Best of, Thailand edition:
By the numbers:
1- # of times I ate pig intestines
2- # of Thai phrases I learned: 'Sawadee ka' (respectful Thai greeting accompanied with a slight bow) and 'Chan chu Fah' (My name is Fah. I gained a Thai name because apparantly Becca is really hard to say.)
3 – # of times I karaokeed Justin Beiber
4 – # of times i went to thai walmart.
5- # of times I hitchhiked (sorry mom)
Funniest moment:
I was talking to our incredible semi-translator Tul about the weather in Thailand. He explained to me that Thailand has 3 seasons: hot, really hot and really really hot. I said, "Tul, what do you do when it's really really hot? Do you just die from heat?" Clearly I meant this as an expression, not literally, but Tul just thought about it for a minute, looked at me kind of funny and said "The people will stay alive." Def the most intense laugh I had all month. For the rest of our time Tul ended every sentance to us with,"'but the people will stay alive." Amazing.
Funnest ministry opportunity:
English camp!!! We did camp on the weekends with all of our University students from classes during the week. We played crazy American games with them, taught classes and had bonfires and skit competitions. Such a fun time! After the first week we pulled a team of future 'staff' from the students and taught them how to run camp so they can continue it on without us. They did incredible and are going to run the greatest english camps Phetchebun has ever seen. Ok, maybe the only but still…. they are awesome!!!
God moment:
As you have probably guessed by now, Thailand is a predominatly Buddhist country. If my very professional wikipedia research is correct, less than 1% of the country is Christian. Starting our ministry at the university we knew there was an obvious language barrier and expected that they probably knew nothing about Jesus. As we went about our classes and work there, there were times that I wondered if the students and staff really understood why we were there. They knew we were there to teach and have fun with them, but I wondered if they got that that there was a much bigger reason than English that brought us there. At our last night of English camp the head of the foreign language department got up to give a speech. She talked about how great camp was for the students, how their language was improving, how good it was for them to interact with foreigners, etc. At the end, in front of all of the students and University staff, she said, "I thank your God for sending you here." I think I might have breathed an audible sigh of relief right then. They actually got it. They might not fully understand Christianity and they might not start burning their spirit houses just yet, but they got it. My continuous prayer is that they will keep remembering the group of foreigners that showed up to hang out with them, and that they will always remember that we came becasue of God. Hopefully that will be enough to keep them asking questions and learning more about the Lord. Praise!!
The Lord is teaching me:
To read scripture with new eyes. I've been reading stories I've read many times before but getting completely new things out of them. Continous proof that the Word is always living and active, always there to change our lives. Love it!
Best food:
This is an incredibly hard one to narrow down because I ate way too many amazing things here. Thus far Thailand is def winning in the best food category. Top 5 probably being: Thai tea, Pad thai, coconut ice cream, mango sticky rice and watermelon smoothies. Yummm.
Baby powder moments:
Within a week I had baby powder smeared on my face for 3 completely different reasons. Once for a Thai relay game (that also included eating lots of food in a short amount of time. woah.), once for the wedding parade and once for a cultural skit. I don't quite understand it's significance but apparantly it's the cool thing to do. You should try it!!!
Cultural expierences:
This month we were lucky to get to participate in all types of fun Thai culture. Thai dance, art, music…. we took all kinds of classes on campus at the University. We also got to go to a parade in town and participate in part of a wedding ceremony. For traditional Thai weddings people start a parade going from the grooms house, to the brides house, and then to the cereomny location, picking up people all along the way. They dance, play drums, sing songs, and usher in the wedding with so much fun and joy. We got to walk in the parade and pretend like we knew what was going on for a little bit. As soon as there is better internet i'll add a video of the parade! So much fun!!
We are currently in our first day at our ministry site in Siem Riep, Cambodia. We will be teaching English in local villages and doing hygiene and health classes for the younger kids. We will also get the opportunity each week to teach them from the Bible and tell them our own stories about loving God. I am so excited for these opportunities! Hope you are each having a blessed day!
