Asia… these months were a rollercoaster for me. I seemed to always be at breaking points in Asia, but some of my favorite things of the Race happened here. Some of my highest highs and lowest lows took place in Asia, and I honestly never thought I could have such mixed emotions about a place before.
Thailand (Month 6)
Summary: Four teams were placed together in Phuket, Thailand working with SHE Ministries. We spent the afternoons doing manual labor and nights going out to the Red Light District and building relationships with the women working in the bars. The nights we didn’t go out we spent interceeding for the teams that were in Patong that night.
Liked playing Connect 4, Jenga, and the log game with the women in the bars.
Loved finally seeing a new culture. After the 5 months we spent in Latin America, everything about Asia seemed so new. The formal greeting, architecture, a tonal language, white beaches, temples everywhere you look, bar ministry, fish pedicures, even new fashion! Everything was different.
Loathed living with so many people in one place… having no space that was my own really got to me this month. But what was really heartbreaking was one night as we were talking to some of our favorite girls, a man came and purchased seven of them for the night, and all we could do was watch them leave.
Laughed riding in the encouragement cab of the water buffalo, watching drunk men try to hammer a nail into a log, and at the British accents my teammates spoke in, especially Renee’s because it was what we call a United Nations accent – every accent imaginable came out all at once
Learned the reality of life for the women trapped in prostitution, how real spiritual warfare is, how prayer can break through strongholds, and that showing love to someone is more important than any words you can say
Lasting Memory: Eating bugs… yummm
Thailand (Month 10)
Summary: The girls on my team were joined by the women from another team in a village outside of Chang Rai, Thailand. It was a small hill tribe village, but with the elephant farm there, tourists flood the village every day. Ministry was painting murals, working with the youth group, children’s ministry, and building relationships with the shop owners.
Liked attending a traditional Thai wedding
Loved having elephants and boa constrictors as our next door neighbors, and the shopping available when you live in a tourist attraction!
Loathed spending time in the hospital. Honestly, after months of sickness I was just ready for my own bed, regular food (the rice porridge they fed me every meal was getting old) and doctors that speak English so I didn’t always have to do sign language to explain what I needed. But, God used that time in the hospital to reenergize me for when I returned to ministry and to remind me why I came on this Race, and that it is more than worth it.
Laughed 
Our first day finding out the reason they wanted a team was so we could paint a mural of the last supper on their ceiling… heh. That’s not the mural that our team painted for them … they ended up getting that one professionally done.
Our first day finding out the reason they wanted a team was so we could paint a mural of the last supper on their ceiling… heh. That’s not the mural that our team painted for them … they ended up getting that one professionally done.Learned how to rest in his love when I have nothing left. How to depend on his strength instead of my own, and hearing his voice and feeling his comfort no matter what my surroundings are.
Lasting memory: Riding an ostrich and an elephant. Two of the most akward things imaginable
Cambodia (Month 11)
Summary: My team lived with 2 other teams in a small village in the middle of nowhere, Cambodia. We were surrounded by rice fields, had brown pond water to bathe with, electricity for a couple hours at night, and the closest city was 2 hours away. It was one of my favorite months. While the other teams stayed at our housing site and taught English at the school on our property, my team traveled to other villages every day in a tuk tuk. We never knew what was planned for that day before arriving, and did everything from door to door evangelism, teaching English to children and adults, children’s church, and ran impromptu church services. It was great.
Liked the markets – such great shopping and you can get things dirt cheap. And the views… it was so beautiful, and on our 4 hours of riding on a tuk tuk every day, we saw a lot of the area!
Loved the vision of our contact, and being able to take part in the work God is doing in Cambodia. The harvest is ripe here! The youth conference we ran our last 3 days was incredible as well. Such a good way to end ministry, watching 100 teenagers learn about the living God, and so many choosing to follow him no matter what that means for lives at home.
Loathed the roads we drove on in that tuk tuk… Wow, just ask me for a tuk tuk story, I have a few!Laughed when we would show up at a church, have 50 children and adults staring at us who had been waiting for who knows how long for us to come, and we had absolutely no clue what we were supposed to be doing. We all grew in our flexibility this month.
Learned that I love fresh coconuts, dog meat isn’t as disgusting as it sounds, and you always have a choice – it’s not easy, but always possible to adjust your attitude and make the best out of a bad situation.
Lasting memory: Sitting down with a Buddhist priest and his wife of 75 years… they were such a sweet couple. What stuck with me though was his answer when my teammate asked him why he believes in Buddhism… “It’s our culture here.”
Keep checking my blog, I plan to update more soon
about these last few months as well as the transition home.
Thank you for all your prayers and support these last 11 months!
