- You hear a teammate say, “Oh wow. A real dog.” This means you’ve actually seen a pug, and later a golden retriever. Most of the other dogs we’ve seen look scary and extremely bad off.
- You pay to let fish eat the dead skin off of your feet. A “fish pedicure”.
- You see an old Asian man with an Urlacher 54 jersey.
- You’re surprised to see Bath and Body Works products for sale along with an amazing selection in the cereal aisle.
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You play pool at the bar with an 8-year-old who sells flowers. He can barely see over the table, yet he’s winning.
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Ministry consists of playing pool, Jenga and Connect Four
- There are more 7-Elevens than people in Thailand. Literally one or two per street and on every corner.
- You have to make a decision between going to Muay Thai boxing lessons or petting tigers.
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You get to ride an elephant!
- Most of your main courses cost between $1-2. Lots of snacks or street vendors sell many things for less than a dollar!
- Markets are everywhere with everything you could imagine from fish to purses.
- In a sports store you ask the employee if they have any water bottles. He turns to the shelf right beside him and says, “Yes, Mikasa is best.” He’s pointing at a volleyball because apparently “water bottle” and “volleyball” are the same.
- Anime characters and Hello Kitty dominate t-shirt designs, pencil cases, and bookbags.
- You tell a taxi driver where to go and he repeatedly confirms the direction during the drive. He speaks Thai, you speak English and you both laugh nervously.
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Your Saturday night bar outfit doubles as your Sunday morning church outfit.
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You attend a dinner at the White House.
- Your teammates go to a restaurant to eat sushi off of a conveyor belt.
- You drink every kind of fruit smoothie imaginable and worry about having withdraws next month!
- You eat bananas in every form imaginable: raw, boiled, fried, mashed, grilled, deep fried, in a smoothie, in a milkshake, in a pastry…
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McDonald’s has a receipt that reads “McThai” company and they serve Pineapple pies.
- It is not uncommon to have rice or corn in ice cream.
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You meet your contact for some "real Thai food" and find yourself in a huge covered area with over 400 tables. There is a "hot pot" where you can grill your meats and boil your noodles around the edge. Many people try grilled octopus, squid, and other creepy sea creatures.
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Bowling has never been more fun. What a way to relax and enjoy a break in Bangkok with the squad!
Thanks for all of your prayers throughout the month. There were lots of tough moments and times where I thought I would lose it after the things I’d witnessed, but the Lord is sovereign over it all. He gave us favor in the bars, helped us form friendships with the girls there, opened up conversations with the men. He was all over Chiang Mai and Loi Kroh road.
Thailand could be one of my favorite months on the Race, but I look forward to traveling to Gua Musang, Malaysia tomorrow! Please pray for our new team, Deepest Roots. My two new teammates are Mike Choi and Logan Brendel. My wonderful teammates Stephanie Chan, Kelly Gauthier and Taryn Neurohr are continuing on with me to finish this thing out strong! Please also pray for Ben and Brandon as they are on a new team where Ben has been raised up to lead. So excited for all of us in this new season!
First team photo with Mike in the hospital! He's just resting up and getting rid of some viruses before traveling to Malaysia. Pray for a speedy recovery so he can get to work helping us build a church in Gua Musang, Malaysia!
