Hi, my name is Megan Stauffer and I am a child of God, follower of Jesus, and missionary to the nations! I am a firm believer that there is so much fulfillment, satisfaction, and JOY when you are living life on purpose and With A Mission (YWAM pun intended ;)! We were made to be living for Christ WHOLEheartedly as a living sacrifice for the ONE who created the Heavens and the earth and everything in it (see Romans 12)--it all belongs to Him!! And there's SO much joy when we are living in full surrender to Him and in relationship with our good Father! He will take us on many adventures if we let Him ;)
Living in relationship with God--Maker of the universe and of our lives--is not something that all get to know however. For example, Thailand is only considered approximately 1.2% Christian, to compare, America is 63%. There are almost 62 MILLION people who are unreached (who have never heard the good news of Jesus or received the life of the Holy Spirit) in Thailand.
How will they know if no one tells them?? (Romans 10:13-19)
!!!STORYTIME!!!
In the June of 2023 I got the joy to be able to travel to Thailand for the first time. It was a super last minute kind of thing but I got to go with a prayer team from my church network. I had to be 18 to go along on this trip but with the LORD's timing, I turned 18 ONE day before we left (favorite birthday gift from God so far)! This was the first time I ever traveled out of the country and my first mission trip!
On this first trip to Thailand I began to fall in love with the country and the people there and the LORD grew my desire to come back. ...Well before this trip even ended I got another opportunity to go back in about 3 months time. So I prayed...
There were two verses I felt the LORD reminding me (John 14:26):
1. Romans 10:14-15
"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
2. Matthew 10:16
“I am SENDING you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."
God was sending me, so I committed to going again in that September.
As I awaited this next trip doubts began to arise in my mind and I started questioning if I had made the right decision to go to Thailand again. But one morning God gave me the clarity I had been asking for... and MORE!
...
I had a yard sale at YWAM that I was helping with one morning...
I was in a rush and I needed a box for something...
I saw one I had stuffed with over a THOUSAND random notes from strangers in it.
(it was a social experiment my best friend and I had done)
So I dumped out all of the notes onto my bed and went about my day.
That night I went to a Jesus rally (yeah I know right, Lancaster country PA is pretty cool :)
....well I honestly don't remember much from that night except at the VERY end when everyone was leaving, a guy went up on stage (random fun fact: we became neighbors at one point in YWAM)... the words that came out of his mouth stuck with me...
"SO I AM SENDING YOU OUT AS SHEEP AMONG WOLVES, SO BE AS SHREWD AS SERPENTS AND HARMLESS AS DOVES."
It was the confirmation from the LORD that I so needed and I received the peace He gave me that I was supposed go to Thailand again! I also felt His love like CRAZY and praised Him for so clearly speaking and answering my prayers!!!
...OK but that's not even CLOSE to being it! Jesus is so good and gives way more than we could ever think, ask or imagine!!...
So that night I went home super tired and as soon as I got there I saw the whole pile of notes on the bed I was so ready to pass out on. So I SCOOPED the 1,000 notes into my arms and plopped them onto a chair in my room. And surprisingly none but ONE fell to the floor...
so I bent and picked it up and looked to see what was written on it.... all I saw was one word..... NO JOKE...
"THAILAND"
I WAS SO OVERWHELMED BY THE LOVE OF THE LORD, especially that He would give me such clarity. So I went to bed and slept in a load of peace. (the story's still not over :)))
...I woke up the next morning, got out of bed and noticed there was actually one other note I missed that fell on the floor, but it was written on a paper towel (must've been super important to the strangers to write it I guess lol). On it it said...
"HOME" and it had a little heart on it.
In that very moment I felt the peace of Jesus calling me to make Thailand my home. So that's what my goal is: to be obedient to the call of God on my life, to invite others (YOU) into it, and to bring others in Thailand to THEIR HOME found in Jesus!!!
Finishing this partial testimony (because it's still in the process of course, and with YOUR help can come to fulfillment!), I went to Thailand for a second trip that September which by the way was the best trip of my life, and then I did a YWAM DTS (Discipleship Training School) that October in Lancaster. It had been decided that our outreach for that school was to go to Cambodia but the very day I moved in I found out--in disbelief for a solid week--that we would have a SECOND outreach location in...
THAILAND!!!!
This then led to THREE different trips to Thailand within the span of ONE year along with a total of approximately TEN other mission trips that same year (GOD WAS/IS MOVING!!).
So with all that maybe you're wondering now what my current steps are towards that goal and what exactly I'd be doing in Thailand... this is something I am still figuring out but I have felt Him speak to me about 2025 being the year I will go again (most likely longer term)!
I have been praying and dreaming with the LORD about what He wants to do in Thailand and I have felt a couple different ideas that I hold with open hands: coffee shop, adventure discipleship school (or something similar), and somehow helping with those who are sex trafficked.
This Fall I will also be attending a Bible school with YWAM Lancaster called CBS (Catalyst Bible School). This will help grow a stronger Biblical foundation for longterm missions, it will help me grow in leadership and working in teams, and I hope and pray it will be a place where I will meet others with a call to Thailand as well to join a team to go together.
Your prayers are very very much appreciated for all of this. Pray that Jesus will continue to mold me into the person He wants me to be for the specific call He has and that He will lead me into that. Pray also that He will bring a team together that all have a clear call from Him to Thailand and to work together and that our gifts will compliment each other and we will be able to be unified and work well together for His glory.
If you feel the LORD is leading you to support me financially, both short-term or long-term, your support is a huge blessing whether big or small and I pray that you would also be blessed in your blessing me.
It may be difficult to have enough money for longterm missions so if you feel led to partner with me in prayer and or fundraising, YOU will be a part of my team and ministry and what the Holy Spirit does through me in the nations and the hearts of His people, and YOU will also receive a reward for how you have blessed and invested in the Kingdom of God!
Thank you so much,
God bless you immensely,
Much love :)
Megan Reese Stauffer