Your painful past has a purpose.
Host Helen Todd and Dr. Danielle Seda talk about Danielle's recent trip to Thailand, a journey of both heart and soul. In a country with the fusion of Buddhism, animism, and Hinduism , where people build spirit houses for the spirit's of ancestors, we peer into the shadows where human trafficking and minority struggles persist. Danielle opens up about her early adulthood's quest for belonging and how, through trials and tribulations, she found her way back to Jesus and the church, a testament to the transformative power of faith and the pursuit of a greater purpose.
Feel the pulse of our mission trip's triumphs and trials, and the profound impact short-term missions can have on all involved.
Thanks for listening! Visit our website rfwma.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram!
Help us make more inspiring episodes: https://rfwma.org/give-support-the-podcast/
Your painful past has a purpose.
Host Helen Todd and Dr. Danielle Seda talk about Danielle's recent trip to Thailand, a journey of both heart and soul. In a country with the fusion of Buddhism, animism, and Hinduism , where people build spirit houses for the spirit's of ancestors, we peer into the shadows where human trafficking and minority struggles persist. Danielle opens up about her early adulthood's quest for belonging and how, through trials and tribulations, she found her way back to Jesus and the church, a testament to the transformative power of faith and the pursuit of a greater purpose.
Feel the pulse of our mission trip's triumphs and trials, and the profound impact short-term missions can have on all involved.
Thanks for listening! Visit our website rfwma.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram!
Help us make more inspiring episodes: https://rfwma.org/give-support-the-podcast/
What if you had a guide who could tell you how to bridge a gap between who you are today and who you are destined to be? What if, each week, you could hear a story of someone who has tried and succeeded, or perhaps tried and failed but learned something in the process? Limitless Spirit is a weekly podcast where host Helen Todd interviews guests about topics and personal stories on defining life's purpose, pursuing personal growth and developing a deeper faith in Christ.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Limitless Spirit podcast. Here we talk about embarking on an adventure with God to find your greater purpose in life and to fulfill his great commission. I'm your host, helen Todd. In today's episode we explore Thailand, an enchanting country where the sun is bright and warm, nature is lush and tropical and everyone smiles. But what hides behind this happy exterior? I guess Dr Danielle Seda just recently returned from her first missionary trip to Thailand, and so, before we dive into her experiences, let's take a moment and talk about the spiritual heritage of the Thai people.
Speaker 2:From the bustling streets of Bangkok to the serene landscapes of Chiang Rai in the north, thailand just exudes a sense of spirituality. For centuries, thai people have embraced a rich mix of beliefs, blending Buddhism, animism and Hinduism, and spirituality is woven into the very fabric of their daily life. One ritual, specifically, is embraced by most in Thai society. It is very common to see many shrines in front of homes and businesses. They look like little doll houses on a stand, and inside you can see tiny figurines of people and animals and also real life, food and beverages that are brought as offerings to the spirits. So these are the spirit houses, and they are built to appease the spirits that inhabited this building before the current owners.
Speaker 2:Sadly, behind the sunny smiles, thai people are dealing with pain and challenges and circumstances that these mysterious spirits simply cannot solve From being a hub for human trafficking to prevalent drug use and abuse, especially in the north, to poverty and hopelessness among the minority hill tribes that live in remote areas. People in Thailand are looking for hope and comfort, and love and acceptance. In this conversation, danielle and I talk about how God uses our past to connect us with strangers and how answering his call takes faith and courage, and we also touch on the rewards of living in an obedient life. Hello, danielle, welcome to the Limitless Spirit Podcast. How are you today?
Speaker 3:Hi Helen, I am doing great, thank you. How about yourself?
Speaker 2:I'm excited to see you. So I met you for the first time on our mission to Thailand, but you had actually traveled with World Missions Alliance before, and so I was really, really blessed by watching you, minister, and just spending time with you. You're a lot of fun. So I'm excited to do this interview and let our listeners get to know you a little bit. So let's start with a little about Danielle. How did you come to know Jesus?
Speaker 3:Well, praise God. Well, my story is a little unique in that I wasn't raised in a Christian home. In fact, I was abandoned as a baby, and so my maternal grandmother or I should say my maternal great-grandmother was the one who took me in as an infant. I didn't grow up in a Christian household, as I mentioned, but my mother's father, which would have been the son-in-law to my grandmother, who raised me. He was actually a deacon in a church, and so he took me to my first church service when I was five years old, not really knowing or understanding a lot of what was going on. It was just like one of those impressionable moments, I guess you could say. And then, when I was eight years old, I went again with him to a service. So again, I knew that God was real. I believed in God.
Speaker 3:I didn't know what it took to have a relationship with God, and when I was 10, I had a neighbor invite me to come to church with her. So I went to church with her as a 10-year-old, looking for friendship with all the children, and did not quite find that. However, there was one girl in the group who was different. She was about four years older than me and I could see Jesus in her life and I would always hear the adults say, oh, she's saved, she's saved. And I didn't know what it meant. I just knew that, what she had, I wanted that and so just watching how she was just so kind. She was different than the other kids. Some of the other kids were quite cruel, but she was always nice, always kind, very gifted. She played piano, she sang, and I just saw a lot of beautiful attributes. So I remained at that particular church for about two years until I was 12 years old. At 12 years old they baptized all of the children. Whether you have a relationship with Christ or not.
Speaker 2:Whether you want it or not Whether you want it.
Speaker 3:Hey, you've got that age, let's go, we're going in the water. And so that was pretty much what happened. And I recall, a few days after that not very long after that at all the pastor's oldest daughter of that church she probably was probably about maybe five years older than she was quite a bit older than me she just walked up to me one day and she slapped me and it was like, well, at the same time, while I was talking to the girl who was saved, we were having a conversation it was in between Sunday school and morning service and I began to cry and I remember the saved girl asking the pastor's daughter why did you do that? She said because I felt like it. And I just remember at that point, thinking in my mind I don't want to have anything to do with church. I don't want to have anything to do with God. If God's people are loved, if God is loved, why are his people not loving? And so at that point, from 12 until I was 17, I was trying to seek for acceptance, trying to seek for where I fit in.
Speaker 3:I had come through a lot of brokenness, a lot of abuse in my childhood and the people who took me in were the people who were drinking, the people who were smoking, and these are the people who embraced me. So for five years of my life I guess they use the term wilding out that was like what I was doing for five years of my life and at 17, I had a come to Jesus moment, if you will. I had really. I was always asthmatic and I had a really hard time breathing and I ended up going to the hospital. I got to the hospital and when I cough they asked me to do like a sample of what was going to come up. And when I did, I saw blood and I thought I was going to die. And I remember just having that, that moment of saying, okay, god, if I get out of this alive, I'll give my life to you. I feel like I've tried everything but you. But I really am willing to give and surrender my life over to you.
Speaker 3:So when I got out of the hospital, I remember calling my grandpa the same one who took me to church when I was a little girl, and I said I want to go to church with you. He says okay. So he came and he took me to church and I went to church in that morning at the end of the sermon, when they did the altar call for people to come to Jesus, I fear gripped me. I was afraid to go forward. I didn't feel I felt like people were watching me. It just it was a really strange feeling, which I think why now my ministry of doing altar work is so key? Because at that point, when people are ready to make that transition, the enemy works over time to prevent people from finally going forward.
Speaker 3:So the service had ended and I remember feeling like I had disappointed. God and the Holy Spirit just spoke to me and said there's always tonight. So I went to my grandfather I said can I come back to church with you tonight? He said yes, and so when I went to church that night after the sermon was finished, I just remember running to the altar before I could even think about it. That way I could make that commitment. And I remember praying the prayer of salvation and that happened back in 1984. The day exactly was February 5th. In fact, I just celebrated my 40th anniversary serving Jesus and it's like that was the transformation of my life and I just love Jesus and I'm so happy to be on the Lord's side.
Speaker 2:I never miss an opportunity to ask a person how they came to know Jesus, because no two stories are alike. It is so incredibly beautiful to see how God finds us right where we are, at the most perfect moment, and then we experience that transformation. I never get tired of listening to salvation stories, so thank you, Thank you for sharing yours. And then, Mostly, you know, I meet people when they are already in their transformed being, so to speak, and it's so hard to imagine what their life was like before. But it's those experiences, you know, no matter how painful or difficult they are. They make us who we are and they make us useful and unique in the kingdom.
Speaker 2:And so, you know, it connects to me watching you minister, especially to the kids. When we minister to the kids in Thailand, it really connects the dots of why you have a heart for the kids who grow up in difficult circumstances and are maybe facing something similar to what you had experienced. So I have to ask you I mean, it is so clear that you have a call for missions on your life. I have to ask you what prompted you to go to Thailand? What was the call like?
Speaker 3:Amen. Well, you know, I first of all I'm so thankful for World Missions Alliance. I've been involved in missions since 1992. I was part of a missions organization called Ambassador's Fellowship for 27 years and I left that ministry because I knew God was calling me to a different nation and there was a change of leadership and not that the leadership is bad by any means, but it just was different from what I felt that God was calling me to. And in search of trying to find a ministry that might have been going to the nation that I feel called to, which is called Equatorial Guinea, I started doing Google searches and World Mission Alliance came up, thankfully. I'm so glad it did. It's been a blessing to me, it's such a godsend. So I contacted the offices and I asked them about Equatorial Guinea and they said, well, no, we don't go there, but we go to a number of other places. Can we put you on our email list? I said, well, absolutely sure. And so they did.
Speaker 3:And my first trip, as you mentioned this was my second trip.
Speaker 3:My first trip was when they went to Albania and Greece last year and I was part of that team and it was really a blessing and that I was.
Speaker 3:I know that trip I was called to because during that time and my Sunday school school, in my church we were studying about Paul the Apostle, and I know that Albania and Greece kind of did a lot of the trekking of what Paul had did, and so, as I you know, each month I would always get invitations for different places to go, and Thailand. When I heard Thailand, it just it touched my heart Like I can't explain why or how. When I think about in acts, where the disciples were told to go to Jerusalem, judea, samaria and the uttermost parts of the world I think of uttermost parts of the world are places where I've never been, places where people don't speak any languages that I speak. People look different than I look and I want to go and fulfill the mission of Christ, and so that's where Thailand came in and I'm so thankful that I was part of the team. It was beautiful.
Speaker 2:Well, there is no doubt that you were absolutely meant to be on that team, but did you receive any confirmations? I know, sometimes, you know, we feel, and it's very similar. Actually, when people get the call to a certain nation, they describe it just like you did. I just felt it in my heart. But then sometimes God gives us some additional confirmations, like little love notes here and there Did you have any of those.
Speaker 3:Wow, from the team unity that we had all 22 of us, I felt like there were no strangers on our team. We were a family and I just thank God. Yeah, it was so beautiful that and then also just being with the natives that were there our translators, you know, fighter stucks out the most to me. I mean, I was really. I feel like I bonded with her. I really loved her. She was such a great translator. I felt that even with ministering to the children and just the different things that people were saying, when we went to the school for the blind, there was a little girl who was one of the musicians when they put on the concert for us and I remember going over to her and hugging her and she said to me she's a little blind girl, you're so beautiful. And that just melted my heart.
Speaker 3:Like, oh my gosh, you're beautiful too. It was just just things of that nature. When I went, I actually was having an allergic reaction. Getting on the plane coming there, I just recently developed an allergy to almonds, and not only that, I had like a hairstyle where I had added some hair where my skin was breaking out from it, and just a lot of different things were happening along the way.
Speaker 3:And I know that whenever you're about to do something great for God, the enemy will always try to put up roadblocks. And I just forged right through them and I just said no, lord, I know you have something in store for me and the enemy is upset because you're about to do a great, victorious thing. So, because we did have a nursing unit and a medical staff, they even ministered to my needs. It was just different things along the way. It's hard to pinpoint any one thing, but there were just like a lot of dots that were connected that showed me that God was approving and staffing, his approval of me being there on that trip, and I'm so thankful that I went to Thailand. It was a part of your team.
Speaker 2:That was very perceptive of you to recognize that the challenges that arise only indicate the importance of your mission, because it is very common that in preparation for the mission, things just go wrong. The most unexpected things arise and it normally means that you did hear the call correctly and the enemy is trying to throw you off the track with all these distractions. It was a beautiful mission. I'm still kind of reliving the moments and the highlights of it. But I have to ask you what were? And yes, that girl at the school for the blind. She was partially blind so she could see, remember she drew that gorgeous picture for us. Oh, it was amazing To me. It was just such a message from God saying that he deposits these gifts in us in spite of our limitations, and I don't know. There was something very symbolic and prophetic about this girl.
Speaker 2:But what were some of the highlights of that trip for you.
Speaker 3:Wow, I go through my pictures almost daily and you know goodness, great. I mean, it's hard to narrow it down, but I'm going to try to do a summary as much as I can. I love going to the school of the blind. I love the fact that they put on a concert for us and it was. It sounded so beautiful. It was like it should have been recorded. It was so beautiful.
Speaker 3:I loved the reception of the people everywhere we went for them to put their hands together and almost do like a bow of reception. That was just. It felt so heartwarming Seeing people come to want to be prayed for, as well as to see our medical staff in a Christian church and this is a predominantly Buddhist nation but the fact that they would come and then, even when, they would hear the presentation of the gospel we had the gospel bracelets that told the story of salvation and to see the unanimous number of hands go up I didn't get a bracelet, I want a bracelet and they got their bracelets and they prayed to receive Christ. The fact that we ministered to over 400 people wow, it was amazing. I think the elephant ride was quite amazing to me.
Speaker 3:Going to the prison was very eye-opening too, because it was a coffee house, slash amusement park, slash partial zoo, slash partial museum. And it was amazing because, to go on the ground you would never know that prisoners were actually there. I remember doing part of the tour. They had like a little hut which depicted what the prisoners were taught, what they were treated like prior to this transformation, prior to the princess buying out this prison and giving them a rehabilitation program. The torture was terrible. It was like, oh my gosh, it's terrible that the prisoners would go through such cruel treatment but then to know that now they have an opportunity to not only serve their time but then, before coming out, they're gaining skills so that they can become employable and go back into society better, that was amazing to me.
Speaker 3:I loved the Golden Triangle. That was amazing to be able to see the historic site where the princess's house was and to see the beautiful gardens and to get to a certain part where you can see the bordering area of Laos and Burma. It was just amazing. I hope I'm not doing too much talking.
Speaker 2:Well, god did send us to one of the probably most beautiful parts of Thailand, to the north, to the mountains. Listening to you recall our moments there, I'm thinking. People sometimes think well, can you accomplish much doing short-term missions? Because you're there for just the course of 10 days and you may never see these people again. You don't know if they actually received what you said, but your personal story is a great example. It's not necessarily the mask of road experience for every person where, boom, they encounter Jesus and they commit their lives to Him.
Speaker 2:For many of us, our salvation happens out of many little moments of encounters. At the right time. There was a girl that exhibited what Christianity is. There was a grandfather or a relative that decided to bring you to church. There were many little moments before you committed your heart to Christ. I feel like many times on these missions, we are creating these moments. Sometimes we don't even have to say words. We can just be loving and kind to a person, or we can just pray, like we did for the prisoners or for the kids with impaired vision. We plant seeds and God waters these seeds. He sends someone else to water them and then he sends someone else to cultivate them. Yet someone else brings in the harvest, and that's the beauty of the Great Commission I am excited to share with you.
Speaker 2:I have not shared it with our team yet, but I am receiving reports from one of the pastors that we partner with in the remote villages. They are doing the follow-up with all these people that came to our clinics. There are wonderful results that are coming out of that ministry. In this particular area, we were fortunate to have partners that are doing the follow-up. It is my prayer that many of these people who heard the gospel and you were right, there was over 425 people that heard the gospel message during our time there that there will be some incredible life transformations happening. So that is very, very exciting. Well, I have to ask this whether there are some surprises, whether there are certain things that you saw or experience that you did not expect.
Speaker 3:Yes, I think one man that stood out to me. We went to a village and there was a man who went through the clinic three times and it was just like he was determined. Whatever it was that he was looking for, he was determined If he didn't get it the first time, he was going to try it the second time and then the third time. And then finally, after the third time, I said I need to take a picture with you because you are a picture of determination. And so he got there in the picture. He put his thumb up, he called other people in to be in the picture that he knew, and it was amazing.
Speaker 3:I found that with him his first time through. He got a pair of glasses and apparently he wanted to switch them for a different pair. So that was his second time around. But in that second time around he tried to jump through the line to go from the reception area into the triage area. We're like no, no, no, you have to go back if you're going to come back through. And so he went through and then he came back again. So it's like there was something that he wanted and I, you know, I praised that he didn't want any medication. It was basically the glasses and the prayer, or the two things that I seen, that he wanted most, so that was very great and that's a really interesting example, and I experienced something very similar on my other trip to Thailand Also.
Speaker 2:There was a gentleman and he actually spoke pretty good English. He was actually a former officer of a Vietnamese army, I believe, and so he spoke enough English to communicate with us without a translator, and after he went through the clinic he would not leave, and he was very adamant about being an atheist. He said I do not believe in God. He did not want prayer, you know, but he stuck around and he didn't leave. He would talk to us and it was really really interesting to watch him, and I believe that he was there because the Holy Spirit convicted him. He could not leave because he needed to hear everything that was spoken and said, and he probably wanted to leave but he couldn't, and so that may have been something very similar that this gentleman was experiencing.
Speaker 3:Somehow, I guess, the Holy Spirit has a way of captivating certain people who have certain calls on their life, and that's probably the situation with both of these men that we're talking about, you know?
Speaker 2:So yeah, so, in conclusion, I want to ask you, what advice would you give? We encounter people that you know feel that call, and I believe that every Christian has a call for the Great Commission, because this is what Jesus commanded us. And he gave us this command not because he needs our help, but because it's the call to a divine partnership for which God created us in the first place. But there are so many hesitations for people to overcome, you know, naturally, so it can seem intimidating and even scary. So what advice would you give to someone who is considering a mission, any mission to Thailand Our next trip, by the way, is to Thailand and Laos, so that is going to be quite exciting.
Speaker 3:Amen. Well, I would encourage them to follow the command of Jesus to go. Just go, step out in faith and go. I know I have a lot of people from my church who know that this is what I know God's called me to do. But every now and then I'll get someone who will question well, didn't Jesus send them out two by two? And the answer to that is that well, he did. But he also said go. And when he sends you, he always will pair you with other people who are doing the work, so you're never going to be alone if you're going to be a part of the team. But I would say just trust Jesus. He says to go, and you've got that, just that inkling in your heart. Follow him in faith and watch him open doors for you. Watch him make miracles be performed in your sight, watch him use you in ways that you never thought possible. That's what I would say.
Speaker 2:I agree with you and I think when he said go, it really transcends even geographical borders. He called us out of our comfort zone, out of our home, meaning what is familiar, what is comfortable, and it could be a community of people that is uncomfortable for you, but not very far geographically, or it could be a nation you never heard of. That is the call to divine partnership, because even if you go alone, you're never alone. It is you and Jesus, and there's so much beauty in it and something that one would never want to miss out on.
Speaker 3:Yes, exactly I wanted to ask. Could I go back to a previous question that you asked about some things that surprised me? As I mentioned fighter, I know we also had noi, we had law and we had hope as far as our translators, but fighter was the one who I tend to always be around. Mostly she was with us on our van, and what happened when we divided into our three vans? One day I asked her, I said fighter, what is the testimony behind your name? And she told me she said her mom named her. She never told me what her actual name is in Thai, but she said her mom named her fighter because she wanted her to never give up.
Speaker 3:And that I thought was quite amazing and quite prophetic. You know, and I would also include that in terms of when someone is trying to think about going on a trip, never give up. If Christ has told you to do something, just do it, Just do it. And lastly, I eat plant-based. So whenever I go on mission trips, I always pack and prepare things for myself, just in case there are things on menu that I cannot eat. And I was very surprised and very honored that they would go out of their way to try to make sure that they could fix things for me that I would be able to eat, and so I was very grateful for that as well.
Speaker 2:So God is good. Well, I think that what makes the work in Thailand very enjoyable is the graciousness and the hospitality of the Thai culture. That always impresses me and really touches my heart. It's not a Christian nation, but hospitality is a very Christ-like quality, and so it is really beautiful to experience that and be on the receiving end of it. Well, thank you so much, danielle, for this interview, and I look forward to more adventures on the mission field or even here in the United States.
Speaker 3:Likewise, thank you so much and this has been a true honor. And, going back to you, I'm so thankful to have met you in person and to have heard your testimony of how you came to Christ. It's beautiful and it just goes to show that there is nothing too hard for God. There's no one too far out of God's reach. He can reach anyone. So just so thankful for you.
Speaker 2:Amen. I hope you have been inspired by today's conversation and I invite you to join us again for future episodes where we will continue to explore how our experiences and our past equip us to share our faith with others, even in the uttermost parts of the world. If Thailand and its people stirred your heart, world Missions Alliance will travel there in August of this year and you have an opportunity to join us. Find out more about the ways you can get involved on our website, rfwaorg. I also want to invite you to the Greater Purpose Conference on April 3rd, 4th and 5th in Branson, missouri. There, you will be inspired, your faith will be strengthened. You will connect with the community of people who are actively pursuing their Greater Purpose. Again, visit our website rfwaorg for more information. Until next time, I'm Helen Todd.
Speaker 1:Limitless Spirit Podcast is produced by World Missions Alliance. We believe that changed lives change lives. If you want to see your life transformed by Christ's love, or if you want to help those who are hurting and hopeless and discover your Greater Purpose in serving Christ through short-term missionary work, check out our website, rfwaorg, and find out how to get involved.