Its hard to believe it… but tomorrow we will be packing up and heading to Cambodia. As I look back on our time in Thailand, I am thankful for how God revealed His beauty through creation and how He poured out His love through the welcome and care we received from the people of Thailand.
Many of you are interested in what life in Thailand has been like… Here’s some insight… enjoy!
What was your living situation like?
Our squad was spoiled by getting to be all together this month and live on the 5 floors above Zion Café. We were able to enjoy delicious café drinks and treats (Colin developed an obsession with iced Thai teas), quality internet connection, beds and fans in each room, bathrooms with American toilets and showers with great water pressure, and several comfortable rooms to share team time or have quiet time. Colin and I stayed in a guesthouse about a 15-minute walk away from Zion so that we could have our own room (see photo). It was such a blessing!
What kind of food did you eat?
We were also spoiled with AMAZING food! Emmi and her staff fed us each day for breakfast and lunch at Zion. Some days we had hot soup for breakfast and some days we had waffles. We received a mix of Thai meals or American meals, and everything they served us was incredible! For dinner each night we were given a budget of 50 baht per person (that’s about $1.60 each, folks!). We easily stayed within that budget by either enjoying delicious food from Emmi’s café (the cashew chicken is so good!) or venturing out for pad thai from the lovely street vendors or other Thai meals from the night bazaar food market.
How much do typical things cost?
Compared to the states, most items are very inexpensive in Thailand (except peanut butter! Geez!). As stated above, you can easily find large, filling, delicious Thai meals for less than $2. A 60-minute massage is about $5 or $6. And a 20-minute taxi ride is usually less than $1. There are also markets and street vendors everywhere selling just about anything you need… Our team was able to get several fresh mangos, pineapples and avocado for 100 baht total (about $3!). I was mostly interested in the beautiful hand made clothes and home goods. Colin is lucky I have to carry my pack for 10 more months… otherwise I would’ve been tempted to buy some of the beautifully detailed items that were sold in the markets.
What is the culture like in Thailand?
The Thai people are very friendly, welcoming, and hard working. Over 90% of the Thai people are Buddhist which is evidenced by the ornate Buddhist temples that can be found on every street in Chiang Mai. To learn more about the culture, our team participated in Monk Chat at a local temple. We were able to sit down with a monk named Mi (see a photo of us with him below) and ask him all about his life, Buddhism, and Thailand and share a little about our lives and faith as well. We were so blessed by our conversations with him.
What was your schedule like each day?
For our team, we started each day with breakfast with the squad around 9 am. Then we went out on a prayer walk around the city for a couple hours. We shared team time at noon and then had lunch at Zion. In the afternoon we went over to the bar street for a couple hours to meet new friends and hang out with people we had already met while they set up the bars. We had dinner sometime around 6 or 7 pm and then either went back out to the bars for two hours or stayed at Zion praying for the people that went out. It was a busy schedule, but filling the day with prayer and asking for courage to talk to people in the bars really was a blessing. Yes, many of the people we met were guarded, as can be expected, but so many more were welcoming. It was harder than I imagined it would be to say goodbye to our new friends. As we hung out and shared our last hugs I couldn't help but wonder what if.. What if we never see each other again? What if they stay in this lifestyle forever? What if they never experience true love or hope? But I know nothing I could do or say would change the fact that God loves them and longs for them to know Him. And I am trusting He will continue working in this city. (Pictured is one of the strips of bars in the Chiang Mai red light district. The nature of our ministry doesn't really allow us to take many pictures. But here is one of the places that we spent a good amount of our ministry time).
Did you have days off?
We served in our different ministries Monday through Saturday and had one day off each week on Sundays. We had the opportunity to ride elephants, hike to waterfalls in the mountains, play with tigers, and take a day off just us two to celebrate our two year anniversary. God overwhelmed us with His power and beauty through the breathtaking views we got to see, majestic animals we got to play with, and invaluable time we got to rest.
What have you learned this month?
This being our first month away, it has been hard to adjust. I do miss family and friends dearly. But God is teaching me to trust Him. He is teaching me the value in studying scripture and actually trusting in His promises. I am thankful He brought us here to give and receive love and to draw closer to Him.
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What now?
Tomorrow our squad will load a bus to head to Cambodia. It will take about 14 hours to get to the border and then another 7 hours to get to the capitol city, Phnom Penh. We will spend a couple days there and then break off into teams to head to different cities around Cambodia! We will try to post another update once we get settled into our new home for the month. Until then…
