…Two of the many things that blessed me this month. They were my little sweet spots in my day. Smoothies were my treat at the cafe we worked in, and 7 Eleven provided my favorite snacks after a hard days work in the village.
What a month this has been! My team and I began our ministry working in Chiang Mai at Wongen Kafe. Our contact, Emmi, started this café about a year ago and is using it as a place to minister to university students and also house women coming out of prostitution. My team and I took turns working 4 hour shifts. During our time at the café, I was able to interact with some of the students–teaching them English. My team and I also planned a game/movie night and passed out flyers hoping to bring in more business. It ended up being a fun night!
One of the highilghts of my month was on one of our days off. We rode elephants, ate an early Thanksgiving feast, rafted down a river on bamboo, and went to a night market during the festival of lights.
This past week we traveled to Mae Ai and have been working/living in a village harvesting rice. Our days have consisted of waking up early, chopping rice, breaking for lunch, and hanging out with some of the local children. In the evenings, we would take walks to the local 7 Eleven, eat dinner, and then head to bed early in order to have energy to do it all over again. The first few days were rough, as we woke up insanely sore. Harvesting rice does a number to your body, and has definitely made me appreciate the whole process. Who knew a little grain of rice required so much work?
I have enjoyed the simplicity of life here. We have been well taken care of by our host parents. Mine happen to live on a pig farm and also have chickens, birds, turtles, catfish, and 4 dogs. Our adoptive parents have fed us well, and driven us to three different markets. Today they even drove us to the Burma border.
It has been a much different pace out here in the country, but it has been a nice change from the city life we’ve had the past few months. I was joking tonight that they are pretty much the exact opposite of hoarders. They have what they need and that’s about it. Communication has been a lot of charades and miming, but we’ve managed…and our translator, O, has been amazing. She has come in handy and has been such a good sport.
O and Kelsie
Tomorrow is our last day here, and it makes me sad to think about how quickly our time inThailand is coming to an end. I have loved this country and am thankful we had the opportunity to work at two different ministry sites. If you have a moment, you should check out the websites below and read about Emmi and her amazing testimony and vision.
Emmi’s Testimony
Lighthouse Ministry
Door to Door Ministry
http://www.lighthousethai.com/Door2Door.html
