First of all, I’m SO SORRY for letting the entire month go by without any posts here! My goodness, the month has just flown by, and my impatience in typing has gotten the best of me. Here’s a few update with my Month 2 of the World Race in Thailand!
We arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand at the beginning of October and spent a week doing debrief. Basically, our squad stayed at a hostel with our squad leaders, mentor, and coaches. We had lots of meetings, one-on-ones, worship, and plenty of time to relax and prepare for the upcoming month of ministry.
On our last night at the hostel, I engaged in a little high kick competition and fell on my left elbow. Long story short, I went to the hospital a few days later (because I’m stubborn and didn’t want to face the facts) and was told that I had two fractures and I’d have to wear a splint and sling for the next three weeks.
The next few weeks were full of me trying to maintain my independence, trying to help as much as I could during ministry, and trying to not let it dampen my spirits. And it was hard. Shoot, I’m still wearing this thing and it still is hard. I can’t put my own hair in a ponytail, for a while I couldn’t even fill up my own water bottle, showering is a pain, and typing anything is annoying- I can either use one hand, or arrange my laptop and body at a strange angle so I can reach the keyboard.
……….Hence my absence from blogging this month. Typing sucks.
Other than my annoying gimpy arm, this month has been AMAZING!! I have had so much fun spending the month with my entire squad living under one roof, exploring the city, riding elephants, petting tigers, going into the mountains and seeing gorgeous waterfalls, befriending baristas at a cafe down the street, and getting to know the hearts of the ladies at our ministry site. God is so good! I laugh more times in one day than I can count, I get to use a shower on the rooftop of a six story building in the middle of the city, and I live above the cafe I work in every day.
I could type out a bunch of information about our ministry this month, oooor you can watch these couple of videos and get a better idea of who we’re working with, the organization, and our ministry. The first is about Emmi, our main contact. She is the founder of Lighthouse in Action, and she has an amazing story. She radiates joy and hope constantly.
Emmi’s Story:
Lighthouse in Action Promo:
My team has gotten to work alongside ladies at Zion Cafe. We help them clean, wash dishes, take orders, and they’ve even let us start helping with some of the cooking! These ladies are fireballs- so sassy, so hilarious, so full of joy, and I have loved getting to know them. Thinking about leaving them in a few days makes me so sad!
That’s basically my month in a nutshell! I could probably go on and on about everything we’ve done from conversations with the Zion ladies to adventures with elephants and tigers to riding on the back of song taus (taxis) to going to the night market and pretending to be from the UK. I’m seriously still processing everything we’ve done and everything the Lord has been teaching me this month. It’s been incredible!
At the end of the week, my squad will be boarding another bus and we’ll be heading back through Cambodia to Vietnam! Because Vietnam is a closed country, I imagine I will be spending very little time on the internet. I’ll try to get word out every once in a while that we’re safe, but please be praying for my squad. We haven’t experienced a closed country yet, and not being able to talk openly about God is a bit intimidating. Pray for doors to be opened and for our hearts to be willing to go wherever He leads. Pray for our health and safety during our bus travels, border crossings, and throughout the month.
Thank you!!
xo, Caitlin
