specifically like this method because it puts me right in the “ordinary” with those around me.

God is working and moving in the small things like having meals with others, being a regular at restaurants/cafes/coffee shops, being able to celebrate birthdays (pictured), or finding myself teaching a 9-year-old how to work out and lift weights.

Think about the story of Jesus turning the water into wine, and consider the perspective of the servants that Jesus told to fill up the jars with water. I’m not sure about you but I would have probably thought Jesus was joking. This wouldn’t have made sense in my head. But the servants filled the water anyway. They listened and did what Jesus asked them to do. The way that Jesus went about this situation showed his gentle spirit and compassion. He didn’t make a big scene and try to show off what he could do. He did this quietly in a way that the master of the banquet didn’t even know what had happened. Jesus doesn’t stop there - he turned the wine into really good wine. Jesus blesses them even more than they could have imagined.

I’m not exactly sure what God has up his sleeve for my life, the ministry happening here, or Chiang Mai in general, but I’m excited to keep looking for the extraordinary that is happening in the ordinary. Whether it be in the big loud ways or the quiet whispers and nudges along the way.

Lauren Braatz (pictured in blue) serves as a Friends Network missionary in Chiang Mai, Thailand.