We are officially in the Kingdom of Thailand and it is by far the biggest culture shock we have experienced so far on the race. This is a “first country” for many things. It is the first country that has a king (born in Cambridge, Massachusetts), the first country that is not predominantly Christian (94% Buddhist), and the first country where the words and letters do not even closely resemble our latin-based alphabet (the Thai alphabet has 44 consonants and 15 vowels and 4 tones to change the meanings of words). We are currently in the southern part of Thailand as well in the Phang Nga area.
The people here are very friendly as Thailand is known as “the land of smiles.” It’s so different though because smiles can mean anything from mild amusement to avoiding comment on an issue to showing embarrassment. They have a concept in Asian culture that is called “face,” and it is very important to the people here. You always keep “face” in front of others, which means you don’t confront …It has a lot to do with self respect for yourself and respect for the other person. I think so far, besides the language barrier, that has been one of the harder things for me to understand. When someone doesn’t know the answer to something, they may just smile at you instead of saying that they don’t know. I have started to understand and accept it more the longer I am here, but it is still taking some getting used to.
Our ministry this month is working with a local pastor on a few projects he has in the community. We have been cleaning up around the community center that is here as well as doing some landscaping projects that beautify the area. We also get the opportunity everyday to teach English lessons, which is an awesome experience. It’s so different teaching a language to people that do not know it, and you don’t know their language as well. It is definitely a challenge, but is also a lot of fun. ESL teaching would definitely be something I would maybe consider one day as I have really enjoyed it so far and can see myself doing it somewhere else.
One of the neatest parts about coming into a culture that I know only a little bit about is that I get the opportunity to learn so much (Sawatdee kraup = “hello” for men). God has really allowed me to grow so much in the little time we have been here and pick up on new things that would normally be a lot harder for me (language introductions, cultural differences). I am so blessed to be here this month and am so open to the new things we have to experience here. I have also become very aware of how much I want and need to be praying for specific things for people back home, and really want to follow through with that. God made us into very specific and different people so when I pray for someone, I want to know what they REALLY need prayer for in this point in their life. So if you have a prayer request on your heart that I can pray for you about, just send me a message! I really appreciate any emails, messages, or comments I get while I am out here.
Here are some things I need prayer for:
- Increase in understanding the Thai culture and language
- To be aware of areas God wants me to broken in for this season of my life
- Openness to new experiences while I am here in Thailand
- Finding joy in every instance
