Dearest Blog Follower, Supporters, Friends and Family,
I would like to ask for your forgiveness. I have not kept anyone up to date with how God is moving in my life and the lives of my teammates. It has been almost a month since my last blog. So much as happened since then. I would love for all of you to know about every detail of my trip but it is impossible. Internet is always inconvenient and since my computer died, it has been even harder to get blogs written. Therefore, I am sorry and hope to catch you all up to date in this letter.
First of all, I am in Nong Pohk, Thailand. We are teaching English in a modern, one-horse town in the eastern part of the country, 2 hours from the border of Laos. Before arriving here, we were in Malaybalay, Philippines. We left for Manila on the 26th of January and then spent a few days in Manila where we met up with the rest of the squad. All of S-Squad then boarded a plane for Bangkok. After a stopover in Singapore, we arrived in Bangkok desiring some rest at the city’s YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base. 15 hours and some Pad Thai later, we awoke to a bustling metropolis with endless opportunity.
Seven of us chose to spend the day at the King’s Palace and see just what the big deal was about. WOW. The entire place was filled with uncanny architecture donning bizarre detail and gaudy designs. Darkness overcame us as we watched thousands worship Buddhist idols like the Emerald Buddha. It was fascinating and terrifying at the same time. Despite the eeriness, we thoroughly enjoyed seeing the difference between Filipinos and Thais. Asia rocks! I would have never thought I be having such a blast in such a shockingly diverse culture.
After our days in Bangkok, we all planned on leaving to our respective ministries. Two teams headed up north to Chaing Mai, five teams to Phuket (including ours), and two others to the south of Thailand. However, our contact in Phuket did not work out so about 1 hour before we were supposed to leave for the dreamy island of Phuket, we were calling multiple contacts all over Thailand. Finally, on the fourth try, our new contact confirmed that we could come. As all our squad mates pulled away, we were high-tailing it to a bus station across town.
Nong Pohk is 12 hours from Bangkok, directly east. With expectations of spending time in the unforgettable beaches in the south, we were highly disappointed that we were heading over 30 hours from where we had been told we would be spending the month. Talk about a tough turn around. Our YWAM contact in Bangkok said we would be “more blessed than you know” right before we hopped on the bus. Skeptical, we hoped that he would be right.
Let’s just say it was an understatement.
WE LOVE IT HERE. I would not trade this city for anything. Sure, it isn’t exactly what we expected but shoot! This is the WORLD RACE and expectations are never a good thing to have! Basically this month we have been planning and teaching English classes and camps all across the eastern part of Thailand. We have the MOST INCREDIBLE contact Ua (pronounced Ooo-uh). She is one of the most generous people I have ever met. She takes us all over the area teaching us about Thai culture and introducing us to anything and everything! We spend nearly every day with her because obviously there is a huge language barrier. Sawatdee KAAAA (hello in Thai) and Kwap Kun Kaaa (Thank you) are the two phrases I know and use daily. We are known all throughout the town because we have been to every school around. People love Americans here. Most of the people have never even seen a white person in real life. Imagine that!
Just to share a few things about the Thai culture:
-Squatty Potty
-They eat anything and everything: insects galore, chicken feet, chicken blood in gelatin form, rats, etc.
-(Copy and paste from Internet)
-Highly accepting of all people and trades (homosexuality, prostitution)
-They have no problem asking you ANYTHING about yourself (so let’s just say about 90% of the people I have met know that I am nearly 24, in a relationship with Tony DeVictor, have a six-person family
-7Elevens are trademarks for Thailand (slurpie anyone?)
-People are not followers of Buddhism it is more of a way of life here than a religion. People are looking for something to fill the void of God. There is no grace in Buddhism; therefore it is hard to share the gospel.
-Churches are accepted but there are few Christians. Those who are willing to follow Jesus have been filled with a genuine satisfaction while many are converted and then are not willing to deepen their faith.
Dearest Blog Follower, Supporters, Friends and Family,
I would like to ask for your forgiveness. I have not kept anyone up to date with how God is moving in my life and the lives of my teammates. It has been almost a month since my last blog. So much as happened since then. I would love for all of you to know about every detail of my trip but it is impossible. Internet is always inconvenient and since my computer died, it has been even harder to get blogs written. Therefore, I am sorry and hope to catch you all up to date in this letter.
First of all, I am in Nong Pohk, Thailand. We are teaching English in a modern, one-horse town in the eastern part of the country, 2 hours from the border of Laos. Before arriving here, we were in Malaybalay, Philippines. We left for Manila on the 26th of January and then spent a few days in Manila where we met up with the rest of the squad. All of S-Squad then boarded a plane for Bangkok. After a stopover in Singapore, we arrived in Bangkok desiring some rest at the city’s YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base. 15 hours and some Pad Thai later, we awoke to a bustling metropolis with endless opportunity.
Seven of us chose to spend the day at the King’s Palace and see just what the big deal was about. WOW. The entire place was filled with uncanny architecture donning bizarre detail and gaudy designs. Darkness overcame us as we watched thousands worship Buddhist idols like the Emerald Buddha. It was fascinating and terrifying at the same time. Despite the eeriness, we thoroughly enjoyed seeing the difference between Filipinos and Thais. Asia rocks! I would have never thought I be having such a blast in such a shockingly diverse culture.
After our days in Bangkok, we all planned on leaving to our respective ministries. Two teams headed up north to Chaing Mai, five teams to Phuket (including ours), and two others to the south of Thailand. However, our contact in Phuket did not work out so about 1 hour before we were supposed to leave for the dreamy island of Phuket, we were calling multiple contacts all over Thailand. Finally, on the fourth try, our new contact confirmed that we could come. As all our squad mates pulled away, we were high-tailing it to a bus station across town.
Nong Pohk is 12 hours from Bangkok, directly east. With expectations of spending time in the unforgettable beaches in the south, we were highly disappointed that we were heading over 30 hours from where we had been told we would be spending the month. Talk about a tough turn around. Our YWAM contact in Bangkok said we would be “more blessed than you know” right before we hopped on the bus. Skeptical, we hoped that he would be right.
Let’s just say it was an understatement.
WE LOVE IT HERE. I would not trade this city for anything. Sure, it isn’t exactly what we expected but shoot! This is the WORLD RACE and expectations are never a good thing to have! Basically this month we have been planning and teaching English classes and camps all across the eastern part of Thailand. We have the MOST INCREDIBLE contact Ua (pronounced Ooo-uh). She is one of the most generous people I have ever met. She takes us all over the area teaching us about Thai culture and introducing us to anything and everything! We spend nearly every day with her because obviously there is a huge language barrier. Sawatdee KAAAA (hello in Thai) and Kwap Kun Kaaa (Thank you) are the two phrases I know and use daily. We are known all throughout the town because we have been to every school around. People love Americans here. Most of the people have never even seen a white person in real life. Imagine that!
Just to share a few things about the Thai culture:
-Squatty Potty
-They eat anything and everything: insects galore, chicken feet, chicken blood in gelatin form, rats, etc.
-(Copy and paste from Internet)
-Highly accepting of all people and trades (homosexuality, prostitution)
-They have no problem asking you ANYTHING about yourself (so let’s just say about 90% of the people I have met know that I am nearly 24, in a relationship with Tony DeVictor, have a six-person family
-7Elevens are trademarks for Thailand (slurpie anyone?)
-People are not followers of Buddhism it is more of a way of life here than a religion. People are looking for something to fill the void of God. There is no grace in Buddhism; therefore it is hard to share the gospel.
-Churches are accepted but there are few Christians. Those who are willing to follow Jesus have been filled with a genuine satisfaction while many are converted and then are not willing to deepen their faith.
Dearest Blog Followers, Supporters, Friends, and Family,
I would like to ask for your forgiveness. I have not kept anyone up to date with how God is moving in my life and the lives of my teammates. It has been almost a month since my last blog. So much as happened since then. I would love for all of you to know about every detail of my trip but it is quite the task. Internet is always inconvenient and since my computer died, it has been even harder to get blogs written. Therefore, I am sorry and hope to catch you all up to date in this letter.
First of all, I am in Nong Pohk, Thailand. We are teaching English in a modern, one-horse town in the eastern part of the country, 2 hours from the border of Laos. Before arriving here, we were in Malaybalay, Philippines. We left for Manila on the 26th of January and then spent a few days in Manila where we met up with the rest of the squad. All of S-Squad then boarded a plane for Bangkok. After a stopover in Singapore, we arrived in Bangkok desiring some rest. Thank God we got it at the city’s YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base. 15 hours and some Pad Thai later, we awoke to a bustling metropolis with endless opportunity.
Seven of us chose to spend the day at the King’s Palace and see just what the big deal was all about. Can I say WOW? The entire place was filled with uncanny architecture donning bizarre detail and somewhat gaudy designs. Darkness overcame us as we watched thousands worship Buddhist idols. People came from near and far to bow to the Emerald Buddha. It was fascinating and terrifying at the same time. Despite the eeriness, we thoroughly enjoyed seeing some of the differences between Filipinos and Thais. Asia rocks! I am having such a blast in such a shockingly diverse culture.
After our days in Bangkok, we all planned on leaving to our respective ministries. Two teams headed up north to Chaing Mai, five teams to Phuket (including ours), and two others to the south of Thailand. However, our contact in Phuket did not work out so about 1 hour before we were supposed to leave for the dreamy island of Phuket, we were calling multiple contacts all over Thailand to find a new one. Finally, on the fourth try, a contact confirmed that we could come. As all our squad mates pulled away, we were high-tailing it to a bus station across town.
Nong Pohk is 12 hours from Bangkok, directly east. With expectations of spending time in the unforgettable beaches in the south, we were pretty disappointed that we were heading over 30 hours from where we had planned. Talk about a tough turn around. Our YWAM contact in Bangkok said we would be “more blessed than you know” right before we hopped on the bus. Skeptical, we hoped that he would be right.
Let’s just say it was an understatement.
WE ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT HERE. I would not trade this town for anything- even one with surreal sunsets and sandy white beaches. Sure, it isn’t exactly what we expected but shoot! This is the WORLD RACE and expectations are never a good thing to have!
Basically this month we have been planning and teaching English classes and camps all across the eastern part of Thailand. We have the MOST INCREDIBLE contact Ua (pronounced Ooo-uh). She is one of the most generous people I have ever met. She takes us all over the area teaching us about Thai culture and introducing us to anything and everything! We spend nearly every day with her because obviously there is a huge language barrier. Sawatdee kaaasa (hello in Thai) and Khob kun kaaa (Thank you) are the two phrases I know and use daily. We are known all throughout the town because we have been to every school around. People love Americans here. Most of the people have never even seen a white person in real life. Imagine that!
Just to share a few things about the Thai culture:
- Squatty Potties are on the reg
- They eat anything and everything: insects galore, chicken feet, chicken blood in gelatin form, rats, etc.
- Thais have no problem asking you lots of questions about yourself (so let’s just say about 90% of the people I have met know that I am nearly 24, in a relationship with Tony DeVictor, have a six-person family…etc)
- 7Elevens are trademarks in Thailand (Slurpie anyone?)
- Buddhism is the national religion. Despite the fact that it is heavily practiced, people seem to be looking for something to fill the void of grace. Jesus? Yes, please.
- Churches are accepted but there are few Christians. Those who are willing to follow Jesus have been filled with a genuine satisfaction; while others are converted and then are not willing to deepen their faith.
- Smile. In fact, smile as much as you can. It is the Thai way.
- Thais value keeping “face”, for themselves and each other. No one ever shows anger. I kinda like it…
- The head is the most sacred part of the body, while the feet are the lowest and the filthiest. Don’t ever touch a Thai person’s head; at the same time, you must never show the soles of your feet to anyone, or use your feet to point to something. We worried about this a lot in the beginning. Now it is pretty natural.
- It's always polite to leave your shoes outside.
- Public displays of affection are not encouraged in Thailand.
- Instead of shaking hands, Thais “wai” to greet people. The “wai” is a short bow done with hands held fingertips-together close to your chest or face.
- Show respect for the King and his family. We were advised to only say "The King is a great man." That's it! Haha
Smile. In fact, smile as much as you can.
Thais value keeping “face”, for themselves and each other.
The head is the most sacred part of the body, while the feet are the lowest and the filthiest. Don’t ever touch a Thai person’s head; at the same time, you must never show the soles of your feet to anyone, or use your feet to point to something.
It's always polite to leave your shoes outside.
Public displays of affection are not encouraged in Thailand.
Instead of shaking hands, Thais “wai” to greet people. The “wai” is a short bow done with hands held fingertips-together close to your chest or face.
Show respect for the King and his family. We were advised to only say "The King is a great man." That's it! Haha
That's about it for now. I want everyone to know that I am beyond appreciative for all the support I have recieved through prayer, donations, messages of encouragement, etc. I am continually blessed to have such amazing friends and family. I love you all very much. Thank you for helping me reach my Christmas goal. I not only made the goal but also got $1,800 more. You all are keeping me here and I thank you once again for your generosity, It has not gone unnoticed. Now I only need about $2500 to be fully funded by March 31st! Please keep this in your prayers, along with prayers for the salvation of many spiritually hungry Thais!
Grace to all of you who love our Lord Jesus with an undying love!
Love,
Christina
P.S. Here is a short video I made to show you around our house in Nong Pohk!
