5/1/18 – We also arrived in Phang Nga, Thailand today to do ministry for a week with Share the Love before heading up to Chiang Mai to finish up the month. We met our hosts for Share the Love and I can tell it will be a good week!!
5/2/18 – we arrived a day early to this ministry sight so the gave us the day off to unpack, get settled, and go into town to get anything we might need!
5/3/18 – this morning we had an orientation with our host and learned so many great things about their culture and how to respect the Thai people!
5/4/18 – this morning we did yard work and this afternoon we planned for our English teaching program tomorrow. There’s so much love and peace here!
5/5/18 – today we hosted a 2 hour English program with children from villages nearby. It was so much fun! The kids were so cute!
5/6/18 – this morning we went to Share the Love church and they sang songs in Thai that we knew in English so we would sing in English. It was beautiful! I can only imagine what Heaven will sound like when all the nations are lifting their voice in praise to the Lord in their own language.
5/7/18 – today was Share the Love’s off day so it was our off day as well! We played games, chatted, and watched movies. It was nice and relaxing.
5/8/18 – last day at Share the Love :(. We have grown to love this place and the staff. They took us to the beach to do beach clean-up and watch the way the waves crashed forwards and backwards (also got to play in it). And tonight they set up a time of worships and games and presented each of us with a bookmark to remember them by! This was such a place of lift and peace. Fun fact: we at the same restaurant for almost every meal.
5/9/18 – Before leaving for Chiang Mai this morning, we found a Scorpion bigger than most people’s hand in Marah’s shoe. SCARY. But after dealing with that, we rode on one of the nicest busses I’ve ever been on to northern Thailand!
5/10/18 – arrived in Chiang Mai after a 24 hour bus ride. We are staying in Zion Hostel which has an original XBOX so Haley and I took some time to play Tony Hawk and Need for Speed.
5/11/18 – orientation this morning with the AIM staff! It sounds like most of our ministry will be projects and prayer!
5/12/18 – adventure day! A few of us went to sticky falls where you can climb up a waterfall because the rocks aren’t slippery at all! It was so fun! But we also saw a GIANT spider which was not that fun.
5/13/18 – today was a Sabbath day so I got to spend a lot of time with the Lord, which was so so sweet.
5/14/18 – I volunteered to be on projects ministry and after hearing the vision of BellaGoose Coffee I was so glad I did. The projects team will spend the next week and a half sanding, staining, and polishing tables and chairs to be placed in the cafe! I also made a new friend, Rory! He’s 6 and thinks I am a pizza delivery girl.
5/15/18 – did some sanding and staining today! We also put together a shelf and then made the box it came in into a ninja box that people could wear and be a ninja! Got a few laughs out of that one.
5/16/18 – replaced a lot of the original tables and chairs in BellaGoose with the ones that we finished! That was super encouraging and they seemed to really like it!
5/17/18 – our squad became fully funded today!!!! We also got the PVT schedule! What an exciting day!
5/18/18 – (mom’s bday!). Worked on projects more today! Same old same old with sanding, staining, and polishing so not much to report. But it has been fun getting to the baristas working in the cafe!
5/19/18 – today was our day off but this evening, Naomi and I got to help BellaGoose repaint the cafe and they got us pizza! People from the states have started BellaGoose and it has become international so it was fun to hang out with people from home and just chat and paint with them!
5/20/18 – tonight we did an all-night of prayer and then had the day off. I used today as a Sabbath day and spent a lot of time with the Lord. For team we made a music video and had a blast doing it!
5/21/18 – worked on projects again today! And this evening I went to a Disney themed coffee shop with some of my squad mates to watch them play! It was so fun and they did so great!
5/22/18 – more projects today! We have a little powered hand sander and when we are done sanding we are all covered in saw dust. I don’t think it’s ever going to come out of my clothes!
5/23/18 – this morning we finished all the projects that they had for us. So after lunch I took a much needed nap. And in the evening we went to the night market to look around!
5/24/18 – today we did 2 prayer walks through the red light district. One in the afternoon and one in the evening. The difference was crazy. It’s very dark on that street but the Lord is working! We also moved into the PVT hotel!
5/25/18 – parents came today!!! It was so nice to see them in the lobby of the hotel and hang out with them this evening!!!
5/26/18 – Anna and I did a teaching on The Spiritual Realm and Spiritual Warfare this morning to the other racers and all the parents. It was fun to teach with her! And tonight we got to do a prayer walk through the red light district with our parents!
5/27/18 – went to the zoo with my parents, Haley and her mom, and Anna and her mom ! It was so fun! I love the zoo! We saw so many cool animals!! Afterwards, my parents and I went to a coffee shop to eat and had a great conversation about how things are going and what the race has been like so far!
5/28/18 – today Anna and I got to talk to our parents about what listening prayer is and how it is done and what it means to us. This afternoon we went to a monk temple to do monk chats. And tonight, my parents and I went to the night market to look for souvenirs for them to take home.
5/29/18 – this morning we went to the elephant sanctuary!!!! It was so much fun! Elephants are so cool! And this afternoon we all got fish pedicures and took a tuk tuk tour around the city!
5/30/18 – this afternoon, my parents and I went to get a massage before they left for home. They left around 3pm for home and then we left around 7pm for Cambodia.
5/31/18 – today we arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia for debrief! We are staying at Overflow guesthouse which is part of AIM and we got to see our Alumni Squad Leaders Who went home in Month 5! What a treat!
6/1/18 – today we had our final team debriefs with our old teams (mine was FAB) and got our new teams. On my new team is: Jess T., Ally, Anna, Ashley, and Marah!!! We are known as the International Harvesters.
6/2/18 – this morning we went to Ankor Wat Temple to see to sunrise but the clouds were in the way. However, the temple is beautiful and full of such detail! It’s one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world. And we also got to see Tomb Raiders Temple where Indian Jones: Tomb Raider was filmed!
6/3/18 – today we had a teaching on transition. And for about 2 hours today, I focused on what it could possibly look like to go home. Crazy.
6/4/18 – today we did the summer olympics since we missed them in the States and we had a pool at the guesthouse! In our new teams, we created a country (Corny Island) and competed in events. And the international harvesters from Corny Island took the gold and was rewarded ice cream. It was such a fun time!!!
We were also told our ministry for the month. Ask the Lord. They gave us 3 cities in Cambodia and each team put down in number order which city they felt the Lord calling them to the most. Our team got assigned Battambang, Cambodia. So today we found a hostel and transportation within budget for tomorrow and when we get there we will ask the Lord where He wants us to partner with Him. A new team. No structure. Complete freedom with Lord.
6/5/18 – this morning we left Siem Reap to head to Battambang (about a four hour bus ride). We made it!! The city is small but full of potential for the Lord. We are staying in a hostel near the city center for now (but moving to a different one in a couple days). Today we explored the city and took time to establish some things about our team. I’m amped for this month of unknown with the Lord and this new team!
Thank you for continuing to support me through prayer and reading these blogs! I hope you enjoy them and enjoy getting a glimpse into this life the Lord has blessed me with! Be on the lookout for a PVT blog soon! I can’t wait to share with you all how the 5 days with my parents in Thailand went! Please continue praying for me and my new team. Pray that we can clearly follow the Lord in this month of creating ministry with Him! We are excited for where He is going to take us!
