You are My Treasure

Everyone longs to be treasured. To be known. To be loved. 

Many people search for love in positive outlets, and others search for love in negative outlets. I pray that my heart is always to point people back to the never-ending, all-fulfilling Father who brings knowledge of one’s self and understanding of the depth of His love and care for them. 

In a ministry opportunity on my trip to Thailand, we participated in something we call “Treasure Hunts.” This gives us an opportunity to bring a glimpse of the heart of the Father to people we meet on our treasure hunts. 

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The directions are simple.

1. Grab a group of people, pray for the Lord to open our ears, eyes and heart to hear from Him 

2. Spend time in prayer individually with these questions: 

Who?

Where?

What object?

What ailment?

What color? 

(It is okay if you get a word/picture for each question, it is okay if you only get one word or picture, it is okay if you get more than 5 words/pictures. There isn’t a right or wrong to this activity.)

3. Share as a group, and make a list of all of the words and pictures that each member gets. 

4. Pray before you leave for your treasure hunt.

5. Begin! Follow the Lord’s directions, using the “clues” from the list that your team created. Eventually the Lord will bring you to a place that you are to find someone, or lead you directly to a person that He wants you to meet.

(When you find the person, you can share that you are on a treasure hunt and they are the “treasure” that you were looking for–if you aren’t sure how to start conversation or as a way to brighten there day if you aren’t able to pray for them).

6. Have fun and enjoy seeing His people along the way!

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 In Thailand, the parents and racers participated in this ministry opportunity for three days. The Lord showed up in each and individual treasure hunt and it is so fun to see how He provides and WHO He takes you to!

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One of the treasure hunts looked like this: 

 

Here is our list of items that we got in our prayer time (as you can see, it is very random).

1. The group turned left out of the cafe, and noticed this large sign with the #32 on it, so we walked to the sign. 

2. We then saw a bakery just passed the 32 sign.

3. Shortly after the bakery, we passed this painted shirts.  

4. We then stumbled across this brick wall, surrounded by green grass and green trees and flowers. 

This wall opened up to a hotel. 

5. Desiree and I decided to talk to the security guards at the hotel (since man was one of our clues). They were the only people we saw at the moment (they are under the umbrella to the right). However, they didn’t speak much English. One of the guards just kept saying “Amen” and “Hallelujah” which we thought was interesting. 

6. While Des and I were talking with the guards, the team noticed a little pink croc shoe by the entrance. And there were beautiful greens at the entrance of the hotel and elephants leading in. So our team decided that this hotel was worth exploring to see if this is where the Lord wanted us. 

 

7. As we walked in, we saw marble floors in the lobby. And a rug store that had what looked like paintings hanging. And many different animals in the display case. Along with other animals randomly placed throughout the hotel lobby. 

 

 

8. We continued through the lobby to the pool behind the lobby. As we walked to the pool, we noticed many different types of flowers throughout the gardens there. However, when we gathered together at the pool, we weren’t pulled to a particular person. So we decided to walk around the pool and go back toward the front. 

We weren’t led to a particular person, so we gathered at the main entrance and prayed over the hotel. We thought maybe we were just there to bring His presence to the space.

(I have to admit that I was a little disappointed because I knew that there were so many clues at this hotel that this had to be the place).

9. After we all prayed, the Lord prompted Des to ask if we could walk back to the pool. She had seen a gardener in all green clearing this certain garden. (I was excited!) 

As we walked back to the spot we had seen the man working, he wasn’t there then. But we decided to continue walking to see if we could find him further in the gardens. 

However, as we continued walking, Katherine noticed this statue by the pool. Two swans. This was another animal that she had seen. 

We all were thrilled, just in the midst of confusion and slight disappointment, the Lord affirmed that we were on the right path!

10. So we continued walking in faith. Des and I noticed this bridge that led to a building with a gold top. I assumed it was a temple. As we crossed over the bridge, there were fish in the pond (another animal seen). I gingerly snuck up to the silent building and peeked in. I noticed a waterfall feature in the middle and knew it wasn’t a temple. Once inside, we were greeted and walked to the spa, and we noticed the gift shop had a 32 at the end. 

BUT… the coolest part, the receptionist that greeted us was in a bright green top. We all knew she was the treasure we were hunting for. 

She talked with us about her job, her family, her city. When we asked about her name, TIP, she explained that Tip means “Angel.” How cool, right? We were able to pray for her and share that she is loved and treasured.

11. Our team was completely blown away by the Father’s love and favor. That he was faithful to provide and faithful to diligently walk us step by step to our treasure, Tip. 

We all celebrated as we returned to the cafe and praised the Lord for His unique story and provision in the journey. 

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Personally, I was just in awe. I have done several treasure hunts, but I had never had so many “clues” in one place. It was so concrete. It was so apparent that the hotel was the location. And it was a journey of surrendering the frustrations and disappointments in not finding the treasure immediately. 

Because, that isn’t the point. It isn’t about checking the boxes and getting a perfect score. It isn’t about checking off that I met someone and to have a cool story. 

It is about noticing the Lord in the details, slowing down to enjoy his creation, listening to His voice and direction, and soaking in the journey. It is about HIS GLORY. His Kingdom coming on earth. We are simply His vessels. 

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Challenge for you!

I challenge you to try this out.

It is simple and exciting. If you are nervous, good. If you question what you receive from the Lord, that’s okay, just write it down and see if He provides. If you think He cannot use you, that isn’t true. He loves seeing His children say, here I am Lord, send me. All you are doing is brightening someone’s day with conversation, prayer, laughter or whatever the Lord lays on your heart. 

 

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Currently, I am in need of $165 in monthly donations to continue serving the Lord in this capacity at Adventures in facilitating and mobilizing young adults to serve the Lord in the nations and even mobilizing parents to visit and participate in the mission work as well.  

Thank you for your continued support in prayer as well–it continues to support me in many ways. I appreciate your influence in my life and your impact on my journey with the Lord.