Why choose between chocolate, vanilla and strawberry when they sell a three-‘n-one box of ice-cream so we don’t have to choose! So, instead of focusing on just one aspect of my week I’ve decided to share a little bit from three areas; creating a pretty sweet trifecta. Enjoy!
1) Wedding Crashing with Erin
((an uncreative title for a pretty creative event))
Place:
Prayer walking -> Lunch -> team time/ feedback -> prayer walking -> Dinner with Erin
For a brief back history, we are provided with breakfast and lunch at Zion Café each day. We are given a budget of 46 baht each night and eat from various street vendors around town. (46 baht = $1.70 ish) This also provides an awesome opportunity to have one-on-one dates with the other people on our squad who we might not always have the time to get to know otherwise.
This one night Erin and I had a one-on-one and I wanted corn for dinner. So we went to my corn lady on the corner next to the kabob lady and the watches guy and purchased a grilled ear of corn for 20 baht. Yumm. As we proceeded to walk and talk we found ourselves on the Iron Bridge overlooking the Ping River. A cluster of lights hanging from trees down the way caught our attention. Without a question, we pretty much found ourselves heading that direction to see what was up.
We walked about five minutes and heard loud music coming out of a pretty well-kept hotel. By well-kept I mean: not a jean wearer or dirty sock anywhere to be found. There were floating candles in the decorative pools with Thai dancers on the edges… so, ya, pretty fancy.
People:
These people were dressed to the nine’s for this event; long, colorful dresses, gorgeous make-up and jewelry from their heads to toes.
The bride’s side was from India and the groom was from Hong Kong. He was very friendly and outgoing. We learned that he spent some time studying at NYU.
Process:
Erin and I walk into this hotel like we’ve been staying there for weeks, naturally. With our corn. So we followed the music and quickly decided we were going to go to this wedding. We pulled off to a corner quick so we could finish our corn, we put the cob into her backpack and walked into the wedding like the bride was our bestie.
It just cracks me up because we were in some grimy, staaank, street clothes just walking up to these strangers like, “heyyy, what’s up. How you doing? Let’s take a picture!” hahahaha.
So we got some henna, which is a huge Indian wedding tradition, we got our pics with the bride and groom, and we tried some of their desserts per request of the groom.
Pretty epic one-on-one.
2) Monk Chat
((named for exactly what it is))
Place:
Out of commission for 2 days with food poisoning -> meds -> prayer walking ->Buddhist temple
There are Buddhist temples located all over Chiang Mai within a stone’s throw of each other. To continue the trend of being completely honest while blogging I have to admit, upon arriving in the temple for the Monk Chats my first thought was, “…and we debate whether or not churches should have flat screen TV’s!!” Ha! These temples are trimmed with gold, one hundred foot statues and surrounded with shops for goods to purchase to offer the Monks. Talk about the money put into that place! After the initial shock of the financial commitment to these temples set in, my second thought was, “How sad.”
People:
…Sad because the Monks believe such different views and people invest so much money into these counterfeits believing these gold statues have influence in their life.
We would spend roughly an hour and a half talking to one monk each day. To learn them, their life and to laugh with them, this was our ministry. They enjoy learning about our culture and hearing our language so they can better themselves in English.
We mostly encountered Monks who chose to commit five years of their life to the temple for educational purposes. These guys were fun to talk to and laughed often. They liked Fast and the Furious and Katy Perry type things.
On our last day of the week we encountered a Monk who thoroughly enjoyed his life as a Monk. We learned so much from him.
-Monks have over 200 laws and rules to follow. My personal favorites included: no touching objects handed to him by a woman, no touching his head, and never be touched by a woman at all. These rules are the daily life rules of a Monk but there are five main rules to be followed by every Buddhist.
-Monks do not believe in the purpose of the past or the future, their main concern is today and tomorrow
-We asked question about where his religion came from, how we got here, what happens when he dies… He liked that we were so curious. He also asked about our religion and rules.
Process:
This was my favorite part because he was curious about us just as we were curious about him. We wrote down the Ten Commandments but also explained that we do not live under laws and rules. Because Jesus Christ came and through his birth, life, death, and resurrection fulfilled the law and allowed us to live relationally connected to him. We explained that our future is secured through faith that Jesus allows us to enter Heaven. He listened. Sweet!
We left. I thank God for the future and the hope that comes from knowing Him and pray for the men devoted to this idea that they can live based on their own good works and maybe be rebirthed into a special animal someday.
3) Slums
((noun: a squalid or overcrowded urban street or district inhabited by very poor people))
Place:
Buddhist Temple -> SUngtaw (taxi) -> Mile ish walk -> Slums
Behind this nice resort looking place there was a neighborhood of beautiful people and …not as beautiful homes. There were toddlers hanging out outside while their parents worked inside. There was a small path that leads to a cement court where many guys were playing soccer. SOCCER!! Woo-hoo!
People:
So, naturally, we jumped into play. Some of our girls played with the younger guys, others went and walked around the neighborhood to build relationships, others went to a side court where guys were playing Jianzi.
Jianzi, or da cau, is that game played like volleyball, but over a short net and without using hands. According to Wikipedia, it originated in Vietnam and is quite popular in Asia culture. I found myself learning the game quickly, thanks to Pastor Nargi’s soccer camps where we could not return to knock out until we did ten or more juggles on our knees and feet…ya, who knew how handy that would be?!
The guys were awesome! This sport was equivalent to men’s softball in the states I suppose. Old guys out there proving they still got the moves and young guys kicking butt with their new skills…. I mean… men of all generations on a field having fun together! Hahahaha! Needless to say, I was the only girl playing a one point.
Process:
So we went to our bubble tea guy a few days later and next to him, his friend was showing us pictures of people in our squad playing in the slums with him. He pointed at me and then to his head, and then gave me a thumbs up and high five! He remembered I was the girl on his team who head-butted the ball for a point-saving play!
Aside from the fun we had in the slums, the group of girls made connection with the residents and later brought necessary supplies to them through our host.
Prayers:
SO- That concludes my trifecta of events. I hope you, reader, felt for at least two seconds that you were experiencing Chiang Mai ministry with me.
-We walked and prayed almost every day this month. Please keep praying:
-For the Monks
-For the Zion ministry to get all supplies they need to continue running effectively
-the bottom floor of the new building was donated by one of the visiting parents of another team! But the total project will be $150,000 (usd)
-For our squad, unity, health
-praise God that I am currently 82% funded, it seems to increase daily and I thank my supporters that fundraising is not something I am even worry about while on the field. Thank you-
