Hey friends! After a whirlwind week, we have returned to civilization with many pictures and stories to share. The last time I updated, I was freezing my buns off in Northwestern China. Since then, I have endured the scariest taxi ride of my life, viewed monkeys in the wild, and eaten fried bugs!
Thailand is immensely different than our experience in China… tropical heat & humidity vs. freezing temperatures, lush green jungle as opposed to sheer mountain peaks, girls in sarongs as opposed to ladies done up in coats and boots. We are drinking gallons of water, and making good use of our bug spray.
So, what all have we been up to? Where to begin!
Well, the last week in China I had stayed behind while the rest of the group traveled to minister in Tibetan areas. It was a wonderful and refreshing time for me, as I got to spend a lot of time in prayer, catch up on my writing, and get to know Sanru and the missionary’s wife. At the end of the week, we packed up our bags and headed to the train station to meet the rest of the group.
Little did we know that our type of taxi turned out to be an unregistered form of transport, on which the police were attempting to crack down. So, in order to avoid the police, our driver took a back roads detour, which involved crossing a mountain on a one-lane dirt road pass (we were much relieved that we were
just escaping police and not being kidnapped!). At certain points in our journey, I looked down and realized that if another vehicle approached from the other direction, one of us would certainly end up thousands of feet below. So, I gripped the door (don’t know how much good that would have done) and said my prayers. Praise the Lord we made it back to the paved road without any problems other than some really sweaty palms!
Our adventures had not yet ended, however. As we approached the main city, we crossed through a tunnel onto a toll road, when a uniformed officer signaled us to pull over. I don’t speak Chinese, but I’m pretty sure our driver cursed at that point! In any case, it was enough to get me praying again. If our driver was apprehended, we didn’t know what would happen to us. Would we be responsible for a huge fine? Would we be taken to jail and miss our train? We prayed intensely that the Lord would grant us favor in the officer’s eyes, and the Lord heard us. The officer checked the man’s ID, opened the door to look at the ladies in the backseat, then sent us on our way. Phew! Certain adventures are a lot more fun once they’ve ended!
So, we were able to happily meet up with our group, and the three of us reunited with our husbands. We made it onto the train, then a bus, a plane, then finally we had a chance to rest and say hello to Bangkok, Thailand! We got to rest, shop, and explore around town a bit.
Highlights were visiting a HUGE Buddha (not that Buddha is so cool, but the enormous scale of a huge gold statue made me feel like I was in an Indiana Jones movie!) as well as Gary finding a place to get fitted for custom made suits (oh, the amazing prices in Thailand!). When we get home, Gary will be ready for any job interview!
Our time in Bangkok seemed all too short, but we were happy to get back to ministry. We traveled down to the south of Thailand to a specific Muslim area. Our location had very few Christians, and because of the high level of persecution it would have been too dangerous for us to meet with them publicly. We spent most of our time praying and walking through the area, and looking for ways to serve the community such as picking up trash.
In Thai culture, the ideas of “Christian” and “Westerner” are synonymous. This is unfortunate, because the Thai impression of a Westerner is a tourist who comes to vacation, visit the bars and girlie shows, perhaps prostitutes as well. It was a great opportunity for us to come and help to break down that stereotype, to show that not all Westerners are the same, and to give Christ a good name.
Our mission was to be a light, to bring the love of Christ into a community that right now is so dark. The idea of being a light was a theme throughout the week, both in my Bible reading and my experiences as well. The first night, when I went to bed, a firefly flew into our bungalow, landed on my Bible, and flickered at me until I went to sleep. Growing up in California, I have always wanted to see a firefly but never had the chance until now. As I drifted off to sleep, I felt especially blessed and touched by God.
As always, our time was too short before it was time to say our goodbyes. We woke yesterday morning, ready for race day! We raced the other teams to Phuket, trying to accomplish a certain number of tasks along the way.
In order to complete our assignment, we had to climb a temple (many many steps!), ride elephants, find Bible references for a list of 101 ways to worship God, eat a silk worm and a locust, bargain in the local markets, then swim to an island to retrieve our teams flag!
Life continues to be exciting and surreal. But as crazy as all the other stuff has been, I am most looking forward to doing ministry here in Phuket. Please pray that God would clearly guide us to do His will, and that God would break our hearts for Thailand and the beautiful Thai people.
Love you guys, and thanks for your support!
=)
